Private School News

LANCING COLLEGE MARKS THE CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF SIR PETER PEARS

A major celebration of one of our finest tenors on Tuesday 22 June with
Nick Prettejohn, Chairman of the Britten-Pears Foundation as guest speaker

“Lancing was a very heaven: the beauty of its site, the country around, the Downs in all their glory and this marvellous chapel and an atmosphere which was filled with art – the arts – and love”. – Peter Pears

Sir Peter Pears was educated at Lancing and sang in the choir here. He remained devoted to the school throughout his life, and a great supporter of its musical tradition. Pears and Benjamin Britten were regular visitors to the College, which a number of OLs (former pupils) remember vividly. Through Pears’s influence, Britten was commissioned to compose the Saint Nicolas Cantata for the centenary of the College.

At the celebration on Tuesday 22 June, guests included former pupils, some of whom are now professional musicians, and former winners of the College’s Sir Peter Pears Music Prize, such as His Honour Judge Peter Birts, who won the first award in 1964.

A service in the famous Chapel at 12 noon featured Lancing’s celebrated choir, and performances of sacred and secular music, sung by the school’s Music Scholars. Lancing’s Director of Chapel Music, Neil Cox, conducted Britten’s Te Deum and Jubilate in C, and God moves in a mysterious way from Saint Nicolas.

At the beginning of the service a single white rose was placed on Pears’ choir seat which bears the inscription “Hic olim sederat Peter Pears princeps cantatorum” (Here, once upon a time sat Peter Pears, a prince among singers). College Registrar, Jeremy Tomlinson who remembers meeting Pears during one of his last visits to the Chapel, spoke of the great influence that Lancing had had on the singer’s life. He quoted Peter Pears’ own words: “Lancing was a very heaven: the beauty of its site, the country around, the Downs in all their glory and this marvellous chapel and an atmosphere which was filled with art – the arts – and love”.

In his speech after lunch, Nick Prettejohn, Chairman of the Britten-Pears Foundation, addressed guests, staff and pupils. He was delighted to have been invited to Lancing and was enormously impressed with the quality of singing by the choir of Lancing College Chapel and its former pupils. He spoke of the wonderful legacy of Britten and Pears and how the Foundation is proud to be the custodian of such a national treasure. The Foundation is used for research purposes by people all over the world and continues to fund talented musicians of the future.

Lancing College Music Scholars sang a very moving selection of Britten’s folk songs to round off the occasion accompanied on the piano by Adrian West, a piano teacher at Lancing, an old boy of the school and a former winner of the Pears Music Prize.

PRINCE CASPIAN

Last week children in Years 3, 4 and 8 at Farlington School performed in an impressive operatic production of Prince Caspian by CS Lewis, commissioned by Opera Brava. What made this such an extraordinary event was the fact that until one week before, none of the participants had seen a script or heard any music – they literally started from scratch on Monday morning. With rehearsals all day, every day during that week (with time out to make masks and costumes), it was full-steam ahead to learn script, songs and choreography under the expert tuition of the Opera Brava team, ably aided by members of the Prep School Staff and the Maintenance team.

The final performance was staged on Friday afternoon, during which members of the audience were immediately set to work to learn a song so that they could be part of King Miraz’s nasty army. Three Opera Brava artists took the parts of the Narrator (Amanda Buckland), King Miraz (Daniel Meades), and Aslan (Geoffrey Moses) and the performance started with Peter (Amy Rowlinson), Susan (Amy Milne), Edmund (Abbey Marsden) and Lucy (Olivia Middleton) on the train on the way back to school. The train was evoked very strongly with the whole company spreading into the audience down the aisles singing “Chugga Chugga WooWoo”.

What was so impressive was the way all the girls coped with the variety of songs and techniques. Many girls had solo lines to sing, and their confidence and ability was quite remarkable.

Opera Brava is to be congratulated for its obvious dedication, talent, organisation, professionalism and enthusiasm which resulted in such a wonderful experience on the Friday. The production was also very rewarding in that it provided girls from the Prep School and Senior School with a unique opportunity to work together and get to know each other until, by the end of the week, the whole company was working as a team.

For many of the girls this was their first taste of opera and they are extremely lucky to have had such an amazing opportunity to work with such professionals. It is a memory that they will cherish for many years to come.

Easter bonnets at Farlington

Prep girls in their fantastic Easter bonnets at Farlington School.

CHESS STAR TO MAKE HIS MOVES IN CZECH REPUBLIC

A 10 year old England chess star from Windlesham House School in Washington is on his way to play in the Czech Republic over Easter building on his already impressive reputation.

Otto Pyper will be attending the 31st International Annual Tournament of Young Players in Frydek Mistek as part of the National Junior U12 squad.

This prestigious annual event invites the national teams from each country in Europe who, in turn, select their top players from each age group.

Otto, from Storrington, is following in the footsteps of his older brother, Ramsay, a former pupil at Windlesham House School, who has been selected for the U14 age group of the tournament.

The chess coach at Windlesham, who is also the Sussex Junior chess coach, Jonathan Tuck, said: “Otto is really looking forward to playing the top chess players from Eastern Europe.”

Otto is going to the Czech Republic on a high following victory by the Sussex Junior chess team who beat St Petersburg, from Russia, in the finals of the Battle of the Giants held in Amsterdam a few months ago.

Headmaster of Windlesham House School, Richard Foster, said: “Otto is going from strength to strength with his chess and we do wish him every success at the tournament in the Czech Republic.”

Hospice fundraising at Farlington School

Farlington’s Prep School has recently been working hard to raise money for St Catherine’s Hospice in Crawley. Girls in Farlington’s four ‘Houses’ – Aylward, Keller, Nightingale and Pankhurst (all named after prominent ladies, of course) all joined together in organising events which included non-uniform days, bun sales and raffles. These ventures, together with the retiring collection from the Christingle Service at St. Mary’s Horsham in December, raised a grand total of £1,125. Last week all the children gathered together to present Victoria Lawrence, the charity’s representative, with a cheque for this amount.
The Headmistress, Joy Baggs, reported that the school always receives tremendous support for fundraising initiatives from parents, grandparents and friends of Farlington. Money for various charities selected by the girls has always been generously donated, even in this difficult economic climate.
Farlington Prep School’s next initiative is to fundraise for CHASE (Christopher’s Children’s Hospice near Guildford). A parent at Farlington, Seni Glaister, is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the girls are keen to sponsor her.

World Book day at Farlington School

World Book Day at Farlington Prep. School is always an extremely popular event, with everyone dressing up as characters from their favourite books, including all members of staff. Year 4 started the day off in style with their assembly on … BOOKS! Some girls from the class read a piece from their chosen book and asked the audience to guess their character – they were not short of enthusiastic responses! The class then acted a short drama on how a book gets to be published … from the author’s initial inspiration, to being selected by a publisher, and from there on to the marketing and distribution of the finished publication. Finally the girls acted out how a good book can nourish the soul and feed the brain, in almost the same way that food nourishes the body.
Farlington is fortunate to have its own author of children’s books as one of their teachers. As part of Book Week, Ruth Young ran workshops for all Prep. pupils, during which she read extracts from her recently published Aunty Marmalade. The younger children discussed the characters and how they imagined them to look and then made drawings and wrote their own ideas about the story. With the older girls, Ruth gave them tips on how to improve their writing by ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’ their story, and ways of achieving more ‘visual’ creative writing to engage the reader.

PUPILS CHOSEN TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN INDIA

Ten pupils from Windlesham House School in Washington are to experience the trip of a lifetime having been selected to visit India later this year.

George Carmichael, Monty Clevely, Theo Golden, Claudia Kelley, Will Line, Henry Martin, Marcus Miller, Laila Petra, Mark Smirnov and Joey Walsworth will be visiting education projects and handing over fund-raising following the School’s efforts during its World Awareness Week in January.

The group, along with two members of staff, will be going with the Chair of Trustees of the CRED Foundation, Paul Sanderson MBE, who regularly leads trips for pupils to community projects in developing nations.

Windlesham last sent out a group in 2008 to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia where they spent a week delivering creative activities for the children and young people in the slums.

Teacher and co-ordinator for the India trip, Justin Blake, said: “The ten pupils all gave very impressive interviews and they each deserve their place for what will be a life-changing experience.”

“We can all play our part in making a difference around the world and I know that this will be an extraordinary journey for everyone. It is a privilege to be able to help vulnerable children in India and we are looking forward to this with great anticipation. It promises to be a truly unforgettable adventure.”

PHOTO: The Windlesham team gather ahead of their trip to India this October.

DAME VERA LYNN VISITS LANCING COLLEGE

On Sunday 28 February the pupils and staff at Lancing College were delighted to welcome Dame Vera Lynn to their morning Chapel service.

After the service, Dame Vera enjoyed lunch with members of the College choir and their families. She was also entertained by a group of girls from Field’s House who sang their a cappella version of ‘We’ll Meet Again’.

“It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet Dame Vera,” said Sixth Former Camilla Harris, “my grandmother is a big admirer of hers and it was very exciting to be able to sing to her.”

Lancing College celebrates 110 years of its Combined Cadet Force

Special events to commemorate this landmark anniversary will take place on 10th March 2010

Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Woodard OL, great-grandson of Rev Nathaniel Woodard (the founder of Lancing College and of the Woodard Corporation of schools), will attend, with his sons Commander Jolyon Woodard RN OL and Captain Rupert Woodard OL. They will arrive in a Sea King helicopter.

This year, Lancing College celebrates 110 years of its Combined Cadet Force (CCF). 2010 is considered by members of the Cadet Forces as an historic year, as it marks the 150th anniversary of cadet activities in the UK. The Cadet Corps at Lancing was founded in 1900 by the Head Master, Ambrose J Wilson, and CCF at the College is now more popular than ever. There are 150 cadets – with girls making up roughly a third of those who take part.

Pupils at Lancing can choose to take CCF on Wednesday afternoons, as part of their extra curricular activities. These students compete annually at the National Shooting Centre in Bisley, take part in adventurous training camps at Easter and in summer, as well as local exercises in the Ladywell Valley (part of the College grounds). The RAF section also has annual camps at RAF stations, as well as field days where cadets can learn to fly, glide or parachute. The training activities help to develop military knowledge, drill, map and compass skills, fieldcraft, skill at arms, life saving and first aid.

The aim of a CCF training is to help pupils develop powers of leadership, responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance. This training also helps to build confidence. CCF is not a pre-service organisation, although it encourages those who have an interest in the services to become Officers of the Regular or Reserve Forces.

A number of OLs (Lancing alumni) have gone on to careers in the armed forces. Commodore Richards RN (at Lancing 1972-77) recalls,
“I left Lancing in July 1977 and walked through the gates of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in September of the same year. I have been ‘in’ ever since, in jobs ranging from commanding the Destroyer HMS Exeter… [and] designing the Ministry of Defence’s Middle East engagement strategy to teaching at the old Royal Navy Staff College at Greenwich… Did the CCF help me on my way – you bet… The CCF training set the scene well for the military training to follow, offering an early insight into both the discipline and friendship of a service career,”

The 110th Anniversary Celebrations: Wednesday 10th March

These will commence at 2pm with a Parade, with the inspecting officer, Major-General David Rutherford-Jones OL, followed by a range of activities throughout the afternoon. A Thanksgiving Service, when a new CCF banner will be presented, will take place at 5pm in the famous Lancing College Chapel. This will be followed by a Reception and Dinner for VIPs. Invitees include OLs with military careers, OLs who participated in CCF at Lancing, and present and previous staff who have commanded CCF at the College.

Photo: CCF at Lancing in the 1930s

Extended Project Qualification

The Extended Project Qualification is a new AS level which we are introducing into the Sixth Form. It gives students the opportunity to develop their skills in research and in independent study which are the foundation for university level work. The students can develop ideas covered in their A level studies, use cross curricular themes or research an entirely new area. The work involves
research and writing up an extended essay (a ‘dissertation’) or students could produce a piece of artwork, drama or music. They will be awarded an AS grade (A* to E) based on their journal,
which contains the write up, analysis and reflection on how they managed the project.

Helen Seymour (U6), under the guidance of Mrs Penny Huntsman, has almost completed her EPQ and, as part of the final award, she presented an overview of her project to a mixed audience of students and tutors. Helen has spent the last eight months researching the works of Damien Hirst, a well‐known
contemporary (and controversial) artist about whom there is relatively little documented. This did not put Helen off, rather it fuelled her interest and she visited galleries to see the works firsthand, researched through the inter‐library system and bought gallery brochures to inform her writing.

Her final presentation, which focused on memento mori, was fascinating, inspiring, informative and in true Helen‐style entertaining. Her explanations were clear and demonstrated her very
high level of understanding of the man and his works, but she managed to bring the difficult concepts down to a level which the audience could relate to and connect with the ideas.

We are hoping that Helen will be able to deliver her presentation to a wider audience, and that the Lower Sixth will be inspired to take on this very worthwhile challenge next year.

PREP SCHOOL SPRING CONCERT

The weather may have been icy outside but inside Farlington’s Courtyard Hall the Prep School’s Spring Concert put a spring in everyone’s step. It was lovely to see all the girls in the Prep School involved, with those who weren’t performing greeting visitors at the door and assisting with the staging. The audience all rose for the initial rousing rendition of God Save the Queen from the Prep School orchestra and then sat back to enjoy a wonderful variety of performances. There were a number of outstanding individual performances, among them Summer Raemason’s charming guitar solo on her bright pink guitar and Kitty Scott’s beautiful flute solo, enhanced by the knowledge that Kitty had been off sick and had come in especially to take part. The Samba Band played a wonderful ‘Rhythm Grid’ which was impressive in the complete concentration maintained by the girls in keeping the beat. One of the most interesting and atmospheric pieces was a composition by the Year 5 girls, entitled ‘Journey into Space’. Playing a variety of instruments, including a large cardboard tube (!), the girls created a complete journey through space from the rocket launch to the landing on a strange and haunting landscape, created by the tinkling and chiming of triangles and xylophones.
All credit must go to Mrs Anne Stearns, Director of Prep Music, for inspiring the girls to create, not only such a high standard of junior music, but also for making it so obviously enjoyable and fun!

Drama workshop at Farlington

Farlington’s Drama and Music Departments are beginning a new trend of inviting in outside speakers and performers to talk to senior students about their experiences and give them tips and advice.

Nikky Griffiths was in the original cast of the musical Wicked in the West End, Hairspray, and in the touring productions of Mama Mia and Grease. She talked to the girls about her own path to the West End stage; the underlying message being that it involved huge determination, a lot of hard work and a great deal of luck. Nikki, who comes from Cranleigh, and whose mother runs Cranleigh Dance and Theatre Arts, performed Popular for the girls, and Farlington’s teacher of Drama, Ray Gabbard, not a stranger himself to the stage having performed on Broadway, sang Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

During the workshop which followed Nikky helped the girls with character development and gave them tips on how to project a strong presence when on stage. The girls were inspired by the live performance and felt that Nikky’s workshop had given them a really useful insight into the world of show business.

WINDLESHAM HOUSE SCHOOL CELEBRATES ITS CENTENARY YEAR 1910-2010

Former pupils at Windlesham House School in Washington, West Sussex, are celebrating an historical landmark this year as their organisation marks its 100th birthday.

The Windlesham House Association began at a dinner held at the School, which was then based in Brighton, in 1910. The dinner’s Chair was Alfred Scott who had been the school doctor for many years and it is only in the last few years that the last of his great-grandchildren have left the School. The oldest former pupil whom the School is currently in touch with is aged 95 having left the School in 1927.

Windlesham House School originates from a school set up for a dozen or so pupils by Reverend Worsley at Newport on the Isle of Wight in 1826. It was bought by the Malden family in 1837, initially for the children of naval officers, and was moved to Brighton in 1837. In 1913, the School moved to Portslade and in 1934 went to its present site at Washington.

The Maldens are central to the history of Windlesham House School with five generations involved from 1837 to 1994. Charles and Elizabeth Ann Malden were the joint Heads from 1957 to 1994 and their eldest daughter, Lucinda, became the Chairman of Governors in 2009.

The Chapel also plays a major part in the School’s history – originally earmarked for being torn down in Oxford in 1896, the Maldens saved the building and it has moved with the School each time, now in its fourth home in Washington.

The Windlesham House Association will be marking its centenary year with a reunion on Sunday 4th July as part of a spectacular festival weekend called Odyssey. For more information, please visit the website at www.odyssey10.com.

Headmaster, Richard Foster, said: “It is a real privilege to have such a wealth of history here at Windlesham and the former pupils, and indeed former parents and members of staff, all play a huge role.”

Secretary of the Windlesham House Association, Richard Martin, said: “The organisation is extremely active with nearly five thousand members and regular events either here at the School, in London, or indeed around the world. It is always exciting to hear the news of members as they progress in life and they do love to hear what is happening at their former prep school.”

PHOTO: The opening of the new school at Southern Cross in 1913, otherwise known as Portslade.

CHILDREN HELPING LESS FORTUNATE CHILDREN OVERSEAS

Pupils and staff at Windlesham House School will be playing their part in making a difference as they take part in their fourth annual World Awareness Week.

Starting on Monday 25th January, the week will feature a range of special events and speakers visiting the school in Washington, West Sussex.

They include speakers from Links International, Stop The Traffik and Spurgeons, an organisation that creates opportunities for vulnerable children.

It starts with ‘Make A Difference Day’ on Monday 25th January where pupils and staff will be dressing in Indian style clothing. Minimal Meals Day will be on Tuesday 26th January with an Indian theme and the week culminates with a talk by Paul Sanderson MBE, Director of The CRED Foundation, from Littlehampton. Funds raised will go to education projects helping vulnerable children in India.

Paul regularly leads trips for our pupils to schools and community projects in developing nations. In 2008, a group from Windlesham visited the slums of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and another team will be venturing to India this October to visit education projects and hand over our fundraising.

Justin Blake, a teacher at Windlesham House School, co-ordinates World Awareness Week each year. He said: “This gives our pupils a fantastic opportunity to learn about life around the world and the major issues of our time from global poverty and natural disasters to climate change and how we can all play a part in helping to make a difference.”

“This comes at an extremely poignant time when the world is coming together to help those in need in Haiti following its devastating earthquake.”

The Choir of Lancing College: Performance at Westminster Abbey

The Choir of Lancing College:
Performance at Westminster Abbey
Tuesday 5th January

The magnificent Choir of Lancing College sang Choral Evensong in Westminster Abbey on 5th January. It was the feast day of Edward the Confessor, founder of the Abbey, and also the eve of the Epiphany, so the music chosen reflected this.
•Introit ‘Ab Oriente Venerunt Magi’ by the 16th century composer Jacob Handl
•C major ‘Evening Canticles’ by the 20th century composer, Stanford
•The splendid ceremonial anthem ‘Thou, O God, Art Praised in Sion’ by another 20th century composer, Malcolm Boyle.

The evensong was open to all members of the public.

Neil Cox has been Director of Music of Lancing College Chapel since 1978, and is responsible for its exceptional standard.

Later this term, on Wednesday 24th March, the Choir will sing in the other great royal foundation, St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Lancing College Choir

There is a long tradition of excellence in choral singing at Lancing College. Major composers have written music for the choir: Benjamin Britten composed his cantata Saint Nicolas for Lancing’s centenary in 1948, and the College celebrated its 150th anniversary by commissioning Arvo Pärt to write a piece marking the event. The Choir gave the first performance of this new work, Triodion, in Westminster Abbey in April 1998.

Lancing College Choir, which consists of around fifty boys and girls, includes former cathedral choristers in its ranks. A number of young singers have been trained in the choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St George’s Chapel, Salisbury Cathedral and Chichester Cathedral. The Choir has sung in concerts and services in major continental churches and cathedrals. In Italy, for example, they have sung in St. Mark’s Basilica (Venice), and the Frari Church and St Anthony’s Basilica (Padua).

Many young musicians from Lancing have gone on to take up choral and organ scholarships at the universities of Cambridge (King’s College and St John’s College), Oxford (Magdalen College and Merton College) and London (Royal Holloway College and King’s College), as well as Gloucester Cathedral and Truro Cathedral.

The Chapel

The famous Chapel at Lancing, the largest and one of the finest school chapels in the world, is home to the Choir. It is a magnificent neo-Gothic, Grade I listed building and is an impressive Sussex landmark. Over 90 foot in height, its internal vaults are matched in England only by those at Westminster Abbey and York Minster. It houses three fine organs, the Elliott chamber organ, the “two manual” Frobenius organ and the “four manual” Walker organ. Neil Cox oversaw the design and installation of the Walker and Frobenius organs in the Chapel in 1986.

WINDLESHAM’S JOURNEY TO SPARKS WINTER BALL

“That was outstanding, great music, great sense of humour and brilliantly done – congratulations,” these were the words from impressionist Rory Bremner to pupils of Windlesham House School in Washington, West Sussex, as he hosted a charity ball in London.

He was speaking after the pupils gave a spectacular performance at the Sparks Winter Ball, the children’s medical research charity, on Thursday 10th December 2009.

The pupils were invited to the London event to sing carols and, in total, the money raised on the night was approximately £200,000.

Other guests at the Ball included HRH Princess Michael o f Kent, Kenny and Gabi Logan (presidents of Sparks), Robert Powell, the England and British Lions rugby player Simon Shaw as well as Strictly Come Dancing finalist and sports presenter, Chris Hollins.

The children were performing as part of the build-up to Odyssey – a two-day festival spectacular taking place at Windlesham House School on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July 2010 in aid of Sparks.

Odyssey is a celebration of performing arts and entertainment which will include a live link-up to the International Space Station and The Bootleg Beatles headlining on Sunday 4th July.

Log on to the website www.odyssey10.com for further details of these charity events and other information including ticket sales, sponsorship and line-up.

PHOTO: The Windlesham House School Choir.

The Choir of Lancing College to sing at Westminster Abbey

The magnificent Choir of Lancing College will be singing Choral Evensong in Westminster Abbey on 5th January. It is the feast day of Edward the Confessor, founder of the Abbey, and also the eve of the Epiphany, so the music chosen reflects this.
•Introit ‘Ab Oriente Venerunt Magi’ by the 16th century composer Jacob Handl
•C major ‘Evening Canticles’ by the 20th century composer, Stanford
•the splendid ceremonial anthem ‘Thou, O God, Art Praised in Sion’ by another 20th century composer, Malcolm Boyle.

The evensong is open to all members of the public.

Neil Cox has been Director of Music of Lancing College Chapel since 1978, and is responsible for its exceptional standard.

Later next term, on Wednesday 24th March, the Choir will sing in the other great royal foundation, St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Lancing College Choir

There is a long tradition of excellence in choral singing at Lancing College. Major composers have written music for the choir: Benjamin Britten composed his cantata Saint Nicolas for Lancing’s centenary in 1948, and the College celebrated its 150th anniversary by commissioning Arvo Pärt to write a piece marking the event. The Choir gave the first performance of this new work, Triodion, in Westminster Abbey in April 1998.

Lancing College Choir, which consists of around fifty boys and girls, includes former cathedral choristers in its ranks. A number of young singers have been trained in the choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St George’s Chapel, Salisbury Cathedral and Chichester Cathedral. The Choir has sung in concerts and services in major continental churches and cathedrals. In Italy, for example, they have sung in St. Mark’s Basilica (Venice), and the Frari Church and St Anthony’s Basilica (Padua).

Many young musicians from Lancing have gone on to take up choral and organ scholarships at the universities of Cambridge (King’s College and St John’s College), Oxford (Magdalen College and Merton College) and London (Royal Holloway College and King’s College), as well as Gloucester Cathedral and Truro Cathedral.

The Chapel

The famous Chapel at Lancing, the largest and one of the finest school chapels in the world, is home to the Choir. It is a magnificent neo-Gothic, Grade I listed building and is an impressive Sussex landmark. Over 90 foot in height, its internal vaults are matched in England only by those at Westminster Abbey and York Minster. It houses three fine organs, the Elliott chamber organ, the “two manual” Frobenius organ and the “four manual” Walker organ. Neil Cox oversaw the design and installation of the Walker and Frobenius organs in the Chapel in 1986.

PUPILS PERFORM FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITY IN LONDON AS SPECTACULAR PLANS ARE REVEALED

Astronauts sending messages from on board the International Space Station, The Bootleg Beatles headlining, thousands of children performing, HRH Princess Michael of Kent opening the festival weekend and a world’s first with ground-breaking multi-media rock concert technology…

This will be Odyssey – a two-day festival spectacular taking place at Windlesham House School, in Washington, West Sussex, on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July 2010 all in aid of the children’s medical research charity, Sparks.

And, the journey has now begun as pupils from the school have been invited to perform carols at the charity’s Christmas Ball in London on Thursday 10th December 2009. Taking place at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, the event will be hosted by impressionist Rory Bremner in the presence of HRH Princess Michael of Kent.

Odyssey organiser, Jane Denman, said: “I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled we all are that Odyssey’s journey has begun. The Sparks charity ball and our participation in it signifies the start of an exciting relationship between Windlesham House School and Sparks that will continue with a number of events being held throughout the year.”

Director of Music at Windlesham House School, Anthony Hutchings, said: “Sparks is a children’s medical research charity so it makes sense for our children to support this organisation – children doing something for other children.”

Log on to the website www.odyssey10.com over the coming months for further details of these charity events and other information including ticket sales, sponsorship and line-up.

TEACHER GROWS A TASH FOR MEN’S HEALTH AWARENESS

A teacher at Windlesham House School in Washington has been inspired by a moustache movement to raise money for a brain tumour charity.

Alex Armstrong, who was also a pupil at the school, got involved with Movember, a moustache growing charity event held every November that raises funds and awareness for men’s health.

Alex has now raised more than £200 for the Hugh McDermott Childhood Brain Tumour Charity. 16 year old Hugo died after battling against a high grade brain tumour.

Hugo’s brother, Ed, set up the organisation and enlisted the help of his friend, Alex Armstrong, to help raise funds.

Headmaster of Windlesham House School, Richard Foster, said: “This is a wonderful charity and we are delighted that Mr Armstrong has been raising money and awareness for such a worthwhile cause.”

More details can be found at www.braintumourtrust.co.uk.

WINDLESHAM’S ATHLETES SHINE IN CROSS-COUNTRY BATTLE

Windlesham House School runners have been celebrating after an excellent haul of medals at the Worthing & District Cross-Country Championships.

38 pupils from the school in Washington took part in the event on Saturday 21st November at The Gallops in Findon Valley.

10 year old John Vignaux took gold in the U11 boys section while 11 year old Florence Margaroli, from Worthing, also celebrated gold in the U12 girls. Her team-mate, India Cumming, took bronze in the U12 girls while Windlesham had five girls finishing in the top 10 for that age group.

Overall, Windlesham won the U12 girls, were runners-up in the U12 boys and came third overall in the U10 boys’ age group.

Archie Haines-Moss and Arabella Beattie both performed exceptionally well running in the year group above with Archie finishing in 11th place in the U9 boys group and Arabella finishing an extremely respectable 8th in the U10 girls section.

Director of PE at Windlesham House School, Mark Duncan, said: “A special mention must be reserved for our U12 girls’ squad. Florence Margaroli took gold, India Cumming came in third, Eloise Kiely was fourth, Abi Gilchrist was fifth and Emerald Maloney was tenth.”

“Equally important, however, was the guts and determination displayed by Violetta Ewing and Claudia Kelley to run through the pain barrier and secure a memorable team triumph.”