Bede's Newsletter - Christmas 2014

Issue 14 Christmas 2014

LoCaL author VIsIts Bede’s FIrst Year engLIsh CLasses

Caroline Coxon, author of young adult novel of night and Light, visited First Year classes at Bede’s on 9th december to explore writ-ing from unusual perspectives.Mrs Coxon, whose first novel was published in June, has worked as a professional writer for several years, including for the Common-wealth War Graves Commission and Common-wealth Games.Her book, which came out of an award-win-ning screenplay, started off as a pastiche of Thomas Mallory’s Morte d’Arthur and involves a curse passed down through the female line of a family.“My father was a writer,” Mrs Coxon ex-plained, “around being a GP, so I suppose that must be where my writing genes come from. His autobiography, Too Much Tender-ness, was a real inspiration.”Born and raised in Northampton, Mrs Coxon started her writing at Liverpool University where she studied English and Philosophy. After graduating, she spent several years liv-ing overseas and then working as a specialist SEN teacher for Chailey Heritage, amongst other schools. All the while, writing was calling.“I ended up working as a Leading Literacy teacher in Kent, writing the curriculum, and out of that came a screenplay about a child with autism. That opportunity opened up a world of professional writing, including writ-

ing copy for Travelex, Virgin and The Fairtrade Foundation.”Having spent years applying for competitions through a range of online and physical pub-lications, honing her craft, something about the idea of Of Night and Light struck a chord.“I submitted the novel to dozens of publish-ers. One would say, ‘It’s too much like what’s already out there’ and then another would say, ‘Oh, it’s too different to what’s out there.’ It was infuriating, but that’s writing. You have to love it.”Recently, the novel has enjoyed a great deal of online success, with glowing reviews adorning the book’s Amazon page.“It’s wonderful to see mothers, daughters and grandmothers getting behind the book and sharing it with one another.”The sessions Mrs Coxon ran at Bede’s were about writing from the perspective of a teen-age girl – the kind of challenge laid down in many professional writing competitions.“You’ll be given a place, a person and an object,” Mrs Coxon explained, “and you will have to write something around those three specifics. The kinds of tasks pupils are en-gaging with in their English lessons at Bede’s are remarkably similar to what you would find in the wider world.”These First Year sessions herald the arrival of the annual Short Story Competition, which will take place next term.

Bede’s Senior SchoolUpper Dicker, HailshamEast Sussex BN27 3QH

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FrenCh eXChange tests PuPIL ProFICIenCY

During the final weeks of term, the Modern Foreign Languages department at Bede’s were delighted to welcome 29 students from Institution st Jude in armentières for a French exchange. The students joined Bede’s for a five day visit which saw them spending time at the Prep and Senior School, visiting Brighton and spending a weekend with their host families.The return visit of the exchange will start on Friday 12 December, when our students head out to Armentières for five days.

neW deBatIng CLuB InsPIres students

Bede’s new Debating Club, run by Mr Cheshire and Mrs Pendry, has inspired five Bede’s students to step into the vibrant, competitive world of sophistry.“My expectations have been met squarely,” explained club member Max Hunter. “Since I started in September, I have been involved directly in one tournament at Brighton College and another at Worth. Both occasions were valuable experiences. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.” Speaking publicly to a large group of people is a life skill that can never be overrated, with abilities pupils acquire along the way having a vast array of applications.Mr Cheshire and Mrs Pendry are eagerly seeking out budding orators, so if you think you might be interested in joining the club then please email either teacher.

thIrd CharItY FashIon shoW raIses oVer £2,000

In November, weeks of effort from two of Bede’s girls’ houses, Crossways and Charleston, culminated in an evening of glitz and glamour at Upper Dicker - the final event in Crossways’ House Charity Week.The third annual Charity Fashion Show saw pupils raising money for two local charities - Blind Veterans UK and St Wilfrid’s Hospice. To do this, enterprising pupils baked cookies, held a raffle and modelled clothing from local boutiques Millie’s and TomOli & Will.In an extra twist for this year, pupils also wore a “Vintage Collection” featuring clothes donated by staff, students and parents.“The Crossways Fashion Show 2014 was my first fashion show,” said new Crossways girl Emily, “and what an introduction! It was an epic event and has provided me with many memories I will treasure.”Over 200 local residents, governors, parents and students from across Sussex attendedthe event, alongside representatives from the charities.“We are passionate in our support of Blind Veterans UK and St Wilfrid’s Hospice and we wanted to raise as much money as we possi-bly could to help,” said fellow boarder Renata.“We are very proud of what we accomplished.”“The models who took part all looked magnifi-cent,” said Natalie, another Crossways girl,

who added, “there were plenty of surprises throughout the evening - including the mo-ment when Reverend Buckler realised that he had won the iPhone 5S in the raffle. Nobody was sure whether this news pleased him or not!”The Crossways House Small Choir also performed during the evening.Crossways Hou-semistress Janicen Lambeth said, “This year’s Fashion Show was a wonderful event, raising unprecedented amounts of money for Blind Veterans UK and St Wilfrid’s Hospice.”“We are delighted to be working with two such wonderful organisations; many of our girls have volunteered at their centres, and to be actively involved in the fundraising process helps show the many ways we can all do something extra to help and support chari-ties.”“The girls of Crossways and Charleston hope that everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the evening,” said Crossways girl Imogen Lock.“We would also like to thank everyone involved in the event. The funds we raised for such an excellent cause will go a great distance to help those Blind Veterans who have sacri-ficed so much for our country and our fellow Sussex residents so desperately in need via the incredible work of St Wilfrid’s Hospice.”


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AlUMNUs BeCoMes TeAM GB TeNNIs MANAGer

Congratulations to Bede’s alumnus Barry scollo who was announced recently as Team Manager for GBr Tennis at the World University Games, which will take place in gwangju, south Korea next year.Mr Scollo was a Tennis scholar at Bede’s during his time at the school, training under Director of Tennis, ex-Great British Number 1 and fellow Bede’s alumnus Julie Salmon, and his sister Frankie works at Bede’s today teaching a new generation of players as part of Bede’s Tennis Academy.Whilst studying the Sport Performance degree at the University of Bath, where he is currently Director of Tennis, Mr Scollo also lectured by Andy Hibbert, Bede’s Director of Sport, who will be acting as Chef de Misson for Team GB at the upcoming World Univer-sity Games - the second time he has held this prestigious position.

daIsY, aLICe and LILY star In ‘grease’

during the october half term alice Potter, Lily Potter and daisy Bennett celebrated local theatrical company the rattoni-ans’ 30th year anniversary by perform-ing ‘grease’ at eastbourne’s Congress theatre.Alice and Daisy starred as Pink Ladies, Marty (Alice) and Jan (Daisy) while Lily performed in the chorus.The popular show included favourites such as ‘Summer Nights’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’, ‘We Go Together’ and many more.

CaBaret 2014: In the sPotLIght‘Cabaret fever’ sets in at Bede’s in the beginning of november.Musical arrangements are written, dance steps are perfected, rehearsals abound around the school, catering and events manage-ment are working nearly round-the-clock to turn the Sports Complex at Bede’s into a fabulous centre of creativity, music, dance and celebration.Bede’s Cabaret is not just a celebration of the Arts - it is a celebra-tion of life, of everything that Bede’s stands for: creativity, ambition, excellence and attention to detail.Every year, tickets are increasingly hot: Cabaret sold out in a mat-ter of hours this year, so tiered seating was, for the very first time, opened to allow diners and concert-goers the opportunity to enjoy a sumptuous and bespoke picnic as they were entertained by our talented students.Whilst the food is amazingly delicious, consisting of ham hock terrine, pan roasted chicken or goats’ cheese with smoked plum tomatoes, it is the music that is always outstandingly good.As patrons entered the main hall, they were treated to a Cirque du Soleil-style pageant, where dancers glided around the room with solo steps and statuesque brilliance.This was a new “pre-show show” introduced for 2014!As people supped on champagne, they craned their necks to witness a real barnstorming spectacle; piped music permeated the atmos-phere to transport everyone to another world.The evening opened with a show-stopper: ‘One Night Only’ sung by the Jazz choir, accompanied by the cabaret concert band, with chore-ography provided by the Legat dancers.The audience were enthralled as the company strutted their stuff.True to the ‘In the Spotlight’ theme, students Louis Muston, Joseph Robson and Alice Potter were the compéres for the evening and intro-duced each item with humour, passion and a sense of occasion.The orchestra gave splendid renditions of a huge variety of iconic songs. Gloria Estefan’s ‘Let’s Get Loud’, inspired the Latin fusion lov-ers in the audience, was followed by a magical carpet ride to Greece.It was there that the fabulous Anna Moody, accompanied by her sister Ruby, Ivan Friedman and Panagiotis-Giannaris Kalomenopoulos on the mandolin, transported us to the sunny shores of Greece, perform-ing ‘Misirlou’ from ‘Pulp Fiction’. It was a feast for the senses!


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The second concert featured the virtuosic Legat dancers in ‘Oh My God You Guys’ from the film ‘Legally Blonde’ which led us to the famous Bede’s Jazz band in ‘Take Five’, ensuring that our feet were firmly tapping on the floor!The ladies of Crossways House, assisted by the gallant boys from Knights, were then invited to re-appear, fresh from their win in the ‘Small Choir’ category at the House Music competition, and sing their winning entry.Never before has the school enjoyed such variety of music, nor cel-ebrated the vast talents of such a cross-section of the school.Surely, there can be no other form of event in the Arts calendar that can see so many pupils performing on stage together and enjoying every moment?The second concert ended with James Cuxson’s brilliantly funky rendition of ‘Chromazone’ before the Jazz choir and Legat Dancers treated us to ‘Candyman’, putting us in the mood for a mouth-water-ing pudding. The third concert made the evening reach an incredible crescendo: a brilliant young Jazz pianist, Oliver Hutchinson, showcased his won-derful improvisatory skills in Roy Hilton’s ‘Bede’s Boogie’ followed by Hannah Roberts, Martha Reynolds and Dulcie Calvert’s rendition of the Andrews Sisters’ ‘In The Mood’, taking us back to the glorious Glenn Miller era.The dance floor was declared open as people flocked to dance the night away!The evening was rounded off by the Bede’s Singers performing Mika’s ‘Happy Ending’ and ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ which had the entire hall on the dance floor and leaving us all ready to face the misty, damp and cold night outside.Finally, Bede’s Director of Music, Louise Morris, rounded the evening off by thanking the incredible team behind Cabaret: there really is no other event that requires such a variety of people coming together in a great show of brilliance and creativity.

Robert ScamardellaDeputy Director of Music

CaBaret 2014: In the sPotLIght


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UPPer sIxTH BIoloGIsTs eMBArk oN 5-daY resIdentIaL researCh trIPover the october half term, Bede’s upper sixth Biology students embarked on a field trip designed to develop their ecology skills and enable them to collect data for their project coursework.Accompanied by new Head of Biology Mrs Tilling, Head of Upper Fifth Ms French and Mr Hodges, the group was taken by luxury coach to Nettlecombe Court Field Studies Centre in Somerset and started their trip with a tour of the Elizabethan manor house.Nettlecombe Court lies in a secluded valley at the eastern edge of Exmoor National Park and is a striking example of a Tudor and Geor-gian country mansion. Within its grounds, the Centre has excellent access to the Somerset coast as well as Exmoor National Park and The Quantocks ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.As the A Level Biologists were informed during an introduction from expert resident tutor Jo Transect, Nettlecombe is the first field centre in the world to be awarded the Geographical Association’s ‘Centre of Excellence’ award.Once her introduction was finished, Jo took the group outdoors to take part in a small investigation as to whether water content affected the distribution of field plant species like clover, buttercup and yarrow.The data the students collected led to an evening of “kite diagram” drawing accompanied by a delicious dinner served in Nettlecombe’s Old Ballroom.Day Two consisted of an all-day visit to remote Exmoor. As well as seeing deer rutting (extremely educational!) the students engaged in freshwater kick-stone wash sampling at five sites, counting and identifying water invertebrates as they went.During the third day, the pupils were split into groups for more de-tailed skills development of plant sampling which served as an intro-duction to the concept of the pilot study. The students used quadrats and abiotic meters and walked around the grounds, identifying all the possible independent project topics.Six pupils meandered with Mrs Tilling, seven headed to the churchyard and local stream with Ms French and another four ventured to other areas around Nettlecombe with Mr Hodges, including a jaunt to some local woodland.The next day was spent collecting data, during which the students were, according to Mrs Tilling, “superb and very easy to manage.”Following the pattern of day one, the evening was then spent in analy-sis of data and soil.For the final day, the group started their write-ups and completed their statistical tests. Later, the Biology department held a small prize-giving ceremony in the sunshine, accompanied by packed lunches.Everyone received a prize for something silly, but the real stars of the show were Bekah Canby and George Sillett who were both praised for being the “Best Ecologists”.All in all, the field trip was extremely productive and took place in a stunning place. Some outstanding team spirit was demonstrated and the pupils gained some valuable insights into the life of an ecologist.


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PhYsICIsts VIsIt FusIon energY Centreon saturday 1 november dr dawson and I took 10 A level Physics students to the Culham Centre for Fusion energy, currently home to two fusion experiments - the Joint european Torus and the Mega Amp spheri-cal Tokomak. Culham is one of two key sites globally look-ing into the feasibility of providing commer-cially viable clean energy from fusing small atomic particles together. Temperatures inside the experiments can exceed 150 mil-lion degrees celsius, helping to provide the right conditions for fusion to occur. Lower Sixth Bede’s pupil Nadia Gjerdingen said of the trip, “A visit to a nuclear fusion reactor opens your eyes to the limits cur-rently being pushed in nuclear physics and research into sustainable energy sources.“It was especially interesting to see how they have dealt with the obstacle of the incred-ibly high temperatures required for fusion versus the limits of what the machine can withstand, and how they can create and contain such a massive temperature range in a relatively small space.“I think that nuclear fusion offers the potential of a great energy source for future generations, but there are many scientific and engineering challenges to be overcome before it is possible.”The famous equation E=mc^2 explains that

tiny losses in atomic mass can yield vast amounts of energy. The current experiments are feeding their discoveries into the next experiment being built in France which will be the stepping stone to power stations being planned to be operational by 2050. The day was rounded off with a trip into Oxford and a chance to discuss the information we had received.Fellow Lower Sixth pupil Ivan Vukusic reflected, “Having always been interested in Physics and in the concept of everything that had the word ‘nuclear’ in it, nuclear fusion has always fascinated me. I have

always researched it and thought I knew how it worked.“The JET trip and the tour of its facilities changed all of my views. I have certainly understood the magnitude of challenges in physics they overcome, as well as the mar-vels of engineering of the device itself.“The guides explained the concept of nuclear fusion itself and showed us the reasons as to why it could provide the renewable, clean energy source for all of mankind.”

Dani FrenchTeacher of Physics


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CHeMIsTrY sTUDeNTs UNDerTAke IoN reseACH

The Chemistry coursework for our A2 Chemists is steaming ahead, pupils are studying the oCr salters’ syllabus. Pupils began their coursework at the beginning of the academic year and have been working studiously every Monday afternoon and saturday morning.

Pupils are investigating the kinetics of the reaction between iodide and persulfate ions. They have devised their own aims and objec-tives, undertaken risk assessments and are now busy gathering data.This involves undertaking a series of experiment to time the rate of a reaction. Further experiments will then be undertaken to elucidate the specific order of each reagent. The overall direction of the experiments is totally at the discretion of the pupils, who are using a range of different equipment, and their precision and accuracy in doing so is pivotal to their results. Once all of the data is gathered pupils will then produce a full writ-ten report (probably around 80 pages long) which will contain a full experimental write up and a detailed analysis of their results. It is hoped that this challenging coursework will stretch all pupils beyond the confines of the A-Level syllabus and thus each pupil will create a truly unique report.

Dr Amber CumpsteyHead of Chemistry

noIses oFF

this year’s Bede’s school Play was a riot-ous frenzy of fluffed lines, physical violence and secret lover’s trysts.The props never seemed to be where they were needed, the set refused to bend to the actors’ will and things got so bad at mo-ments that some cast members abandoned all hope and hit the bottle.Thankfully, all of the above was by design - something which seemed to take those audience members unfamiliar with Michael Frayn’s classic farce Noises Off by total and joyful surprise.The shenanigans began earnestly enough, with Ruth Godfrey’s Dotty Otley delivering a rip-roaring comic soliloquy into a period, 1980s telephone handset. Before long how-ever, lines were botched, cues forgotten and the director, Joe Robson’s Lloyd Dallas, had no choice but to intervene.Robson, playing well beyond his years, did well to contain his character’s very evident rage - spinning from sleazy lothario to bitingly sarcastic incompetent, he was a consistent joy to watch from the moment he stepped out of the audience and into the unfolding drama.Considering the nature of Noises Off, a play about underprepared actors staging an un-derprepared production, it was a true testa-ment to the young cast that the storyline was so adeptly communicated. No small credit for this goes to Harvey Cole who not

only demonstrated a gift for comic timing but also a superb capacity for accents: as dim but well-meaning actor Garry Lejeune he adopted a pitch-perfect cockney accent, yet when Garry snapped into character as Roger Trampelmain Harvey spoke with an unnerv-ingly high-born foppishness.The distinction made between the young cast’s “actor” characters and their respective alter egos was clarified all the more starkly by Laura Adebisi’s Poppy and Theo Morse’s Tim, two members of the play-within-a-play’s production team.Both actors, despite relatively brief periods in

the limelight, conducted themselves incred-ibly. Adebisi, for one, showed a capacity for both comedic mania and put-upon pathos while Morse walked a fine line between hang-dog and earnest that enabled his fellow cast members to truly cut loose.Those familiar with the play will know that Noises Off is very much a tale of two halves. The first is almost a conventional comedy, with the actors facing the audience in front of the (as previously mentioned) amusingly dysfunctional set, designed by Mr Waring and his capable Theatre Production helpers Ben Laws, Matt Jebb and Ambra Fuller.The second half of the Bede’s production then undertook a grand reveal however, with the entire set turning 180 degrees to expose a backstage area covered in props, cues and secret stairways and platforms.Although jolly good fun during the opening act, it was only once this mind-boggling feat of engineering had been revealed that the Bede’s rendition of Noises Off truly became hysterical.Having previously been the story of a shoddy dress rehearsal, audiences in the Miles Studio Theatre were latterly invited to catch up with the actors midway through the tour of “Nothing’s On”, by which time illicit relation-ships had soured, additional affairs had oc-curred and characters with bad habits - such as Louis Muston’s doddery alcoholic Selsdon Mowbray - had been forced to keep their vices

at bay.On the night Act Two takes place, a bottle of whiskey, a bunch of flowers and a web of sexual impropriety all acted as catalysts for a veritable barrage of almost silent comedy gold. Muston, for one, may have made a late entry in the first act but, almost like the production as a whole, he made an indelible mark in the second and commanded a stage presence which seemed at odd with his youth and physical stature.The lynchpin of the fictional production’s dysfunction meanwhile was Millie Prow’s Belinda Blair, a character who thrives on (and stirs up) backstage drama as much as she is interested in whatever is happening out front. A victim of her own machinations, Belinda acts to try and circumvent violence


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at bay.On the night Act Two takes place, a bottle of whiskey, a bunch of flowers and a web of sexual impropriety all acted as catalysts for a veritable barrage of almost silent comedy gold. Muston, for one, may have made a late entry in the first act but, almost like the production as a whole, he made an indelible mark in the second and commanded a stage presence which seemed at odds with his youth and physical stature.The lynchpin of the fictional production’s dysfunction meanwhile was Millie Prow’s Belinda Blair, a character who thrives on (and stirs up) backstage drama as much as she is interested in whatever is happening out front. A victim of her own machinations, Belinda acts to try and circumvent violence and miscommunication, providing Millie with ample opportunities for verbal and physical clowning which she grasped with both hands.Acting almost as a foil to Belinda was Brooke, played by Grace Longdon. A character with little up top but a lot out front, Longdonheld down the physical challenges of her part with finesse: Brooke may not be a charac-ter from whom punchlines sally forth but Grace’s physical presence and strong delivery enabled her character’s swift changes from bimbonic cluelessness to emotional outburst to both land and resonate with the audience.Elsewhere, consistently charismatic and thoroughly good-natured, Dan Grimston’s

Frederick Fellowes necessitated the curation of not only two characters but a third in the form of an Arab sheikh.As the first of many performers to lose their trousers during the show, Dan played Freder-ick delightfully; thoroughly good natured but both theatrically incapable and thick as two short planks, Dan seemed to pivot from set piece to set piece almost without effort. He acted not just as the butt of jokes but as the sympathetic victim of his cast-mates’ envy and malice.Amongst a strong cast, special credit must go to Ruth Godfrey whose opening, gag-

filled monologue only hinted at the hilarity she was set to unleash across the course of the production; with such an extraordinarily expressive face, accentuated by some truly garish makeup, there was rarely a moment where she was on stage which didn’t raise at least a smile.Indeed, a particular highlight, which involved Ruth being assaulted with a tray of sardines - complete with grimly-dripping jelly - lit the fuse on a flurry of carefully orchestrated comic action which hit home hard and prompted belly-laugh after belly-laugh in relentless succession.Considering its status as such a physically demanding and technically challenging play, Noises Off was always going to be an ambi-tious choice for this year’s main school show. Thankfully, Mrs Lewis, ably assisted by her highly competent cast and crew, delivered on the promise of a night of ridiculous, farcical comedy.If you saw the production on the evenings of the 19, 20 and 22 November then you will likely attest that Noises Off at Bede’s was a delight. The only shame is that so many members of the cast will be leaving after completing their Upper Sixth year next summer - although it seems highly unlikely that this will be the last we see of many of this talented cohort.

reFLeCtIon and rhetorIC: WhY We HosT HoUse forMAl DINNers

as we approach Christmas, many of the houses have been busy preparing for, and hosting, their evensong services and formal din-ners, a tradition which has become an integral part of the pastoral landscape at Bede’s. The pupils themselves lead much of the planning and preparation of the events, creating the theme for the evening, inviting and welcom-ing guests, speaking, reading and performing themselves and even deciding the menu. There have been many special evenings this term; Dicker House, this year, chose for its theme “the unsung hero” and Ed Cudlipp, Dicker Head of House, spoke persuasively, asking the House to consider those who help them in the course of their everyday life, often without thanks or recognition – including their parents! Elsewhere Knights House celebrated the importance of “Community”, inviting a repre-sentative from their House charity to speak. Similarly Stud House, celebrated the importance of “Family”.Such evenings provide a welcome opportunity for the House to come together to worship in the Chapel, reflect and enjoy one another’s company and provide enduring memories for pupils and staff alike. But the importance of such occasions in providing pupils – particu-larly younger pupils – with the opportunities to develop their social skills can often be underestimated. But how important are these “life skills”? We started off by speaking to Dan Chester, the Managing Director of a Brighton Executive Search and Research company, Wilbury Stratton, about what he looks for when he’s interviewing someone. “Regardless of age,” Mr Stratton explained, “I’m looking for some-one who is comfortable with themselves, who can command a room; someone who is engaging – even charming when required. These things come naturally to some people, but there’s no question that through experience and practice you can learn these skills”.So what role do schools have in supporting young people in develop-ing these skills? Mr Lewis, Principal Deputy Head with responsibility for pastoral care, explained, “A Bede’s education is so much more than pure results.

Clearly these are key to a pupil achieving their potential, however, it is very rare that a person works in isolation and therefore their ability to interact with others will be crucial in a pupil becoming the all-round individual who achieves career and personal success.”Mr Lewis went on to say, “Only last night I attended the School Prefects’ annual dinner and although the food was delicious, it was the pupils’ ability to make me feel like a welcome guest and engage in mature conversation that really impressed me. I can honestly say that the evening didn’t feel like an evening out with children but a genuinely enjoyable and entertaining occasion.”Mrs Belrhiti, Head of Boarding, also feels that schools should help children understand the importance of etiquette and social codes. “We have the opportunity to help children understand what behaviour is appropriate for the environment and learn to be comfortable with and interested in others – particularly those who may be different from themselves.” Mr Mills, Bede’s Senior Day House Master, echoed these sentiments saying, “It is important for children to gain social confidence at an early age and to feel comfortable in a formal setting such as a dinner or Evensong service. When we invite guests to events we want our pupils to impress them.”Mr Mills went on to point out that the interpersonal skills pupils learn through these experiences come to the fore in a number of different situations. “Our pupils are always the best ambassadors of our school,” he added in conclusion. “I want to know that the pupils have it within themselves to behave in an appropriate manner even when their teachers may not be watch-ing. Every day they prove how well they can do this when they show visitors, such as prospective parents, around the school and I know how charming, informative and engaging they are because we receive such wonderful feedback about them and this makes all staff at the school feel tremendously proud. “I have no doubt that when our pupils come to leave Bede’s they will benefit enormously from these experiences.”


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fIfTH forM TAke BeDe’s Pre-PreP ChILdren “uP, uP and aWaY”

on Monday 8 December Bede’s pupils joined together for an afternoon of performance, dance and of course Carols and Christmas nibbles.The afternoon performance was entitled ‘Up, Up and Away’ which saw students from Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth take students from Reception, Year One and

Year Two on a magical adventure through the medium of dance, drama and music.The first section on the pro-

gramme was ‘Gibberland’. Bede’s Drama teacher KellyGoldring explained, ‘As part of their Drama GCSE students are devising their own Theatre in Education piece for a specific target audience. ‘Since meeting in the workshop in September, the drama stu-dents have been developing their own piece based on the Bede’s Pre-Prep and Nursery Creative Curriculum theme of “Up, Up and Away” as their starting point. Jay Adebisi came upon the idea to set the drama in a land caller Gibber, which you can only travel to in your imagination. Students will continue to polish and perfect this performance until February when they will perform in front of an exam moderator.’The audience was then capti-vated by a short film, made by student Adelaide Coffey, which featured the Year 2 students de-scribing their dream hot air bal-loon and the magical adventures they would have with it to

the Lower Fifth dancers. The audience was treated to a dance production created by these dancers for their BTEC Performing Arts qualification as they transported themselves around the world, meeting char-acters such as jungle animals, forest fairies and even the Loch Ness Monster!After this wonderful perfor-mance, parents and students gathered around the Christmas tree for carols with the Bede’s Choir, and after a very hearty rendition of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, students and

parents all enjoyed a well-earned festive biscuit and cake. Rachel Potter, Acting Head of Reception and Year 1 at Bede’s said ‘Our youngest children were enthralled throughout the after-noon and huge congratulations to the students for such inspira-tional work. I know the children were delighted to see their stories evolve and be interpreted in this way’.

The event was a collaboration between Bede’s Drama de-partment, the Legat School of Dance and Bede’s Pre-Prep and Nursery.


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WArHAMMer TeAM CoMPeTes AT reGIoNAl sCHools leAGUe CoMPeTITIoN

Bede’s Warhammer Team took part in the first round of the school’s league War-hammer competition, answering a “call to arms” from the eastbourne academy during november.The game, which involves playing out strate-gic battles using custom-painted miniature soldiers, has an international following.

This year’s first leg of the annual Schools League competition gave two of our old hands, Aidan Kerr and Oliver Marks, a chance to display their skills while enabling two Warhammer initiates, Will Jobling and Kieran Crutcher, to represent the school for the first time in this way. All of the students had done a lot of prepa-

ration and painting before the event and several armies had been re-vamped for the sake of the competition, with a good deal of team spirit going into the planning. The table-top war-games were close and gentlemanly fought out, with the final result going to our opponents by the narrow result of 64-61.All of our players contributed some wins and Oliver took the prize for Best Painted Army for the third year running! The Games Workshop staff running the event were impressed with the level of sportsman-ship shown by both sides. All our students learned something from the event and noticeable tactical improvements occurred throughout the several games enjoyed by all of our players. Though we ultimately did not make it through to the regional finals at Nottingham this year, we felt we had played well and will no doubt be fielding a team for the next School’s League.

Matthew PeattieTeacher of Mathematics


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‘HIsTorY of vIDeoGAMes’ ClUB TrANsPorTs sTUDeNT GAMers BACk IN TIMe

founded in 2013, Mr Hopkins’ ‘History of videogames’ activity has enjoyed increased popularity this year - primarily because the club is not just about playing games.

With over 500 videogames development studios now registered in the UK, employing around 9000 staff and generating sales totalling in excess of £2.2 billion, the History of Videogames club is designed to help budding programmers and musicians at Bede’s place modern videogames in context.“I grew up in the 1980s,” explains Mr Hopkins, who teaches Music Technology at Bede’s, “and I was the perfect age to experience the explosion in creativity that took place during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras of gaming.“The industry has changed a huge amount since then - from back room programmers working out of their garages to multi-million pound development cycles of, in many cases, several years. The budgets of major videogame series rival those of Hollywood block-buster movies, but the important thing to remember is that the same tricks are being played on customers today as they were in 1984.”Taking place once a week in the Bede’s Music Studio, members of the History of Videogames group play and then dissect iconic titles to ex-plore what makes them tick. Gameplay hooks, cycles of rewards and infectious, catchy music invariable come together to create a heady,

BeDe’s CoMMUNITY lINks GroUP fACIlITATes ‘MINI-eNTerPrIse’

Throughout the Autumn Term, the Community links group at Bede’s worked with a group of Year 4s from Park Mead Primary school to launch a ‘Mini-enterprise’.The aim of the activity, which takes place every Thursday afternoon, is to teach entrepreneurial and business skills to the children which could hopefully benefit them in the future.As the weeks passed, we organized sessions for the class and encour-aged them to look at the activity with a business mind as well as using their imaginations!Cancer Research was the charity chosen by the children to be the beneficiary of our efforts, as it meant a great deal to the students.All of the children were very eager to get started on making the prod-ucts. Glue guns were involved, and my stress levels did rise, however

everyone completed their tasks without any injuries in the end!Once a price was set and posters made, the group were almost ready to debut their business at the Bede’s Prep School Christmas fair, which took place on Saturday 29th November.When the day itself came around, the stall was busy with customers from across Eastbourne and East Sussex - an invaluable experience for the children.Our Community Links project for the term has been such a great experience, and it has been personally satisfying to be able to offer something unique to a younger generation and provide role models for them to look up to.

Janicen LambethCrossways Housemistress


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compulsive mix of experiences.“Part of the beauty of what we are doing in the History of Videogames is exploring products which look, to modern eyes, incredibly simple. Like many of the best games however, including the likes of Chess, Go or even something like Tiddlywinks, that simplicity is deceptive.”Mr Hopkins’ hope is that the work students are undertaking during his afternoon sessions will feed into the myriad Computer Programming opportunities students are now enjoying at Bede’s.“What I hope is that the students can see from the success of independent developer-publishers - such as Marcus Pearsson, who created Minecraft, or Jonathan Blow, who created Braid, - is that you don’t need incredible graphics to make a phenomenally success-ful videogame. There are plenty of purists out there like me who put gameplay first, far above all the audio-visual bells and whistles.”So far this year the club has explored franchises including Sonic The Hedgehog, Mario, Tetris, Pong, and Street Fighter, the latter of which has been a real hit with the students.“Street Fighter was the franchise that first sucked me into gaming,” says Mr Hopkins, “and it’s reassuring to know that the games still

stand up after 20 years of play. There may have been a new Street Fighter game released every few years since then, but the originals were where the magic originally came from.”

‘HIsTorY of vIDeoGAMes’ ClUB TrANsPorTs sTUDeNT GAMers BACk IN TIMe

sPortrugBY

on Monday 8th December the 1st xv travelled to Worth for the quarter final of the county cup, a round which has caused us prob-lems in previous years. Although some still felt weary after the close defeat to Cranleigh two days before, we felt confident of victory, especially with the full strength squad that we had. Led by the captain, Welsh exile Josh Novell, Bede’s started strongly with a well worked try in the corner, scored by Josh O’Reilly. However, Worth replied with a converted try and penalty within quick succession showing their pace and skill out wide. Due to our early dominance in the set piece, we worked our way up-field spending long periods in their 22. Joe Juran powered his way through multiple tackles to the try line from a quick penalty tap giving Bede’s the lead once again. After some first half substitutions, the very much strengthened Worth side continued to have no answer to the power of the Bede’s forwards. As the game started to slow from its vibrant start, Bede’s structure, dictated by scrum half Joe Madelena, really started to become promi-nent resulting in a brilliant solo effort from Marcus Hendry. We spent the rest of the half in Worth’s third but failed to convert the chances, leaving the half time score at 17-10. A sloppy start to the second half led to sustained pressure from Worth, who scored two very good tries. From the restart, the Bede’s pack took control with rampaging runs from Joe Juran, Artin Valinejad and Ryan Day. Harry Walker at Fly-Half spotted the gap and splitting the Worth defence and setting up Gary

Walker for the next try; but yet again Worth’s pace out wide proved deadly, scoring their third of the half. In this thrilling cup game, with a cheering crowd, Josh Novell took control with a pick up from the ever-dominant Bedes scrum dotting down the ball beneath the posts. The referee announced that there was 10 minutes remaining with the scores tied at 27-27. The physicality stepped up to another level with both teams truly putting their bodies on the line. Yet again, Worth had a lengthy period attacking the Bede’s try line, with two attempts being held up. With hard work and determination we managed to pull through powering past the gain line on nearly every carry. In the dying seconds of the game, Ryan Day snuck his way through a gap at the side of the ruck and weaved his way over the line. Victory was secured with this sixth try, which put us through to the semi-final of the County Cup. The boys have never been so happy with victory, maybe not because of what it means for the team, but that it was our beloved, long-standing coach, Mr Tom Elwell’s last game at the school. He has kept Bede’s rugby alive over many years, and will be dearly missed.Now, of course, the whole team is looking forward to seeing who our semi-final opponents will be, for we all have firm ambitions to win the County Cup.

Bertie CookLower Sixth, Knights House


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1sT xv THroUGH To CoUNTY CUP seMI-fINAls

england international netball player ama agbeze spent two days coaching at Bede’s Prep and senior schools in december.Ama, who played in defence at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, debuted in the England national squad in 2001 and helped the English team to win a bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.She has over 50 caps for her country and plays most of her netball in the ANZ league based in Australia and New Zealand Ama delivered coaching sessions across the Bede’s netball teams to help the girls prepare for the netball season focussing on key areas of personal skill needed to achieve success in netball.

The coaching sessions culminated in match play and analysis to further enhance the girls’ understanding of the game.

Following the coaching session the girls’ asked questions relating to Ama’s playing career, injuries and netball tips.During her visit Ama also worked with the Emerging Talent Programme (ETP) athletes to highlight the importance of life style man-agement to an elite athlete.

Bede’s ETP produces athletes of the highest calibre providing the building blocks to ac-cess elite and professional sport. Ama will be returning to Bede’s in January to help the teams with their pre-season train-ing.Andy Hibbert, Bede’s Director of Sport said ‘The importance of an aspirational role model cannot be overstated and I am delighted that Ama has committed to returning to the school in the New Year.’


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despite delays in the completion of the new artificial grass pitch, with the inevita-ble loss of training, the Bede’s girls have produced some great Hockey during this term. Results have been most encouraging and the girls have been stoic in the face of a few frustrations with matches being cancelled or rescheduled. The girls’ Senior Squad, who showed tenac-ity and commitment throughout the season, made a sterling effort in each and every match. It was pleasing to see the development of several players throughout the course of the term. Beth Giddings led admirably from the front and marshalled her troops with much skill and drive to well-deserved victories over Buckswood, Lancing and Roedean.The Under 15 team have lost on only one occasion, to Christ’s Hospital, winning their remaining matches including a memorable 4-1 defeat of local rivals Eastbourne. Inevitably, some games were cancelled because a venue could not be found, but the U15s also represented the school in the U16 County Cup, winning matches in the Pool phase; this bodes well for the future. This team will form the core of a very young 1st XI next season which should mature into a strong team over the next two seasons.The U14 team only had one victory dur-ing the season against Buckswood, but showed technical improvement and team development as the season progressed. Narrow losses against strong Lancing and Eastbourne teams and a well fought draw against Burgess Hill showed encouraging quality in their performances with applica-tion and commitment on the pitch. The team should continue to improve and some skilful individual performances bodes very well!Training for the girls will continue next term and through the Summer, making the very most of our world class new facility.

Jon RoyceDirector of Hockey

hoCKeYseNIor TeAMs CoMPeTe IN CoUNTY CoMPeTITIoNs netBaLL

eNGlAND INTerNATIoNAl AMA enhanCes Pre-season traInIng


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Bede's Newsletter - Christmas 2014

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Transcript of Bede's Newsletter - Christmas 2014