The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

42 SCHOOL NEWS
hugely grateful for the warm welcome
we received from the Ethiopian athletes
and the town itself. Greeted with
cheers of ‘Farangi!’ wherever we went
(‘foreigner’) there was sheer delight
in the faces of the town’s residents
(especially the children) whenever we
ran past them. This is a rarely-visited
part of Africa where foreigners are very
rarely seen. Yet there was no hostility,
only hospitality of the very best sort.
It was an eye-opener for our students
to see a town where horse and cart is
the main form of transport, and where
electricity cannot be relied upon (one
of my favourite memories of the tour
was eating a version of what we might
call ‘pizza’ in candlelight following
a whole-town blackout, listening to
the mellifluous jazz of Charlie Parker
from one of the boy’s iPods). We saw
- both in Ethiopia and Kenya - a level
of ambition and determination that is
rarely seen in the western world. They
have so little, yet dream big. There is
an incredible belief that anything is
possible. That hunger to succeed is
contagious and the young Salopians on
our tour were moved and inspired by
the people who they met.
Perhaps most memorable and inspiring
of all was our visit to the Restart Centre
in Gilgil, home to just over 100 orphans
and street children from the surrounding
area. Set up by Mary Coulson in 2008
in the aftermath of horrific post-election
violence, this is a quite remarkable
place. It was the third time I had
personally visited the Centre and each
time I have left feeling humbled and
inspired in equal measure by both Mary
and the Restart children. Many have
been subjected to the most appalling
At the Restart Centre
violence and abuse, many have had that
most basic need - a mother and father
who love them - taken from them. Yet
these are some of the happiest, vibrant,
and resilient young boys and girls you
are ever likely to meet. Now housed in
an impressive new facility in Langalanga,
somebody has made sure that the
Centre’s motto has been repainted on
the walls of the new building - “Think
Not What You Are, But What You Can
Become”. It was a message that our
Hunt runners took to heart, and I have
no doubt that their experiences in East
Africa over half-term will not only stay
with them for a lifetime, but impact
upon who they will become. The eleven
boys and two girls who travelled with
us were a great credit to the School and
were terrific company throughout the
trip. It was an absolute privilege to take
them there.
Third Form Race
Looking further back to the start of
the School year, the Michaelmas term
got off to a flying start with the annual
Third Form Race on the first weekend
in September. This year’s race was set to
be a cracker with many assembling on
the startline having already shown their
mettle in Shrewsbury’s Prep Schools’
Cross-Country Championships. We were
quietly optimistic that this could be
something of a ‘vintage’ year group, and
we weren’t to be disappointed.
At the Huntsman’s rallying cry of “All
Hounds who wish to run - run hard,
run well, and may the Devil take the
hindmost!” there was a stampede of
runners sprinting towards the Moss
Gates in an attempt to establish an
early lead. With Huntsman Oscar
Dickins (joint Huntsman this year with
Ben Remnant) running as ‘hare’, it
was Severn Hill’s Sam Western who
unsurprisingly emerged at the front of
the pack by the Maidment Building. In
the chasing pack, amongst others, was
Sam’s former classmate from Birchfield
Lilian Wilcox who was comfortably
leading the girls’ race. These were leads
that both Sam and Lilian held for the
entire race with Sam coming home for
his first ‘kill’ in a swift time of 8.16 over
the Benjies course, nearly 30 seconds
ahead of Thomas Jackson (Rigg’s) in
2nd with a time of 8.44 and Severn
Hill’s Leo Walton in 3rd (8.48). Lilian’s
winning time of 9.29 placed her 13th
overall in the field - an outstanding
achievement - with Laura Elliot of The
Grove in 2nd (10.28) and Mary Lees of
Emma Darwin Hall just behind in 3rd
with a time of 10.34. The team event
was won by Rigg’s Hall for the second
year in a row with Emma Darwin Hall
being crowned victors in the girls’ event.
The times across the board were very
swift indeed, and compared to previous
years suggests that the years ahead for
the Hunt look very promising indeed.
We are beginning to see the fruits of the
Prep Schools’ Championships where
many who compete in our event are
keen to join the School and our special
running club.