The Salopian - Winter 2021

From the Editor
CONTENTS
Our cover photo recalls the 12th whole School Sponsored Walk
on 19th September 2021 in support of Shrewsbury House, the
youth club in Everton which Shrewsbury School set up in 1903
and has supported ever since. The Editor vividly remembers
the first of these, in September 1969, when he was a boy in
Moser’s Hall in the Lower Sixth. Then the walk was a punishing
26 miles, 14 miles from the village of Llanfyllin to Lake Vyrnwy,
followed by a 12-mile circuit of the lake, although the then
Head of Classics, Anthony Bowen, set out at 5 am with a party
of boys from Severn Hill to walk the 36 miles from Shrewsbury
to the lake, with few apparently falling by the wayside.
Writing in the last issue of The Salopian, David Gee quotes
the correspondent in Salopian Newsletter (as this organ was
then called) opining that ‘I suppose we could not do another;
but it was fun while it lasted’. The first statement has proved
to be spectacularly wrong. For the vast majority of walkers in
2021 the second was manifestly true. A change of routine is
generally welcomed by us all, but the walk, re-routed to the
Long Mynd by Nick David in 2000, offers so much more than
a diversionary break from routine, and was very evidently
appreciated as such by the pupils. Nick’s report of the walk,
the fifth he has organised, can be found on page 26.
What better symbol than the cover image for the emergence
of Salopia from the constricted, twisting and viewless
corridors of life during the pandemic into the familiar wide
vistas of normal Salopian life? And is there not something
timelessly reassuring about the changeless landscape of
that extraordinary elongated hill, the Long Mynd, woven so
deep into the Salopian consciousness? The open sky, the
clear path, the vast view and perhaps above all, the sense of
elation which a ridge walk always brings, seem to embody
the natural dynamic optimism of youth which has been so
evident over the past two years as the Salopian community
has found its path through the pandemic.
That dynamic energy is evident everywhere in this issue,
from the raw ebullient joy of Fame (captured in the adjacent
photo), through the controlled anarchy of the ever-popular
House Singing Competition (page 39), the sheer fun of House
life (pages 32-35) and, perhaps the highlight of 2021, our girl
cricketers being crowned National Champions in the 100 Ball
U18 competition (page 60).
Scattered throughout this issue are images from Shrewsbury’s
rich archive, a reminder of how even the extraordinary events
of the past two years are simply another milestone in the epic
Salopian journey, with perhaps no image more eloquent than
the pre-1882 move Site map on page 51.
On page 49 can be found Todd Rees-Pullman’s letter to his
future 80-year-old self, who is reading it in 2086. This was the
winning letter in the Schutzer-Weissmann letter prize. One
sees no reason why his grandchildren should not be attending
Shrewsbury School.
Front Cover: Sponsored Walk, September 2021 (Photo: Dr Richard Case)
Inside Front Cover: Moment of Fame, Barnes Theatre, September 2021
From the Pentagon 4
Are exams just not cricket any more? 6
Academic Life 8
Looking out, up, and around 10
Salopians and University 12
Performing and Creative Arts Outreach 14
Unlocking STEM Potential 16
Renovation of Rigg’s Hall 18
Avete 19
Valete 22
Sponsored Walk for the Shewsy 2021 26
Shrewsbury House 28
CCF Summer Camp 2021 29
Our developing Activity Programme 30
House Life 32
Drama 36
Music 38
Art 41
Notes from the Taylor Library and Archives 45
Schutzer-Weismann Letter Prize 2021 49
National Poetry Prize 50
Football 51
RSSBC 52
RSSH 54
Cricket 57
Fives 66
Tennis 68
Athletics 68
Hockey, Lacrosse and Netball 71
From the Director 72
New President 72
Old Salopian Day 72
City Drinks 73
Old Salopian Arts 73
Salopian Drivers Club 74
Old Salopian Freemasons Lodge 75
News of Old Salopians 76
The Debt to Kek 83
Sabrina 84
Old Salopian Football Club 86
Old Salopian Hunt 87
Old Salopian Golfing Society 88
Old Salopian Yacht Club 90
Old Salopian Rugby 91
Saracens 91
Old Salopian Netball 92
Publications 93
Obituaries 95
Editor
Richard Hudson
rth@shrewsbury.org.uk
Assistant Editor
Annabel Warburg
Obituaries Editor
Dr David Gee
Salopian Club
Nick Jenkins (Director)
Salopian Club, The Schools,
Shrewsbury SY3 7BA
01743 280891 (Director)
01743 280892 (Administrator)
oldsalopian@shrewsbury.org.uk
Design: Tom Sullivan
Print: www.buxtonpress.com