16 teams entered this year’s house quiz. 12 matches therefore decided the final four to take to the stage of Ashton Theatre on the evening of Friday 11th May. With School House, the defending champions, beaten in the quarter finals, not one of the three houses represented in the semi-finals had won the competition in its current format.

The first semi-final was between Mary Sidney and Churchill’s B team. Mary Sidney started strongly but Oliver Hope (4th form) continued his dominant form from the earlier rounds and enabled Churchill’s B to secure a place in the final with a score of 200-120.

The second semi-final saw Radbrook against Churchill’s A team. The combined force of Ralph Wade (5th form) and James Brent (L6) proved too strong for Churchill’s as they powered towards a resounding 225-85 victory.

The final match between Radbrook and Churchill’s B was set. The lead changed hands on several occasions, 105-105 at the halfway stage and 205-205 with 3 minutes to play. Churchill’s B were narrowly in the lead when Hope buzzed in after the first seven words of a question ‘Which is the odd one out of:’. Clairvoyance is sadly not Oliver’s strong suit (he was very impressive on a whole array of other subjects though). This handed the advantage to Radbrook who sealed the victory with the final 85 points all going their way. Final score: 290-205.

Congratulations to the Radbrook team consisting of James Brent (L6), Ralph Wade (5th), Greg Bunting (4th) and Sasha Arridge (3rd). It should be noted that Oliver Hope was the ‘most valuable player’ buzzing in correctly 33 times throughout the competition, with James Brent successful on 26 starter questions.

I hope that those involved in the evening will be inspired to take on King Edward’s Birmingham and others at the Schools’ Challenge in November.

CWO

The House Quiz finals are also written up by Finn McCormack (Ch 3), who has just started writing a weekly blog of House life as part of his DofE Bronze award.  His blog can be found on the Churchill's News page: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/churchills-news-and-photos.

After scrutineering, where the car was checked thoroughly to make sure that it met all the regulations, and the drivers’ briefing, the boys were ready to take to the track with 36 other teams from across the country. The day started conservatively with each team member taking to the track, experiencing pit stops for battery changes and driver changes. By the end of the last session in the afternoon the lap times had come down and the car was lapping in 11th position behind cars from last year’s National final and the Peugeot  Citroen Apprentices.

The day was a success with the car proving reliable, a few areas identified for improvement before the next race and a good time was had by all.

JEH

On Friday 27th April, a group of nine IV Form cadets left school to take part in the Welbeck Leadership Challenge, an annual competition held at DSFC Welbeck.  This is one of the largest CCF/ACF competitions and there were 31 teams involved.

Throughout Saturday and Sunday the boys competed in a range of physical and mental challenges that included; command tasks, code breaking, tug of war and the Jacobs ladder (a high ropes obstacle).

Despite the appalling weather conditions (the competition was called off early for the first time in 20 years), all the boys competed with tremendous enthusiasm and demonstrated excellent teamwork and leadership skills.

WMS

Please also see A Week in the Life of Henry Binns for an insider's account of the 2012 weekend at Welbeck.

The club had its annual visit to Shrewsbury School on 21st – 22nd April and a fantastic time was had by all. Twenty-four young people and eight members of staff took part in the trip and as always the school offered a packed programme of activities and exceptional hospitality. Club members participated in horse riding, mountain biking and the obligatory Stiperstones Walk. The annual football match resulted in a keenly contested 7-6 victory for the club with some great football played by both teams.

Henry Corbett delivered a powerful address in Chapel reminding us all of the value of remaining non-judgmental as formal and informal educators and club member Ruby Molloy’s reading to the 700 people in Chapel was beautifully spoken.

Many thanks to Jenny Burge, Colm Keeley and all the staff and pupils at Shrewsbury School for making our stay so enjoyable.

In other news, twelve members gave up their Easter Saturday to raise £624 for the club by bag-packing at Sainsbury’s Rice Lane. Well done to all those young people and a big thanks to Cathy and Phil at Sainsbury’s for allowing this to happen.

Liverpool Housing Trust continue to fund several projects and activities in the club including boxing training, go-karting, a trip to Chester Zoo and a photography project. LHT have been great supporters of the club and we are extremely grateful for their ongoing support.

If you would like to know more about the Shewsy and how you can get involved please contact dave.brereton@shrewsburyhouse.org.uk or john.dumbell@shrewsburyhouse.org.uk

The two semi-staged performances of The Magic Flute last week surpassed the high expectations that we always have of our musical productions, and we hope that you'll agree that Martin has done justice to them here.

These are good times for the Music Department, with performances individual and collective winning widespread acclaim. It has already been noted in these columns that singing has made particularly rapid progress, to the extent that John Moore was inspired to include a full-length opera in this season’s programme. I confess that when I first heard about the planned “Magic Flute”, I envisaged a cast of professionals, with some student participation, giving us a few extracts, nothing more. It was a serious underestimation of the Director’s vision and of the resources in which he had faith. A bridge too far? Not a bit of it. The adaptation for concert performance, with narrators filling the gaps left by discreet editing, worked a treat in the Alington Hall, never once seeming too long, for all that it lasted over two and a half hours.

For this semi-staged production, the orchestra was placed behind two slightly raised platforms either side of the conductor. The cast, otherwise seated along the walls, came and went with admirable efficiency. First to make an entrance was one of the two guest artists, Robyn Lyn Evans, who brought a superb tenor voice and much charm to the role of Tamino.  His impassioned rendering of the lovely portrait aria set the tone for the evening. I hope we will hear more of him.

In this opera, villainy seems to be associated with top notes, and it was not surprising that the part of the Queen of the Night also went to a professional, Natalie Clifton Griffith, whose vocal agility won rapturous applause. In concert attire and without make-up, she was far from being a Wicked Witch in appearance, but she captured the menace in the score and never sounded in any danger of falling off the musical high wire.

Conversely, the Queen’s opponent, Sarastro, is given the deepest imaginable bass part, and for this, Ed Chapman had the range, if not always the control of pitch. Some of the serene benevolence that lies in the great arias was missing, but the acting was authoritative, helped by excellent diction.

Sienna Holmes is firmly established as the School’s leading soprano, with achievements in recital and oratorio to her credit. To these she added a splendid operatic debut as Pamina, singing and acting with mature command of every aspect of the role. We know she has ample power, but on this occasion it was particularly impressive to hear how movingly she held attention in the quietest passages.

From the moment he strode jauntily onto the stage, Rob Cross was Papageno. Not even the longest round of applause (there were several) could deflect him from his total commitment to the character – and what a mature interpretation it was, rich in wit and pathos. Mastering the art of Singspiel, he slipped seamlessly from speech to song and vice versa, every word and gesture comprehensible and relevant. Months of preparation must have gone into making it all seem so natural on the day.

Similar attention to detail was evident in the acting of Sam Ansloos as Monostatos. His mocking of Papageno’s bells, embellished by a scornful pirouette, was a gem, and his flexible tenor voice was projected with appropriate vehemence. Occasional loss of clarity can be put down to the speed at which he was sometimes required to sing; the overall effect was impressive.

Gus Haynes played the Speaker of the Temple with impeccable diction and an imposing stage presence. He made a valuable contribution to the drama, as did the excellent singers who took the walk-on parts of Armed Men (Tom Fletcher-Wilson and Will Heyes) and Priests (George Fowler and Ali Webb).   The Three Ladies, Teresa Fawcett-Woods, Shannon Morgan, Kate Harrison, and Meredith Lloyd (one of the parts was doubled), also made a beautifully blended sound, though the hazard of projecting words in ensemble was not always overcome. With smaller voices, the Three Spirits, Angus Warburg, Edward Acton, Alex Howard (from Shrewsbury High Prep) nevertheless did manage to get their meaning across - with commendable confidence in what must have been daunting circumstances.

Papagena, sung by Carys Gittins, who was unfortunately omitted from the programme, has not been forgotten here. Her interaction with Papageno was one of the highlights of the whole performance and their final duet was a joyful tour de force, setting up the exhilarating conclusion in which Light triumphs over Darkness, Good over Evil.
The orchestra was very much part of this triumph, as it had been throughout. In spite of restricted rehearsal time, in spite of the length of the work, John Moore managed to conjure sensitive and authentic-sounding accompaniment from his players. Huge credit to the conductor and the music staff. Before the event, I had wondered pessimistically if a piano arrangement might not be safer, but from the first chords of the overture, it was apparent that all would be well. They were truly inspired in the Queen of the Night’s second aria and the Trial by Fire (not enacted) was created for us by a glowing quartet of trombones and the magic flute of Eugene To.

And so to two names that have been saved for the final bow, Jonathan May and Kathryn Turpin, the singing coaches responsible for bringing so much talent to the stage. That they had confidence in their charges is best illustrated by the fact that they resisted the temptation to put themselves forward, content instead with reading the narration – and, along with choirmaster Alex Mason, adding weight to the chorus. Congratulations and gratitude are due.

It is believed that this operatic venture was a “first” for Shrewsbury; let it not be the last. Next year is the Wagner Bicentenary. Now there’s a thought.

Martin Knox

The brass prize competitions took place on Sunday 22nd April, and we were very lucky to have the esteemed trumpet player Paul Archibald (ex Philip Jones Brass Ensemble) to spend the day with our brass players.  The brass prizes took the form of 3 master classes.  Each player received a short lesson from Paul on their selected pieces, and he gave very direct and positive advice to everyone. 

The culmination of the day was a concert in the main auditorium, which involved the senior brass band and also featured several smaller ensembles.  Paul Archibald played in the band for the whole concert but also gave us 2 solos, one with the band and one with JFM on piano. 

The prizes were awarded during the concert and went to :

Senior Brass Prize
1st :- Henry Thomas (Ch 3) and Laurence Jeffcoate (Ch 5)
Highly Commended:- Matt Davies (M LVI) and Harry Sargeant (M 5)

Intermediate
1st :- George Birt (PH 4)
2nd :- Joe Bell (I 4)

Junior
1st :- Angus Hay (Rb 3)
2nd :- Tom Breese (PH 3)
3rd :- Alfred Mitchell (SH 3)

The Junior House Debate final took place this Monday and the observers agreed that the competitors demonstrated an exceptional standard of debating.

Churchill's 'A' team battled it out against Severn Hill over the motion of whether those who have led an unhealthy lifestyle should have to pay for their medical treatment. Churchill's perhaps had the harder task of convincing the judging panel that free medical treatment should not be available to all, but they acquitted themselves admirably. Severn Hill were also impressive in both their knowledge of the topic and their delivery. The judges, chaired by the Headmaster, gave the victory to Severn Hill, with James Plaut (S 4) given special mention for his speech.

All in all the evening was a great success and bodes well for the coming years of debating at Shrewsbury.

LJW

23rd March 2012
We left from school at 6:00 in the morning, barely awake but still braced for the 4 ½ hour snail ride to Heathrow in a coach. After spending nearly two hours in various baggage areas and departure lounges, wondering if such a prompt start had indeed been necessary, we eventually found ourselves boarding the plane. The interior of the plane looked like a Soviet era relic, but we were relieved to find that small screens had been inserted into the back of the seats, with a reasonable selection of films to watch. After having experienced firsthand from the air steward the awful Icelandic sense of humour, I decided to recover by watching a film.

1½ films later, we arrived at Keflavik airport. The outlook was bleak; the land flat and desolate. We headed straight for the Blue Lagoon. Before the lake came into sight, the smell of sulphur hit us. However, by the time we left the coach our noses had become impervious to the smell. After spending about an hour in the warm water, which really is almost as blue as it looks in the photos, we left to go to our unpronounceable place of residence, the hotel Hafnarfjörður. The hotel is, in essence, a red cube. It is easy to see how Lego was invented in Scandinavia, if Danish architecture bears any resemblance to its Icelandic counterpart.

 The Blue Lagoon, quiet after closing time

24th March 2012
After a continental breakfast we headed on a long drive to the south of Iceland. The scenery here changes from completely flat plains to mountainous regions, with no in-between, making mountains and ridges look all the more impressive. We eventually reached the now extinct volcano of Stóra-Dímon. The volcano is little more than a mound when compared to the mountains on the horizon, most notably Eyjafjallajökull, but still looks imposing due to the way it sticks up from a flat plain. Not at all put off by the steep sides of this mound, Tom Rowe boasted that it would take him two minutes to reach the top. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the summit, completely out of breath, and feeling cheated by the mound’s deceptive double peak. Then again, we should have guessed that the steep ascent would not be easy, due to the fact that Mr. Morris decided it were best he stay with the bus.

Eyjafjallajökull and ash-filled glacial river, Krossá, as viewed from summit of Stóra-Dímon

After half running, half sliding to the bottom of the hill, we set off again to see Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall. You can walk all the way behind the waterfall, although it is very muddy. The bus driver told us to take off our boots when we got back on the coach, although most of us managed to evade him. Charlie Bibby however, was forced to remove his trousers too, as he was covered in mud up to his waist. We then drove on to Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that caused the troubles with flights a few years ago. We watched a short documentary about the volcano before stuffing our pockets with ash to take home as a souvenir.

We next visited another waterfall, named Skógafoss, where you can climb to a viewing platform above the waterfall. This was followed by a visit to a bridge that was swept away by the floods that followed the eruption a few years ago. Naturally, our attention was not on the bridge but on a small patch of un-melted snow that lay nearby. Soon snowballs were being hurled through the air, despite Mr. Morris’ empty threats of grievous repercussions. Finally we stopped at a black beach before going to our new hotel, Hotel Dyrhólaey, where we participated in a pub quiz. The questions, being the product of Mr. Morris’ great general knowledge and Dr. Oakley’s cryptic genius, were bordering on impossible.

25th March 2012
The beach at Reynishverfi was our first stop. There are basalt columns much like the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, although on a much smaller scale. After seeing other coastal features such as arches, stacks and stumps, we returned to the coach. We then prepared to go walking on a glacier, Sólheimajökull, and were given crampons and an ice-axe. Naturally, the first thing to do with an ice-axe is either to swing it around your head or stick it in the ground. Our supervisors told us to do neither, so we promptly did both. They showed us the correct way to hold our equipment, but before long everybody seemed to be hacking out a chunk of perfectly see-through, super-compressed ice for themselves. Once on the bus, we discovered how to turn the tour guide’s microphone off. Word of our discovery soon spread and before long the bus became silent. Thus, I was able to catch some well deserved sleep before we arrived back at Hafnarfjordur, rejoicing as we picked up phone signals again. That night we ate fish at a restaurant called Tilveran, which was very good.

26th March 2012

Gullfoss, Iceland’s most famous waterfall

Our destination that morning was Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Station, the 2nd largest in the world, to find out how Iceland generates its power and obtains its hot water. We went to a building that had been built on top of a fissure. The floor was made of glass so you could look down into it. Afterwards we moved on to see yet another waterfall, Gullfoss. The waterfall is two tiered and impressively wide. Later we visited the geyser Strokkur, which erupts every four to eight minutes. The coach then took us to Þingvellir, the old location of the Icelandic Parliament, situated on the plate boundary between Europe and North America. That night we went to the Viking-themed Fjörukráin restaurant, where we ate the traditional Viking dish known in the west as burger and chips.

Strokkur, half way through erupting

27th March 2012
On the last day we toured Reykjavik by bus. We saw the Chinese embassy and the Icelandic Houses of Parliament, where there was a to-scale 3D map of Iceland. We were left only twenty minutes to look around the city by ourselves. We had one goal: we were starving and had to find a Subway. Fifteen minutes later, when hope was nearly lost and with only five minutes to return to the bus, we chanced upon a place called Hlölla bátar. And I am glad that we found it, for it was just like Subway, only about ten times better. We then hurried to our final port of call, Perlan, the building where most of the hot water intended for use in Reykjavik is stored. Next we had to make our way to the airport, taking a detour en route to see the Bridge between the Continents. Thus, we left Iceland, inspired by the spectacular sights we had seen and reassessing the definition of a truly wild landscape, for the most part untouched by civilisation.

Christopher Papaioannou

L-R: Rough climb; the Famous Five with Snowdon in the background; Day 3: exhuasted after 20km at probably the loveliest campsite in the World, ever.

The Famous Five set off on a daring adventure into the high peaks of Snowdonia. The date was the 25th when the boys were rustled out of their beds, wearily putting on their dusty walking boots. For a day of navigation skills with their trusty Scottish instructor Colin, who unfortunately did not look like Braveheart - no kilt or long locks, instead  high tech kit that seemed to appear from every pocket and place known to man. The sun beamed down onto our backs at a beautiful 23 as we made it to our first rest spot of the day. A stream that dashed down the mountain sprayed a refreshing mist for us to soak up. We continued with the day’s walk, making a few wrong turns, but our instructor was happy for us to go on alone.

The next day we set out alone to conquer the peak, slowly heading south down Wales. The sun still high in the sky, bombarding us with its rays while we navigated our way through the rough terrain of the marshes and high peaks that jutted out of the bracken like gravestones in a church cemetery. As we got to the top of each peak we saw a view that left you in pure awe. We arrived at our wild campsite around 6pm.  It was beside a lake, 300m up a mountain. We hurried to set up camp before dark came upon us while I was assigned as head chef, cooking a complex meal of bolognaise (from a packet). We watched the sun set and the stars appear over the lake while three of the lads told us the names of all the stars.

Morning came quickly as everyone hurried to decamp and get breakfast down them. A walk of about 20 km was waiting for us that day and a rough climb of 900m stood before us. The first signs of wear crept in, Rob’s knee played up, Martin’s stomach was suffering (could that have been my cooking - I hoped not), the boys were getting tired by the time lunch came that day. It was at the top of a peak overlooking the hills, where fires were burning down the bracken on the slopes - we counted 10 fires in just the one valley. Our next campsite was beautiful, overlooking the sea in the middle of nowhere, everyone was out like a light that night. A 16km walk to the finish, which took 4 hours to do. We arrived at the bus shattered, and slept the whole way back.

The walk reminded me of how hard the award is to get, but once you have done the award you will never forget such an adventure into the unknown. 

Luke Koch de Gooreynd 

From 23rd to 25th March, HRWP and JMMB took a group of Salopians to the Edinburgh MUN, which was brilliantly organised by George Watson's College.

This year the Shrewsbury A team were representing that well-known colossus of international relations, Togo, and our B team shared a delegation with George Watson's College, representing North Korea.

As always there was a very high level of debate with strong delegations from a multitude of good schools from all over the world (see below).

HRWP was delighted with the performance of the team, and North Korean leader, Kim Jong 'UN' wrote a personal letter to the North Korean Delegation to express his gratitude for their strong defence of his peace-loving nation's policies.

Please also see Ellie Moodey's insider's view of the MUN conference, which has also been included in the first eNewsletter of the Summer Term.

These were the 10 awards that our team brought back to Shrewsbury:

BEST DELEGATES
Xavier Greenwood (Togo)
Ben Gould (Togo)

HIGHLY COMMENDED DELEGATES
Jack Flowers (Togo)
Will Shindell (Togo)
Kiran Morjaria (Togo)
Alex Montgomery (Togo)
Sam Ansloos (Togo)
James Halliday (Togo)

COMMENDED DELEGATES
Cecily Higham (Togo)
George Mallett (Togo)

And these were the teams:

NORTH KOREA
Ellie Moodey (Ambassador) POL 2
Alfonso Rius ECONOMIC 2
Michael Adeyefa  MEDIA 2
Toby Harvey-Scholes  HUMAN RIGHTS 2
Seren Kell  ENVIRONMENT 2
Eli Rhys-Davies HEALTH 2

TOGO
Jack Flowers (Ambassador) HUMAN RIGHTS  1
Emerald Storey SECURITY COUNCIL
Kiran Morjaria POLITICAL 1
Will Shindell ENVIRONMENT 1
Xavier Greenwood ECONOMIC 1
Alex Montgomery HEALTH 1
Guy Leslie MEDIA 1
Angus Thompson ENVIRONMENT 2
Cecily Higham HUMAN RIGHTS  2
Ben Gould ECONOMIC 2
Sam Ansloos   POLITICAL 2
James Halliday HEALTH 2
George Mallett MEDIA 2

Afghanistan        The Leys School, Cambridge
Algeria            Escola Secundaria de Ferreira Dias, Lisbon
Australia        Waid Academy, Anstruther/Madras College, St Andrews, Fife
Azerbaijan        Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen
Bangladesh        Friends’ School, Lisburn
Brazil            Hutchesons’ Grammar School, Glasgow
Canada            High School of Dundee
Chad            King’s School, Chester
China            George Watson’s College
Colombia        Malvern St James
Cuba            Belfast Royal Academy
D P R Korea        GWC/Shrewsbury School
D R Congo        Dalkeith High School
Egypt            Gymnasium Paulinum, Münster
France            George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh
Guatemala        London Oratory
Germany        St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh
India            Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh
Indonesia        Manchester Grammar School
Iran            George Watson’s College
Ireland            George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh
Israel            Earlston High School, Berwickshire
Italy            Leonteio Lykeio Patission, Athens
Japan    Strothoff International School, Dreieich/Lathallan School Johnshaven, Angus
Libya            John of Gaunt, Trowbridge, Wiltshire/Lycée St Michel, Istanbul
Mexico            Penicuik High School, Midlothian
Morocco        Hampstead School, London
Myanmar            Hampstead School, London
New Zealand        Inveralmond Community High School, West Lothian
Norway            Balerno CHS/Narmer American College, Cairo
Pakistan        Edinburgh Academy
Palestine        Wesley College, Dublin
Portugal        Penicuik High School, Midlothian
Republic of Korea    Manchester Grammar School
Russian Federation    Hutchesons’ Grammar School, Glasgow
Rwanda            James Gillespie’s High School, Edinburgh
Saudi Arabia        Latymer Upper School, London
South Africa        St Margaret’s School, Aberdeen
Spain            St George’s/Hill House, Doncaster
Sri Lanka        London Oratory/Latymer Upper School, London
Sudan            Edinburgh Academy
Sweden            Armadale Academy, West Lothian / Eötvös József Secondary School, Budapest
Syria            Lycée St Michel, Istanbul
Togo            Shrewsbury School
Turkey            Malvern St James, Worcestershire
Uganda            Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen
Ukraine            Bo’ness Academy, West Lothian
United Kingdom       Balerno CHS, Edinburgh
USA            Wesley College, Dublin
Zimbabwe        St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh

The Beethoven Trio (Dorit Hasselberg - Clarinet, Jacob Owen - Cello and Allen Yu - Piano) travelled to Sevenoaks School on Sunday for the Finals Day of the Pro Corda Chamber Music Festival.

Students come from across the country to compete in this prestigious competition, and although our trio performed brilliantly, they wee not chosen to represent the competition at the Wigmore Hall this summer.  However, they have been asked to perform in a Pro Corda concert at the Millenium Centre, Cardiff, in May.

Dorit has been particularly busy this week, as she also took her LTCL Clarinet Diploma on Wednesday, and was awarded a distinction.  Eugene To took his ATCL Flute Diploma at the same time (already having his ATCL Piano diploma) and passed.

Maria Curtis

The High Sheriff of Shropshire, Richard Burbidge, and his wife, Patricia, hosted the annual Legal Service at Shrewsbury School on Sunday 18th March. This traditional ceremony is held every year to celebrate the Queen's Peace and our Heritage. 

On a beautiful, sunny, spring day, proceedings began with a reception and lunch in the Alington Hall for over one hundred invited guests, who listened to a moving speech by the county's Lord Lieutenant, Mr. Algernon Heber Percy.  Then, led by the School choir, a procession moved off through the school grounds to the chapel where a special service was held.  The procession included some sixteen judges, six visiting High Sheriffs from adjacent counties, the Bishops of Shrewsbury and Hereford, the Queen's Remembrancer, the Chief Constable of West Mercia and our Lord Lieutenant and his wife.

The choir's rendition of Haydn's The Heavens are Telling was later described as spine-tingling, and followed a thought-provoking and stimulating address by the Bishop of Shrewsbury to a congregation of over two hundred and fifty.

Following the service, everyone moved back to the Alington Hall for tea and a ceremony to mark the long service of six magistrates from the Shrewsbury and North Shropshire and the Telford and Wrekin benches.

Richard Burbidge is also the Chairman of the Governors of Shrewsbury School.

“How refreshing”, commented another parent to me after the play, “that the school which gave birth to Private Eye and some of the Monty Python team can still find an expression of comic satire and light-hearted lampoonery. That was amazingly funny.”  True, Private Eye has been sued on occasions and it is not recommended reading for the straight-laced, fainthearted or unintelligent. But if the hallmark of a good play is to attract too many would-be viewers on the opening night (standing room only at the back, anecdotally; I was at the front looking the other way. Don’t for heaven's sake tell H&S) and to provoke sustained laughter for about two hours, then Robin Hood was a huge success. There is reason to celebrate its success:  while a strong lead was provided by those at the top of the House, few, if any in Rigg’s, had nothing to do with it, and half of Emma Darwin L6 were involved too. Sound, light, front-of-house, back stage, refreshments were all pupil-led with little professional input on the night. The simplicity of the set and a well thought out lighting plot allowed swift scene changes.  Actors were created from hitherto retiring individuals (well, downright shy, some of them), and they collectively overcame that gnawing sense of fear and stage fright as the sense of occasion generated by CEC’s scripting and the audience reaction lifted their energy to level after level. Regional accents strengthened as the play proceeded and minor actors on the sidelines (and major players temporarily off the plot) added hugely to the production by staying in character even when out of the lime-light. It was in all senses a courageous production.

Leslie’s confident, sunny and open Robin Hood provided half of a comedy duo with Lapage’s Gerald of Wales, portrayed with a lively sense of comic timing in his great uncle’s accent, ably backed up by a vibrant and confident Kinnaird as a previously-unknown-in-this-story Bog Trotter. Katie Williams as Will Scarlett and the Merry Men from EDH added another colourful dimension again. Lynch-Staunton as Sheriff gave us the character we love to hate, well supported by Day as his grinding henchman, Mostyn (hmmm.) Kim and Shelley (Rainbow and Emily Hay) provided such a humorous and strident counterpoint to the Sheriff’s narrative that it is hard to work anything fluent at this point. In true panto style, fun was banished by the kidnapping of Father Christmas (Mason) and the comic pathos of his separation from Aston’s Rudolf was highlighted in the strobe-lit reunion. Dickins' interpretation of the inept titled and powerless Gisborne left us in no doubt as to his intentions for the gentle Marion (Rosie Parr) whom he must marry to enable the Sherrif to ascend to power in the absence of Angell-James’s King Richard. By no means least was Aitken Minor (6’2”, I think) as Nanny, also suitably embellished with a relative’s accent and whose character developed exceptionally well as the play proceeded, and Aitken Major (6’6”) as Little John had a suitably woodland-elfin take. Scofield’s Tuck and Douglas’s Joker demonstrated great strength in depth. Special mention must go to other seniors never yet seen on stage, Leigh-Bramwell as Simon Cowell (don’t ask), Morgan as Jim, Adeyefa as Jessie Flash and Bailey as Gap Yah added a very positive atmosphere. All others not named deserve praise; I hope that they will appear on stage again in the near future to claim their place, for their contribution to the whole was huge.

While the Eye authors were exclusively Churchillian (Boo, hiss, say some, but Stay, say I; indeed two of them were successive Heads of House), Palin of Python fame is a dyed in the wool Riggite, still occasionally seen sporting a Rigg’s tie and he has been broadcast singing The Carmen* in a foreign clime on a cold dark night round a camp fire. Not that one particularly advocates the latter, but it illustrates how the memories taken from school remain vivid for a long time. I suspect we have not heard the last of Cooke’s Robin Hood by a long chalk.

Anon (name and address provided) and on, and on.

*The school song, silly.

Philip Lapage, Parent.

Last Friday and Saturday night saw the performance of what has been heralded by a member of the 5th form as ‘the best house play ever’. Indeed, a visiting speaker and esteemed member of the clergy praised this spectacle as one ‘worthy of a school play’, rather than one on the humble scale of house plays.

The ladies of Mary Sidney and the gentlemen of School House entertained us with a visual feast of comedy, charisma and creativity. The play conveyed the familiar vicissitudes of male adolescence; an apt choice in a school where many are experiencing this bewildering stage. Sam Watts delivered a compelling portrayal of the ‘tormented intellectual’, Adrian Mole, captivating the audience as he led us through the highs and lows of pubescent life. His mother and father (Christie Knight and James Humpish) played their parts to slick perfection, evoking at times humour and at others pathos as they presented the hard hitting realities of married life. Mr Lucas, Mrs Mole’s lover, was played by Tom Fletcher-Wilson; for a man about site renowned for his aptitude in the art of romance this part was not too stretching. Yet, he still delivered a sterling performance, wooing the audience along with Mrs Mole. Max Farmilloe gave an hilarious, yet touching rendition of Bert Baxter, the cantankerous old age pensioner with whom Adrian forms a bond, voicing controversial opinions on cigarettes, socialism and retirement homes much to the audience’s amusement. Meanwhile, Cecily Higham gave an almost too-convincing portrayal of Pandora, Adrian’s love-interest, with a certain member of the history faculty audibly commenting that she had been so appropriately cast that there was hardly any need of acting in this role. Nigel, played by Harry Al Adwani, was an equally entertaining role, as the struggle of a fourteen-year-old weekend-punk was depicted brilliantly, whilst forming a comical juxtaposition with the poetry-writing protagonist. Perhaps the pinnacle of humour was achieved in Jack Calvert’s cameo appearance as Mr Scruton, the Führer-esque headmaster of Adrian’s school, by which he reduced us all to hysterical laughter.

Congratulations must go to Mr Bell, who patiently directed the play with his comic wisdom. Thanks must also go to Mrs Hankin and Miss Burge, who choreographed a wonderful dance routine as well as played a vital part in the masterminding of the whole event. Backstage, the team responsible for lighting, props and the set also deserve commendation as they ensured that the delivery of this play was nothing short of a polished and professional performance.

Rock Climbing with Richard Hudson

Six Fifth Form climbers had their mettle tested at Trevor Rocks, high above the Llangollen valley, in glorious early March sunshine.

This is an old quarry with some very challenging 80 ft near vertical cliffs, but this is a good group who had no trouble completing the three routes they attempted.

RTH

Golf with Tim Foulger

In the glorious sunshine 11 of us enjoyed 18 magnificent holes on Astbury Golf Course, Cogleton, Cheshire.

After bacon baps in the clubhouse we tee-ed off in four-balls rather innocently expecting to breeze round the course in well under our handicaps. The 3rd hole put paid to that: narrow fairway - out of bounds left, trees right inevitably led to a 3 off the tee, the second shot was long and for the unsuspecting (us) just perfect distance to plop into one of the many, deep water hazards!  For me it was all downhill from there! But not for Jack Calvert, an amazingly well struck 3 iron (not one of his best clubs)  on the15th  183 yd par 3 put him into the Golf Club record books with a hole in 1! However, even this amazing feat was not enough to stop the back-nine charge of George Mitchell who stormed away with the match-play competition. 

A great day was had by all, and we’d like to thank Astbury Golf Club for  wining and dining us so well. We would highly recommend this course as a challenge to all aspiring Tiger Woods!

TRF

Third Form trip to an Adventure Rope course with Vicky Kirk

The day involved a number of high rope activities at Albrighton Hall, for which team work was essential - and great fun!

Eight members of the RAF section spent Wednesday afternoon taking their first flight in a RAF aircraft at No.8 Air Experience Flight at RAF Cosford. The boys, all members of the fourth form, have been in the RAF since November have been looking forward to this since they joined. Amongst their number was Jonathan Trenchard (S), who is the great-great nephew of Viscount Hugh Trenchard, founder of the Royal Air Force at the end of the First World War.

Jonathan spent 20 minutes in the air in a Grob Tutor, a single engine two-seater basic trainer aircraft. In that time, he took the controls and did various aerobatic manoeuvres such as looping the loop, stall turns and Cuban rolls. He described his flight as ‘awesome and the best thing I have done since coming to Shrewsbury.’

As a signed-up participant of the Medic Malawi trip (9th - 27th July 2012), Will Heyes (Ch LVI) came up with a novel fundraising idea recently.

Once Saturday lessons were over, Will set off from School to walk home for the weekend - a 26-mile cross country hike across the Breidden Hills to the far side of Welshpool.

Will's plan was to avoid road travel as much as possible, and to use small footpaths - although the Severn Way would have been an option, he rejected it as its many meanders would have made it a much longer journey.  As it was, the late start time meant that he would be walking in the dark for much of the way.

For general moral support, James Kynaston (Ch LVI) joined Will for the last few hours of his journey, by which time Will had tackled the Breiddens - with a few wrong turns - on his own and in the dark; James' company and humour were much needed.

The two boys eventually reached their destination at 9pm, thoroughly exhausted but much relieved, in the knowledge that Will was £400 closer to his fundraising target.

Last week’s visit to the Shewsy was fascinating for all those who went.  The days were full and stimulating, and, as usual,  the main focus was helping at the Youth Club from  3pm until 10pm, acting as ‘big brothers and sisters’ to primary-aged children, and then spending time with the older musicians, as they prepared for their next gig.  Sienna Holmes (EDH LVI) writes about one of her highlights:

Reds and Blues
On our second day at the Shewsy our group was lucky enough to find that our visit coincided with a talk being held at the Youth Club by Andrew Schofield, Paul Duckworth and Dave Kirby. Together they had been involved in the creation of the film, ‘Reds & Blues’ a comedy about the deep-set rivalry between Liverpool FC and Everton FC fans in the area. Andrew and Paul played the two leading roles – Andrew being red and Paul being blue – which helped ensure numerous laughs throughout the film, while Dave Kirby wrote the mischievous script. All three of them are originally from Liverpool and grew up in areas not dissimilar from Everton, where we were staying, and it seemed very apparent that this had a real effect on many of the kids watching.

Andrew Schofield explained that he had only become interested in acting through his own local youth-work organisation, and was therefore living proof of the amazing work they do.  Dave Kirby talked about his past and how writing comedies had helped him to branch away from his clashes with the police as a teenager. I found this was really poignant for many of the audience, now listening to an adult who they had full respect for and who they could empathise with.

After half an hour or so of question and answers, mostly along the lines of, ‘what was the funniest moment on the set?’ which led to many tales of mishaps with trampolines, we came to the final question where one member asked, ‘if you could go back and tell your 15 year old self one piece of advice what would it be?’ I found that really their response was not just about how to make it into the world of acting, but rather how to make it into the world, full stop. Their message was pretty clear, that perseverance and an open mind always led to success and respect. Or, in the words of Dave Kirby, ‘Shut up, listen to what people around you are saying and for God’s sake take notice!’

Sparkling talks on 'spells' ranging from Juvenal ('mens sana in corpore sano') to Nabokov, via Coleridge and e.e cummings were given by fourteen competitors for the coveted and ever esoteric 2012 McEachran Prize on Tuesday 31 January, commemorating this extraordinary and inspirational teacher. The judge was Dr Mark Archer, who in addition to his work in the City, is an occasional arts journalist for The Spectator, Wall Street journal, FT and Daily Telegraph.

The winner of the junior section was fourth former Theo Simmons, talking about one of his own poems 'Soulweight'. In second place was fellow fourth former John Dempsey, who gave an impassioned social analysis of William Blake's 'Holy Thursday'. Guy Cabral's fascinating talk on changing perceptions of the Latin tag 'mens sana in corpore sano' (the motto of his former prep school Summer Fields) was highly commended.  All three boys are in Churchill's Hall.

Xavier Greenwood (Rt) shared the senior prize with Ralph Wade (Rb).  Xavier gave an astonishingly accomplished reflection on the challenging opening and closing words of Nabokov's 'Lolita', but Ralph's polished and witty meditation on lines from The 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' made it impossible to choose an outright winner for this title. Second prize went to Rory Fraser (Ch), for his talk on Magee's 'High Flight', and James Humpish (SH) was highly commended for his deconstructionist analysis of an e.e.cummings poem.

RTH

Large numbers competed for the prizes, which were held in the Maidment Building and the Alington Hall last Sunday, all day. The standard of competition this year was high in both the singing and piano departments, and was tribute to both the accomplishments of those taking part, and of course their teachers.  All prizewinners' names are below.

The adjudicators were:

Singing - Peter Davies, Director of Music at Oakham School, and Helen Williams, Principal singing teacher at Oakham, and a very distinguished soprano soloist in her own right.

Piano - Clare Hammond, who is a rising young star in the world of professional pianists, and who in addition to being a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year Piano Finlas several years ago, has also recently made her Radio 3 debut, and is busy with recordings and an extensive concert career as well as teaching.

The performances from those who were placed in the top three of each session were of an extremeley impressive standard, and there will be the chance to hear them all at various times in the future of course.

We have already also had competitions this year from our string players, won by Jacob Owen, and Woodwind and Brass competitions will be taking place next term. They are an excellent way of giving a large number of pupils the chance to shine and take part in what are very friendly but competitive occasions and to have constructive comments from external adjudicators of National standing, all of whom did a brilliant job this year in their adjudications, and to whom we are very grateful for giving up their time to be at Shrewsbury with us.

JFM

The committed concert-goers who ventured out on a bitterly cold evening were rewarded with an event which served at least to warm the heart. “Pople and Son” might have been the sub-title of the programme, for the cellist in all three items. Ross Pople, was joined by his son, Jake (SH UVI), in Beethoven’s clarinet trio, op 11, thus bringing a special intimacy to the music-making. The other parts were taken by our own John Moore, piano, and Robert Gibbs, violin,  who, like Pople senior, is a distinguished London professional.

Wisely, the advertised order was changed and the concert began with a Haydn trio for the usual forces of violin, cello, and piano, the chronological sequence making sense, even though there is only a two-year gap in composition.  From the contemplative andante to the spirited  “Gypsy Rondo”, the trio played as one, the beauty of the string tone fully brought out by the superb acoustic properties of the Maidment.

Hardly a week goes by without a chance to hear one of the School’s excellent clarinettists, and Jake Pople, replacing the violinist in the Beethoven, made a confident and mellifluous contribution. Father and son left the stage in the glow of mutual pride.

In both works, one is always aware that, unlike symphonies and concertos, this is music for the players, private music to be played among family and friends. By the time Mendelssohn came to write the trio in D minor, things had changed, and particularly in the piano part, there is a sense that it was destined for the platform. The climax of the first movement was a raging torrent of sound, John Moore in his element, unfazed by some very demanding passages, his two colleagues matching him with awe-inspiring power. At the conclusion, the exhilaration of the participants was plain to see, even before a grateful audience weighed in with a cheering, foot-stamping ovation.

Outside, it didn’t seem cold any more.

Martin Knox

Please also see Jake Pople's Week in Life article.

Four of the eight Shropshire pupils who made it through to the second round of the Shrophsire Concerto Competition were from Shrewsbury School: Galin Ganchev (M IV), Dorit Hasselberg (EDH LVI), Mark Li (SH UVI) and Jacob Owen (Ch V).

The second round took place at Concord College on Wednesday 11th January, and we were all delighted when Galin Ganchev (Piano) and Dorit Hasselberg (Clarinet) were given places in the Final.

All four finalists will be performing on Wednesday 28th March in the Theatre Severn with The Shropshire Sinfonia. Galin will be performing the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor and Dorit Weber's Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor Op. 73.

On skiing holidays, Rory's family have become used to him getting back to base a good 10 minutes earlier than anyone else when they're on the last run of the day, so they felt it was time - for the safety of himself as well as others - to book him in for some race training.

Over the Christmas holidays, Rory trained with Francois Simon in the art of Slalom and Giant Slalom racing on the Stade in Flaine.  After 6 solid days of race training, Rory was delighted to be placed 50th out of about 125 in the final race - a tremendous first effort from one of the youngest in the competition.

Rory is determined to return next December and improve his rating!

Please also see our 2011 news page.