24th March 2013
Dear parents,
It has been a gruelling term, a view which I am sure your sons will happily confirm. But there have been many high points too. A blizzard is building up outside my study window as I write, and virgin snow covers the site, crossed only by the always intriguing tracks of animals, not all of which I recognise. No boys to chuck it around now, just that unaccustomed silence that marks the beginning of every School holiday. I hope you have seen the lovely photo of the house which local photographer Steve Morris took during the last snowy interlude a month ago. It is attached to the email version of this letter, and a framed version can be ordered from his website, on which you will find some other beautiful images of the school and town. His details are:
www.stevemorrisphotography.com/shrewsbury-in-soft-light
The term has been gruelling not only because of the weather, but as a result of a virus which threatened to decimate the house in the second half of term, which few boys seem to have escaped. As always, however, the boys were for the most part incredibly stoical about it all and by the end of term the ‘lergy’ seemed to have run its course.
But the high points now. Nowhere were these more apparent than in the end-of-term assembly on Friday where Churchillians featured heavily in the roll of honour. The headmaster started off by talking about Old Salopian and Churchillian wartime ace Richard Hillary, author of The Last Enemy, reminding me (a reminder by me to myself) that this amazing man is nowhere commemorated in the House. I found myself wondering where I could put another stained glass window, and fantasising about Spitfire designs. Several boys appeared on the stage to receive awards, and couple to receive School Firsts. The junior debating team (Guy Cabral, Ben Remnant and Fintan Simmons) received a huge and handsome cup for winning the inter-house debating competition. (I have written a brief and admirably unbiased account of this for the school and house website.) Guy Cabral (again) and Sonny Koh were then called up again to receive gavels for winning best delegate awards at the most recent MUN conference, and Oli Pattison-Appleton and Will Heyes received School Firsts for services to the CCF, making Will that rare beast, a triple School First.
The assembly began and ended with the brass, in honour of the departure for Stowe after 26 years of my great friend Nigel Gibbon, head of brass, known and appreciated by so many of you, Henry Thomas and Will Heyes featuring as soloists in the ‘Bugler’s holiday’ which opened the proceedings. ‘Nige’, as he is universally known by the boys, has almost acquired the status of honorary tutor in the House, as so many of his senior brass players are Churchillians. He will be very greatly missed.
The end of term also brought sporting success, if not an outright triumph, with Churchill’s achieving second place (to Severn Hill) in both the A and B Steeplechase teams. There was some determined running by many, but I should single out Ben Remnant, who ran the fastest junior lap in the school, and Rory Fraser, who has just been appointed huntsman for next year, taking, jointly with the current huntsman, the fastest senior lap.
When I think back to the first half of term though, it is the House Play, Black Comedy which fills my mind. And the feeling is not a pleasant one. Two days before the performance, we limped through our first complete run. ‘Limped’ is putting it kindly. ‘Crawled’ would be more accurate. Large sections seemed to me still unlearnt, and there were substantial chunks of the play which bore no resemblance to what Peter Shaffer had written. The weather was relentlessly cold. We never had a full cast at a rehearsal as the plague was ravaging the house. To cap it all, Guy Cabral, vital to the second half of the play as Brindsley’s (Alessandro Rebecchi) feisty mistress would not be at the dress rehearsal as he was coxing the J15A crew at the School’s Head in London, and would return only 45 minutes before curtain up on the Thursday, the first night.
In the event, there was nothing to worry about. Lines were magically learnt, and where they were not, imaginatively invented, and a packed Ashton Theatre roared with laughter on the first night, with a smaller but equally appreciative audience doing the same at the Friday matinee. Des Hann, a former head of drama and housemaster of Radbrook has written us a wonderful review which you will find in the latest e-bulletin and on the house site along with some nice photographs. I defy you to identify Laurence Jeffcoate and David Vaughan-Jackson, continuing a distinguished tradition of drag artistry in Churchill’s!
A reminder of the web page address:
http://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/churchills-news-and-photos
That it all came together is a tribute to the very experienced and enthusiastic group of actors whom I have in the House, with plenty more in the lower ranks. Incidentally, we only had an Ashton Theatre slot this year as a result of my persuading the Upper Sixth to trade in the annual House Dance for a much more civilised and Churchillian ‘Black Tie’ Upper Sixth dinner. Even after my strenuous advocacy, it was a close run thing. A 7-5 vote in favour of the Black Tie dinner then enabled me to trade our House Dance for Oldham’s Ashton Theatre slot, which they didn’t want. Work that one out. The Black Tie dinner was in fact the sweetener, as it were. It was also a huge success, which I now hope to repeat annually.
The House music soiree, which many of you were kind enough to attend, was also a memorable and moving occasion, but now seems like a distant memory. I am indeed fortunate to have such a wealth of talent in the house.
Finally, before moving to routine matters, I would like to pay tribute the indefatigable Charlie Gillow, who is rapidly making name for himself, around the school as well as in the house, as a charitable fundraiser of distinction, including at the recent hugely successful Charities Day held to coincide with red nose day. No opportunity for raising money for the various charities supported by the school is lost by him, most important in my view (not least because it is the least ‘romantic’), the ‘Shewsy’ in Liverpool, the youth club in socially deprived Everton which the school founded and has supported for over a century. The other side of the coin, as it were.
Next term’s Fasti
This is attached. Can I in particular draw your attention to the House Barbecue which will take place from 6 pm on the evening before half term, Friday 24th May, also to give you advance warning of a junior house play, most likely a reduced version of The Importance of being Earnest, which will be performed with an all boys 4th and 3rd form cast here in the house. The performance dates will almost certainly be Friday 21st June and Sunday 23rd June at 8 pm.
Developments in the House
The changes to the hall, with new comfy sofas and a much less institutional feel, have duly been implemented and are proving popular with the boys, with all year groups availing themselves of this new social space. The final element in the plan is to install some uplighters, but this requires new power points and we are in some sort of queue here, the rules for getting to the top of which are mysterious to me. A new sixth form shower near the boys’ entrance has recently been brought into commission, and next term will see a second on the sixth form landing, where the existing shower is a relic of the dark ages, and has long not been a feature of prospective parental tours of the House.
Easter Exam Revision
The boys have had enough lectures about this. If it’s not apparent to them yet what they need to do, nothing I say here will make any difference!
My heartfelt thanks to matron, the tutor team, my secretary Sue and all the house staff for their unflagging devotion to the wellbeing of the boys and their personal support for me.
Ruth joins me in sending you our very best wishes for Easter.
With very kind regards
Churchill’s Hall Fasti – Summer Term 2013
Monday 15th April 9:00 pm Term starts
Monday 15th April 7:00 pm Third Form parents’ meeting
Thursday 25th April Afternoon Sports Day – London Road Sports Centre
Saturday 4th May 1:30 pm Extended Coach weekend starts
Monday 6th May 9:00 pm Extended Coach weekend finishes
Monday 6th May 7:00 pm Fourth Form parents’ meeting
Saturday 11th May 7:00 pm House Foundation Dinner
Friday 24th May 6:00 pm House BBQ for boys and families
Saturday 25th May 9:00 am Exeat starts (boys can go Friday pm)
Sunday 2nd June 9:00 pm Exeat finishes
Sunday 16th June 12:30pm New Boys Lunch
NO COACH WEEKEND IN SECOND HALF OF TERM
Saturday 22rd June 7:30 pm Leavers Dinner
Saturday 29th June SPEECH DAY AND END OF TERM
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