Dear ParentsFortunately, we have avoided the worst of the weather in this part of the country and most activities here have gone ahead as planned. I continue to be impressed by how hard many pupils work and how many commitments they juggle, which will serve as good preparation for life beyond school. As always, thank you for your unstinting support for the School and your children.

FEBRUARY 2015

HEADMASTER’S LETTER

T0 PARENTSCHIGWELL SCHOOL

Contents

Page 1 UniversitiesHolidays

Page 2 Investor ChallengeGrade ChangesSurvey

Page 3 Drama

Page 4 Drama

Page 5 Festival of the Spoken Word

Page 6 Festival of the Spoken WordCareers

Page 7 MusicOxford Debating CompetitionBiology OlympiadPaying School Fee

Page 8 Netball

Page 9 Hockey

Page 10 Hockey

Page 11 Summer 2015 Public Exams Parking Staff NewsCricket Course News From Chigwell The School Shop Bad Weather

Page 12 Finally

Page 13 Chaplain

Universities Middle Sixth students have been

receiving offers of university places from

a variety of prestigious institutions. Four

of these hope to be taking up their places

at Cambridge University later in the year:

Nathan Edwards (maths at Trinity Hall),

Helena Tunks (classics, Newnham),

Robyn Schaffer (classics, Downing) and

Gopal Kambo (modern and medieval

languages - French and Spanish, St

John’s). Each of these students has

studied at Chigwell School for at least

seven years and we will follow their

future progress with interest.

Holidays Could I please remind all families that any

request to take children out of school

during term time should be made in

writing and any planned absence does

need to be authorised. We do ask that

pupils are not withdrawn during term

time unless there are very exceptional

circumstances. It is important that they

have maximum attendance in order to

engage fully with the curriculum.

1

2

Grade Changes Very occasionally, when Heads of

Department review public examination

results, they gain the impression that

pupils have not been given the results

that they deserve. This was the case last

summer in art where Middle Sixth

Students all achieved A or A* grades

whilst Lower Sixth seemed to have AS

results that were lower than expected.

We reviewed the results carefully and

followed the examination board appeal

processes, and ultimately the AS grades

were changed so that the seven students

achieved two A grades and five Bs.

Meanwhile, the English department

picked up some anomalous results in the

marking of iGCSE English Literature. We

requested some re-marks which resulted

in grade changes and on appeal, the

examination board agreed to review the

marking of the whole cohort for one unit.

This led to twelve grade changes so that

two thirds of the year group achieved at

least an A grade in the subject.

Investor ChallengeFour teams of economics students took part in the IFS Student Investor Challenge this year.

This competition has over 100,000 students from 2,500 schools taking part and it involves

teams investing £100,000 of virtual money in the stock market. Students need to keep

portfolios healthy by reading and forecasting market information provided online to identify

shares and make judgments about when to buy and sell in order to make a profit.

Congratulations go to Aimee Selling, Tom Parsons, Ethan Rose and Joe Klein who beat the

other three Chigwell teams and made £7,811 profit in two months. This also put their portfolio

in the top 10% of performers nationally. We would like to enter more teams next year and

encourage non-economics students to participate; look out for details in September.

SurveyI hope you have received a link to the parental survey that we sent out earlier this week.

Please complete this and return by Monday 23rd February. We value your comments.

3

DramaThere have been a number of trips to the

theatre this term. The Upper Fifth and

Lower Sixth went off to the West End to

see “The Play That Goes Wrong” and

thoroughly enjoyed this ingenious slap

stick comedy. The Middle Sixth visited the

Lyric Hammersmith to see Frantic

Assembly’s highly acclaimed production of

Shakespeare’s “Othello”, which was an

innovative performance that provoked

much discussion on the tube home.

The Lower Fifth were the first to perform

this term with their GCSE Scripted

performances, a suite of five, thirty minute

shows that were performed after school.

This veritable festival of drama included a

range of modern comedies and serious

dramas, two of which were written by our

very own Miss Janey Foster and Mr Joe

Maingot. Candidates offered acting, light,

sound, costume and make up for

assessment making this a highly

professional evening.

The English play was a fabulous success

with star turns from Jordan Stack,

Lawrence Brooks, Jusden Halabi, Odette

Clark and Kayden Chahal. The Crucible is a

notoriously difficult play to stage with fast-

paced scenes featuring throughout but the

mostly LVI English cohort performed with

aplomb and real engagement with this A2

English Literature coursework text. It is

really pleasing to see non drama students

take to the stage as well, including Rhea

Gupta, Rajas Chitnis, Meha Valera and

Diana Mircea which demonstrates the

spread of talent and enthusiasm for drama

across the Sixth Form.

4

Drama

5

Festival of theSpoken Word Compèred with panache by Harry

Benjamin, Will Lord and Tim Lovett, the

2015 Festival was performed to a

capacity audience. The competition was

particularly keen in the areas of serious

readings and monologues with many

fine and impressive performances.

Annabel O’Reilly won the serious

reading with “Badly Chosen Lover”

while the runner up was James

Mulholland with “Explaining the Plot of

“Blade Runner” to my Mother who has

Alzheimer’s”. The title of the poem was

worth an award of its own!

Zoe Wright was judged the better

humorous reading with Spike Milligan’s

“The ABC” while in the original writing

section Charlotte James-Pajwani impressed

with her piece entitled “Shadowless” with

Freddie Cooper-Rendu second with the

moving “I Cried Real Tears”.

The highly contested monologues left

the adjudicators, Mrs Evelyn Gibbs and

Dr Glen Winfield, with some difficult

decisions but Shanaiya Pithiya with

“Vicious Circles” won the section with

Will Lord’s “Amazing Jesus” second. If

the monologue category was hard to

6

Festival of theSpoken Wordjudge, the ‘more than one’ category

provided even more problems as each of

the four contributions was excellent in

its own right. How does one differentiate

between excellence in broad comedy or

intense drama? The highly entertaining

team effort of “Phobia Workshop”

(Harry Benjamin, Sarah Chamberlain,

Bethany Hartland, Will Lord and Tim

Lovett) won the section with a very

moving scene from “The Crucible” (Will

Weightman and Stacey Cockram), the

runner-up. Tess Kelly and Venetia Bailey

were particularly impressive in “Fault”

and “Fat Fighters” from “Little Britain,

performed by Janathan Ahilan, Portia

Blogg, Tom Bromwich, Aanya Gujral and

Fergal McArdle, raised many laughs with

their characterisation and timing.

The housefest also provided many

laughs with Penn’s version of Dahl’s

“Cinderella” winning the section with

Swallow’s Removes and their re-creation

of Chemistry and German lessons here at

Chigwell, second. Overall a most

enjoyable, entertaining evening

showcasing some really talented

students.

CareersThe UV careers aptitude tests run as

usual by Cambridge Occupational

Analysts (COA) will take place in the

second half of term during the exam

week beginning 2nd March. Reports will

be prepared during the following weeks

and students will receive these at one-

to-one interviews with COA advisers to

be held on the last two days of term.

On Thursday 23rd April,

we have our annual careers

convention. The aim is that

pupils in the Upper Fifth

and Sixth Form have the

opportunity to talk with

representatives of

different career areas.

We try to put

together as

broad a

range

of

businesses

and professions as possible, and

therefore if any parent would be willing

to represent their area of work, we

would be delighted to hear from you.

Please contact Mrs Sue Lee

(slee@chigwell-school.org)

In addition, if any parent would be

willing to offer work experience to older

students, please contact me directly.

7

MusicThe Prom Concert Series continued with the

Lower Two year group. Always a special

event, this was the first concert in the New

Space on the Mezzanine level in the Drama

Centre and it provided a modern bright space

for our pupils to perform. Marshalled by Miss

Felicity Leach and assisted by Miss Lucy

Potterton, Mrs Sue Spicer–Winand and Mr

Len Sach, there were a staggering 43 pieces

demonstrating with certainty, strength in

depth. Pupils gave lively renditions on a wide

variety of instruments including voice, piano,

violin, cello, flute, drum kit and guitar to

name a few. Congratulations to all who

played so well.

Earlier in January, the Chapel Choir

conducted Evensong at St. Paul’s,

Goodmayes. The programme included the

Preces and Responses by Clucas, Magnificat

(cantor - Adam Melvin), Nunc Dimitis

Collegium Regale by Howells (soloist – Max

Albert), and the anthems Greater love hath

no man by Ireland (solosists – Sarah

Chamberlain and Gopal Kambo), Locus Iste

by Bruckner and Jesu dulcis in memoria by

Victoria. Pupils continue their preparations

in earnest for the Spring Choral Concert in

Christ Church, Spitalfields on Saturday 14th

March for which tickets go on sale after half-

term; details to follow. The programme

includes Mozart’s requiem and Beethoven’s

piano Concert no.3 soloist Katie Marshall.

Oxford DebatingCompetitionTwo teams took part in the Oxford Inter-

schools Debate last Monday comprising

of James Mulholland and Ben Kennedy,

and Linda Zhong and Rajas Chitnis.

Unfortunately, they narrowly failed to

qualify amongst the top eight out of the

sixty four schools in the competition.

However, the four students will be

attending Debate Mate all day Saturday

which is both a display of debating and a

competition.

Biology OlympiadNationally, over 6,000 A level students

take part in the Biology Olympiad

Competition. Students from Chigwell

performed well with Shucayb Ali

achieving Highly Commended; Kyle

Dewer-McKay a Bronze Award; Yasmin

Nikookam and Anna Chelchowska both

gained Silver Awards; and Oliver

Maclean gained a Gold Award. Many

congratulations go to all five students.

Paying School FeesI have been advised by the Bursar that we

have received fee payments that have

come via a Paying-In Machine. Our advice

would be for parents not to use this

method of payment as it is not possible to

identify the source of the funds.

8

NetballThe netball term has started off on a real

high. All teams have made an impressive

start and they have continued to

maintain a good standard of netball. The

season started with senior and U14/U15

pre–season training, involving match

play with Highgate and tactical practices

in each squad. The U13s started their

season off hosting their annual

tournament at Chigwell and the younger

junior teams have continued to take part

in a number of fixtures during Games and

after school. There is a large number of

girls playing in each squad this season,

with many more joining local clubs.

Looking forward into the term, the

Junior teams will be aiming to reach the

final of the IAPS competitions, the U15

squad who are now part of the 1st and

2nd teams looking to win the Kelsall

tournament again this year, with the

U13, U14 also taking part in this

competition. The highlights so far for

this term have been the improvement in

the netball played by the teams. This has

developed significantly over the years

and the squads are reaping the benefits

of their hard work.

9

HockeyIt has been another successful start to the

boys’ hockey season. In KS2 more pupils

than ever are attending the extracurricular

lunchtime clubs whilst the majority of

Lower and Upper Two pupils have

represented the School in fixtures against

either New Hall, St Aubyn’s and

Bancroft’s.

At the top of the Junior School, Third and

Fourth Form pupils have continued their

positive approach and excellent form from

last season. Local triangular tournaments

held at Old Loughtonians Hockey Club,

have given boys an opportunity to

participate in competitive fixtures prior to

the Essex and IAPS tournaments, the

former of which was regrettably cancelled

due to the weather. The pupils’

enthusiasm was highlighted further, when

despite a cancelled fixture against Alleyn’s

School due to a frozen pitch, the boys took

part in a friendly ‘penalty shuffle’

competition against their opponents. A

special mention should also be made of the

five Junior School pupils who have been

selected to attend the U14/U13 Junior

Academy Centres over the coming weeks.

(Nathan Moscow, Joseph Ahern, Oliver

Betts, Patrick Duke and Ben Kearin).

In the Senior School, the U14s continue

to make good progress and were

unfortunate not to qualify to the regional

stages of the county tournaments after

losing out to rivals Bancroft’s in a penalty

flick shootout, whilst the U15s highlight

has been a hard fought 2-0 victory after an

impressive team performance against

Forest School. The 2nd XI have led by

example and have been this season’s

consistent performers, unbeaten to date

and with impressive wins away to Harrow

and Alleyn’s. Finally the 1st XI, have

progressed to the 3rd round of the

England Hockey Schools’ Cup competition

after an excellent hard fought 1-0 victory

away at Gresham’s School.

The 1st XI boys’ hockey team have

qualified for the fourth round of the

Hockey Association cup competition

following their convincing victory away at

Ipswich. Despite Ipswich’s greater

possession in the first half, the Chigwell

team’s work rate was impeccable and the

final score was 3-2. We wish the boys the

best of luck in the next round of the

tournament where the competition

enters the national stages.

10

Hockey

11

Summer 2015 PublicExamsWould parents of pupils in the Upper

Fifth and Sixth Form please check the

current exam timetable and exam

entries for their child on Chigwell

Gateway via the Pupil Profile. Any

changes in the spelling of the name or

date of birth need to be brought to our

attention, as well as any other errors or

omissions. Please do not worry about

any exam clashes as these will be dealt

with at a later date.

Parking Once again can I please ask that parents

are considerate and patient when parking

on site, and to adhere to any requests

made by staff who try to help manage the

parking. You will appreciate that we are

very fortunate to have parking for parents

on site, unlike many schools, but at

certain times of the day, the site does

become congested. The safety of children

is our paramount concern.

Staff NewsWe send our congratulations to Ms Andrea

Gehrke and Clive on the arrival of their baby

daughter Alessandra (Lissy).

Cricket CourseOnce again, we will be running a three day

cricket course for all age groups and

abilities over the Easter break on

Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th and Friday

17th April. Information and application

forms are available on the website.

News From Chigwell The latest edition of News From

Chigwell highlighting some of the

stories from the last term and a half is

now available on line

If you would like a paper copy, please

collect one from Reception.

The School ShopThe School Shop will be open on the 17th,

18th, and 19th February between 10am

and 3pm. Normal opening times will

resume on the 23rd February.

Bad WeatherAs I said in my last letter, in the event of

heavy snow or ice please consult the school

website (www.chigwell-school.org) for

confirmation of arrangements for the

school day. We would always be very

reluctant to close the School, but are

mindful of the safety of pupils and staff.

I hope half term will provide the opportunity for some rest. Three school trips are

taking place over half term to our partner school in India, to Hamburg and to Iceland. I

am very grateful to the staff who have given up part of their holiday to lead these trips

and I look forward to hearing about the expeditions when they return.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

Michael Punt

12

13

Chaplain

It must have been a wonderful moment

when Mary and Joseph brought the baby

Jesus to Temple Mount in Jerusalem in order

to make an offering of thankfulness for his

birth. This new structure, built by Herod the

Great, must have created an awe inspiring

experience. Having personally stood on

Temple Mount at Christmas and gazed

towards the Mount of Olives on one side and

Jerusalem old town on the other it remains

an awe inspiring place today.

In the crowds that Mary and Joseph must

have experienced on that day there are just

two people who take note of this young

family and their special child. We are told

that Simeon and Anna are both elderly;

maybe that is why they have the time to

pray, the time to see something special.

In the rush of our lives what do we fail to

see? Do we rush past without stopping to

marvel at the wonders of life? Is it possible

that we miss glorious moments with our

children, glorious moments with our loved

ones, glorious moments when our eyes are

opened to look at the beauty around us?

In Chapel I have challenged the pupils to

take time to stop and see, time to pray and

reflect. We are all so busy, so caught up in

the rush of life that each day can become a

challenge; however, we can learn to be more

like Simeon and Anna and take time to pray,

take time to see. Maybe then we will marvel

again at all that God has given to us.

Father Simon

Term Dates

Term ends: Friday 27th March

2015 Trinity TermFirst day: Monday 20th AprilHalf term: Saturday 23rd May to Sunday 31st May (INSET day Monday 1st June)Term ends: Wednesday 8th July 2015 Michaelmas TermFirst day: Thursday 3rd SeptemberHalf term: Saturday 17th October to Sunday 1st NovemberTerm ends: Wednesday 16th December