The Hall Newspaper Winter 2022 No 21

WINTER

N E W S P A P E R ISSUE 21. JANUARY 2022

∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙NEWS
BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES SCIENCE DRAMA DESIGN TECH SPORT ART ECO-SCHOOLS MUSIC

NEWS BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES

4 Back to school in the JS! 40 Year 1 Tower of London
5 JS Learning - Halibut Jackson 40 Year 3 The British Museum
6 Reception focus on Ruby's Worry 41 Year 2 The Museum of London
7 JS Workshops Autumn 2021 42 Year 5 Hastings Day
11 Diwali Celebrations 42 Year 4 Southwark Cathedral
12 Cooper Reading Competition 2021 43 Year 4 Maritime Museum
12 Science Quiz 2021 44 Year 8 Hampstead Heath
13 Goodbye to Mr Mendoza 45 Ski Squad News 2021
13 Visit of Marcus Mepstead
14 The World's gone French! DESIGN TECH
15 La Fête des Rois
16 The Scouts' Chiltern 20 47 Packaging Project
16 Nick Carter Talk 48 Ergonomic Torches Project
17 Esports & Gaming - Tom Mercey 49 Tamagotchi Casings Project
18 Year 5 Classics Day 49 USB Project
19 Latin Reading Competition 2021 49 Year 8 Pewter Casting
19 Saturnalia 49 Windmills
20 Year 8 National Enterprise Challenge
22 House News Autumn 2021 ART
24 Visit of Emmanuel Jal
27 Holocaust Memorial Day Talk 50 Year 2 Introduction to Printmaking
51 Year 3 Self-Portraits
ME AND MY... 52 Year 4 Flowers and Skulls
53 Year 5 Imaginative Cityscapes
28 ...Dancing - Bruno Cokeliss 55 Year 6 Self Identity
29 ...Cricket - Rayansh Kaul 56 Year 7 Street Art
57 Year 8 Portraiture and War
IN PARTNERSHIP 58 SS Photography Club

31 Saturday Club MUSIC
32 In-School Teaching, CPD and Support
33 Volunteers 59 Music School News
32 11+ Lunchtime Club 61 Chapel Choir Autumn 2021
32 The Winch 62 MS Outstanding Musician Competition Finals
33 Football Early Bird Club
33 Giving in the Community DRAMA

SCIENCE ECO-SCHOOLS 63 A Midsummer Night's Dream
64 The Puppet Company
36 pH Rainbows 38 Litter Picking!
36 Acids & Alkalis Titrations 39 Green Transport Days SPORT
37 Science Club 39 JS Garden
39 Green Masks 66 Sports Report Autumn 2021
67 The Hall Football Festival
23 Crossfield Road, London, NW3 4NU IMAGES: The Hall School 68 MS House Matches
Tel.: +44 (0)20 7722 1700 Copyright © 2022 The Hall School. All 69 Football Training
W: www.hallschool.co.uk rights reserved. Reproduction in whole
E: [email protected] or in part without written permission is CHRISTMAS 2021
Registered Charity No. 312722 strictly prohibited.
EDITOR: Sue Godwin, 71 JS Christmas Sing-a-longs
[email protected] 71 Cards of Care 2021
DESIGN BY: Brigita Butvila, 73 Christmas Creative Writing
www.graphicdesigner2b.co.uk 75 The Hall's 12 Days of Christmas

22

Welcome!
As I write this Welcome, in January 2022, there is a
strong sense of ‘back to normal’ within school, after SCHOOL CAPTAINS’ REPORT AUTUMN 2021

months in which we have had to practise patience Ned van Steenis and Joe Callman
and continue with the processes and paraphernalia
associated with the pandemic, testing and isolating. The autumn term started, peeved by Covid hanging gloomily like a black cloud over the school. Yet
what a start it was! There were ISEB exams for the Year 6's; however, a healthy school atmosphere
Taking the next steps into work and school may have was kept alive through countless competitions (think of them as healthy competitions) such as the
taken courage for some members of our community; Latin Reading, Cooper Reading, House Football, Outstanding Musician competition - as well as the
worries about the impact on home life as well as the Senior School and Middle School Concerts, Dr Steyn's Recipe Book - and of course the cornucopia of
prospect of becoming unwell were certainly still real in
September. Having to navigate a work place or school Christmas decorations put up this year.
environment under ever changing social distancing
measures was daunting as well as exhausting for many Although for the Year 6's the term started on a and everyone who read and performed. Thank
people. But most coped with these challenges through heavy note with exams, they have all got through you, Mr Grant, and Dr Wood, for organising it.
developing a quiet determination, hope and optimism them terribly well. Although gruelling, they can
that we must move forward because we can’t stay behind now sit back and relax in the knowledge they have Thanks also go to Dr Steyn for running Cookery
closed doors forever and more importantly, our school is done their best and we hope the ‘next schools’ Club again this term, which has been hugely
all about learning and moving forward together. process will go well for them. successful - especially last night's feast which I,
I have felt a great sense of relief seeing the students for one, heavily enjoyed - although the recipe
playing and socialising outside in the Yard or kicking On a lighter note, though still as serious, let us was not the healthiest, it was very seasonal!
a ball around with friends at the Swiss Cottage sports make a brief mention of the Year 7/8 House The Cookathon was fantastic and immensely
area. I have felt a sense of hope and an uplifting Football competition. Green House, maintaining enjoyable. I found it the highest honour to be
optimism that despite some of the difficult things that they are the best house (though there was no asked a question on Cookery Club. Thank you
that are happening around the world, humanity will need to back up this information!) of course came Dr Steyn and Miss Rosina for all the filming
endeavour to do the right thing and support our local out on top. Well done to Purple House which as well. Also, congratulations on the Recipe
and worldwide communities in the best way it can. came a close second and of course Blue and Book and thank you to everyone who has their
In all parts of the school we took time with the students Orange. The competition provided some fantastic recipes in there. It looks incredibly professional
to centre upon our school values through a lens of football. Well done to all the teams and the houses and if you haven't bought one already, I would
optimism and hope. Focusing on the positive, thinking and ‘Thank You’ very much Mr Macfarlane for highly recommend buying the Recipe Book. It is
about the things we love about our life together, organising it. amazing!
thinking about our future, having that positive growth
mindset – were the focus of assemblies and school Congratulations go to Zachary Lam on winning Thanks to Tom Mercey and Nick Carter for their
council meetings during the autumn term as we set the Outstanding Musician Competition this year respective talks to the Sixth Form Society this
about welcoming new pupils and resetting our whole playing Allegro brilliante from Op.19 by William term. I know everyone in Year 8 enjoyed them.
community. ten Have on the violin. Well done Zach and all Also, thank you Siddhi and Cass for getting the
And what an amazing amount of community we the other section winners and all of you who speakers involved to talk to us and of course
celebrated! Through the recitals and concerts, sports participated in the event for the high-quality music everyone behind the scenes.
fixtures and competitions, workshops and plays, produced.
outreach initiatives and Christmas-related activities Finally may we say thank you to everyone here,
you will see in the following pages, we shared fun and It was beautiful to listen to the pieces in the teachers, staff and students for the excess
purpose through being and learning together again and Senior School music concert too, so thanks to of Christmas decorations around the school.
long may it last! all of you who performed in that event. Massive Everyone needed an uplifting boost and I think the
I was delighted in the end of term assembly in mid congratulations go to you and a huge thanks to decorations make up for all the badgering Covid
December to hand over the review of the term to a group Miss Rosina and Mr O'Leary for continuing the has done in the past year or so. The rooms look
of boys who as you can see in this edition gave a most music department in great stead through these fantastic so thank you so much to everyone for
thoughtful and often amusing take on life at The Hall in tricky Covid times and of course all the support that.
the final months of 2021! and expertise of the instrument teachers and the
parents. Christmas is a festival of light and of goodwill;
HEADMASTER enjoy it yourself but also make sure others enjoy
At the beginning of the term, there was the it as well. This term has certainly been eventful
Cooper Reading. I would like to congratulate the but in a good way, so we say thank you to every
winners and Well Done to everyone who partook single person in this room for contributing for the
in it. Thank you, Mr Pinkus, Mrs Schofield, and Miss phenomenal atmosphere this term. Thank you so
Mead-Herbert, for this event over the term. much Mr Godwin and Dr Steyn for all the work
this term. Finally, to Theo who had his appendix
More recently the Latin Reading final was also an removed two nights ago; we hope you get well
immense success. Congratulations to everyone in soon and enjoy a hearty Christmas.
the finals, some of whom dressed up in costumes

WELCOME 3

News

in the JS!BACK TO SCHOOL Our JS assemblies last term started off with a focus upon
Kevin Dobson sharing our school values as something we all strive
towards – teachers as well as pupils - and talking through
The sense of excitement at all being back physically in school how we might demonstrate the school values in daily school life.
together was palpable back in September! A warm welcome The JS School Councillors led sessions on the school values with
was extended to new starters, many of whom had not even each of their classes. They started by seeing who could remember
had the opportunity to visit the school before starting, due to which soft toy animal represents each value in the JS!
lockdowns and social distancing measures over previous months. They then discussed some of the behaviours that we might show
at school to demonstrate each value. The regular reinforcement of
At the start of the new school year in the the concepts and use of our mascots ensure that the values become
JS, especially after the last which was embedded in our daily language and social behaviours.
so unprecedented in so many ways, we
spoke in class and assemblies about being COURAGE
brave, trying new activities such as a Wgievinagrethbirnagvse aabgouot.
different after-school club for instance,
as well as trying new approaches in
‘tricky situations’, for example using
our WITS in the playground to manage
the different situations boys may come
across during break times.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK

The theme for Anti-Bullying Week 2021 was ‘One Kind Word’
and Miss Cole introduced it in assembly, challenging the
boys to perform an act of kindness during this week.

All year groups focused on this
topic in their Life Skills lessons
this week and the boys wrote a
kind message to another pupil in
his class. It was wonderful to see
the smiles on the JS boys’ faces
as they read the kind words
that had been written about
them! Odd Socks Day in mid-
November brought about some
smiles too; the JS boys wore odd
socks on this day, as a visual way
to celebrate what makes us all unique.

4

ENDEAVOUR JSLearning
aWned dkoeeopurtrbyeinsgt.
HALIBUT JACKSON
HUMILITY
tWpheeinokpalerae'sbokfuitenedliontaghnsed.r In English, Year 1 completed different tasks using the story
'Halibut Jackson' as a focus. This is a reply from Halibut to an

invitation to 'A Grand Party' from the Queen.

Senan Kenny

COMMUNITY
aWntedeawmino,rktbhoeatshwpaidatertrscwohfoorollda.

SELF-DISCIPLINE
orWdgoaentiashreiendgsraenscdpaornetsfriybullleyt,. o

Aaron Scott

NEWS 5

RUBY’S WORRY

In Reception, in the early weeks of
the new school year as the boys
settled into new routines and
got to know their teachers and each
other, they spent time thinking and
talking about how we work together
in a class, manage our feelings and
make friends.
The story of Ruby’s Worry was a
starting point for the boys to think
about emotions and how they change.
In art sessions the boys considered
how our faces might change when we
feel different emotions. They drew
pictures of
places they
like to go
to that make them feel happy and they used
different colours to explore emotions.
Working together, the classes thought of
things they could do to help each other to feel
better and wrote some positive statements
about their friends. It didn’t take long for
Reception’s own Kindness Tree to start filling
up with leaves!

6

JS WORKSHOPS AUTUMN 2021

WINDRUSH ZOO LAB!
ASSEMBLY
Reception and Year 1 had a wonderful time with Lottie from Zoo
AND Lab. Throughout the day boys attended workshops to learn about
WORKSHOPS how a range of animals use their senses in comparison to how we

Boys from Years 1 to 3 participated in drama workshops about the as humans use ours.
experience of those arriving in Britain on the Empire Windrush
The boys met a giant African snail, a
in 1948. Cristal from Bigfoot Education really captured the gecko, a tarantula, a snake and even
essence of arriving in a new country as she played a mother a cockroach! When the children were
who was making the journey across the oceans all the way from feeling brave, they would hold out their
hands and Lottie let them carefully hold
Jamaica to Essex, aboard The Empire Windrush. and examine a particular creature as she
explained how to look after and care for it.
This was then followed up in workshops where the boys explored
the themes of moving to a new home, dealing with change, long
journeys, and prejudice. Taking part in short role play exercises
helped them to empathise with those people who made the journey

on board The Empire Windrush, and other ships like it.

NEWS 7

POETRY WORKSHOPS

A highlight of early October was most definitely the JS poetry workshops which helped the pupils celebrate National Poetry Day. The
boys were inspired throughout the day by Jackson Kavanagh in a variety of different workshops. Reception started things off with some

performance poetry, in learning the poem Hand on the Bridge by Michael Rosen.
Jackson spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working with different parts of the Junior School to create our very own poem
about the choices we make. The boys then had the opportunity to perform their poem at the end of the day. This was recorded and shared

with parents via the Seesaw platform since sadly no audiences were permitted due to Covid restrictions.

8

AFRICA - IT’S NOT A COUNTRY! Maddox Steinberg-
Aziz, Theo Litvin
The Junior School seemed to have its very own heartbeat & Finlay Watt
one Wednesday in September as the sound of African
drums echoed around the building. It was Year 3’s
Africa Day and they spent the day exploring West African
Culture, welcoming Kwame Bakoji-Hume, founder of
African Activities, for a drumming and musical workshop.

In the workshop the boys delighted in some djembe drum
playing, singing, and tried on some traditional Ghanian
garments. The boys also had the opportunity to print their
very own Kente cloth and created African masks using
recycled milk cartons and newspaper.

Later, in an assembly 3B retold the West African story of
creation where we learnt about the fire children. This left us
with an important message about not judging someone by
how they look; we are all human beings and therefore should
be treated with kindness and love.

NEWS 9

3M took to the stage and shared, with great articulation, some of their topic Gabriel Orr, Finlay Hutchings,
work for the term on Nelson Mandela. The boys shared facts about his life Sebbie Le Beron & Daniel Sprake
and his inspirational teachings, leaving us with the important message that
‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the
world’... a message that was reiterated in 3P’s assembly on black scientists
whose inventions continue to have an impact on our everyday lives.

HoJdagcakensdB, uANnlifcnioe, SMLeueberahcsertmyiaannn

FIRE OF LONDON
WORKSHOP

Year 2 went back in time to 1666 to take part in a drama
workshop set in The Great Fire of London!

They re-lived the events of the fire, 'became' the fire and
some even dressed up as some of the main figures from
the event. It was a very action-based session and the boys
joined in with enthusiasm and gusto as well as learning

many facts and details about the famous fire.

10

Diwali 2021

WORKSHOP IN MS

Ayan Nedungadi, Freddie Lee, Laksh Rathi

JS CELEBRATIONS The Diwali Workshop Dance
For the Diwali Workshop dance, we chose characters and
Kevin Dobson pretending to be those characters in a dance. In group 1 out of 3,
we acted as a sad king and a jealous woman. After that we could
In early November, Ahaan’s mum came in to share with the act as a character from the story such as a crazy monkey called
JS boys the festival of Diwali. We learnt that there are five Hanuman, which involved running around with pretend bananas in
days of Diwali, and how each day is celebrated: from tidying our hands.
up to cooking, to praying and eating, to making promises to We also acted as fireworks and did a traditional dance routine that
our families and watching fireworks! These celebrations began included various Diwali dance moves and actions. The instructor
yesterday with Dhanteras and finish next Monday with Bhai Dooj. played some Indian music to accompany our dancing and acting. It
was super fun and special for Diwali.
Similarly, Reception had three special guests with visits from the
mothers of Zariyan, Yuvi and Dylan, who came in to talk to the boys The Diwali Workshop Lanterns
about how Diwali is celebrated at home. The children learnt about After the dance we made diva lamps with Mr Perry Parks. He told
diyas, rangoli patterns and even us the steps and we followed. It was fun to colour in the patterns
had some treats to take home! The on the lantern. Some people just coloured instead of making the
children loved hearing the Diwali lanterns because it was so much fun. To make the lanterns we used
story and celebrating altogether! masking tape to tape the format of the lantern together. It was
Thank you to a very decorative lamp and made the atmosphere beautiful and
all our parents snazzy. It was a very joyful activity and time of the year. We all got
for volunteering to enjoy and understand the brilliance of Diwali and celebrate it in
to come in and a traditional way.
share with the
boys, it really
does highlight
what a special
community we
have here at The
Hall.

NEWS 11

Cooper Reading

COMPETITION 2021

In early October, the finalists for the 2021 Cooper Reading Competition came
together in the MS Hall to present their performances. After rounds of heats going

back over several weeks, in which winners (voted by their peers) emerged, the
following finalist students took part in a Zoom presentation. We were delighted to
welcome Mr Ian Wheeler Head of English at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School to judge

the competition, a task which he openly admitted to finding very difficult
since the quality of reading and presenting was so high!

Very well done to all the participants and the winners who presented to the
audience during the finals. Please note that the book from which each
presenter’s selected excerpt comes is indicated in italics and the name
of the winner in each year group is emboldened:

YEAR 8: YEAR 6:
8N - Willam Ma, Jane Eyre 6D – Markus Feder, Who Let the Gods Out
8E - Cassius Yechiel, Alice in Wonderland 6L - Aryan Kohli, Boy Giant
8S - Lir Dorgan, A Face Like Glass  6P – Dhruv Marcus, Spirit Walker 
8W - Shiv Ahluwalia, Alex Rider 
YEAR 5 :
YEAR 7:  5S - Benjamin Chen, Amari and the
7G – Carl Hofstrom, Holes
7S – Zachary Lam, The Gifted, Night Brothers
5S - Laksh Rathi, Windrush Child  
The Talented and Me 5N – Eskander Dean, Holes
7C - Vansh Rathi, Wave  5P – Alex Preiskel, Harry Potter and the

Philosopher’s Stone 

Science Quiz UCS won the competition with 1765 points and Westminster were
2021 placed second with 1725.
Our highest scoring team might still get a place in the national
On Thursday 11th November, two teams went to UCS to take part final on points scored but we need to wait until all the heats are
in the first round of the Science Quiz Club National Quiz. completed. Well done boys on your excellent effort in this tough
In total eleven teams took part, including teams from UCS, competition.
Highgate & Westminster schools. It was a very competitive quiz and
our teams did well to come third and fifth overall.

The team comprising Max Mast, Rauf Mukhametshin, Benjamin
Zimmern and Murray Sugasa were third with 1630 points out of 1800.
The Hall’s other team of Aryan Kohli, Hugo Thompson, Felix Shulman
and Cyrus Sarikhani were placed fifth with a score of 1420.

12

FredGdOyOMDBeYnEdoza MarcVuIsSIMT OeFpstead
Maddy Mead-Herbert
This term we said a final ‘fond farewell’ to Mr Freddy
Mendoza and his wife Theresa, after 34 years of service On Monday 18th November, we were delighted to welcome
at the school initially as cleaning and kitchen staff Marcus to The Hall to meet with Year 7 and discuss his
respectively, and later as School Caretaker living on-site. journey from the middle school hall all the way to the
Olympic Games.  
When Freddy started at The Hall back in 1987, it was quite a
different place! The cleaning function was managed by Mrs Davis, Marcus started fencing aged nine when it was offered as an
the school matron, who lived on-site in a flat in the Junior School. extracurricular activity at The Hall. Speaking to British Fencing,
Freddy remembers that, to begin with, the school expected its Marcus said ‘I took up fencing almost by accident. After watching an
cleaning staff to bring along their own equipment. He soon gave after-school club, I wanted to get involved and the rest is history’. 
his opinion about that arrangement and in due course, cleaning
materials and even an extravagant Hoover were purchased for the After leaving the senior school, Marcus went on to study at
school – which had to be lugged between buildings to clean and Westminster School and the London School of Economics where he
prepare the classrooms early every morning before the teachers combined his fencing training with his studies and became a full-
and pupils arrived. time fencer on the British Fencing’s World Class Programme.  
In addition to being part of the 2010, 2013 and 2016 British teams
Slowly the cleaning function became more ‘professionalised’ that won a bronze medal at the European Championships, Marcus
as the school grew in size and with the building of the Wathen went down in history as a gold medallist in the Men’s Foil team at the
Hall, carpet machines and 6/7 more cleaners were appointed. 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.   
More sophisticated security alarms and fire alarm systems were
introduced over the years too as technology developed, not all of Marcus then represented GB in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio,
which behaved predictably; Freddy remembers ruefully several achieving 6th place with his team. Following these games, Marcus
occasions when he was awoken from his slumbers at night in the moved to New York to work with the renowned coach, Dan Kellner,
senior school flat to the din of wailing intruder or fire alarms and and won a silver medal at the 2019 World Championship in the men’s
the subsequent clanging of the sirens as the fire brigade rushed to individual foil. This win gave him the title as the number one athlete
the scene!
in the European Qualification
Freddy is looking forward to spending more leisurely time at home Zone and he went on to qualify
in Watford and in the new year getting on with some DIY projects as an individual at the 2020
with his grown-up children. Olympic Games in Tokyo.  

Thank you so much for all the support you have given to The Hall We wish you all the very best
over the years Freddy and we send you and Theresa our very best in your forthcoming fencing
wishes for a long and happy retirement! challenges Marcus.

NEWS 13

Dylan Shorthouse

THE WORLD'S GONE Yonas Djoudi

FRENCH

The World's Gone French is an ingenious and funny play aimed
at children aged 7-12 and performed half in French and half
in English by two actors, one of whom is French and one
English... it contains lots of words and phrases which students
had already come across in class and was a brilliant and enjoyable
way to hear French phrases and words in a fun way. Mme Davies
arranged for the Onatti production to be performed for Year 5s in
the Wathen Hall in late November.

Kieran is given a jigsaw of the world, but some countries are
missing. When he finishes it something really strange happens -
everyone he knows is only speaking in French - fluent French, including
his mum, his gran and even his little sister!

14

Alexander Preiskel

He works out that the countries La Fête des Rois
missing on the jigsaw are all
the countries in the world Holding onto the momentum of the successful Twelve Days of
that speak French! Finding Christmas programme, the French Department ensured that
the pieces might revert his boys in the Middle and Senior School got a real ‘taste’ of how the
world back to English... but to Epiphany or La Fête des Rois is traditionally celebrated by families
complete this he needs to use his
French to communicate... with across the French speaking world!
everyone!
The Scouts,

CHILTERN 20

Well done to some of our Year 8 boys who, as Scouts, took part in
a county wide competition, the Chiltern 20.

This involved 35 teams navigating a series of checkpoints,
unaccompanied, over a 20km route. Our boys came in 3rd!

NEWS 15

Nick Carter
TALK
Ned van Steenis

The Year 8s were delighted to have Nick Carter visit us to talk about his
numerous adventures that he has enjoyed and how he became an adventurer.

Nick Carter’s adventures have blown away in another tent. At last, he achieved the record for the
included climbing Mount Everest, highest mountain rescue of someone with pulmonary oedema at
exploring Nagaland, exploring the the bottom of the mountain but everyone had come off it worse.

Amazon Rainforest, swimming the The message I really took from Nick's talk is that you can become
English Channel, and exploring anything if you really want to and are prepared to make the
deep caves. In the talk, he spoke necessary changes and practice. You cannot change what you were
about how he set goals for himself to but you can change what you are and who you want to be.
become an adventurer and explorer
and executed them. For instance, Nick has found that everyone will be happy to help you - an
to become tougher he went to one of impression different from the stories that the newspapers seem
the worst prisons for young offenders in to show. On one of his many travels, Nick met a man who offered
England. There he saw young people fighting with a fierce intent. him help, shelter, and food for the night. Nick accepted and started
After a few times going he could cut out the fear of the young taking money out of his pocket to hand over before the man said 'I
offenders fighting and calmly continue his conversation with other haven't used money for five years'. Inspired, Nick spent two weeks
people in the prison. He realised that you will always have fear - with no phone, no money and no keys, going around to see how
explorers are just able to dial down the volume of that voice of fear helpful people were. He said that telling people about your stories
and drive on. makes them more willing to help you. At the end of two weeks he
This ‘dialling down of the voice of fear’ became extremely useful had a five-bedroom house which he gave to a homeless shelter and
when Nick was preparing for the Mongol Rally, an epic race from many other items. People are kind and helpful.
London to Mongolia in engines under 1.2 litres, raising money for
charity. On the final night, his cousin was driving to pick up the THE MESSAGE I REALLY TOOK FROM NICK'S
low-powered car when, boom, another car crashes into them on TALK IS THAT YOU CAN BECOME ANYTHING
one side. He cannot remember much but he suffered severe injury IF YOU REALLY WANT TO AND ARE
and couldn't move his head – it turned out that he had broken his PREPARED TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES AND
back. After the adrenalin stopped kicking in at the hospital, the fear PRACTICE. YOU CANNOT CHANGE WHAT YOU WERE
of death voices were ones he could keep out. BUT YOU CAN CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE AND WHO
After achieving a few more of his goals, Nick set out on a trip to YOU WANT TO BE.
climb Everest. He had traumatising and amazing memories of
Everest. On his way to the summit he had to climb past many dead Nick Carter is a remarkable man. He defined himself, his
climbers' bodies; his friend had pulmonary oedema (where fluid boundaries, and revolutionised his world to suit what he wanted.
starts going into your lungs and you drown standing up) and the So the question is, will you define who you are or will you let your
rest of the team had to carry him down the mountain. He told us environment define who you are? Sometimes there are not the
about when he got stuck and one of the other people took off their necessary resources to define who you are, but that man hadn't
glove to free him, it was at the cost of some of their fingers and used money for five years. Choose wisely. For it is one of your most
how, one windy night one of the people couldn't stay in the tent important choices in life.
because the person with pulmonary oedema was there and so got

16

Esports & Gaming
PREPPING FOR THE FUTURE

Tom Mercey

So many students in the Tom described the range of ways in which people game
school enjoy gaming nowadays and showed how revenue within the industry has risen
and are interested in exponentially in the last five years in particular, with combined PC,
technology, that the talk mobile and console industry revenues totalling over $165billion in
presented by Tom Mercy 2020. Tom described the steep rise to fame of a young American
to the Sixth Form Society professional gamer in esports Kyle Giersdorf (perhaps better
was anticipated with great known by his online alias as Bugha), who is best known for playing
excitement back in early Fortnite Battle Royale and who won $3million at the age of sixteen
December. at a World Cup event in 2019.
The range of career opportunities
Tom started by describing associated with the industry has
how his love for sports, in increased as the popularity of gaming
particular rugby, started at grows and Tom encouraged the
school and in due course audience to pursue what they enjoy, try
led to him becoming hard, know what their strengths are,
a professional player. take risks, have courage and reward
During his school days, others as he outlined a range of careers
PlayStations dominated that students
young students’ free might consider
time and Tom became as as they look
enthusiastic about this to the future.
early form of competition In line with
as much as the physical their personal
playing of sports. As his values and
career developed at Saracens, Tom kept a keen eye on the world of depending on
esports, watching with interest as the world of competitive gaming their strengths,
took off and in due course, launching the first award show in skills and
esports recognising competitive gamers. interests, Tom
suggested students might consider the steps to becoming a game
The Year 8s were very interested to learn about gaming (playing designer, a software developer or programmer, a game artist or
video games on a device for entertainment) and esports animator, an audio engineer or composer, taking a role in esports
(competitive video gaming, where individuals or teams can and professional gaming or indeed, becoming a ‘streamer’. The
compete). Some of the risks and opportunities associated with world of esports is an exciting place offering many opportunities to
gaming were described; where gaming certainly does provide ambitious young minds.
opportunities for improving memory and problem solving skills
as well as improving decision-making and reaction times and
developing team skills, Tom also emphasised the need to stay safe
by always following the recommended age for a game, gaming in a
public place, covering up or disabling your webcam, never sharing
personal information such as where you live or your date of birth
and making sure you keep time spent on gaming in balance with
other forms of entertainment and socialising.

NEWS 17

ClasYsEiAcsRD5 ay up to 2500 people. The Year 8 boys
Jonah McNamara assisting with the session had made
some incredible masks and put on a
On Friday the 5th of November, Year 5 enjoyed a day of special performance for us. Then we
Classical activities, including the eagerly awaited first made our own masks using colouring pens. Mr Padden also hosted
round of this year’s Latin Reading Competition and a a competition to see who had made the most creative mask. We
special Classics Day lunch.  enjoyed learning about Roman Theatre.  
   
We had three activities planned for us: Mosaic Making, Classical Mr Grant was the teacher for the Cursive Writing activity and he
Acting with Masks and Writing Ancient Cursive Script.  showed us different messages written by the Romans and talked
  about the Vindolanda tablets that were found on Hadrian’s Wall.
Mrs Grant was the instructor for the mosaic making and she These tablets gave us a snapshot of real life two thousand years ago.
showed us the different designs that the Romans liked in their Mr Grant’s favourite message was the one where a Roman soldier,
houses. Most of the mosaics showed animals and Roman gods. Mrs who was serving in the North East of England, sent a message to
Grant gave us a planning sheet that we used to form our own ideas. his mum to ask for some warm socks and some ‘sublugariorum’
After that, we all received a wooden slab to which we then glued (underpants). He then suggested many Latin phrases and mottos,
our glass tiles. We learned a lot from Mrs Grant about what the including our school motto, ‘Hinc in Altiora’, and we then tried to
Romans used to decorate their houses and created a wide range of write our own messages in cursive script on papyrus. 
designs across the year group.   
  Finally, we had the first round of the Latin reading competition
Mr Padden showed us examples of Roman theatre. We learnt that which Mr Hubbard and Mr Grant judged. Year 5 were put into
the Romans performed in an auditorium and the venue could hold groups and each then performed ‘In Basilica’ to try and reach the
final. This passage is about a man who has been accused of stealing
money by a rich banker. The drama unfolds in front of a judge.   
 
That was Classics Day! Thank you to Mr Grant and all the
teachers that helped to make this day possible and gave us a
wonderful introduction to life in the Ancient Roman World.   

18

Latin Reading

COMPETITION 2021

Robert Grant

A highlight of the Classical year at the The Hall is always the Latin Reading Competition.
All the students in Years 5-8 take part and they always very much enjoy both the
competition and the opportunity to perform in front of their peers.

After the closely contested preliminary rounds, the Competition Finals for each year group took
place on Monday 29th November. All the finalists were performing stories from the Cambridge
Latin Course that were appropriate for their year group and they all seemed to really enjoy the
chance to bring along costumes and props to further develop their performances from the first
round. Our judge for the finals was Paul Smith, from the Classics Department at Eton College,

and he was greatly impressed by the quality of the performances from all the year groups. It
was truly very difficult for his to choose the winners. The results were as follows:

YEAR 5: YEAR 7:
1st - Matthew Valentin, Eskander Dean, 1st - Apollo Vandenbroucke, Edward Dwyer & Maanas Swarup

Oliver Samuels & Jonah McNamara 2nd - Ray Kaul & Elliot Bloch
2nd - Jacob Woolf, Bertie Duralski Cross & Dylan Shorthouse 3rd - Vansh Rathi & Max Menton
Elliot Bloch received the outstanding individual performance award
(Dylan standing in for Neil Dhar)
3rd - Rufus Jewell, James Avery-Gee & Dylan Shorthouse YEAR 8:
Bertie Duralski Cross & James Avery-Gee received awards 1st - Albert Sparks & WIlliam Ma
2nd - Shiv Ahluwalia & Oscar Auerbach
for outstanding individual performances 3rd - Josh Hammond & Ned Van Steenis
Giles Empson received the outstanding individual performance award
YEAR 6:
1st - Christian Lonberg, Dhruv Marcus, Mekhi Mitchell & Many thanks to Paul for judging the competition and giving some useful
and detailed feedback to all the performers. It was an excellent finale
Theo Rotherham-Winqvist to this year's competition and I am looking forward to choosing the
2nd - Aryan Kohli, Noah Hutchings, Laith Mason & Bruno Cokeliss passages for next year's competition already.

3rd - Luca Payne, Ale Penati, Akhil Jaiswal & Itai Fink
Nathan Boucard received the outstanding individual performance award

In early December, SS&MS students had the opportunity to celebrate the Roman
Festival 'Saturnalia' and then play a Saturnalia board game.
The Roman Festival of Saturnalia was held in honour of Saturn during the Winter Equinox. It started as a one day
festival on the 17th December, originally as a ceremony held in the Temple of Saturn in the forum. During the late
republic it became a much longer festival and shops and businesses were closed so that everyone could celebrate the
festival. Saturn was an Italian deity who was identified with the Greek deity Chronos. Saturn taught his people the art
of agriculture and the blessings of civilisation. His reign was considered to be a Golden Era by the Romans.
“io Saturnalia!” Celebrating the Festival
Following the religious ceremony in the Roman forum, there was usually a free public banquet but no ludi (gladiatorial
games) were allowed during the festival. Similarly to the customs we practice today at the festival of Christmas,
Saturnalia was a family time in which presents were exchanged and extravagant dinners were eaten. Slaves were given
the day off. People wanted to forget about work and just party for a few days!

NEWS 19

National EYntEeArRpr8ise CHALLENGE

The National Enterprise Challenge is the UK’s largest careers and enterprise competition and provides students aged 11–15 with
a real-life business challenge set by some real life businesses. The challenges are specifically targeted for each year group and so

back in September, the Year 8s putting their inventive minds to designing a brand new ride experience with Thorpe Park.

Year 8 students competed in teams across their year group, each with their unique responses to the challenge, and were encouraged
to work as a team, communicate, problem solve, think creatively, and more to ensure they met the brief set by the client.
Part of the task included the challenge of making queuing up part of the positive overall visitor experience at the venue.

The students’ presentations were judged by a panel of teachers, with winners as follows:
1st Aqua Nautica (Oscar A, Cassius, Josh H, Theo C, Joe C & Alex J)
2nd London Horrors (Tim, Alex N, Nikolas H, Josh S & Marmaduke)
3rd Last Reality (Lir, Deniz, Jonathan S, Nicolas P, Felix T & Xander)
3rd Gold Rush (Ben K, Thomas, Giles, Shiv & William S)

The winners will go through to the national final later in the year.

AQUA NAUTICA • Multiple screens along the route, displaying videos to explain the ride
• Toilet facilities and emergency exits at regular intervals
Oscar Auerbach, Cassius Yechiel,

Josh Hammond, Theo Constance,

Joe Callman & Alex Jhamna

THE PROJECT

In the eyes of the Aqua Nautica executives, their
perfect customer would be a 6 to 25 year-old, 1m
20cms tall thrill-seeker who relishes fast rides, crazy
corners and sharp drops! With an interest in sea
life, this perfect visitor would also be keen to buy
mementoes and clothing related to nature. The group
devised a jingle and a logo to brand their ride to the
public.

The team reflected upon the health and safety issues
related to families needing to queue up for rides and
as well as some fire and emergency safety necessities,
they suggested some interested distractions to make
the time pass quicker for people in line:

• The entrance to the ride would start off in a cave
and the queue would lead down a subterranean
tunnel through an aquarium, providing
opportunities to see fascinating sea life in 360
degrees

• Arcade games and fun machines that could be
accessed while in the queue

• Food and drink stalls at regular intervals

20

HELLO! WE ARE TEAM AQUA NAUTICA!

My name is Oscar, and I am the team manager of Aqua Nautica. Big thank you and credit to my fellow team
members: Theodore Constance, Cassius Yechiel, Alexander Jhamna, Joe Callman and Josh Hammond!

Our task was to design a new rollercoaster for Thorpe Park. We were up against many other teams from Year
8. Each member of the group was given a variety of different activities. Our first task was to find the perfect
customer for our ride. Our perfect customer is a 6+ year old thrill seeker who likes steep drops and stomach-

churning ride features.

The most crucial part of AquaNautica was advertising. To ensure Thorpe Park would make a profit from
AquaNautica, we are going to use Jason Mamoa (The lead in the hit film Aquaman). We also created merch,

designed by Joe Callman. This included a Shark Cup, and Anglerfish hoodie.

Our ride is set thousands of years into the future
where the ground is completely submerged by water

from the effects of climate change. The trident is
the last hope for humanity as it holds the power to
move the water however, it is being guarded by a
giant megaladon. The ride begins at the start of a
journey to find this trident. The walls of the rails are
screens simulating an immersive experience of being
surrounded by water. (Credit to Josh Hammond and

Theodore Constance)

We are looking forward to promoting our ideas to the
judges at Thorpe Park this Summer!

Competing in the National Enterprise challenge was
extremely enjoyable. I hope future Year 8’s will take

part in this event, as it was very entertaining!

#ComeOnTheHall

NEWS 21

BLUE HOUSE Blue House also raised money and awareness for our charity
‘Show Racism the Red Card’ with the initiative ‘wear red
Marmaduke Constance for racism day.’ We invited everyone to wear a piece of red
clothing topped off with a stylish sticker to bring the issue of
Blue House meetings are a prime example of the strong racism to front of everyone’s minds. It was a great initiative
sense of community in Blue House. During these though I secretly wonder if it was just an excuse for Mr Perry
meetings we have heated discussions on anything of Parks to wear his Man United shirt. It is safe to say it was a
interest. We talk and socialise with each other regardless complete success involving almost every boy in the school.
of the years that separate some of us. It is this strong
companionship that makes Blue House such a great house Another charity which we raised money for was ‘The Upper
to be a part of. Room.’ The Upper Room is a charity supporting London’s
homeless and vulnerable people by providing hot meals,
You are all probably aware of the Outstanding Musician clothing and bedding. We baked cakes to sell during breaks
competitions that just passed this term in which winners of with some help here and there from Orange House.
the competition were awarded credits for their house. Blue I am not going to focus too long on the House Football for
House received 1623 credits throughout the tournament, reasons I won’t mention, though I will say we showed great
obliterating all other houses! Special congratulations to effort and put everything we could into the tournaments. We
Zachary Lamb for winning the competition overall. Obviously, came second in the Year 8 Bs matches. Also second in the Year
it is no surprise, he is in Blue House. 4 As matches and first in the Year 5 A matches. But it is not the
outstanding results that matter, it is working well as a team.
And Blue House certainly achieved that as well as some proud
fourth places.

Members of the incredible Blue House team include Joseph
Adler (deputy head), Jonathan Eisenberg (music captain), Felix
Rottke (sports captain) and of course Mr Perry Parks himself
our resilient and inspirational head of house. And it goes
without saying Blue House is the best house in the school!
#Blueisbest

GREEN HOUSE skilful Zachary Lam, we can be amazed by our musicians and
their accomplishments.
Giles Empson
It is also my pleasure to present how Green House did in
At the end of term, even as we admired the exquisite the House Football Matches and let me tell you it has been
Christmas decorations, and appreciated it was the interesting! The first team crushed their opponents winning
season to be jolly, in spite of all the gifts, traditions, 6-1 against Purple House and finally getting first place. This
and celebrations, Green House boys also took time to be is due to Oscar Fletcher’s amazing leadership, Joe Callman’s
thankful and reflective about what happened over 2021. And beautiful shots and Adhritt Seth’s solid play. I’m afraid that the
let me tell you Green House was very active. I would also like Seconds didn’t fare so well, but although results were not as
to commend the Year 6’s for how hard they worked for their amazing, we managed a super third place. At least we can say
tests. we weren't last! But this dragged us down and overall, we, the
great Green House, got second place. But trying not to sound
This autumn term we had the Outstanding Musician like a sore loser, the scores don’t really matter, what really
Competition, and luckily this time we were not confined to matters is the effort. And in that field, we shined through,
our classrooms having to listen to an amazing piece mangled
and disfigured by Zoom’s constant lagging, and technical IT IS ALSO MY PLEASURE TO
difficulties. That paid off, as out of all the categories half were PRESENT HOW GREEN HOUSE DID
won by proud Green House members! Cassius showed the IN THE HOUSE FOOTBALL MATCHES
judges his pure skill with the drums, Ned dazzled them on the AND LET ME TELL YOU IT HAS BEEN
piano and our music captain William played the oboe with INTERESTING!
finesse. Though the overall prize was snatched away by a very

22

throughout the house members showed an amazing endeavour and we successful term, despite the unfortunate pandemic that has plagued the
really pushed ourselves. nation and has disrupted much of our normal day-to-day activities. We
have managed to uphold the indomitable Purple spirit of generosity,
I hope I have shown how amazing Green House is so when you walk by resilience and persistence. We hope that following the Christmas
the Green House board you will understand why most of the positions in holidays, the Government will control Covid and Purple House can
the school are occupied by competent Green House members. Next year participate with pride in even more activities in the following two terms.
is our Initiatives drive, so you can be sure that Green House will push for
charity. And with that I look forward to seeing you next year, thank you ORANGE HOUSE
for listening and have a holly jolly Christmas! William Samuels

PURPLE HOUSE The Autumn Term was great, as things in the school were operating
Ishaan Nigam more normally than last year, which I think everyone has
appreciated. The year groups were able to mix again and we were
It is my absolute pleasure to bring you up to date with all matters able to play fixtures against other schools in football for the first time in
Purple for the Autumn Term 2021. It has been strange for us not to a year. So good that there were lots of football tournaments!
be able to gather personally and commune with our fellow House Extra-curricular activities have started running as they used to, with
members but we still managed to rally some Purple House spirit many more of them being available and in a variety of rooms instead of
through many activities. So, what have we been up to during this packed us being in our form rooms the whole day. Finally, we get to go to the
term? Surprisingly, several things! specialist classrooms that were designed for each subject, which is great
for subjects such as Art, Science and DT.
The highlight was our Purple House Initiatives Week. Sadly, I was off One thing that was really great about this term was the Twelve Days of
during this event due to Covid, but I have been told there was a wide Christmas programme. This made the last days of school more fun and
variety of games and activities, such as a pool game, a shoe-shining it was nice to have an activity or initiative each day. All of this made this
service, bake sales, raffles and much, much more. In total, we raised a
whopping £857.13 for our charity, Alzheimer's Society, a charity that helps term a huge success, and I wholeheartedly hope that next
people with this type of dementia. Thank you to Miss Duncan and many term will be just as good as this term, or maybe better.
staff, who were unlucky enough to be on duty during Now, on to the topic of Orange House, and what we
this week, for helping with this fundraising event. have done. This term, Orange House ran a bake sale in
collaboration with Blue House. Lots of people brought
We conducted ourselves admirably in the house Football in cakes and bakes to sell for the charity Upper Room, a
Competition matches, as Purple House B team came 1st charity that provides hot meals, clothing and bedding to
and Purple House A team came 2nd, meaning overall, in the homeless people of London.
the Senior School, we won the House Matches! Not such My cakes didn’t sell so well, as I think only one of them
a great result in the Middle School, but I heard that the was sold, and I was the one who bought that one cake,
attitude of Purple players was outstanding! but other than that, the sale was a huge success, and we
managed to raise lots of money, and there will be more
Purple House achievements have not just been limited to Orange House initiatives in the future. Also, any cakes
school hours! which weren’t sold, such as mine, did not go to waste but
We have participated in a variety of activities outside of instead went to treat the After School Club children at The
school, such as Thomas Ormond’s concerts which raised Winch, a charity just around the corner working with the
an astonishing £16,000 for the NHS and Watts Gallery. young people of Camden.
Aadi Patel, Carl Hofstrom and Jack Vyvyan played in an A thank you is in order to all of the staff, our house’s
external football tournament and WON. Congratulations music captain, William Ma, sports captain, Rokeby
to these Purple House members who have done us Crichton-Brown and our deputy house captain, Nikolaos
proud this term. In Purple House we are extremely Kotridis, and especially to Mr. Corbett, the Orange House
musical: In the Outstanding Musician Competition, head, who has led the house in house meetings and in
we have had Etienne Whitewood from Year 4 win the general throughout the term. Thank you. I hope you all
Piano category, and Albert Sparks from Year 8 win the have a merry Christmas, a happy new year in 2022.
Brass category. Well done to these two skilled Purple
musicians.

Overall, Purple House has had a phenomenally

NEWS 23

Emmanuel Jal
Ognjen Soskic

The Hall was honoured to be visited by Emmanuel Jal in both October and
January of this academic year. Hailing from South Sudan, Emmanuel
is an international recording artist, activist and public speaker. Over
the course of these two visits, pupils in the Middle and Senior Schools were
treated to an assembly, workshops and an opportunity to buy a signed copy of
his well renowned book “War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story.”

The assembly started with a powerful and moving video of Emmanuel as a
10-year-old child in a refugee camp in Kenya. “I want to fly an airplane...” he
says when asked about his dreams, “...I want to be able to study in the daytime.”
The former might be considered an aspiration of any 10-year-old child, the
latter tells us that Emmanuel’s childhood was probably different from those
of pupils at The Hall. This is because in the mid-1980s, whilst living in Tonj,
Warrap State in the Bahr el Ghazal region of what
is now South Sudan, 7-year-old Emmanuel
was separated from his parents, aunts, uncles
and siblings as Sudan’s civil war intensified.
The story that follows is the one that we were
lucky enough to hear him tell us about through
anecdotes, spoken word and song.

As the visuals and backing track
for his hit song “We Want Peace”
played, Emmanuel burst from the
back of the Middle School Hall
and performed it, an introduction
worthy of a concert. He then
recalled what happened after
he was forced to leave Tonj,
about the tragic day he learnt
his mother was killed, about the days he was forced to pick up a rifle as big as
him. He told us about some of the devastating things he saw and some of the
uncomfortable things he had to do to survive. “Forced to sin...” he told the pupils
of the Hall, before they were taught to finish the sentence with “... to make a
living.”

But, one of the reasons we were lucky enough to have Emmanuel with us, is
because his story is also one of overcoming adversity, one of hope. “Never give
up!” he exclaimed, before once again he taught the pupils to excitedly reply
with, “never give in!” He shared with us the sadness he felt, the tears that he
wept. But he also shared with us the power of the mind, the power of purpose
and the power of imagination to triumph. He selected pupils at random to
share their stories of struggle, as well as their hopes for the future. Everyone
was encouraged to wish for those pupils’ hopes to become reality. We were then
treated to more music as Emmanuel finished the assembly with his song “More
Power” which included a “chicken wing” dance. Selected to get up at the front,

24

Mr Gordon’s dance moves were surprisingly far less rigid WAR CHILD
than the battle formations he so eloquently teaches us all
about. Lyrics by Emmanuel Jal and Clinton Outten

I believe I've survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives
I believe I've survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives
All the people struggling down there
Storms only come for a while
Then after a while they'll be gone
Blessed, blessed

My father was working for the government as a police man

Few years later a hardy joined a rebel movement that was formed to fight for freedom

I didn't understand the politics behind all this 'cause I was only a child

After a while I saw the tension rising high between the Christian and the Muslim regime

We lost our possession

My mother, my mother’s mother suffered depression

Later on, there were workshops with Emmanuel for Years And because of this...I was forced to be a war child

6, 7 and 8. There was a focus on the theme of purpose, I'm a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)
where the pupils were asked to differentiate between I'm a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)

their purpose and their vision. “My purpose is to be part I believe I've survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives (touch lives, touch lives,
of the solution,” Emmanuel believes, saying his mission touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives)
is to help others by sharing his own story. “My purpose is
to contribute to restore balance, give without expecting I lost my father and mother in this battle
anything in return. Purpose is the surrendering of yourself My brothers
to a cause bigger than you.” And that is his advice for us All my life I’ve been hiding in the jungle
too. “Once you identify what your purpose is, your purpose The pain I’m cutting is too much to handle
will teach you to create beautiful things. Your purpose is Whose there please to light up my candle

Is there anyone to hear my cry?

the only thing that can take you beyond what you couldn’t * South Sudanese dialect, translation: ‘and I’m crying, crying’
possibly imagine...” Creating beautiful things he certainly
did, as the workshop had more music, more poetry and
more joy wished upon each other. We were even treated to an
impromptu piano performance by Finlay Schelin! worker, Emma McCune. He began the journey that would lead him
to music, to recording and releasing his own albums, to TED talks,
to films, to activism, to founding his own charities, to books, and
It is safe to say that on the days Emmanuel visited us, there was a now to assemblies with young pupils in a school in Hampstead!
real buzz in the school for the pupils. When Emmanuel was their
age, he was a boy who had faced unfathomable tragedy, a boy
who was fleeing conflict, but a boy who still had dreams of flying
A big thank you to Tania Campbell-Golding of MyStart Project

an airplane and being able to study in the daytime. He survived, (and Emmanuel’s friend and agent!) for contacting us and

and his life began to change when he was adopted by a British aid bringing Emmanuel into all our lives.

GUA AFRICA, founded by Emmanuel, provides educational
programs for those affected by war and displacement in East
Africa. They primarily work in Kenya offering education to refugees who have
survived war and genocide. www.gua-africa.org

MY START is an educational arts project founded in 2011 with the
purpose of tackling the subject of conflict and displacement in a
unique way; they run youth focused art and film programmes to
share refugee stories, encourage empathy and compassion.
www.mystartproject.co.uk

NEWS 25

Be the Love: Be the Solution. Some shocking
The We Want Peace movement aims to spread facts contravening
the message of peace and love. the UN Convention
on the Rights of
“I believe to make our world better, each and every individual has the Child that
to be the love and be the solution. The world is in a crisis, there states that every
seems to be more divides than ever. Some are crippled by poverty, child has certain
others by depression, lack of purpose, worry and fear of failure. rights that should
This process has put most people in a “survival state” as they try to never be taken away
figure out a way to obtain their peace of mind and in the process they from them:
end up hurting others and creating divides or conflict with people
outside of their own identity and communities. We can’t point fingers • Approximately 300,000 children under the age of
at others to lead the change, the power is in our hands and the 18 are thought to be fighting in conflicts around the
solution is within all of us. I believe each and every person has the world.
power to illuminate themselves and the world, each and every person
can be the love, be the light, be the peace, be the joy, be the source • Most child soldiers are recruited from the age of 10
and be the solution.” Emmanuel Jal upwards.

• Some children are tempted to become soldiers
by promises of food or security. Many others are
kidnapped and forced to fight. They do not usually
get paid for their work.

• Sometimes their captors force children to take
addictive drugs to make them dependent and loyal.

• Child soldiers, both boys and girls, are often the
victims of abuse.

• Most often child soldiers are recruited in long
drawn-out civil wars. Many are orphans or are
recruited after losing their family.

• Many children die or are wounded in battle. Those
who survive and gain freedom need years of
support to overcome their trauma and successfully
reintegrate into society.

• Most child soldiers have missed out on
opportunities for education and play and many
have difficulty finding a place in society.

26

Holocaust Memorial
DAY TALK

At the end of January, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, the how extreme ideologies can become accepted in a population.
Sixth Form Society welcomed Hannah Loftus to the Cooper Students' questions to Hannah related to authority, conformity and
Hall. complicity, perpetration and responsibility – questions which the
world is still asking itself.
Hannah’s parents both miraculously survived the holocaust and
she shared with the Year 8 students how they had managed to avoid
death, even though her mother had spent time in Bergen-Belsen
concentration camp and her father, working in another camp,
risked instant death every day, surviving only through hiding his
Jewish identity. The family artefacts that Hannah shared with the
students, including her father’s belt (with which he tried to commit
suicide and the notches of which showed his extreme weight loss)
and photographs of family members brought the harsh realities of
genocide to life in their minds.

Hannah read passages from her mother’s memoires about the
events leading up to being incarcerated in the concentration
camp, describing how her family were hunted from their home,
crammed into cattle trucks to make the long train journey across
Europe, dehumanised and subjected to the most extreme cruelty
hour by hour whilst in the camp. She spoke about the Nazis'
mission to single out Jews for complete annihilation, targeting for
discrimination and persecution anyone they believed threatened
their ideal of a ‘pure Aryan race’.

Listening to the
words of someone
with direct
relational links to
the horrors of the
Nazi regime in the
1940s illustrated
to the Year 8s

HANNAH SHARED SEVERAL FAMILY
ARTEFACTS WITH THE BOYS, INCLUDING
HER FATHER’S BELT, PHOTOGRAPHS AND
ALSO A BOOK WHICH CONTAINS THE WORD ‘JEW’
6 MILLION TIMES WITHIN ITS PAGES, A DRAMATIC
SYMBOLISATION OF THE MURDERED POPULATION
DURING THE PERIOD.

NEWS 27

Me andMy... Khoreva, First Soloist at the Mariinsky theatre. I think it almost
perfectly sums up the reason so many people love ballet. There is
. .Dancing only one thing I would like to add to M.Khoreva’s passage and that
Bruno Cokeliss is the music. If you have ever been to a performance of a ballet, then
imagine it now with no music to complement it. See, it simply doesn’t
I have loved dancing since as long as I can remember. Like lots work, does it? Without music I wonder if ballet would even exist. I
of small children I used to dress up in different outfits and dance love music, mainly classical and I listen to a lot of ballet music.
to the songs of Frozen when I was at nursery. Unlike quite a few
small children, I never stopped dancing, though I don’t usually What do you find difficult in ballet?
Everything. In ballet, you have to engage every single tiny muscle
dance to Frozen anymore! in your body to 100% all the time, or else you will fail. Your toes,
How and when did I start Dancing? feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, inside thighs, hips, glutes, abs,
I started dancing at the age of 1 and a half. My mother took me to a obliques, back, shoulder blades, shoulders, and most of the time all
local dance class, I enjoyed it, so I went weekly. Back then we just of your arms as well. (Okay fine - not your tongue, so not every single
thought it would be something to entertain me. Then, I started ballet muscle)… So therefore you are never ‘relaxing’ in ballet, so everything
when I was two. We went to a different school, slightly further away, hurts all the time, (it’s a good pain - not like the one you get with an
and I stayed there till I was five, but ballet was still just a hobby. injury - it reminds you how hard you have been working) and you
Then I went to another school, which taught RAD (Royal Academy are sweating all the time and you are always incredibly tired, and
of Dance, which is the English method of teaching ballet.) I stayed when you are not dancing your muscles are always sore so you have
there for a few years, ballet still being a mere hobby, until when I was to stretch a lot. While it is physically difficult, as a dancer you have
eight, I realised it was what I wanted to do with my life. I then went to to make it look effortless and graceful. The music of course helps
a ballet summer school at a Russian ballet in Acton, when the main with this, as does the acting and if, like me, you just love to dance,
teacher there (Olga Semenova) offered me a place at the school. That then it gets even easier not to notice the strain. On top of that there’s
is where I am now. It teaches the Vaganova method. This is named remembering all the steps and corrections and coordination and
after Agrippina Vaganova who was a ballerina, then later created her theory, so I would say yes, there is a lot of hard work but also a lot of
own method of ballet. It is influenced by other major ballet methods, reward.

for example Cechetti (Italian  “I LOVE THAT THROUGH DANCE, THROUGH BALLET,
method) and French (French YOU CAN EXPRESS YOURSELF IN A VERY UNIQUE
method). WAY. YOU CAN SHARE YOUR STORY, AND YOUR
What do you love about ballet? FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS WITH PEOPLE, AND YOU
Many, many people have CAN GET THEIR REACTIONS AND THEIR EMOTIONS BACK FROM
asked me this question, and THEM. IT’S SUCH AN ENERGIZED FORM OF ART. AFTER EVERY
it is actually quite difficult to PERFORMANCE YOU ARE FILLED WITH SO MUCH JOY EVEN
answer. Recently, though, I IF SOMETHING HURTS, OR IF YOU’RE NOT FEELING GREAT OR
found this paragraph on the EVEN IF YOU’RE EXHAUSTED. IT’S SO UPLIFTING. IT’S WHAT’S
internet. It is written by Maria SO ADDICTIVE ABOUT BALLET.” MARIA KHOREVA

How did you become more involved in higher level ballet?
I am currently on Vaganova Grade 7 ballet, and I realise now after 1
½ years in the Vaganova method, my ballet has improved drastically.
When I was dancing RAD method, my ballet never really changed, but
with Vaganova it improves every day. Also, when the lockdown came,
my ballet improved a lot as well. I used all my spare time, and I
improved massively. I perform regularly with the Russian School and
I am an Associate of the Royal Ballet, which means that I dance once
a week with them. At Christmas I was incredibly lucky to be invited
into the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker in the Royal Albert
Hall. I played a boy at the party and then a rat. I was very excited
about performing with a real ballet company and performing to up to
5,000 people!

28

What is your greatest . .Cricket
achievement in ballet? Rayansh Kaul
I know this probably wasn’t
what you were expecting, but Right from the beginning when I was old enough to walk and talk,
I would say joining the school I always had a small cricket ball or bat in my hands. Constantly,
I am at now. Of course, I I would throw a ball around and pick it up and even play with a
have been invited to dance in bat. From an early age, my father identified my love for cricket
things like London Children’s that we both shared and enrolled me in sessions to play. This was
Ballet and the Nutcracker I the foundation for my training and development of my cricketing
mentioned above, but as I
say, when I joined Masters, ability. From then on, every week, I would go to Lords cricket
(the school I am at now) my ground or even to the park just to have a small practice with my
ballet started to improve so
much more quickly. Many dad or my coach.
of their students are now in
leading famous ballet schools, The exhilaration when I am
like the Princess Grace Ballet playing helps me endeavour
School in Monte Carlo, the Annarela school in Portugal, Bolshoi through tough times in
Ballet Academy in Moscow, and Vaganova Ballet Academy itself in St. terms of my form or the
Petersburg. circumstances surrounding
me. Although, when I am in
Do you have any possible plans for the future in relation to dancing? top form it is even better to
Yes, I do. I am planning to go to St. Petersburg as soon as my mother be playing, as I am working
will let me, to go to the Vaganova Ballet Academy, and then the hard and receiving the success
Mariinsky Theatre, also in St. Petersburg. If you have not heard of this I desire. Corona virus had
ballet school or company before, they are the company and school a significant impact on my
of Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, cricket as I was not allowed
Natalia Makarova, Mikhail Baryshnikov and so many more legends of to see my coaches, yet I still
the Classical Ballet. The Mariinsky Theatre, with the Vaganova School, managed to have the best of
for me, is the best in the world. To prepare for living in Russia, I am times playing cricket. Some of
learning Russian on Duolingo. the best news I got all year was
when my mother allowed me to
What would you say are the most satisfying or valuable things that
you get out of dancing and productions?
I would say, like M.Khoreva above, that it is so satisfying to give joy
to other people through the power of dance, to make other people
happy, when they could be having a bad day, or not feeling great,
you could make them happy. That is truly amazing to me. Then, also
there’s the perfect posture forever, and a high amount of strength and
flexibility with the muscles. Another thing that I think is very valuable
to everyone, which you learn to do in ballet, is that you learn not to
compare yourself to other people, and not even to compare yourself
to yourself. You learn to compare yourself to perfect. I think these are
a few of the most satisfying/valuable things you get from ballet.

So, this was my article about ballet. I hope you found it interesting -
after all, you could’ve just turned that page and forgotten about this
passage completely. So thank you so much for reading this passage,
and I hope you enjoy the next passage you read in this newspaper
very much.

Thanks for reading,
Bruno!

ME AND MY... 29

play cricket against my wall in my room. Hour upon hour, I would I was awarded a Middlesex Helmet
pick up a bat and do technical work through simply throwing a – a rare recognition for juniors.
tennis ball against the wall. What was also amazing, was the fact my Although it is not my highest score
coaches managed to organise online sessions with me so I could it was an innings that was difficult
work on my fitness privately and learn more about my cricket and as when I went in, we needed 100
what I could improve on with my Middlesex coaches. runs of 12 overs and only had two
wickets in hand. Within my innings
Once I had reached the age of about 6 years old, I started playing I hit 8 boundaries and was able to
hard ball cricket. For the next two years I worked on playing the secure a win for Middlesex.
hard ball and getting over my fears of it at first. At 8 years old my
coaches signed me up to play Borough cricket. This is the level Even though Cricket is a
above club and before county. For my first year in Borough, I was competitive sport, I have learned
the youngest there as I was 8 years old and playing under 11. This many valuable life skills and lessons from it. For example,
was tough, as adjusting to the pace and standard of the older boys teamwork is important and needs to be kept in place for the game
was a greater challenge than I expected. Within my first year, to flow smoothly. Conflict amongst team members can often
I struggled with the bat, but I had satisfactory results with my distract them from their individual contribution, thus affecting
bowling. Although I felt my bowling could take me to the next level the team’s collective performance. Moreover, when one does
my batting had let me down stopping me from getting to a higher something good for the team, it is acknowledged. One will receive
level. gratitude when they contribute to the performance which is a very
satisfactory feeling, as you know everyone realises that you have
The following year, I was more determined than ever to prove made a meaningful contribution towards your team’s win. For
myself. As a nine-year-old, I trialled again for Borough and once example, during the Bedford Sixes, in the final I managed to score
again got selected. Even though I was still one of the youngest, I 38 off 14 which led to us winning. As my teammates acknowledged
did not let that hinder me as I was confident in my abilities. After a I had contributed to the win they ran onto the pitch and celebrated
with my batting partner and I. This was a great feeling as I
shaky start to the season, I had realised, I had not only done something good for myself but for my
a good time with the ball and an teammates and friends.
average time with the bat. Up
until my last innings for Borough I am proud to say that cricket has been and always will be my true
I felt my batting had yet again let passion in life. I hope to continue to work hard, keep learning and
me down. But my match winning improve my game to achieve greater success in cricket and one
33 runs of 22 balls was enough day play for the country.
to seal the deal for me and I was
promoted up to Middlesex. For
Middlesex, I had to trial to keep
my spot on the team and as my
confidence with bat and ball had

MY GREATEST CRICKETING ACHIEVEMENT
TO DATE, WAS MY 40 RUNS OFF 60
BALLS FOR MIDDLESEX AGAINST
LONDON SCHOOLS CRICKET ASSOCIATION, AS I
WAS AWARDED A MIDDLESEX HELMET – A RARE
RECOGNITION FOR JUNIORS.

grown, I had improved by a noticeable margin, managing to score
high runs and taking a lot of wickets. This secured my place in the
Middlesex team in which I am still in.

My greatest cricketing achievement to date, was my 40 runs off 60
balls for Middlesex against London Schools Cricket association, as

30

In Partnership

Saturday

THE HALL SCHOOL SATURDAY CLUB

Exceptional learning, distinctive lives

We were so delighted that Saturday Club could start back 'on site' and in person at The Hall!

Four morning sessions of English, Maths, Science and Drama were enjoyed by 30 children
attending Years 5 -6 from across five of our partnership primary schools over the
Autumn term and into the Spring. 

To begin with, the focus was on supporting the students’ wellbeing at the beginning of the academic year 2021-2022, upon
coming back to a physical learning environment post-pandemic and this support will be continued as the Year 6 students
prepare for transition from their primary schools to new secondary schools. Wellbeing journals were shared with Saturday Club
students for ongoing self-reflection and strategy development. All the subject enrichment programmes benefitted from having
the students back ‘in person’ with the teachers and peers – some of whom they had only ‘virtually’ met on screen before! We
have also been very happy to welcome back a former Saturday Club member, now in Year 8 in her secondary school, as an

assistant and mentor to the current cohort.

• In Science, the students had been longing to don their • In Drama the students
white lab coats and get their hands on the Bunsen enjoyed sessions in which
Burners after over 18 months of online learning! Since they explored vocal and
achieving their Bunsen Burner licences, there have been physical performance skills,
lots of experiments taking place in the labs. such as pace, volume, tone,
and dramatic pause, giving
them a real chance to delve
into the role and character.
Finally, they performed
a chosen monologue
independently to their
group.

• In Presenting they learned
vocal and body language
techniques to help them
develop the ability to voice
opinions and influence
others, which empowered
them to overcome their
fears.

IN PARTNERSHIP 31

• In Maths the focus was on budgeting,
planning and teamwork. The group
worked in pairs to design a theme park,
they were given a moderate budget to
work from, and with so many creative
ideas to choose from, staying within this
budget at times proved a challenge!

IN-SCHOOL TEACHING, CPD AND SUPPORT

• In-school teaching resumed football enrichment session with Year 3 Hall boys was
with Hall teachers delivering held at Wilf Slack in October.
French lessons at Fitzjohn's and At Fitzjohn's Primary; following
Christchurch Primary schools the success of a Resilience course
for Years 1 – 6 students, after run by an external facilitator
the previous year's online and video conferencing in 2020 for Year 5 students,
lessons. Everyone was so happy to be back in the the course started in January
classrooms, having fun with new vocabulary and 2022 and rolled out to
introducing cultural ideas surrounding traditions other partnership schools
associated with Noël at the end of the Autumn Term. across 2022. 

• Science CPD; a new Hall Science lead VOLUNTEERS
started in September 2021, providing support
from the Autumn Term for the Science Several Hall Parent volunteers offered catch-up
lead and teachers in Christ Church Primary, Maths and Reading support in person on a smaller
focussing on Years 4 - 6 and from January
2022 in Edith Neville Primary School, as well scale at Richard Cobden Primary School.
as developing a science equipment borrowing
library that is intended for sharing across the 11+ LUNCHTIME CLUB
partnership schools. Science lead teachers from
three primary schools joined together for a day In addition, over the Autumn Term, an 11+ Lunchtime
of CPD in the Science labs at The Hall in November.  Club was run by a Hall teacher, supporting 10 gifted

• The Mental Health and Wellbeing (MH&WB) project and talented children from Christ Church Primary
funded by The Mercers that began in January 2021 was in English, Maths, VR & NVR test practice and
finally able to come ‘offline’ in September. It was exciting
to work with the MH&WB lead at The Rosary Primary interviewing experience in preparation for sitting 11+
in designing and fundraising for the establishment of exams to secondary schools in the area.  
a Wellbeing Room on the Rosary site that will afford
opportunities for children and families to express THE WINCH
emotions in a safe space. Early in the Spring Term work
started on re-decorating a former classroom into a more At The Winch, the Partnerships Manager ran a Drama
‘home-like’ room to be used for therapeutic cooking, course as an after-school club for the primary aged
pottery and gardening sessions with children and for children and this continues into the
parent support groups, counselling and workshops.   Spring Term.

In addition, a PE Breakfast Club was run at The Rosary by
a Hall PE teacher every Thursday morning before school
for 15 boys and girls over the Autumn Term. A friendly

32

FOOTBALL EARLY BIRD CLUB
AT THE ROSARY PRIMARY

Alexi Mavroudis

As restrictions started to ease over the past year, it meant The Hall could restart
and create new partnership opportunities with local schools in the area.

Based just up the road in Haverstock Hill, The Rosary was the perfect place to start.
Every Thursday, before school started, I delivered a football training session for Year

3s at their school. My intention is to engage with as many Partnership schools as
possible and create further fixture opportunities for the boys in the Junior School.

The week before October Half Term, we managed to host a fixture at Wilf Slack.
We had been training every week at The Rosary, in preparation for this moment!
Two teams came down to play against some of our Year 3 Junior School pupils.
The matches were played in great spirit and were highly competitive! A valuable

experience for everyone involved, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The morning Rosary football sessions continued after the half term
break too and provided an opportunity for us to reflect on the
fixtures, highlight what went well and identify things to
improve upon for future games.

A huge thank you to The Rosary for the fantastic welcome,
we will hopefully see you again soon!

GIVING IN THE COMMUNITY

ALICE’S ARC SEBBY'S CORNER

Sebbie in Year 3 sold Sebby's Corner is a charity which supplies
‘Alice bows’ in the JS basic essentials to families in need.
front garden in mid-
October, to support In September they were working with The
Alice’s Arc, a children’s British Red Cross, supporting Afghan refugees

cancer charity that arriving in the UK without enough children's
fundraises for research clothes. Scores of bags of clothes were
donated by Hall families and taken to the
into finding more
targeted and less harsh depot within days of the appeal going live.
Thanks for your amazing response.
treatments for this
cancer. Your fantastic
efforts were worthwhile
Sebbie, and we’re sure
the amount you raised
of over £250 will be very

well received.

IN PARTNERSHIP 33

TRIATHLON TEAM 2021 LONDON BOOK PROJECT

The Hall Triathlon Team, Henry Yates from the Children’s Book Project came
participated in the postponed to pick up over 1,500 books kindly donated by Hall
families in mid-December for children across London. 
Blenheim Palace event in The charity gifts donated books through a range
September 2021, joined by the of celebratory book gifting events at schools and
cyclists of the Tour de Godwin community centres to which children are invited to
there was a record number of choose a book to take home and keep. Thanks to
Hall participants who raised a
whopping sum of over £83K everyone who supported this initiative!

for three children's charities;
Coram's Fields, the Children's

Epilepsy unit at UCL
and Apart of Me.

LEGO FOR
RICHARD COBDEN

Thank you too from our Partnership Primary school
Richard Cobden teachers and children, who were
bowled over by the amazing amounts of Lego that
were donated so generously for use in the classrooms

and quiet areas of the playground.

34

TOUR DE GODWIN WINTER
APPEAL FOR THE WINCH

Mr Godwin persuaded a group of stalwart cyclist staff and
parents to brave the weather in mid-December to cycle a
dizzying 100k around the Inner Circle of Regent’s Park with
him, fundraising for forthcoming Family Support initiatives
at The Winch, our community partners at Swiss Cottage.

Huge thanks to everyone for your donations; we were so
pleased to raise £20k to help local young families face the

winter months and come through safely and healthily.

Year 7 Elliot B was the real
star of the show, managing

to complete the whole
100k on only the second
occasion he tried out his
new cycle on the road!

WELLBEING ROOM As part of a cross-partnership MH&WB initiative,
AT THE ROSARY our aim is to create a ‘safe haven’ nurturing room at
The Rosary that affords opportunities for children and
PRIMARY SCHOOL
families to express emotions in a safe space. 
Sincere thanks also to the families who generously
donated towards the refurbishment of a classroom The room is currently being re-fitted and new
furnishings have been ordered, in preparation for
at our neighbouring partnership primary school therapeutic cooking, pottery and gardening sessions
The Rosary, on Haverstock Hill.
with children and for parent support groups,
counselling and workshops. We look forward to

sharing images and reports of progress soon!

IN PARTNERSHIP 35

Science

RAINBOWS In order to practise laboratory skills and

pH Lise Galuga solidify understanding of the pH scale,
a challenge was set for Year 7 students.

They were given an acid, an alkali, universal
indicator drops and some pipettes. Knowing that
acids and bases cancel each other out in a reaction called neutralisation,
the challenge was to see if they could carefully adjust each quantity
using the equipment provided. The task was to see how close students
could get to displaying the pH scale (red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
purple) in their test tubes by blending the correct number
of drops of each reactant.

A fun way to practise skills and learn all in one!

ACIDTSITARNADTIAOLNKSALIS

Using volumetric pipettes and burettes, Year 7 students
continued their study of neutralisation reactions by trying to
determine the unknown concentration of hydrochloric acid.
This was done by adding drops of the unknown concentration

of hydrochloric acid to given quantity of a known
concentration of sodium hydroxide, an alkali. In the end, if
more acid was required to reach neutralisation (pH=7) then
we had of the alkali, then the unknown concentration of the
hydrochloric acid was weaker than that of the alkali. If less acid
was required, than the unknown concentration of hydrochloric

acid was found to be stronger than that of the alkali.
This activity is actually a required GCSE practical - and yet our

Year 7s were happy to take it on and really enjoyed learning
how to use the titration equipment. This is very specialised
(and expensive) equipment that I myself have ever only been

able to use in university!

36

SCIENCE CCHLURIBSTMAS
BAUBLES FOR
Andrew Chambers

Science Club made a welcome, and highly successful return in
September 2021, after a hiatus due to the pandemic. During the
term, pupils from Years 4, 5, 7 and 8 all took part in a range of

exciting experiments in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
 

Our term culminated in the chemistry of the ‘silver mirror reaction’!
This experiment demonstrated how mixing together different

substances – and carrying out a chemical reaction in the process
– can produce delightful results. The essence of the silver mirror

reaction is the formation of a metallic layer of silver metal as a
result of a redox (oxidation-reduction) reaction. As it was coming up

to the holidays, we decided to carry out the silver mirror reaction
inside plain glass baubles. As the reaction progressed, a layer of
silver was deposited on the inside surface of the bauble. At the end
of the experiment, every pupil was able to take home a silver bauble

as a reminder of a fun afternoon at Science Club!

SCIENCE 37

ECO-Schools WE WEREN'T
SURE WHAT TO
ECO EXPECT AS THIS
WAS OUR FIRST
COMMITTEE TIME DOING IT BUT,
TO OUR DELIGHT, IT
AUTUMN NEWS WAS AMAZING!

Litter Pick NATHAN
BOUCARD
Felix Shulman and Thurstan Hayne

During the autumn term, the Eco Committee did a litter pick.
We found all sorts of amazing things including a frying pan,

a half-eaten happy meal and a rusty old shovel.
We went to Swiss Cottage to do the litter pick.

We used litter pickers, gloves and big bin bags. Michael, from Veolia,
ran the litter pick along with Miss Taylor. Then later, during Recycling
Week (Monday 20th - Thursday 24th November) we sorted through all
the things we found on the litter pick. Of course, we used gloves. We

sorted it into recycling and non-recycling.

WE WORKED IN
PAIRS, ONE WOULD

BE HOLDING THE
BAG WHILE THE
OTHER WOULD BE
PICKING UP THE
LITTER WITH THESE
SUPER-HANDY
LITTER PICKERS!

NATHAN
BOUCARD

38

JS

Some of our Eco Committee took an
impromptu trip to the local garden
centre towards the end of term to
look for some additions to the Junior
School Garden which will be blooming
into action in the Spring. As you can
see the boys were very careful with

their selections.

Green Transport Green
DAYS
At the moment, the Eco Committee is trying to design and make
We had two Green Transport days, where we encouraged lots of eco-friendly masks. This should be completed later this
everyone to travel to school in an eco-friendly way.
year, so watch this space! #go-green
In our class 5S, 17 out of 19 pupils travelled in a green way,
which included using public transport, electric vehicles,

walking and cycling.

ECO-SCHOOLS 39

SBcheyooonldGtathees Arjun Pandit

Raffy Thing

LToYowEneAdrRo1onf

Year 1 studied Kings and Queens as their topic in the autumn term and what better
place to take a visit to than the Tower of London for a chance to see the crown jewels.

The boys described the jewels as, quote "shiny, sparkly and precious" and tried to
imagine wearing the heavy suits of armour worn by Kings and Princes. The interactive

room was a favourite, where the boys did a great job in building their own Tower
using appropriate materials. But undoubtedly the most interesting, if gory piece of
information they relished, was the fact shared by a Beefeater, that the ravens follow you

around the grounds of The Tower, in the hope that you are their next meal!

YEAR 3 GO TO

Year 3 took themselves off to the British Museum on a chilly, but bright Thursday
morning in early December to round off their topic on ‘Africa – it’s not a country!’

The boys visited the Africa exhibit and were able to draw pictures of African
weapons as well as answer questions about a variety of art pieces on show. Year 3
had a wonderful time and particularly enjoyed the tube journey there and back.

40

The RomansYEAR2

Chloe Taylor

Year 2 boys threw themselves into their Roman Day last term and
centurions, gladiators and emperors took over the JS for wonderful

workshops in which the boys had the chance to make their own
Roman clay pots, design and make paper mosaics and create their

own golden laurel wreath headband.

Then in mid November, Year 2s set off for a busy day at The Museum
of London, looking around the Roman Exhibition in particular, as
well as the War, Plague and Fire Exhibition. The boys learnt many
new facts about the Romans surrounding their invasion of England
and their creation of Londinium, how the Romans’ influence is still
felt in our lives even up to the present day, through to the fall of the
Roman Empire in England.

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES 41

Hastings Southwark Cathedral
DAY William Valentin

Ali Abbas and Arkin Bahl On Wednesday 22nd September, 4D went on a school trip to
Southwark Cathedral. We took the tube to London Bridge
On Thursday 21st October, Year 5 all got on a coach and and then walked to the Cathedral where we had a snack
headed for Wilf Slack. We were asked to bring in our own outside before we went in.
shields for a shield wall.
We were split into 2 groups. While the first group learnt about
We went to the pavilion and the first thing we saw was what looked Henry the XIII, the other group dressed as monks and learnt about
like an ancient military base, equipped with shields, mail, helmets, how they lived. Once we were finished, we swapped over. Then it
swords and spears. The man presenting the workshop was called was lunchtime! After lunch we walked down to have a look at The
Nick. The first thing he showed us was the difference between a Golden Hinde. In the afternoon we made illuminated manuscripts.
poor person’s (fyrd’s) armour and a rich person’s (housecarl’s)
armour which was quite a difference! He also showed us how the We had lots of fun because we got to use a quill, ink and to write
Normans would break through the Saxon shield wall. our names on a piece of parchment. For the people that finished,
for a challenge they had to write the alphabet in monk writing. It
Next, he showed us how to use a slingshot, which is the Saxon was hard! Finally, we went back to school on the tube. My favourite
equivalent of an archer. It looked easy at first but when we tried it part of the school trip was that I got to know so much about the
out, it was very difficult. Patrick slung the tennis ball the furthest. monks and about how they lived.
While 2 classes had break, the other class made a shield wall and
the commands. Nick showed us military drills and we all tried
them. This was a brilliant day and some games to come!

42

MaTHrEitime that connected to each other, a little room
MUSEUM that was meant to be a cabin inside a
cargo ship that taught all of us how to ride
Zain Jamal and Rayaan Jan a ship and how tricky it was for all of us.
We then happily went to the All-Hands
On Wednesday 17 November, Year 4 went to a particularly Gallery which was easily the most fun of
engaging place called The Maritime Museum and it was a them all that showed us a cannon to shoot
wonderful experience. submarines, 2 connected morse code
Despite the long journey, we learnt all about history of so many stations and a translator to communicate,
things and our group had so much fun. In our group, we saw loads light morse code, figures in which you can
of cool things such as ships, seashells and treasures the museum pop your head in and out! We had a good
had found. The Maritime Museum has different tours to take, and it half hour with all these fun things and
took advantage of modern technology and made it fun with lots of really enjoyed it as a class.
buttons and screens to show voices of significant people in history, Finally, we went to the gift shop to buy
and engaging games to show how people in history did things. We a small souvenir and started the long
journey back to school.  
also saw a giant map on the world
beneath our feet. The class saw
each other there as a coincidence
and the class played with tiny ships
that showed life before airplanes
and jets.
After all that cheerful learning, we
ate a scrumptious lunch packed by
our parents and had a good break
playing in the grass.
We later started a tour with another
group and met the class there at a
ship simulator and saw two phones

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES 43

Hampstead Heath

Year 8s enjoyed time in the outdoor classroom of Hampstead Heath last term, as they
developed their knowledge and skills in a greater understanding of a local ecosystem.
The field study group found a space that offers a pond, open heathland and woodland, with
the intention of collecting data on the interactions between living species and their natural
environment. This required quite a range of specialised equipment!
Quadrats enabled the Year 8s to estimate the size of a population based on a small sample; they

placed the quadrats randomly on the heathland and counted the
number of grass plants species (eg. grasses, dandelions), which then
enabled them to apply some maths to estimate the larger population
across the Heath. A rope was used to transect the heathland habitat
and students counted and recorded the number of organisms of each
species along it at intervals.
Sweep nets were useful for collecting insects and other
animals from bushes, long grass and ponds. Boys used
sampling trays and dipping nets to look closely and identify
small and camouflaged pond organisms. The teachers used
pooters to collect insects from tree bark and other habitats
into jars for analysis.
A light meter was used to measure the
maximum light intensity, and another
probe measured the pH and moisture of
the soil. A clinometer was introduced to
measure the angles of the slopes on the
Heath.
What an amazing opportunity to study the
relationship between the living things on
the Heath and appreciate its incredible
biodiversity, right on our doorstep!

44

Ski Squad raced two teams at ISA and NSSA events in September and October
NEWS 2021 with our U14 team winning the open section at both races and
Katie Davies bringing back to school medals and an impressive trophy.
With the pesky pandemic still swirling around Europe, we took
The Ski Squad has hit the slopes again with the difficult decision not to enter our usual Interschools Ski racing
a vengeance post pandemic. event in the Alps this spring. Training slots have instead been
arranged on a UK dry slope for late November and early January
After ski trials, shared as usual with SHHS, two teams raced in the and we then plan to enter the usual Spring & Summer UK races
ESSKIA Qualifier at Brentwood. Our U14 team managed to qualify run by ESSKIA and NSSA amongst others.
for the ESSKIA Final which was held in October in Norfolk. We also It was a real boost to the ski squad to have had old boy and ski
racer Max Fairfull on board in the Autumn Term and the boys, their
parents and Mme Davies were sad and a shade envious to wave him
off to the slopes of Whistler, Canadian mid November. 

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES 45

Bertie Duralski-Cross

The Hall School Ski Squad is a team of talented boys from WHAT IS THE RACING LIKE?
Years 3 to 8 in The Hall. In the school, you rarely get to know At the start of the day, you feel very tense. Especially when it’s your
lots of boys from all the years whereas in the squad, you first time doing it. First, you have to get your skis and any other
will become great friends with higher year boys. It is run by Mme equipment you need. Then you do the warm-up from the last
Davies, also known to the boys in the School as a French teacher. paragraph. We step out onto the slope and click our boots onto our
skis. We then follow one of our coaches, who is an ex Hall skier,
HOW DO YOU GET IN THE SQUAD? down the slope and he shows us what to do and when and when
There is an annual two-day trial which takes place at the end of to turn. We get numbered bibs and put them on, we wait until our
the summer holiday. Usually, the trial will get combined with SHHS number is called and then you make your way towards the start gate.
(South Hampstead High School). Its open to anyone who feels like When the person in front of you has gone, the person controlling
they want to try out for the Ski Squad. Mme Davies and the coaches the start gate says 3, 2, 1 GO and then it begins. As you go down the
who run the trials try and give everyone a chance and make sure slope, you feel pride in your heart from racing for your own school.
they all have a good time. Its location is in Chatham, a small town in
Kent. ONE IMPORTANT THING TO MENTION
IS THAT ALL THE RACING IS THROUGH
SO, WHAT DO THE SQUAD DO? A SLALOM COURSE, WHICH MEANS
We train at the snow slopes at Hemel Hempstead or at the artificial CONSTANT TURNING AROUND BIG POLES SET OUT
slope in Chatham. We train at one or other of these venues two or DOWN THE SLOPE. THE AIM IS TO GET DOWN THE
three times a term. This (sadly!) means that the squad takes most of SLOPE AND ROUND THE POLES IN THE FASTEST TIME.
the training days out of school since we have to travel to the venues
and we then spend around 1 to 3 hours actually training and skiing One important thing to mention is that all the racing is through a
on the slopes. When we have a training day we leave school around slalom course, which means constant turning around big poles set
8:30 am and do not return until around 2 pm. out down the slope. The aim is to get down the slope and round the
poles in the fastest time. Whoever is fastest wins and goes on to the
WHAT IS THE TRAINING LIKE? next round.
When we arrive, the first thing we do is hire any equipment that we
don’t have. Once we are all kitted up, we get out onto the slope where The rules are very strict. Each racer gets two runs down the slope.
we are met by our coaches. We leave our skis near the patio and walk If we miss a single pole in our turns, we get a “DNF” (Did Not
out towards our coaches. We do a warmup including: high knees, Finish) and the run doesn’t count, so that makes the pressure even
jogging and side-stepping. We then click on our skis and ski up to greater for us if we do that on the first run when we go for our
the lift. When we get to the top, we wait our turn and then ski down. second. We have raced schools like SHHS, Harrow and many other
When we get back to the top, our coaches tell us what we need to amazing schools.
improve on. We try to follow that for our next run and keep doing this
for the whole session, with breaks for drinks and lunch in the café.

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Design Tech

Packaging
PROJECT

Using a range of cereal products from around the
globe, Year 4 boys analysed products from the USA,
the UK and Japan and had discussions about what
information and other features make a packaging
design ‘universal’ and ‘inclusive’? They went on to

design the packaging for their own cereal brand,
creating a brand vision, logo, slogan and packaging. 
They designed and manufactured the packaging using
a range of soft materials and tested the promotional

impact of the product using a range of creative
techniques.

DESIGN TECH 47

Ergonomic Torch Tamagotchi Casing
PROJECT  PROJECT 
The Year 6s enjoyed learning about
Year 5s were keen to make ergonomic torches, inspired the history of the invention of
by design movements from the last century such as Tamagotchis, the keychain-sized
the Bauhaus, Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements in virtual pet simulation games, invented
Germany, France and the USA and Italy. by Aki Maita and created by Akihiro
The project started off with consideration of MDF as a recycled Yokoi in 1996.
material and the sustainability of materials in general,
investigating the FSC logo on timbers and retailers that The original characters are colourful
promote sustainability e.g. creatures with simple designs based on
Ikea. They then designed and animals, objects, or people. Even though
manufactured a small L.E.D in 2004, a second wave of Tamagotchi
battery powered torch based toys emerged, featuring a different
on their understanding of graphic design by artist JINCO and
design, ergonomics and gameplay which elaborated upon the first
anthropometrics whilst generations, the story behind the games
exploring how to shape remained the same: Tamagotchis are a
materials with hand tools small alien species that deposited an egg
with component constraints. on Earth to see what life was like, and it
is up to the player to raise the egg into an
48 adult creature.

As part of a 12-week project in DT and
Computing Year 6 students designed,
coded, and manufactured a Micro
Bit Tamagotchi. This involved using

computer aided design
to laser-cut or 3D- print
a case for the Micro
Bit and in Computing
lessons they coded the
Micro Bit and created an
advert and presentation
of their work to be
presented in a final
exhibition at the end of
the project.

PROJECT  Windmills

The USB project opened with Year 7s discussing Autodesk, whose Year 8 boys also used laser cutters to create some
engineers develop a broad range of software for design, engineering, windmills for Year 3 in a collaborative project.
and entertainment as well as a line of software for consumers.  In DT lessons the Year 8s used laser-cutters to make
very precise pieces for the windmills, which were then
The coding system used to programme the products is based on the work of given to the Year 3 boys to make into windmills as part
Ada Lovelace, who has been called the world’s first computer programmer of their study around the book ‘The Boy who Harnessed
and Alan Turing who invented the universal Turing machine, a mathematical the Wind.’ As you can see, students across the age range
model of the modern computers we all use today. Using computer aided thoroughly enjoyed themselves with some fantastic
results!
design and computer aided manufacture,
students developed the skills needed to use

a laser cutter. The project
involved designing with
precision around a USB
component to create a
layered device to hold and
store digital files. 

PewtYeErARCa8sting

People have been making the metal alloy called pewter for a long time.
The Year 8s cast pewter to create a keyring design inspired by aspects of
architecture in this project. They designed an inverted mould using laser-
cut MDF and poured the molten metal into the shell allowing it to cool and

form solid material.

DESIGN TECH 49

Art

Frederick Leeming Huw Scourfield

YEAR 2 Ishaan Jivraj
Hal Stowe
INTRODUCTION TO PRINTMAKING

Beth Lewis-Williams Lucian Roberts 2T

Year 2s created polystyrene printing boards as an introduction
to printmaking. This was a great way to introduce the concepts

of relief printing and layering and the imagery created
was based on drawings of natural forms, influenced by the

Victorian artist Ernst Haeckel.

The boys were interested to learn about the life and works of Lucian Roberts
Haeckel, a German zoologist, philosopher, physician, marine

biologist, and artist who discovered, described and named
thousands of new living species.

Leon Laniado Jack Van Clarke

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