9 / 118
Acknowledgements
Firstly I must acknowledge that the
publication date of this year’s edition
of the school magazine is somewhat
later than usual, for which I apologise. A
concatenation of retirement from Summer
Fields, moving house, dealing with builders
and other craftspeople and tradesmen
has distracted the editor from his single-
minded pursuit of early deadlines … no,
enough of excuses – just see that it doesn’t
happen again!
My thanks go to: Mark Hosken and
Danny Crane-Brewer, of Hunts, for their
forbearance as they have patiently waited
for text to arrive so that they may artfully
arrange the pictures and graphics around
the page; to those gifted photographers
who have so kindly provided images that
capture the spirit of the school – as last
year, the main suppliers have been DCP,
ACS, SJS and MWIJ, but there have been
many others, too, including a few parents;
to all those who have contributed reports
and reviews, especially MAI, ARAS, JHB,
JDAN, SJN and OJSB; to JJP for collating all
the sports results; to HL, EJO and MLP for
compiling the content of the blue pages
(creative section); and finally to JSB, for
tolerating a husbandly neglect during the
early stage of her retirement. I am truly
grateful to these, and other, good people.
APWB
SCR
Sophie Palmer – later to become Sophie Rickner – arrived at Summer
Fields from Stowe in September 2012 to teach English. It was
immediately clear that she would be doing far more than just that:
a real advocate of the ‘schoolmaster’ (indeed, born and bred for the
role, given her parents’ involvement at Lancing School in Sussex), she
was determined to get stuck in as much as possible straight away.
An excellent horsewoman, she was also a very talented fives player
at school (and is a former Girls Champion) , and she immediately
played a full part in the sporting life of the school, coaching Under-9
football and rugby teams, as well as taking numerous boys to polo
at Kirtlington. She also readily volunteered for school trips, visiting St
Briavels Castle, Compton Verney and Stratford, to name but a few; she
was also a regular member of the post-CE Leavers’ Trip and organised
the Third Year camping challenge in our own Plantation. But she was
an English teacher first and she did this very well throughout the
school and guided numerous boys through the increasingly tough
Common Entrance English exams.
Despite commuting from Stowe, SCR was always one of the first
Form Masters in the classroom in the morning. In looking after her
form, she was conscientious and dedicated and the pastoral care of
the boys was always a priority for her. In September 2014 she was
able to develop this as she took on two new roles. Her care and
commitment to the wellbeing of the boys in the ‘Middle School’,
as Head of the Second & Third Year, were plain to see and as Head
of PSHE she completely revamped the syllabus and organised a
number of visiting speakers, including the excellent sessions on drug
education and e-safety for boys and parents. However, her final
year saw arguably her greatest achievement. The Summer Fete was,
despite the apocalyptic rain showers, a terrific success and this was
in large part down to her meticulous planning and management.
Sophie married Mike Rickner in August 2015 and, with her
journey to school becoming ever more difficult, she made the
tough decision that she needed to work closer to home, and at
Beachborough she will certainly be doing this – with the added
attraction of some equestrian responsibilities. Our loss is definitely
their gain. Her enthusiasm and infectious personality will be
missed by the whole Summer Fields community; for such a small
person she will certainly leave a remarkably big hole.
OJSB
“Her enthusiasmand infectious
personalitywill bemissed
by thewhole Summer Fields
community”
S u m m e r F i e l d s
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6
5