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drive proved very popular for all involved.The
first of a number of successful chess matches
took place against Cherwell School and, like
squash, chess was enjoying a revival with the
team qualifying for the national competition
later in the year.Towards the end of the week
before Short Leave,Tom Clowes came and
spoke to the boys about his Everest expedition.
Refreshed from the weekend break, the
rugby teams faced midweek matches against
Moulsford who are always strong opponents.
The SecondYear headed down the Banbury
Road to the Ashmolean for the morning.The
cross country team had their first outing
with the Pinewood meeting and the week
concluded with a FifthYear bowling trip with
the girls fromTudor Hall.
As Long Leave approached, the boys
received their first Orders of the term, a Third
Year team entered the Abingdon Business
Challenge (performing strongly on the
marketing task), two days of rugby sevens
were hosted by St. John’s Beaumont, cross
country runners competed at Chandlings and
there was the little matter of the League Music
Competition to prepare for! As ever, we were
treated to a very entertaining evening with the
customary high standard of individual entries
per League and the hugely enjoyable League
Shout.This year’s winners were Maclaren,
directed by MWIJ, singing “I need a Hero”!
The second half of term began with a record
number of sixteen boys qualifying for the
second round of the TownsendWarner History
Prize.The Rubik Cube craze made a comeback,
29 years after its first foray into the world
and a school competition resulted in some
impressive performances from boys of all ages.
The guitar pupils gave an excellent concert
in New Room, the cross-country team ran in
the Ludgrove relays and, at a time when the
country was faced by the initial stages of the
“Brexit” debate, the junior debate wrangled
with the dilemma of sugar in your diet and in
an evening lecture HumphreyWalters gave an
inspirational talk on “Leadership and Teamwork
in a Tough Environment.” In the final part of
the week,Wind and Brass players gave an
entertaining concert for parents whilst staff
and parents competed fiercely in a squash and
Fives evening before concluding the week with
an uplifting Baptism and Confirmation service
for ten senior boys.
The following week dawned with the
final set of mock exams for senior boys.
The SecondYear spent two nights away
at St. Briavel’s Castle learning about life in
medieval times whilst the Chapel Choir sang
Evensong at Balliol College.The senior debate
posed the motion
“This House believes that
religious beliefs, gatherings and dress should
be separated fromeducation and educational
establishments”
and, with the public speaking
competitions this term featuring a wide variety
of different topics and interests, it is good to
see that the gift of oratory is alive and well at
Summer Fields.At the weekend, we entered a
pair into the Schools Real Tennis tournament
and the ever-popular annualWarthog Sevens
was hosted, with Summer Fields teams
finishing runners-up in both Main and Plate
sections of the competition.
A swimming match against Cothill started
the next week and more chess, this time
against local rivals The Dragon. In the 400th
anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death,
the Removes visited Stratford for a taste of
Shakespeare in preparation for a visit later
in the term from the Young Shakespeare
Company. Owing to a mix of injury and illness,
the team for the National Cross Country
Championships at Malvern was somewhat
depleted but it still proved good experience
for many of our boys to compete in such a
competitive event.
The penultimate week of term began with
the National Schools Rugby Sevens,ABRSM
music exams and a trip to the Newbury
Rainforest for the First Year. Parents and
boys enjoyed a convivial evening of Bridge
in the upstairs of the Salata Pavilion.The
Fives team competed strongly in the annual
prep schools tournament, with our first pair
reaching the final, only to lose out to the
Sunningdale pair they had beaten the previous
year.The highlight of the week though, was
undoubtedly the excellent production of
Animal Farm
, reviewed elsewhere.A Palm
Sunday Eucharist service, complete with palm
fronds for the choir, an RHB go-karting trip and
the Moulsford Sevens rounded off a busy final
weekend of term.
The winning League of the term was
Moseley, who enjoyed a great afternoon out
on some trampolines at Go Bounce, followed
by a delicious league feast at the end of the
day (better that way round!). BOSFAM golf
was played in dry conditions with a number
of staff playing for the first time.The FifthYear
spent an evening at the Oxford Playhouse
and the curtain came down on the term
with a splendid Maundy Thursday concert in
St. Michael’s and All Angels church, involving
boys, staff and parents and featuring pieces by
Brahms, Fauré and Rheinberger.
MAI
S u m m e r F i e l d s
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6
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