Dear ParentsMany pupils, and I suspect parents, will be exhausted at the end of this week, packed full of high quality events at the end of another busy term. The following pages give a taste of some of the highlights but, as always, thank you to the pupils who continue to take advantage of so many opportunities and to parents who support them in all that they do.

MARCH 2015

HEADMASTER’S LETTER

T0 PARENTSCHIGWELL SCHOOL

Contents

Page 1 Trip to India

Page 2 Trip to Iceland

Page 3 German ExchangePhysics Olympiad

Page 4 Choral Concert

Page 5 Music

Page 6 London Philharmonia ChorusPage 7 English Department Activities

Scouts

Page 8 Girls’ Netball

Page 9 Girls’ Netball

Page 10 Boys’ Hockey

Page 11 Boys’ Hockey

Page 12 Dance Showcase

Page 13 Dance Showcase

Page 14 DramaSchool ShopStaff NewsAlice Melvin

Page 15 Middle School Public Speaking CompetitionJoseph Klein

Page 16 The Howard and Mitchell Essay Competition

Page 17 Chigwell Open Art, Design and Technology Exhibition

Page 18 Careers ConventionPublic ExaminationsUpper Fifth Leavers

Page 19 Holiday Activity Courses at Chigwell School

Page 20 And Finally...

Page 21 Chapel

Trip to India Fifteen pupils, parents, teachers and

members of the Bede Griffiths Charitable

Trust flew to India for the February Half

Term. The group stayed in the beautiful

surroundings of the Saccidananda

Ashram. This year there was much to see

as Chigwell School’s fundraising for the

Trust was very much in evidence. They

visited the new modern house that has

been built to replace a very basic

structure, a new school hall and a

refurbished Old People’s Home. This

area of Tamil Nadu is wonderfully vibrant

but also very poor and the contribution

made by the Chigwell community,

through the Bede Griffiths Charitable

Trust, makes a real difference to people’s

lives. Another highlight of the trip was

when the group was privileged to be

guests of honour at the Bless School

cultural evening, a primary school funded

by the Trust. Chigwell pupils also had a

chance to participate in some teaching at

the school. When the group flew back via

Sri Lanka, they were again guests of

honour at a school that had links to a

Chigwell family. This was an experience

that will stay with the participants for the

rest of their lives. It was a real privilege to

be welcomed like this!

1

2

Trip to IcelandGeography A level students visited Iceland

during half term to bring to life the

geographical features and processes they

have studied within the subject. On the first

day the students visited the Blue Lagoon,

the popular geothermal spa of crystal clear

water which is the only site on Earth where

it is possible to swim in water all year round,

at a temperature of 40 °C. The group visited

two stunning waterfalls and a geyser

situated in the south-west of Iceland that

has been active for over 10,000 years. Other

popular attractions during the visit included

Thingviller, the national park where

Iceland’s parliament was established in

930AD which is scoured by the Mid-Atlantic

Ridge. Rift valleys were clearly visible where

the Eurasian and North American tectonic

plates pull apart at around 2cm a year.

However, the most stunning part of the trip

was Solheimajokull (which means ‘sun

house glacier’); this is one of several outlets

from the Myrdalsjokull icecap and is located

in a valley that extends 8km. It has been

retreating since the end of the 19th century

at a rate of around 100m per year but the

heavy snow on the day made it one of the

most picturesque views the students had

ever seen.

3

German ExchangeChigwell pupils participated in the fifteenth

annual German exchange in record

numbers. The exchange takes place with

our partner school in Hamburg and it was a

great success, this year involving forty

pupils, the youngest being in Year 7.

During their stay in Germany the group

spent half a day at school, together with

their exchange partners, which gave our

students an idea of school life in the state of

Hamburg. Other highlights of the trip

included a visits to the ‘Arriba’ adventure

swimming pool, the Maritime Museum in

Hamburg, the Salt Museum in the medieval

town of Lüneburg and, of course, making

chocolate bars in the ‘Chocoversum’. Now

the pupils are looking forward to

welcoming their German partners for the

return to Chigwell.

Physics OlympiadCongratulations to Bianca Andrei who has

made it through to the final stages of the

prestigious Physics Olympiad competition.

Having already been successful in two

extremely challenging written tests,

Bianca has now been selected to join 15

other students from around the country to

take part in the final stage of the selection

process for the team of six that will go on

to represent Britain in the International

Physics Olympiad this summer. Bianca is

the second of our students to reach this

stage of the competition in the last three

years, and she is only in her first year of

studying the subject at A level. Good Luck

Bianca!

4

Choral ConcertThe resplendent Nicholas Hawksmoor’s

(1661-1736) Christ Church, Spitalfields

was the venue for the 2015 Choral

Concert. The evening opened with the

beautiful, soothing and healing sounds

of Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby,

performed with an ethereal dreamlike

quality by the Chapel Choir. There then

followed a musically exhilarating

performance of Beethoven’s Piano

Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37 by Katie

Marshall (O.C.), (now in her first year

studying medicine at Christ Church,

Oxford). The standing ovation and

rapturous reception that greeted the

final chords were nothing more than her

performance deserved.

The Choral Society raised the standards

to new heights with a masterful and

commanding presentation of Mozart’s

Requiem in D minor, K626. The richly

woven tapestry of Mozart’s writing was

clearly delineated by the voices. A

highlight of the evening was of course

the use of our own choristers as the

soloists required; Requiem aeternam

and Communio, Lux aeterna: Maddie

Lovett; Tuba mirum: Brooke Newton,

Alice Melvin, James Botcher, Lucas

Abrami-Gill; Recordare: Kate Hawes,

Hana Edwards, James Botcher, Adam

Melvin; Domine Jesu Christe: Lara

Hobbis, Alice Melvin, Gopal Kambo,

Jusden Halabi and Benedictus: Sarah

Chamberlain, Rhea Gupta, James Botcher

Adam Melvin. Their performances

without a doubt demonstrated a wealth

of musical maturity and academic

conscientiousness and gave all an

unprecedented experience of the power

of music for both listeners and performers

alike.

MusicBoth Upper Two and Third Form have held

their Prom Concerts this half term and both

have proved exceptional in terms of quality

and breadth of musical performance. So

many pupils have taken the opportunity to

perform solo, duets and trios that it is

impossible to single out any one in particular.

All pupils must be congratulated.

Following a most successful Choral Concert,

the Chapel Choir made their debut solo

performance at Royal Festival Hall on

London’s Southbank on Sunday 22nd March,

singing Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque and

Stanford’s The Blue Bird (soloist: Kate

Hawes). They represented the School with

great distinction.

5

6

London PhilharmoniaChorus Two of Chigwell's Music Scholars, Max

Albert and James Botcher, have been

admitted into the London Philharmonia

Chorus. Aside from singing in various

choirs inside school, the two sixth

formers balance their A level

commitments against the demands of

additional choral singing in and around

London. They now have the opportunity

to regularly participate in great choral

works in venues, such as Kings College

Cambridge, the Barbican Hall and the

Royal Albert Hall. They may also work

in conjunction with other choruses,

including the Swedish Radio Choir. Both

Max and James have achieved Grade 8

with Distinction for their singing, under

the tuition of Chigwell singing teacher,

Danny Thomas.

7

In English, pupils have had a very busy term

with theatre trips for the Fourth Form who

saw Shakespeare in Love, the Lower Fifth

and Upper Fifth groups who saw A View

from the Bridge, and a visiting theatre

group who introduced the Third Form to

the Bard with their Shakespeare Live! show

plus a special Q and A session on their set

text ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Annabel O’Reilly and Will Weightman

represented the School at Andrew Motion’s

Poetry By Heart Regional Final in which Will

was highly commended. In addition, the

Festival of the Spoken Word was a

highlight of the term.

World Book Day was also celebrated in the

Senior School with the Third Form and

Fourth Form creating Haiku poetry inspired

by their favourite books and constructing

‘Book boxes’ (a book brought to life inside a

shoe box). The Removes produced some

great Book Spine Poems, the lines for

which had to be derived from novels they

had read and enjoyed; an example of one is

printed below:

‘I’d tell you I love you but then I’d have to

kill you,’ said the uncommon criminal,’

She was a perfect scoundrel,

Part of the heist society.

Her next mission is enclosed in 13 little blue

envelopes,

She has to rescue the girl with the broken

wing.

By Nari Gould.

ScoutsThe Chigwell scouts have had another busy few months. Earlier in the term, they spent the

night on HMS Belfast and last weekend, some scouts had their first taste of cold camping. The

overnight weather certainly lived up to the title of the event.

English Department Activities

8

Girls’ NetballThe second half of the netball season has

been very busy with all age groups

taking part in a number of tournaments.

The 1st VII have continued to be

successful and they have had some very

exciting and closely fought matches.

Many of these players are also part of the

U16 squad who have played against new

opposition such as Latymer Upper

School, where they pulled back the score

line in the last minute to lose only 23-22.

This season we have also had large 2nd

and 3rd VII squads who have played

encouraging netball and consistently

demonstrated their enthusiasm and

team work. A special mention must go

to Alisha Evans, who unfortunately

suffered a serious ankle injury at a

tournament whilst representing the 1st

VII. We are looking forward to seeing

Alisha back to sport in the future and

wish her well during her recovery.

The 1st VII, U15 and U13 squads took

part in the Kelsall tournament at

Brentwood School. Although all three

teams played skilful netball, the U13

Girls’ Netballteam did very well, losing only two

matches, finishing third overall. This

followed their third place result at IAP’s

alongside the U12 squad who also

finished third in their group, just

missing out on the national finals.

The U15 and U14 squads have played in

a number of matches and once again

they have continued to perform well.

The U14s will carry on the Chigwell

tradition and take part in the Georgia

Cordery Netball Cup at the end of the

term. The Chigwell girls always take

great pride in participating at this

tournament whilst supporting the

charity on the day.

In addition, the U11A and B teams took

part in the Bancroft’s tournament with

the U11B team finishing in a fantastic

sixth position and the U11A finishing in

eighth position out of thirty. The U11A

also attended the New

Hall Tournament

where they reached

the final of the cup

competition against

Alleyn Court winning

13-2. The U10s will be

looking to match this

result when they take

part in the tournament

later on in the year.

A number of the Chigwell pupils will be

attending county trials in April, looking

to be part of the county or regional

academies. A high number of pupils

have continued to join local clubs in

order to develop their skills,

encouraging participation both in and

out of Chigwell. They will then be

preparing over the summer break for

the Disney Netball tour to Orlando,

Florida in October 2015, which will give

them a fantastic opportunity to play

against teams from all over the world

and to learn new skills in the ESPN

arena.

9

10

Boys’ Hockey

It has once again been a fantastic year

for boys’ hockey. At the top of the

School, the 1st XI progressed to the

fourth Round of School’s Hockey

Association Cup Competition. Following

an impressive 3-2 away win to an

experienced Ipswich team, the squad

were drawn against defending

champions Whitgift School. Despite a

resilient and whole-hearted performance,

the team lost 5-2 to an extremely

talented opposition and we now wish

them the best of luck in the later stages

of the competition. The 2nd XI, made up

entirely of Lower Sixth and Upper Fifth

pupils (the majority of which

Boys’ Hockey

are travelling to South Africa on hockey

Tour this summer), continued to make

excellent strides forward resulting in

only one defeat throughout the entire

season. Whilst in the middle school, the

U15 and U14 squads have shown a

great deal of potential, producing

several memorable excellent matches,

most notably against Aldenham and

Haileybury.

Following the seniors’ example, Junior

School hockey at Chigwell continues to

flourish. Representative opportunities

have increased, with the fixture list

now offering regular ABC fixtures,

attendance at extra-curricular clubs has

grown, whilst the number of pupils

playing hockey outside school are at

their highest levels in recent years. A

special mention should be made of the

U13 boys who narrowly missed on

qualification to the National Finals

following their performance at the

regional IAPS tournament and the U12s

team who competed a year young at the

U13 Essex Tournament.

11

Dance Showcase

12

The 2015 Chigwell School Dance Show

saw 61 pupils from Year 1 through to

Year 8 performing a variety of dance

pieces from ballet, to tap, to Indian,

Rumba and Tango, Cha Cha Cha and

contemporary. There were solo

performances from eight pupils which

all engaged the audience throughout.

Joshua Copsey held the audience in

silence with his tap routine without

music and Rosie Beckley who finished

the show delighted everyone with her

ballet on pointe. Further solos came

from Alexandra Scott with a beautifully

choreographed ballet piece and

Sunderani Sharma with an exquisite

traditional Indian dance. The large

group performance from the Junior

School Dance Club was fun and

energetic and included 20 pupils from

Year 3 to Year 6. It was a pleasure to

have pupils from the Pre Prep involved

this year. Their performances were

outstanding and each one drew breaths

from the crowd and rapturous clapping

and cheering on completion. As always

Andy Lewis's technical support was

invaluable and brought the whole show

together. All money raised is being

donated to Smiles with Grace and The

Chigwell Riding Trust.

13

Dance Showcase

DramaThis half of term, the Drama department

has been busy with GCSE and A Level

plays. The Upper Fifth performed their

fourth and final set of plays on 18th

March. This was a real festival of drama

with five half hour plays devised and

created by the students themselves.

Candidates offered costume, make up,

set design, light, sound and, of course,

acting, all employed with impressive skill

to explore a range of themes from

missing people to holidaying in Ibiza!

The AS Drama group performed two

plays on 25th March: “The Wonderful

World of Dissocia” by Anthony Neilson

and Eurypides’ “Medea”. The latter play

was disturbingly recast in Nazi Germany

with stunning costumes by Ellie Jackson.

Outstanding performances were

achieved by both casts to create a really

entertaining and thought provoking

evenings’ theatre. Well done to all.

School ShopOver the Easter break, the School Shop

will be open from 10am to 3pm daily.

Staff NewsOur congratulations go to Mrs Vanessa

James and her husband Ian on the arrival

of their third son, Edward Arthur.

Alice MelvinWe send our congratulations to Alice

Melvin who captained the Essex County

U16 team as they won their matches to

become East champions – a marvellous

achievement!

14

Middle SchoolPublic SpeakingCompetitionIn the tradition of past competitions, the

standards in the Middle School Public

Speaking Competition were very high

and the results were the closest for many

years. The topics ran from media

distortion, to slang, to the political

landscape of today. The adjudicators,

Miss Janey Foster and Mr Andy Stubbs,

praised the speakers for their

consistently high standards in both

delivery and content. The winners were:

Aimee-Lee Nguyen (chair); Owen

McCausland (speaker) – “The rise of

emerging parties in Europe”; and Pena

Iiyambo (vote of thanks). Several other

speakers were commended, including

Michael Chamberlain who was judged

runner-up and Tanu Kugathasan, who

gave a highly entertaining speech on

slang. Only one mark separated the first

three placings with Caswall’s first with

55, Lambourne second with 54 ½ and

and Penn’s with 54. Swallow’s came fourth.

Joseph KleinChigwell students are encouraged to gain

work experience in the holidays. Joseph

Klein in the Lower Sixth may study

Politics or a related subject at university

and he arranged work experience over

half term with the MP for Bedford,

Richard Fuller. As part of his experience,

he was included in a meeting with the Rt.

Hon. Chris Grayling MP, Lord Chancellor,

about the problems caused by new

arrangements for magistrates courts. In

addition, the Prime Minister came to

Bedford to announce the Marriage Tax

Allowance and Joseph was specifically

invited to attend the private press

conference with SkyNews where he had

the chance to meet with David Cameron.

15

16

The Howard andMitchell EssayCompetitionThe Howard and Mitchell Essay

Competition is a longstanding Chigwell

School essay competition for the Lower

Sixth. Entrants research and write an

essay on whatever they want, over the

last two terms of the Lower Sixth and

the summer holiday. EPQ essays are

entered as well. The essays are judged by

separate panels. It is a great opportunity

for this year group to get their teeth into

some serious research as they prepare

for university admission. The depth of

knowledge they gain stands them in

good stead for personal statements and

interviews.

Howard Essay

(humanities & social sciences):

Winner: Gaby Leadbeater "Is the

enduring literary cliché of love as war,

as expounded by classical authors, fair?"

Highly commended: Sarah Chamberlain

"Is Syria doomed by its past?"

Mitchell Essay (sciences and maths):

Winner: Hugo Blogg "The

Duckworth-Lewis method: is it time

for it to be given out?"

Highly commended: Adam Keiller "To

what extent is interstellar and deep

space travel accomplishable by man?”

The judges gave many hours of reading and

careful deliberation: for the Howard, Mr

Graham Dixon (school governor and

Managing Editor of BBC Radio 3), Head of

Politics Mr Simon Pepper and Head of

English Mrs Emma Rea, and, for the

Mitchell, Ms Deborah Cohen (Editor Science

Radio, at the BBC), Head of Maths Mr Shakil

Chaudhary and Senior Laboratory

Technician Mr Derek Wyatt-Barrett.

On 24th February the two winners gave

presentations on their essays, to a

packed Library, and impressed everyone

particularly with the way they handled

some tricky questions. There then

followed the annual Howard and

Mitchell Prizewinners’ Dinner, with some

tricky table questions, and an excellent

speech on the evils of continuing sexist

attitudes in universities and the

workplace from Felicity Osborn (OC).

17

On Saturday 28th February, the private

view of the Chigwell Open Art, Design

and Technology Exhibition took place

and was attended by around 250 families

and friends of the local young exhibiting

artists. This was the eighteenth

exhibition, where maintained and

independent schools are invited to

submit up to six pieces of 2D or 3D work,

without restrictions on size or medium.

So far, we have succeeded in exhibiting

every piece of work submitted. There is

no theme to the exhibition, or prizes; its

aims are to celebrate the achievements

of young people and their teachers. All

the two-dimensional exhibits are

framed, giving the exhibition a uniform

and professional appearance.

Mrs Claire Tilbrook, Head of Junior Art,

Design and Technology, said, "It was

delightful to see the joy on the artists'

faces when they attended the Saturday

morning exhibition private view, and to

share the pleasure of their families and

schools. We have had a bumper

response this year, with twenty five

schools submitting work!”.

Chigwell Open Art, Design and TechnologyExhibition

18

Careers ConventionOn Thursday 23rd April,

we will once again be

holding our annual careers

convention. As always,

the aim of this is to help

older students consider

the possible future

career options

that are

available to

them and to allow

them to hear about different

employment areas from those working in

various areas. We are keen to represent

as many fields as possible and would be

delighted to hear from parents from

across the School who would be prepared

to represent their area of work. The

format of the evening is:

6.00pm Welcome and buffet for all

advisors in the Swallow

Room Coffee Shop

7.00pm Arrival of parents and

pupils in New Hall

8.45pm Evening concludes

If you would be prepared to help by

attending what is invariably a very

pleasant evening, please e-mail Mrs Sue

Lee (slee@chigwell-school.org) with

details of the area that you would be

willing to represent.

Public ExaminationsStudents in the Middle Sixth, Lower

Sixth and Upper Fifth are advised to print

a copy of their finalised summer

timetable and place it in a prominent

position at home, such as on the fridge.

The exam timetables are available, as

previously, on both the Pupil and Parent

Portals. This will help them to know

exactly when their exams are taking

place and avoid problems. Apart from

listening exams, all take place in the

Sports Hall. Morning exams start at 9am

and afternoon exams start at 1.30pm. If

your son/daughter has an exam clash

then they will be seen on an individual

basis and handed a letter stating the new

order of examinations. This will take

place after the Easter break.

Upper Fifth LeaversWe hope that pupils in the Upper Fifth

will choose to continue their education at

Chigwell in the Sixth Form, subject to

achieving the necessary grades.

However, should you decide that your

son or daughter will be moving to

another school, please remember that

we do need to have a term’s notice in

writing. The deadline for written notice is

Monday 20th April.

19

Holiday ActivityCourses at ChigwellSchoolEaster cricket coaching course for all age

groups and abilities run by Mr Frank

Griffith, Master in Charge of Cricket (ex

Derbyshire CCC). Course dates are

Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th and

Friday 17th April 2015. More information

and booking form are available on the

School website.

Barracudas multi-activity day camp for

children aged 4½ to 16 years. Open

Easter 30th March to 10th April and

summer 27th July to 28th August 2015

www.barracudas.co.uk or call 0845 123

5299. Parents of Chigwell School will

receive an extra £5 off per week booked

if they quote code HSCHIG at the time of

booking.

The Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy

and International Netball Roadshow

are coming to Chigwell School in May

Half term (27th to 29th May). The

3 day coaching courses are for children

of all abilities and International

Netball and Cricket stars will visit the

course! For more information visit

www.activatepsort.co.uk

Chigwell School is delighted to announce

a new holiday music course on 9th, 10th

and 11thApril between 9.30 – 4.30pm.

MyBand is a popular Song writing,

Playing, Recording and Performing

holiday course for 11 - 17 year olds.

Ability is not the criteria. We recommend

that you book early, as places are

limited. For further information and

booking details please visit

www.mybandmusic.co.uk.

For more information on any of these

courses please visit the School website:

http://www.chigwell-

school.org/whats_on/Pages/Activities-

Courses.aspx

And FinallyOver the Easter break, there will be a study trip to Nice for twelve members of the Senior

School. They will spend time in a French school as well as sampling some of the cultural

delights of the French Riviera. There will also be some Duke of Edinburgh training. We

wish everyone a safe and successful trip. Meanwhile, the sight of daffodils in bloom is a

hint that both spring and public exams are around the corner. Many students in the top

end of the School have been working very hard but we appreciate that some are feeling

anxious. The trick is to keep well-planned, purposeful revision going over the holidays,

but to build in some rest as well. If they have concerns, please do continue to encourage

pupils of any age to get in touch.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

Michael Punt

20

21

ChapelMuch has been said and written recently about

teenage mental health. Most will be aware of

the fact that pressures on teenagers today are

probably greater than ever before. Teenagers

face pressure to conform to stereotypical images

of the human body which are often “doctored”

in order to present perfect skin, perfect body

shape with idealised lifestyles. They face high

expectations in terms of their academic

performance where anything below the top

grade is seen as failure. They are expected to be

surrounded by friends with a full social life

displayed on Facebook. Then there are the

extras, particular talents and abilities that are

seen as cool, these range from a sense of

humour to sporting skills.

In the face of these pressures very few, if any,

feel that they can live up to these expectations.

The result is that we have an increasing number

of young people who are not happy with who

they are. Individuals who feel that they need to

change something about themselves in order to

be accepted, to be special. The result ranges

from eating disorders to self-harming.

How do we as parents and as young people deal

with this onslaught? Despite its low profile

religious faith does have much to teach. It

teaches that we are made in the image of God;

that each individual is precious and unique; and,

that God creates beauty in diversity. It is our

differences that make us beautiful. Faith also

teaches that failure is the springboard to self-

understanding, the springboard to greater

knowledge and wisdom.

The Easter Story is the story of human frailty.

Peter the strongest disciple is the one who

denies that he even knows Jesus. All the

disciples “run away” when confronted with the

reality of arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.

These same individuals, including Thomas who

refuses to believe the resurrection, need to be

reminded that the core of life is not what they do

or say it is that they are loved and precious

despite what they do and say. It is this

unconditional love which enables us to go from

failure to achieve great things.

The one thing that teenagers need to know is

that you, their parents, love them

unconditionally. That you accept them for who

they are not who you want them to be. That you

will provide the foundation of love and security

in which they can grow in self-confidence, in

order to face the world rejoicing in their gifts and

abilities, their looks and character. With this

foundation they can face triumph and disaster

knowing that you will always be there for them.

Who ever said that parenting was easy!

May I wish you and your families a very happy

Easter holiday.

Father Simon

Term Dates

2015 Trinity TermFirst day: Monday 20th AprilHalf term: Saturday 23rd May to Sunday 31st May (INSET day Monday 1st June)Term ends: Wednesday 8th July 2015 Michaelmas TermFirst day: Thursday 3rd SeptemberHalf term: Saturday 17th October to Sunday 1st NovemberTerm ends: Wednesday 16th December