The Salopian Summer 2023

From the Editor
CONTENTS
On page 36 you will find a map of the Site as it was just before
the School moved up from the town in 1882, a decision as
controversial at the time as any which have followed, but now
seen as a necessary and positive step in the ever-unfolding
story of Shrewsbury School. The map repays close analysis.
At its heart, then as now, is the euphemistically-named ‘House
of Industry’, the former Victorian workhouse, a name equally
suited to its present function. At its extremities are the twin
temptations of the ever-vibrant Boathouse Inn and the long
defunct Beehive Inn, the last now only remembered in the
name of the lane on which it once stood. At the southern
extremity of the new Site were the Smokers’ trees, the presentday
location of two trees, one a replacement, and the Senior
cricket scorebox, so named, not because they provided cover
for wayward schoolboys, but because that was where the
Masters, who by convention did not smoke on the Site, could
retire to enjoy their pipes. To judge from the number of paths
radiating from it, it was, also, at least until 1882, something of a
Piccadilly Circus.
One wonders what the Site looked like when the School
picked up its bags and moved. 141 years later parts of the
Site not needed for other purposes are being returned to their
natural state in a rewilding project spearheaded by the Eco-
Committee and Biology Departments, whose work you can
read about on page 27. The image below shows the incipient
wildflower meadow leading down to the architecturallyunloved
but perennially-serviceable Kingsland Hall (‘KH’),
erected in 1969, when I was in the Upper Fifth Form (as it was
then called), to enable the surprisingly uncontroversial move
from what was then unceremoniously known as House to
Central ‘feeding’.
The trees have long been celebrated as one of the crowning
glories of the Site, but with the development of a pollinators’
garden, new wildflower meadows, the ubiquitous squirrels,
and recent reports that the Site is becoming a refuge for swifts,
whose populations are in rapid decline, it is good to see the
School as a haven for a different kind of wildlife - not just of
the adolescent human variety. The continued inspiring work of
the beekeepers, Eco-committee and all those whose efforts are
focused on, in their own words, ‘sharing our space with nature’
is to be congratulated.
Wildflower meadow leading down to Kingsland Hall
Front Cover: Pipped to the post
Inside Front Cover: Podium joy
(Photos: Dr Richard Case)
From the Editor 3
From the Pentagon 4
Learning in a World of AI 7
Breaking Cultural Barriers 8
A Tribute to Huw Peach 9
School Prizewinners 2023 12
Scholarships Awarded for 2023 Entry 13
Leavers’ Address 14
Queen Elizabeth Hall 15
Building Bright Futures 16
I.T. at Shrewsbury 18
Economics is not just about Money 22
McEachran Prize 24
Junior School Essay Prizes 2023 25
Sharing our Space with Nature 27
Biology Photo Competition 29
Academic News 32
Notes from the Archives and Taylor Library 34
Notes from the Moser Library 38
Shrewsbury’s first International School in India 39
Drama and Dance 40
The John Weaver Dance Festival 43
Music 44
Art 51
CCF 55
ShrewMUN VII 55
Restart Africa 56
Thursday Afternoon Activities 59
Volunteering 60
Scottish Islands Peaks 2023 62
Football 64
Rugby 68
Fives 71
RSSBC 74
RSSH 77
Hockey 79
Lacrosse 80
Netball 80
Simms Trophy 80
View from the Boundary Crossword 81
From the Director 82
Vale Nick Jenkins 83
News and Events 83
Silk Roads and Song Cycles 88
Salopian Drivers’ Club 89
Old Salopian Freemasons Lodge 90
News of Old Salopians 90
100 Years Ago 99
Old Salopian Hunt 101
Sabrina 102
Old Salopian Golfing Society 104
Old Salopian Squash 106
Old Salopian Football 107
Old Salopian Rugby 107
Publications 108
Obituaries 110
Salopian Club Contacts 123
Salopian Club Forthcoming Events
Editor
Richard Hudson
rth@shrewsbury.org.uk
Assistant Editor
Annabel Warburg
Obituaries Editor
Dr David Gee
Salopian Club
Holly Fitzgerald (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