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ISSUE 19 • SPRING 2009 • www.epsomcollege.org.uk

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INSIDE:

Traditional Shrove Tuesday Pancake races aroundthe Chapel Trapezium (see page 3)

Baroness Sally Greengross OBE chats to 6th Form students Jaspal Chana and Victoria Harper at a reception before the 5th Form Dodd SpeakingCompetition (see page 4)

College pastry chef talks about hispassion for pastries(see page 5)

A fishy tale fromthe College’schemistry labs(see page 6)

HIGH STANDARD ATWINNERS’ CONCERT

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In support of World Book Day on 5th March,the College Library organised a special event– Drop Everything and Read (DEAR). Heldfor the first time, DEAR provided pupils andstaff with the opportunity to stop lessons andread a book of their choice for a 25 minuteslot during the day.The popular event gavethe College an opportunity to underline theimportance of reading and to encouragestudents to take pleasure in books, not leastbecause of the unquestioned connectionbetween reading and academic achievement.

Christopher Chau, winner of the advanced violin section,with Elspeth Marrow (left), winner of the intermediatetrumpet and advanced singing, and Sophie Reynolds,winner of the senior elementary singing

U6th form students celebrate their Extended Project A grade success

T hree U6th form students haveachieved top grades in a newqualification introduced to

the curriculum recently.Edward Leung Zheng, Russell

Rammagge and Charlie Weaver wereawarded A grades in the new AQAExtended Project, which theycompleted last November, havingstarted the process in their L6th year.

The Extended Project qualificationis designed to give students theopportunity to carry out independentresearch. Although there is no formalexamination, it involves the writing ofa dissertation and an oral presentationon a subject of their choice. ExtendedProject gives a graded qualification,which is the equivalent of an ASlevel, and is proving useful forOxbridge candidates or anyoneaiming at a top university.

Edward, who has just won a place to study Physiology at Oxford,wrote a dissertation with the title “Is the mind just a physical part ofthe body that can be explained byscience, or does it have a differentnature? Depending on the answer,what are the implications formodern medicine?” His interest inPhysiology was a direct result of hisExtended Project research.

Russell’s dissertation had the title “Given the rapid developmentand ever increasing funding fornanotechnology and questions aboutits safe use, is it ethically right that it is so widely used by commerceand industry?”

Charlie wrote his dissertation on“Discovering the truth about Globalwarming: Is it a threat and if so whatshould we do about it?”

Top marks innew qualification

The Instrumental Competition Winners’Concert, performed by the winners of theannual inter-house solo competition in BigSchool this term, produced a very highstandard from all age groups of musiciansand singers.

The annual inter-house solo competition,which operates as a music festival with pupilsentered in classes appropriate to their playingstandard, attracted a large entry this year.

The competition was judged by fourprofessional musicians, Dr Michael Nicholas,former organist at Norwich Cathedral andformer chief executive of The Royal Collegeof Organists, Steve Clark and teachers IainCarnegie from Reed’s School and IainDonald from Hampton School.

The overall House results put Raven infirst position with Crawfurd in second andHolman in third. Fourth position went toFayrer and Robinson took fifth.

Some 40 year 11 students werecelebrating outstanding results thisterm, having received their marks forthe IGCSE maths examination.

Although the pupils took thedemanding exam almost a year early,all gained A* or A grades with animpressive 37 achieving an A* grade.

“This is the best set of acceleratedresults ever and the pupils and theirteachers – Stephen Hibbitt and KatieSinnett – should be very proud ofthemselves.They have set a very highbenchmark for next year,” said AndyWilson, Head of Maths.

There will be no rest for the successfulpupils, however, as they have alreadystarted studying for the AS module,which they will take in the summer.

Along with many other leadingindependent schools, Epsom introducedthe IGCSE in maths, science andinformation technology because themore challenging syllabus gives pupilsa much stronger base for A level.

Epsom College is currently buckingthe national trend in science andmathematics at A level, with over 80students in the L6th opting for mathsand 50 taking physics.

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C ollege thespians were on top formthis term when they performed two

Noel Coward plays to packed houses inBig School.

The first was Blithe Spirit, one ofCoward’s most savagely funny plays,which features one of the Theatre’s classiccharacters – the medium Madame Arcati.Played irrepressibly by Carina Lindberg,she accidentally materialises the spirit ofElvira Condomine, played to devastatingeffect by Natasha Barsby.

This leads to comedy of misunderstanding

between Charles Condomine (PatrickLewis) and his second wife Ruth, playedwith great flair by first time performerRosemary Andrews, and the eventualtranslation of Ruth to the spirit worldfrom which she too reappears.

The story also involves Dr Bradman (MaxAustin) and Mrs Bradman (Lara Treherne)and the pivotal character fundamentallyresponsible for the spirit mayhem, themaid Edith (Amber-Rose Billings).

Co-produced by father and daughterpartnership, teachers Eric and Clare

In time honoured tradition, the bells of St Luke’sChapel were tolled at 4pm on 24th February tomark the start of the College’s annual ShroveTuesday Pancake race.Teams of students, teachersand support staff set off around the Chapeltrapezium, flipping their pancakes as they wentand passing the frying pan on at each corner.The winner of the inter-house junior race wasRosebery – the first time a girls’ house has wonthe event, while the intermediate winner wasFayrer and the senior winner was Robinson,which also won the overall competition. In thestaff race, the Maths Department made it a hattrick of wins, beating the Gappies into secondplace with the Catering Department bringing upthe rear. Catering staff used over 500 eggs, 72pints of milk and 72 pounds of flour to make atotal of 2,500 pancakes for the day, which wereenjoyed by the 1,000 plus members of the EpsomCollege community during lunch

FAR LEFT: Madame Acarti gets more than shebargained for in her seance. Left to right: CarinaLindberg (Madame Acarti), Lara Treherne (MrsBradman), Max Austin (Dr Bradman), RosieAndrews (Ruth) and Patrick Lewis (Charles)LEFT: “The shade, spirit or ghost, or whatever youcall it, of my first wife, Elvira” (Natasha Barsby)

Outstanding performances at IGCSE

Huxter, the production combined thetalents of technical director and setdesigner, Alex Hughes, with spectacularuse of pyrotechnics and special effects inthe closing seconds of the play.

The second play was The Vortex, Coward’sfirst West End success and the least“Cowardesque” of all his plays – serious,gutsy and challenging. It starred EmilyNewey as Florence Lancaster and TomBurgess as her talented, but over-sensitiveand drug-addicted son, Nicky. Othersubstantial parts were played by PollyNorkett (Helen), Max Dialdas (Pawnie),Anna Hurley (Clara), Peter McCallum(Tom) and Celine Klein (Bunty).

Seb Isherwood (Florence’s husbandDavid), Josh Small (Mr Fairlight) and theirrepressible Andreas Demetriou (Preston,the Butler) also printed their individualinterpretations upon the three cameo roles.

Celebrating their success, the 40 College students who gained A* or A in their IGCSE exams

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The ever-popular 5th form DoddSpeaking Competition, adjudicated thisyear by Baroness Sally Greengross OBE,attracted a bumper audience of parents,pupils and staff to Main Hall on Tuesday10th March.

Before the start of the competition,Baroness Greengross, head of a

government think-tank on longevity anda Commissioner for the Equality andHuman Rights Commission, gave a brieftalk on her work at the House of Lordsand fielded questions from the floor.

Thirty students then spoke eloquentlyon a range of subjects demonstrating theexcellence of public speaking at the

College.Topics ranged from the warbetween the sexes to the perils ofstereotyping, the pressures of celebrityand the truth about sharks!

Baroness Greengross was highlyimpressed by the standard of thepresentations and decided to award jointfirst place to two groups who made a hugeimpression for very different reasons.

Seb Isherwood, Debbie Mack and Max Mayhew spoke with insight andsensitivity about the ethical and moralimplications of the media coverage ofthe “passion” of Jade Goody.

Joshua Allen, Caroline Small and WillBrown gave a lively demonstration of the art of hip-hop, with an originalcomposition written for the event, andthen examined the values and impact ofthe youth culture associated with thatkind of music.

T he College opera, Hansel and Gretel, was performed to packed houses over two

nights in Big School at the end ofterm and once again illustrated thedepth of musical talent at Epsom.

Directed by Stephen Oliver,with Graeme Lodge as MusicalDirector, the College’s productionof Humperdinck’s classic placedthe action in a contemporarysetting. Excellent casting sawElspeth Marrow in the part ofHansel and Jessica Tetley as Gretel.

There were fine performancestoo from Laura Frazer as themother and Richard Trépant as the father.The opera followed theEuropean traditional of casting the Witch with a male voice,with Liam Anderson taking thecharacter tenor part. In supportingroles, the Sandman (SophieSachak), the Dew Fairy (CamillaGreen) and a host of protectiveangels and lost children combinedvisual and musical artistry to bringthe stage to life.

“Embarking on an opera withpupils is always a rewardingexperience, particularly as, onceagain, we prudently only selectedthe work after the auditions,trying to choose a piece thatwould accommodate all thosewho wanted to play a part in it.At these auditions it was clearthat we had a hugely talentedcast and in rehearsal they haverisen to the enormous challengeof this work. All credit to them,”said Graeme Lodge.

Packed housesfor school opera

STUDENTS IMPRESS AT DODD SPEAKING COMPETITION

LEFT: The Lost Childrenexpress gratitude fortheir salvationBELOW: Liam Andersonas the Witch

The winning teams with Baroness Greengross, (left to right) Debbie Mack,Sebastian Isherwood, Max Mayhew, Joshua Allen,Will Brown and Caroline Small

A t first sight it is hard tomake a connection betweenJohn Chapman and Marie

Antoinette, but the College’srecently appointed pastry chefwould certainly agree with theFrench queen’s sentiments: Letthem eat cake!

John was destined to work infood. From a young age hedeveloped a passion for baking –along with a sweet tooth – andremembers helping his mother inthe kitchen making puddings andcakes for the family.

The longest serving member ofstaff in the College kitchens, Johnleft his home town of Washington,Tyne and Wear, some 20 years agoto come to Epsom in search of ajob. He started work at the Collegein 1988 as a live-in kitchen porter.

Keen to progress and make acareer for himself, John wasencouraged and supportedby the College to follow acatering course at NESCOT.Takingone day a week out from his job inthe kitchens to study, he gained anNVQ Level 1 in Catering and thenwent on to obtain Levels 2 and 3 atMerton College.

Having caught the catering bug,and enjoying the buzz of working ina professional kitchen, John wantedto specialise and develop his love ofpastries. He has developed a talent

for creating desserts and cakes thattaste as good as they look and wasdelighted to be appointed pastrychef in January 2009.

From his chef’s station in thebowels of the College kitchens, hebakes the pastries that students,parents and visitors enjoythroughout the year. Everything ishomemade and has a wholesometaste that brings back memories ofcakes granny used to make.

Some of John’s specialitiesinclude lemon, ginger, chocolateand cherry farmhouse cakes, fruitcrumbles and his acclaimedmillionaire’s shortbread.

The future looks sweet for Johnand he is determined to take hisrole further. One day a week, hereceives catering tutorials fromHospitality Industry Training (HIT)

and is planning to study formore qualifications. “I wouldlike to focus on chocolate andsugar craft to develop my ideas

and hopefully bake celebration cakesfor College functions,” he said.

Six College porters will soon betraining with John and he will havethe opportunity to inspire others tofollow in his footsteps. Supportedby the College, they will commencetraining for their NVQ Level 1shortly and, like John, will behoping to make their way throughthe ranks.

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Passionateabout Press Officer Corinne Munford talks to the College’s pastry chef John Chapman

ABOVE: The future looks sweet for pastry chef John Chapman TOP RIGHT: A selection of John’s creations

Eight enterprising College students from the current 5thand 6th forms are undertaking a sponsored bike ride thissummer to raise funds for children’s cancer charity CLICSargent.They plan to cover the 211 miles from London toParis in three days starting on July 17th.Their aim is togenerate at least £10,000 and they have already receiveddonations totalling over £2,500. Students taking part areHelena Mortimer, Lucas Smith-Muller, Rory Cook, MarkTampin, Harriet Askew, Jack Gospage, Ross Malcolm andJames Cramp.They will be joined on the trip by mathsteacher Graham Kennedy. Further information about theride and details about how to sponsor the team areavailable at www.justgiving.com/epsomcollege

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TEACHERS’ PETS

C hemistry teacher Nick Payne hassomething of a passion for marine fish

and is only too happy to share his hobbywith like-minded enthusiasts.

A 300 litre marine aquarium takes pride of place in one of the chemistry labs. Notonly does it provide a focal point, but it alsogives students the opportunity to join theunique College Fish Keeping Club and learnsomething about the science of aquariummaintenance.

The “Epsom College Nemo Marine Reefand Aquarium” was purchased with fundsprovided by the Dr Bernard Sully Trust in2004, a year after the Disney animated filmFinding Nemo put marine fish in the spotlight.

Nick has amassed a vast knowledge of

marine fish and keeps a number of interestingspecies in his aquatic family, including thespectacular Clown fish,Yellow and RegalTangs, the elusive Mandarin fish and thehardworking Cleaner Shrimp.

A native of the warm waters of the Indianand Pacific oceans, it is not hard to see howthe Clown fish came by its name as its vividcolouring immediately brings the painted faceof a clown to mind.There is nothing funnyabout its antics, however.The Clown fish canbe aggressive and will go to great lengths toprotect its territory.

Similar in size and disposition, the YellowTang, a bright yellow fish with a protrudingsnout, and the Regal or Blue Tang come fromthe central and south Pacific seas and are

particularly well suited to the intermediatelevel marine aquarist.

The Mandarin fish or “tropical jewel,” is alsonative to the Pacific and prefers to remainhidden from view, only emerging from thesecurity of the coral and rocks at feedingtime when it feasts on frozen shrimps.

Last but not least, the CleanerShrimp is the unsung hero ofthe aquarium. As its namesuggests, it is a highly effective

scavenger that helps to keep theaquarium clear of uneaten debris. It is

also able to clean parasites from fellowmembers of the reef community.

Keeping the aquarium in tip top conditionis essential for the health of the fish andscience plays a large part in goodmaintenance. Computer-controlled pH levels are essential to maintain the correctacidic/alkaline balance and a constanttemperature of 27°C needs to be maintained.An ultra-violet sterilising system is used tokeep the tank free of pathogens and asophisticated lighting system is controlled byan automatic timer.

Although the water in the aquarium isconstantly filtered, 10 gallons are removedand replaced every two weeks with asolution of distilled water and salt.

With all the hard work and attention todetail that a marine aquarium requires, whathappens when Nick goes on holiday?

“There is no shortage of volunteers” saidthe dedicated fish keeper.

Hooked on fish!Nick Payne and theNemo Marine Reefand Aquarium

NEWS BRIEFSEnterprising 6th form students from

the College’s Young Cooperative were ableto spread a little happiness for Valentine’sDay and at the same time raise money forcharity. Staff and pupils supported theinitiative by buying red roses from the YoungCooperative for their Valentines. Over 100orders were taken for both single roses andbouquets. Monies raised from the schemewill go to the Landarini Trust to help orphans in Malawi.

Some 84 College computers that have become surplus to requirements weredespatched to Africa recently to assist inICT development in the country’s schools.

Representatives from Computers for Africa, a non-profit, publicly-supportedcorporation, collected the computers,keyboards and ancillary equipment, whichthe IT Department had removed from theCollege’s basement server room.

The College wasfortunate this term tohost BBC news presenterSophie Raworth, whoentertained a packedMain Hall talking abouther life in the broadcast

media.The event was organised by thePolitics department with the assistance of TVpresenter Jonathan Maitland, who is an OldEpsomian. Sophie is the main presenter of the

BBC’s News at One on Tuesday to Friday andregularly appears on other news programmes,including the flagship News at Ten.

Schoolchildren inBosnia-Herzegovinawere delighted toreceive a consignmentof surplus schooluniform and sportsclothing donated byEpsom College to helpneedy organisations inthe country.The clothing

was shipped to a school in Bosanska Krupaby the Balkan Aid Relief Foundation (BARF),a charity that provides aid to disadvantagedschools in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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Over 1000 youngsters were thrilledto meet French rugby star Serge Betsen(above) at the finals of the NationalSchools Rugby Tournament (NSRT)held at Epsom College on Sunday 1st

March.The London Wasps flanker,who has been capped 63 times byFrance, was on hand to present thetrophies at the premier rugby eventin the prep school calendar.TVpersonality Piers Morgan (inset) also made a cameo appearance,supporting Thomas’s Clapham in theU8 tag contest, while former Surreyand England cricketer Ally Browntook time out to watch his sonperform in the same competition.Throughout the day Serge Betsenanswered questions and signedautographs for the young – and somenot so young – rugby enthusiasts.He also raffled a signed Wasps shirtand two international tickets to raise money for his personal charity,the Serge Betsen Academy, whichsupports underprivileged children inCameroon, the country of his birth.

S ome 31 L6th form girls competedfor the Hendelah Waley Memorial

Cup this term – a record entry.The annual event, which is growing in

popularity, is open to all girls in theL6th form and sees competitors testtheir sporting abilities in a number ofdisciplines, including netball, hockey,swimming, rowing, gym tests and agility.

With some notable individualperformances, the overall standard thisyear was excellent, with all the girlsentering into the spirit of thecompetition and enjoying themselves.

Headmaster Stephen Borthwickpresented the winner’s cup to a delightedWendy Sun, who won three of theindividual events and scored an impressive82.5 points. In second place with 73.5points was Rebecca Kjaedegaard and avery close third was Lottie Mungavinwith a score of 72.5. Fourth place wentto Anna Hurley with 58 points and fifthto Lowri Needham with 49 points.

The competition is held every year inmemory of Hendelah Waley, a talented,all-round sportswoman, who sadly diedwhilst in the 6th form at Epsom College.

SPORTS BRIEFSFencing ace Gaurav Gupta won a

gold medal at the Indian NationalFencing Championships held recently inImphal, the capital city of the north eastIndian state of Manipur.The U6th former,who is a member of the College fencingteam, was invited to participate in thechampionships by the Fencing Authorityof India. Despite being the youngestcompetitor there, Gaurav put in a strongperformance to take the gold medal inthe men’s foil individual event.

Reflecting the strength of RifleShooting at Epsom College, NickBeesley, Peter Slater and Charles Rivett-Carnac have been selected forthe Athelings team to tour Canada laterthis year as part of the British CadetRifle Team – the third year in a row thatEpsom has had three candidates selected.

College golf star David Boote willbe the youngest member of the SurreyMen’s 1st team to play against Berks,Bucks and Oxon over the Easterweekend.The 15 year old U4 studentwas selected for the senior team byCounty coach Hugh Marr after comingfirst in a skills test/course competition ata Surrey Tournament Squad session inMarch. He will be one of the youngestplayers ever to represent the county atsenior level. David has also been namedcaptain of the Surrey U16 golf team forthis season’s matches against five othercounty sides.

Former Epsom College 1st XVcaptain George Lowe scored a try on hisdebut for the England U20s in a recentmatch against Ireland U20s at DubarryPark in Athlone. Another Old Epsomian,Chris York, who scored a try in theEngland U20s’ 28-16 win against Wales,also played in the Ireland match and the 17-0 victory over Italy in the firstmatch of the RBS Six Nations campaign.

• 5th former Ben Francis has beenselected for the Scotland U17 rugbysquad.

Record turnout for Hendelah Waley memorial cup

ABOVE: A record 31 L6th form girls took part in

the competition INSET: Headmaster Stephen Borthwick

presents the winner’s cup to Wendy Sun

8Epsom College, College Road, Epsom, Surrey KT17 4JQ • Tel: 01372 821234 • Fax: 01372 821237 • e-mail: news@epsomcollege.org.uk

web: www.epsomcollege.org.uk • Editor: Corinne Munford • Design: Deborah Reader • Print: Summit Print

T he continuing strength of netballat the College is reflected in thenews that for the second year

running the girls’ 1st VII has finishedunbeaten in their regular fixtures.

A combination of hard work onfitness and technique has resulted in theteam gelling and producing outstandingresults week after week against some ofthe best competition in the south east.

“The 1st team have had a verysuccessful season, remaining unbeatenin their Saturday fixtures,” said 1st team coach Natasha Wilson. Notableperformances were against King’sCanterbury, where they won 24-13,Eastbourne winning 36-24, BrightonCollege 28-21, Sevenoaks 20-18 andWellington 38-20.

Indeed, not only have the senior sidesenjoyed success this season, but all thenetball teams have continued to growin stature and confidence. Dedicationto training and excellent team spirit hasresulted in some notable victories.

This total determination wasdemonstrated at the end of term withthe block fixture against EastbourneCollege.The Epsom girls won all oftheir 14 fixtures with some impressivescores – the 2nd VII winning by 44-13and the U16 A side playing their bestmatch of the season to win 30-14.

The junior sides have consistentlyimproved during the term showinggreat promise for the future. A homematch against Wellington in March sawthe U14A team return a 23-13 win.

The College boys’ 1st V squash teamwon the Roehampton InvitationalTournament this term, retaining thetrophy they won last year. Qualifyingrounds saw the team put in a numberof great performances to defeat strongteams from leading independentschools including Winchester. In thesemi-final Epsom whitewashed StPaul’s 5-0, before going on to winthe final against Harrow by the same score.The College V (pictured)comprised U6th formers Matthew Costain and Rishi Naik, Lewis Kuhler fromthe L6th and 5th formers Jonathan Malynn and Chris Parkinson

SPORTS BRIEFSJoe Toomey took first place in the

U19 Pat Bagnall Trophy Cross Country race held on Parliament Hill and organisedby Highgate School this term, beating a very strong field. Joe could have competedas an intermediate throughout this season,thereby almost certainly increasing hisindividual medal haul, but chose, for the sake of the team, to run as a senior, makingthis victory all the more noteworthy.TheCollege senior team finished 3rd overall in the competition.

Max Denning won the gold medaland the championship title at theHeadmaster’s Conference IndependentSchools Judo Championships held at theHigh Wycombe judo centre this term.Competing in the under 90kg category ofthe over 16 age group, Max managed towin all his fights in under a minute againstcompetitors from other independentschools including Harrow,Winchester and St Paul’s.

Competing attheir first countycompetition at theSurrey FencingChampionships inMarch, both DarrenTai and Peter Wilkincame away withhonours, 5th formerDarren achievingsecond place in theU18 year group andU4 student Petercoming third in theU16 group.

The girls’ 1st VII rugby team lost outnarrowly to SEEVIC College in the final of the Sussex Open Sevens at Christ’sHospital. Having seen off Pangbourne (7-5) and Oaklands (28-0) in the groupstages, the Epsom girls stormed to a 29-7quarter final victory over ChichesterCollege before coming from behind in thesemi-final to beat King’s Macclesfield 14-5.The final was a close run thing, withSEEVIC leading 10-5 at half time before aconverted try early in the second half putEpsom in front. It looked like the trophywas in the bag until a spell of pressure sawSEEVIC break through in the last minuteto secure a 15-12 victory.

The victorious 1stVII netball squad

Darren Tai

At the top of their game