The autumn play was a traditional pantomime this year with all the twists and turns you might expect.  Simple Simon and Little Bo Peep, played beautifully by Archie Steele and Ellie Whiteside, took the audience on a magical journey as Prince Charming, the dashing Sam Williams, sought to find a wife. The entire cast surpassed themselves, all featuring in cameo roles from various fairy tales. Yolanda Gumpo gave us a feisty Cinderella, belting out ‘Mercy’ and introducing her rapping Mice, Moesha Gumpo, Emily Ind, Esther Banks, Emily Baring, Jemima Spurr and Alex Boer.  A back-packing, fun-loving Buttons as portrayed by George Barbieri and two hideous Ugly Sisters, Odorita and Listerine, captured perfectly by Crispin Foot and Aan Mouth, oops I mean Crispin Tavares and Aan Amir.  Snow White, Kate Aston, introduced her delightfully zany dwarves, Kit Tod, Maud Bonham-Carter, Juliette Carmichael, Rory Law, Rhiannon Templeman, Alexia Garrido-Bult and Imogen Burgoyne who stole the show with their dramatic exit race, ‘Saddle Up’! King and Queen Cole, played with regal authority by George Hilton and Milan George, brought their rascal of a son, Prince Fury, back to order. Max Anderson relished the opportunity to play the baddie, as did Julia Yarmolyuk (Fairy Unlikely) and Heloise Wright (Queen Narcissa).  The cast had an absolute ball, with a stunning finale featuring a gospel   version, by Anthony Hutchings, of ‘I’m a Believer’. The Ones and Twos should be very proud that they captured the essence of Pantomime   and as they head towards the end of another exhausting term they should have no worries as we shout, ‘It’s behind you!’

After an early rise and a long  journey we arrived at the Chateau de la Boudonnière. We had a small tour of the Chateau grounds before we had our supper.

During the day, we were divided into several groups.  There where lots of very enjoyable activities for everyone.

The climbing wall was fun and  challenging.  The assault course was enjoyed by everyone. A very well done to Olli Tipple for being the only one who crossed the stream on a rope at the end of the course.

We also had French lessons and fabrication du pain which were then baked in the afternoon and we had them for supper.

The food was the most amazing food that any of us had ever tasted. We had a 3 course meal for Lunch and Dinner, and we had to explain everything in French before we could start the meal!

The delicious fresh French bread was certainly popular at every meal time with us often going up and asking for ‘Je voudrais encore du pain, s’il vous plait’

The Chateau looked fantastic with all the trees with different coloured leaves and we just loved trampling them under foot. The best thing about the grounds was the mini ferme with rabbits, peacocks, ducks and hens which were all free to roam around the chateau grounds.

Our day out was great. We went to the market and completed a questionnaire and then we were each given some pocket money to spend in the market. We bought all sorts of things including hats, giant baguettes, grub of course, and souvenirs to take back home. Afterwards we made our way towards the Mont St. Michel, but we stopped off for our picnic lunch first, which went down really well.

At the Mont St. Michel we counted the steps up to the top, and we stopped off at the lucky well in our tour of the ramparts. We visited the Abbey at the top, and the views were awesome, especially as it was such a sunny day! Afterwards we did a bit of souvenir shopping before heading back to the Chateau.

The end of the week came too soon, and the final evening was our talent show. Even the teachers did a skit! Our return crossing on the Brittany Ferries boat called ‘Le Mont St. Michel’ was really good and we were able to watch a couple of movies. We arrived back to school in the afternoon exhausted but really happy after a brilliant week. Thanks especially to Monsieur and Madame Westcombe but also to all the other staff.

Alice Day & Charlie Line

As I begin the extremely important task of writing reports on every child at Windlesham I am bound to be in a reflective mood.

I was delighted for Richard Cairns, Headmaster of Brighton College, and one of our Governors that his school should be recognised by The Sunday Times as being the best Co-Educational Independent Senior School in the Country for 2011.  Richard Cairns and his team deserve this recognition.

In many respects Senior Independent School s are fortunate that they can be measured by results at A level and GCSE.  League Tables play a big part in their audit of how successful they are year in and year out.

At Prep School level there is no way of measuring academic results other than by the satisfaction of getting children places into their first choice senior school.  I take enormous pride in doing this and can claim to have a 100% record not only here at Windlesham but throughout my 27 years as a Headmaster.

How I would love to see the media recognise the value added all round education that a school like Windlesham provides for each and every child.  It is their growth in confidence, the discovery of what they can do well or in many cases brilliantly that becomes their passport to success in life.

I challenge anyone to find a Co-Ed  Preparatory Boarding School that does this better and in our own way we will celebrate this with the children and the staff over the final ten days of this term.

I am about to see each child in my study and will be able to  share my deep satisfaction by telling each child  just how far they have progressed  this term and more importantly just how far they can go in the next six months if they make the most of what  is on offer here at Windlesham .

Windlesham House School scooped the prestigious Outstanding Community Initiative award at the Independent School Awards 2011. The judges described the school’s Odyssey weekend as “inspiring”, “amazing” and “spectacular”.

The category was very closely contested, but the judges were unanimous in choosing Windlesham  for this particular award. Around 300 guests from among the cream of the sector saw Richard Foster collect the award from sponsors Close Brothers.

On Friday 11/11/ 2011, around 11 minutes to 11 o’clock, the Staff and students  of Windlesham House (all wearing their poppies) assembled at All Saints’ Chapel in the heart of the school for the annual Act of Remembrance.  Mr Foster, the Headmaster, welcomed everyone and explained the sad history of Armistice Day and its evolution into Remembrance Day, and reminded all present of the millions who were lost in both World Wars and the conflicts since then.  In order to make the symbolism of the poppy clear he called upon Val Hernandez-Tavera, George Barbieri and Kate Aston to read Don Crawford’s poem ‘Please Wear a Poppy’.  After this moving recitation, Mr Foster explained Windlesham’s proud association with servicemen and women in the past and referred to the time when Canadian forces were stationed at the school.  Archie Haines-Moss and Robbie Owen then read out a selection of names from the Windlesham Roll of Honour which brought to mind many families represented in the congregation.  The ‘Last Post’ was performed beautifully by Mr Banks on trumpet and Grace Day on the euphonium and there followed a period of silence, with heads bowed, in respect for the fallen.  Miss Clark closed the proceedings with a verse from Laurence Binyon’s poem “They Shall not Grow Old”.

For the past two weeks Scholars’ Evening guest speakers have been ladies who launch.  At the first meeting of November Mrs Kate Griffiths-Lambeth addressed the members on the concept of business leadership (her credentials were impeccable and she has launched a good many businesses after an impressive legal education at Cambridge).  Her talk covered a multitude of aspects including psychometric testing at the interview process (looking at which animals best represent us), qualities we expect to find in a good leader, and the idea of the ‘leadership pipeline’.  This pipeline, she explained, begins with a leader learning to manage him or herself, then going on to manage others, then proceeding to manage managers, and finally mastering the management of entire enterprises.  Mrs Griffiths-Lambeth asked members to identify famous leaders from their chequered and faltering beginnings.  We were all surprised to learn that these suspect individuals would eventually turn out to be celebrities like Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, President Barack Obama and J.K. Rowling.  There were good questions raised about the difficulties women faced in the marketplace in the world of business and how managers now due things like dyslexia.

On the 8^th November the Scholars’ Evening forum welcomed the Mayor of Worthing.  Her Worship the Mayor, Cllr Ann Barlow, experienced what was more like a press conference than a speech.  Hands were seldom down yet the Mayor was able to deal with each enquiry and use it to deliver the wisdom that she wanted to impart that evening.  She used a ‘box of chocolates’ analogy to remind everyone that all people are individuals, sometimes wrapped in an image, but each with their own needs and agendas.  Once again, she urged her listeners to look inside themselves for the values they most prize and then to engage in networking to mobilise the community.  She revealed that her first civic action occurred when she was only 12 years old, and she was proud of the fact that she had not stopped since then working to make a difference at the local level.  Despite being entitled to ranks, rituals and respect, she displayed a warm openness which had the pupils eating out of her hand literally and metaphorically.

Both of these doyens of business and civic leadership had encouraged the students to begin by mastering themselves if they wish to take the lead in society.  They were both excellent role models and inspirational speakers.

On Tuesday 18^th October, SG and the Drama scholars went to Chichester Festival Theatre to watch a spine tingling play called Sweeney Todd, written by Stephen Sondheim.  It was a little more modern than the original, set in the early twentieth century.  The stage setting was interesting to see as we waited for the play to start. Some actors were already on stage, setting the scene. A semi-circle of seats surrounded the stage which meant that the actors would not always face you.  There were three stage levels: the first main stage was round and quite small, the second stage was set further back and could be elevated and rotated to slide out and turn sideways (this was Sweeney’s Barber shop), and the third part of the whole stage was just two little platforms or balconies set high up at the back and large enough for a few people to stand on.  Overall, the set was actually quite minimalistic.

Sweeney Todd was a black comedy production and it was quite moving.  Even though it was extremely funny in parts, I would say it was rather disturbing because the idea of Sweeney cutting people’s throats is extremely sinister.

The two main actors were Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton.   Benjamin Barker or otherwise ‘Sweeney Todd’ was played with authenticity and great stage presence by Michael Ball, who has been in many plays and musicals including Hairspray.  He was definitely the right person for the role. Mrs Lovett, played by Imelda Staunton, was amazing in her role.  She was really strong in character and her voice was, at times, unbelievably high which made me cringe.  This was the same with Johanna (the daughter of Sweeney).   The other main characters were:  The Judge, Johanna, Anthony and the little boy. The love story between Anthony and Johanna is a sub-plot and gives the audience hope that something good might come out of this bleak and miserable situation.   The character of the judge is cold hearted and cruel and we don’t have any sympathy for him because we see him as a villain.

Sweeney Todd, who has been imprisoned for fifteen years, comes back to London to become a barber again.  He finds this pie shop on Fleet Street which has not had a customer for ages.  Mrs Lovett who owns the shop says that it sells the worst pies in London.  She also tells him that his wife had been killed and a Judge had adopted his daughter. We begin to understand that Sweeney is going to seek revenge.  Sweeney wins a competition and opens a barber shop on the floor above the pie shop.  He comes up with an idea that since meat was so expensive, he starts to kill the people with his barber’s blade when they think they are going for a shave and they end up as meat in the pies.  The first victim is the man Sweeney won the competition against and he has a young boy who helps him.  This man actually knew Sweeney as Benjamin and this was the reason for his death.  The boy starts to live with Mrs Lovett but he does not know about the murder of his master.  Gradually, whilst this boy lives with Mrs Lovett he notices that strange things are happening in the barber’s shop and finally works out what Sweeney is actually doing and kills Sweeney himself. Sweeney’s murder brings an abrupt ending to the play and surprises the audience.

Overall, I thought that this musical was sensational. The music and singing brought a light touch to the play and the comedy element was clever.

Toby Hurry SG Form

I am currently in Moscow, where it is a little cold -1, on a trip with Richard Cairns, Headmaster of Brighton College.

We are holding a joint reception this evening for current parents and prospective parents from both Brighton College and Windlesham.

I will be back in school tomorrow evening and look forward to seeing all the children on my return.

On Thursday 13th October six children from MJW were very lucky because we went to the Sherborne School for a special Code Cracking DNA day. It was a very interesting and enjoyable day. During this event there were a series of codes to crack in a number of subjects including Maths, Languages, History and Science.

During Maths there were many exciting problems. All the answers had a letter to go with and it spelt out a word. My team did quite well and we only missed about two numbers. There was also a similar thing to do with Algebra.

In between session one and two we watched the official opening of the new Science Block by Baroness Greenfield. The mayor was even there and seven TV cameras!

The Science project was exciting because we were discovering the DNA of a kiwi. This was a great experiment and while we were waiting for the DNA to heat up we did a challenge. Windlesham did very well on this Challenge and we won a big twisty marshmallow! Ellie Whiteside couldn’t stop making up words for the challenge and she was doing it all the way home.

After a delicious lunch there was a language session, and we were introduced to a North American Indian language called Chickasaw. We had to work out what the language said. We were given some clues though.

My favourite activity of the day was History. The staff at Sherborne dressed up as characters from Hitler’s time and we had to solve a mysterious mystery.

It was a fantastic day and I will never forget it.

I was a shame when we had to leave.

I would like to say thank you to Mr Westcombe for taking us.

Emily Ind

No schoolboy (or girl) of my vintage who ever studied Latin will have forgotten wading through dusty copies of Kennedy’s Latin Primer (invariably defaced to Latin Eater!) Yet the modern world has impacted on the way that the classics are taught and nowhere more so than at Windlesham House.  Nowadays pupils are more likely to be learning their grammar or vocabulary through interactive computer programs or games like ‘Fling the Teacher.’  We have moved on a bit from wax tablets and today’s Windlesham pupils may well be brushing up on their vocab through an interactive computer football or basketball game.  We have the technology…

Today’s students, not at all unreasonably, ask why they are learning Latin when it is no longer spoken.  What’s it all for?  To which this author would respond that English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian could at a stretch be described as Latin with a duff accent.  Over 50% of English words come from Latin and it would be a similar percentage for other European languages and not just Western European – Russian, Romanian, Czech and Slovakian are all heavily influenced by Latin.

Year seven student, Emma Matsumoto Prouten writes:

‘People tell me that you should know lots of languages in case you go to a different country and I think Latin will really help.  If you do Latin, it’s almost like a key or a cheat to all languages.’

Learning how words derive from the Latin root can dramatically boost one’s English vocabulary.  Some of the finest literature ever written is in Latin or Greek.  Learning Latin and Ancient Greek can help hugely to develop reading and comprehension skills.

Dorothy Sayers quoted in the National Review wrote:

‘I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar.  I say this not because Latin is traditional and medieval, but simply because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labour and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 per cent.’

Nor can the influences of the ancient world be confined to linguistics – walk around the city of London and many of the older buildings are inspired by Roman or Greek architecture.  Much of the Western world’s legal system is based on Roman law and no surprise that the US upper house is modelled on (and called) the senate.  As for the ancient Greeks, they gave us the crown jewel of the modern Western world, a system that people around the world have been, and still are, prepared to die for…democracy.

Yes but where will it all lead?  We live in a hugely competitive world and what possible relevance can the classics have in the modern workplace?  A few ‘phone calls to companies’ human resource departments might provide some answers. Many companies love classicists for their logic, literacy, discipline and attention to detail, skills that are all as relevant now as they ever were.  Latin helps greatly to understand medical, mathematical, legal and scientific terminology.  Possible future careers for classicists include advertising, accountancy, management, teaching and education, finance, the civil service, insurance, computing, publishing, law, banking, journalism and medicine to name but a few.

Little surprise, then that several ex pupils from Windlesham plan to go on to study Latin at A level and maybe even beyond – Charlie Short, Charlie Fenn and Zi Yuan Qu from China to name but three… Charlie Short writes:  ‘I enjoyed analysing Ovid and contrasting the affairs and writing techniques of Sulpicia, Horace and Catullus – especially the short ‘Odi et amo’ ! I wish to continue Latin to A level.’

Greek philosopher, Socrates (469-399BC) wrote: ‘The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.’  As it happens, the motto of the City of London is in Latin: ‘Domine, dirige nos,’ (Lord, direct us) so last words to Boris Johnson, colourful Lord Mayor of our capital and great aficionado of the classics:

‘There is no finer subject.  I say that without prejudice to other subjects, which you can basically read in your bath.’

So, relax, lie back and think of Rome…or Ancient Greece.    Ends/

© James Glasse 2011

Head of Classics