Harrow School News

Harrow’s athletes make Borough team

Athletics has historically taken second place to cricket at Harrow, but since the opening of the new Olympic-standard athletics facilities at the School, the sport has grown in popularity and quality and now Harrow’s athletes are really having an impact on the school and regional circuit.

So far this season, Harrow has produced some tremendous results at the Oxford City Relays held at Radley. Our athletes won four of the six relays, picking up two cups and two sets of Gold medals. The U17s won both the 4 x 100 and Medley relays, as did the U15s. The U15s broke records in both their races and special mention must be made of the fact that the U15 Medley relay record had stood since 1980. Breaking a 28-year-old record was a particularly noteworthy achievement.

Earlier this month, twenty-four U15 and U17 athletes competed in the Harrow Borough Championships. The team once again proved their strength by winning seventeen of the twenty-six events. Twenty-two boys from Harrow School were selected to compete for the Borough at the County Championships in June and Reiss Palmer again showed his class by clearing 1.80m in the high jump, earning him a potential place at the National Championships.

Music teachers release CD with London Mozart groups

Classic FM Magazine’s Instrumental Disc of the Month for June is Shostakovich’s Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2 and Piano Quintet performed by the London Mozart Trio and Chamber Ensemble. There is a double Harrovian connection in this recording in that it features not only Harrow’s highly regarded piano teacher, Mr Colin Stone, who is a member of the London Mozart Trio, but also, in the Quintet, Harrow’s Head of Strings, Mr Dimitar Burov.

Maths Olympiad results are best ever for Harrow

Over two hundred Harrow boys from the Fifth Form, Removes and Shells entered the UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge. Harrow achieved record results with 49 boys achieving a Gold certificate, 54 Silver and 52 receiving Bronze certificates.

The top few boys in each year qualified for the Olympiad stages of the competition where a special paper is sat in each year group and the top few elite candidates are asked to attend a summer school run by the British Mathematics Olympiad (BMO) organisation. Thirteen boys from Harrow achieved the very high marks that qualified them for the Olympiad stage of the competition and, after taking the Olympiad papers, four of the Harrow boys got certificates of Distinction and eight got Merit. Clement Woo and Takehiro Fujita finished in the top fifty in the country and Tony Sun and James Lo made the top 100 in the country.

Swimming team finishes season unbeaten for sixth year in a row

Harrow’s swimmers have just completed another phenomenal year of national competitions and galas against local schools with thirteen wins out of thirteen on the local circuit.

At a national level, Harrow sent a team to the English National Secondary Schools’ Team Swimming Championships held in Sheffield. It was the first time in the School’s history that Harrow had qualified in four events. The fastest twenty teams in the UK were invited to these Championships and the Harrow Intermediates, Tristan Goodfellow, Max Roberts, Kyle Hamilton and George Brewster, put in a tremendous effort to finish 13th and 14th in the freestyle and medley relays respectively.

In the Seniors competition, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Kouji Urata and Ben Lam finished fourth in the medley relay, setting a new School Long Course record of 1:56:87s in the process. This was a particularly impressive performance against the best in the country. In the freestyle relay, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Kouji Urata and Henry Brewster put in another excellent performance, finishing in eighth place.

Inaugural Old Harrovian bursary awarded

The first Kelsey scholar has been appointed. The Award has been set up in memory of Old Harrovian Mr Derek Kelsey who died in July 2006, just before his 99th birthday. Derek bequeathed a sum of money to Harrow to pay for bursaries for very talented boys from Old Harrovian families who might have been put off applying to Harrow by the cost. The bursary is paid for from the annual proceeds from the bequest, and can cover up to 100% of fees for one boy every five years, or the equivalent sum for more boys, depending on applicant requirements.

Candidates and the level of awards are determined by the Head Master and applicants are means-tested and must pass the Scholarship exam in the year before entry as well as being interviewed and tested as part of the application process.

The first beneficiary of Derek Kelsey’s generosity will enter Harrow in 2009, following in the footsteps of several generations of his family members who attended the School.

Traditional Field Day scatters Harrovians from the Thames to the Somme

Field Day is an annual event at Harrow in which Masters take groups of boys on expeditions outside School. The themes can be educational or physical but the trips are always fun. This year’s Field Day saw Shell boys travel to the battlefields of the Somme in France, while a group of artists and designers went to Paris, biologists visited the Berlin Zoo and classicists went to Rome.

Closer to home, Masters took advantage of Harrow’s proximity to the best that London has to offer, with trips to Greenwich in south London, the London Aquarium, Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Wetland Centre for the conservationists.

For the adventurous, there were activity expeditions to the Mendip Hills, the Forest of Dean and River Wye, and the CCF spent two days training in Surrey and Hertfordshire. The Community Service boys took a group of pensioners on a boat trip on the Thames while another group of boys visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

Intermediates take Gold at Wellington Cross-Country Relays

This year Harrow took two teams to the annual Wellington Relays cross-country competition for teams of five runners. While the Seniors went with a weakened team due to absentees, the Intermediates had a full strength team that believed it was in with a chance of getting in the medals. First leg runner Jack Stow ran his heart out to put Harrow into third place at the changeover; second man Ed Parsonthen maintained the pace and managed to move the team up into second. He was followed by Hugh Bayley, running above his age group, who maintained the position and kept Harrow in with a chance. Richard Whiddington then gave his all to close the gap on the leaders Abingdon to just 30 metres at the final changeover. This gave anchor leg runner Chad Lambert enough to work with. Chad overhauled the lead runner in the first 300 metres and then pulled away, with an impressive display of speed and stamina, to bring Harrow home as worthy winners

Copley medal winner Lord May gives 2008 Rayleigh Lecture

This year’s Rayleigh Lecture was given by Lord May, Professor of Zoology at Oxford University, a distinguished speaker who is a former Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government and former President of the Royal Society. Addressing a large audience of Harrovians and staff on the subject of modern dilemmas, he discussed the rapidly expanding population, the world’s food problem and climate change. In 2007, Lord May was awarded the Royal Society’s Copley medal, the world’s oldest prize for scientific achievement.

Harrow achieves record results in UK Maths Challenge

In February over two hundred Harrow boys from the Fifth Form, Removes and Shells entered the UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge. This national competition, run by the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT), attracts more than six hundred thousand entrants, so it is very competitive.

This year Harrow achieved record results with 49 boys achieving a Gold certificate, 54 Silver and 52 receiving Bronze certificates. Takehiro Fujita achieved the top mark in the School with 124, closely followed by Clement Woo with 123. This is a remarkable achievement as both boys are in the Shell year (first year at Harrow) and they were eleven marks clear of the next Harrovian.

The top few boys in each year qualify for the Olympiad stages of the competition where a special paper is sat in each year group and the top few elite candidates are asked to attend a summer school run by the British Mathematics Olympiad organisation. Thirteen boys from Harrow achieved the very high marks that qualified them for the Olympiad stage of the competition which will take place in the next few weeks.

Harrow fills Royal Albert Hall for traditional Churchill Songs concert

Harrow is probably the only school in the world that can fill the Royal Albert Hall with parents, alumni and staff to sing songs together. Churchill Songs is a unique event held at the School every year, and on very special occasions, it is held in the Royal Albert Hall.

In November just over 5,500 people gathered in this awe-inspiring venue to sing Songs to celebrate the Centenary of the Harrow Association, the School’s alumni organisation, founded in 1907.

Old Harrovian Tim Bentinck, Earl of Portland, who is the voice of David Archer on Radio 4’s long-running drama, The Archers, acted as compère and the main speaker was Lord Butler of Brockwell, also an OH and currently Master of University College, Oxford.

The programme featured solos by Shell boy Theo Platt and sixth former Robert Opoku as well as readings by pupils and a welcome speech by Roger Boissier, the President of the Harrow Association.

Songs concerts are unusual in that the main part of the programme is made up of Songs which are sung by the audience as well as the 800 pupils.

Harrow on tour this December

Harrow pupils and staff will be enhancing the School’s global links with two tours abroad this December. A group of 70 musicians and staff, including 45 pupils and six recent leavers, will be performing in a series of concerts in Hong Kong, while a squad of senior cricketers will be testing themselves against teams in India. Highlights of the Music Tour include a live Eucharist at St John’s Cathedral to be broadcast on Hong Kong Radio 4 and a concert with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The cricketers will be playing a variety of school, club and academy teams in Mumbai and Goa.

Mathematicians bring home haul of medals from Senior Maths Challenge

Swimmers to represent region and country in competitions

The Intermediates, Kyle Hamilton, George Brewster, Max Roberts and Tristan Goodfellow, won Gold in the Freestyle Relay and Silver in the Medley Relay. Both Seniors and Intermediates will now represent South East England in the Nationals in February.

In October, Kyle Barrett represented the School at the National Inter-Divisional Swimming Championships held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. He won a Bronze medal in the Senior 100m Backstroke event – beaten by less than three hundredths of a second! Kyle will now be considered to represent England at the Schools’ International Championships to be held in March in Coventry.

Ofsted Inspectors rate Harrow as "outstanding"

October’s Ofsted Inspection of the boarding and pastoral facilities at Harrow produced a very positive verdict. Three full-time Inspectors looked at the boarding houses, the pastoral support, the catering, the Medical Centre, extra-curricular activities – in fact, everything that is not academic about the School.

There are four categories into which schools are placed, and Harrow’s overall rating was the highest possible: “Outstanding”. A range of boys and staff from all areas of the School helped welcome the Inspectors and show them round. The main comments from the verbal feedback at the end of the Inspection are given below.

• The boys, House Masters and Matrons were excellent: very open and helpful School, very good at nipping problems in the bud.
• All meals very good – nutritional and balanced. Service was good and quick.
• Systems for PSE are excellent (drugs, alcohol etc...). Boys are clear that they can go to a wide range of people – every boy has one person they could talk to; most have four or five.
• Policies about drugs, alcohol etc. very clear; within general policies it is obvious that boys are dealt with as individuals.
• Anti-bullying policy is very effective. Anti-bullying workshops were powerful and impressive; issues were identified and dealt with; good follow-up in small groups.
• All boys think that punishments are fair and reasonable and recognise that anti-social behaviour is not acceptable. Boys realise they must take responsibility if they are in the wrong and are punished.
• Works Department have very good, tight, forward-looking systems for servicing of all equipment; very good records kept.
• Health and Safety Policy is very good.
• Boys are very lucky to have such a plentiful range of activities and opportunities. Boys appreciate recent improvements – music studio, astro, athletics track etc.
• All boys are treated fairly. School is forward-thinking in responding to issues. Every boy says he can put his views forward and they will be taken seriously. This is a really positive and excellent aspect of the School – the boys have such a wide variety of ways they can contribute. Wide variety of consultation mechanisms – House councils, surveys, Food Committee (asked for ice cream machine and got one!)
• Boys get a lot of support. Pastoral Support Committee is very good, very impressive, fantastic.
• Everyone aware of a major shift in the School’s ethos – now much more supportive and inclusive; School keeps boys and works with them rather than exclusion (boys and staff commented on this).
• Accommodation is very good. It is good that boys can personalise their rooms.
• Management is very strong and hits all the right areas from all directions.

Internationally acclaimed violinist leads masterclass for pupils

In the latest in the series of masterclasses with international professional musicians, some of the School’s talented violinists had the wonderful experience of a masterclass with Min-Jin Kym, one of the leading violinists of her generation. Miss Kym, the youngest-ever pupil at the Purcell School, made her international debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of thirteen.

In a two hour session in Speech Room, she worked with three young musicians individually, coaching them in the performance of a piece of their choosing. She asked the players to think hard about their understanding of the music and their approach to it, running through the music in their heads to get a vision of the shape and line of the piece. She concentrated upon the mechanics of the instrument as well as listening to and planning the whole piece. Her positive, softly-spoken advice proved most encouraging to these fortunate Harrovians.

In the evening, Miss Kym was joined by the renowned pianist and conductor Ian Brown. Their recital commenced with Mozart’s Violin Sonata K454. They then performed the Brahms Violin Sonata No 3, giving a ravishing performance of this romantic work. After an interval they performed Fauré’s Sonata No 1. The enthusiastic audience called them back several times, and was rewarded with an encore in the form of a blistering rendition of Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No 2. This was an exciting way to end a wonderful day’s music-making.

Financial Maths Society members spend a day at Schroder's Bank

International Model United Nations

Harrow Sports News

Henry Brewster (Head Master's) came 12th in the world at under 18 level in the international biathlon at Monte Carlo in October.

Harrow Sports News

Swimming

Kouji Urata (Druries) has been selected to represent Hertfordshire at the National Inter-Counties.

Cricket

Several Harrovians played cricket over the Summer for county teams:

Gary Ballance (Druries) Derbyshire 2nd team

George Harper (Newlands) Middlesex U19

Iwan Jenkins (Bradbys) Glamorgan 2nd team

Will Jones (Elmfield) Middlesex U17

Glenn Querl (The Grove) Essex 2nd team

Rob Taylor (Head Master's) Northants U17

Tom Wheater (Druries) Essex U16

Sam Northeast (Head Master's) has been selected to play for England U19 in the World Cup.

Polo: Harrow are National Schools Champions

Harrow's Polo team of Harry Wentworth-Stanley (The Grove, Capt.) , Ed Gall (The Knoll), Johnny Lakin (Head Master's),Jack Richardson (Elmfield) won.the National Schools Championship in July, beating Cheltenham 1-0 in the final

Rugby

Tom Bassett (The Park) has been selected for Scottish Exiles Under 16 training squad

Adam Fedorciow (Moretons) has been selected for the Scottish Exiles Under 18 training squad.

The 1st XV Training camp was held in Dax S West France during the last week in August. Dax is the home of the French national team captain Rapheal Ibanez. In a break from the French Team preparations for the World Cup he came and spoke to the Harrovians for over an hour about his playing career and his philosophy on life. He also answered a lot of questions asked by the boys.

Top Marks in the Country

Congratulations to the following boys who achieved top marks in the country for their exams:

GCSE Results Break Records

Almost half of the 1816 GCSEs taken by Harrovians were graded A* and 85% were graded A or A*.

Top pupil is Solomon Lau (Bradbys) with 14 A* grades.

Congratulations to the following pupils who achieved outstanding results:

New A-level Records

A-level results this year are the best ever at Harrow.

Of 568 subjects taken, 408 (72%) were graded A and 94% were either A or B.

All but a small number of boys have achieved their UCAS offers.

Six boys achieved six A grades at A-level. Fourteen achieved five A grades at A-level.

A further twenty three achieved four A grades and forty one achieved three A grades.

Over half the year group achieved three A grades or more at A-level.

Including AS and other exam passes, 128 boys out of 165 achieved the UCAS points (360) equivalent to three A grades at A-level

Harrow Prize

The Harrow Prize has been awarded to boys in the Upper Sixth who have made an all-round contribution at a high level during their time at Harrow: in academic achievement, sport, culture, service to others, communication skills and work experience.

Young county batsmen

Gary Ballance (Druries) played cricket for Derbyshire 1^st XI at the unusually young age of 17.

Sam Northeast (Head Master's) played for Kent 2^nd XI.

Glen Querl (The Grove) played for Essex 2^nd XI.

Iwan Jenkins (Bradbys) was selected for Glamorgan 2^nd XI.

Ice Cream

The new Italian ice cream making machine in the dining hall is a great hit with boys.

Computers in boy's study bedrooms

All year 10 (Remove) boys have been given a networked computer in their rooms. This successful programme will be extended to other year groups next year.

New Art Gallery & Studios

The Leaf Schools refurbishment is nearing completion as a new art gallery and a suite of painting and drawing studios.

Harrow Boys win Awards in Maths Olympiad

Ben Lam (silver medal) and Simon Kim (bronze medal) were awarded distinctions and prizes in their Olympiad categories. James Eyton, Dominic Wong and Ronald Tso all achieved merits in their respective Olympiad categories.

Maths is the most popular subject in the Sixth Form at Harrow and boys achieve more A grades in Maths than in any other subject.

Increasing number of Harrow pupils win Cambridge and Oxford places

Thirty boys so far have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year. As the head of one Oxford college commented recently, "'if Harrow carries on producing boys as well educated as this, we will run into difficulties with our state-school admissions targets."

50% of boys who applied achieved an offer compared to the national average of 20%. The breakdown of results shows that Oxford was much more popular with Harrovians than Cambridge (48 applications compared to twelve) but that applicants to Cambridge were more likely to be made an offer. The most successful applicants were those for Maths, Science, Engineering, Theology and Modern Languages.

The applicants who have received offers have mostly been asked to achieve AAA grades at A-level. Because of the modular exam system they should have no difficulty at all in achieving this. The difficulty is getting an offer in the first place. Because too many applicants will achieve AAA grades at A-level, several subjects (Medicine, Law, History and others) have introduced additional tests which pupils have to take as part of the admissions process. Apart from this, the entry system is similar to the system operating twenty years ago - the emphasis being placed on a tough and sometimes unpredictable interview.

"We are hoping for two changes which would help aspiring applicants to Oxford and Cambridge," says Harrow's Head Master, Barnaby Lenon. "Firstly, from 2010 the A-level top grade (A) should be split in two (A and A*) enabling the most demanding universities to return to using A-level as a discriminator. We hope that the additional tests will then start to wither away. Secondly, we hope that Oxford and Cambridge may go over to a more centralised admissions system because the process of choosing a college has always been hopelessly difficult - and is certainly a main reason why some schools are put off recommending Oxford and Cambridge to their best students."

Harrow sustains male involvement in chamber music against national trends

The members of Harrow's Under 15 cello quartet, Rafi Colman, Joon Kwon, Felix Lashmar and Robert Stone, and the members of the Under 19 String quartet, Stephen Hung, Raymond Cheng, Arthur Yeung and Geoffrey Hung, were amongst the winning finalists of the 2007 National Chamber Music Competition held in March.

Performing in the finals of the national competition, these two groups are not only amongst the best chamber music performers in Britain but are especially rare because they are boys. Of the 102 teenagers who played at the Chamber Music Finals this year only fourteen were boys, and eight of those were from Harrow. Judging by the representation at this high profile national music competition, Harrow's Music department is single-handedly maintaining male involvement in chamber music.

Classics event at Harrow School

It's the oldest marine adventure in the world. It was already ancient history when Aristotle and Socrates were in the cradle. It has spawned a hundred spin-offs and inspired writers and artists, philosophers and poets, statesmen and soldiers for the last three thousand years. It's the original Odyssey: a Bronze Age blockbuster and a cornerstone of Western civilisation. And not surprisingly, most people have presumed that Odysseus' homeland of Ithaca is as imaginary as Ithilien in Lord of the Rings.

Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle and John Underhill think they're wrong. On Monday April 30 the authors of Odysseus Unbound will present their proposal and the latest discoveries on the island of Cephalonia that can help us decide on whether it really is Homer's Ithaca. This is a joint event between Harrow School and Merchant Taylors' School, to be held at Harrow School. Parents and also students and staff from other schools with an interest in Classics, Ancient History, Geology and Computer Science are warmly invited to attend, subject to capacity. There is no charge for admission and the seminar will take place at 5.30pm.

For further information and to register, contact Judith Affleck: jpa@harrowschool.org.uk

Careers Convention provides direction to Harrovians

The annual Careers Convention took place in the Shepherd Churchill recently, attracting large numbers of Fifth and Sixth Form Harrovians keen to learn about the world of work. Many Fifth Form pupils are considering their AS-level options at this time, while members of the Lower Sixth are thinking about A2 options and university applications. The Careers Convention is designed to encourage and prompt their thinking and the main purpose of the evening is to help guide Harrovians along a path that leads from school to a possible gap year, to university and then to a career.

The School welcomed over sixty advisers about specific careers, many of them Old Harrovians and parents, or other friends of the School, from the top firms in the land. The City careers - fund management, investment banking, private equity, stock broking and so on - were well represented and generated considerable interest among pupils, particularly the Fund Manager who was dishing out industrial quantities of bijou rugby balls. The creative industries were also well covered and pleasingly popular, with acting, screen-writing and TV production, journalism and various music-business options, as well as publishing, all surrounded by enquirers through the evening. The professions were also represented with the law, medicine, the Civil Service, veterinary medicine and surveying all hosting stands, as well as the Church and the Army. Hotels, marketing and travel and tourism also attracted interest.

One of the strengths of this occasion is the number of what might be called cross-curricular strands that are available for pupils to consult. Hence a clutch of advisers talking about Gap Years were popular, IT and Web Solutions stands had advice for a wide range of interests and Personal Business Expansion advised on how you could work for yourself, rather than someone else. The Independent Schools Careers Organisation was also represented, able as ever to give authoritative independent advice.

This was a great occasion for many boys to advance their thinking about their future and discuss their possible careers with people currently employed in them. "It is incredibly convenient to have all this expertise laid on just a short walk from the House on a Sunday evening," said one of the pupils who benefited from the event. "Clearly without the enormous goodwill towards the School of all these people who happily gave up their time for our benefit this kind of event could not go on."

Harrow passes 2006 Inspection with flying colours

In October eight inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate visited Harrow. Their report was extremely positive across all areas, and concluded that Harrow has "no major weaknesses" and a "relatively minor need for improvement".

As well as visiting the School, the inspectors analysed the results of a pre-inspection survey to parents and pupils, interviewed pupils and examined samples of pupils' work. Of pupils' academic achievement, the report says 'Pupils have a secure and thorough knowledge of the subjects they study and they show curiosity and willingness to develop their understanding in all areas of their academic work... Their understanding often stretches beyond the confines of GCSE or A-level specifications.'

The extra-curricular strength of Harrow was also praised: 'The provision of extra-curricular activities is excellent. There is a veritable Aladdin's cave of opportunity, with activities to suit all tastes and aptitudes.'

Staff were commended for their enthusiasm in organising activities, as well as their 'highly effective' teaching and 'outstanding support and guidance' of pupils in all aspects of school life.

The boarding provision has improved significantly since the previous inspection and is highly successful.

To view the full report, click here.

Harrow founds new Climbing Competition for independent schools

In attendance for this first occasion of the new competition were Charterhouse, Tonbridge and Uppingham - traditionally some of Harrow's fiercest sporting rivals, and as usual the competition was tough. The afternoon was marked by excellent sportsmanship, as all the competitors cheered when particularly difficult moves were achieved, whatever school the climber was representing. The routes climbed in the competition were set by Johnny Dawes, one of the most notorious British climbers ever, and Harrow's climbing coach Liz Robson.

The challenges were made up of eight bouldering routes (without ropes), four leading routes (with ropes and climbers clip into the wall as they climb; this is harder than 'ordinary climbing' as the climber has to hold on with one hand as he clips) and a speedclimb. The format for the first two categories allowed three attempts; maximum points were awarded if climbers succeeded first time, after this fewer points after each failed attempt (when the climber falls).

In terms of technicality the routes surpassed our usual standards and pushed us to the limit, as they did to all who took part. Every school acquitted itself well and the final scores were very tight. The Harrow win by just two points ensured that the first name on the new trophy was the host and founders of the prize. The contest will now be annual, and next year it will be held at Tonbridge.

Alexander Society talk brings 1812 battle to life

The floor was then opened for questions, not just about Badajoz but about anything related to the armed forces, with Brigadier Mallison, who is currently a journalist specialising in military matters, giving some very detailed answers. Good discussions on tactics and problems in the army today were raised, from bureaucracy to bad outfits, and Brigadier Mallinson also asked the boys some questions, hoping to find out what Harrovians thought of many subjects that he had raised.

Record-breaking Harrow School pupil gets eight As at A-level

Overall, 586 A-levels were taken by the 169 Harrow School pupils, with the School achieving 68.4% A grades, which is an improvement of 12% on last year. Pupils also beat last year's overall performances with 90.8% A-B grades and 99% A-C grades. 48% of the Upper Sixth got three As or better.

"We are extremely happy with these results," said Head Master Barnaby Lenon. "They are the best the School has ever achieved and are a wonderful testament to the hard work of our boys and the dedication and enthusiasm of our teachers."

But the star of the show this year is Max Szymanski who has got A grades in eight subjects: Maths, Further Maths, Statistics, Classical Greek, Spanish, German, Physics and Chemistry.

"Max's achievement is even more stunning as his subjects are so diverse. It is quite common now to see five A grades across Maths and sciences, but for an eighteen-year-old to achieve eight A grades across Maths, sciences and languages is extraordinary," said Mr Lenon.

AS-level results are equally encouraging, with A grades up 6% at 62.1%, and 84.2% A-B grades across the board - both new records for the School, which is less academically selective than other schools of its type, making these academic results even more impressive.

Harrow School GCSE results show nearly 80% As and above

Looking back over the last five years, the A*-A grade percentage has improved by nearly 20% since 2001 while the A*-C grade percentage has remained more or less the same at 99.4% this year compared with 98.3% in 2001. However, the School has taken 406 more exams this year than in 2001, an average increase of 3 more exams per pupil.

Barnaby Lenon, Head Master of Harrow, said,

"Once again I am immensely proud of the achievements of Harrow boys at GCSE, and of their teachers whose high standards and expectations of their pupils are a key driving force behind Harrow's academic success.

"Harrow considers GCSEs to be a vital milestone in any pupil's academic career, not least because they provide 14 and 15 year old pupils with the motivation to work at a crucial time in which decisions to work hard or remain idle often have measurable consequences for the next stage of your life."

Sporting highlights 2005-2006

• Cricket - the 1st XI were unbeaten for the second season in a row which included taking home the Cowdrey Cup for the third year in a row and beating Eton at Lord's by 26 runs. Other teams in the School did equally well, demonstrating the depth of talent at all levels: the 2nd XI lost only to Charterhouse and the Colts A lost only to Eton.

• Swimming - this season has proved to be one of the most successful in the history of swimming at Harrow. The School was once again unbeaten by any school on the usual circuit and featured prominently in the top national competitions, taking Bronze in the Otter Cup and seventh place in the Bath Cup.

• Athletics - Intermediate and Senior age groups continued to produce excellent results, including those at the Middlesex Championships, and the Shells proved to be especially talented this year, particularly on the track, inevitably breaking a number of records. In May, Harrow achieved the long-awaited goal of winning all three age groups at the same match, beating Eton in the process.

• Soccer - The 2nd XI were unbeaten in their season, while the 1st XI lost only once. The Colts B side were unbeaten until the last match of the season when, having lost players to injuries and illness, they were overpowered by Dulwich. Teams in all age groups performed well throughout the season.

• Rugby - The 1st XV won nine of their twelve matches, with only one of their losses being by a significant amount and the other two being lost by only a few points.

• Rackets - Will Fortune won the Foster Cup title at the Public Schools Championships held at Queen's while Sam Northeast took the Colts title in the same competition.

• Hockey - in the School's second full season, the 1st XI won all but two of their matches and the other eight teams competed well in what is only a fledgling sport at Harrow.

• Eton Fives - the 1st pairs at U16 and U14 level both reached the semi-finals of the HSBC Schools Championships.

Olympic medallist delivers Shaftesbury Lecture

This year's lecturer was Olympic 400m medallist, Kris Akabusi, MBE. He spoke about the need to believe in yourself and work towards a clear goal. Often, the encouragement to achieve this comes from friends or teachers. For him, having been brought up in local authority care, it was his PE instructor while he was serving in the army. His lecture was amusing as well as challenging and he was well received by a mixed audience of Harrovians and local supporters of the Shaftesbury Society.

Food glorious food... kitchen upgrade is this year's special

There is more than one way to improve food but an important part of the strategy has been to upgrade the kitchens. Until last October the Harrow School kitchens, making 3,000 meals a day in the term and operating for 330 days in the year, were compressed into a narrow gantry about 20 metres long and 3 metres wide. This was a difficult environment in which to make food. In 2005 the School built a huge new kitchen under the dining hall in an area previously occupied by offices. This has enabled us to buy in fresh food and prepare it properly - something we lacked the space to do before.

A second phase, costing £800,000, will start next month. The original long, narrow kitchen will be re-built, as will all the serveries. Up to now the kitchens and chefs have been hidden behind a wall; this wall will be demolished. The new kitchen and new equipment will produce higher standards of cooking. Those enjoying meals in the Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall will be able to see the chefs at work and they will do cooking demonstrations for the boys. There will be refrigeration for ice cream, for example, and a special pasta bar. Finally, more serveries should also mean shorter queues, something that hungry boys will appreciate!

Any questionnaire to boys reveals that food is the most important aspect of Harrow life... to them. The Shepherd Churchill Dining Hall was built in the 1970s. It is still an excellent building, but these developments will help to lift further the standard of our excellent catering.

Channel charity sail presents irresistible challenge to Harrovian sixth former

"We have decided to take up this expedition not only because it is a real physical challenge but also because we want to raise a considerable amount of money for three charities," says Nic.

The first charity is Sailability, a charity which provides opportunities for disabled people to learn to sail. The second is a small charity called the Alice Martineau Trust, which raises money in aid of Cystic Fibrosis, Britain's most common genetically inherited disease. "This is a small charity and with a target figure of £10,000 we hope to make a real difference to this charity," comments Nic.

The third charity helps street children in Lithuania. Children who have had no upbringing whatsoever and are living in gangs on the street, knowing only violence, are given the chance to go and live as a family in homes with monks from the order of St John.

Nic has organised a pilot boat from the Pilot and Channel Swimming Federation to provide the boys with the necessary safety cover.

The boys are currently contacting sailing and other companies to seek sponsorship and support for their challenge, and to help them reach their fundraising targets.

Budding geneticist wins Nuffield Bursary

Harrovians make international debuts in sport

Swimmers represent Division 10 in National Championships

As a result of their performances at the Championships, in October Alex Rust and Kouji Urata participated in the Inter-Divisional National Championships held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. Competitors had to get through qualifying rounds in order to make the finals. Kouji finished 7th in the 100m Butterfly Intermediate final. Alex Rust won a bronze medal in the 100m Freestyle Intermediate final. He also anchored the Division 10 4 x 50 Freestyle relay team to victory thus winning a gold medal. Alex also recorded the fastest time for 50m Freestyle - 24.32s - over the two days of competition.

Indian High Commissioner visits to celebrate Nehru's birthday

Arriving in the afternoon, Mr Sharma was met by Head Master Mr Barnaby Lenon and, with an audience of representatives of the Indian media, diplomats and officers of the Nehru Society, explained the nature and purpose of his visit. Together they unveiled the bust of Nehru by KS Radakrishnan which will be displayed in the War Memorial, and a photographic portrait which will hang in Nehru's old House, The Head Master's.

In the evening, a documentary film on the life of Nehru by Vijay Rana was shown to an open audience of the Fifth and Sixth Forms and then Mr Sharma spoke to the Nehru Society and guests, including some members of the Indus Society of Eton College, before a celebratory dinner in the Shepherd Churchill Dining Room, where the High Commission had arranged a small exhibition about Nehru's life and achievements.

In his address to the Nehru Society, the High Commissioner thanked the School for the efforts it had made to celebrate Nehru's birthday, explaining that the flag of India flying over Number 1, High Street was partly designed by Nehru after independence.

Opening of Sports East Development

Brilliant weather was on order for the launch of the Sports East development on Sunday 15th May. Not only was the sun shining but we were privileged to have Martin Johnson CBE as the celebrity guest.

Pupils from local schools; Harrow High, Roxeth Middle, Vaughan Middle and Whitmore High and pupils from Home Counties prep schools; Aldro, Cothill House, Edge Grove, Lockers Park and Papplewick joined in rugby drills, supervised by Martin Johnson and our very own Roger Uttley OBE. Harrow Beaks accompanied teachers from the guest schools to co-ordinate athletics coaching.

The Head Master, Barnaby Lenon, thanked all who had helped to raise the money to make it all possible and Head Teacher of Harrow High School, Christine Lenihan thanked Harrow School for the opportunities we give to local pupils in letting them use such excellent facilities.

The day's events culminated in an Invitation 1500m race, which was enthusiastically entered by pupils and bravely entered by a few members of staff. An up-and-coming, long-distance Harrovian star, Mamoru Takano (Newlands) won the race quite convincingly and the runners-up were steered by back-marker, Simon Berry, who chivalrously allowed the others to achieve the glory.

Click here for photos.

Soccer squad meets top quality opposition in South Korea

On the football pitch the team had to work much harder for praise. The football system in the three schools Harrow faced is such that the football squad do not have to attend regular classes and are exempt from all exams - they enter university by excelling at their football. So it was like playing semi-professionals or Chelsea's under-18 development squad! To lose the first match (against Chung-Ang: the second best team in the country) by only 2-0 and then draw with Dae-Ryun School in Daegu 1-1 was an incredible feat and is a testament to the Harrovian competitive spirit and ability to pick up new skills and game plans within minutes. Unfortunately, the final opponents on the tour, Dong-Hae School in Busan, were too strong for Harrow, defeating them by 6 goals to 0.

Particular credit must go to the 1st XI players who kept Harrow in the games so brilliantly - namely Jack Robinson, Ed Martins, Rory Shearer and Stof Magrath - who had to coax and encourage the younger players around them up to their level.

In between the fixtures were daily exam revision periods, regular training sessions (with one taking place on the golden sands of Haeundae beach in Busan), as well as trips to two of Korea's most famous and impressive temples, a tour of the Hyundai factory and an excursion to the renowned fish market in Busan. In each city pupils were paired off into home-stays to really experience the culture of South Korea, and came back with tales of electronic loo seats, incredible foods and smatterings of Korean language.

Inaugural Harrow ski team finishes 8th in International Schoolboys' Competition

Harrow skier in action

This is the first time Harrow has had a ski team in what is a new sport for the School, and with only three skiers in the Harrow team other schools had on average three times as many team members. As well as being outnumbered by other schools, team member Alex Wolf's skis failed to arrive, leaving him to ski in a pair of unfamiliar rental skis, and in the Giant Slalom races, the youngest of our three skiers, Dillon was unfortunate to be obstructed by a ski left behind by a previous competitor on his course, which prevented him finishing.

The latter misfortune was compounded by the race officials denying Dillon a re-run, and this left Dow and Alex having to finish the Giant Slalom in order to be placed in the overall competition. Alex skied two strong runs finishing top twenty both times, but then the team flirted with disaster once more as Dow smacked a gate at forty miles an hour and did a complete 360° turn. Continuing on he posted a credible forty-five seconds but this let in the top Eton skiers. Rescuing the situation, Dow's second run of forty seconds was the fifth fastest of the day and brought his average combined position to seventh, which put the Harrow team back in front of all the other public schools.

In spite of the dramas, and the complete novelty of the event for the School, Harrow's three-man team performed extremely well against Swiss opposition who train on a daily basis, and schools whose teams were almost entirely comprised of international skiers.

Overall team placement:
8th out of 31 (6th out of 29 British-based schools.)

Chamber Choir brings Christmas spirit to Dresden

Carols at the Christmas Market in Dresden

The tour started with an informal concert of open air carols in Dresden's main square. The choir performed various unaccompanied carols to a surprisingly large and supportive audience in the midst of the Christmas Market in full flow. This was followed by Evening Mass in the vast and magnificent Dresden Cathedral and the next morning the choir was leading the singing in the morning church carol service at a small vineyard church in the picturesque hills of Pillnitz, which they followed with an afternoon concert to a church packed with villagers.

Travelling to Meissen, Saxony's oldest town, pupils were given a fascinating guided tour of the world-famous Porcelain Factory, and after lunch, the choir gave a very informal concert in the Factory's museum, which contains a wide assortment of around 3,000 pieces from the vast collection in the repositories of the Factory.

Before travelling to Berlin, the choir sang their last concert in Dresden, in the Kreuzkirche, the oldest church in the city and one of the largest Protestant Churches in Germany, with at least 3,600 seats.

In Berlin the Chamber Choir gave two recitals, the first being a short performance at noon prayer in the Berliner Dom, a cathedral with a remarkable copper dome which was 98m (321ft) high, and the second being a 45 minute recital in a unique Neo-Romanesque church in central Berlin.

Harrow provides "high quality boarding environment" say CSCI inspectors

Of the former' the report states that "In discussion with boys in all pupil groups and throughout the inspection, overall there was a general acknowledgement that bullying was not an issue for them." The inspectors acknowledged the various measures that Harrow has put in place to counter bullying' and noted that there had been a significant decrease in bullying over the last 3 years as a result of measures such as the "boys' leaflet issued to them in "boy friendly" language, which defines bullying, how and to whom they report any bullying...[and] the support available for any boy who is bullied."

Of the extra-curricular opportunities, the inspectors found that "boys confirmed through discussion and the CSCI questionnaires that they valued the friendships they had made as boarders and that they enjoyed the extra-curricular opportunities."

The CSCI inspectors issued a questionnaire to every pupil, interviewed 150 boys and received completed questionnaires from many parents as well as interviewing staff members and the Senior Management Team. The full and final report is expected in the next month.

Value added results underscore record A-level performance

This year for the first time the University has told each school how they have done relative to all other schools. Harrow comes in the top 8% of schools in Britain on this measure. This very high level of value added is achieved by a combination of hard work and good teaching.

Poetry Week hosts Poet in Residence Kenneth Steven

Mr Steven spent three days at the School holding classes in the Vaughan Library in the mornings. Pupils benefited from hearing the poet read his own work and then discuss the ideas and intentions behind his poems.

The poet also attended a meeting of the Literary Society, and on National Poetry Day (Thursday 8th October) he addressed a meeting of the Sheridan Society.

Chilingirian Quartet

The Harrow string players are the envy of many schools, and after their Malaysian tour last summer, once again reached the finals of the National Schools Chamber Music Competition - something they have done almost every year since the competition began over 20 years ago. To mark their excellence and to encourage them further, we have persuaded the renowned Chilingirian Quartet to give a masterclass and concert on Saturday October 16th to some of our senior musicians.

The master-class will take place in the more intimate surroundings of the Music Schools at 4.00pm, and the concert, which will include part of Mendelssohn's Octet played by the Chilingirian Quartet together with Harrow boys, will be in St Mary's Church at 7.00pm. The concert will run without interval and is scheduled to end at about 8.15pm.

Spectators are most welcome at the masterclass, but we hope for a large and enthusiastic audience for the concert at 7.00pm in St Mary's Church.

Harrovians get top five marks in GCSE English Literature

Head of English Mr Martin Amherst Lock teaching Removes

The School's GCSE results were also outstanding with 75% of papers being graded A*/A. In the compulsory core subjects of English and Mathematics no boy scored below a C while in French no boy achieved a grade less than B. Eighty pupils achieved nine or more A grades.

To top off a fantastic year, the School received a letter from the exam board informing the Head Master that Harrovians had achieved the top five English Literature marks at GCSE.

Harrow is top school for army scholarships

Members of the Harrow Rifle Corps during a rescue exercise.

In the period April 2000-April 2004 seventeen Harrovians won scholarships, with nearest rival Eton achieving sixteen. The unnamed school in third place received nine.

According to the letter, Harrow's success "demonstrates the excellent potential and strong motivation" of recruits in the Harrow Rifle Corps.

One of the School's key aims is to teach leadership skills and to equip pupils to be of service to society as a whole through the application of those skills. The level of Army awards, which are highly competitive and for which leadership skills are a fundamental requirement, demonstrates that Harrow is achieving this aim.

Piano Quartet is winner at National Chamber Music Competition

The Piano Trio, winners for the last two years, had an off day and met competitors of fantastic standard from other schools, as well as the quartet of Thanatip Viturawong (Druries) on piano, Geoffrey Yeung (West Acre) on violin, Ryan Wong (The Park) viola and Frank Choi (West Acre) playing cello.

To be selected for to perform in the Finalists Concert is itself the prize, as no further winners are selected in the Competition. Instead, the occasion provides a wonderful opportunity to hear school musicians of astonishing talent and versatility. It demonstrated that Harrow is not alone in producing players of the top rank, but are holding a position of equal if not leading power in a heady environment.

The Quartet opened with the second movement of Mozart's G Minor quartet which they played with great spaciousness, aided by the size and sound of St John's hall. There was not a hint of nerves but a sense of really enjoying the co-operative endeavour of performance. The sound created was very sweet, especially that of Thanatip who revealed the other side of his usually bravura playing style, as he merged into the overall picture. This was serene and sensitively-paced playing.

Their second piece was the last movement of Brahms' Op. 25 quartet. This fiendishly difficult piece, inspired by gipsy rhythms, was taken at break-neck speed but with most impressive subtle variations. The speed and accuracy were really astonishing, and earned a thunder of applause from the audience.

CCF celebrates Sword of Honour award with parachutists and marching band

This year's parade featured four parachutists from the Honourable Artillery Company of the Territorial Army who descended from a small plane trailing clouds of coloured smoke to land perfectly on their marker on the playing fields. This was followed by a display of drill by a squad of the School's best cadets before the presentation of the Sword of Honour by Colonel Ross Beckett of the Harrow Rifle Corps to Freddie Conway (The Park). Jolyon Simpson (The Knoll) was presented with the Marine Trophy by Colonel Matt Pearson of the Royal Marines, who also spoke to the assembled cadets.

Harrrow Chemistry teacher wins Royal Society of Chemistry award

"This award is effectively saying in public that Tim is one of the finest teachers of chemistry in this country, but we knew that anyway!" says Dr Sie.

Mr Hersey is heavily involved with the International Chemistry Olympiad Challenge, a competition in which Harrow's pupils regularly win gold and silver medals. Last summer for the second year running he was chosen to mentor the UK team for the finals in Athens.

"I am very flattered and very surprised as I didn't know I had been nominated!" says Mr Hersey of his award. "I don't feel that my teaching is particularly different or more special than the other Chemistry beaks at Harrow (or indeed most of the beaks at Harrow). But I love my teaching and find it very rewarding when my pupils do well. I am sure that this enthusiasm comes out during my lessons and encourages most of the boys to work hard and make progress."

Former Chief of Defence Staff Lord Guthrie speaks to Alexander Society

Addressing an audience of about a hundred boys in a packed Old Harrovian Room, Lord Guthrie discussed the development of terrorism, facilitated by technology and favoured by extremists of all persuasions, not just Muslims. He also pointed out that terrorism was by no means a new phenomenon, but that it was likely to be the most common method by which many disaffected groups would attempt to influence governments in the future.

After speaking for thirty minutes, Lord Guthrie, who left the School in 1957, took questions from the floor.

After lunch in the Shepherd Churchill Room, Celia Sandys, Sir Winston Churchill's grand-daughter and parent of two Old Harrovians, spoke about Winston's time in the School - a subject on which she wrote a book: 'From Winston with Love and Kisses'.

Dale Vargas then introduced a short concert of Songs, sung by Mr Philip Evans and Mr Guy Layton, accompanied by Mr Martin Singleton.

The songs all had Churchill associations: St Joles, which Sir Winston had been singing in his bath in 1940 when Jock Colville had the idea of a visit to the Hill; Stet Fortuna Domus for which a special verse was written to mark this visit; Silver Arrow for which an additional verse was written to commemorate the Queen's visit as special guest to Churchill Songs in 1986; and Donorum Dei, commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of Churchill Songs in 1990. The concert finished with Forty Years On, including the traditional Churchill verse written for his ninetieth birthday and now sung at every Churchill Songs.

The members were then taken on a tour of Churchill 'sites': the Fourth Form Room where his name is carved; the Head Master's House to see the House Group photographs and name boards; the Churchill bust in the War Memorial building; Speech Room where his portrait hangs; The Museum of Harrow Life which displays a boy's room furnished in typical Victorian style; and the Chapel.

After tea back in the Shepherd Churchill Room the party dispersed.

Chamber Choir give concert in aid of Southgate church funds

The programme included Bach's eight-part motet Komm, Jesu, komm which the choir recorded on its second CD some years ago, and solo viola and oboe pieces as well as a performance of one of Mendelsohn's Concertstucke for two clarinets and piano.

Druries House wins inter-House Art Competition

Harrow pupil nets prestigious Deloitte Scholarship

Cross country team brings home haul of medals from Wellington Relays

The Seniors achieved second place against formidable opposition, while the Junior squad made a clean sweep in their event, taking home the team Gold for first place and two individual plaques won by Junior team members for achieving the second and third fastest times on the course.

Harrow swimmers make splash at Division 10 Finals

Careers Convention provides basis for future choices