Issue 12 Summer 2007 - Epsom College

Fitting tribute to a selfless OEBrigadier Glyn Hughes in his mobile headquarters in 1945Old Epsomian Brigadier H L Glyn Hugheshas been honoured with a posthumousMeritorious Award for Bravery inrecognition of his role in the relief of theBergen-Belsen concentration camp at theend of World War II.In the spring of 1945, Brigadier Hughesentered the newly liberated Bergen-Belsencamp in north-west Germany. As deputydirector of medical services for the secondBritish Army, it was his duty to orchestratethe relief effort by controlling a typhusepidemic and organising a fair way ofdistributing food. By mid-May, with less than100 medical school volunteers, one mobilehospital and two hygiene units at his disposal,Brigadier Hughes had halted the horrendousdeath toll.Somme visitThis term some 46 M4 students,accompanied by group leader DonCampbell and five other members of staff,took part in the annual HistoryDepartment trip to the Somme.Based in Kemmel, a village six miles southwest of Ypres, the tour party visited many ofthe battlefields where huge numbers of liveswere lost during the first World War.Highlights of the trip included visits to theTyne Cot Cemetery, the In Flanders FieldMusuem, The Vimy Memorial Park andUnderground Tunnels, the Musee Vivant atNotre Dame De Lorette and the Last PostCeremony at Menin Gate.An award for best worksheet presentationwent to Alice Diggins and Johnny Malynnwas highly commended.On Sunday April 15th 2007 – the 62ndanniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen– Brigadier Hughes’s actions were recognisedat Logan Hall in London by Yad Vashem(the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’Remembrance Authority), at a specialcommemoration ceremony. It was the firsttime that such an award has been made to aBritish subject.The ceremony was attended by HRH theDuke of Gloucester, Colonel-in-Chief of theRoyal Army Medical Corps, Head of theArmy, General Sir Richard Dannatt, and chiefrabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Representationfrom the College Community includedHeadmaster, Stephen Borthwick, Chairmanof the Governors, George Pincus, Secretaryof the Medical Foundation, John Higgs,members of the CCF, teaching staff andCollege students, including the chapel choir.Six of the Brigadier’s grandchildren werealso in attendance and his son-in-law, DavidSmart CBE, accepted his award.In the week following the ceremony, theHolocaust Educational Trust organised aseries of educational programmes at theCollege, including the opportunity forsome 120 Year 10 students to meet aHolocaust survivor.Born in 1930, Mala Tribich gave a movingaccount of her own experience as a child inBergen-Belsen, recounting the horrors of theM4 students pictured during their visit to the Somme battlefieldscamp where groups of 50 were taken out atdawn to be shot and buried in graves theywere made to dig themselves. She told howshe had lost her mother and sister in such ashocking way.Weeks before liberation, Mala contractedtyphus and was nursed back to health by theBritish Army Medical Services, headed byBrigadier Hughes.The memory of Glyn Hughes, who died in1973 at the age of 81, lives on at the Collegethrough the Glyn Hughes prize for Science,awarded each year at Prize Giving.CCF member Holly Brook at the award ceremony4

Juniors go WildeIn briefParents, staff and students packed BigSchool to the rafters in May for aproduction of Oscar Wilde’s The Importanceof Being Earnest.A cast of 20 M4 and U4 students gave alively interpretation of the Victoriancomedy of manners, with an outstandingperformance in the lead role by MarkTampin as Jack Worthing.Polished acting from Ben Scarles asAlgernon Moncrieff, Becky Pearson asGwendolen Fairfax, Olivia Moore as LadyBracknell and Jo Boddy as the prettyward Cecily Cardew, supported by the stagemanagement of Raj Sahni and aA scene from the highly successful junior playStudents, teachers and other members of theCollege Community supported the mobile blooddonor unit that visited the College this term. Atotal of 65 pints were collected, and included inthat were 23 new donors. The mobile unit comesto the College twice a year -the next visit will bein October - and its medical staff are alwaysimpressed with the number of donors attending.“We are invited to a number of schools throughoutthe county and are always delighted by the supportwe receive from Epsom College” said Beverley Casey,Donor Care Supervisor. Picture shows BeverleyCasey with first time donor Tom Bowman, L6thsuperb set design made for a highlysuccessful production.Directors Rod Wycherley and L6thformer Baileigh Walsh took full advantageof the enhanced technical specifications ofBig School in the first drama to be stagedin the newly refurbished building. The newseating arrangements allowed the audienceto be seated at round tables to evoke atearoom setting, with maids from the castserving refreshments.“I am immensely proud of both the castand crew for what was a challenging, butultimately wonderfully successful,performance,” said Rod Wycherley.•This year’s M4/U4 Dodd PublicSpeaking Competition proved to be aclose and hard fought contest. The M4prize went to Patrick Rutledge (F), TomFlynn (R) and Caroline Small (W), whoentertained the audience with a talk onThe Man Who Married a Goat.The U4 contest was won by a teamcomprising Olivia Moore (Cr), Ali Al-Fekaiki (Rn) and Victoria Harper (Rv),who spoke on the topic of Love.Guest adjudicator, Ralph Ullmann, aformer history scholar at TrinityCollege, Cambridge, said thecompetition was of a remarkably highstandard - the rival of the very finestpublic speaking he had heard fromstudents of this age.The next 6th Form Dodd PublicSpeaking Competition will be held onthe 13th November, when theadjudicator will be OE Lord Carlile.*****•Bursars from all corners of the countrygathered at Epsom College in April tocelebrate the 75th Anniversary of theIndependent Schools’ BursarsAssociation (ISBA).It was fitting that Epsom Collegeshould host the event as the first everISBA lunch was held on April 26th 1932at the College’s former London offices.To mark this special occasion, over 70attendees enjoyed exchanging views andideas over lunch. Remarkably, delegatesrepresenting most of the schools thatattended the first meeting were present.*****•A star-struck junior member of theEpsom College Community has launchedhimself on the celebrity circuit with apolished performance in the ITV seriesThe Bill.Baby Davey, son biology teacher GabbieJerrit, appeared in a recent episode of thetop police drama playing baby Alex in a“babies for sale” storyline.Gabbie’s husband, Ben, is an assistantdirector on The Bill and when a youngbaby was needed for a dramatic role,Davey, who was only five months old atthe time, fitted “the bill” perfectly!5

Rifle team stays on topThe College Rifle Team has again had asuperbly successful season this summer.David Nuthall enjoyed a successful tour ofSouth Africa with the GB U19 team anddespite being the youngest member, he wasthe team’s top scorer.The term started with victory inthe Country Life Trophy, the seventh win in11 years by the College team in thisnational competition.Following this success, the team enjoyedsuperb results at their Bisley camp, winningthe Malvern Cup for the seventh consecutiveyear. Oliver Stewart recorded a topindividual score of 100.13/100.20 – afantastic performance for a U4.In the Ibis Open Meeting shot during thecamp, 14 Epsom pupils competed against 40adults. David Nuthall won the short rangeaggregate, dropping just one point overthree ranges, while Sam Harley was the topEpsom shot in the aggregate with a score of242/250.Victory followed in the ClaytonChallenge, with second places in the Surreyand London & Middlesex Championships.Highlight of the season thus far was therecent Sawyer Cup match, where Epsom sawDining withthe boysIT director Chris Davies and his wife Annwere among the guests at a recent dinner inLondon held as part of England rugbyinternational Simon Shaw’s Benefit Year.Also in attendance were former Englandcaptains Martin Johnson and LawrenceDallaglio and former Scotland captain KennyLogan.Chris and Ann arrived armed with a bag fullof England rugby shirts, Epsom Collegesports shirts and a number of the College’sorange rugby stress balls and “press ganged”the four star guests into a signing session.The signed merchandise will be auctionedat future Epsom College events to raise fundsfor charities supported by the College and tosupport sports tours organised for pupils.The College Rifle Team with coach James Postle celebratewinning the National Country Life Trophy for the seventhtime in 11 years.off hard competition from WellingtonCollege, Oratory and Cheltenham College towin the Trophy for the 11th time in 12 yearsand take gold and bronze in the Cadet Pairand gold and silver in the Reserved Pairs.In the individual event, 5th formerBenjamin Newman took the gold and 6thformer Harry Ball the silver.The season’s finale will take place on 19thJuly when Epsom defends the AshburtonShield that it won last year for the tenth timein 17 years.More golfing successfor Blease familyStar golfer, Lauren Blease (U6th) recentlycame 4th in the South of England SchoolsGolf Championships to qualify for theNational Schools Championships to be heldin Walsall later this year.Earlier in the term, Lauren, who onlytook up golf two years ago, won theHandicap Cup at the Surrey Girls GolfChampionships held at West Byfleet GolfClub. Competing in the Girls Handicaptrophy, she played 15 shots under herhandicap for the 36-hole tournament.Lauren is continuing the family traditionas her brother Gareth was recently selectedfor the Wales U16 golf squad.England callup for EboniAfter a series ofimpressiveperformancesfor the EnglandA team againstNew Zealandand Australia,OE EboniBeckford-Chambers hasbeen called upto the EnglandOpen Netballsquad.Eboni Beckford-Chambers is makingwaves in the netball worldEboni, a first year law student at BristolUniversity, represented England at U17and U19 levels during her time at theCollege and is currently a member of TeamBath, which recently completed anunbeaten season to clinch the NetballSuper League title.She recently went on tour with theEngland U21 team to Malawi and is aimingto secure a place at the World YouthChampionships in 2009 and theCommonwealth Games in 2010.Lauren Blease with the Surrey Girls Handicap Golf Cup6

College gives fitness the personal touchThe College’s impressive, new, state-of-theartMulti-Gym and Fitness Studio will openits doors to the public for the first time thisSeptember.Although primarily for the use ofstudents, both the gym and fitness studiowill be made available for use by localresidents during morning and eveningsessions.“This is an excitingdevelopment and willenable individuals orgroups to use thesewonderful facilities onan exclusive basis,” saidSports Centre ManagerDean Cox.Sports Centre Manager Dean Cox islooking forward to welcoming thepublic to the new fitness suiteResearch by the College has identified aniche in the fitness market to develop thepersonal trainer zone, where trainers canwork with clients in an exclusive, personalsetting. Initially, therefore, the gym will beoffered for hire to personal trainers.In addition, it is hoped that small localgroups will make use of the new sprungflooredFitness and Dance Studio, which isdue to open in mid-September. Exerciseclasses will be offered by the College, whilstothers will be run by outside organisations.The studio is ideal for aerobic classes,martial arts, the over 50s or other groupsrequiring a private setting.The new facilities feature high tech fitness equipmentCooking up a stormOE David Cook, last year’s College Athleticsand Rugby Captain, has kept himself busyduring the winter months of his first year atExeter University.Competing in the Welsh U20 IndoorAthletics Championship, David won thelong jump at a distance that was greater thanTeachingthe teachersEpsom College was selected this term as thevenue for one of a series of advanced rugbycoaching courses for teachers organised bythe Rugby Football Union in association withthat of the senior competition winner.On the strength of this outstandingperformance, he was selected to competefor the Welsh senior team against England,Scotland and Ireland.Next on the agenda for “Cookie” is theUK U20 Championships in July.the Daily Mail and rugby equipmentmanufacturer Rhino.The course, held on 26th June 2007,featured a series of practical workshopsessions conducted by Tony Diprose, aformer England international and BritishLion and Assistant Academy Manager atNEC Harlequins, Paul Westgate, HeadCoach of England Universities, and RFUSuperteamsmeet rugbysuperstarSteve Thompson with the captain of the winning DanesHill girls teamHundreds of young athletes had the chanceto meet England rugby legend SteveThompson when they competed at theEpsom College Superteams competition.Over 400 boys and girls from 22 prepschools had the opportunity to talk to worldcup winner “Tommo,” who was watching andpresenting prizes as the annual Superteamsevent celebrated its 30th anniversary.The boys’ U9 competition was won byMilbourne Lodge from Claygate, whileYateley Manor from Hampshire won thegirls’ event. In the U11 category, Cobhamschool Parkside took the boys’ competition,with Danes Hill School from Oxshottwinning the girls’ event. The U13 boys’trophy went to Milbourne Lodge and thegirls’ trophy to Feltonfleet, Cobham.The overall winner of the boys’competition was Parkside, while Danes Hillwon the girls’ event. St Andrew’s fromWoking took the Small Schools’ Shield for thefourth year running.Regional Rugby Development Officer JoMartin. Indoor presentations were also givenon doping in sport and schools of rugby.Sixteen one-day courses are being held attop clubs and schools around the countrythis summer as part of an RFU initiativedesigned to help rugby masters from stateand independent schools to improve theircoaching techniques.7

College athletes set the standardThe College athletics team has had a highlysuccessful season, with its colours loweredonly once in matches against schools from allover the south of England.The term commenced with the Gommeand Goddard Cups, a relatively low-levelmeeting at Epsom against Dulwich,Eastbourne and St John’s. Epsom duly wonthe fixture, while on the same day the girlssuccessfully competed against Cranleigh andEastbourne.The following week the boys’ teamtravelled to the Bracknell Stadium to competein the Homfray Davis Shield against Eton,Marlborough, Stowe, Highgate andWellington. Despite the windy conditions,some fine performances were recorded andEpsom again emerged victorious.At the Cholmeley Shield meeting at thebeginning of May at the Woodside Arena inWatford, a very hard fought match saw theteam win by one point over Highgate, withTrayfoot booksEngland placeFifth former Joe Trayfoot has beenselected by the RFU to be part of a 32-man squad to attend the England U18Rugby Summer Camp in Australia inAugust this year. He is one of only fourU16s to win a place in the squad.Eton, Haileybury, Forest and Stowe trailing intheir wake.The following Saturday, Epsom travelled toEton College hoping to avenge the narrowtwo-point loss in 2006 to Tonbridge in theLord Burghley Trophy. In a hard foughtmatch, Epsom again finished second toTonbridge, but beat Eton, St Paul’s,Wellington, RGS Guildford, Radley andPangbourne.At the Central Surrey Championships inMay, the Epsom boys U17s won the teamcup, Josh Li won the Drinkall Throws Cup asthe outstanding thrower in the competitionand Jo Boddy won the Neville Trophy bywinning the U17 girls 800m. As a result ofthe Central Surrey Championships, a massive34 College athletes were selected torepresent Central Surrey in the CountyChampionships on 9th June.The County Championships, held atKingsmeadow, Kingston, saw four athletesDebut Triathlon successA first venture into the demanding worldof the triathlon proved highly successful forEpsom College athletes this term.Competing in the 24-school Duke’sTrophy event at Wellington College, theEpsom team swam, cycled and ranbrilliantly to win a hatful of medals.In the Junior competition, Epsom didnot enter a team, but Joe Toomeycompeted as an individual and was acomfortable winner by over a minute.Landis Bagnall seen on his way to becoming countydiscus championbecame county champions - John Binfield inthe senior shot, Landis Bagnall in the seniordiscus, Alex Cobb in the senior javelin andGeorge Lowe in the senior triple jump. Sevenathletes finished in 2nd place in the U15 andU17 events and were selected to representSurrey in the Inter-Counties Competition atBedford on 16th June. Other athletes finishedin top six positions.In the Intermediate event, Epsomswept the board with Nick Thomastaking first place, Rupert James secondand Max Denning and Leigh Cresswellequal third. Ed Mason completedthe team that won the intermediategold medal.In the Seniors, Guy James didparticularly well to come third againstsome strong opposition and helped theteam to the bronze medal position.Joe Trayfoot (left) and Chris York in their England kitBased at the Sydney Academy of Sport,the squad will play a number ofdevelopment games, before taking onAustralia Schools in an international testmatch at the end of the tour.Trayfoot's success follows that of L6thformer, Chris York, who played for theEngland U18 side over the Easter periodin internationals against Scotland, Italy,Ireland and France.A successful start for the Epsom College triathlon squad8Epsom College, College Road, Epsom, Surrey KT17 4JQ Tel: 01372 821234 Fax: 01372 821237e-mail: news@epsomcollege.org.uk web: www.epsomcollege.org.ukEdited by Corinne Munford Baines Design & Print - Tel: 01707 876555