SUNNINGDALE

SCHOOL NOTES

COMMENT

MICHAELMAS 2013

This has been a wonderful term that has flown by and there have been three events in particular that have demonstrated exactly why Sunningdale is so special. On the fifth of November, masses of parents and friends joined us for Bonfire Night. The kitchen staff pulled out all the stops to provide delicious treats, the bonfire was the biggest in recent memory and the fireworks were spectacular. We then all congregated in the Library and the feeling throughout the evening was one of togetherness and fun. Shortly after Bonfire Night we celebrated Remembrance Sunday. The Chapel was full to bursting and with memorable performances from two of our trumpeters, Mr Ridgard on the pipes and some moving readings, we marked this important date in a uniquely Sunningdale way. And finally, towards the end of term, we held our two Carol Services. Once again Chapel was packed.The readers all read brilliantly and the Choir were superb. For the boys and the staff, these events are important and special but they are made even more so by the wonderful support we get from the parents and friends of the school.There can be very few schools who are as close knit as ours and we count ourselves very lucky.

1ST XI Football
The 1st XI have had a difficult season. With so many young players on the team, and only a few seasoned campaigners from last year, it was bound to be difficult. Nevertheless, the season began with some promising performances. In early matches we should have recorded wins against Brockhurst and St Georges Windsor but on both occasions, some defensive errors cost us dear, and we were only able to secure a draw and a narrow defeat. This start played on morale rather, and it was a long while before we could get back on our feet. In the meantime we suffered some crushing defeats at the hands of bigger and stronger teams. As is ever the case though, our time came around, and with the huge boost of a much better second performance against Woodcote House, we travelled to Papplewick full of fight. We controlled the game from the start, but were unable in the first half to convert any of our chances. A reinvigorated start after half time saw us break through and Morata scored an excellent goal from long range into the top corner. We had twenty minutes to hold out after that, but the defence played a solid game, with Titov having his best game at left back and Hanif very controlled on the right, and we came away with our first win of the season, for which Morata won his colours. Our final match was against Knightsbridge and, full of confidence, and playing our best Football of the season, we dominated from the start. The defence held firm under the guidance of Hardaker and Markous, there was some delightfully tactical play between the midfield and the strikers, and we scored 9 goals. Following this commanding performance, the Captain, James, was awarded his colours for his excellent leadership of the team throughout a difficult season. Beckwith-Moore played well throughout the season and is an exciting prospect for next year, as are Hopton ma., Russell and de Carlos. Mention should also go to the Keeper, Clegg, without whose impressive saves, the scoreline would often have been much worse. Team (from): Clegg,Titov, Markous, Hardaker, Hanif, James (capt.), Morata-Reol, Hopton ma., de Carlos, Allen, Beckwith-Moore, Russell T.A.C.N.D and D.C.S

SCHOOL NOTES
FORM PRIZES VI VIa V Va IV IVa III II I James, Sikorski, Kim J.Kim,Thomas Neckel, Zhao Delikatnyi, Beckwith-Moore, Malhame Goschen, Desmond, Sassen Cartwright, Hagg-Davies, Senior ma. Tirado, Lazaro, Zakhir ma. Kuanyshev ma, Zakhir mi. Hobbs, Boscawen, Crewe-Read mi.

La Vacquerie
A group of boys in their final year spent a week in France at the schools house in Normandy. The boys had a great week visiting Chteau de Balleroy, the Cinema Circulaire at Arromanches,The Bayeux Tapestry and Pegasus Bridge.

The SHOW-UP prize was won by J.KIM (29) The COMPLIMENTS prize was won by Boscawen (16) The BEST DEFENDER CUP was won by James The FOOTBALL CUP was won by Morata Reol The SENIOR TOP STEP FIVES competition was won by Morata The JUNIOR TOP STEP FIVES competition was won by Russell

French Drama Evening

This year our budding linguists took to the stage again and delighted us with their much improved French accents. Some forms wrote their own plays whilst some junior forms sang traditional French songs.We had a weather forecast with all the sound effects, a Hercule Poirot Murder Mystery play and a funny sketch about road rage in a car park! The boys really enjoyed themselves on stage and learnt lots of useful vocabulary along the way.

The POSSIBLES went to the cinema to watch Gravity.

12 pupils from Sunningdale had a fantastic day at Stowe taking part in a PERCUSSION WORKSHOP.

Bonfire night
We had another hugely successful Bonfire Night on the 5th of November. Masses of parents came and were treated to a warming feast of hot dogs, soup and jacket potatoes which Darren and his team had laid on in the Fives Courts. Nick Dawson and the gap students had built an enormous bonfire which burned brilliantly and the monitors built a very impressive Guy. The fireworks were better than ever and the bangs at the end were breathtaking.Thank you so much to everyone for their generous support of the event without which it would not be possible.

The junior half of the school enjoyed a marvellous afternoon out at JOSEPH and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Thank you to the Cartwright family for the new television for the cinema room.

Tiger by Malhame

Music
The second half of term has been very busy working towards the final week of term. We had an excellent Informal Concert on November 14th with a superb selection of items. Ensemble pieces included the Guitar Group, the Brass group, a clarinet duet between J. Kim and Mrs Leech-Bendell, and a piece from our newly formed string ensemble with Mr Kelly. We had a 100% pass rate for all our Music exams this term: Hopton ma. scored 85 (Merit) for his grade 5 theory, Tear mi. (grade 2 violin), Arthur (grade 1 singing), Cartwright (grade 2 singing), Crespi (grade 1 piano), Hopton mi. (grade 1 singing), Senior ma. (grade 3 piano), Wilson (grade 1 piano). Coen, Delikatnyi, Gourlay, Hincliffe, Lamb and Mountain received encouraging comments for their Prep test entries. Our guitar exams were excellent with Cartwright (grade 2), Beckwith-Moore and de Carlos (both Prep) all gaining distinctions.

Library Opening
On a lovely September evening, about a hundred parents, former parents and friends of Sunningdale School gathered to celebrate the opening of the school's new library.The library has been a major project for the school and the completed building is a triumph. It is a modern building in a traditional setting and illustrates how the school has moved forward but maintained its traditional ethos.

The end of the term was very exciting with the Christmas music we had been preparing. Both Carol Services were excellent, the choir gave of their very best.Their overall sound has really improved week by week this term, and they are singing more challenging music led with such dedication by Mrs Spencer. They also sang a number of pieces for an entertainment at the Coxhill Manor Retirement home. Boys in forms 1 and 2 worked very hard for their nativity play and they learnt their lines and songs very well to bring off a skilled performance. Thanks as always go to our team of peripatetic staff who work so hard to encourage our musicians.We do have some spaces for new starters in January, and I am keen to encourage as many boys in the school as possible to have experience of playing or singing.

Former pupil, Henry Bolfeld of Test Match Special fame, came back to his prep school on his birthday and the whole school helped him celebrate with a rousing chorus. The Head Boy presented him with a birthday present andTom Dawson, the Headmaster, gave Henry an Old Sunningdalian tie. Henry Blofeld gave a very amusing talk. He had the whole crowd in fits of laughter with his tales of his time at prep school, including the time when he was in sick bay with Prince Michael of Kent and the demon underarm bowling of Miss Paterson in his earliest cricket days! Henry then cut the ribbon and opened up the library for the parents and boys.

New Boys Tea

The new boys had a wonderful tea with Mr & Mrs Dawson on the 1st Sunday of term.

Crewe-Read ma.'s fun birthday cake.

Nativity
This Michaelmas term saw the return of the Forms I & II nativity! With only 10 days to put the play on stage, all of the boys from the chickens to the camels practised hard and managed to dodge any end of term sickness to put together a wonderful festive treat. A huge thank you to the boys for all of their effort and hard work; I told them it would pay off in the end! H.G

Chapel Notes
The Chapel was packed for our Remembrance Sunday service and we were delighted to welcome some serving fathers in their uniform. The remembrance service raised 480.92. The choir produced a stunning performance of Bendictus, accompanied by Hopton mi. on the trumpet and Hopton ma. played the Last Post.We were also very lucky to have the services of Mr Ridgard to play the lament on the bagpipes.The Headmaster read a selection of obituaries from the school notes of 1916.

Old Boys Notes:

Congratulations to Fred Turner, Alexander Miller-Bakewell,Alex Whitaker and Christopher Aylwen on their engagements, to Joseph Cooper on his marriage, to Rory Guiness and Angus Campbell on the birth of sons and to Johnny de Lisle and Freddie Windsor on the birth of their daughters.Lucky Paintal is married with a daughter and is working in the clothing business.Alexander Tyryshkin who is at Harrow, has been awarded an honorary academic scholarship in recognition of his excellent GCSE results. Jacob Lane has a starring role in Sondheim's Into The Woods at Sherbourne. Richard McColl is running a hotel in Colombia. Rupert Wagg has created an app called Beethoven 9 for Deutsche Grammophon and Touch Press. Mark Palmer has written a book called Clarks: Made to Last. Ivo Dawnay is the London Director of the National Trust.We had a visit from Simon Baring who his living and working in Gloucestershire. Edward Lam who read History at Cambridge wrote a charming letter remembering Sir John Horsburgh Porter. We regret to announce the death of Noel Harrison who was the son of old boy Rex Harrison.

House Dinner
After a long term, the house competition resulted in a narrow victory to Fox. Contributing to their victory were successes in the Football, Golf and Chess tournaments. They were less successful in the quiz, but a win in the debate at the eleventh hour secured the victory. They also amassed a tidy pile of compliments and show ups over the term that helped them on their way. The prize was the coveted House Dinner in the last week of term. The house spent the afternoon decorating the library and preparing the banqueting tables and then, with candelabra ablaze and fire roaring, we sat down to the feast. The boys had chosen their menu well and we enjoyed crispy aromatic duck followed by sirloin steak and chips. We finished off with Eton mess and then the house settled down en masse to watch a film. A great evening for all and an excellent incentive to try even harder next term. Well done Fox.

Guest Speaker
On Thursday 21st November, Giles Bell of Shrewsbury came to talk to the senior boys about Charles Darwin. It was an extremely interesting account of that great man's epic voyage in the Beagle,and we saw some interesting slides of the places that he visited. It was all the more entertaining for the plentiful lollipops that were made available. Mr Bell certainly tried his best to encourage some of the boys to follow Darwin's example of schooling at Shrewsbury, with what success remains to be seen.

2XI Football
A team thin on the ground with natural instinctive footballers was always going to suffer this season. Too often one goal against was the signal for outright surrender and another four or five quickly followed behind, leading to some very heavy defeats. That said we did manage two good wins this season and the one against Horris Hill remains the most impressive performance by a 2XI team for a long time it wasn't pretty by any means, but a lucky goal midway through the second half scored by J. Kim triggered a determination, lacking in too many other games, to hold on despite wave after wave of attack. The team was well lead by Thomas, a Rugby player's Captaincy for sure, but it was steely and determined and the boys responded well to it. In goal Neckel kept admirably, making some incredible saves and averting many humiliating results. Football matches are won and lost in midfield and it was the absence of any genuine midfield players who could control the pace and possession of the game that meant we were almost always on the back foot, but Bekar proved a player with great passing vision and on the wing we were lucky to have both Allen and De Carlos for a number of games. Iglesias deserves a mention for his skill up front and his well crafted goal against Papplewick. That aside it was agricultural, never the beautiful game, normally anything but, it was nevertheless a lot of fun. Team from: Thomas, Neckel, Seal, Desmond, Sikorksi, Iglesias, Malhame, Merrill, Pangin, Cluff, Bekar, J. Kim, De Carlos, Allen, Sasson. B.C

3rd XI and 4th XI Football

Life in the 3rds and 4ths has been thirsty this term, wit Victory a sweet nectar of which we have not often drunk. Despite our undying enthusiasm, muddy shirts, and fitness regimes too many opposing teams have sadly tasted Victory on our behalves. We should not slink away quietly into the good night, however, without a snarl of praise to some key individuals who have given their all. Our two mighty keepers Goschen and Montiel Diez have done their utmost to keep our wounds to a minimum. Goschen particularly has made life pretty uncomfortable for roving strikers, fearlessly charging, battle cry aloft, into the legs of oncoming danger. Of our strikers, Crewe-Read ma. and Desmond have prodded and probed, searching inventively for that (sadly) all-too-elusive back of the net. Occasionally, the gods have given us gifts from the 2nds and the likes of Cluff, Bekar, and Treacher have carried our torch and found us goals but sadly not often affecting the end result. Mention must go to the industry of Loisel, J. Kim, Zao, and Pangin (when he has played for us) as they have consistently given their all and whilst they may not have many W's next to their names their coaches think they are winners of a higher moral code. Team 3rds: Goschen, Crewe-Read ma, Malhame, Crespi, Reddyhough ma, Seal, Kuznetsov, J. Kim, Pangin (also 2nds), Loisel,Treacher, Desmond. Team 4ths:Tear ma, Felbeck, Zhao,Ayzenstat, Montiel Diez, Ibrahim, Klein. A.D.V and A.M

Fives
It has been a tough term for our young Fives team but we have had notable wins against RGS High Wycombe, Ludgrove and Eton. With an U11 in our first pair and an under 10 in our 3rd pair we were always going to find Public School opponents difficult.We defended our title in the 3 pairs competition at Eton near the end of term but by losing a few key points here and there we had to surrender our salver to Summer Fields. The boys can be proud of improving their play enormously this term with left hand volleys, back court strategies and better footwork. It all looks promising for next term! Team: 1. James & Russell 2. Morata Reol & Hopton 3. Beckwith-Moore & Senior ma 4. Buxton & Hopkins, 5. Efemuai & Hinchliffe 6. Ker & Cartwright G.J.S-B

Squash
Sunningdale took a young and very keen squash team away to play Horris Hill. We knew we were going to have a tough afternoon but the boys were up for a challenge.The team played hard and battled for every point.We unfortunately ended up on the losing team but some really good squash was played. With a little more practice the boys are sure they can turn this result around next time. Team: James, Hopton ma., Russell, Hopton mi., Senior ma. H.E

U11 As Football
The boys returned after the summer holidays with a real enthusiasm for the football term which was obvious from the first training session.What was also so pleasing was to see their desire to learn new skills and not just kick the ball around.The first game saw the boys up against Ludgrove who had a very talented team and unfortunately it was an early wake up call for the boys. Ludgrove were first to the ball, first to the tackle and simply wanted it more.The next two matches against Brockhurst and Woodcote saw a much better performance, despite narrowly losing 2-1 and 3-2 respectively.The stand-out players were Hopkins, Zackhir ma. and Senior mi., their energy was excellent throughout. However, it wouldnt take long for their first victory to come which was against Ashdown House (3-0) - just reward for all the hard work they had put in.The level of performance and camaraderie continued to grow over the next four matches but unfortunately the boys just couldnt find the back of the net. However, with Russell returning as striker from the First XI the boys were able to notch up a run of fantastic wins at the Bradfield tournament. The outstanding players being Hopkins, Senior ma., Hagg-Davies, Reddyhough, Buxton and most noticeably Russell who scored a plethora of goals! The boys won all of their group games convincingly but narrowly lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winners.The resultant belief enabled the boys to win their last four games against Woodcote, Cothill, Papplewick and Knightsbridge (U10).The season had started slowly in terms of results but it was wonderful to see the determination and desire to win grow game on game.The boys should be very proud of themselves - well done indeed! Team: Buxton, Senior ma, Senior mi, Hagg-Davies, Hopton mi, Hopkins, Zackhir ma, Russell A.L

Under 11B Football

The Under 11 B team have had a great season this year. We had a very complementary pair of defenders in Cartwright and Kunitsyn whose respective strategy and aggression kept all but the best teams away. Boer put in a consistent performance in goal with some great saves and outstanding punting. In midfield we benefited from Efemuai's pace and Hinchliffe's determination. Ker had a strong start to the season up front scoring 8 goals in 3 matches. Aguirre scored a couple and a Senior usually scored when they played for this team. A terrific season all round and the boys should be proud. Well done. Team: Boer; Kunitsyn; Efemuai; Ker; Aguirre; Cartwright; Reddyhough G.J.S.-B

Under 11 C's Football

The results of the under 11 c team can be misleading as so often matches are decided by the teams that make the least mistakes at this level. The quality of the football played by Sunningdale improved significantly as the season went on and we conceded fewer and fewer goals each match but whilst we were peaking the season was drawing to a close. The boys all worked hard in training and matches and should be commended for this. Team from: Dyachenko, Jonas, Preston ma., Arthur, Marshall-Lee, Lazaro, Grinling, Treacher, Zakir mi., T Davies, Coen, Davenport Thomas and Boam D.W

Under 11 D's Football

The under 11 D team whilst not setting the world alight with their one touch passing ability and step overs are the very definition of english football.Throughout the season they proudly represented the school showing great determination and bristled with pride competing for every ball. All the boys should be proud of their commitment and the fact they finished the season on an equal footing by securing the win over Woodcote House. Team from: Jonas,Van Huesden,Tear mi, Lamb,Tirado, Boam,Warde-Norbury, Jegede, Dyachenko, Mountain and Grinling D.W

Sunningdale Pre-Prep Football Tournament

With 14 teams taking part in this years tournament the competition was fierce.The weather played its part and the sun came out just before the fist games kicked off. Sunningdale were in a tough pool with last years winners, the pool ended in a 3 way tie for first place Sunningdale going through with a superior goal difference. They were beaten in the semi-finals by the eventual winners Eaton House the Manor. A great day out with some impressive football.

U9As Football
The Under 9A season started against Ludgrove where the boys gave a display full of tenacity and passion and matched their older, physical, more experienced hosts for long periods of the game. Two late goals saw the boys eventually succumb to a 3-0 defeat, although many positives could be taken with Hobbs in particular turning in an outstanding performance in goal. In the home clash versus Brockhurst, the physicality and pace of the game was too much to handle as poor defensive errors contributed to a 6-1 defeat. J. Davies notched the consolation.Travelling to Woodcote, the boys sensed that it was time to bring home a victory. An excellent passing display, as well as a keen eye for goal from Boscawen (2) and J. Davies (2) saw the team to a much deserved and morale boosting win. Heavy defeats against Horris Hill and St.Andrews Pangbourne followed, before a far more energetic performance in the return tie against Woodcote House. In a game of unrelenting pace and full throttle action, both goalkeepers were called upon to keep their teams in it.The impressive Boscawen and ever improving Jackson ma., found the net for Sunningdale in a match that ended 2-2. Further defeats came against Papplewick and Bishopsgate before ending the season triumphantly versus Knightsbridge. A thrilling 2-1 victory with goalkeeper turned defender, Hobbs, scoring both goals. Although the boys struggled against boys older and more physical, they can be commended for always trying to play in a way that encourages passing and movement. A challenging season but one that the boys can take a great deal of heart from. Many thanks to all of the parents for their support throughout. Team: Jackson mi., Hobbs, Khan (c), Field, Jackson ma., Berridge, Boscawen, J. Davies M.G
This photograph has been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be re-ordered by visiting http://www.gsimagebank.co.uk/sunningdaleschool/login using the token sunningdale2013 or telephone 01869 328200

Golf at Sunningdale Ladies v Woodcote House.

Tiger by Malhame

ACTIVITIES

The boys have had an excellent term with lots of fun activities which include:A trip to the London Aquarium, Mountain Biking, fun at Beale Park, Go Karting, winter fun at the Snow Dome, team games at Laserquest and Climbing.