Annual review 2012/13 - The Perse School

Annual review2012/13

CONTENTSAND HIGHLIGHTS2. Head’s welcome6-15. PELICAN8. Pelican dinosaurmuseumlook out, Natural History Museum!9. Pelican Science Weekfrom making ice creamto launching rockets12. Pelican musicMusic for Youth finalists14. Pelican charitygoing bonkers for conkers16-31. PREP18. Prep Science Week‘Do men have bigger brainsthan women?’ and otherfascinating topics21. Prep artexploring structure26. Prep sportboys reach football national finals29. Prep charitysponsoring a life-changing puppy32-73. UPPER35. Upper successrecord-breaking exam results39. Upper speakersDracula, Marx, epigenetics,and Formula One – a yearof the ’42’ society46. Upper musicsounding good:more than 60music performances54. Upper pursuitsthe great outdoors62. Upper globalthe world classroom64. Upper charityan Indian summerwith Christel HouseANNUAL REVIEW | 1

HEAD’S WELCOMESchool prospectuses are typically full of ambitiousclaims about the quality of the education onoffer. In documenting all of the many and variedachievements across the 3-18 age range ourannual review provides the substance to illustrateour prospectus claims. At The Perse we reallydo ‘walk our talk’, and the breadth and qualityof the experiences and achievements recordedon the following pages speak for themselves.From age three to 18 we arecommitted to achieving academicexcellence and inspiring intellectualcuriosity whilst also developingchildren in the round. We recognisethe importance of top-notchacademic skills and outstandingexam results, yet also appreciatethe need to develop interpersonalstrengths and human qualities suchthat students can lead happy,successful and fulfilling adult lives.The Perse is so much more thanjust a centre of academic excellence.As this review documents, pupilsachieve in many and varied waysin sport, outdoor pursuits, the arts,and through our vibrant clubs andsocieties programme.The School is blessed with talentedpupils and teachers and with suchgifts comes an obligation to helpothers both within and outsidethe school community. In schoolpupils are expected to supportand encourage one another, witholder students acting as positiverole models for younger children.Beyond the school gates ThePerse is committed to itscharitable objectives, spendingover £1 million on means-testedfees assistance to ensure talentedchildren can attend the Prepand Upper irrespective of familycircumstances. We also provideeducational assistance to localprimary schools and, throughcharitable fundraising andteacher secondments, supportthe work of Christel House ineducating some of the world’spoorest children. We are pleasedto report that The Perse Schoolraised more than £23,000 thisyear for local, national andinternational charities.We are committed to continuousimprovement, and this academicyear saw the opening of importantnew facilities including the allweather pitch at the Prep, and theoutdoor pursuits centre at the Upper.We also successfully reintroducedHouses to the Upper to provideeven more opportunities for pupilparticipation and teamworking Inrecent years, we have developedlinks with other leading schoolsaround the world to shareeducational best practice andcreate new opportunities for pupillearning. We are delighted to havejoined the SAGE alliance ofoutstanding schools, and arealready working with top schoolsin Beijing and Singapore.As The Perse approaches its 400thanniversary in the academic year2015/16, we remain convinced ofthe essential importance of a firstclass education. Children aregrowing up in a world characterisedby information overload, acceleratedchange, increased competition, anda whole host of social, environmentaland economic challenges. Our jobis to prepare pupils successfully forwhat lies ahead whilst allowing themto enjoy their childhood; with nearly400 years of experience we areconfident in our abilities to do so.Ed Elliott, Head2 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 3

INTRODUCED IN 2012/13The Perse is committed tocontinuous improvementin pursuit of its vision‘to be an exceptional schoolof international standing’.The School has been ableto use the economies of scaleresulting from expansion tofinance a number of building,curricular and extra-curricularimprovements, while keepinga downward pressure onfee increases.Buildings and facilitiesThe Pelican, Prep and Upper sites have all benefitedfrom improvements during 2012/13. At the Pelicanthe playground has been enhanced to create moreopportunities for informal learning and creative play.Prep and Upper pupils have benefited from the new fullsize all weather pitch constructed at the Prep’s PorsonRoad playing fields. Elsewhere at the Prep, the hall hasbeen extended and a new drama studio constructed.At the Upper, the new outdoor pursuits centre is hometo an enhanced range of outdoor activities. Sport hasbenefited from new basketball and tennis courts.Andrew Tanser’s sculpture ‘The Fingerprint’ now standsat the front of school and the equations, names andquotes it displays stimulate intellectual curiosity. Workis now well advanced on the Margaret Stubbs pavilionextension and the new teaching block; the completionof the latter will allow further improvements to theUpper site during the summer of 2014 with thecreation of additional science labs and art studios.Curricular and extra-curricularprovisionAt both the Prep and Pelican the clubs andsocieties programmes were extended to providemore extra-curricular opportunities for pupils andafter school childcare options for parents. Acrossall three schools the music programme has grown,with more pupils than ever learning instrumentsand taking part in concerts.The School is committed to ensuring pupils havestrong digital literacy skills and a good understandingof computer science. The Perse is now an ICT CertiportCentre and Microsoft Academy with pupils gainingqualifications in digital literacy and software use.The Perse is a member of SAGE – a group ofthe world’s leading schools predominantly basedin Asia Pacific. This year our pupils have begunworking on educational projects with childrenin Beijing and Singapore, and staff have sharedbest practice with teachers in other SAGE schools.The Pelican and Prep have run very successfulHouse systems for many years. In September 2012the Upper joined them with the reintroduction of itsHouse system. The eight Upper Houses give pupilsopportunities to participate in a range of competitions,many organised by fellow students who gain fromthe leadership experience created.4 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 5

Pelican“It should be a never-ending school!”Year 2 pupilThis year was oneof excitement, creativityand imagination forour youngest Perseans.Whether runningtheir very own dinosaurmuseum, havingtheir first sleepover,conducting scienceexperiments or charmingaudiences with serenemusical performances,Pelican pupilsthoroughly enjoyed2012/13.6 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 7

INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITYAND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCEWe are proud of our challenging, stimulating curriculumand the spirit in which our pupils approach their learning.Our application for Nursery and Reception Years to becomeexempt from the Early Years Foundation Stage of the NationalCurriculum was authorised by the Department for Education.Only schools with ‘outstanding’status are eligible to apply, andacceptance means all years ofthe Pelican are now exempt. Thisenables us to adapt our teachingto our children’s specific needs andgo beyond the National Curriculum,providing numerous opportunitiesfor children to extend theirknowledge and understanding.Our curriculum centres on developingpupils’ intellectual curiosity and loveof learning; it includes welcomingmany exciting visitors to theSchool and going out to explorethe educational attractions of theCambridge region.A first chapterIn September, Nursery andReception parents attendedan Early Years reading eveningwhere the process of when andhow their child would learn toread was explained, and whereadvice on how to help childrenwith this fundamental skill wasshared. Reading is at the heartof life at the Pelican and by Year2 most pupils have reading agesbetween two and five yearsabove their actual age.Look out NaturalHistory Museum!Much of the curriculum is taughtthrough topics selected to capturethe children’s imagination andenthusiasm. In the summer termReception’s learning was set in thecontext of dinosaurs. The topicculminated in the construction of8 | ANNUAL REVIEWa dinosaur museum that spilled outof the Pelican classrooms and intothe garden.Following a trip to the SedgwickMuseum for inspiration, and initialwork was taken to define thefeatures of a good museum, thechildren compiled artefacts frommillions of years ago and treatedthe entire school to an afternoonback in time. Once entrance ticketshad been stamped, visitors learntabout dinosaurs’ teeth andcamouflaged skins. Every exhibitand activity was devised by thechildren themselves, with fantasticideas from a ‘Feed the Dinosaur’game, to turning palaeontologistto uncover dinosaur bones andrunning the Pterodactyl Fun Café,where a handmade dinosaur biscuitand drink were available for a veryreasonable 3p.Exhibiting potentialA stunning two-metre stegosauruswas one of the pieces on displayat the art and design exhibition.Transformed into a gallery,the School showcased castles,collages, paintings and gardenart to the accompaniment of aYear 7 violin quartet. With theferocious tyrannosaurus rex andenormous stegosaurus toweringabove visitors, it was an exhibitionof epic proportions.Welcoming visitorsThe children are always happyto welcome visitors to the School,and none more so than the firefighters from CambridgeshireFire and Rescue Service. Afterthe serious work of learning aboutfirefighting, pupils loved trying toknock a space hopper off a coneusing the hose.Following the visit, pupilsinvestigated materials forwaterproof coats for class puppetsBoris and Fergus. The children madepredictions, tested their theoriesand used the results to designsmart protective coats for thepuppet firefighters.Pupils from the Prep and Upperregularly visited the Pelican,including Upper students interestedin teaching who came fortnightlythroughout the Michaelmas andLent terms. Pelican pupils enjoyedmusical performances from someof the Upper’s best soloists, andwere mesmerised by the Preprecorder and clarinet ensembleswho raised their expectations ofwhat they themselves might achievemusically in their next few years.The children were excited towelcome Olympic hockey playerand the Perse Upper AssistantDirector of Sport Glenn Kirkhamto their Sport Awards Assembly.They were also visited byParalympic swimming coachEdward Williams, Olympictorch bearer Clare Parry andGamesmaker Helen Norman.Pupils explored the spiritualside of life with a range of religiousleaders. Abdul-Kayum Arain fromthe Muslim Prayer Hall visitedto explain the Muslim faith andanswer pupils’ questions aboutmosques, Ramadan and the FivePillars. Canon Julie Gawthorpefrom the church of St John theEvangelist gave a moving talkat the end of year assembly aboutendings and new beginnings, andthe Rev Bruce Kinsey, The Perse’schaplain, regularly spoke atPelican assemblies.Spotlight on scienceThe Pelican Science Week in November was a greatsuccess, full of exciting practical experiments. The weekprovided an extended opportunity to develop criticalthinking and problem-solving skills, often through takingpart in open-ended activities.Science weekVisitors from the NAPPPharmaceuticals, the BabrahamInstitute and The Perse Upperbrought science to life. Pupilsexperimented with microscopes,extracted DNA from an onion andmade (and then ate) their own icecream. They explored the conceptsof centrifugal force, inertia, gravity,air, gases, liquids and solids andlearnt about investigations andtesting. Years 1 and 2 enjoyedvisits to the Upper’s TechnologyDepartment to make and launchrockets and to conduct experimentsin the laboratory.The activities and results weremet with delight and awe, provingthat you are never too young toappreciate the power of science.Science curriculumeveningThe annual programme ofcurriculum events for parents,intended to ensure they understandwhat their children will be learningand how, included a scienceevening. Teachers explained theapproach, answered questionsand gave parents the chance toexperience some of the experimentsthat children undertook duringthe year.ANNUAL REVIEW | 9

Exploringour communityNurseryYear 2Getting out and about is part of Pelican lifeand the School made full useof the exciting attractionson its doorstep.Nursery pupils went on their first big outing inJune, to Linton Zoo.ReceptionReception’s investigation into living things took themon a trip to Wimpole Hall Farm, while their adventurein Knebworth Park later in the year saw themexploring the Monsters and Mazes trail and a giantredwood tree. They visited the Sedgwick Museumto extend their classroom learning about dinosaursand to get inspiration for their own dinosaur museum.Year 2 were fascinated by their discovery of colddeserts on their trip to the Scott Polar Museum. Laterin the year they stepped back in time to spend the dayin Stibbington as an evacuee child during World War II.Taking the names of children who had been evacuatedto the village, they saw where different families wereplaced, experienced an air raid and learnt to writeusing pen and ink.A trip out to Stansted Mountfitchet to see the replicamotte and bailey castle marked a special start to their‘knights and castles’ topic. Attacking the castle frombelow and firing bows and arrows from the siegetower proved very popular, although the staff atthe castle said the children were very well behaved,apparently nearly everyone spent some time in thestocks! The experience has kindled an ongoinginterest for some – there has already been greattake-up of next term’s history club at the Prep.A visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum to see the QuentinBlake exhibition provided some creative inspirationfor the pupils’ art projects. They returned later in theyear to study armour, being led through the medievalartefacts by a storyteller and later making sketches.There were plenty of opportunities to get ready fortheir move up including a sports session on the Prep’snew astroturf. They met their new teachers and werereunited with old friends who had already made thetransition and will help them settle in.Year 1Teachers now know that Year 1 would be able to survivein the wild; they proved to be expert den-makers atAnglesey Abbey. Their visit provided an unforgettableend to their ‘materials’ topic whilst also giving plenty ofopportunities for teamwork, negotiation and fun. Year 1also enjoyed the Folk Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum,Shepreth Wildlife Park and a ride on a steam train – theculmination of their studies into transport. While theirmove up is still more than a year away they began thegradual process of getting used to the changes aheadwith a taster session at the Prep.Burwell AdventureYear 2 had their first taste of marshmallowstoasted on a campfire with a sleepover in Burwell.The adventure gave them a taste of independenceand helped to develop their self-confidence. It wasa great success.10 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 11

A ROUNDED EDUCATIONAfter the bellThe year 2012/13 was one of acclaim for our youngperformers, and not just from their teachers and parents,with many pupils enjoying national recognitionand exam success.Pelican Voices ChoirThe Pelican Voices Choir went to the regional festivalof Music for Youth – the world’s largest celebrationof youth music – and performed at a Prep assemblyand at the Hill Top Day Centre. The choir is open toany member of Year 1 and 2 who would like to sing.Pelican BandThe children of the Pelican Band were the youngestto be selected from the regional finals to performin the national finals of the Music for Youth festivalin Birmingham in July – an amazing achievement forthe band’s first year. The national finals are a celebrationof musical achievement with no competitive aspect,so pupils could relax and enjoy the experience. Thechildren drew praise for playing together in a tightknit ensemble, for their improvisation and compositionand for achieving a high standard at such a youngage. They also took part in an inspirational workshopwith other performers and enjoyed watching somevery talented older children perform in a wide rangeof ensembles.With his rendition of Fugue by Alec Rowley, Pelicanpupil Dushan Gunawardena was the youngestperformer at the whole school Steinway piano recital.ABRSM examsChunyi Zhou secured a distinction at Grade 2 piano,Fenella Clarke achieved a merit at Grade 2 clarinet,Daniel Davies passed Grade 1 clarinet and AlissaDevereux passed Grade 1 flute.Reception’s got talentPupils in Reception demonstrated their unique giftsin their very own talent contest. With everything fromgymnastics to origami and comedy, the children’sconfidence, enthusiasm and seemingly endless talentswere quite amazing. The children voted and the finalwas a tensely fought battle between six stars in themaking, with magnificent magician James Bradleyeventually carrying off the crown.12 | ANNUAL REVIEWDramaNursery made their stage debut with a unique takeon the nativity. The story unfolded through a festive‘I spy’ during which the children took star turns onthe microphone, challenging their friends to guessan array of characters.The children from Reception staged a magicalproduction of Brothers Grimm fairytaleThe Musicians of Bremen.Year 1’s production of Born in a Barn was full of humour,spectacular costumes and wonderful singing.Year 2’s Hoodwinked was performed confidentlyand enthusiastically. The play was a fitting climaxto the children’s ‘knights and castles’ topic.DanceTo celebrate World Book Day, each class took partin a special dance workshop run by professionaldancer Jon Scott Clark, who made his West Enddebut in Shrek the Musical.Members of the Street Dance Club relished theopportunity to show their newfound skills to therest of the School. In addition all pupils had theopportunity to take part in a dance and dramaworkshop run by Perform.Ballet is offered as an after school club and the pupils’elegance and poise is a delight to watch. Some 19 pupilsin Years 1 and 2 took ballet exams this year. In Grade 1,distinctions were awarded to Fenella Clarke and ChunyiZhou, and merits to Jonathan Knight and Atul Bhardwaj.In Primary ballet, distinctions were awarded to GregorPhillips and Arshiya Kumar, while Tom and CharlotteHipperson, Safia Clements and Charlie McLoughlinreceived merits. Pre-primary results were not availableat the time of going to print.Many children took advantage of the option to stayat school until 5.30pm each night in the ‘Owls’facility, while others enjoyed specialist after schoolclubs. Sporty Pelicans could take their pick fromclubs taught by professional coaches including ballet,football, gymnastics, and multi-sports and, new for2012/13, indoor hockey. Keen linguists could enjoyFrench club with Mme Bousquet, our Year 1 and 2French teacher, and budding scientists in Year 2could join science club with Dr Nickson from The PerseUpper. Others could learn moves at street dance andcheerleading club.Club Pelican was new for 2012/13 and proved verypopular. The holiday club is run by Pelican staff forPelican pupils, for five weeks of the school holidays,providing lots of fun activities and outings for thechildren. Pupils were encouraged to ‘get sporty’ withdodgeball, capture the flag, tennis and wacky racesamong other energetic pursuits, and to develop theircreative side with cookery, sculpture, painting and crafts.ANNUAL REVIEW | 13

A CARINGCOMMUNITYNEW FOR 2013/14Several new clubs are being introduced this year, includingtable tennis at the Upper, drama club, Bikeability cycletraining and early morning chess club.The Pelican is a warm andfriendly family, with a focuson helping others in theSchool and beyond the gates.HousesPelican pupils are members of one of four Houses,designed to create regular opportunities foryounger and older Pelicans to mix and worktogether. The Houses compete for a termly cup.Caring for others beyondthe School gatesMore than £2000 was raised by pupils, parentsand staff for good causes this year, in additionto £1000 raised by the Association of Pelican Parents.Early in the Michaelmas term the annual MacmillanCoffee morning raised more than £500 and gavenew Perse parents the chance to meet fellow Pelicanfamilies and buy second-hand uniform.Pupils went ‘bonkers for conkers’ in the autumn,raising an outstanding £1262 for Chestnut House, a‘home from home’ that provides free accommodationfor families with seriously ill newborn babies at theRosie Hospital. Ethan Martínez-McCune was awardeda trophy in recognition of the whopping 11,004conkers he collected.Everyone enjoyed collecting a vast array of fruitsand vegetables for the Pelican’s colourful HarvestFestival at the church of St John the Evangelist.The produce was gratefully received by Jimmy’sNight Shelter for the homeless.A Pudsey Pyjama Day to support the Children inNeed appeal raised over £400, while in the eveningthe Association of Pelican Parents held a fun barndance that took the total raised to nearly £1500.In the summer ten lucky Pelican pupils and twomembers of staff were invited to welcome HerMajesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toopen the expanded Rosie Maternity Hospital, inrecognition of The Perse’s fundraising efforts forthe Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust. The Queenaccepted cards made for her by the Pelican pupils,who also spoke with the Duke of Edinburgh.The Association of Pelican Parents organised regularactivities for parents to get to know each other,including a quiz night, summer fete and pudding club.They donated £3000 to the School, from whichtricycles and plants for the garden were purchased.Welcome to…Nina O’Reilly, BA (Hons) in childhood studies,will be joining the Pelican to teach Year 2.Rebecca Moore, BA (Hons) in early years education,and Rebecca Goode, BA (Hons) in theatre and danceand BT National Diploma in early years, are joiningthe School as teaching assistants.Diane Fraser, B Com (Hons), will be covering EmmaCarter’s maternity leave.Farewell to…We bade farewell to a small number of staff thisyear. Teaching assistant Mrs De Backer is startingher retirement, although will continue to help withOwls; Nursery teacher Miss James is off to beginher PGCE; and Miss Campbell, whose experienceof helping with Owls this year has given her a tastefor teaching, is going to university with the aim ofbecoming a teacher in the future.12 14 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 15

PrepThis yearbroughta record numberof pupilsto the Prep.16 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 17

INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITYAND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCEThe Prep’s curriculum created many opportunities for pupilsto broaden their thinking and stretch their abilities. This yearthey benefitted from visits by a range of experts who gavean insight into their specialist subjects.Science weekDo men have bigger brains thanwomen? How do you stop cardoors opening onto objects? Canshoes measure how high you jump?These are just some of the excitingquestions experts put to Prep pupilsin Science Week.Ian Smythe from ARM startedthe week off with some fascinatingtalks on tablet device and mobilephone technology.Fiona Miller, an interventionalradiologist, spoke about the heart,lungs and arteries. She performedmock angioplasty, biopsy, and chestdrains on pupils, as well as gettingthem to turn nurse to assist her.Geraint Davis from InnoviaTechnology demonstrated howscience and maths are used tosolve a huge variety of problems.He set the pupils the challenge18 | ANNUAL REVIEWof designing automatedwindscreen wipers and a deviceto stop car doors opening ontoobjects. The manufacturingprocess was in the spotlight too,with Tim Minsall from the Institutefor Manufacturing explaininghow everything we see anduse has to be made.Paul Morris from CSR, theCambridge wireless communicationsmanufacturer, explained how agyroscope works and is used intablets, phones and controllers.He then wowed the children witha demonstration of Nike hyperdunktrainers connecting to an i-Phoneto calculate height of jump andsteps per second.Year 3 were treated to a displayof owls and a kestrel from theEnglish School of Falconry, evengetting the chance to hold one.Microorganisms were the subjectof Fiona Cooke’s sessions. ThePupils used models to explain thedifferent types, and a UV lightwas used to illustrate just whygood hand washing is so important.CharlotteBrierleyfinishedoff ScienceWeek witha talk onthe brain,asking ‘Domen reallyhave biggerbrains thenwomen?’While theanswer isyes, thefair sexcan takecomfortin the factthat sizedoes notnecessarily correlate withintelligence. She also explainedall the regions in the brain, settingtasks for the pupils to ascertaintheir dominant hemisphere.Prep pupils are surrounded byscience in Cambridge, and a stone’sthrow from the new biomedicalcentre. Even so, the diversity andcalibre of the scientists who cameto inspire pupils during ScienceWeek was really impressive.Dr Julian Huppert, MP of Cambridgeand an Old Persean, visited at therequest of pupil Kirill Nezhentsev.Kirill and other members of thepolitics club put him through hispaces with a series of questionson the local area and education.The MP then joined pupils for theirfirst lesson of the day. JonathanDjanogly MP visited at the requestof pupils Ewan and Thomas Morristo talk about campaigning on localissues and his time serving in theMinistry of Justice.Tim Knight of Flora and FaunaInternational shared his workas a conservationist for FFI, aCambridge-based conservationcharity that works with communitiesin remote areas of Africa, Asiaand Central and South Americato preserve endangered species.The School Council was inspiredto support FFI and the Schoolraised sufficient funds to becomea member of its ‘Friends AgainstExtinction’ group.Pupils could learn more about exoticanimals when a meerkat, beardeddragon, skunk and giant cockroachcame to the School. They were ableto handle the animals in a highlyinteractive session, designed tohelp them learn about the differentspecies and their habitats.Sportswoman Helen Richardsontalked to students from theUpper and Prep about herroad to becoming a Great Britainhockey player and the obstaclesshe overcame to achieve herdream of winning an Olympicmedal. Continuing the Olympictheme, parent Paul Barden visitedwith the torch that he had carriedthrough Essex, recounting theexperience in a vivid, moving way.Pupils received a table tennisexhibition from Mark Smith, aformer international player whonow runs table tennis eventsaround the country. Theyparticularly enjoyed watchingthe Chinese ‘Multi-Ball’ technique,something they may well put touse on the playground tables.Local sculptor Andrew Tanser andartist Andrea Bassil taught pupilshow to sculpt with chalk usingmallets, chisels, files, rasps andsandpaper. Pupils quickly pickedup the techniques and by the endof the session each young sculptorhad carved an individual creation.Members of media club wereparticularly excited to receive avisit from Jeremy Sallis of BBCRadio Cambridgeshire, who selectedthe Prep as his featured school ofthe week. They greeted him with ajingle they had created for his show.Pupils developed their engineeringskills with the help of ambassadorsfrom the STEM Team East (Science,Technology, Engineering and Maths).They began by using a computerprogramme to cost, build, testand adapt bridges using differentmaterials and designs to achieve theThe joy ofa good bookHorrible Geography author AnitaGaneri entertained pupils byrevealing the gruesome, gross andsometimes scary bits of geography,while author of Osbert the AvengerChristopher William Hill delightedpupils by sharing some of hischildhood writing. Broadcaster andauthor Simon Mayo talked about hisnew book Itch; a packed assemblywas enthralled by his tales of the‘element hunting’ main character.There were more than 70 entriesto the summer holiday’s ‘extremereading competition’, designed toinspire pupils during their time offby setting them the challenge tobe photographed reading in themost extreme locations.best results. This experiencethen helped them to build andtest their own bridges usingthe rather more basic paper roll,triangular construction method.January’s snow made a rocketbuilding afternoon unexpectedlychallenging. Starting in theclassroom, pupils were taskedwith the design and creation ofrockets using paper and card. Theywere then led outside, as the snowbegan to fall, to blast them up to 40feet into the air. This has definitelywhetted their appetite to eventuallyjoin the thriving rocketry society.No area of the Prep wasmore active in organisinginspiring visitors and excitingactivities than the library.Other events organised to inspireyoung readers included a ‘horrible’dress-up day, on which pupils cameto school dressed as a suitablyghastly character or wore somethingfrightening. On National Poetry Daypupils read out their most gruesomepoems, some penned especially forthe event. During National Children’sBook Week, children could winvouchers to spend at a book fairby reviewing any book written byone of the visiting authors, and onWorld Book Day pupils were invitedto swap their uniform for theirpyjamas, to mark the importanceof bedtime reading.ANNUAL REVIEW | 19

Creative LearningArtIn the Lent term Prep pupilscreated art in the theme of‘structure’, considering man-madeand natural structures and drawinginspiration from professional artists’explorations of the topic. Pupilartwork spanned drawing, painting,collage, clay work, papier machetechniques, use of mixed mediaand chalk carving. In the summerterm the focus move to design andtechnology, and in particular to thematerials pupils used to create theirprojects. Equipment, including arange of woodworking and textiletools, was displayed next to thefinished pieces to enable visitorsto understand how pupilscreated them.When the snow fell in Januarypupils were challenged to a snowsculpture competition. They workedin House groups to produce theirmasterpieces; the winning groupcreated a sculpture of a deer.Out and aboutin the local areaand set an orienteering task.They also travelled to Norfolkfor a weekend jam-packed withoutdoor activities, includingcaving, rock climbing, archery,the ‘leap of faith’ and ‘aeroball’(basketball on a trampoline).… and further afieldThe Prep bade bon voyage toFrench teacher Mme CrichtonMaitland, her team and the pupilsof Year 5 for a trip to northernFrance. The group practised theirFrench language skills shoppingin a street market and orderingin a café, whipped-up mayonnaisewith a chef and learnt how to makegoat’s cheese on a trip to a goatfarm. The WWI museum in Albertand the Thiepval monument werethought-provoking. This was thefirst time many pupils had beenaway from home, so there wasplenty of fun to take the edgeoff any homesickness, includinga visit to a chocolate factory.On their return pupils learnthow to do Scoubidous, a Frenchcraze involving plaiting colouredplastic threads.Getting into historyThe Prep’s history days are alwayspopular, giving pupils the chanceto immerse themselves throughrole play in the period they arestudying. Year 3 travelled backto the year 490BC, taking on theroles of Athenian citizens andslaves awaiting news from thebattlefield at Marathon. Year 4meanwhile were transported toEgypt for a Nile festival of epicproportions, attended by thePharaoh and Queen Nefertiti.Prep pupils went on a number oftrips designed to develop subjectknowledge and interest and buildskills such as teamworking.Pupils checked out some of theimpressive art on their doorstep:Year 5 visited the AnthropologyMuseum, while Year 6 headed forthe Fitzwilliam Museum in searchof inspiration for their screenprintingand clay projects.As part of the study of biodiversityin their natural science curriculum,Year 3 conducted a leaf study toassess the plant life in the schoolgrounds, using their new knowledgeto identify trees using leaf keys.They then visited the RSPB reserveat Fowlmere to learn about aquaticlife. A trip to see an opera basedon Philip Pullman’s The FireworkMaker’s Daughter in Bury StEdmunds was also popularwith this year group.Year 6 went to Wandlebury CountryPark where they enjoyed ponddipping, insect net sweeps of thegrassland and a nature walk. Theywere taught map-reading skillsA taste of lifeat the UpperA combined Year 6 and 7 ski tripto Alpe d’Huez, plus opportunitiesto compete together in sport andtake part in concerts and authorvisits, helped Prep pupils begin toget ready for their move up. Years5 and 6 also went to the Upper tomeet new teachers and take partin activities in the classrooms thatwill soon be their home. Year 5 hada morning of geography and thechance to scale the climbing wall,while Year 6 enjoyed a day ofscience activities.20 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 21

Inspiring each otherA ROUNDED EDUCATIONFive pupils secured scholarships to the Upper.Ben Burgess, The Tillyard ScholarshipJohn Hayward, The Palmer ScholarshipKilian Meissner, The Taylor ScholarshipLydia Balon, Music scholarshipVikram Singh, Music scholarshipJames Able won the Lindeman Prize for maths, scoring100% in a challenging paper set by the Upper. Two Year6 pairs, Ben Burgess with James Able and Harry Forberwith John Hayward, won both sections on the AnnualYear 6 Maths Challenge held at St Faith’s. Many pupilsenjoyed competing in online Mathletics with childrenfrom over 100 different countries on World Maths Day.Seven Prep pupils competed in the UK Chess ChallengeWest Anglia Megafinal, with Rishi Tanna securing thetitle of U10 Supremo. Rishi, Miles Cobley, Ben Norman,Isaac Barden and Neil Sardesai all qualified for theNorthern Gigafinal. Ben, Neil, Rishi and Miles wenton to reach the ‘plate’ event putting them in the top2.5% of competitors in the country.As part of the Year 4 English club activities thePrepentered the Radio 2 ‘500 Word Story’ nationalcompetition and Ishbel Hallam’s piece was chosenas one of only 3000 stories out of 90,000 to gothrough to the next stage.Alex Boyd-Bench, also from Year 4, played thetitle role in Oliver in the Cambridge Arts Theatreproduction at Christmas.Alexander MacGregor was awarded a silver Blue Peterbadge for his poem inspired by the work of our chosencharity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.Drama productionsThe lead-up to Christmas was busy with performances.Year 3 entertained with their version of The Nightbefore Christmas while Year 4 put on three festivethemed plays: The Grinch on Trial, The Snow Queenand Scrooge – A Ghost of a Chance! The Year 4 and5 ‘Centre Stage’ drama club Christmas pantomimeCinderella was an improvised production full of fun,songs and dancing. Audiences left the Christmasproductions firmly in the festive spirit, and pupilsdeveloped their confidence by mastering challengingsongs and intricate dance routines.In the Lent term the Year 6 production of old favouriteCharlie and the Chocolate Factory dazzled audiences.It was a real team effort of cast and crew and playedto three sell-out performances.The summer production was a collection of shortplays based on popular picture books. Pupils took partin several workshops on mask, mime, puppetry andphysical theatre and then devised their own plays forvery young children. The books included The VeryHungry Caterpillar, The Gruffalo and The Tiger WhoCame to Tea. They performed the plays to Receptionfrom the Pelican, much to the young pupils’ delight.My Best Friendby Alexander MacGregor,Year 5Kurt is my best friend and my earsHe stops my loneliness and my fears.He wakes me up in the morningBy letting me know the day is dawning.When the alarm goes offKurt pulls my bed covers aloft!When the doorbell soundsIn Kurt bounds!He lets me know my friends are hereWithout him my world would not be so clear.I can’t hear Mum call me from downstairsBut Kurt lets me know she’s there and cares.If our house was on fireIt would be very dire.Without Kurt I wouldn’t hear the smoke alarmAnd I would come to great harm.He’s my guardian and my best friendI kiss and hug him no end.Thank you Kurt for being my best friend!22 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 23

MusicABRSM examsThis year pupils could join 30 Prep chamberensembles, bands, choirs, orchestras and other musicalgroups, and 235 children learnt an instrument.Early on in the year parents and pupils enjoyed anevening of music in our inaugural Ensemble Concert.A quarter of the School’s pupils performed, withgroups ranging from string quartets to percussion,and brass to recorders.Throughout the year pupils in Years 4 and 5 performedfor parents and peers in form concerts, while aroundhalf the Year 6 pupils performed in a soloist concert.Many assemblies showcased pupil talents too, fromthe various Prep ensembles to the up and comingPelican musicians.Fifteen instrumentalists from the Prep Wind Band wentto King’s School, Ely to take part in their Wind BandDay. Twelve schools from across the region took partand played in a 170-person band.The climax of the musical year was the concertat the University of Cambridge Concert Hall. Thisyear’s performance included string quartets, recordergroups, senior choir, brass group, sax group, saxquartet, swing band, flute group, girls’ choir, guitargroup, clarinet group, string orchestra, wind bandand percussion group.No fewer than 117 pupils passed ABRSM exams thisyear. The following students achieved distinction.PUPIL NAMEWilliam NathanHenry ButlerMaeve HalliganRobert AlmqvistGRADE5443INSTRUMENTTrumpetTrumpetViolinCelloMaeve HalliganJames RoccaSachin ShankarSophie MasonTom DaviesRosie DurkanThomas HodgesGabriel PriceIsabella RoutledgeRosalind SaleCharlie ToffJessie Zhang333211111111PianoTromboneAlto saxophoneCelloViolinFluteCelloCelloFlutePianoAlto saxophoneFluteClubs and societiesPupils could join more than 50 clubs and societiesthis year, many sporty or creative, some designedto stretch them in particular subjects or explorenew areas, such as politics.Outdoor pursuitsForty Prep pupils were members of the Prep OutdoorPursuits club, whose training in after school sessionsprepared them for the highlight of their outdooryear – the weekend ‘base camp’. From knot-tyingto peg-carving, the trip to the wilds of Wandleburyand Grantchester was a great opportunity to put intopractice the skills they had learnt, and to enjoy sittingaround the campfire (still blazing despite the rain),sipping delicious hot chocolate and singing.24 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 25

SPORTIn 2012/13 the Schoolcontinued to make greatstrides in its sport provisionand achievements.HockeyThe year started with a hockey festival to open thenew all weather pitch, combining mixed teams fromthe Prep and Upper alongside Olympic star HannahMacLeod. Hannah helped with the opening festivitiesand gave elite coaching tips to pupils and staff. Thispaved the way for hockey success, as the boys’ Under11 teams were runners-up in the Cambridgeshire heatof the EHB hockey competition and went on to playat Gresham’s in the Eastern Regional Finals – a firstfor the Prep. The girls also enjoyed a successfulseason, achieving some excellent local results.Several pupils were successful in achieving placesin the Cambridge Development Centre for giftedand talented hockey players including: Olivia Clegg,Katherine Russell, Olivia Gusterson, Ben Cross, GeorgeDoel, Harry Forber, James Pitchford and WilliamBaldwin.FootballIn football, the Prep annual tournament against King’sSchool Chester was a great success with the Prepfinishing winners overall, scoring late in the final witha golden goal. The boys also had a very successfulcampaign locally, winning all matches and remainingunbeaten for the season. In the IPSFA regional round,the boys were runners-up, narrowly losing out onpenalties but qualifying for the national finals atSt George’s Park. They had a wonderful day out and,despite results not going their way in the group stages,were delighted to be the first Prep team to haveprogressed this far.RugbyThe Under 11 boys had some excellent results in ourfriendly rugby fixtures and the Under 10 boys had somegreat competitive fixtures. In the annual Felsted Sevenstournament, the boys managed to get through to thesemi-final stage after finishing second in their group.While they did not make it through to the final theydisplayed some excellent rugby on the day.Pupil Thaddeus Glass was crowned player of theyear by Shelford Rugby Club.CricketThe First XI remained unbeaten all season and hadsome excellent wins against local schools, especiallythe nail-biting one run victory against St Faith’s. Preppupils William Baldwin, Ben Knight, Corbin Abbasi,Theo Zamirski, Ben Cross, Harry Forber, Theo Pixsleyand Henry Butler have played at county level.RoundersA busy summer term saw more rounders fixtures thanever before. The girls in Years 4, 5 and 6 enjoyed widesuccess against a range of schools in the region. TheU11 girls were unlucky to be knocked out of the IAPStournament but proved their strength in their highplacing in the Cambridgeshire Schools Tournament.The highlight of the U10 season was winning theCambridgeshire Schools Tournament.AthleticsThe School was represented in a number of keyathletics events this year. A group of pupils attendedthe Bedford East of England Championships withsome excellent results. Elizabeth Minshall was thirdand the girls’ relay team achieved fifth place overall.Mixed teams were also entered in the CambridgeshireAthletics Championships with many good results,most notably fourth place for Victoria Leung in therounders ball throw.NetballOn the netball court, the girls enjoyed the best seasonof netball in Prep history. The Under 11 girls won allexcept one of their matches against local opposition,culminating in a fantastic IAPS performance. The girlswon their pool and reached the final stages of thetournament – the furthest the School has everprogressed in this highly contested tournament.We also enjoyed fantastic results in the Under 10 andUnder 9 age groups. In addition Olivia Clegg, LoisFrost and Elizabeth Minshall were selected to attendtrials for Cambridgeshire.Other sportsTennis player Derrick Chen was the National Championfor U10 in both single and doubles and is now startingin the U14 group.In other sports, James Able represented the Prep inthe National Trampolining Finals and was placed anexcellent third place nationally, even competingin an older age group.Tom Davies won road races and coastal mountainbike challenges, achieving East Anglia regional titlesin all four of his bike disciplines.26 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 27

FULL OF FLAVOURLife at the Prep is busy, and fuelling pupils’ energy is a vitaljob. Chef manager at the Prep Sean Johnson and his teamnot only created healthy menus but also invested hugeamounts of time in making food fun and interesting, involvingthe pupils as much as possible in the creation of menus.Here is a taste of some of their activity this year.A wide varietySean set up voting days, when pupils were asked tosample different types of a certain food and select awinner to appear on the menu. This year pupils tastedand selected varieties of apples, melons and cheesesto name but a few.A CARING COMMUNITYThe school communityThe House system is designed to create opportunitiesfor pupils from different year groups to work witheach other on exciting projects. House Days this yearincluded activities in drama, sport, ICT and film making.The Perse Prep Parents had a busy year, organisinga programme of events to help parents get to knoweach other, support the School and raise money.From a family barbeque and an afternoon tea, toa Christmas fair and a spring walk, there were plentyof fun activities to attend.Supporting charitiesThis year the Prep raised more than £3500 for charities,including Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Comic Reliefand Flora and Fauna International. In addition thePerse Prep Parents raised nearly £3500 for HearingDogs for Deaf People, bringing the total for that charityto £6000, plus more than £200 for the Prince’s Trust.In March, pupils worked as a team to run more than500 miles (19 marathons) in the Big Red Run, raisingmore than £1200 for the Khandel Light charity, whichhelps people in Rajasthan, one of the poorest areasin the world. Dr Peter Gough from Khandel Light cameto speak at a Prep assembly about the charity’s work,and was able to set up a live link-up with a villagers’weekly meeting. Pupils greeted the villagers with arousing “ram ram” (“hello”), and watched Dr Gough’sfascinating and thought-provoking talk on life inKhandel and the surrounding villages, and thedifference the charity is making there. They wereinspired by teacher Guy Musson, who ran the LondonMarathon for Khandel Light.Getting creativeTo mark the Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryproduction, the kitchen staff dressed up as characters,turned the dining hall into a scene from the book,and created Wonka-inspired treats. Winners of agolden ticket draw joined Willy Wonka for lunch ata ‘golden table’.SuperfoodsWhile the team focuses on making food fun, theoptions will always be as healthy as possible. Seanhas informal sessions with the pupils to talk aboutnutrition, one of which revealed that although pupilsloved burgers they saw them as unhealthy. This ledto Sean creating a burger that was full of goodness.Called ‘Brian the Burger Bun-ny’, it was made fromhigh quality lean mince, grated vegetables andsuperfood quinoa – a couscous-like grain thatcontains nine essential amino acids – all servedin a wholemeal roll. An instant hit with the pupils.A life-changing companionThis year the Prep’s main chosen charity was HearingDogs for Deaf People, and the aim was to raise morethan £5000 to sponsor a puppy which would one daychange the life of a deaf person.The Perse Prep Parents association, along with theSchool, selected the charity and organised a series ofactivities to raise funds, including a Christmas fair anda family quiz night. Collections were held at drama andmusic performances and pupils organised sponsoredactivities. In total £6000 was raised – more than £2500by the Prep and nearly £3500 from activities organisedby the Perse Prep Parents.The charity will use the money to purchase and traina special puppy. Hearing dogs alert deaf children andadults to important household sounds and dangersignals such as the alarm clock, doorbell, telephoneand smoke alarm – providing independence, confidenceand valuable companionship to the deaf person.Pupils selected three girls’ and three boys’ names forthe puppy. The name will be chosen once the dog hasbeen selected, and the School will receive photos of thepuppy and a birth certificate and be kept up-to-dateabout its training progress.Gill Yeates, Fundraising Manager at Hearing Dogs forthe Deaf said, “This money will help to change thelife of a deaf person and we are enormously gratefulto The Perse Prep School and everyone involved inraising this wonderful donation.”Supporting the local communityIn October the Prep hosted an U11 football tournamentfor local schools including Kimbolton, King’s CollegeSchool, Newnham Croft primary school, Queen Edith’sprimary school, South Lee School and King’s Ely.In addition to supporting others, the Prep was thegrateful recipient of support when the Year 6 parentspresented the School with a generous gift of moneyto buy an outdoor clock for the front of the school hall.28 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 29

NEW FOR 2013/14The Prep is introducing an after school programmingclub with the support of ARM, the Cambridgesemiconductor company. In ‘Code’ club childrenwill learn to programme on Scratch, CSS, HTMLand Python. The School is also adding to itstechnology assets with new Lego Mindstorms EV3robots and more laptops. Other new clubs includeLatin and table tennis, while chess club and scienceclub are being expanded to meet growing demand.Tennis was brought into the curriculum in Year 5 and6 in 2012/13, and next academic year the aim is towork with the Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club to establishfixtures. Links have also been made with Focus TableTennis to establish a competitive league and talentspotting system in Cambridge.The School and the Perse Prep Parents have set a targetof raising £15,000 for the Department of PaediatricHaematology and Oncology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.The money will buy equipment to carry out specialisedhearing tests.Welcome to...Paul Harris, Royal College of Music, London GRSM, whotakes over from Jane Richardson as Director of Music.Philippa Barbour, BSc biological sciences, DurhamUniversity, 4Alpha form teacher and science teacher.Sylvie Rigby, MA history of art, University of Cambridge,who will be the librarian.Rosamund West, BA English and French, SouthamptonUniversity, who will be a teaching assistant.Farewell to...Head of Science Linda Swain and Head of MusicJane Richardson who have left to begin theirretirements. Helen Hudson and Jemma Thurstonleft to begin their PGCEs.At the end of 2013/14 the Prep will say farewell toHead Gareth Jones and welcome new Head JamesPiper, who is currently Deputy Head at Bilton GrangeSchool in Rugby and a former head of classics andhousemaster at the Dragon School, Oxford.30 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 31

UpperIn 2013 – forthe fourth yearin succession –more than threequarters of PerseA Level entrieswere graded ateither A* or A.32 | ANNUAL REVIEWBy By permission of of the the Syndics of of the the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. ANNUAL REVIEW | 33

INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITYAND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCEMaking the gradeHEADLINESA levels and Pre-UIn 2013 – for the fourth year in succession – morethan three quarters of Perse A level entries weregraded at either A* or A.99% of exam entries were awarded A*- C grades.90% students achieved ABB grades or better, andthus fell into the government’s ‘high achiever’ category.There are no government limits on the number of‘high achiever’ students that universities can recruit.79 students (53%) achieved A*or A (or Pre-Uequivalents) in all their exams.24 students obtained three or more A* grades(or Pre-U equivalents).In our first year of offering physics Pre-U, all 12of our candidates received a distinction, of whichseven were awarded the highest grade (D1),equivalent to a grade higher than A* at A level.GCSEs(% cumulative)NationalcomparisonA*666.8University destinationsA9021.3Perse sixth formers applying to university fared verywell in 2012/13, with 76% of applications receivingoffers. Students secured 30 offers from Oxbridgeand 19 from medical schools. The number of studentsapplying to US universities continues to rise, and in 2013a student received the School’s first offer from Berkeley.The excellent A level results allowed the vast majority ofour students to progress to their first choice universities.B9842.8C99.868.1D10084.734 | ANNUAL REVIEWA levels(% cumulative)NationalcomparisonA*337.6Provisional results pending examination enquiries.This table also includes Pre-U equivalent grades usingthe standard D1/D2=A*, D3/M1=A, M2=B, M3=C.GCSE resultsThe 145 boys and girls who made up The Perse’s firstco-educational Year 11 broke the School’s GCSE records,with 90% of entries being graded at either A* or A.There were excellent results in all subjects, butexceptional standards were achieved in art, biology,history, Italian, maths and music, where in eachsubject over 80% of candidates achieved an A* grade.Twenty-one students achieved A* grades in all theirGCSEs and IGCSEs, and three quarters of studentsachieved nine or more A* and A grades.All 88 GCSEs taken a year early by Year 10 pupilswere graded A*.The percentage of pupils obtaining five A* – Cgrades including English and maths was 100%.A7726.3B9552.9C99.277.2D10091.9DestinationAberdeenBathBirminghamBristolBrighton and Sussex Medical SchoolCambridgeCardiffCity UniversityDurhamEast AngliaEdinburghExeterImperialKing’s College, LondonKentLeedsLeeds MetropolitanLeicesterLiverpoolManchesterNewcastleNottinghamOxfordQueen Mary, LondonRoyal Veterinary CollegeSheffieldSouthamptonSt AndrewsUniversity College, LondonWarwickYorkNumber of Pupils1377115112015713152211651421113834ANNUAL REVIEW | | 35

A passionfor learningMany Perse students pursued opportunities to extend theirknowledge and test their skills against peers elsewhere.Their considerable success was a source of pride; the spiritin which they took part and their teamworking, disciplineand grace whatever the outcome were equally impressive.ArtPatients waiting to see a doctor in Cambridge’s Bootsstore could enjoy Perse students’ artwork of the innerbody. Pupils took their inspiration from microscopicimages of cells, bone tissue and human reproduction.Oliver Davidson’s A2 artwork on the theme of TrompeL’Oeil was selected by Sir James Horton, President ofthe Royal Society of British Artists, and the NationalAssociation of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies for thelocal heat of the RBA at the Mall Galleries competition.It was on display in Cambridge’s Central Library overthe summer.BiologyMelissa Berwick, Niall Jackson, Jason Leung andTheo Clark secured gold medals in the BritishBiology Olympiad, three of them finishing in thetop 150 of the 4200 entrants. A further six studentssecured silver medals, and six more bronze.ChemistryPerse chemists secured a sweep of awards in astretching chemistry competition for sixth formersincluding a top ‘Roentgenium’ grade, awarded to lessthan 1% of entrants. Eleven Perse students receivedawards in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge,including a Roentgenium for Stuart Knowles and goldsfor William Drake, Nick Taylor, and Nicholas Leach,together with three silvers and four coppers.Five students were placed in the top 7% of morethan 4000 entrants to the UK Chemistry Olympiad:Elizabeth Gaunt, Autoin Chhabra, Theo Clark,Alexander Fanourakis and Rachel Tyte. In total 19students were awarded a medal, with 11 pickingup silver – of whom six were Lower Sixth pupils.Claudia Tomkys, Thomas Read, Isabel Raynaudand Daniel Jackson made it to the national finalof the Royal Society of Chemistry’s challengingTop of the Bench competition.The team of Stuart Knowles, Alex Lyszkowski andLucinda Wilkinson won the regional final of theSchool Analyst, a competition designed to testanalytical skills. The team went on to competein the national final at the University of Sunderland.Classics and HistoryJames Young, Jonathan Cottrell-Mason, WilliamBurson and William Liu were awarded prizes in theJoint Association of Classical Teachers Jowett-SendelarCompetition – a national essay competition for pupilsin Year 9 and below. James was awarded fifth placein a field of 226 essays across 27 schools for his workcomparing the relative merits of the Roman and Spartanarmies. Jonathan Cottrell-Mason was runner-up in thePowerful Leaders category and placed eighth overall.Both Williams were placed in the top 50 nationally.Daniel Adamson’s entry to the BBC History PodcastCompetition, with his persuasive argument for Tudorspymaster Sir Francis Walsingham as a ‘history hero’,made it into the top ten of the contest.Computer programmingPratap Singh cracked a complex Trifid Cipher tocome in the top ten of the high-profile NationalCipher Challenge. Pratap came seventh out of1600 entries, of which only 30 completed every level.Pratap also secured a place on Stanford University’sthree week Discrete Maths summer event, living oncampus with other outstanding students from allover the world.Economics and businessStudents proved they had a head for financeand business with success in several challenges.Five promising economists took part in the regionalfinal of the Bank of England’s Target 2.0 competition.Hugh Chatfield, Georgina Evans, Charlotte Grace,Dylan Spielman and Hari Chitnavis gave an excellentpresentation on the state of the UK economy andprospects for inflation, before fielding questions froma panel of Bank of England senior economists. Whilethey were pipped to the post by eventual nationalrunners-up Tonbridge School, their fantastic effortwas recognised by the award to the School of acheque for £650.Sixty Perse teams entered the IFS Student InvestorChallenge, with one team of budding equities tradersfar outperforming the professionals. Trading under theteam name of ‘Bankers Who Lost Interest’, Joe Todd,Will Charnaud, Sachin Kurl and Finlay Brown increasedthe value of their virtual portfolio from £100,000 to£147,887 over the course of three months, the sixth bestperformance from more than 7500 national entries.The ‘DyNamo’ Young Enterprise group scooped twoawards at the Cambridge Young Enterprise CountyFinal. The group, led by Managing Director RoshanForouhi, won ‘The Product Innovation’ award and‘The Best Company Report’ award. Harriet McLean,Hannah Galbraith-Olive, Maria Marinelli and KatieWilkins made an excellent presentation to the judges.DyNamo, a 14-strong team, manufactured and soldcredit card-sized mirrors which they produced in-houseduring enrichment afternoons.English and DramaThe poetry skills of several students were recognisedin prestigious competitions. Sylvia De Luca won thecounty round of the Poetry by Heart competition, goingon to perform Shelley’s Ozymandias and W. B. Yeats’sThe Second Coming in the national final at the NationalPortrait Gallery. Matt Burson was a commended winnerin this year’s Foyle Young Poet of the Year competition;his poem, The Moon, was chosen as one of 85 winnersfrom over 3500 applicants and he received his awardat the Royal Festival Hall. Henry Coburn’s poem Detailswas long-listed for the Tower Poetry award.Meanwhile Thomas Reynolds was awarded a silvercertificate in the Advanced Linguistics Olympiad.General knowledgeThe Junior General Knowledge team came second inthe national finals of Schools Challenge, a competitionThe Perse won in the preceding two years. The Years 7and 8 team of Henry Proudfoot, Oliver Brigstocke,Inigo Hunnable, Jong-Ihn Chung and Daniel Morganwere worthy runners-up this year to a strong teamfrom Haberdashers’ Aske’s.36 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | | 37 5

MathsJunior mathsMore than 100 Perse pupils secured certificates in theUK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Junior Maths Challenge,including 47 golds. Gold, silver and bronze certificatesare awarded to only 40% of participants nationally, yetnearly 70% of Perse entrants secured a medal.Six students qualified automatically for the JuniorMaths Olympiad: Jong-Ihn Chung, Hannah Lin,William Vinnicombe, Conor Fairhead, PhillipSosnin and Philip Jackson, while Robert Thomsonalso entered independently. Philip Jackson andRobert received silver and William, Phillip Sosninand Jong-Ihn were awarded bronze.In addition, Jong-Ihn Chung, Robert Thomson, PatrickBevan and Thomas Read were awarded a trophy inthe Team Maths Challenge National Final for theirposter on the theme of ‘Packing’.Intermediate mathsIn the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Year 9students secured 19 gold awards, 38 silver and 51bronze, while the top set in Year 11 netted 23 goldawards, two silver and one bronze. As a result 25Perse students were invited to take part in theprestigious follow-on Olympiad.In the Olympiad, Rosie Cates, Jong-Ihn Chung,Jaehyeon Kim, Thomas Read, Sechan Yun and JamieBamber all received medals for coming in the top 50 intheir year group. Patrick Bevan, Pratap Singh, AnthonyKattuman and Roan Talbut were also awarded medalsfor placing in the top 100 of theirs. As a result of hisperformance, Jamie Bamber had the honour of beingselected for National Mathematics Summer School.The Year 10 maths team of Alex Harris, AnthonyKattuman, Richard Geng and Jason Gu won theEastern Region final of the Further Maths Network’sYear 10 Team Maths competition.Senior mathsA number of our double mathematicians and someyounger, very keen pupils took part in the UKMTSenior Maths Challenge (of whom David Payne,Stuart Knowles, Alex Harris and Rosie Cates gotthrough to the Olympiad). We achieved 23 goldawards, 14 silver and nine bronze. Alex and Rosiealso took part in the second Olympiad. Rosie wasinvited to join the Senior Mentoring Scheme andAlex attended a training camp for the NationalSquad in Hungary, having scored full marks onthe first Olympiad. The team of Stuart Knowles,Theo Clark, Philip Sansom and Ben Huggettplaced in 11th in the first round of the SeniorTeam Challenge.38 | ANNUAL REVIEWPhysicsFrançois Sherwood, Fergus Waugh, Alex Fanourakisand Philip Sansom secured gold medals in the BritishPhysics Olympiad, finishing in the top 50 of more than1600 entrants. A further six students secured silvermedals, and three more bronze.ScienceTwo of our sixth formers secured prestigiousNuffield Research Placements – an opportunity toundertake four weeks of scientific research duringthe summer holidays. Zoe Johnston was placed at theDepartment of Chemistry, University of Cambridge,with Professor Robert Glen, director of the UnileverCentre for Molecular Sciences Informatics. SreedeviNair was place at the Animal Health Trust with DrRomain Paillot. Further afield, sixth former Alex Westrepresented the School and the City of Cambridge atthe Heidelberg International Summer Science School.Work experienceOver the summer of 2013 students undertook careersexperience placements in a wide variety of impressiveorganisations and settings. Projects in which they wereinvolved span law; renewable energy technologies atthe RSPB; research into the physics and applicationsof semiconducting and magnetic nanostructure devices;cloud based software for the leisure industry; medicalshadowing in oncology, neurology, orthopaedicsand genetics, and various placements at CambridgeUniversity and in local high tech companies.Challenging thinkingand sharing expertiseThe School benefits from its world-class location; hardlya day went by in 2012/13 without a visit from a subjectexpert to challenge students’ views or introduce new ideas.The ‘42’ Society is a programme of inspiring lunchtimelectures to broaden student minds and interests.As fans of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guideto the Galaxy will know, ‘42’ is the ultimateanswer to the ultimate question and the namereflects the society’s aim to get students thinking.The stimulating subjects in 2012/13 included:Nut Job: Allergies and life Dr Andrew Clark,consultant in paediatric allergy, Addenbrooke’s NHSFoundation TrustOn Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Elizabethan SpyWill Tosh: Centre for Editing Lives and Letters, LondonAll roads lead to Beijing Dr Kun-Chin Lin, Departmentof Politics and International Studies, Cambridge“Drug law enforcement causes more harm than good”Tom Lloyd, former chief constable, Metropolitan PoliceEpigenetics and stem cells: coding for cellular identityDr Peter Rugg-Gunn, Babraham Institute, CambridgeFrom spades to satellites: working out how glaciersmove Alex Clayton, doctoral researcher (Old Persean)Designing our future: games, technologyand Raspberry Pi David Braben, Frontier DevelopmentDepression: can misery ever be an illness? PhilipGraham, Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry,Institute of Child Health, LondonARM and the technology industryf()/$->f()/W$->f()?J$ or “It’s what we do” Chris Shore,Training Manager, ARMWhy Karl Marx is still partly right The Rev Dr JohnHughes, Dean of Jesus College, CambridgeDracula drives a Dacia – nine weeks in TransylvaniaStuart Graveston, a former teacher at The PerseLiving the Japanese way Mr Ikehara, MukonosonComprehensive, Kobe, JapanLanguage and identity in sub-Saharan AfricaDr Rebecca Mitchell, University of Cambridgeand The Perse SchoolFormula One – a force for good or just pureentertainment? Professor Anthony Purnell, formerprincipal of the Jaguar and Red Bull Formula One teamsDon Pacifico Derek Taylor, historian and author(Old Persean)A life in sculpture Andrew Tanser, carver, designerand sculptorThe Righteous Sisters: the story of Ida and Mary Cook’srescue of Jews in the 1930s Tim Cook, parliamentaryresearcher (Old Persean)Employment opportunities in programmingand the gaming industry Julien Hofer, Managing Director,Datascope21st Century medicine: how stem cells and robotswill change your life Dr Anthony Colletta, globalhealthcare and finance expertLiving with the guitar Graham Wade, writer, historianand musician (Old Persean)Death and Destruction Professor Alun Williams, Chairof Veterinary Diagnostic Pathology, Universityof CambridgeMitochondrial research today Sir John Walker, NobelPrize winning chemist and Director of the MRCMitochondrial Biology UnitA peek into the future: computing, CambridgeUniversity and your house Dr Ian Lewis, directorof the University Computing Service at the Universityof CambridgeTaking risks is a good thing David Spiegelhalter,Winton Professor of the Public Understandingof Risk in the Statistical Laboratory, Universityof CambridgeMedical ethics today Dr Alex Morris, Downing College,University of CambridgeHumphrey Jennings (Old Persean): documentaryfilm maker and founder of the mass observationorganisation Kevin Jackson, writer, presenterand film criticANNUAL REVIEW | | 395

In addition to the ‘42’ programme, students enjoyeda talk and activity sessions with Microsoft CambridgeResearch and Dr Steven Johnston from the Universityof Southampton about the use of the .NET Gadgeteer,an open-source toolkit for building small electronicdevices.The library organised a programme of author visitsto inspire students to discover different genres andto explore creative writing, including Mark Lowery,author of Socks Are Not Enough; Christopher WilliamHill, author of Osbert the Avenger; Troy novelist AdeleGeras, and Joseph Delaney, who penned the Spooksbooks. The librarians also took a group of Upperstudents to the Prep for a talk by broadcaster andauthor Simon Mayo.At the invitation of the history society, Professor ChrisClark spoke about his new book The Sleepwalkers andDr John Adamson gave a talk entitled ‘How to be animperialist in early Stuart England’.Musical theatre star Tommy Sherlock taught studentsthe tricks of his trade in a day-long masterclass, drawingon his recent experience in the West End productionof Matilda. The performing arts enrichment group wasjoined by RSC actor Lisa Ellis for a day of physicaltheatre and improvisation.The Art Department ran three creative workshopsled by professional artists known for innovation. OldPersean Matthew Lane Sanderson taught studentshow to create sculptural forms from iron and steel usingwire; students explored inventive mono-printing andetching techniques under the guidance of Sue Jones,a local printmaker and illustrator; and graphic artist andcontemporary illustrator Tim Marrs demonstrated howto combine drawing, photography, screen-print anddigital techniques to create dynamic images.During Science Week students handled exotic animalsbrought into school by Zoolab, including Madagascanhissing cockroaches and a Californian corn snake, andobserved the Chilean rose tarantula and a delicate treefrog at close quarters. A level students were delightedto welcome back Dr Guy Sutton from Medical BiologyInteractive. Dr Sutton, who is a guest lecturer atNottingham Medical School, held a health and diseaseday with a focus on genetic and complex diseases,and gave a series of lectures on the brain during whichpupils were able to handle a dissected sheep brain.The BBC’s ‘Naked Scientists’ came to the Schoolto carry out simple but fascinating experiments withstudents, including demonstrating how to reveal one’sown DNA. They recorded the session for broadcast,meaning students not only had a chance to put theirchemistry knowledge into practice but also receivedan insight into radio production.Five Sixth Form biologists had the privilege of beingin the Babraham Institute laboratory with seniorresearchers and other students, learning techniquesand using new equipment. They worked on projectsas diverse as visualisation of intracellular membranesand proteins using fluorescence microscopyimmunofluorescence, and epigenetic modificationof the genome.The Scott Polar Research Institute introducedmembers of the Perse Exploration Society to kit forextreme environments and the importance of beingprepared for every eventuality – all useful for theirexpedition in the Brecon Beacons later in the year.Our Music Department was delighted to welcome anumber of leading musicians to perform for studentsand to help them develop their own proficiency. Theyincluded:• Violinist and leader of the BBC Concert OrchestraCharles Mutter – a lunchtime performance and seriesof masterclasses for string quartet groups.• Leader of the Academy of Ancient Music PavloBeznosiuk – a workshop in baroque performancepractice, style and authenticity for some of our topstring players.• Endellion String Quartet leader Andrew Watkinson– coaching for our string players.• International clarinetist and principal clarinet ofthe London Symphony Orchestra Andrew Marriner– a masterclass.• Operatic soprano Sue McCullock – a masterclass.• Cellist Anil Umer - a lunchtime concert.•Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists Out of the Blue– an a capella workshop for students and parentsand an evening performance.The School also welcomed a wide range ofprofessionals to offer an insight into different careers.Art by Bee Miller40 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 41

Inspiring each otherWhile the School’s vibrant programme of externalspeakers certainly inspired students, studentsthemselves turned teacher to give their own stimulatingpresentations to peers. This year more than 50 studentstook the optional Extended Project (Lower Sixth) orHigher Project (Year 10) qualifications. Students choose,research, write up and present a topic, managing theirown progress from start to finish. The qualificationsenable students to discover the joys of independentlearning, take responsibility for their own study anddevelop new skills. In this section the whole list of topicsselected is reproduced to demonstrate the breadthof scholarship.“ I was deeply impressed by the veryhigh standard of all the presentationsI attended. The eclectic range of topics,the quality of the independent researchand the confidence of the students,both in presenting their findingsand in answering questions from theaudience, demonstrated exceptionalindividual achievements.” Diana Shave, Governor42 | ANNUAL REVIEWEPQs (SIXTH FORM) An Infinity of Worlds. How do we detect the presence and properties ofextrasolar planets? To what extent is the greenbelt development at Trumpington Meadows in theSouth of Cambridge socially and economically justifiable in terms of its impact on Trumpingtonvillage? To what extent is the Rwandan government justified in carrying out the KivuWatt project asit is currently planned with relation to its effects on the local area? Britain versus America: televisionis the new battleground. Is the rise of the meta-comedy in American television due to the influenceof British television? Why is John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, not remembered to the sameextent as other British war heroes when his achievements can be considered equally important?Were the contexts of the writers’ times significant in determining their interpretation of King John?‘Operation Dragoon’: the cost of delay.’ Was Churchill’s influence a key factor in the timing ofOperation Dragoon, and what effect did this decision have on the campaign in Western Europe?Was the Anglo-Saxon adventus into Lincolnshire an invasion, settlement or migration? HPQs (YEAR10) The best laws money can buy: did the 2010 Bribery Act 2010 solvethe problems of Al-Yamamah?What are the impacts of publicengagement with science?The ‘ultimate trumpet’:is it worth it? To whatextent is Beowulf a usefulhistorical source? What isthe difference betweenlocomotion in dogs andhorses? Could therebe a boom in space travel similar to that in jet aviation?To what extent did ground effect increase the averagespeed of Formula One cars from 1977 to 1982? Dreams andtheir meaning: what factors affect the content of our dreams?To what extent was the economic situation the mostimportant cause of the1973 Chilean coup? Is cognitive behavioural therapy an effective treatment forobsessive compulsive disorder and body dysmorphicdisorder? Why is the useof exhaust gases to gain aerodynamic benefitsso important in FormulaOne? Why has communism become less popularin India? How does theuse of antipsychotic medicine help in thetreatment of schizophreniawhen compared to other forms of treatmentsuch as cognitive behaviouraltherapy? Why is there religion? Potentialfuture applications of transient lightimaging. How relevant are Sigmund Freud’stheories in modern psychology?To what extent were the tunnels of Cu Chiused primarily for the protection of itsguerrilla soldiers? How can cars be fuelledin the future sustainably? To what extentis it justifiable to refuse medical treatmentto smokers due to their lifestyle choice?Pollution in China: what is it, how is it happening and how can it be stopped? An investigation intothe origins of anti-islamic sentiment in modern society and whether they are justified. An investigationinto the history and science of organismcloning, its uses and the ethical issuesit presents. Why were the Jews blamedfor the killing of William of Norwich in1144? ‘What role did the media play in the promotion of Jack the Ripper andhow did it affect the people of London?’What were the benefits of the ManhattanProject? What is the future of intelligentstage and large scale event lighting?Should we predict our futures? Theethical issues surrounding sequencingan individual’s genome. How do Creolelanguages develop? UN Peacekeepingand the Rwandan genocide: where intervention went wrong. What is the importance and influence ofpoultry meat factory farming on the UK? Can thoughts influence your outcomes? How inexpensivelycan a functional computer be built and distributed to developing economies? To what extent did thework at Bletchley Park help the Allies to win World II? Is antimatter a viable fuel for the exploration ofspace? How credible are child witnesses? How did Britain influence Venezuela during the Bolivarianperiod? Has the use of technology and rigorous standardised tests in China actually improvededucation? What did the Hillsborough tragedy inspire in terms of stadia management? Shouldthe death penalty be implemented in England? Are the current treatments for cigarette addictioneffective? Why do Fibonacci numbers appear in plants? What were the key benefits to the Koreannation that resulted from the leadership of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun Sin? What is the mostimportant area of time trial bicycle design to develop in order to obtain maximum speed potential,whilst staying within UCI regulations? How is this area of design likely to be developed in the future?Is the use of placebos ethically justifiable? An investigation into the factors that determine thelocation of snack vans.ANNUAL REVIEW | 43

A ROUNDED EDUCATIONExtra-curricular activity is takenevery bit as seriously as academicstudy, whether on the stage, pitch,court, or field – and further afield.This year students could join more than 60 clubs and societies, plusselect from around 70 music ensembles and groups, so there wassomething for everyone, whatever their interests. And if their hobbywas not included, teachers offered support to enable them to setup a new club.44 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 45

Music, danceand drama“ There is a point where you have to remindyourself that these are children performing,the standard is so good. ” Audience memberMusicPERFORMANCESDuring the year there were around 60 separatemusical concerts or performances including majorexternal events, evening performances at school,informal lunchtime concerts, House concerts andcompetitions, and masterclasses with professionalmusicians. More than 500 individual instrumentallessons were taught each week by 24 peripateticstaff who between them also coached more than60 ensembles.Upper musicians regularly performed for theirpeers at the Upper, Prep and Pelican, and theSchool arranged a programme of performancesin prestigious and sometimes unusual venues togive students valuable stage experience.• Almost 150 students, staff and parental supporterstravelled to Westminster to perform in The Perseconcert at St John’s, Smith Square. This showcaseperformance included jazz, senior chorale, baroquestrings, wind band, big band, sax band, seniorstrings and our symphony orchestra.• At the School Concert at the University of CambridgeConcert Hall, around 150 musicians in all the largeensembles performed along with seven elite sixthform soloists: Miles Taylor, David Payne, LesleyArends, Rebecca Stephenson, Niall Jackson, JethroTan and William Aitchison, in repertoire as diverseas the Holcombe Saxophone Blues Concerto, theVaughan-Williams Tuba Concerto and the BruchViolin Concerto.• The Choral and Concerto Concert at Our Lady ofthe English Martyrs church featured senior chorale,concert band and chamber orchestra along with eliteSixth Form soloists Philip Sansom, Roshan Forouhi,George Davies, William Fenby and Oliver Shore.• Some 120 pupils performed at a Choral and ChamberConcert at Emmanuel United Reformed Church.• The Annual Charity Cabaret provided two and a halfhours of big band and jazz band items, pop songs,rock bands, the senior prefects’ dance routine andeven beatboxing.• The annual Senior Carol Service took place at StJohn’s College and the senior chorale sang evensongat Norwich Cathedral.• Nineteen Upper students, five Prep pupils and onepupil from the Pelican performed alongside staff in aSteinway piano recital. Repertoire included J. S. Bach,Mozart, Chopin, Bartok and Billy Mayerl.Students also took their music into the communityto entertain the public and raise funds for charity.Christmas shoppers in John Lewis were entertainedby various Upper ensembles in the festive season;Wind Band 1 and Big Band gave a special Christmasperformance in the Grand Arcade; and Wind Band1 brought festive cheer to Scotsdales. The GrandArcade and Scotsdales events raised £460 forEACH. Wind bands also performed in Addenbrooke’sChapel to raise money for the Paediatric Unit and atthe Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust garden party.Students attended several professional performancesincluding an open rehearsal of the Academy of AncientMusic, where they watched the rehearsing processand posed questions to the musicians. Pupils studyingGCSE music attended a Gamelan workshop at theUniversity Music School – a hands-on opportunityto immerse themselves in the sound world of thistraditional Indonesian orchestra.46 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 47

Music honoursABRSM exam resultsThe School was delighted to be the winner of thePro Corda Special Award for Schools for outstandingcontribution to chamber music making.This was the School’s largest ever entry to thePro Corda Festival, with 18 chamber groups andensembles taking part in the first round. Twelvegroups went through to the national semi-finals,and two progressed to the national final of just20 groups: the U12 violin quartet (Yao-Chi Kuo, KevinZhang, George Harliono-Evans and Hannah Sirringhaus)and the U19 saxophone quartet (Matthew Pass, EdwardMuscutt, Jack Lockhart-White and Asher Glinsman).Many Perse students played on a national stage; thefollowing students won places in prestigious groupsthis year.National Children’s Orchestra• Violinist Patrick Bevan was awarded a LeverhulmeTrust scholarship, one of only four awards madeeach year to outstanding musicians.• Natalie Martin.•Hannah Sirringhaus.National Youth Orchestra• Hugo Chambre won a place in the cello section.•Rebecca Stephenson successfully re-gained entryto the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain(members have to audition each year). Rebeccaalso won an undergraduate scholarship to studyat the Royal Northern College of Music in 2013/14.National Youth Choir• Tim Greenbank.• Tom Last.• Tom Mullock successfully re-auditionedfor his place and moved up to Training Choir.• Jacob Oberholzer.• Hannah Rashbass.• Anna Sutherland.• Ben Thurlow.Britten Sinfonia Academy• Tom Mullock.•Alex Scott gained re-entry.Year48 | ANNUAL REVIEW7’s George Harliono-Evans had an outstandingyear. George won first prize in his category at theConcours International de Piano in Paris and firstprize in the U15 category of the Bucharest PianoCompetition in Romania. He won the EvangeliaTjarri piano competition in Cyprus – both the U15category and the Grand Prize of the best pianist.He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academyof Music Junior Department. If this recognition wasnot enough, his impromptu performance on oneof Cambridge’s street pianos, captured on videoby a bystander, also made him a viral star – theclip of George playing La Campanella receivedmore than 100,000 views.William Harmer won the 12-14 age category of theCambridge Young Composer of the Year competitionwith his composition Dreams and Nightmares, whichwas performed live at the University of CambridgeConcert Hall during the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.Violinist Yao-Chih Kuo won a number of trophies in theCambridge Music Festival, including the Bernice YoungCup for best 12 years and under performer.As part of the Barbican Young Orchestra, GayatriMullaparthi was selected to participate in an openrehearsal with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.Alexander Harris performed the Bruch ViolinConcerto with an adult orchestra in a performanceat West Road organised by the Cambridge Festival.George Harliono-Evans also performed, playing amovement from a Beethoven piano concerto.Joshua Harliono-Evans won third prize in theU19 category of the Harlow Rotary Club Musiccompetition, despite only being 13.Lesley Arends and Philip Sansom achievedtheir ATCL diploma in saxophone and clarinetrespectively. Four students achieved the DipABRSMdiploma, a prestigious post-Grade 8 qualification:William Aitchison (violin), Iliana Gutch Marinov(violin), George Harliono-Evans (piano) andMiles Taylor (saxophone).214 of our pupils took their ABRSM exams thisyear. Nearly a quarter achieved distinction:Clara BalonRichard EngelAsher GlinsmanStuart KnowlesDavid PayneThomas ReadNick WhiteRenzhi ZhouYao-Chih KuoHamish MacGregorTom MullockEd MuscuttAngus ReaEdward BrentonSophie BurrowsOliver CantrellHarry CoatesAlex GriffithsMark HalsteadRachel HarrisonRebecca WaterfieldElllie HartreePhilip JacksonPatrick LovePratap SinghPratap SinghGreg StewartThomas AllenMatthew DoughertyJoseph GreaneyAilis HalliganDavid LauDavid Moreira Da SilvaEkaterina Rahr-BohrEkaterina Rahr-BohrHannah SirringhausRosie CatesNathan ChoatCiaran FlahertyKatie GreenbankAilis HalliganElijah PriceElizabeth TownsendOliver BrentonRoshni De SilvaGabby MartinDavid PalmerKieron YoungNathaniel RashbassElizabeth StephensonCallum BaylisHenry FosterAlice KempTom Woods8 Piano8 Violin8 Clarinet8 Trumpet8 Saxophone8 Cello8 Percussion8 Clarinet7 Violin7 Violin7 Oboe7 Percussion7 Trombone6 Singing6 Alto saxophone6 Alto saxophone6 Double bass6 Clarinet6 Trombone6 Trombone6 Saxophone6 Singing6 Trombone6 Trumpet6 Clarinet6 Piano6 Saxophone5 Guitar5 Classical guitar5 Alto saxophone5 Piano5 Singing5 Alto saxophone5 Piano5 Violin5 Piano4 Cello4 Clarinet4 Alto saxophone4 Singing4 Alto saxophone4 Alto saxophone4 Piano3 Guitar3 Piano3 Singing3 Guitar3 Saxophone2 Bassoon2 Singing1 Alto saxophone1 Alto saxophone1 Violin1 GuitarANNUAL REVIEW | 49

DanceFlo Seabright secured a place on a three-year courseat the London Contemporary Dance School – thefirst time a Perse student has been chosen by thisprestigious institution. Competition was fiercewith over 4000 applicants for 40 places. Flostarted dancing aged four and in the eightyears since estimates that she has spentaround 15 hours a week practising.English and drama• The Lower School Play was Ernie’s IncredibleIllucinations by Alan Ayckbourn.• The dramatic murder mystery Crime andAstonishment was this year’s Years 9 and 10play. Based on an initial scenario by teacherLynne Hammond, students developed the plotand characters themselves through role playand improvisation.• Year 11 performed The Importance of BeingEarnest in the round.• The Lower Sixth Play was The GovernmentInspector.• The Upper Sixth’s production of Pinter’s TheHothouse, exploring issues of oppression andintimidation, was chilling.• The Spanish U6 Drama Club performed El astrólogotunante (The cunning astrologer) by FranciscoBances Candamo entirely in Spanish, with Englishsubtitles for the benefit of the non-Spanishspeaking members of the audience.In addition we held a successful Lower SchoolArts Festival, members of the Year 10 and 11GCSE drama sets performed theircoursework productions, and therewere weekly workshops for JuniorDrama Club.PRODUCTIONSThere was a host of English and dramaextra-curricular activities with opportunitiesfor budding actors, technicians, creativedesigners and stage managers at all levels.The highlight was perhaps ThePerse Players’ magical productionof A Midsummer Night’s Dreamwhich included roles forstudents from every yeargroup and sold out forall three performances.Each section of theSchool also put onits own production.50 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 51

Theatre tripsHigh drama in New YorkThere were many opportunities to get inspirationfrom the professionals.The 39 Steps, CambridgeCarmen, CambridgeChicago, CambridgeThe Curious Incident of the Dogin the Night-time, LondonHedda Gabler, LondonKing Lear, LondonOne Man Two Guvnors, LondonOthello, LondonThe Plough and the Stars, CambridgeThe Tempest, LondonTwelfth Night, NorwichWicked, LondonThe Taming of the Shrew, LondonThe Woman in Black, LondonIn addition, students took part in a range ofworkshops and study days at theatres anddrama studios in Cambridge and London.One trip was particularly eventful. During the Octoberhalf-term holiday, Sixth Form English and dramastudents departed for the bright lights of the Big Applewith plans to see famous landmarks and Broadwayshows. However, while the students were watching thefirst performance of the trip, Who’s Afraid of VirginiaWoolf?, Hurricane Sandy hit the New York coast. Thesites they had visited that morning began to flood.From their hostel just off Times Square they witnessedtorrential rain but were spared anything worse. However,the devastation was apparent when, walking round thecity the day after the hurricane, they saw the chaos ithad caused: fallen trees, crushed cars, a crane danglingfrom a skyscraper and entire avenues deserted. Itwas a unique look at a New York that was not bustling;at the stock market every share read ‘0.00’ – it hadclosed for the first time since 9/11.Amazingly, plans were not entirely scuppered andstudents still managed to attend a drama workshopwith a cast member from Chicago and see twofurther Broadway productions: Chaplin and Chicago.DebatingFreddy Banks and Sylvia De Luca represented ThePerse at the regional final of the English-SpeakingUnion’s ‘Mace’ debating competition. Sixth Formdebaters Daniel Adamson, Lotti Howson-Smith,Maria Marinelli, Edmund Smith, Dylan Spielman andRohan Vithayathil reached the Eastern Regional finalsof the Debating Matters competition, attracting thejudges’ praise for their intelligent and consideredcontributions. We also fielded teams in the Rotary‘Youth Speaks’ competition.ChemistryThe School designated 6th February as its ‘Mole Day’and organised a series of fun and interesting activitiesaround the chemical ‘mole’. (A mole is the amountof any substance that contains as many elementaryparticles as there are atoms in 12 grams of purecarbon. The number is approximately 6.02 times10 to the power of 23, or 1 with 23 noughts). While theaim was to help students understand the importanceof this unit of measurement, many other mole-relatedactivities brought the concept to life including amole experiment circus,a ‘make a mole’ competition,moleympics (including a Moleball tournament), a molehunt and a mole-themed lunch.Last academic year a Perse teamwon the 2012 UK Aerospace YouthRocketry Challenge. In Decemberteam members William Drake,Pratap Singh, Thomas Myers andThomas Read were put throughtheir astronautical paces by NASAas part of their all-expenses-paidprizewinners’ trip to Florida. Theyundertook astronaut training andtook part in a simulated mission,testing their ability to preparea shuttle for take-off, transfer apayload to the international spacestation and land safely back at theSpace Centre.This year several Perse teamsentered the challenge and the teamof Garret Shannon, Inigo Hunnable,Viraj Kakhandki, Philip Sosnin andJames Mason made it as far as therocket-launching regional heats,but battled with difficult weatherconditions and ultimately did notprogress further. The Perse rocketrysociety is very popular and studentsare already eager for next year’schallenge.“ The trip was an amazing experience.Astronaut Bob Springer was a trulyinspirational speaker and the wholeteam were inspired by the scienceand technology at NASA ”ROCKETRYPerse Head of Design and Engineering Technology, Keith Wilkin52 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 53

Outdoor pursuitsThis year the School opened a newon-site Outdoor Pursuits Centre,immediately put to good use by itsvarious groups. More than 70 peopleincluding parents, Old Perseans,governors, staff and pupils attendedthe official opening.54 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 55

Adventure racing clubThe exciting activity of adventure racing, acombination of two or more endurance disciplines,including orienteering, cross-country running, mountainbiking, canoeing and climbing, goes from strength tostrength. This year the club competed in several events,from a TriAdventure sprint in London and a duathlonin Wimbish, to the Three Peaks of Yorkshire Challenge.Not for the faint-hearted, the course takes in thesignificant Peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Wernside andIngleborough and includes 1600m of ascent and 40kilometres of off-road track. The Year 10 team beatthe club record with a time of just 8 hours and 25minutes, while the Year 8 team of Elizabeth Townsendand Elizabeth Stephenson were the youngest clubmembers ever to complete the challenge.Combined Cadet ForceCadets enjoyed some exciting weekends practisingtheir developing skills, from night navigation tocamouflage and concealment. In the Michaelmasterm they headed for RAF Cottesmore to visit theRoyal Anglian Regiment, also known as ‘The Poachers’,where their hosts shared the unit’s unique traditions,while in the Lent term they went on exercise to RAFBassingbourn. Students also took to the skies withMarshall’s Aero Club.Oscar Waldron received his wings for his achievementsin the prestigious Air Cadet Pilot Scheme (ACPS),awarded to only 30 cadets nationally.Cadets Daniel Agar, Edmund Smith and MarkoPreocanin were selected for the prestigious AirCadet Leadership Course at RAF Cranwell. The courseprovides cadets with military training in leadership,communication and teamwork, and successful cadetsare presented with their ACLC badge in a graduationceremony on the parade square in front of CollegeHall, where regular RAF pilots earn their commission.Marko Preocanin and Toby Burn were the proudrecipients of Gliding Scholarships.Perse Exploration SocietyMore than 280 students were part of the PerseExploration Society (PES) in 2012/13. Students bondedas they braved the sometimes extreme weather andbattled exhaustion, developing their teamworking andleadership skills in the process. The society teachesnavigation, bushcraft and cooking skills as well asfirst aid and how to make emergency shelters. Hereis a summary of their main expeditions.Ascent – Years 7 to 10•Night hikes direct from the Schoolwith overnight camping.• Two days hiking in the Lake District, climbing HarterFell (649m) and the Old Man of Coniston (803m).• Winter camp at Stonewall in Kent.• Summer camp in the Peak District.Summit 10 – Year 10•Three days hike training in Michaelmas half termin the White Peak area of the Peak District NationalPark. Each fire (patrol) carried their kit over a totaldistance of 41 kilometres.• Traversing the Brecon Beacons National Park – a93 mile long trek. On the way students summitedall three Brecon Beacons, explored medievalcastles and cave systems and took part in whitewater kayaking.Summit 11 – Year 11•Weekends of canoe, campcraft and bushcrafttraining in the Norfolk Broads, and on the GreatOuse and River Wye in preparation for theSweden expedition.• A ten day expedition in Sweden, canoeing fromone end of Lake Stora Le to the town of Ed atthe other, camping each night in rugged isolationon idyllic islands.Summit 12 – Year 12•Training in the Peak District to prepare for thesummer expedition.• Expedition to Leh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.Members carried out a community project beforetrekking in the Himalayas.ShootingMembers of the shooting club have put in plenty ofpractice on our rifle range and have enjoyed a fantasticseason. The School entered ten teams into the BritishSchools Small-Bore Rifle Association shootingcompetition. The team of Daniel Agar, James Franklin,Edmund Goddard, Sophie Burrows and Sam Hurrellwon the Division 1 competition. Other Perse teamstook second place in Division 2, in which JacekCzernuszewicz recorded the best average of allshooters, and first place in Division 3.“ the expedition combined an opportunity to practice outdoor skills,take on a significant challenge and come together as a group.”patrol leaderClimbingThe Perse climbing club had a long weekend ofclimbing challenges in the Peak District, tacklingStanage Plantation, Froggatt Edge and Curbar.Seventeen pupils enjoyed learning from moreexperienced competitors when they took part in theBritish Mountaineering Council Youth Climbing Series,some of whom they had the satisfaction of beating.Duke of Edinburgh Award SchemeStudents who aspired to the Silver Award completed apractice expedition in Thetford Forest, and 21 went onto undertake an assessed expedition in the New Forest.56 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 57

SportThe sporting accolades for teams and individuals pouredin this year, with the girls teams’ successes particularlyimpressive in the first year of full co-education.The Upper entered a local schools athletics meetfor the first time as a fully co-educational school,and brought home the cup. Around 80 studentsfrom Years 7-10 competed in the Olympic Cup,held at the University of Cambridge athletics trackat Wilberforce Road. The team secured 626 pointsin total – well ahead of second place with 561; asa result the School has been promoted to the toptier of the competition – the Jubilee Cup.The School’s links with local sports clubs are growingfrom strength to strength and none more so than ourrelationship with Cambridge City Hockey Club. Thisseason saw many Perse pupils turn out for City sidesfrom U11s through to adult league teams, with studentHugo Batley being registered for the Men’s NationalLeague Squad. There were stand-out performancesfrom the U16 boys and the U14 girls – both with manyPerse pupils – who had excellent seasons resulting inappearances at the National Finals.SUMMARY OF GIRLS’ SPORT ACHIEVEMENTSAthletics••U15 ESSA Track & Field County Runners-upU13 ESSA Track & Field County Runners-upCricket••U14 InterCricket County Runners-upRobbina Heathcote – Cambridgeshire LadiesHockey••••U18 Hockey County ChampionsU16 Indoor Hockey County ChampionsU14 Hockey County Runners-upFour students also represented Cambridgeshire inthe girls’ Under 14 County Hockey Team that wasvictorious in the East region championships. EllieHarrison, Tess Howard, Anna Traherne and SofiaBaldelli were part of the Cambridgeshire teamwhich beat Hertfordshire 6-5 on penalty strokes,following a 1-1 draw in the final, to be crownedEast of England champions. The team has afurther Perse connection – the coach is Headof Sixth Form Richard Morgan.TennisNetball• U16 Netball County Champions• U15 Aegon Tennis County Champions• U13 Aegon Tennis County ChampionsOther sports•Izzy Picton-Turbervill and Alexandra Barreletqualified for the Great Britain Under 18Eventing Squad.• Emily Fuller triumphed in the Girls U17 Norfolk JuniorSquash Open held at the East Anglia Squash andTennis Club in Norwich, despite playing in a higherage group for only the second time. She finished12th in the U15 category of the Pioneer GermanJunior Open Championships.58 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 59

SUMMARY OF BOYS SPORT ACHIEVEMENTSTennis••Years 7 and 8 Aegon Cup County ChampionsBen Clark – ranked number seven nationally inhis age group. Finished second in the U16 NationalTable and was a member of the Cambridge LTCMens’ Doubles second team, leading themto promotion as Champions into the CountyFirst Division• Vincent Chen reached the semi-finals of theGrade 1 Aegon British Junior Championship U12.Now ranked number nine in the country for U12.He also partnered his younger brother Derrickand reached the quarter-final in the doublesat the same tournamentAthletics•ESAA Track and Field County Winners Year 7and 8 and Year 9 and 10• Robbie Hayes, Daniel Arbide and Edmund LaingNational Prep School Finalists•Daniel Arbide National Prep School ChampionDiscus• Robbie Hayes National Prep School 3rdplace 400m•Daniel Arbide, Robbie Hayes, Theo Bowen-Sandersand Harry Round National Prep School2nd place Relay• Total of 11 school records broken60 | ANNUAL REVIEWCricket••U12A winners of the InterCricket county tournament1st XI beat Durham School in the BromsgroveFestival with Alex Jackson scoring 81 and ChrisPepper taking three wickets• Chris Pepper – England 12th man vs Essex CC,England net bowler, Essex 2nd XI, Essex Academy,Cambridgeshire Men’s Minor Counties, selected toplay in MCC Schools cricketCross Country•Years 7 and 8 County Champions – Daniel Arbide1st place• Years 9 and 10 National Finalists(only the top 24 schools in the UK qualified)– Oliver Cantrill 1st Place Regional FinalHockey•••••U18 County Runners-upU16 County Champions & East Schools Runners-upU16 Indoor Hockey National FinalistsU14 County Runners-upPerse Assistant Director of Sport Glenn Kirkhamwas named as England Hockey Performance Playerof the Year 2012/13Orienteering••Years 9 and 10 National Schools Team ChampionsPerse pupil Tim Harrison was the fastest Englishorienteer in his group, males 14 and under, in theInterland Cup in March in Breda, the Netherlands• Will Louth – England Orienteering (5th inthe Junior world schools championships)Rowing••Four winsUnder 18 coxed four won Novice men’sevent at the Winter Head• Under 18 coxed quad won their first race,beating the Leys J16 and J18 crews in thesame boat class, and beating more than50 adult crews with their time.Rugby•••••••U18 Cambridgeshire Sevens ChampionsU18 Oakham Sevens Plate Runners-upU13 Northampton Saints sevens Runners-upJames Knoop – England Touch RugbyJosh Gray – England LambsRobbie Hayes, Daniel Arbide – Midlands LambsOllie Parker – London and South East Squadin the England Rugby U16 Divisional DevelopmentWeekendOther sports• Laurie Fabian – England Korfball,played in the World Cup in Holland• Robbie Hayes – Judo silver medal in the NationalIndependent Schools Judo Competition• Seb Jaunzens – Diving 1m and 3m – top 20in the British Junior Elite Champions• Sam MacLeod – drove for Team Fortecin the Formula Renault UK Championship• James Tee represented Cambridge Unitedin their tour of Switzerland.• Three Perse pupils represented the school in theBritish Schools Trampolining Competition withall three qualifying for the finals in their respectivecategories. Matt Burson recorded an excellentsixth place finish in the U13 Elite competition, andMichael Barlow came away with a ninth place finishin the U15 Novice group. James Able’s successis recorded in the Prep section of this review.Roy Burrell awardsEight Perse sportsmen and women received aprestigious Roy Burrell Sport Award. The awardsrecognise excellence and contribution in sport bystudents across Cambridgeshire. They were presentedby rower Charles Cousins, who represented Team GBat the Olympics in London 2012.• Ben Clark (Tennis)• Laurie Fabian (Korfball)• Rachael Harrison (Hockey)• Peter Gordon (Rugby)• Emily Griffin (Contribution to Sport)• Chris Pepper (Cricket)• Izzy Picton-Turbervill (Equestrianism)• Seb Jaunzens (Diving) ANNUAL REVIEW | 61

The worldis a classroomVenturing further afieldStudents enjoyed venturing further afield, visitingeducational sites across London and the South East,making links with peers in other countries, exploringdifferent cultures and supporting communities overseas.Pittsburgh, USASicilyStudents headed statesideto stay with peers fromSewickley Academy andexperience high school life.Classics students enjoyedscrambling over the ruinsat Selinute and performingGreek tragedy at thetheatre of Akrai.Japan exchangeStudents visitedKobe and OsakaMaking the most of the local areaThe School is fortunate in its location and maximisesthe benefits of its world-class Cambridge links.Students are only a stone’s throw away from awealth of interesting sites and facilities – illustratedby some of those visited this year.Addenbrooke’s HospitalThe Babraham InstituteCambridge Union Debating ChamberCavendish Laboratory, University of CambridgeCentre for Mathematical Studies, CambridgeChemistry Department, University of CambridgeCurwen Print Study Centre, Chilford HallEconomics Faculty, University of CambridgeGirton College, University of CambridgeImperial War Museum, DuxfordNAPP Pharmaceuticals, CambridgeSidgwick Site, University of CambridgeScott Polar Institute, CambridgeSt John’s College, University of CambridgeWhipple Museum of the History of Science62 | ANNUAL REVIEWBy permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.On the itinerary:Alpe d’Huez, FranceAmsterdam andRotterdam, HollandAntiguaBerlin, GermanyBrecon BeaconsCowes, Isle of WightCroydonGaydon, WarwickshireGrafham WaterHamburg, GermanyHorton-in-Ribblesdale, YorkshireFarnborough, HampshireHunstanton, NorfolkIcelandKobe and Osaka, JapanLake DistrictLancashireLeh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir,IndiaLondonMiami, USAMilton KeynesLeicesterNeuilly, FranceNew ForestNew York, USANord Pas De Calais, FranceNormandy, FranceNorwichOxfordParis, FrancePeak DistrictPeterboroughPittsburgh, USAReadingSalisburySalthouse BroadSicilyThetford ForestThe Western Front,Belgium and FranceWinterton on SeaIndia expeditionPerse Exploration Society membersventured to Leh, Ladakh, Jammuand Kashmir to support communitiesand trek in the Himalayas.ANNUAL REVIEW | 63

A CARING COMMUNITYAn Indian summerWelcoming, respecting and supporting others is oneof The Perse’s values and, with the School’s seriouscommitment to its charitable purpose, the sense ofcommunity extends well beyond the school gates.This year Perse teachers and students helped educatea wide range of children not at the School, from pupilsvery close by in local primaries to impoverishedstudents in India.As many as 120 children benefitted from the School’sbursary programme, which provided more than £1m inbursaries this year to ensure children of all backgroundscould benefit from attending the Prep or Upper.“ The aim of these visits is to not only learnhow the thousands of pounds that wehave raised is being spent, but to shareand exchange skills to improve teachingacross both establishments. It was a trulyinspirational visit, the memories of whichwill stay with me for the rest of my life. ”Anne CunninghamThe Upper continued to strengthen its links with theChristel House foundation this year. The partnershipwith the charity, which transforms impoverishedchildren’s lives through education, benefits pupilsand staff in both organisations.Each summer Perse teachers visit a Christel Houseschool to share their expertise and exchangeexperiences with their peers. This year teachersAnne Cunningham and Deborah Vernon Purvis spentten days in Bangalore. Anne advised on the artcurriculum, display techniques and the learningenvironment, as well as creating teaching resourcesand taking workshops on weaving and batik techniquesthat she hopes to introduce to Perse students.Deborah met teachers and observed lessons, andco-taught English including turning one of the standardprose text extracts for the Indian board exam intoclassroom drama. Both teachers visited some of theslum homes of pupils, and found the visit rewarding,inspiring and sometimes challenging.In spring, the new principal of a Christel House schoolin Lavasa, India, came to The Perse to consider howto apply some of our practices in her growing school.Pupils, parents and staff raised almost £3000 forChristel House through a variety of activities thisyear, including a fair organised by the UpperParents’ Association that raised more than £1200.Pupil fundraising included the creation of a ChristelHouse-inspired Christmas card and selling craftscreated by their Christel House peers.In addition to raising funds for the charity, our studentsenjoy joint projects with their peers in Christel Houseschools. This year the art departmentorganised a sketchbookexchange with ChristelHouse schools in India andSouth Africainspired by the ‘Lookat Book’, a collaborativesketchbook exchangeand exhibition by fourartists from both sides ofthe Atlantic. The ten pupilstaking part in each schoolwere given a sketchbookin which they worked onone of four themes: identity,family, school and recreation.The pupils were paired up with a student from anotherschool and worked in response to their partner’s work,with sketchbooks rotating around the schools. Theexchange worked as a visual stimulus, and pupils fromall three schools have benefitted from being inspired bytheir partner school’s artwork, as well as developing anunderstanding of cultural similarities and differences.The Upper has worked closely with Christel Housesince 2011 and has so far raised nearly £5000 for thecharity. The organisation builds and runs learning centresin impoverished neighbourhoods, providing qualityeducation, nutritious meals, regular healthcare, lifeskills training, character development and work-studyopportunities, as well as empowerment programmesfor parents and community members. Today ChristelHouse has learning centres in six countries and helpsmore than 3000 children worldwide.64 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 65

Educationbeyond the school gatesHelping primary school pupilsThis year the School forged ever-stronger mutuallybeneficial partnerships with local primary schoolsto help local communities benefit from the skillsof Perse teachers and pupils.• Sixth Form mathematicians worked one-to-oneon a fortnightly basis with pupils from QueenEdith, Fawcett, Colville, The Grove, ShirleyCommunity and King’s Hedges primary schools.• Shirley and Colville brought groups of pupilsto the Upper for fun maths challenges organisedby the Sixth Form. The same Sixth Form teamhas been to Fawcett twice to run the mathschallenge afternoon on their site.• Sixteen pupils have worked at Queen Edith primaryschool, supported by three Perse teachers, teachingYear 3 pupils in music, French history and hockey.• Four TEFL qualified sixth formers worked regularlywith pupils for whom English is a second languageat St Paul’s primary school.• Primary schools brought Years 5 and 6 pupilsto the Upper to experience the specialist facilitiesand teaching and learn something beyond theircurriculum, from art sessions to scientificexperiments and samba music.• A talented young mathematician from Bartonprimary school came to the Upper once a fortnightto join the Year 7 maths ‘boffins’ class and havea one-to-one with a sixth former. He recently satthe UK Maths Trust Junior Maths Challenge withPerse Year 7s and was awarded a gold certificate.• Teachers have helped local primary schoolsdevelop schemes of work and learning resources.Inspiring secondary school pupilsThe School again hosted a Latin play festival, ‘LudiScaenici’, for Cambridgeshire schools on behalf ofthe Classical Association. It also hosted the SeniorLatin and Greek Reading competitions on behalfof the Cambridge and District Classical Association.The eighth Perse Enterprise Conference was held inNovember. This annual event – to which the Schoolinvites teams of students from over 60 state andindependent schools – helps young people to developtheir interpersonal and leadership skills, and theirunderstanding of business and the importance ofinnovation and entrepreneurship in the modern world.The conference includes inspiring talks from successfulentrepreneurs and business people; interactiveworkshop sessions focused on understanding thechallenges of starting and running an enterprise;and a chance for selected groups to present theirown business ideas to our panel of ‘dragons’. It is thelargest event of its kind in the Cambridge region.The 2012 theme was ‘Think Global: New Horizonsin Tomorrow’s World’, focusing on how businessesof all sizes need to think about opportunities and risksbeyond the UK. As in previous years, the conferencewas joint-funded by The Perse together withsponsorship from local and national companiesincluding ARM, Mills & Reeve, Artemis, DominoPrinting Services, PwC, BDO, Bailey Fisher, Neul,and Key Capital Partners.Digital skillsfor the older generationSixth formers helped pensioners become ‘silver surfers’.They ran a six week course for older people wantingto learn how to use the latest technology, from mobilephones to Skype and online shopping.Out and about in the communityStudents also gave their time and used their skills tosupport local organisations. Sixteen pupils volunteeredat Addenbrooke’s, six worked with Cambridge CityCouncil on environmental projects around the city, andone helped at Romsey Mill, a charity that works withchildren, young people and families. This volunteeringnot only supported valuable work in the communitybut enabled the students to gain skills and experienceand pursue career and personal interests.Students took their music into the community toentertain the public and raise money for those lessfortunate. Christmas shoppers in John Lewis wereentertained by various Upper ensembles in the festiveseason; Wind Band 1 and Big Band gave a specialChristmas performance in the Grand Arcade; and WindBand brought festive cheer to Scotsdales, all in aidof EACH. Wind Bands performed in Addenbrooke’schapel to raise money for the Paediatric Unit and atthe Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust garden party;and the Director of Music accompanied a Perse pupilat the Mary Archer retirement dinner. The departmenthosts a range of community rehearsals and eventssuch as community choir Dousing for Sound andthe Cambridge Wind Band.Teachers advisingand supporting othersDeborah Vernon Purvis is an active member of theCamSTAR research group, working with the Universityof Cambridge to develop opportunities for educationalaction research. The School asks all new staff toundertake an action research project in their first yearto support their own professional development andfurther improve teaching and learning. The researchis often shared with other education professionals atthe CamSTAR conference, as happened this year withHolly Hedgeland’s work on the characteristics of goodextension activity for the high ability Year 9 maths set.This year’s research projects included the effect ofclassroom layout on learning, the impact of formativeassessment on homework, and whether the teachingof applied techniques can influence pupil motivation.Teachers also contributed their expertise to help otherorganisations including exam boards and professionalbodies, and even the government - Head of PSHE JaneClarkson took part in a House of Commons debate onfinancial education.Perse science and maths teachers contributed to theproduction of a short film for Cambridge Assessmentto launch a national debate about teaching maths.The film was screened at the British Libraryto an audience of 600 teachers and educationprofessionals and streamed live on the internet.• Head of Chemistry Tanya Khimyak approached theRSC to pilot its continuous professional developmentprogramme for secondary schools and collegeswith Perse staff, inviting other schools to be partof the free session. Teachers from Hills Road SixthForm College, Cambridge Regional College andthe Parkside Federation joined the Upper to discovernew ways of teaching and to share their knowledgeand experiences.• Head of Biology Cheryl Buchannan worked withDr Harriet Jones from UEA in an advisory groupon knowledge retention from A-level to university.She also contributed to a UEA study exploringthe amount of additional support offered to newbiological science undergraduates to facilitatetheir transition to university.• Head of Sixth Form Richard Morgan is anactive member of Politeia, a thinktank establishedto determine the national direction of the revisedLatin curriculum. The discussions involve: theUniversity of Oxford, the University of Cambridge,The Perse, Eton, Winchester, Westminster,St. Paul’s, Oundle, Bradfield, London Oratory,Latymer and other representatives frommaintained and independent sectors. He alsoled a seminar at the University of CambridgePGCE Classics Mentor Day on ‘EncouragingProficiency in ICT among Classics Trainees’.• Head of English Chris Green ran seminars forthe English Association and training sessionsfor Singapore English teachers on behalf ofCambridge Assessment. He was a senior examinerand scrutineer for OCR (A level English literature)supporting syllabus development, training, resourceproduction, and research, and a member of OCR’sEnglish Consultative Forum and Higher EducationLiaison Committee. He also conducted a researchproject for Cambridge Assessment at RoyalHolloway (University of London) to examineschool-to-university transition for studentsof English and was involved in the review oftextbooks and the development of the newEnglish EBacc qualification.• Head of Science Jeremy Burrows delivered akeynote speech at a course run by CIE called‘IGCSE Chemistry Learn More’.• Head of PSHE Jane Clarkson and Carrie Herbert,the chief executive and founder of Red BalloonLearner Centres, gave a whole staff trainingsession on bullying and strategies to identifyand assist vulnerable pupils.• Head Ed Elliott as a syndic of CambridgeAssessment, which contains both the UK examgroup OCR and the international exams operationCIE, was heavily involved in discussions about thefuture of national and international assessment.66 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 67

Raising moneyfor good causesThis year students supported a range of charities, raisingmore than £5000 for the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trustand more than £3000 for each of Red Balloon LearnerCentres and Emmaus.Many other charities were supported by students and staff.The ‘Perse Princesses’ – staff members Gail Hague,Dani Creese, Beth Parker, Emma Cope, Emma Sandwith,Nicole Copeland, Susannah Covey, Holly Singleton,Tanya Khimyak, Kate Nickson and Rosie Hague –were the top female crew at the Cambridge DragonBoat Festival and raised more than £500 for EACH.Year 7 pupils threw themselves into fundraisingactivities with gusto. They organised a Peter Pandress-up day for Great Ormond Street Hospital,a fitting theme as the book’s author J. M. Barriegave that charity the rights to the story. The newblock staircase stood in for the Empire State Building,with a team of 23 pupils going full pelt to slash theworld record time for climbing its 1890 steps. Theirefforts throughout the year raised more than £2000for children’s and disabled people’s charities.On a cold Friday in March, 34 pupils from Year 9ignored the end of school bell, staying on to takepart in a sponsored sleep-out to raise awareness ofrough sleeping and around £3500 for the homelessnesscharity Emmaus. They received advice from a groupof Emmaus companions on how to keep warm outside,and talked to them about their experiences of livingon the streets.Year 10 pupils raised more than £2000 for READInternational by holding the School’s first everJamathon – an event in which pupil buskers playedacross the school site. Pupils Lizzie Ford, TimGreenbank and James Young returned to theirold school, King’s College School, to talk about READInternational and thank King’s pupils for the fantasticwork they have also been doing for the charity.Charity cabaretReport by student Roshan Forouhi.The cabaret serves as a break from the impressiveclassical range on the Perse music scene, anddemonstrates pupils’ extra-curricular talents. FromBig Band to beatboxing, dances to duets, and rappersto rockers, students showcased the broad diversityof their musical pursuits.Members of the audience, seated at tables andenjoying the food and drink laid on by the cateringdepartment, were treated to a selection of old classicsand modern tunes.There were fabulous collaborative performances froma selection of rock bands and a girls’ chorus, and apowerful medley performed by Gabby Martin in Year10 and Sixth Form students.The crowd erupted after Soham De’s impressiverendition of Ed Sheeran’s ‘You Need Me, I Don’t NeedYou’ accompanied by our resident beatboxer, AdemideAdenaike, who proceeded to deliver a uniquebeatboxing solo: a first at Perse Cabaret. Other soloitems also captivated the audience, and in particularAnjuli Chatterjee’s moving performance of ‘On my own’from Les Misérables brought tears to the eyes of many.Spectators could not stop cheering and chucklingthroughout the traditional dance by the senior prefects,which featured an amusing love story between HeadGirl (Eloise Wilson) and Head Boy (Jamie Gardiner),this was followed by an explosive transition from ‘Twistand Shout’ to the grand ‘Gangnam Style’ finale. BigBand played the night out, and the evening receivedan overwhelmingly positive reaction from all who werefortunate enough to attend.The cabaret raised more than £800 for theAddenbrooke’s Charitable Trust.68 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 69

Forging linksacross the globeNEW FOR 2013/14Many pupils experienced life in other countriesthrough the School’s exchange programme whichincludes the USA, Japan, and many European countries.There was also a ‘global studies’ element to all trips,from exploring the World War I battlefields tocompeting on the hockey pitch, which ensured thatstudents maximised the opportunity to learn aboutother cultures, whatever the reason for the trip.This year The Perse continued to strengthen itsrelationship with peers in the SAGE group of leadingworld schools. Students and teachers welcomed visitorsfrom Nanyang Girls’ High School in Singapore and theAffiliated High School of Peking University. The pupilsfrom Singapore and Beijing discussed environmentalproblems with their Perse contemporaries. Plans fora return visit in 2013/14 for Perse students are in hand.Students worked together remotely too; they usedChromebooks to research each others’ climate, thenshared their work and gave each other feedbackon their research to help develop a realistic viewof what it is like to live where they do.Head of Geography and Director of Digital Learningand Innovation Duncan King travelled to Beijing toattend a SAGE conference exploring the effectiveuse of virtual learning, returning with a whole hostof ideas for us.Head of Science Jeremy Burrows went to Boston toevaluate the possibility of an inspiring science-basedtrip. As a result plans are afoot to take Lower Sixthstudents to the East Coast in spring 2014 to give themfirst-hand experience of research institutes anduniversity spin-off companies, and to provide thechance to spend some time in top US high schoolMilton Academy, whose alumni include T. S. Eliot andRobert and Teddy Kennedy.CurriculumThe Upper is introducing computer science as a ‘fourthscience’ from September 2013. The new curriculum willteach students to think logically and equip them forhigh tech roles with employers in Cambridge andbeyond. The School worked with local high techentrepreneurs and academics to secure their expertinput to the approach; the result is a rigorous curriculumgrounded in the essential scientific principles of thesubject. All Year 7 students will study computer science,learning how to think in a structured, logical way andtake a methodical approach to problem-solving andtask decomposition – essential skills even if they donot choose to continue the course to GCSE or A level.Following on from the highly successful introductionof the Pre-U option for physics, from September 2013The Perse is running a Pre-U option for chemistryalongside the A level – meaning students can choosewhich curriculum to follow. The Pre-U is a stretchingcurriculum with a particular university course focus.The School is switching from A level to InternationalA level in biology as this curriculum best suits Persestudents and offers excellent preparation for relateduniversity studies.Extra-curricularFollowing consultation with students and parents,we are trialling an extended subsidised package ofextra-curricular language options that will provideinterested students with the opportunity to studyItalian, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian in additionto the main curriculum options.New clubs for this year include a research club forpupils wanting to learn research skills with the guidanceof an Upper sixth former; Stitch-it! for those wantingto sew, knit, or embroider, Livermorium for buddingchemists, and several more. Yet again there are morethan 60 clubs and societies on offer.FacilitiesWork on the next phase of the Upper plan beganthis year and will be complete in September 2014.It will create a major new classroom building tohouse the English and Modern Foreign LanguagesDepartments and a large multi-purpose space forassemblies, performances, social events and exams.Elsewhere in the School there will be new laboratoriesand an extra art studio and graphic design room.Existing classrooms are being refurbished and theMargaret Stubbs building is being transformed intoa larger and more flexible pavilion.70 | ANNUAL REVIEWANNUAL REVIEW | 71

Welcome to…Claire Knowles, a graduate ofChurchill College, Cambridge,joins the History Department fromSaffron Walden County High Schoolwhere she has been Acting Headof History. She will be teachinghistory and assisting in the School’suniversity admissions process.Charlotte Hall joins the ClassicsDepartment from King EdwardVI Five Ways School. Shegraduated from Jesus College,Cambridge in classics and hasbeen completing the GraduateTeacher Programme. She willcontribute to the enrichmentprogramme through membershipof the CCF.Francesca Hughes completedher PGCE at the University ofCambridge after graduating fromUniversity College, London inFrench and Italian. She is lookingforward to contributing to allaspects of school life includingthe Duke of Edinburgh AwardScheme and sports coaching.Robert Leigh has recentlycompleted his doctorate ofphilosophy at the University ofCambridge, having studied divinityat the University of Edinburgh.He is an accomplished sportsmanplaying cricket, hockey and rugbyand he is looking forward toteaching religious studies andphilosophy and coaching sport.Eliza McIntosh is joining the PhysicsDepartment after completing herPhD in surface physics at theUniversity of Cambridge. Shestudied natural sciences at Gonvilleand Caius where she achievedthe joint top mark in her final yearexaminations. She is a Guide leader,an advanced first aider with the StJohn Ambulance service and shewill be assisting with the outdoorpursuits programme.Emily Nesbitt joins us from teachingchemistry at Magdalen CollegeSchool, Oxford and is a Universityof Oxford graduate. She hasextensive experience assistingwith university applications andshe enjoys sailing and rowing. Shewill be teaching in the ChemistryDepartment and assisting withthe outdoor pursuits programme.Stephen Nolan taught physics andchemistry at Caterham School andhas been completing his PGCE atthe University of Cambridge. Hehas a PhD from the University ofBristol in theoretical chemistry. Heis looking forward to participatingin the outdoor pursuits programmeand Duke of Edinburgh Awardscheme alongside teachingphysics and chemistry.Carl Cerny joins us from teachingEnglish at Westcliff High Schoolfor Boys. He graduated fromthe University of Warwick andcompleted his MA in comparativeliterature at University College,London. He has been a head ofhouse and he recently co-directedand co-produced a sell-outperformance of Macbethto an audience of 800.Peter Richards is joining fromSt Mary’s School to becomethe Head of Politics, havingbeen Head of a successfulhistory and politics department.He is an experienced teacherwho graduated from the Universityof Nottingham before completinghis MA in American studies.Pierre Pillet will be joining theSchool in January 2014 as Headof French. He has an MA in Englishliterature from the Université deBretagne and is currently DeputyHead at King’s College School,Cambridge. He was previouslyHead of Languages at SevenoaksSchool and Highgate School wherehe established the National ModernLanguages Debating Competition,directed several French plays, ledmany overseas trips and exchangesand coached football, badmintonand handball.Catherine Simpson is joining theEnglish and Drama Departmentafter completing her PGCE atQueen’s University, Belfast. Shegraduated from Trinity College,Cambridge in English beforecompleting law school, an MPhilin real estate finance and workingas a solicitor.Redvers Wilbur is joining theHistory Department havingrecently graduated from theUniversity of Canterbury, NewZealand with a first class degreein history and classics. He isa talented sportsman, playingnational league hockey andcaptaining 1st XI cricket whilstat school. He is looking forwardto playing a full part in theSchool’s games programmealongside his history andancient history teaching.Iwan Davies is joining theChemistry Department havingworked as a medicinal chemist.He completed his PhD at theUniversity of Bath and wasawarded a fellowship at theTokyo Metropolitan University.In addition to a passion fortravel and experiencing differentcultures he enjoys hiking and islooking forward to joining theoutdoor pursuits department.Susan Yates is joining theMathematics Department havingrecently completed her master’sat the University of Cambridge.She has spent the last year asthe Cambridge Rag Presidentleading a team of around 100student volunteers workingwith charities and corporatesponsors. She is a keen chessplayer and passionate aboutpromoting a healthy approachto commuting.Helen Large is our newFitness Coach and OutdoorPursuits instructor.Farewell to…The School wished thefollowing teaching staffwell on their departurefrom The Perse in 2012/13.Felicity Corrie, Carole Douillot,Alice Ford, Charlotte Smith,Julie Griffiths, Jenny Gemmell,Emma Levhan, Peter Piercy,Eddie Copeland, David Pickstone,Ed O’Connor, Clare Bigg,Jacqueline Pullen and Jared Bethell.72 | ANNUAL REVIEW ANNUAL REVIEW | 73

Art by Lizzy WoodsThe Perse SchoolHills RoadCambridgeCB2 8QFThe Perse School is a charitable company limitedby guarantee (company number 5977683, registeredcharity number 1120654) registered in Englandand Wales whose registered office is situated atThe Perse School, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8QF