Rhubarb 2020

The latest OSE news, September 2020.

Issue 9: September 2020 OSE News r h b a r b

Issue 9: July 2020

‘Leading the way in educational initiatives is instinctive for this DYNAMIC

Oxford school.’ tatler schools guide 2020

‘A HAPPY, FIZZING SCHOOL plumb in the middle of an inspiring city’ the good schools guide 2020

School coach from London via Beaconsfield every Sunday evening

WEEKLY & FULL BOARDING | DAY | A LEVEL & IB

SUB-BRANDS

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r h u b a r b INTRODUCTION Two important areas of school life have their own brand identity: The St Edward’s School Society and The North Wall. The OSE logo has been designed to compliment the St Edward’s logo - with the use of the same typeface for the Namestyle: Gill Nova. Welcome to the 2020

The primary logo colour is green. It is recommended that this is used in the majority of instances so that it can be easily recognised and to consistency across your communications.

W E L C O M E

It has been a year like no other and as we look back over the past 12 months it is incredible to reflect on the huge changes we have all experienced. We hope this magazine celebrates some of the amazing things our OSE have achieved and brings to life our plans for the next year. Producing it has certainly been challenging at times given the recent circumstances so we hope you will forgive anything unusual! The North Wall logo has been designed as a stand alone logo - but complements our logo. We illustrate ow bot logos c be u ed together with the school logo over the next few pages.

As you will know numerous OSE events sadly had to be cancelled. Alumnet, however, our new social media channel, allows us to connect virtually, and whilst restrictions continue to limit face-to-face interaction, we will look at developing our virtual links and social media channels. Further details on page 81.

We wish you all a very happy and healthy next few months and look forward to welcoming you back and seeing many of you as soon as we are able, hopefully in the not-so-distant future. Emily Rowbotham , Editor

This year we have seen a number of changes to the OSE Team . We welcomed Rachael Henshilwood as new Development Director and more recently Emily Rowbotham as Community Engagement Manager. The core team of Emma Grounds, Tracy Payne and David Smart were all furloughed during the start of lockdown and it was lovely to finally reconnect as a team in early August.

Charles Cooper (G, 1961-1966) stepped down as President this year after two successful years and we would like to thank him for his unwavering support and direction. David Smart (C, 1968-1972) has taken up this role – read about his vision on page 3.

2020 also saw the announcement that Warden Stephen Jones will be retiring at the end of the next academic year and the subsequent appointment of Alastair Chirnside as the 14th Warden who will join us in September 2021. Teddies has

At School we have witnessed ‘ Virtual Teddies ’ as the School moved online for the Summer Term. Whilst logistically challenging, it was a resounding success and we celebrate some excellent A Level and IB Results on page 32.

much to thank Stephen for and we look forward to inviting you all back to a Special Gaudy in June 2021

We have also watched the largest development in the School’s history come to its three-year completion with thanks to the extraordinary work of Stephen Withers Green and Richard Hayes (Estates Bursar). More details on page 30.

so you can say your goodbyes.

We have very exciting plans for the OSE Community – do keep in touch – details can be found on the back page.

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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME David Smart (C, 1968-1972)

W E L C O M E

F irstly, I want to say how very honoured and humbled I am to be elected as President of the Society. I shall certainly endeavour to give my very best in being of service to the Society and the School. I would also like

David was a pupil at Teddies from 1968 to 1972. His daughter Lucy (K, 2001-2003) and son Tim (C, 2001-2006) also attended. He has been a member of the St Edward’s School Society Committee over four decades, serving as Midlands Secretary and Vice President and in July 2020 he became President of the Society, taking over from Charles Cooper (G, 1961-1966). He has been a specialist leadership and management training consultant for a number of years as well as owning a holiday business in the Cotswolds.

to say how immensely impressed I have been with the way the School has continued with the educational process in these circumstances. The adaptability and flexibility required

has been huge. Great teachers have a sense of duty, passion and kindness. They make learning contagious. I love the Benjamin Franklin quote “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. We are certainly going to face further challenges. As the

I should like to say how immensely

impressed I have been with the way the School has continued with the educational process in these circumstances

to pay tribute to my predecessor Charles

Cooper who has done so much for the School and the Society. It has been a great pleasure being Charles’s deputy – and indeed

saying goes “welcome to the new normal.” I cannot overstate the great leadership displayed during this period by the Warden, Sub-Warden, Tony Darby, Deputy Head Academic, Matthew Albrighton, and the Bursar, Edward Hayter – the last of those having had an extraordinary baptism of fire, only joining the School on 1st January. This autumn will see the opening of the new Quad Development. It was Warden Simeon’s vision 125 years ago that the Quad would be completed in this way and we owe the utmost gratitude to the 13th Warden, Stephen Jones, who, during his ten-year tenure, grasped that vision and will leave us next year with the Quad finally complete. This has been an outstanding achievement by the Warden and his team. It puts Teddies in a strong position for future years and I have no doubt we are going to become an even more prestigious co-educational school because of his vision. I am also, of course, very pleased and honoured to be able to welcome the 14th Warden Alastair Chirnside, who is currently Deputy Head Master at Harrow. He will start in September 2021. Alastair was brought up in Oxford and attended The Dragon, winning a scholarship from

my grateful thanks go out to those past Presidents who have already given me so much support and encouragement. We have been going through unprecedented times. I should like

The Quad 2020

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there to Eton, where he later taught. He took a Congratulatory First in Classics and Modern Languages at Merton College, Oxford, where he also won a lightweight rowing half blue. How about that for a CV! Alastair and his wife Zannah have two daughters Mary and Lizzie, so his extensive experience of educating boys is matched by a passionate interest in the education of girls. He shares the Governors’ ambition to build on the current Warden’s achievements and secure St Edward’s place as an undisputed leader in co-education.

W E L C O M E

Alastair Chirnside and family

This year we have said a fond farewell to a number of long-standing members of staff. Stephen Withers Green stepped down as Bursar in December 2019 after 21 years at Teddies and we welcomed our new Bursar Edward Hayter at the start of January. We also said goodbye to Ed Hunt (1987), Phil Jolley (1993), Debra Clayphan (2010), Philip Mallaband (2010) and Liz Boast (2010), all of whom will be known by many of our OSE.

The last five months have seen an unprecedented number of OSE and community-related events being cancelled due to the pandemic. It is a huge tribute to the team of Rachael Henshilwood, Emma Grounds, Emily Rowbotham and Tracy Payne (not forgetting the Hon Sec John Wiggins) that the well-oiled machine has continued in the way it always did. This has included some events being held remotely through platforms like Zoom.

David Smart and Charles Cooper

I should like to set out my vision for the next two years: Firstly, I want to be in regular communication with as wide a range of OSE as possible by listening to and learning from them. I will aim to grow the support that the Society provides to OSE across all generations. This will take some doing given our size and diversity but we have all learnt over the past few months the importance of unity, human interactions and technology. The support the Society will offer OSE over the coming months will include: access to careers advice, mentoring and training, professional and personal networking events, OSE and family events, online speakers, videos of interest, all as much of a source of help and advice as possible. Some of this will be through our new online platform Alumnet, which I hope you have signed up to and are using. Communication has already increased through the new Teddies in Touch monthly e-newsletters and we are planning a series of diverse and engaging events both face-to-face and virtually. MY TWO-YEAR VI S ION

I would like to increase the Society’s support for the School. This, I hope, will be in the form of OSE offering to speak to our pupils, engage in committees, offer work experience, internships and professional advice or helping us advance an ambitious bursarial support programme which could benefit many OSE families and the wider community. These exciting initiatives are being driven through an evolution of the old OSE/ Development office to the Beyond Teddies Team which you can read more about on page 6. The team will continue to support the Society and all OSE but also seek to grow synergies and support between OSE, parents and pupils and the wider North Oxford Community for the benefit of all. So we have many plans for growth and support and if any of you have any ideas of ways in which you can help, do please contact me on smartd@stedwardsoxford.org

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EDUCATION By Warden Stephen Jones

Many aspects of “teaching” have evolved in recent years. The Warden considers how Teddies, as a successful school, has embraced these changes.

F irst there was school mastering, then teaching, then “teaching and learning”… Here at St Edward’s we are involved in both learning and teaching having passed through an important phase of “learning teaching” and “teaching learning”. Confused? As well you might be but it is not all hot air – or indeed not at all hot air. Over the past 10 years or so, the world of education has changed significantly and for the better. Underneath it all lies our mission as a school – to give our pupils the best possible environment to help them grow into the best possible adults, and to offer them a set of values

F E AT U R E

main instrument for pupil development and also drives many aspects of success in areas well removed from the academic. At the heart of the modern Teddies education lies a belief that all pupils can do

US athletics coach who helped found Nike, was spot on when he said: ‘The idea that the harder you work, the better you’re going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man or woman who works most intelligently.’ This idea of working with intelligence – doing things deliberately – has always been

well and that the best way for them to develop is through their own agency; hence the concept of teaching learning – you may have read about metacognition. We need to be explicit in getting pupils to understand the processes of learning so that they can employ these not only in Maths and History but also in Netball and Cricket, as well as in ceramics and tuba playing. Effort still plays an

‘The idea that the harder you work, the better you’re going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man or woman who works

important in education but we are today perhaps a little more explicit in explaining this to our charges. Moreover the values engendered in working with intelligence apply to all areas of our development as people – they apply to staff and parents as well as to the pupils.

most intelligently.’ BILL BOWERMAN

which are both defined and undefined. At the centre of everything is what goes on in the classroom for this is the

important part in this process, but not blind endeavour. As I mentioned at Gaudy this year, Bill Bowerman, the famous

Built onto this belief in our pupils’ ability to do well – to achieve excellence if you like – is a set of teaching and coaching methodologies which challenge the pupils

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and allow their efforts to be assessed in many, and different, ways. This new academic year sees the introduction of some innovative courses – Pathways and Perspectives – which will replace some of our GCSE courses for Fourth and Fifth Form pupils. These have been developed by us and will be assessed by us as well. A significant benefit of these courses is the variety of assessment strategies that are open to us. GCSEs are in the main assessed by terminal exams; the Pathways and Perspectives courses will be assessed using a variety of strategies appropriate to the specific subject matter including extended writing, presentations, artefacts, research reports and performances alongside tests and exams of varying sizes. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of these new courses is the creation of links with institutions outside the School. The whole process will be validated by Buckingham University, but more importantly we are giving the pupils the opportunity to benefit from partnerships with the Medical School at Buckingham and the Oceanography Department at the University of Southampton. We want our pupils to take more time to see experts actually working in particular fields and to reflect on their practice and what it is to be a professional within a discipline. We are building

programmes around real experiences and connecting pupils to learning that is both relevant and adaptable to the skills they needs for future learning. All of this is very much in tune with Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future – a manifesto for the types of abilities that pupils need to help them navigate the world of the future. Howard Gardner is an American developmental psychologist and Research Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University. His “five minds” are the developed abilities to: • master a discipline • synthesise information • be creative (with ideas as much as with language, music or art) • be respectful • have an ethical outlook If our education can achieve all of these with success then we will have done our job well. Co-education is also now at the heart of the Teddies approach to pupil development, preparing our pupils for adult life. Cooper Lodge – our new co- educational house which has girls in the Sixth Form as well as boys throughout – is joined by Sing’s who, this September, also welcomed girl boarders. Having girls and boys in the same school does not really

create a fully co-educational environment – one might call that simply “bi-education” – so we are pushing for greater interaction between the sexes, fostering a deeper understanding of other people. This can be best achieved as the pupils grow up in school. We don’t, of course, have to tackle our education in this way; we don’t have to take these approaches – indeed not every school does. We could respond to the strong pressures (from parents, from Governors) to succeed in the exam room by a thorough going programme of cramming. This has some merits and indeed it can be very successful, but I am unconvinced that it achieves our fundamental mission of setting our pupils carefully on the path to adult life; I probably would say that it does the opposite and infantilises them. So there are many challenges that we face in the modern school which mirror the challenges that the pupils themselves face and will continue to face. Our approach does help them and we saw this clearly last term when the world was in lockdown and our pupils were learning remotely. All that we have done in the past few years was of enormous benefit to them as they sought to crack on without classroom, games field or House – most importantly without their friends – and they came through it all magnificently.

F E AT U R E

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Artist’s impression

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WELCOME TO BEYOND TEDDIES! An evolution is happening …

Their purpose is evolution . Building upon the current strong base of activity they are designing a calendar of events to involve OSE of all age, profession and personal interests, The St Edward’s Society and St Edward’s School have worked harmoniously over many years delivering events, communications and support for OSE and Friends of Teddies . With the addition of Rachael Henshilwood and Emily Rowbotham to an already formidable team of Emma Grounds, John Wiggins and now David Smart as President, ambitions are even greater to do more to help the OSE and parent community benefit from their connection to Teddies.

V A L E T E

B E Y O N D T E D D I E S

increasing communications across multiple channels and opening up and facilitating the incredible network of advice and support available across the OSE community for the benefit of all.

This network can help our local North Oxford community too. The School has run an active Community Service Programme for the past five years helping out at local care homes, primary schools and charities. However, we now want to do more by setting up formal partnerships with these organisations where,

This evolved team will now be known as the Beyond Teddies Team , encompassing the very best of old and the vision of new. Importantly it will continue to support our OSE community as it always has done, but with ambition and capability to now do much more.

importantly, our pupils can learn through service for others as well as providing much needed support. The vision is that the skills and expertise found within the extensive Teddies community can now be put to use for the benefit of both Teddies pupils and the Community Service Programme.

‘Everyone has something to contribute to society’ – is one of Teddies key stated priorities. The new Beyond Teddies Team will bring together our whole society; pupils, parents, teachers, OSE, past parents and the North Oxford community within which we sit, and enable everyone to contribute and receive support.

To learn more about this growing initiative or to find out how you can get involved please email beyondteddies@ stedwardsoxford.org

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B E Y O N D T E D D I E S

Eight families remained part of our St Edward’s community, thanks to those of you who responded so positively to the Bursary Funding letter that the Chairman and President wrote over the summer. SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

A ll of us have been touched in some way or another by the ramifications of Covid-19 but we didn’t want this to adversely affect pupils who are already embedded at the School and making the most of their Teddies Education. Those eight families have received short-term hardship funds pertinent to their individual financial situation to enable their children to remain in a stable and supportive environment whilst their home lives are in varying degrees of turmoil. They have all asked me to pass on their very great thanks. This situation has raised the importance of bursarial support in many schools and in particular at Teddies, with a new

Bursary Committee now established and new commitment from the Governors to actively promote, support and encourage increasing our Bursary provision and community service support through the new Beyond Teddies Team. Last year, 19% of our pupil cohort received some level of bursarial funding process) and, over the coming years, the vision is to see that number grow. This is no mean feat as we are a growing school, this year welcoming a record number of 731 students. The different levels of fee remission reflect the growing breadth of our pupil population and the varied professions in which our parents , many of whom are OSE, are involved. We don’t want to be a school for those with and those without, and so we are keen to nuance the level of support through means-testing to all families who need it at a variety of levels. As you will know, great education doesn’t just happen in the classroom but also in the boarding houses, on the playing fields, in the dance studio and within the orchestra, amidst the social interactions of our pupils. To make sure our student cohort increasingly represents the world which we are preparing them to enter, we are now asking for your help. (from 25% to 110% fee remission following a rigorous means-testing

You might like to: • Join the Warden’s Circle by donating minimum £5,000 + gift aid annually. • Join regular supporters who are donating smaller monthly, quarterly or annual amounts at whatever level you can. St Edward’s School in your Will and becoming a member of the Simeon Society. • Donate a gift of shares. • Join our new Bursary Advisory Group that helps develop Bursary strategy, recruitment, advocacy and funding. If you would like to discuss anything raised above or to learn more, please do call or email Rachael Henshilwood on 01865 319205 or email henshilwoodr@stedwardsoxford.org . • Consider pledging a legacy to

B eyond T eddies Y O U R L E G A C Y

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SUMMER GAUDIES A H I S T O R I C A L P E R S P E C T I V E Chris Nathan, (G, 1954-1957) Archivist

A R C H I V E S

T he first School Gaudies commenced as soon as the move to Summertown was made in 1872-3 and at first were held in spring, summer and winter. Each was an opportunity for prize giving of different kinds, but the summer event was the main occasion when parents, friends and, later, OSE would attend in ever greater numbers. To add some confusion, the early Gaudies were called by different names including ‘St. Edward’s Day’ and ‘Commemoration’ or ‘Commem’. It wasn’t until the 1930s that Warden Henry Kendall finally decided that there would

be two specific events in the School calendar, the Summer Gaudy, usually held in either June or July, aimed at parents and families at the end of the School year – and the Winter Commemoration (‘Commem’) in November to remember the fallen

continually building, leasing then buying land and slowly growing pupil numbers, the Gaudies in the Summer Terms were events not to be missed. The School was out to impress not only parents and prospective parents, but also the dignitaries of Oxford and the local citizenry of Summertown and surrounding area. There was a regular format for the annual Gaudy which

1913 was the School’s fiftieth

anniversary and quite naturally the Gaudy that year was a

sumptuous affair. Over 500 guests

came to Oxford and the School was ‘filled to utmost capacity’

and to welcome back OSE. Two separate occasions for two key audiences. In the years up to the Great War, during which the School was

included the traditional prize-giving speeches from the Warden and those in high office at the School, cricket matches, rowing races and the tea party in the Quad (weather permitting) were key attractions. After 1910 the Corps would parade at various times as well. Chapel services would be central to everything, with three services offered and usually very well attended and compulsory for the pupils. In certain years there were good reasons for Gaudies to be much larger events than normal, such as the opening of the Chapel in 1877 when the Bishop of Oxford was present and 400 guests attended.

Gaudy 1899, the earliest known picture

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The early prizes were heavily weighted towards the Classics, Divinity and ‘Good Conduct’. Mathematics and History were added in 1875, English prizes in 1877, German and French a year later. The Sciences, Geography and other languages followed in 1893. The choice of guest speaker and prize presenter through the years makes for interesting research, as from the Kendall era onwards these dignitaries were clearly selected for very specific reasons and sometimes with an ulterior motive! This was not the case early on, as while for the first few years outside guests undertook the task, including the Founder, from 1880-1928 the Wardens always took this role. No explanation is readily available for this policy and it may have been just one of expediency, as this was the one occasion during the year that the Warden could speak directly, in person, to the parents and outside world in a time before mass media. They wouldn’t have wanted to miss the opportunity to get across their particular message. This would all change in the twenties with the arrival of Henry Kendall. In the early 1900s the now-growing number of OSE started to play sports and also dine together, sometimes during Gaudy, but more often at the time of Commem in Oxford and London. These black-tie events would continue for many years. 1913 was the School’s fiftieth anniversary and, quite naturally, the Gaudy that year was a sumptuous affair. Over 500 guests came to Oxford and the School was ‘filled to utmost capacity’.

A R C H I V E S

Gaudy 1913, guests mingle after morning service including, parents OSE and staff

The Bishop of London was the Guest of Honour and officiated at the morning service when even ‘the side chapel and organ loft were full’. The demand for attendance was such that only OSE who were bona fide members of the Society received an

During the Great War there were no Gaudies, as Warden Ferguson felt such ‘celebrations’ were not in keeping with the great sacrifices being made by OSE and staff at the war fronts. In fact, there was to be no return to the traditional Gaudy or Commem in Ferguson’s final years up to 1925. What

During the Great War there were no Gaudies, as Warden Ferguson felt such ‘celebrations’ were not in keeping with the great sacrifices being made by OSE and staff at the war fronts

invitation. In the afternoon a very strong OSE Cricket XI (with six former captains included) soundly thrashed the School XI.

was, however, introduced in the Ferguson era was the importance of School music and the Warden, together with his brilliant Music

Gaudy 1932, Mass PT on Upper One

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Gaudy 1943. White marking prevented collisions at night in the blacked-out quad!

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Dining Hall but more usually in Big School then festivities transferred into large marquees on Upper One but more often in the Quad. Every boy was involved in one way or another, there were displays of all kinds, mass PT on Upper One, swimming/diving in the outside pool, OTC (later CCF) parades, and always cricket matches and rowing races against the OSE. In the evenings there were theatricals, concerts with choirs as large as one hundred singers, with Staff and OSE providing the bass voice balance. Weather always seemed to be right – but on the few occasions it wasn’t, the show went on regardless. Attendances were always in the hundreds and some visitors came from long distances to attend. Whenever possible, outside military/ police bands were invited to play and the local press and Summertown residents were usually present. From 1929 until his final Gaudy in 1954, Kendall always ensured his guest speaker and presenter was judiciously chosen, including other Headmasters, when HRH the Princess Royal agreed to open the Memorial Cowell Gates onto the Woodstock Road. She would be the first member of the royal family to ever visit the School and also the first woman to ever perform the task of presenting the prizes. Everything changed with WW2, although Kendall tried to keep the tradition going, while fully realising that the OSE and many parents were otherwise engaged. He called them ‘Pocket-Gaudies’ or ‘Ersatz-Commems’ as so few turned up: petrol was scarce, and curfew made long distance travel impossible. But there was still cricket and rowing on view, ‘war-time teas’ and a warm welcome for all who made the effort to come. Kendall’s last Gaudy in 1954 was an emotional one and he again presented the prizes (he had booked the Archbishop of Canterbury two years before, who sadly was ill on the day!) as well as opening the new Memorial leading Oxbridge figures, Bishops, very high-ranking servicemen, politicians and perhaps most important three Chairmen of Barclay’s Bank (the School’s bankers!). His real coup was in 1939

A R C H I V E S

Gaudy 1943, white marking prevented collisions at night in the blacked-out Quad!

Master. Dr Walter Stanton, built up the standards of the School Choirs and musical talents were displayed as often as possible when parents came to the School. Music later became part of the Gaudy tradition. The Gaudies after the arrival of the sixth Warden, Henry Kendall, in 1925 would be very different, like many other things at St Edward’s. He bided his time, then in 1928 brought back Gaudy in the Summer Term, on this occasion allowing himself the stage as the main speaker

and prize giver. The whole event was updated and in the years that followed would provide some of the most memorable summer festivals that OSE can recall. One day stretched into three and the events were, compared with what had gone before, lavish, extensive and impressive.

One day stretched into three and the events were, compared with what had gone before, lavish, extensive and impressive

Chapel services still formed a solid basis, the prize-giving was held in either the

Gaudy 1985

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Library. There was a turnout of well over 600, with many OSE included. The Gaudies of the fifties and sixties gradually built up to pre-war levels as rationing eased and strawberries and cream returned. The mass displays gave way to more specific exhibitions concentrating on the diverse interests within the School, the three-day format was shortened and attendance by the pupils to the Gaudy Chapel services was no longer compulsory. Music played an ever bigger part, including performances from the various School orchestras and bands quite apart from the choirs and choral singers often provided the rousing finale. Warden Fisher, like his predecessor, used his contacts to coax such celebrities as Field Marshal Montgomery, Sir George Mallaby and Sir John Betjeman to be guests of honour. In 1963, the School’s centenary, there was another huge celebration taking place over four days. It was a real ‘Red Carpet’ affair with several dinners, firework displays, ‘Son et Lumière’ in the floodlit Quad, the band of the Royal Marines, Centenary Concert, Chapel Services, marching displays, gymnastic and swimming galas and a flypast by members of the Air Section of the CCF. There was the presence of the ex-Archbishop of Canterbury and no less than three other OSE Bishops! Between 1500 and 2000 guests took part. In 1968 John Harding-Davies (OSE), who went on to be a cabinet minister in

A R C H I V E S

Gaudy circa 1950

a Thatcher Government, became the first alumnus to present the prizes. Through to the present day the Gaudies have remained the main date in the School calendar and as the School has grown and moved into a co- educational establishment, changes have been made

guests now have to be accommodated and the number of attractions include the Arts in many forms including theatre and dance as well as music but with the traditional events remaining. In 2013 the 150th anniversary was celebrated in very grand style with

Everything changed with WW2... petrol was scarce and curfew made long distance travel impossible

to allow for the number of extra guests and changing trends. Large numbers of

3000 visitors from all over the world descending on Oxford for the three packed days. It was a massive event which took 18 months to organise and was a great success. The weather co-operated fully – concerts were held on a specially constructed stage in the Quad with smaller stages elsewhere, cricket was played, ears were pricked as to what the VIII were doing at Henley, the band of the RAF played, there was a flypast, the Science building was officially named as was the latest girls’ boarding House and of course there was a bouncy castle. 2020 was a unique Gaudy as it never happened in reality, but virtually, a combination of creative minds at the School using the latest technology to ensure the Coronavirus didn’t disrupt the annual festivities any more than it needed to. One imagines Simeon would have been both dazzled and delighted by the outcome.

Gaudy 2013

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GAUDY AT A GLANCE

During his Gaudy speech of 1983, Warden Phillips was almost electrocuted by the house lights. They dimmed then produced a dazzling display of red and green lights all over the tent. ‘The age of technology had well and truly arrived at St Edward’s’ ( Chronicle ). A deluge of rain throughout the day may have had some impact!

1975 was the last time Big School was used as the venue for prize-giving. The first time was in 1881. It was moved to the New Hall in 1976.

Gaudy 1970 was described by an outsider as ‘floppy hats and colourful

A R C H I V E S

Quote from an observer in 1980 Chronicle : ‘Gaudy is the day when School and parents pretend that the massive efforts they are making to impress each other is nothing more than an extension to their day-to-day routine!’ dresses, Rhubarb ties and shooting sticks, sticky buns and neat sandwiches, concerts, cars and cricket’.

In 1875 the School Cricket XI first took part in a match against the OSE – called ‘Past versus the Present’ which still continues today.

From 1951 Gaudy reduced from three days to two. Not without its detractors.

During his speech in 1977 Douglas Bader (OSE) began by saying: ‘In my day, you had some old warrior from the Matabele War or the Boer War, or some Bishop, or something else. Well, you’ve got me!’. He ended his speech with a direct plea to the boys present: ‘You don’t lie, you don’t cheat, you don’t sneak’. With that, the great man took his seat.

In 1933 Sir Russell Bencraft (OSE) opened the School’s fourth Cricket Pavilion, which still stands today. During his 1937 Gaudy speech Warden Kendall was able to state that in the past decade the School’s acreage had doubled in size and the Sixth Form had grown from 30 to 120 pupils.

In 1943 Warden Kendall congratulated Guy Gibson (OSE) on his V.C. – he had ‘shown leadership, determination and valour of the highest order’.

A 1961 Chronicle pointed out that changes were being put in place to make Gaudy ‘less hectic and certainly more enjoyable’. As well as no more mass PT, there would be fewer Chapel services and more emphasis on smaller, more dedicated displays.

In 1898 and 1907 Gaudy was cancelled due to influenza. In 1902 it was cancelled as it ‘clashed with the Coronation Festivities’. In 1911 it was cancelled due to Mumps. In 2001 it was cancelled due to a case of Meningitis.

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AN OSE PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19

O S E I N T E R V I E W

The Medical Student

instructions from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Hessen (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Hessen) telling us how to recognise suspected cases, but also, when possible, urging us to use suddenly sparse resources like surgical masks and swab test tubes with extra caution. Although the situation still seemed to be pretty much under control during the first few days of March, day after day it was deteriorating swiftly, with exponentially growing panic prompted by the images and news from Italy overtaking everyone – ranging from your average 70 year old Herold to Jens Spahn and Angela Merkel, right at the top of the government. Two days before the end of my placement, most medical students found they were no longer allowed to start any of their upcoming placements, the start of the new semester got postponed indefinitely and most of us felt rather useless. Wanting to help in what seemed to be an impending medical disaster, we held talks with the clinics working in cooperation with our faculty and, as a result, formed a “Covid-19 Taskforce” – a pool of around 600 medical students at different stages of their education, ready to jump into action and fill in the gaps where personnel was urgently needed. Some of my friends helped out as nurses on non-Covid wards, others collected swab tests, helped out in the lab or got trained as contact tracers. I and a group of ten other students got involved in the “Immunitor” research project at the University Hospital Mannheim- a study which aims to investigate the body’s immune response to the SARS- CoV-2 virus and/or Covid-19 disease. We are responsible for recruitment of the test subjects, administration, sample collections and the pre-analytical work in the lab. For medical students like ourselves this project is proving an exceptional learning opportunity in a rapidly evolving and growing field of science.

By Elizaveta Skarga (K, 2012-2016)

Elizaveta Skarga left Teddies in 2016 and is currently studying Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. She provided this insight into life as a medical student during the pandemic. Covid-19 caught us all by surprise. As infection hotspots started flaring up across northern Italy, the majority of the medical community was still not sure what to make of this newly emerging virus. At the time I was busy assisting a

General Practitioner during my GP Placement in Weinheim, a town 20km away from Heidelberg. I remember how every day we were receiving new

The “Immunitor” Research Project

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ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

The Junior Doctor

placed on an emergency Covid rota and both the shift pattern and working in restricted areas underneath layers of sweaty plastic aprons, gloves and masks was gruelling. A mask perpetually hid my reassuring smiles from scared patients. However that was nothing compared to the emotional turmoil. Despite the best medical care, people were dying in impressive numbers every day right in front of our shielded eyes. Covid claimed the lives of several colleagues. It was, frankly, terrifying. By far the most difficult and most important part of my job became updating families every day. I cannot fathom how painful it must have been for people not to be allowed to visit a critically ill loved one, and it was a privilege and an honour to have been able to represent them. The kindness of strangers, both to me

By Dr Camilla English (K, 2006-2011) MB BCh BAO, BSc (Hons) 

Camilla English left Teddies in 2011 and qualified as a doctor in 2019. She gives a fascinating account of her first year as a doctor and the impact Covid-19 had on her both professionally and personally. No matter how hard they try to manage your expectations at medical school, nothing can prepare you for the day when you actually start working as a doctor. After a grand total of 22 years in education, it was finally my turn: Dr English. I was to start on Medicine in a district hospital in the south east of England. My first day on the ward, I remember vividly feeling both terrified and thrilled by the huge responsibilities I had suddenly taken on. The first few weeks were a strange dichotomy of asking probably ridiculous questions, not knowing where anything was and trying to make all of the nurses fall in love with me (if you don’t have a friend amongst the nurses as a junior doctor, God help you), while also having the authority to make important decisions and prescribe scary medications. Those weeks were also full of firsts, from prescribing paracetamol to managing critically unwell patients with

O S E I N T E R V I E W

personally and to the wider NHS, has been amazing. I was so overwhelmed that I sobbed when the first NHS clap happened. I’m sure I’m no hero, but the efforts of the NHS as an institution have been heroic. I have no doubt I am a different doctor than I would have been without the additional challenges a pandemic posed, and I have come a very long way in 12 months. I have grown more than I ever imagined in so many ways. I helped to coordinate an in-hospital wedding for a 38-year-old patient of mine

everything from sepsis to strokes, heart attacks and seizures. Just as I felt like I had got the hang of things, my first rotation ended and I moved to general surgery. The cycle of firsts started all over again, however this time I had a new sense of confidence. I knew now to expect to be disappointed with myself when I couldn’t offer patients or nurses the answers they expected, but I had also learned to be proud of the care I could provide

I had no induction, no formal introductions and certainly no instruction manual. I was placed on an emergency Covid rota and both the shift pattern and working in restricted areas underneath layers of sweaty plastic aprons, gloves and masks was gruelling

and the knowledge I did have. I knew my strengths but was also aware of my limitations and what I needed to work on as a clinical professional. I was no longer just winging it. I decided I wanted to be a surgeon. Then the rumours started: “Have you heard about this “killer virus” in China?”. At the start, all I could think was “this had better not ruin my ski holiday” (in fairness, it didn’t!). I now feel immense guilt at that thought having crossed my mind. Instead of rotating as planned in April, when Covid-19 hit I was taken away from surgery on a Friday and on Sunday started working in the high-dependency Covid unit. I had no induction, no formal introductions and certainly no instruction manual. I was

who was terminally ill with cancer, I have been threatened by patients and their families, I have watched hearts break as I told families devastating diagnoses, and I have helped to save thousands of lives. I have laughed until I cried and I have cried until I laughed, and I have worked with some incredible people. By far the most important lesson I will take with me is that often the most helpful thing I can do for someone is to kneel at their bedside, hold their hand and simply be there for them when they are at their most vulnerable. Despite the near- overwhelming challenges I faced on a daily basis, I have fallen head over heels in love with being a doctor, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for my career.

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ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

The Officer Cadet

of its greatest merits is its ability to stick to its proven traditional roots, whilst adapting to the current environment. Time is spent being “beasted” around by a very angry PT instructor and doing seemingly never-ending hours of drill but also considerable amounts of time are spent in the classroom doing war, defence and behavioural studies. One thing I owe Teddies is that it taught me the value of being open- minded and maintaining an interest in a broad range of subjects and activities. When we deploy on exercise and the sleep deprivation starts to kick in, I do think back at my time at the Boat House and how training under Mr Wiggins and Mr Singfield ingrained in me the team spirit and ethos which you need in order

By Oscar Von Hannover (A, 2010-2015)

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Oscar Von Hannover left Teddies in 2015. He is currently at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He reflects on his time at Sandhurst and his journey over the past year. Having finished the intermediate term at Sandhurst and leaving the gates for the first time in 13 weeks of lockdown, I find myself reflecting on a busy, stressful, yet highly rewarding two thirds of the commissioning course. Sandhurst today is a very different entity to what it was in the past and one

One thing I owe Teddies is that it taught me the value of being open-minded and maintaining an interest in a broad range of subjects and activities

to get through the commissioning course (especially if you’re locked in with your platoon for 13 weeks). Being tough and resilient is only useful to others around you if you manage to add value and that I gained from a plethora of curricular and extra-curricular activities. I must add that the tone on the drill square for CCF did not prepare me for the bellowing grunt of the steely-eyed sergeant major. So far, I look back on a very challenging yet enjoyable experience and as the senior term looms ahead, I will need to continue developing as an individual to deal with ambiguity in a confident and inspiring manner. What Sandhurst teaches like no other academy is to be selfless and humble in order to lead some of the finest, professional soldiers. One thing I urge everyone to do, and something I have fallen short of, is to engage with the history of the School. OSE played an important role in liberating Europe and St Edward’s work preparing pupils to develop into effective officers (even if they were in the Navy and the RAF) was second to none and needs to be honoured and remembered.

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ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

JOHN WOODCOCK INTERVIEW By David Smart

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John was in Segar’s from 1940 to 1945 and Head of House in 1945. He was The Times Cricket Correspondent from 1954 until 1988 and he was Editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack from 1980 to 1986. David Smart, President, talked to John, in March 2020, about his illustrious career, his thoughts on the game today and the friends he has made through his love of cricket.

You have spent your life travelling the world as a cricket correspondent – can you tell us a bit about your initial route into the sporting profession and your first official role? I have EW (Jim) Swanton to thank for that. Having taken a Diploma of Education at Oxford and intended to teach, he gave

me the irresistable chance of going to Australia with 1950/51 MCC (England) as a kind of general dogsbody, not least as a cameraman for the BBC. For this last job I took with me a 35mm Newman Sinclair movie camera and 20,000 feet of film, sending home weekly, by air, shots of the tour. This will sound an awful lot of film, but it allowed only perhaps five minutes of play per day. It was in fact the first time the BBC had sent home any film directly from an overseas tour – very different from today’s wall-to-wall coverage. It was through being on that tour that I made the contacts that led me into journalism and in 1954 to becoming the Cricket Correspondent of The Times . Before The Times I had two years with the Manchester Guardian , now the Guardian . The experience of watching cricket has changed beyond recognition in the last ten years, largely due to commercialisation. Do you think the draw of lucrative, short term T20 contracts might mean youngsters never learn the art of test batting? T20 cricket came after my time and when it was first introduced at county level was scoffed at, as much as by the players themselves as by the public. In fact, of course, it has been a worldwide attraction even to the extent of dominating the game. Even 50 overs a side cricket I viewed with cynicism, but that is now the format most public schools use, Teddies included. It allows a more genuine game of cricket than T20 and was first encouraged and introduced by Dennis Silk when he was the legendary Warden of Radley. With packed audiences at Lord’s and The Oval for evening T20 matches, is ‘The Hundred’ needed? Not to my mind. Even without it, cricket last year attracted some bumper crowds, admittedly with an Ashes series and the World Cup to augment them. I cannot see any beneficial difference between T20 and The Hundred, but I can certainly see some unhelpful ones.

John Woodcock playing cricket at Teddies

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O S E I N T E R V I E W

What would be your advice for OSE currently trying to get into the world of sports journalism? Not to raise your hopes too high, mainly because more and more former international players look to go into the media when their playing days are over, whatever their sport. I would certainly not have made it successfully myself. My first salary with The Times was £950 a year plus £50 a year cost of living bonus. I’d be surprised if my successor but three Mike Atherton, perhaps the best all-round cricket writer there has ever been, gets much less of a salary than a City tycoon. He, David Gower, Nasser Hussain, Ian Botham and Alastair Cook are among those who have gone into the media and made life more difficult for aspiring schoolboy journalists. However the last thing I would want to do is discourage the latter. If your aim is to become a sports writer, I suggest you write something on everything you watch, whatever the game, and if you have a local paper send it to them in the hope that you will eventually be taken on not least for your enthusiasm. If you have some sort of a degree to fall back on, should your dream of becoming a sportswriter, then so much the better. Good luck – it’s a great profession. During your time at the School what, in particular, influenced your future career direction? All my years at Teddies were during the Second World War, hence to some extent a case of making ends meet – something at which Warden Kendall excelled. As an example of this, my first Segar’s housemaster was not Gerry Segar himself but Henry Gauntlett, affectionately known as ‘the grocer’. He was standing in for Gerry Segar, who was away at the war. They were both quite different characters and great schoolmasters, Henry with his dear little dog and Gerry, when he came back before the war, sitting in his study, smoking his pipe, rug over his legs and as close to his electric fire as he could get in order to save fuel. When Henry’s dog was drowned in the canal, it was a great sadness to us all. More memorable for the whole School was the appearance of Guy Gibson, very soon after he had become a national hero by leading the great dambusting raid for which he was awarded the V.C. He gave a short and wonderfully modest talk from

the high table at lunch dressed in civvies. Gibson had gone first of all to Cowell’s, his old House, there to be met by Derek Henderson, Head of House, and to see Freddie Yorke his old Housemaster. On the cricket field, nothing was more inspiring than our bowling out what Cheltenham considered to be their strongest ever side for 62 before lunch, the damage being done by Henderson himself and our great friend Mike Womersley. Which Test cricketers did you admire most? Of the 40 odd tours I made overseas, mostly with England, the first tour to Australia and the first to South Africa, were all made by sea. This meant, happily, meeting all the best players of the day and getting to know most of them closely. Among those who came to play for me against Longparish, the Hampshire village where I have always lived, have been Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Richie Benaud, Ken Barrington, Frank Tyson, Graeme Pollock, Bishan Bedi, Ian Redpath and many others. Cricket is not only a great sport but the source of many a friendship at whatever level. Among my fondest of possessions is the warmest of letters from Sir Donald Bradman on my appointment as editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, proudly boasting of his ownership of a full set of them. It is very rare to meet an unfriendly cricketer.

Barry Richards (+ Viv Richards, Martin Crowe, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara)

Batsman:

Fast bowler:

Dennis Lillee

Spin bowler:

Shane Warne

Wicketkeeper:

Godfrey Evans

Captain:

Richie Benaud

Fielder:

Colin Bland and countless others

Allrounder:

Gary Sobers followed by Ian Botham

Medium paced bowler:

Alec Bedser, (Derek Henderson – SES and John Bishop – SES)

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