This year’s A-level results represent some excellent

achievements from our boys, with some notable highlights. We

are delighted with another 100% pass rate overall. Impressively,

17 boys scored straight A*/A grades across all their subjects; one

quarter of the Upper Sixth year group. Most JLS boys secured

their first choice University place. Well done to all our leavers.

A word from our Head

Miss Katherine Haynes

The Standard Newsletter and Mini-Prospectus Autumn 2011

At A-level our results put us among the

top boys’ independent schools in the

country. John Lyon’s highest Year 13

achievers were George Pearcy, Piranavan

Shasiharan, Kajen Suresparan with 3 A*

grades each. Farhaz Janmohamed,

Matthew Keliris-Thomas, Nikhil Parekh,

and Jay Vyas each achieved 2 A* grades.

At GCSE a quarter of all JLS results for our

93-strong Year 11 cohort were graded A*.

Two thirds of all results were awarded A* /

A grades, and the A* to B rate exceeded

90%. Our top Year 11 achievers include

sixteen boys who achieved six or more A*

grades. John Lyon's traditional strength in

Science is again underlined. We have

reinforced our reputation for excellence in

Drama, with an outstanding 90% of boys

taking the subject gaining an A* / A grade.

In Religious Studies, from 52 candidates,

89% gained grades A*/A. All these

excellent results continue the upward

trend of recent years and are a very

promising sign of future success as boys

prepare to embark on their Sixth Form

studies. Special congratulations go to

Stephen Bennett for achieving 10 A*

grades, and to Kishan Sheth who achieved

9 A* grades; considerable achievements.

We admire all our boys’ successes, due to

their considerable hard work, and are

immensely proud of all John Lyon’s

examination results.

On Speech Day we welcomed Mr

Barnaby Lenon, the Head Master of

Harrow School, as Guest of Honour. It was

an excellent occasion for all prize-winners

and their parents, and a fitting end to the

School year. The

message that

boys should set

their goals and

aim high is

regularly

reinforced; those

who aspire to

great things will

flourish at JLS.

The effect of the

School’s Estates

Strategy to

improve facilities

is now very noticeable, with the new

Catering Extension taking shape and due

for completion in December. Work to

convert Old Building into the new Sixth

Form Centre will commence in January,

ready for the new Centre to be opened in

September 2012. The boys have heard

about the School’s plans in Assembly – do

ask them about what is happening!

We look ahead to a busy and enjoyable

Autumn Term. The forthcoming Drama

production is The Tempest, and other key

events include the Commemoration

Concert held jointly with Harrow School,

and our own Founder’s Day, on 12th

October. The sporting calendar is now

well under way for the new School year,

and we wish all our teams and

competitors well in the season ahead.

Meet a Teacher: Mr Stuart Foster Mr Foster has joined us this term as Head of Economics. He has already made an impact in the School and runs the Chess Club as an extra-curricular activity.

page two

The Standard: You have just joined us at JLS and have taken over from Mr Cobb who has been here a very long time, what new strategies or ideas will you bring to Economics?

SF: It is actually quite daunting taking over from such an established member of staff. Mr Cobb deserves a huge amount of respect for the time and energy he has put into Economics over the years. Perhaps I’ll be bringing a slightly more modern approach to economics though. I like to use the SMARTboard and mini-whiteboards for diagrams and I enjoy interactive teaching techniques, group work and quizzes. Technology is important to me and I like to encourage wider reading by pointing students to online articles from commentators such as Robert Peston and Stephanie Flanders. Finally, Economics exams are difficult because of the time pressure involved, so I’ll be working a lot on exam technique too.

The Standard: What got you into economics? What do you think of the present Economic situation?

SF: I really like the logical and rational nature of Economics. It is a subject founded on principles I consider to be fairly unobjectionable, such as: ‘people respond to incentives’ and ‘scarce things are valuable’. Economics also involves constructing arguments, thinking critically and keeping up with current affairs; these are all things I enjoy doing. Economics has never been more topical - the regulation of

the financial sector, budget cutbacks and graduate unemployment are all prominent issues in the news at the moment. I expect the UK recovery to be slow, steady and heavily influenced by the national debt crisis in the Eurozone.

The Standard: Why did you choose JLS?

SF: At my previous school, I taught Economics, Mathematics, Business Studies and the Extended Project (EPQ). I enjoyed the variety but, perhaps, I was spread too thinly. Coming to JLS has enabled me to focus on the subject that I enjoy teaching the most – Economics. That, and I hope to work with some really bright, ambitious and well-motivated boys.

The Standard: Your desert island items; favourite pack of biscuits, CD, DVD and Book?

SF: Biscuits would be Chocolate Hobnobs, CD () by Sigur Ros, Book The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir by Arthur Conan Doyle and DVD Anchorman.

The Standard: What are your passions and past times?

SF: I am an enthusiastic (but appalling) player of golf, football and cricket. Skiing is the only sport that I would consider myself to be competent at! I also enjoy less strenuous ‘sports’ such as pool, chess and poker.

The Standard: I have £500; do I (1) spend it on an antique and hope it has a high resale value in the future, (2) invest it in a cash ISA

or (3) buy stocks and shares?

SF: Until the Monetary Policy Committee put the base rate up, the rates for cash ISAs aren’t attractive enough. £500 isn’t a large enough sum to invest in a decent portfolio of shares and, especially given the recent volatility, the risk is too high. Buy yourself an attractive piece of furniture, hope for a profit and get some good use out of it in the meantime.

Greenland Expedition 2012 The JLS team will fly to Constable Point, Scoresbysund, Greenland and travel onwards to Milne Land, a small island off a nearby fjord where the team of eleven consisting of eight boys, two JLS staff and one Greenland Specialist will climb onto a glacier and trek a previously un-trekked area and summit previously unclimbed peaks in that area. The team will also undertake two projects, scientific research into ocean acidification and map areas of the glacier and peaks climbed.

JLS pupils will ask parents, friends and Old Lyonians to consider sponsoring these teams. Please give as much support to this project as possible. This is a challenging expedition which will be a major achievement for the team, its individual members and The John Lyon School.

The 2012 Greenland Expedition Team are fundraising to raise at least £45,000 needed to cover the cost of the expedition, food, clothing, accommodation and flights and would also wish to donate any excess funds to charity ‘Teenage Cancer Trust’.

In October 2011 four teams made up from Sixth Form, staff and two mountaineering teams will take part in a sponsored ‘Sledge Pull’ in Hyde Park starting at Royal Geographical Society with IBG, South Kensington. 25% of the funds raised will go to Scott Polar Research Institute www.SSS100.org to mark the centenary of Captain Robert Scott’s 1911/12 South Pole Expedition. The remaining funds will go towards The John Lyon School’s Greenland Expedition 2012.

This summer saw Year 9 boys from The John Lyon School’s Mountaineering Club attended the annual Swiss Alpine altitude climbing course in Saas Grund. The team met 4am at Heathrow Airport, and said farewell to friends and family, and under the guidance of Ardavaan Mohammadi, the Year 9 Club Chairman, joined the Swiss Air queue for the flight to Geneva. On arrival the team took a train along the scenic route following Lac Leman via Lausanne before arriving at Visp and transferred to Saas Grund by bus arriving there at 2pm where they were met by their Alpine Guide . The team decamped at Hotel Schonblick which had stunning views of the 4,000 metre peaks. There they fitted themselves out with crampons, winter boots, helmets and ice-axes in readiness for the task ahead.

The following day the team ascended to 3,400 metres to begin their instruction. The training included walking in crampons, ice axe arrest and crevasse rescue. After a busy and informative day, they were ready to return to the comfort of the hotel and the wonderful home cooking of the hotel proprietor and prepare for a mountain climb the next day.

The team were due to climb Mischabel and Nadel Horn range, however, bad weather meant a change in plans having to ascend the 3143m summit of the Mittaghorn Mountain instead. It was a tough and challenging ascent but all were in agreement that the thrill of the climb and the view made it all worthwhile. The final climb saw a delegation from the team reach the summit of Allalinhorn. This was perhaps the most stunning of all the views with Matterhorn and Mont Blanc both in view. A fantastic effort from all the team.

The past academic year has been one of the most successful ones that John Lyon has had in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme with 56 boys achieving the Bronze award, 11 boys attained the Silver award and eight boys receiving their Gold awards. This is a particularly impressive number for a school of our size.

Furthermore, 35 boys gained the Expedition Section of their Silver Award which consisted of a 48km trek with full backpacks through the Derbyshire White Peaks. The expedition challenge consisted of three days and two nights camping beginning on the 4th July 2011. The Silver course is designed to challenge and provide a wealth of experiences including a variety of weather conditions thereby preparing the pupils for their future Gold Expedition in Scotland. Teams have achieved many memorable experiences and personal character recognition which are all transferrable skills should they wish to use them.

The Great Outdoors

page three

The end of the School year and the summer holiday was an action packed affair for the School’s Mountaineering Club and the boys

taking part in DofE. Mr Durbridge, Head of Outdoor Education, gives us a round up of all the action.

Clockwise from left: Ascending the Swiss Alps, Reaching the summit , Gold DofE

Practice, Gold DofE Assessment.

Summer Art Show

Wild at Whipsnade!

page four

The Biology Department took the Year 7 boys

to Whipsnade Zoo on Tuesday 21st June.

During this visit pupils were able to explore

the zoo grounds and see a variety of animals

that are endangered. Some favourite

encounters included seeing the Meerkats,

Harris Hawks, Giraffes and Elephants. They

were also able to have the opportunity to

have a lesson in the zoo’s ‘Learning Den’

where they were taught about the zoo’s

conservation efforts and got up close with

specimens and artefacts of animals which face

extinction. Pupils were also able to learn

about the adaptions of the animals in the zoo

through small talks around the park by zoo

volunteers.

Other highlights of the day included bear

feeding, the zoo train tour and the sea lion

show. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit and

as Timothy Jolliffe (7P) put it, “we got to see

so many wonderful animals, it was an amazing

The Summer Term has been very busy in Art

this year, with boys in year 11, 12 and 13

sitting their final Art exams and completing all

coursework. We celebrated a successful year

in our End of Year Show on Wednesday 22nd

June, in the School Gallery.

The work on show represented all exam

students, with a broad range of disciplines,

including; painting, printmaking, sculpture,

architecture and fashion. The quality of work

this year was very high.

This year’s Show was well attended by

students, parents and staff who enjoyed the

evening of Art, celebrating two years of hard

work form the students. The Show can be

seen until early October in the Mall Gallery.

The John Lyon School has been delighted this year to forge even closer ties with Harrow School in the form of our newly-re-established contingent within the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Since Easter, John Lyon cadets have joined their Harrovian brothers in Parade and training every Wednesday afternoon. Recently, the relationship was formalised with signed agreements between The John Lyon School, Harrow School and our sponsoring regiment, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Pictured at the signing are (l)-(r): Major Patrick Thompson, outgoing Harrow Head Master Mr Barnaby Lennon, Harrow Rifles’ Commanding Officer Major Nick Page, Head of John Lyon Miss Katherine Haynes and Major Adrian Davies (2 i/c).

Annual Summer Camp represented an early highlight of their involvement for four John Lyon cadets. Michael Larbi, Andrew Meshreky, Mateen Mirza and William Phelan joined their Harrow colleagues for five days of rigorous day training and night exercises at Pirbright Army Training Centre in Surrey in early July. Hard work has its rewards: the cadets attending were excited to learn that the Commanding Officer Major Page had promoted them to Lance-Corporal from the start of this academic year.

CCF Signing

Sixth Form News With the focus of examinations over, the Head of Sixth Form organised a busy schedule of activities

for the boys, including Strictly Come Dancing and University Challenge!

The Lower Sixth have been strengthening links with our Partner schools. The University Challenge team that took on Heathfield School returned victorious. Before they had got to grips with their kazoos which were being used as buzzers, they found themselves 80 points down but their knowledge of art, science and literature helped them to win by fifteen points.

An invitation from North London Collegiate School saw the boys taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. After two intensive training sessions to learn the Rumba, the Jive and the Mambo, Sam Allen and his partner were the eventual winners.

Michael Burrell, OL, in his role as Chairman of the Liberal Club, addressed a group of Year 12 who had visited the Club. Not in the least intimidated by Gladstone glowering from every wall the boys much enjoyed hearing Mr Burrell’s tales as a former Head of School.

page five

The Summer has seen a lot of activity around the School. The new Catering Building is rapidly taking shape with its form being clearly

visible, the Library has been refurbished and a new ICT suite is now open. It is an exciting time for all those at the School as the first

phase of the School’s development strategy nears its completion.

Estates Strategy: Library, ICT Suite and Medical Centre newly open

Clockwise from top left: New Catering Extension taking shape; CGI

of completed Building; New ICT Suite, Old Police Station in West

Street; refurbished New Memorial Library.

Returning after the Summer holidays, the School’s new catering extension is definitely taking shape. Due to be opened in January 2012,

it will house the new food servery and a new upstairs seated dining area. Boys will be pleased to know that food provision is seen as a

priority by the School! The catering extension is a large project, and the £2 million new building will in addition improve several other

aspects of School life. An excellent refurbishment of the New Memorial Library has been possible, bringing a much improved study area

for boys of all ages. So too we now have an upgraded ICT suite with all new equipment, better ventilation and improved lighting. The

Welfare Office has also been upgraded this Summer, with the opening of a new Medical Centre in the Red House.

JLS is delighted that links with Harrow School have enabled the purchase of a new building for John Lyon on West Street. The Old Police

Station will be refurbished into an administration building, containing the Bursary, Admissions, Development and Old Lyonian Alumni

offices. There is scope for a new car park, which in due course will be a welcome benefit for Sixth Formers and staff alike. It is due to

open in 2012.

Future phases of the Estates Strategy will bring significant improvements for the Red House and Music School, as well as at Sudbury.

page six

Sindy has lived in Harrow for the past 19 years. She is currently living in West Harrow, with her partner and their

two sons Ben and Ryan, aged 9 and 10.

The Standard: What does your job at JLS entail?

SS: My role covers a wide range of duties. I organise cover for absent teachers, I deal with attendance of students and collate reports from registration and I produce deli cards and keep records of top ups. I also help the Director of ICT with the administration involved in producing student timetables and class lists.

The Standard: What is it like working in the new ICT department?

SS: I am still finding my feet in my new role as Data Manager. I have a lot more of the

School database to get used to working with but I am looking forward to the new challenge my role will bring. Fortunately I work with experienced, supportive staff in the ICT department who are willing to lend a hand and answer my many questions.

The Standard: What did you do before arriving at JLS?

SS: My job immediately before working at JLS was with an interpreting company. I co-ordinated the provision of British

Sign Language interpreters to Deaf people in the local community.

The Standard: When you were at school many years ago what were your favourite subjects? How does it differ from school life today?

SS: My favourite subjects were Maths and PE. I don’t think the teaching of Maths could have changed much over the years as the content is much the same although curriculum may have changed…….oh and I think they have invented the calculator in the mean time! PE is a subject I took at A-

Level. I have always been sporty. I captained my school football, netball, athletics and cross country teams. I played football until I finished college. Outside of school I used to play rugby for Wembley RFC youth section.

The Standard: You have recently entered yourself for the London Marathon, why? How is the training going?

SS: Training is going well but slowly. I suffered a setback during the summer due to recurrent shin pain but, I am now getting back up to speed. If I am lucky enough to gain a ballot place or a charity place I will definitely be ready by April.

The Standard: What do you do outside of work?

SS: My weekends are full of football! I manage an under 11 team and I coach an under 10 team. I have been a youth soccer coach for four seasons now and I love it. Both my sons play so it is good to be involved.

The Standard: What is your middle name?

SS: Tallulah!

Meet the Data Manager - Miss Sindy Stiles

Music Round-Up

This last term has been a particularly busy time for the music department with numerous concerts and examinations. The department

also continues its fine tradition of placing A-Level students in top university and college courses. Congratulations to Harry Thatcher on

being awarded a scholarship to study voice at the Royal College of Music and to Luke Rao on gaining a place at Liverpool Institute for

Performing Arts. Recent A-Level students have studied music at Oxford, Surrey, London Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths, Berkeley USA,

the Royal Academy of Music, Huddersfield and City.

The busy programme of concerts continued into the Summer Term. Regular informal lunchtime concerts give some of our younger

musicians valuable performing experience, and these concerts are regularly attended by pupils from Roxeth Primary, our nearest junior

school. The Summer Concert is always a highlight of the term and kicked off this year with Feels So Good – a splendid performance

from the Big Band. The Motet Choir and Male Voice Choir entertained the audience with their usual refined interpretations and our

two junior ensembles – Wednesday Winds and Junior Strings – played with great enthusiasm. The recently re-formed Chamber

Congratulations to Stephen Bennett, our John Lyon Musician of the Year. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Stephen already has a

huge amount of experience performing solos and playing in ensembles both within and outside school. He is much looking forward to

his A-Level Music course.

Drama Talent: Alex Tranter OL

page seven

Alex Tranter has been awarded a full Dance and Drama scholarship at the prestigious drama

school Italia Conti. Having just completed his A-level Drama and Theatre Studies he will now

embark on his first year of study at drama school in September. This is a huge honour and it really

is a mark of Alex’s hard work and commitment to the arts throughout his school career.

Alex has been a truly outstanding force in the Drama and Music departments at John Lyon over

the last few years. He has dedicated many hours to rehearse, perfect and polish each production

he has been involved in. He played main roles in Macbeth, A Chorus Line, Hairspray, Our Country’s

Good and Oklahoma to name but a few. To each role he has played he has brought a strong sense

of professionalism and flair. He has inspired younger students to get involved in the arts.

He is a very talented dancer and his ability to choreograph and teach others to dance has been

invaluable to the annual School Musical. He will be remembered for roles such as Link Larkin in

Hairspray and Richie in A Chorus Line with his quick moving tap dancing and vibrant presence on

stage. He has made the John Lyon Musicals what they are today.

Most of all we wish Alex every success in the future at Italia Conti. He is a brilliant performer so we are sure we will see big things in

the future.

The John Lyon School was delighted to welcome Miss Alice Watts (London Region Fundraiser) from the Teenage Cancer Trust on Thursday June 30th. She received a cheque for £15,000 on behalf of the Trust in front of the assembled School community. Since September last year boys, staff and parents have contributed to raising this magnificent sum by organising charitable events such as a 24 hour gym/swim, cake sales, sponsored word builds and mufti days. Additionally the School's Parents’ and Friends’ Association contributed a large amount following a fund-raiser and auction. The Head praised the boys and staff for their efforts in raising such a significant sum of money for a most worthy cause. One of the School's Year 12 students, Dominic Dichen, has been the recipient of much support from the Trust during the last year and he paid tribute to his peers for all their efforts.

JLS Charity: The Teenage Cancer Trust

I got into dancing at an early age; I remember watching tap dancing on TV particularly

Singing in the Rain and watching Gene Kelly dancing. I went to dance classes where we had

to do shows every two years. My sister is currently at Italia Conti and our parents have always been

supportive of us, taking us to theatres and auditions and seeing us in various productions we have

been in.

The scholarship process for the Italia Conti School was quite intense. It was a 9-to-5 day which

consisted of auditions, classes, workshops and an interview. Looking ahead, I see a future in the

West End as an all-rounder; singing, dancing and acting and also TV acting.

Drama was the main reason for me coming to John Lyon. Before I joined I went to The Ryan Theatre

to see the musical Anything Goes and I spoke to an Old Lyonian who told me how good the Drama

was here. I was fairly sporty up until about Year 10 and then the passion for drama and music really

took over. I am going to take away with me lifelong memories, particularly singing with the Black

Dyke Band and at St Paul’s which was an absolutely amazing experience. I want to say a big thank

you to Miss Wilby and Miss Levinge for their belief in me and giving me the responsibility of

choreographing Hairspray.

(l)-(r): Claire Agius (PFA), Nicky Smith (PFA), Alice Watts (Teenage Cancer

Trust), Dominic Dichen, Katherine Haynes, Helen Foster-Turner, Ngawang

Dichen

Mr J Bruce

Head of Geography

Mrs A Paul

Head of English

Miss Katherine Haynes Head

Mrs Heather Cade PA to the Head

Tel: 020 8872 8434 headspa@johnlyon.org

Mr Michael Gibson Bursar staff.gibson@johnlyon.org Mrs Brenda Allanson Director of Development staff.allanson@johnlyon.org Mrs Terri Hicks Registrar Tel: 020 8872 8443 admissions@johnlyon.org The John Lyon School Middle Road Harrow on the Hill Middlesex, HA2 0HN Switchboard: 020 8872 8400 www.johnlyon.org

Mr Stuart Miles

Deputy Head

staff.miles@johnlyon.org

Introducing our new academic staff

Coming soon

Mr J McNaughton

Mathematics

Mr P Berry

Spanish & French

Mr J Moore

History & English

Mr A Ferguson

French & Spanish

Dr W Fleming

Chemistry

Mr D Curtis

Head of Drama

Mr S Foster

Head of Economics

Miss F Baldwin

Religious Studies

Mrs Brenda Allanson, Director of Development (l)

alongside Mrs Michelle Gascoine, the new Alumni

Relations Manager (r)

The JLS Development Office has a dual role; as well as fundraising, we maintain links with the School’s large network of Old Lyonians. These links are growing and we now have an established programme of events for alumni. Events such as reunions and exhibitions see Old Boys returning to the School. Others, such as our series of Business Breakfasts, are held in central London.

The Development Office also works with Dr Clews, the Head of Careers. Regular careers evenings provide advice from Old Lyonians to JLS pupils keen on careers in medicine, law, architecture, journalism, property management and marketing for example. We also have an ever-increasing number of OLs who offer work experience opportunities.

Mrs Michelle Gascoine has recently joined the Development Office as our new Alumni Relations Manager. She will work closely with the Director of Development, Mrs Brenda Allanson.

The launch of our 1876 Club has been well received, and we are very grateful to those parents who have already shown their support for the School by joining. Should you be interested in supporting any of the School projects, please do contact us.