Exciting Exhibitions p6-7
talk of TRINIT YNEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2013
The School received its best ever public
examination results at GCSE level with its
highest ever percentage of A*- A grades
(84.6%) and a fantastic 99.5% A*-C grades.
The percentage of A* grades (51.3%) was also
well ahead of last year’s previous record results
(41%). Over 70 students achieved 5 or more A*s
with particular congratulations to Leo Benedict,
Seb Blount, Jamie Cox, Jaibir Dhanoa, Alastair
Dixon, Will Holmes, Oscar Lally and James
Lovering who all achieved 10 A* grades.
Dramatic Effects p11
Exam success for Trinity studentsTrinity School pupils had cause for celebration last August when they opened the brown envelopes containing their A-level and GCSE results.
At A level Trinity celebrated its first intake of Upper Sixth girls to graduateIt seems like yesterday that Trinity welcomed its first intake
of 30 girls in September 2011! They have done themselves
and the School proud with a superb set of A-level results
including 28% of A* grades. Overall this was a highly
creditable year with 88.5% A*-B grades and 98.4% A*-
C. The highest ever number of students (50) achieved 3A
grades or better, with particular congratulations to Lloyd
Abbott, Rachel Chatterjee, Alice Gallop, Kate Gardner,
Saptarshi Manna, Josh Meyer, Shan Pandya, Ed Tidball and
George Webb who achieved 3A*s, whilst Krishan Sareen
and Jess O’ Sullivan secured an outstanding 4A*s. The vast
majority of the U6 pupils secured a place at their university of
choice including all 14, the highest ever number, of those who
had been offered places at Oxbridge.
55
50
45
40
35
30
% A
* gr
ades
% A* grades
A* grades at GCSE
20132010 2011 2012
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•Meet our new student senior team p2
2 www.trinity-school.org
Andrew Fanthorpe Head Boy “I feel extremely honoured to have
been appointed Head Boy at Trinity.
My subjects are Latin, History, RS and
Spanish, with a little bit of Ancient
Greek at GCSE thrown in on the side.
I have a passion for all things ancient
and wish to study Classics at Oxford. I
enjoy the feeling of reward from hard
work, competing on the hockey pitch
and playing the clarinet when time
allows. What I like most about Trinity
is the family atmosphere and the
amazing people I have had the pleasure
of working alongside since joining the
School seven years ago. Finally, I do
simply enjoy being in the company
of my peers both inside and outside
of school. I hope that I can really
represent the School well in my new
role and I look forward to contributing
to School life as best I can.”
Vanessa UptonHead Girl“Moving to Trinity for the Sixth Form
has been an excellent experience. I
study English, History, Economics and
Maths and I hope to pursue English
at Cambridge. Beyond academics
I’ve been a presenter on Trinity News,
debated for the School and played in
the rounders team. Outside of school
I’ve been in plays and volunteer at a
charity called ‘Waggy Tails’. What has
impressed me most about Trinity is
how much the teachers care about
each student. I know I will be very well
supported in my university application
later this year.
The Head Girl is still a relatively new
role and I am looking forward to
exploring its potential and hopefully
having a positive effect on students
throughout the School.”
James Larman Deputy Head Boy“I’ve been at Trinity for six years
now and still enjoy coming to
School every day. I consider myself
an all-rounder. Hockey is my main
sport, although I also play cricket,
and I am part of the orchestra too.
For A2 I’m studying Maths,
Economics, Geography and
Chemistry. I’m planning to read
Geography at university, though
whether in the UK or the USA
is still undecided. What I find
great about Trinity is the range of
options available to everyone and
the friendly interaction across the
year groups.
I’m looking forward to working
closely with Andy and Vanessa. It’s
hard to think of ways to improve
Trinity but the important thing to
me is that we promote the School,
not only as a great place to study,
but also as a place to develop the
skills needed for later life.”
Meet our new student senior team
Well done to Nick and Dan Thompson who played for England in the ISFA Tour of Spain last spring and achieved 17A*s and 3As between them!
Double joy for GCSE twins
Trinity School Newsletter | Spring 2013 3
Autumn 2013Trinity School Newsletter
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Academic Highlights
The History Department took the Third Year on a day
trip to the battlefields of the Somme and Arras. It was
the opportunity for pupils to stand on the ground where
some of the bloodiest battles of the Great War were
fought and experience the incredible atmosphere created
by the seemingly endless rows of crosses, in both allied
and German cemeteries. “It makes you think - that could
have been us...” said Rohan Redican.
Holocaust survivor, Rudi Openheimer, spoke to a captivated
Second Year audience about his experiences during World War II.
He prompted many thoughtful reactions: “It made me feel what
it would be like to live during the war” (Prem Woods); “People
had to go through so much suffering. It really made me think,
and made me sad too” (Qasim Bhamani); “I got the feeling
it could have been me” (Jay Ahuja). As Adarsh Shah rightly
concluded: “It was an honour to meet Mr Oppenheimer”.
Cambridge Essay FinalistVanessa Upton (L6) made the final shortlist of commended essayists in
a competition run by Peterhouse, the oldest of the Cambridge colleges.
Vanessa wrote on the subject of Virginia Woolf and Jack Kerouac. She
discussed the representation of labour in their writing and the judges
praised the “breadth and subtlety” of her argument.
UKMT Maths Challenges In the Junior Maths Challenge we had over double
the number of gold certificates from last year – our
best results since records began! Jack Cernoch (1R),
Toby Mills (1S), Charlie Broughton (2J) and Luke
Houlahan (2P) qualified for the Junior Mathematical
Olympiad (see picture). In the Senior Team Maths
Challenge, Robert Davidson (5P) won a medal for his
performance in the MacLaurin Olympiad – he was
within the top 60 in the country. Congratulations
go to L6 students Barney Wolstenholme and Karim
Bacchus (pictured left), Stephen Gower (L6) and
Henry Gale (3P) whose excellent performance has
resulted in them being invited to masterclasses at the
Royal Institution. Well done to all!
Fourth Year STEM ChallengeFourth Year boys had a week
to come up with ‘creative
uses for cargo containers
in social reconstruction
following natural disasters’.
They presented their final
projects to a panel of external judges led by Dr Sunday Popo-Ola,
Research and Teaching Fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering
at Imperial College, who said: “I have really enjoyed spending time
with Trinity pupils and getting to hear how they arrived at their
proposals. This is exactly the kind of learning we like students to
have before coming to university”. Congratulations to the winners:
Benjamin Pearce, Victor Finn, Jarrod Nelson-Robb, Charles Fatoma,
Max Stockwell and Anton Poyntz.
History Remembered
4 www.trinity-school.org
Olympian Sean King returns to Trinity Team GB water polo player and
former pupil, Sean King (pictured with
members of our Senior Swimming
Team), paid us a visit to speak about
his experiences at the 2012 Olympics
and give an insight into life as a top
competitor. Sean donated a Team GB
shirt and signed autographs.
Trinity Triathlon 2013On Sunday 30th June, a record
number of 325 girls and boys aged
6-16 competed in the third Trinity
Triathlon, part of the Olympic legacy
and the biggest of its kind in the UK.
Well done to all participants and our
thanks to the 100 volunteers from the
School community and Crystal Palace
Triathlon Club, who ensured that the
Triathlon was another big success.
Full sports roundup in our dedicated newsletter On the Front Foot.
Our virtual share trading team Stochastic - made up of U6 students Ejaaz
Ahamadeen, Peter Chambers, Ed Tidball and George Webb (pictured L to R) -
was crowned best overall trader for 2012-13 and then went all the way to the last
stage of the ifs Student Investor Challenge.
In the national final our team performed exceptionally well and put together a
compelling presentation on how trust in LIBOR could be restored. The judges
were unanimous in declaring it the best presentation they had seen. They were
pipped to the post, however, by RGS Guildford and finished second overall.
The performance of Trinity pupils in this competition over the last few years has
been nothing less than magnificent. As Headmaster Mark Bishop said: “These
students, led by George, have shown a business flair which will stand them in very
good stead for the future”.
ifs Student Investor Final
Our next wave of entrepreneurs came
away from the Young Enterprise
Gala Finals with an array of prizes in
recognition of their work starting up
and running their own companies.
Congratulations go to L6 students
Harry Bailey, Ben Foreman and Alex
Nardiello nominated for the ‘Achiever
of the Year Award’ with Alex collecting
the runner-up prize. This means
he joins next year’s YE Area Board.
Kumaran Ragupathy (L6) was named
‘Best Financial Director’ while Harry
Bailey picked up the award for ‘Best
Teamwork’. Well done to all students
who took part. Involvement in this kind
of competition is an excellent way to
gain the kind of experience that helps
candidates stand out from the crowd
when looking for that first job.
Young Enterprise (YE)
Sport in brief
‘Best Company’ went to ACE Ltd for their Just-to-Say Bear, a cuddly gift and card all in one. Find their ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elArynQqbfI
Autumn 2013Trinity School Newsletter
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Trinity School Newsletter | Spring 2013 5
The sun was shining for the Sixth Form
language trip to Valencia (unlike London!).
A walking tour of the old town and its
imposing architecture, visits of the bull ring
and the City of Arts & Science, shopping
in a market and relaxing on a sandy beach
were some of the highlights, with a tour of
an orange processing factory described as
‘oddly fascinating’ by one of the students!
The opening of a brand new scuba diving centre in Godstone called Diver’s Cove is an exciting development for our Trinity diving club. The centre is based in an old quarry reservoir leased from Surrey and Sutton water.
Some 46 CCF cadets took part in a water sport extravaganza at Aquasports in Merstham. They tackled dinghy sailing, wind surfing, kayaking and raft building. “Everyone got so wet no-one noticed the rain and it was great fun!” said Jason Bird, Commanding Officer.
Nearly 30 Third Year boys travelled to China with a touring
drama production performed in English and Chinese. A
highlight of the trip for many was learning martial arts from
the monks at the famous Shaolin Monastery.
China
Valencia
Trips and travels to remember
CCF water sports
TSSAC try out new local Dive Centre
TunisiaA group of enthusiastic geography students spent time in Tunisia studying desertification and had a good time in the process!
Biology Trip to Wales“Our Sixth Form Biology trip to the Orielton Field centre in Prembroke was an enjoyable, incredibly educational and hardworking course”, says Scott Morgan (U6). “The most enjoyable part was investigating small mammal populations. When three shrews were captured (then released) enthusiasm levels were high.”
The CCF (RAF) Section lived through an inspirational and exhausting week at RAF Shawbury Station, which trains helicopter pilots. The chance of flying a helicopter proved an absolute highlight!
CCF flying
6 www.trinity-school.org
Exciting ExhibitionsA wealth of talent was on display during end-of-year shows and projects.
The Private View of GCSE and A-level Art and
Photography work took place on Friday 7th
June, in the Shaw Gallery. In the Director of
Art, Alan Smith’s words: “Trinity’s artists and
photographers know how to concentrate on
their own vision, producing work that, even
where it acknowledges the practice of other
artists, tells its own stories with an individual,
confident and often very playful edge. I’m very
proud of what our students have achieved”.
Parents were equally enthusiastic. One mum
commented: “We are most impressed with
the show. Tomorrow we are off to the Summer
Exhibition Private View at The Royal Academy
but we are seriously wondering if there is any
point now!”
Art & Photography
Photography A2
Art GCSE Art GCSE
Art A2
Photography A2
Art A2
Photography A2 Photography GCSE
Autumn 2013Trinity School Newsletter
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Trinity School Newsletter | Spring 2013 7
Trinity pupils won four out the six awards
presented at the Rotary Club of South
Croydon’s Photography Competition
Awards Ceremony in the presence of the
Mayor of Croydon.
Congratulations to our four talented
photographers:
• 1stPrizeintheUnder17’sCategory-
Overall Winner: Elisha Wilson (L6) –
see picture
• 1stPrizeintheOver17’sCategory-
People’s Choice Winner: Billy Searle (L6)
• 1stPrizeintheUnder17’sCategory-
People’s Choice Winner: Joe Clacher (4F)
• RunnerUpintheUnder17’sCategory-
Tommy Scopes (4L)
Rotary Club Photography Competition
Garden Design with Marshall MurrayMarshall Murray, exhibitors at Hampton Court Flower Show, set Trinity the
challenge of designing a garden to the show’s specifications - a 2.5m2 plot
– and to include a sculpture selected from the Marshall Murray collection.
Congratulations to winner Euan Baird (1R) and to runners up Max Finch
(1R) and Luke Yeulett (JD), whose ideas influenced Marshall Murray’s show
at Hampton Court.
Richard Day, Head of Design & Technology, said: “This has been an
excellent opportunity for young students to get a chance to work on a real
design-based project and get an insight into professional garden design. I
have been extremely impressed with the quality and creativity of the final
proposals that were put forward and am extremely grateful to Marshall
Murray for giving us this opportunity.”
On 25th April, A-level students in Design
and Electronics exhibited their work in
the Shaw Gallery. Deputy Headmaster
Joe McKee said their work displayed “a
blend of innovation, problem solving,
meticulous attention to detail and hard
work” which visitors commented on in
equal measure.
Design and Electronics
Art A2
U17 overall winner Elisha Wilson
Photography A2
Art A2
Photography GCSE
8 www.trinity-school.org
Trinity stars at Croydon Heritage Festival
Our Pirates cast performed their sell-out
show in Matthews Yard, Croydon’s
newest entertainment venue. On North
End’s main stage, our LAMDA Drama
students needed only a chair and a
microphone to open up different worlds
for the audience. Harry Cookson (1L),
Blake McKenzie (3S), Alex Kirk (3S),
Chris Sharrock (4F), Grace Liston,
Louis Lyle and Freddie Benedict (all
L6) presented their pieces with huge
The School was delighted to support the Croydon Heritage Festival, a celebration of the town’s rich and colourful past, organised by the Whitgift Foundation.
Trinity Big Band played a medley of jazz favourites to an appreciative public in the foyer of the Fairfield Halls (see photo) while jazz sextet London Red entertained with scintillating performances of Herbie Hancock-inspired classics, wowing the Mayor of Croydon in the process!
aplomb. Emeline Beroud accompanied
by Sophie Winter, Jess O’Sullivan (all
U6), Tristan Shone and Adarsh Shah (2J),
and Alex Kirk (3S) performed their Trinity
Eurovision songs in front of a highly
appreciative audience at Matthews Yard.
Boys from 1W participated in a session
entitled ‘Have I Got Views for You’, led
by RS teacher Hannah Whiteford, based
on the style of discussions they enjoy
in their RS classes. The session was
open to the public and produced a very
interesting debate on how the media
affects our opinions.
Finally, Josh Leigh (4M) was named
winner of Trinity’s Celebrating Croydon
in Writing competition. The Editor of
the Croydon Advertiser chose Pickles the
Curious Canine, a story based on the Jack
Russell who found the stolen World Cup
trophy in 1966, “because it was written
in a quirky and unique style, but covered
one of the most famous incidents in
recent Croydon history.” Thisura Silva
(4M) came second for The Tram - A Story
Set in Croydon and Neal Kesterton (1W)
third for The Airman Ghost of Addington.
Celebrating Croydon in Writing winners
Pirates
Blake McKenzie (3S)
Autumn 2013Trinity School Newsletter
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Trinity School Newsletter | Spring 2013 9
Trinity in the Community
Clean Up CroydonEnthusiastic volunteers from the Trinity community donned high visibility jackets
and rubber gloves for a clean-up operation in the local area as part of “Clean Up
Croydon”. Gavin Barwell, MP, whose initiative this is, said he was “delighted at the
response from Trinity and the willingness of so many to participate. It really shows
just how strong a connection there is between Trinity and the community.” Alex in
Second Year said: “It’s a good thing for school children like us to be involved because
that way we learn that you can make a difference to your environment by picking
up rubbish and not littering in the first place.” Amazingly 25 bags of rubbish were
collected in just under 2 hours with a new gardening rake and a lone ice-skating boot
among some of the more unusual finds!
Trinity is delighted that its Year 9
Engineering Masterclass programme
sponsored by Toyota enabled over fifty
students from around the Croydon area
to attend sessions delivered by practising
engineers, culminating in a Celebration
of Engineering morning held in May
at the prestigious venue of the Royal
Institution in London.
Bill Tucker, Head of Science, said
he was “very pleased that so many
local schools had benefited from this
exciting new initiative.”
Fundraising for a cause
First year students, Jack McCarthy and Tosan Wilkey (pictured), present a cheque to Mr James Hunt from Young Epilepsy, who spoke about the charity’s work during School Assembly. The £250 were raised by pupils during the Spring term Charity day.
Ms Abi Kegg receives a cheque from 2J. Their sponsored silence raised £650 for the Ben Kinsella Trust, which aims to tackle knife crime. Ms Kegg told the boys: “Our charity is very small and your donation will make a BIG difference to us.”
Toyota sponsors Trinity’s engineering masterclasses
10 www.trinity-school.org
For a full view of Trinity’s active music scene, please pick up your copy of Musical Notes.
Musical Moments
On Tuesday 2nd July, senior Trinity
musicians performed at St Martin in
the Fields in Central London. Matthew
Raven L6 (cello) – winner of the Trinity
Musician of the Year 2013 Competition
– and Joseph Brandon U6 (trumpet)
– the runner up in the competition –
showed off their accomplished level of
musicianship in front of an almost full
house in one of London’s most popular
concert venues. They were incredibly
well supported by Nigel Clayton, one of
the most sought-after pianists in Great
Britain, professor of piano at Royal
College of Music and piano teacher
at Trinity. He also happens to be an
old Mid-Whitgiftian and we are very
grateful to him for coming and sharing
his wealth of musical experience with
the new generation of Trinity musicians.
Trinity Boys Choir had a busy summer
with productions throughout the
holidays. Forty five boys were involved
in three different professional opera
productions: Hansel and Gretel for
Garsington Opera (see picture), Tosca
for the Royal Opera House and Billy
Budd for the Glyndebourne Festival.
Another Trinity chorister, Daniel Giffin
(1S) was acting in Glyndebourne’s
production of Falstaff.
The Choir also performed twice at
the BBC Proms. We are very proud of
our long association with this most
prestigious of festivals. Forty boys
joined Sir Mark Elder and his Halle
Orchestra in Wagner’s Parsifal on 25th
August and two days later the Billy
Budd boys performed their roles in the
Glyndebourne Albert Hall Prom.
A week’s holiday and then it was back
to preparations for Hansel and Gretel
on the Glyndebourne Tour, Parsifal for
the Royal Opera, a War Requiem, some
recording sessions and a visit to Italy!
David Swinson, Director of Music,
commented: “Our choir is always proud
to take part in major concerts. It does
involve a fair amount of work for the
boys but they get huge enjoyment from
singing at that level as well, which is
what making music is all about. The
sense of camaraderie is phenomenal.”
Musician of the Year Concert in St Martin’s in the Fields
Summer Productions
Stop PressAt the time of going
to press with this
newsletter, Head of
Piano, Richard Evans is
delighted to announce
a Trinity- Steinway Scholarship.
Unique to Trinity School and in
conjunction with the Royal College of
Music, the scholarship will support
a top pianist both financially and
musically. Please contact Richard
Evans for further details.
Autumn 2013Trinity School Newsletter
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Trinity School Newsletter | Spring 2013 11
Film FestivalCongratulations to Alex Howat (3J) whose zombie film Tape 261 was screened at the Leeds Film Festival. This enormously inventive, technically astute work was put together by a team of Trinity pupils under Alex’s direction. In addition, Early Morning Auto Pilot, one of Alex’s earlier films, was selected for screenings at film festivals in New York and Melbourne.
Dramatic Effects
A cast of over 30 boys from Junior to
Fourth Years served up a tall tale of low
cunning on the high seas, following the
misadventures of “Dangerous” Jimmy,
played with great comic timing by Archie
Pointing (2J). Head of Productions,
Andy Godfrey’s script offered plenty
of satisfying roles for boys to get their
teeth into: Harry Jackson (3S) played
the homicidal Spanish monarch,
George Fleming (3W) the enthusiastic
Hangman, Jack Crispin (2P) the bad
pirate, to mention but a few. The play
was co-directed by Ifedapo Agiri (4W)
and James Rodker (4C), who were ably
backed up by Zayd Ahmed (2S) on
lighting, Adam Cady (1M) on sound
and Thomas Kirkman-Wood (1A), who
handled the stage management. Luke
Houlahan (2P), part of the Spanish
army, said “It was my first ever play and
I had lots of fun. I thought the result
was amazing. I will definitely audition
for a play next year”.
A Starring RoleWell done to Ben Foreman (L6) on landing a lead role in a British film being shot at the legendary Ealing Studios. The film, All Good Things, concerns five teenagers taking a camping trip together and what happens after the death of one character’s father.
LAMDA Examination ResultsFor the fourth successive year Trinity students have excelled themselves in their LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dance) Performance examinations, with 98% of candidates achieving the highest grades possible.
Plaudits go to the following students for achieving Distinctions: Francis Oben (JM), Harry Kohn (2J), Will Roberts (2C) , Adarsh Shah (2J), Harry Jackson (3S), James Slater ( 3S) and Alexander Kirk (3S). Louis Lyle (L6) said: “It was really exciting learning about directors and how a character is created. I’d recommend this course to anyone with a serious interest in acting!”
Pirates
12 www.trinity-school.org
Dates for your diaryNew Parents’ Evening – Thursday 19th September 2013 (7-8.30pm)
TPA AGM – Monday 2nd October 2013 (7.30-9pm) – Come and help choose your favourite charity.
Good-As-New Uniform Sale – Saturday 9th November 2013 (8.30-11am)
Trinity Snowball Dinner & Dance – Saturday 16th November 2013 (6.30pm-midnight)
TPA News
Trinity School is a leading independent day school
for boys aged 10 (Year 6) to 18 with a thriving
co-educational Sixth Form.
As a member of the Whitgift Foundation, the
School is able to offer scholarships and generous
income-related fee reductions.
Our annual Open Morning is on Saturday 12th
October 2013 (9am-12pm). You are also welcome
to book a place on a small group tour of the School
during a normal working day. Our Sixth Form
Open Evening in on Monday 14th October 2013 by
appointment only. For further details on admissions
and entrance examinations please visit our website
or contact the Admissions Registrar at admissions@
trinity.croydon.sch.uk or on 020 8656 9541.
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T R I N I T YS C H O O L
If you would like a copy of any picture in this
issue, please email [email protected]
Published by Trinity School
Shirley Park, Croydon, CR9 7AT
Tel: 020 8656 9541
www.trinity-school.org
Copyright Trinity School © 2013
Get involved!If you are new to Trinity, why not get involved in the Trinity Parents’
Association. We organise three socials a year and raise money for charity. As
a parent you are automatically a member and taking part in the TPA is a great
way to get to know other people, which can be so much harder in secondary
school. Please get in touch with Amanda or Lisa if you would like to know
more at [email protected].
Trinity PromsOn Saturday 6th July more than 1,000 people came to the Trinity
Proms and picnicked in the glorious summer sun. They were
entertained in style by Trinity’s Big Band and Concert Choir, together
with some select professionals such as Harry The Piano from Channel
4’s Big Breakfast and Andrew Crowley (lead trumpet for all the 007
movies), all hosted by Tim Bentinck, aka David Archer from BBC Radio
4 The Archers.
One of the highlights of the evening was the moving presentation of
funds raised by the TPA in 2012-13 to the three charities chosen by
parents: £7,500 went to The Neuro Foundation, and £1,250 each was
given to the African Child Trust and the Zambezi Trust.
The evening was a great success ending with a fireworks finale fired to
the sound of Land of Hope and Glory accompanied by Opera Duo,
Ross Scanlon and Helen Bailey. One Trinity leaver commented: “It was a
fantastic evening - a perfect end to the year and to my time at Trinity!”