Brighton College Review Michaelmas 2008

ReviewM I C H A E L M A S T E R M 2 0 0 8

B RIGHTONC OLLEGE

“One of England’s Leading Schools” The Times, 2008

“The best A-level grades of anyco-educational school in England”

There were many happy, smiling faces this summer as our Upper Sixth celebrated the best A-Level results ever achieved by aco-educational school in the United Kingdom. With 70% of results at A grade and 94% at A or B, everyone had something tocelebrate. In its commentary, The Times put the college’s success down to a proper balance between the academic and theextra-curricular elements of a first class education. Two years ago, the Headmaster cut the number of lessons from 45 to 40 perweek, committing the extra time to sport, the performing arts and public speaking. As he wrote in The Times: “teenagers who arehappily engaged outside the classroom are much more likely to be happily engaged inside the classroom”.

No other Sussex school appeared in The Daily Telegraph Top 100 UK Schools and the highest placed of those Sussex schools whichdid not submit their results for publication would have found itself in 172nd position.

The Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2008

The Daily Telegraph/Christopher Pledger © Telegraph Media Group

With Brighton College still the only independent school in England whereMandarin Chinese is a core part of the curriculum, it was little wonder thatChina’s leading secondary school, Tsinghua University High School, shouldinvite a group of college pupils over to China. Twenty boys and girls will bebased at the school, immersing themselves in Chinese culture, enjoyingChinese food and visiting some of the wonderful historical and sportinglandmarks of Beijing. Last term, the Education Secretary, Ed Balls MP,opened the college's impressive new Confucius Institute, the centrepiece ofthe new Mandarin Department.

From Brighton to Beijing

Four cadets won places on the Army CadetExchange this year, more than from any otherschool in the UK. Two travelled to Australiaand two to the Cayman Islands. They not onlygained and invaluable insight into the Army’srole in assisting with disaster relief operationsbut also learned new skills from camping in thewild to survival techniques, navigation andabseiling.

College cadets wintrip to Australia andCayman Islands

Fifteen brave Fenwick girls participated in theRace for Life in support of Cancer ResearchUK. An estimated £254,000 was raised by theevent which coincided with similar efforts atlocations nationwide. The college’s house char-ity drive raised nearly £24,000 last year,benefiting various charities including ExtraCover, the college’s own fund for thoseaffected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

Race for Life

Record A-Level results....Record AS results........Record GCSE results

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Not to be outdone, the Lower Sixth broke the impressive record set by last year’s Upper Sixth, achieving the best AS results in thecollege’s history with 80% of grades at A or B. This puts them in a very strong position for their university applications this term.A record 52 pupils are applying to Oxford and Cambridge for entry in 2009.

At GCSE, the picture was just as rosy: 34% of all grades were A* compared to a national average of only 6%. Overall, 100% securedat least 5 GCSEs at A* to C (the government’s favourite measure) while 70% of grades were at A* or A. Once again, these werecomfortably the best results of any co-educational school in Sussex.

Three sets of twins:three sets of starsSix boys, all twins, found themselves splashedacross the national press on results day. Themost common grade achieved by Luke andMiles Holbrook, Adam and Charles Davies andDale and Lucas Currell was, of course, an A*.On average, they had 8 or more A grades each.As Miles told the BBC: “It’s fantastic, just likewinning a gold medal in the Olympics”.

This year's Summer music tour was to Venice. The Chamber Choir sang in St Mark's Basilica, as part of a mass, and thenattracted a large audience for a further performance in St Mark's Square, known as the "drawing room of the world". After moreconcerts and sightseeing they continued to Opatija in Croatia to repeat their programme to much acclaim.

Chamber Choir tour to Venice and Croatia

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Oxford UniversityUniversity College, LondonUniversity of BathUniversity of NottinghamCambridge UniversityDurham UniversityLoughborough UniversityImperial College, LondonKings College, LondonUniversity of Warwick

Top 10 UniversityDestinations ofBrighton CollegeLeavers 2007 and2008

Oxford has emerged as the top destination for Brighton Collegeleavers in 2007 and 2008, followed by University College,London, Bath, Nottingham and Cambridge. In 2007, morepupils won places at Oxford and Cambridge than at any time inthe history of the college. This record was matched in 2008 andthere is every hope of new heights being scaled in 2009. Just asimportantly, the numbers securing places at other Russell Groupuniversities has risen by 25% in the last two years as BrightonCollege pupils of all abilities raise their sights as never before.

Oxford University is the topdestination for Brighton leavers

Italy tour works its magic for Rugby Club

A sporting selection

Sophie BentonSouth of England hockey goalkeeper

Ross Chisholm & Tim WilliamsRugby training in Italy

Jordan AuburnSussex AAA Junior Hurdles champion

The 2008-9 rugby season began in fine form with the 1st XV comfortably overcoming KCS, Wimbledon (36-12) and ReigateGrammar School (39-11) in the first fixtures of the season. These early wins followed a hugely enjoyable and successful trainingcamp in northern Italy. 47 boys spent a week just north of Venice, following a programme of individual and unit skill developmentand fitness training, interspersed with sightseeing in Venice and swimming in the Adriatic. Meanwhile, the Under 15s have madean impressive start to the season with a convincing win over Wellington College at the South of England Festival.

The college welcomed more boarders thanever this term, all of whom will benefitfrom the £1million refurbishment andexpansion of School House, AbrahamHouse and Fenwick House. The boys’houses have capacious new CommonRooms, IT suites, kitchens and refurbishedstudy bedrooms, while the girls havespacious new accommodation in theGilbert Scott Building. A new entrancelobby and an additional Tutor’s flatincreases the number of teachers livingin Fenwick House to three: theHousemistress, the Deputy Housemistressand the Matron. The new Health Centrehas also opened, conveniently adjacent toAbraham House.

There has been a younger addition toSchool House too with the arrival of SamGodfrey, the third child of MatthewGodfrey, Housemaster of School House,and his wife Julia. Meanwhile, MrsMurphy, Housemistress of Fenwick, isexpecting a brother for Michael, aged 2,currently the only boy in Fenwick.

With applications to Brighton College up 56% in 2007-8, wewelcomed our largest 4th Form ever in August 2008.Unsurprisingly, the college also enjoyed its largest field ofscholarship candidates on record. In all, 30 academic awards weremade to boys and girls from a wide range of prep schoolsincluding Lancing, Pennthorpe, St Aubyns, Great Walstead,Chailey, St Christopher’s and, of course, Brighton College PrepSchool. Among the new arrivals were three former Heads ofSchool (pictured right): Freddie Lewendon (Pennthorpe),Cameron Dashwood (St Aubyns) and Hansy Shore (GreatWalstead).

More applicants than everbefore....and more scholarsthan ever before

Boarding numbers highest for 50 years

Grace, Sam, Alec and Michael

Brighton’s ‘Story of our Land’sparks national debateThe announcement of a specially created curriculum to ‘challenge andinspire’ children joining the college at 11+ sparked a national debateabout the gaps in children’s learning of history. Subtitled ‘From Nero ToGround Zero’, the course will enable pupils to develop a comprehensiveunderstanding of the past from the Roman Empire to the Iraq War andwill be taught over three years. Children will learn Latin and Mandarinas well as enjoying an extensive menu of extra curricular activities suchas Drama, Sport, Art and Music. The course was widely welcomed inreports by most national newspapers and commentators.

Registrations for the new Year 7 entry to the college in 2009 are booming. Many parents who have been happy with their localstate primary schools are less convinced by the state secondary schools on offer. The very best state school in Brighton and Hove,for example, achieved 20% of GCSE grades at A*/A, the grades demanded by good universities. The equivalent figure at BrightonCollege was 70%. Parents are also attracted to the co-educational nature of the college. Real life is co-educational and they wanttheir children to grow up in a natural, normal environment.

The new building, designed by award-winning architects KFM, will contain spacious accommodation for eighty 11 and 12 yearolds with designated work space, a library, a common room with a large vaulted ceiling, a mezzanine and views to the sea andplenty of room for relaxation too. The Head of the Lower School, Leah Hamblett, and her Deputy, Anthony Merrett, will also bebased there.

11-13 Lower School attracts huge interest

News from the Prep School

Sporting success - the story continuesBCPS Under 13 netballers won the county netball titlefor the fifth year in a row and the Under 12s wererunners-up in the national IAPS (prep schools) finals.Following in their footsteps, the Under 10 girlscompleted a remarkable season. They were unbeatenin fixtures against other schools and won fourtournaments, which is an amazing achievement. The 1stXV rugby side won all their matches against other prepschools and crowned the season by winning the ‘Sevens’tournament held at Windlesham House School.

A musical finaleThe BCPS musical calendar for 2007-8 culminatedin a wonderful summer concert, which showcasedperformances by the orchestras, choirs and windband, as well as numerous other ensembles andsoloists. Audiences were treated to an impressive,beautifully performed repertoire from Handel toGershwin and Susato to Ralph McTell.

In the Spotlight

Crest Star Investigators is one of 80 clubs running each week at BCPS. Childrengain science awards as part of a UK-wide scheme, by solving scientific problemsthrough practical investigations. Four pupils gained the advanced Megastar award,looking at problems as diverse as finding the most suitable material for plugging ahole in a bucket to identifying the most effective toothpaste.

Parents were transported to a tropicalparadise for a sumptuous Year 6performance of the Jungle Book.Wonderfully choreographed numberssuch as The Bare Necessities and Wanna BeLike You were performed with greatenthusiasm by the cast, against abackdrop of colourful vines, exoticflowers and real bananas!

Jungle VIPs

There’s a hole in my bucket…

This has been another dynamic and busy year for the many prep school dancers. They have performed on speech day, at a local artsfestival and in the annual dance show. Highlights in the latter show, over two nights, included the energetic Ease on Down the Road,the good humoured St Trinian’s jazz dancers and the poignant Evacuees. BCPS dancers also achieved fantastic success in their RADand ISTD exams.

News from the Pre-Prep School

The swimming gala and sports day, both held in May, providedparents with the opportunity to see how much their childrenhave developed in the pool and on the sports field during theyear.

Year 3 boys also took part in their first cricket matchrepresenting Brighton College – which they won!

The Instrumental Concert showcased 80 children performingon their instruments as well as performances by the Year 3 choir,which also performed at the Prep School’s Speech Day at theDome.

Our World was the subject of the Summer Show involving everychild in the school and reflecting the term’s green theme.

Little LaureatesPoems from 12 pupils in Year 3 were chosen as winners inthe annual Young Writers’ Poetry competition. Their poemshave been published in the book Little Laureates.

Trips outEvery year group enjoyed going out on trips to reinforcetopics they had been learning about, which often left themquite exhausted!

A celebration of sportand music

The Pre-Prep goes green

Thinking of othersPre-Prep pupils are encouraged to understand the plight of others less fortunate and those with disabilities from a very young age.Parents and children are always very generous when supporting the various charity drives throughout the year.

Fun at the FairDespite the late arrival of spring this year, daffodils and Easterbunnies filled the Sports Hall for the annual Easter Fair. Throughthe silent auction, raffle and ‘tree of good will’, a magnificent £5,000was raised for the charity “Extratime” which provides after schoolcare for children with disabilities.

Shades Day raised nearly £200 for Guide Dogs.

Baxter, the hearing dog, and his owner visited the school to helpchildren understand deafness.

A cheque for nearly £2,000 was presented by Father Robert to pupilsat Nakanda Primary School in Sri Lanka. The money was raisedfrom sales of calendars featuring artwork by every pupil and collatedby the Parents’ Association.

An Environmental Week was held last term to raiseawareness in our young pupils of the importance oflooking after their future world. “Reduce, re-use,recycle” became the motto of the week. As well ascreating a wild-life garden, every child in the schooldesigned a leaf for the “Hedge of Pledge” stating howthey were going to help the environment.

Leading Schools”The Times 2008

Call 01273 704201/2 www.brightoncollege.net

B RIGHTONC OLLEGE

“One of England’s

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