Lent 2010 News Archive
Sport Relief Fun Run
26/03/2010
On Sunday 21 March, 128 boys and 16 members of staff took part in the Sport Relief fun run, everyone completing at least one mile, and six hardy souls completing the full six miles with Director of Sport, Mr Joe Porter. A splendid array of fancy dress was on display, on a lovely sunny afternoon, raising over £250 for Sport Relief.
Eton Fives
22/03/2010
Sadly, because of the sickness bug, we have had no fewer than four fives matches cancelled in recent weeks, which has rather hampered our preparation for the two annual tournaments we always enter.
43rd Prep Schools’ Eton Fives Competition (at Harrow)
Thursday 11th March
Both pairs were short of pre-tournament practice but managed to play themselves back into some sort of form during the course of the day. Our 1st pair, Thomas Nevile and Thomas Skinner, the captain, achieved their goal of reaching the semi-finals, where they met a typically strong and determined Highgate duo. Having lost the first game relatively quickly, we fought back strongly for a while before succumbing to our more experienced opponents. Meanwhile the 2nd pair, Edward Macdonald-Buchanan and Max Macdonald, who had been pipped in the pool stage by a talented Berkhamsted 1, proceeded comfortably through the knock-out stages of the Marston Plate to arrive in the final as favourites. However, in a match that consisted of only one game to 12 points, we stumbled and conceded several soft points to allow Orley Farm 1 to ease ahead and finally win 12-9. We couldn’t help feeling that ‘best of three’ would have produced a different result!
HSBC National Schools Under 12 Championships (at Eton)
Tuesday 16th March
We entered eight pairs and all acquitted themselves well, even though it was a long day with a certain amount of waiting around because of the large number of competitors (88 pairs from 12 different schools) – a record number for this tournament. Six of our pairs emerged successfully from the preliminary groups, and the others then had a good run in the Plate. Our young 3rd pair, Charlie Davies and Teddy Knollys, were knocked out in the 3rd round, whilst our 2nd pair, Caio Castellini Baldissera and the novice Osita Ighodaro, went two stages further, losing to Ipswich 1 in the quarter-finals.
Barnaby Harrison and Crispin Straker (1st pair) enjoyed a fairly comfortable passage to the last eight, although the 4th round match against a lower Highgate team almost led to an upset and we had to work hard to defeat them. In the quarter-final we met Ludgrove 1 and enjoyed a fiercely competitive contest. We took the first game and then allowed them to draw level in the second. The third, deciding game saw Barnaby and Crispin raise their standard to new heights and win 12-9 to qualify for the semi-finals. As the time was now 7.10pm and everyone else had departed from Eton, the last two stages of the tournament were duly postponed to a later date!
The rescheduled conclusion to the tournament took place at Highgate School on Monday 22nd March. It was very difficult to move into top gear from a standing start, so to speak, and both Barnaby and Crispin played very erratically at first; hardly before we knew it, we had lost the first game. However, the opposition, Highgate 1, were eminently beatable, and we came back more positively in the second. We matched them point-for-point up to 8-8, and then once again careless mistakes at crucial moments allowed them to take the initiative and then seize victory.
Nevertheless, congratulations to Barnaby and Crispin for reaching the semi-finals of this national tournament and keeping the name of Summer Fields School prominent in the world of Eton Fives!
Warthogs Rugby Sevens
22/03/2010
The sixth annual Warthogs Rugby Sevens competition took place on Sunday 21st March. Eight teams took part, representing five schools including Bedford, Caldicott, Elstree, Moulsford and Summer Fields. This is a unique tournament which is only open to boys who have played in their school’s 3rd XV, providing an opportunity to those boys who do not usually get the chance to represent their school in a sevens tournament.
The weather was fantastic and a great time was had by all. Caldicott 1st VII won the main competition, beating Summer Fields 2nd VII in the final, and Caldicott 2nd VII won the plate final. Well done Caldicott!
Why the Warthogs?
‘Why are you called the Warthogs?’ gasped an opponent in the middle of the match.
‘You’ll find out,’ was his sinister reply.
In 1970, 3rd XV rugby players were not awarded their colours, so Revd Pryor introduced a ritual with an ancient boar’s tusk that he found one day while out Beagling, and according to legend, had fallen from the ‘Great Warthog in the Sky’. Like Man of the Match, ‘a touch of the tusk’ was bestowed upon each shoulder of anyone who was considered worthy of being awarded his 3rd XV colours. It was thus that you became a Warthog.
‘Warthoggery’ gained such a following that boys began to defect from the first game to join in on the camaraderie of the 3rd XV. This was discouraged and the 3rd XV remained a reservoir of skill. ‘Warthoggery’ still flourishes to this day, and the 2010 3rd XV tuskers were as fierce and as enthusiastic as ever.
Murder in the Library
02/03/2010
There will be a prize draw for all of the correct entries and a prize for the winner. Every boy in the school will also receive a £1 book token provided sponsored by WBD National Book Tokens.
Red Choir at New College,Oxford
The chance to lead the worship in this ancient and beautiful chapel, lit with candles and steeped in musical history, is something which few boys (and adults) ever forget. Our service included music by Bruckner, Rose, Stanford and Mendelssohn. The latter’s piece was his famous anthem Hear My Prayer which includes very long and demanding passages for a treble solo (including the famous O for a wings of a dove). Toby Steel sang this quite stunningly and it was certainly a fitting culmination to a marvellous evening.
Special thanks are also due to New College for allowing us to sing in their chapel and to Mr Edwards for all his hard work behind the scenes, without which, the evening would not have been possible.
The Living Rainforest
11/02/2010
Summer Fields First Years visited the Living Rainforest in Hamstead Norreys on Monday 8 February. The narratives below were written by two First Years.
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The Living Rainforest was so exciting. It was really exciting when I saw the snake in the tree. I saw three sting rays they were very fast. I even saw some monkeys they were the smallest monkeys in the world. I saw some tiny scorpions crawling all over the place. The vanilla plant was very interesting. The tortoise was massive! We even saw a crocodile. The tarantula was disgusting. Some plants had a lot of adaptation. The Swiss cheese plant was interesting as well. It was very hot in there I nearly boiled. Our guide was very nice. I hope you go.
- Mortimer
On the way we went by coach. When we got there we played in the playground for about ten minutes. Then we went inside, took off our coats and went into groups. Then we went to our guides and we entered the Living Rainforest. It was like going into a new world. I was so hot and humid. I was too hot to realise the amazing plants and trees not to mention the wildlife. These are some of the animals that I saw: a scorpion, a spider, a toucan, a pygmy monkey, an agouti (a massive guinea pig), a sting ray, a snake and a crocodile. There was also a Swiss cheese plant, there was another plant with massive leaves. We also saw vanilla and cocoa beans. Also there was another plant that had poisonous sap. In my opinion that was the best school trip I’ve ever been on.
- JJ
Good Shot!
08/02/2010
Summer Fields is one of the few schools in the country to have a fully-equipped small-bore rifle range. Each week, groups of senior boys work hard to improve their scores on the 25 metre firing range which has CCTV in every firing lane.
The boys use a set of .22 calibre Anschutz target rifles which were donated by former pupils in the 1970’s and are kept secure in the school’s own armoury. These rifles are fitted with target (rather than telescopic) sights and it is quite a challenge for boys to hit a bulls-eye which is only four centimetres across! Accurate scores require the combination a keen eye, a strong arm and a steady hand. Although younger boys are encouraged to have ‘try-out’ sessions in the range, the serious coaching is reserved for the 5th years: these alone tend to have the physical strength and emotional maturity necessary for accurate (and safe) target shooting.
Occasional Shooting Competitions are arranged between Summer Fields and other schools. The annual Boys versus Parents shooting match is a popular event.
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Table Tennis Championships 2010
Posted 05/02/2010
After a strong showing in the team competition last term, where Summer Fields came second, we were hopeful of another good day. The group stages were highly competitive: Osita and Kwame were drawn in the same group and ended up as comfortable winner and runner-up. Louis and Harry both won matches but each had some bad luck and couldn’t quite make it through. Caio and Barnaby had also ended up together in a big and tough group, but did fantastically to qualify.
Luck was again against us as Barnaby and Osita had to play the first quarter final against each other, Osita squeezing through two sets to one. Caio then played Kwame and was pushed all the way to a good win. Thus we had our top two players in the semi-finals, each playing very fine, aggressive players. Caio couldn’t quite get the luck of the net cord and went out in a hugely creditable 3rd place. Osita put the team through a five-set ordeal, but as the calmest person in the room he held his nerve on the crucial points and deservedly found himself in the final.
Up against him was the favourite from the start, conqueror of Caio and Harry and a superb player. His powerful, smashing style was in total contrast to Osita’s relaxed thoughtfulness, always playing the angles and making his opponent play shots that he doesn’t want to. Osita took the first set confidently but lost the second 14-12. A fast and skilful five-set match played out for a gripped audience and Osita deservedly held on for a brilliant and memorable victory. Awarding the trophy, the tournament organiser compared him to the great Desmond Douglas, the most successful post-war British table tennis player.
Looking forward, it is really exciting to think that the whole team was made up of Removes, all of whom will be eligible to return for next year’s tournaments in the hunt for more silverware.
Poetry Workshop Day
Posted 03/02/2010
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Forres Holidays
Posted 29/01/2010
On Wednesday 27th January we welcomed James Stileman, of the Titus Trust, who gave an illustrated talk about Forres Holidays, a Christian Activity Holiday that he runs each year during the summer holidays. Boys in the Removes and 5ths attended and they enjoyed seeing some one hundred slides showing prep school children having a fantastic time at last year’s holidays, based in and around the New Forest area in southern England. A number of boys took a leaflet and booking-form, and so parents are warned that this might be a topic for discussion over the short leave! There are three camps for 11-13 year-olds, but I understand that vacancies remain only for the second one, which runs from 28th July to 5th August.
APWB
Red Choir on the BBC
Posted 25/01/2010
Senior Master, Mr Paul Cheater, was featured with Summer Fields' Red Choir on BBC Oxford news last week. Mr Cheater is volunteering his time and talents to plan the curriculum for Afghanistan's first ever National Institute of Music. Sponsored by Monash University in Australia, Mr Cheater is working with the coordinators at Monash to establish the Institute, fostering and developing the rich musical history of Afghan culture that has been censored under the Taliban.
For more information, click here to see the interview on BBC Oxford news.
What's Cooking?
Posted 24/01/2010
Australia Day
Summer Fields will celebrate Australia Day on Tuesday 26 January. Click here to search for great Australian recipes, or use the links below for more Australia Day activities:
Animals of Australia wordsearch
Burns' Night
Summer Fields is serving haggis for lunch on Monday 24 January in celebration the life and work of Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Click here to hear a beautifully read Scottish Grace or use the links below to for more fun Burns' Night fun:
Farmhouse Breakfast Week
24 - 30 January 2010
Summer Fields will be taking part in the 11th Annual Farmhouse Breakfast Week, encouraging the boys to get into a healthy breakfast habit. Click here to visit the official website for this initiative, or use the links below learn more about how Summer Fields is celebrating this event.
For Parents:
For Children: