Junior Alleynian 2020

JUNIOR ALLEYNIAN

2020

n Academically we saw the boys’ approach to 11+ pay off with some of our best results in recent memory; getting the top four results in English and three of the top five in Maths, out of over 500, was a sign of the excellence at the top end of the year. Overall results were very strong with many boys exceeding our expectations. Similarly our Primary Maths Challenge results, one of our only externally measurable tests, shows the superb progress our boys are making. This year we managed to get 18 gold, silver or bronze awards in the national round, which placed us in the top four schools in the country. But as ever we pride ourselves on how we develop the boys beyond the curriculum, and the depth and enrichment of our projects and free learning has taken another step forward. Each year group is now widening their choices, topics, depth and freedom to explore academic investigations and enrichment. This culminated again in the second Year 6 Great Exhibition. For many this was a highlight of their year and it was such a shame we were not able to exhibit in person. We have had many talks, trips and workshops including DC IAM – Identity Awareness Month, four author visits, a science collaboration with UCL students about air pollution, a trip to a Synagogue, anti-bullying workshops, Young Shakespeare visit and Matilda the Musical visit. In chess the boys again did well but sadly our ‘golden generation’ did not get their day in the sun at Pontins at the ESPCA National Championships. We also held Grandmaster workshops with Raymond Keene in collaboration with Dulwich Wood and Rosendale Primary, and our online tournaments this term have been extremely popular. In music there have been more boys playing in open and pop in and play concerts, being part of senior orchestras and performing in the chapel and madrigal choirs. Whilst in Drama we had the superb LAMDA concert of Olympic Days as well as the Year 5’s play in two days charting the round the world in 80 days. The House system and competitions seemed to be even more keenly contested this year; House History was one of the best we have had for years. I felt very privileged to read all the shortlisted entries and enjoyed how deeply personal, informative and diverse they were. Service learning, charities and acts of kindness were also highlights of the year; the food bank community service project, Christmas party, 26.1 and 401 challenges and the home acts of kindness brought out the importance to the boys of giving of themselves and their time to others. In Sport the all-conquering Year 6s beat almost all schools across the board at football. Their comfortable triumph in the London Schools tournament deservedly took them through to the National Finals. We’ll never know how far they would have got, however they should feel very proud of how they played and progressed. Outside that the philosophy of participation by all in the Junior School has ensured that more boys are playing in every fixture in each term and so enjoying physical exercise, developing their skills and learning about sportsmanship and teamwork to help them in so many other areas of their lives. Looking back on what happened this term I’d like to give a little more context to how we managed to not only cope but really progress the school. During the course of this year the College had already rolled out a plan to give all staff a quality laptop and we were beginning to learn about how Microsoft Teams could work to improve our educational delivery. When lockdown and remote learning were announced the extraordinary benefits of those decisions were seen. The last week of the Easter term was a trial but after constant work over the holidays we undertook a programme of remote learning, which received universal support and acclaim. Central to this was the dedication of the individual teachers to look after their boys academically and pastorally. We tried very hard to ensure that the responsibility HEAD’S HIGHLIGHTS (SPEECH DAY 2020)

for the boys’ learning was shifted towards the staff and the school. Added to this was the full community, enrichment and co-curricular opportunities to engage the boys. The assemblies, extensive clubs programme, sport and Games challenges, House competitions and the reading and library options are areas, which few schools had the ambition or capacity to deliver. I would also like to take this opportunity to talk about the important rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. We were all very affected by the events that have happened in America and this has facilitated some very important self-reflection in how we talk about these issues with the boys and help them be themselves, support them and unify our community against racism. Being able to attend and work at this remarkable institution is a privilege. We must work harder to understand that privilege and what fairness looks like and our responsibilities to give back in order to bring all our communities together. I would like to say thank you to all our parents for their engagement and support with the school this year but in particular of their sons this term. I hope you have found out a great deal about how learning can be facilitated, the new technical innovations in online learning and maybe what it takes to be a teacher. Your engagement, praise and constructive support is always welcome. Particular thanks to the Friends of Dulwich College in the Junior School; Jane Murray and all her team do an amazing job in bringing the parents together, raising valuable funds for some important charities and the school. Sadly, this term we will be saying goodbye to five valuable members of staff. Firstly we say goodbye to Lauren Maskell who has been with us since January on a maternity cover. She has made a big impact on the boys’ maths and English learning in Years 5 and 6 and she leaves us to go to Notting Hill and Ealing Girls’ School as a full time teacher. Catherine Radford has been with us for five years teaching in Year 4. Her professional and dedicated care has always been exemplary and she relocates with her young family to Surrey, where she will take up a part- time form teacher role at Hazelwood School. Wioletta Szymanek leaves us to return to Poland to be with her family. There are very few staff who are as committed to the school as Wioletta has been and we will miss her very much. Emma Field leaves us to relocate to Hampshire with her husband where she will take up a role at Prince’s Mead School in Winchester. Emma has been with us for six years having started as a Newly Qualified Teacher. Her rise to take up middle management positions has been inevitable as she is so caring, dedicated and passionate about the boys and their education. Finally, after 21 years, we will be saying farewell to Francesca Southern. Fran has taught throughout the Junior School and was Deputy Head Academic for many years. Her influence on the boys individually and on the whole school will be felt for many years. She has been a very supportive colleague and a kind and sensitive voice amongst staff and SMT. I would like to particularly thank her personally for the support she has given me, especially in my first years as a Head. Fran leaves us to spend time with her husband, family and young grandchildren. Finally, I have constantly been asked how stressful and tiring the last five months have been. Of course it has been long hours and very little holiday but professionally and educationally it has been a fascinating challenge - almost exciting at times. How do we continue our ethos and education with these staff and resources, but under these constraints? They are completely ready for a holiday, of course, but that challenge will continue in September and beyond, because central to our mission will be the boys’ learning, wellbeing and progress. We will return in September, in whatever circumstances we are placed under, fully committed to those principles and will embrace the continued challenge.

Dr Griffiths

CONTENTS 2 ACADEMIC

22 ENRICHMENT

HOUSES

SPORT

TRIPS and VISITS

74 REMOTE LEARNING

FAREWELLS

88 WELCOME

GREAT EXPECTATIONS The Year 6 Great Exhibition

n In January, all pupils chose an issue or challenge in today’s world, linked to the UK Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Every two weeks, the boys approached their project from a different perspective or ‘lens’ to deepen their understanding, producing an output to synthesise their findings. At the end of the term, each pupil formed an action that could be taken forwards finding a solution for their issue. This resulted in the Year 6 virtual Great Exhibition. A special thanks goes to our Year 12 mentors for their guidance and support of the boys throughout their projects, providing feedback that has encouraged and challenged the boys’ thinking.

The Year 6 Great Exhibition

Year 3 Art Pointillism, pastel pumpkins and portraits

Year 4 Art Seascapes, collages, weaving and abstract pastels

Year 5 Art Chalk bugs and Georgia O’Keefe pastels

Year 6 Art Abstract still life and oil pastels

Year 3 DT Marble mazes

Year 4 DT Cam toys

Year 5 DT Elastic band buggies

Year 6 DT Fairground

Open Concerts

Pop in and Play

Straw and Order n The annual Christmas Celebration Concert was a fitting and spectacular way to wrap up the Michaelmas term. The Year 4 boys led the event after immersing themselves in the court room and stables of Bethlehem with their performance of ‘Straw and Order’. They did a fantastic job of transforming themselves into angry farm animals, wise men oozing wisdom, stealthy shepherds and sheep, boastful innkeepers, extravagant narrators, jazzy quiz masters and of course (central to all Nativity stories) a grumpy judge. All this was interspersed with rousing singing from all other year groups and performances from some of the Junior School ensembles.

Junior School Christmas Concert

Around the World in 80 Days The Year 5 ‘Play in two days’

n Year 5 embraced the challenge and fun that the annual Play in Two Days project presented. The students had just a day and a half of rehearsals before performing ‘Around the World in 80 Days ’ to their families and to the rest of the Junior School. The production was directed by Mr Murchie, from the Dragon School in Oxford, who inspired the boys with his enthusiasm, fun and energy. Each student had individual roles, but the ever-present chorus, made up of all Year 5 students, stole the show and required the boys to work together and give their best throughout the play. The boys worked incredibly hard during the rehearsals, and at home when learning their lines. They pulled off a fantastic production.

Tea for two, three and more… Community Christmas Tea Party

n In December, Year 5 hosted the annual Community Christmas Party. We invited residents from local care homes in the area to come to the Junior School to join us for an afternoon of cake-eating, singing, and lots of chatting. On the day, we covered the hall in decorations of paper chains and snowflakes. We set up tables, refreshments, and put out crackers that we had made in art lessons. When the guests arrived, we were so excited to see them. We all took on different roles; some of us served drinks and cakes, some people sat at the tables and chatted to the guests, and others performed musical pieces. During the afternoon, all of Year 5 performed songs and everyone joined in for a festive sing-a-long. Our guests went away with bags full of gifts, cake, cards, poems we had written, and huge smiles on their faces. It was a very special afternoon for everyone involved.

Brixton and West Norwood Foodbank

n Year 4 visited the Brixton and West Norwood Foodbank warehouse to deliver food donated by the Junior boys and their families. The boys were tasked with writing dates on to the food, ordering the items and labelling each box. Their focus and hardwork was highly praised by the staff at the warehouse. Thinking of others is central to our ethos and the boys clearly enjoyed the experience. Well done to Year 4 and thanks to all who donated.

Children’s Book Project

n In the summer term, we arranged a collection of nine boxes of books (approximately 600 books in total), which were donated by Junior School boys during Book Week. Boys were asked to donate well- loved books they had outgrown, up to the height of their form captain. Due to the school closure we were only able to run the donation time for a few days so we were thrilled to produce such a good result. The Children’s Book Project has this year been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The charity is working harder than ever, donating books to children in London who may have no access to computers, working closely with teachers and schools who do not have a library service. Thank you to all boys for bringing in their donations.

Carol Singing

Tree Planting

n A group of ten Year 6 boys joined Dulwich Wood Primary to sing Christmas carols at the annual Christmas lunch for the elderly residents of Kingswood Estate. The lunch took place in the Community Shop and the boys and girls of both schools created a fantastic atmosphere for all those who were present. Everyone was very grateful for the musical entertainment and we would also like to thank Helen Jary, Deputy Head at Dulwich Wood Primary, for inviting us to join her choir for this special occasion.

Christmas Week

Charities

n During the last week of the Michaelmas term, all boys were involved in celebrating the Junior School’s fundraising for Save the Children. In assembly we recapped the main goals of Save the Children: to ensure that all children grow up healthy and safe, and ensure that all children get an education. As well as wearing some very impressive festive jumpers, the pupils took part in a range of different activities at breaktimes. We had Christmas Karaoke, colouring sessions, Toss the Hoop on the Antler and a very competitive Pin the Nose on Rudolph!

2.6 and 401 Challenges

n Over the course of Lockdown the College challenged all the boys and staff to undertake some challenges to raise money for charity. In April, with the cancellation of thousands of fundraising events, charities have lost billions in income and many charities have had to reduce services at a time when vulnerable members of society need them most. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations launched the 2.6 challenge calling on all Home Heroes to help save UK charities. We set this challenge to our DC community and have been delighted to see so many students, staff and families taking part and donating to a charity of their choice. From the Dulwich community, we saw running from 2.6km to 26km, cycling 26km to 126km, displaying football trickery with 26 challenges and completing 26 different activities for 26 minutes, and even juggling for 26 minutes. Well done to all those who took part and made vital donations to charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research, Save the Children, NHS Covid-19 Appeal, Alzheimer’s UK and Dogs for Alzheimer’s. Then in June, partly celebrating the College’s 401st birthdaywe repeated the challenge around the number 401 but expanded it to include any sphere, not just physical. Over the course of aweek the boys and parents didmanywonderful things. Boys played 401 scales, the Norfolk brothers (Harry and Fraser) made 401 friendship bands, Nikita Sanzhar made a model of the College out of 401 matches, boys ran round their garden 40.1 times, and personally, I cycled with my two youngest children over 40 miles, visiting over 40 stations whilst spotting over 401 different things (minis over 200!) plus cows, sheep and horses.

Reverse Mufti Day

n Pupils in the Junior and Lower Schools took part in a Reverse Mufti Day on Friday 5 June to raise vital funds for the National Emergencies Trust Covid-19 Appeal. Remembering how to tie their ties and tuck in their shirts, it was great to see students learning from home in their uniform. With Year 6 back in school, the reverse element of mufti day was in action with pupils in school wearing their own clothes. With thanks to students for their generous donations, we raised over £1000 for this important cause.

Dulwich College Identity Awareness Month

n In February, the inaugural Dulwich College Identity Awareness Month – DC IAM – involved a series of events inviting our College community to celebrate, explore and reflect on our identity. Pupils from the Junior School were fully involved in The Big DC IAM identity discussion which was an opportunity to share what was important to their own personal identities and how these contribute to the wider College identity. This was also captured in the excellent short film made by Year 13 pupil Hal Howe that celebrated a range of voices from across our school celebrating themselves and the College. All pupils and staff wore their own DC IAM badges – personally designed badges that shared an image, statement, word or design to reflect the endless range of interpretations of identity.

‘Living in Limbo’

n Refugee Week was a new initiative that involved all year groups in the College during our period of remote learning. The Junior School boys focussed their learning on the MyStart charity and they took part in their LandEscape art task. This was an art project MyStart ran with young people in Kakuma, located in north-western Kenya, in which they looked at their environment and found lots of ways to depict it. They renamed the project ‘LandEscape’ – as Kakuma Refugee Camp is the land they have escaped to. The boys considered where they would like to escape to at themoment and depict it through an artwork using any medium available. The boys produced some fantastic pieces, some of which are pictured here.

Magic, Romans, McFly and Pigs in Blankets! Author Visits

n RossWelford Bestselling Ross Welford, visited us in February, along with children from Dulwich Wood and Rosemead Schools. Ross started the performance with magic and mind reading. He composed a madcap story about a chicken called Bob and a hedgehog called Geoff. Finally he talked about his latest book ‘The Kid Who Came From Space’ and themagic of reading. author,

n TomFletcher Tom Fletcher, the much-loved singer from the band McFly now turned author, came to visit us on the publication date of his brand-new book The Christmasaurus and the WinterWitch. With a packed-to-capacity auditorium, Tom and the book’s illustrator, Shane Deveries, talked about the book’s development and story, with Shane drawing the lead character live on screen. The children were enthralled as Tom Fletcher read aloud and sang a number from The Christmasaurus. We were joined by children fromDUCKS and visiting children from Rosemead School. It was a verymemorable visit.

n Caroline Lawrence In September, we welcomed author Caroline Lawrence to speak to the Junior School. Caroline’s books, The Roman Mysteries, have been translated into 14 languages, and she offered insights into how she began writing and her inspirations. The Year 6 librarians were delighted to have a Meet the Author Masterclass before her main talk to everyone which covered everything from creativity to ‘How to hook in your audience’. Boys loved hearing her fascinating facts, based on genuine research. Books were signed, boys were impressed, and we were very grateful to Caroline for such a fabulous visit.

n Ross Montgomery We were thrilled to welcome the author Ross Montgomery to read aloud and perform from his book, Christmas Dinner of Schools, on the last afternoon of the Michaelmas term. Within minutes the first ghost story piqued the boys’ interest and all eyes and ears were focussed on the author. It was a glorious relaxing end of term treat and many boys were still talking about the visit on their return to school in January.

Year 3 Roald Dahl Dress Up Day

n The annual Roald Dahl dress up day saw the Junior School invaded by a swarm of rumbustious Roald Dahl characters parading in our playground. From Esio Trot to Willy Wonkas, there was a vast array of wonderful costumes on display. The day was spent doing Dahl related activities and crafts, as well as a cracking cake sale in the Junior School playground for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Charity.

“Olympic Days”: LAMDA performance

n In February, all the boys involved in LAMDA gave parents and staff a thoroughly enjoyable performance of ‘Olympic Days’, a witty selection of scenes underpinned by events from the first Olympic Games to the present day. This was an opportunity for the students to perform in front of an audience, showcasing the performing skills they have developed in their LAMDA lessons. The commitment of the boys to their roles was clear to see and they fully immersed themselves in their characters, delivering their lines with confidence and clarity; an impressive feat, particularly for those whose first performance in front of an audience this was. Bravo to all for a great performance.

Class Assemblies

4L recount their trip to the Brixton and Norwood Foodbank

5N shed light on Diwali and how it is celebrated globally

4R narrate and act out traditional stories

3R explore how Christmas around the world is celebrated

Be kind, be kind, be kind...the message was loud and clear from 3G!

4R share facts and information about Chinese New Year

5D know the importance of striving for excellence in all walks of life

4F promote the importance of fairtrade 6R present the potential pros and cons of Brexit

6D share their thoughts on ‘doing the right thing’ regardless of whether or not someone is watching you

5N act out a sketch about ‘caring for others’ - one of our school values

Other Assemblies

Jo Baillie-Stark performs on the bassoon and introduces JS boys to this unique instrument

Music assembly trio

Finlay Johnston amazes us with his talents on the piano

Kabir performs his wining piece from the Piano Platform competition

Brass consort perform at assembly

Robert Weaver shares his knowledge and wisdom on an illuminated manuscript within the College archives

The London Community Gospel Choir

Representatives from the NSPCC promote the message of ‘speaking out and staying safe’

Robert Weaver shares his knowledge and wisdom on an illuminated manuscript within the College archives

The London Community Gospel Choir amaze us with their energy and passion for singing

Primary Maths Challenge Dulwich College Junior School in top four schools in the country

n Last November, some Year 5s and Year 6s took part in the international maths competition, the Primary Maths Challenge (PMC). The challenge was taken by 66,500 pupils from schools across the world, and of these the top 3%were invited to take part in the Bonus Round. Here at Dulwich College Junior School, 26 students took the Bonus Round paper in February, and greatly enjoyed the challenge and thinking involved. Awards have been allocated by PMC to students scoring 14 marks or higher in the Bonus Round, and we are thrilled with the results our students have achieved – four Gold (highest to date at DCJS), eight Silver, and six Bronze, which placed us in the top four schools in the country. First Lego League Junior Southwark Expo n In the Lent term, the Year 4 Computing Club hosted an event to showcase their coding talents. The boys were tasked with creating an accessible, eco-friendly and durable building for a city, which had to contain a coded element using Lego WeDo software. As well as this, they had to create a display project about the learning process and the different steps they had taken. The boys did a fantastic job of presenting this to our judges and were praised for showing such great enthusiasm about their creations.

CHECKMATE! Chess

n The DC Junior School participated in the EPSCA (English Primary Schools Chess Association) Zonals held at Chislehurst Girls’ School in Bromley. Three teams took part - U11A, U11B and U9. The U11A did well to come fourth in the tournament and qualify for the EPSCA semi-finals to be held at Camber Sands. We also had three Year 5 boys joining the U11 A & B squad and it was a great experience for them. Squad: Kabir Ghosh (Capt.), Ryan Nguyen, Arran Avril, Andy He, Aadit Bhasin, Oliver Shek.

n The Junior School hosted over 20 pupils from Rosendale Primary School for a friendly chess fixture. The contest provided an excellent opportunity for children across a range of experience levels to play chess against different opponents, practise their skills and of course, have fun playing. It was wonderful to see over 25 games of chess being played at the same time in the Junior School Hall.

Clubs

Calligraphy

Card and Board Games

Karate

Drama

Computing Club

Street Dance

Touch Typing

Origami

STEM

Taekwon-Do

Knitting

House Line Ups

It’s All About Teamwork n Teambuilding day once again launched the House competition for the year ahead.Thedayproved tobe a huge success as the boys were faced with a series of challenging activities to c omp l e t e a c r o s s t he campus. It was a real test of their perseverance and collaborative skills. Whilst the boys were not always successful in overcoming the challenges presented, their positivity brought a real sense of togetherness and fun to thisspecial day in the Junior School.

House Art Competition YEAR 3 – personal memories

n For this year’s House Art competition, the boys had to think about a special memory that was personal to them and represent it any medium that they wished. For many it was an important life event, a wonderful holiday or a family celebration. They were given free reign over making it a realistic representation or an abstract piece, but as you can see, the outcomes were spectacular.

House Art Competition YEAR 4 – personal memories

House Art Competition YEAR 5 – personal memories

House Art Competition YEAR 6 – personal memories

Mind Games

n The House mind games competition, held in the Lent term, challenged all boys to work collaboratively within their year groups to solve a series of mathematical, lateral thinking puzzles. Each year group had twomain problems to solve, followed by a quickfire round of fifteen questions. Hints were available for the boys (if needed), but this came at the cost of a one-point deduction to their overall score. It was great to see such positive teamwork for this challenging competition.

Patball Competition

House 500 Words Story Writing Competition

Viper Lodge Boarding School Viper Lodge boarding school was a cold wet place, where children were sent to be forgotten. Children of parents who were too busy making money or parents who were dead. lt wasn’t the damp soggy beds or the dark mysterious corridors that were the most depressing, it was the punishments. The school was run like a Victorian prison. There were punishments for being late for breakfast, there were punishments for not doing your homework, and finally the worst of all, you would get a slap of the belt for talking after hours. The worst person for punishments and the hardest hitter was the house master Mr Tank, although every pale underfed pupil at Viper Lodge boarding school understood why he was so cruel. It was rumoured that his poor mum died by a terrible shark attack while he watched from the shore. So here I stood a miserable student of the school, with pale white skin and knotted unkempt hair, named by my mother as Fergus James Duff, but mostly called here Ratty or Boy, and today I wasn’t sure how yet but today I was going to escape! My best friend Worm whose real name was Tarquin Pack and I had just finished our lunch.Well I call it lunch but actually it was only a short stumpy carrot in a bowl of warm water. (yuck). We often escaped to the mystical woods on the edge of the property. No one went down there except us, it was our magical place that the others seemed to be scared of. There were rumours of children disappearing and what was about to happen next was in some sense what the rumours had said, but like themagazines over reacting about the coronavirus, the rumoursmade it soundway too terrible. The trees swayed in the song of the wind and the robins chirped in the distance. It was truly amazing. We sat on a log chatting about our dream food when we heard a distant crying or some sort of strained sound. We looked around but we couldn’t see anything. Where was this strange sound coming from?Wormwas rustling in a bush and I was looking behind trees “l found something Ratty/’ worm shouted in a excited sort of tone. I darted towards him thinking it was a child that had had a terrible punishment, but what I came to find out next was that it was not a student - It was a baby dragon! Tired, defenceless, and caught round it’s poor little legs spiky and jagged barbed wire was wrapped. “9 1 could see it cutting into his skin. Ever so carefully me and Worm unwrapped the poor baby from its cage and with a tiny roar of thanks it flew off into nothingness. Worm looked at me and I looked toWorm, and we both knewwe had done a good thing. As we faced reality and started to walk with our heads down, it seemed that today was not the day we were going to escape. Then from nowhere mother dragon blocked out the sun, her huge wings flapping with joy she beckoned us onto her back. This was it. Worm turned his head sharply and as l nodded we both smiled and jumped on board, and the dragon flew us far far away from that awful place, never to return.

The dragon who couldn’t fly As we all know most dragons know how to fly by the age of five dragon years. But this is a story about a dragon that could not fly until the age of ten dragon years. A dragon year is like four normal human years. I know it seems irregular, but it is true. This dragon was a very unlucky dragon. This all started when he was born in the forest of Digitidoo, which was in the middle of Russia. When he was born he breathed fire and burned his mother’s toes. He was named the day after he was born and he was called James. He was well loved by his parents and loved to play with his friends, but by the age of five he couldn’t fly at all. All of James’ friends could fly. There was his best friend, Peter, who was so lucky and learned to fly when he was only three dragon years old! There was also his older sister Mary who learned to fly when she was five dragon years old. Mary was very kind to James and tried to help him to fly, but that just made James feel even worse. He tried several times. Once he jumped off his home which was on a humungous mountain. He jumped and fell off and banged himself and broke his legs. He had a long and very painful journey to the hospital. At the hospital the doctors did an x-ray. Later he was lying in bed asleep in hospital. His parents had tears running down their faces. Once James had recovered, his parents decided that he must learn to fly. They tried and tried so many times but still James couldn’t fly. They tried everything! Throwing him into the air, flapping his small wings for him, buying him a jet pack (all that happened is that he shot into the air and disappeared!!!!!) and they also tried a catapult (they just managed to shoot him into a big bunch of pillows). James nearly gave up and decided that he’d never learn to fly. He started to look for jobs that dragons could do without flying. He thought about running marathons, but he tried one and his little legs only took him one kilometre. He tried to be a train driver, but he couldn’t fit in the driver’s cabin. There were just no jobs for a dragon who couldn’t fly. He decided he had to try one last time to get over his fear and learn to fly. He climbed up the tallest mountain in Russia, Mount Elbrus, which is over five kilometres high. He finally got to the peak, looked down and saw lots of fluffy white snow and soft bubbly clouds. He jumped … and plummeted toward the ground. He flapped like he had never flapped before, and then suddenly he soared into the sky. He had overcome his fear and now he teaches other young dragons to fly. n There were scary stories, funny stories, exciting stories, innovative stories, terrifying stories, clever stories and sad stories where dragons died. But each of them was wonderful in its own way. Participation in the competition was fantastic this year, with nearly all boys submitting entries.

Noah Flemyng, Year 4

Hugo Williams, Year 3

A dragon’s quest for happiness A foxwandered about the desolate streets. Prancing towards his destination. An egg grasped in his mouth. He stopped behind a group of bins, dropped the egg, and strutted into the night. A week passed, the egg started to move. The slightest wobble, but still moving. A crack appeared, streaming round the egg like a river. Ever so slightly, a figure emerged. A small body covered in scarlet and arms draped with skin, stubby legs unfolded and there stood a dragon. It soon came accustomed to the dark. Humans petrified it so better hide in the shadows. But, one morning, a man saw him, the man had bloodshot eyes and a sinister grin like the devil. Darting back to the shadows, the dragon saw his intentions. To catch and sell him like any other good. The dragon grew up on the streets, not having a home. He knew his mother and father were out there somewhere, just hidden, like a treasure inside a chest. One night this would all change. In the darkness, the dragon fumbled for food, searching every corner with a desire to eat. Then he heard a call, not any call but a dragon roar! He looked up, a dragon circling him! But then black, he had been caught. Not just by anyone, no, theman had come back. Holding himupwith hiswithered fingers he stared into the eyes of the dragon. The rest happened too quickly. The man shoving him into a cage, selling him and being transported away from his mother. At least the new owner was kind and loving. She was a plump little girl and always wore blue tweed skirts. But, apart from her appearance, she was lovely. Every day passed with the same routine and nothing was how the dragon liked it. One day as the girl went to bed, the dragon bolted from his cage and ran out the door. Leaping in the fresh air and grass. He set off on a journey. Livingnowwas a struggle.Therewasno shelter andalways a food shortage. Farmers chased him, brandishing their hoes. Now there was definitely no hope. Weeks went in the same manner and it was certainly no place for a baby dragon. Out of the blue, something circled him in the sky. Not wanting to cause attention, the dragon hung his head, he was sick of running. But, with his head hung low, he could not see anything. Peering up at the sky, a dragon swiftly landed to an abrupt halt. He had found his parents. Now all was safe, nothing could stop his happiness. Nestling his head into his parents, he fell into a deep sleep. Now if you look into the countryside, youmight see this dragon. Swirling so gracefully in the cobalt sky.

The Trial of the Hippogriff They say that if an apprentice wants to become a knight, they must tame a beast first. To tame one, you must be fast and quiet. Though they normally hear you before you even see them. Many apprentices go for pegasi, but only the bravest can tame a hippogriff, which is what I am trying to find. So here I am, hoping that my pet hydrus doesn’t eat another kelpie from the inside-out. We had just made it to the deep forest. That was where the hippogriffs were. I heard an ear-deafening roar. I grasped the handle of my knife. It was probably a roc, a fifty-foot-long bird that ruled the sky. I decided that we continue the walk till twilight, then set up camp for the night. Just then, a flash of gold caught my eye. The hippogriff was incredible. Its mane gleamed in the low light. I couldn’t help but kneel in respect to it. Suddenly, the roar pierced the sky and it flew off, much to my disappointment. I decided that this was where we would set up camp for the night. And so I went to get firewood Mist was clinging to the mossy trees and I wondered if I would ever be able to tame a hippogriff, and if I was doing all this for nothing. I could barely even see my hand in front of my face. It was already dark, and I didn’t know which way camp was. Darkness closed in like a suffocating blanket. The only thing I could see was the faint glow of pixies and fireflies. I turned round and round but all the trees looked the same. I was lost in the deep forest, there was no way that I would find my way out. I was stuck. Suddenly, heavy footsteps filled the silence of the night. I ran into the undergrowth and crouched down just as the beast came into view. Using the little light there was, I could make out one large eye, staring right at me. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Every muscle in my body ached with tiredness. The cyclops was still following me, and he hadn’t broken a sweat. A chimera was hissing at me, so I hissed back, a good idea if you don’t want to lose a fight. Just then, the flash of gold reappeared, barrelling right into the cyclops. They tossed and turned, each trying to land a hit on the other. Then the hippogriff flew up and charged right into the cyclops, who then lay there motionless on the ground, dead. The hippogriff came closer and bowed its head. I felt its soft feathers and climbed onto its back. Then, I felt something stronger than bravery. I took off into the sky and looked down at the patchwork fields and the whole kingdom to explore. I made a decision. I placed my hand on my hydrus’s back and soared through the sky at speeds I didn’t know were possible. I didn’t want to be a knight. I wanted to be free to do anything. Which is what I’m doing now.

Lloyd Martin, Year 5

Tom Adair, Year 6

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder YEAR 3 PHOTOGRAPHY Animals n The H use Photography comp tition tasked the boys with creating one image linked to their year group theme: • Year 3 – Animals

• Year 4 – Homes and habitats • Year 5 – Streets of London • Year 6 – Our environment

Many boys interpreted the theme in different ways which resulted in an array of excellent results. A collection of the winning and highly commended entries can be found on these four pages.

YEAR 4 PHOTOGRAPHY Homes and Habitats

YEAR 5 PHOTOGRAPHY Streets of London

YEAR 6 PHOTOGRAPHY Our Environment

Pancake Races

Cross Country

A journey across the seas: from Island life to Community rights

The History of Chinese Immigration The first signs of Chinese immigration to the UK was in the late 18th to early 19th century when Chinese seamen established small communities in the port towns of Liverpool and London, working for the East India Company importing goods such as tea and ceramics. After WWI, the Aliens Restriction Act was extended, which led to a decline in the UK’s Chinese population. In WWII 20,000 Chinese seamen were asked to help crew British ships along with the 160,000 who came to dig trenches and clear bodies for the English. However, these 180,000 were repatriated by force after all their hard work. The largest wave of Chinese was in the 1950s and 1960s where the majority were from Hong Kong. At the time Hong Kong was still a British Colony and was under pressure from Chinese refugees escaping from the civil war.

Marion McQuoid (nee Uea) was born on 6th June 1924 in Alofi, the biggest village on the island of Niue. Her childhood was filled with singing songs to whales who would pass by the island and she won the coconut tree climbing competition. Shewas a great student, trained as a teacher and at the age of 17, her mother told her: “You’re too European to stay here, go to NewZealand.” She sent her on a boat with a suitcase to stay with an aunt in Auckland. When Marion arrived in Auckland in 1941 she had to find a job. She ended up working in the Fisher and Paykel factory where they made big appliances. Marion was then promoted to manager at a sewing factory. As the only non-white person it was all the more extraordinary that she was promoted at a time when there was a lot of racism still in New Zealand.

My Grandma’s Story:

My dad told me I should go to England to join my brother and his family in York. It was 1973. At the time, it was expected that China would reclaim Hong Kong in 1979. I didn’t want to go because I did not want to leave my parents and grandma. I arrived with one suitcase, mostly filled with salty fish and dried mushrooms. The first week was very exciting but I grew more and more homesick. I worked every day at the Chinese restaurant that your grandpa’s

The Histo Marion became involved in politics while she was working and raising a family. She joined the Labour Party and tried to get elected onto the Auckland City Council. She stood against politicians who later became party leaders and mayors. She did not win but instead set up her own women’s group called Pacifica. Her husband’s ancestor, JohnMcQuoid, had been one of the first European settlers to found Auckland in 1840. Marion wanted to bring together women from the different Polynesian Islands, making them more involved in making decisions for themselves and their families. Marion said in 1975 at a women’s conference: “We have some difficulty in trying to organise women because most Pacific women are shy. International Women’s Year is one of the ways we can bring some reason to the argument about men’s rights and women’s rights. Andwhy? Because in the simplest terms they are people’s rights and their responsibility is to their whole community.” Marion was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in 1977 for her services to the Pacific Island community in New Zealand and for setting up Pacifica. She was given the medal by the Governor General in New Zealand, Sir Keith Holyoake, who was the Queen’s representative in the country. family owned. My wage was fifteen pounds a week and I sent most of it back home to my father. After I got married and had my first baby I was still so homesick that I cried every day. On my 21st birthday, your grandpa bought me a return ticket to Hong Kong. I was so surprised to realise that Hong Kong no longer felt like home and life was easier when I returned to York. My Grandpa’s Story: I was born in Darlington in 1945. My parents ran a laundry shop where they also sold toys they made from wood. My grandfather was one of the original seamen from China. He had two sons and a daughter. In Chinese tradition, the eldest son is favoured, so my grandad brought my dad over to England. Back then, it was very highly respected if you worked overseas so my dad stayed even though life was hard. My dad’s family arranged a marriage for him

in China so he went back to fetch his wife. The return journey by ship took several months. I worked in the family business before and after school. The only child who didn’t have to work was Richard, my brother. He studied hard and eventually became

I called Marion ‘T Mum?’. She got this name because my grandmother usually asked her “Would you like tea mum. T Mumwas an important person because she was dedicated to helping others. T Mum died last year at the age of 94 and is buried back in Niue.

a professor at Durham university. My family first lived in Hull. Then Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Darlington before finally settling in York.

By Zac McQuoid, Year 3

By Max Gregory, Year 4

Leningrad 1971 The story of my Grandparents

My Great Grandfather’s Military Cross I would like to tell you the story of why my Great Grandfather, Harry Kerr Aitken, received the Military Cross in Normandy during WW2. I felt, since I am named after him and next week is the 75-year anniversary of VE day, that it would be an appropriate tale. During the summer term, boys were challenged to delve into their family’s past and re-tell a story about their relatives in an engaging way. The research aspect of this competition had boys looking back at photographs, diary entries and letters, but perhaps themost powerful part of finding out about a relative’s past was the conversations that many had with elderly relatives where they found out about stories, both sad and happy, that they never previously knew. The winning entries below give just a snapshot of the rich, diverse and interesting heritage of so many of our families. House History: A story from my family’s past

Ella (my grandma) wasRussianand lived inSaint Petersburg, which at the time was known as Leningrad. She worked as a translator for a machinery factory. At this time an Iron curtain had spread over Russia, whichmeant people couldn’t travel in or out of Russia unless it was for work. My grandad Peter had arrived for work but because of the Iron Curtain he couldn’t go out with friends and he couldn’t go on dates, which was unfortunate, because Peter and Ella fell in love. At Ella’s work there was a woman called Olga who secretly worked for the KGB/intelligence agency and she was jealous of the relationship Peter and Ella had, she really loved Peter but hated Ella, so she decided to report them. Eventually the KGB had enough information to arrest Peter and sent him back to England. Peter felt destroyed. Peter and Ella said their final goodbyes and Peter left Russia to return to England. The next morning Ella was summoned to the KGB headquarters where a man appeared in front of her. “I am very disappointed in you,” he said “I know everything about what has happened between you and this English man, you have betrayed Russia and for this you will lose your job!”

ory Boys Months later Peter returned to Russia to work again, but he wasn’t allowed to go to Leningrad so he had to find a way to see Ella. Ella took a 12 hour train journey to Moscow to meet Peter where he decided to propose to her. Peter found a way to sneak into Leningrad to marry Ella, but she was scared the KGB would find out and give them an even worse punishment than before so she decided to run away as the pressure was too much. Peter looked for Ella for hours and hours until finally he found her sitting outside a café, Ella ran into his arms and cried. Peter calmed her down and they got married later that day. Since Peter wasn’t welcome in Leningrad they decided to move to England, where Peter lived. They travelled to England in Peter’s car and by Ferry. Everything was going so well. I sadly never met Harry because he died before I was born but I heard lots about him frommy Great Granny who passed away last year. He was apparently always reluctant to talk about his time during the war and in fact my Great Granny didn’t even know he had won an MC until after they were engaged. The incident happened at Estray in August 1944. He was a Captain serving in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. A single German tank planted meticulously in the centre of Estray was holding up the entire infantry as no anti-tank gun could hit it in that position. Harry asked for his M10 (heavy anti-tank gun) to be placed a couple of fields away from the tank and then told them to aim in the rough direction of the tank. He then crawled towards the tank and watched the bullet land before crawling back and telling the crew manning the gun the corrections they needed to make to hit the tank. The first four shots were misses but the fifth and sixth were hits. The tank was abandoned and consequently the infantry took control of Estray.

When Ella and Peter arrived in England she received a call, it was the MI6, the security agency for the UK (English spies). They wanted her to come to their headquarters. Ella was anxious. She arrived at the MI6 office’s in Trafalgar Square and went into another blank office just like the KGB, and behind the desk sat a man. He wanted to know everything about her past in Russia, about Peter, and about the KGB, she didn’t give away a single piece of information. Ella may have been married to an Englishman, but she still had a Russian heart.

After the war when he talked to my Great Granny about it he was more interested in the fact that on no man’s land, between him and the tank, there was a flock of dairy cows. Everyone needed the milk but no one could get to them. Harry’s most vivid memory of that day was those cows cries of distress. I’m called Harry after him and in my family, there is a silver cup, which is passed down through the Harrys of my family. The Harry cup came from someone called Henry who fought and died in Gallipoli in 1916, which was the same year that my Great Grandfather Harry was born so they named him Harry a derivative of Henry.

By Sasha Benn, Year 5

I feel like I have a lot to live up to!

By Harry Blake, Year 6

Football

n The Dulwich U10 tournament saw 32 school teams battle it out in front of the Barry Buildings. Dulwich’s U10A team played well throughout the afternoon and won the overall trophy beating Cumnor House in the final. The U11A team were also in fine form and won the ISFA U11 Sevens London Regional tournament at Alleyn’s, remaining unbeaten all day.

Tennis

Hockey

Running

Year 3 Trips

Southwark Cathedral

Matilda the Musical

Egyptian WOrkshop

Year 4 Trips

Hampton Court

Battle of Bosworth

Viking Visit

South London Synagogue

DUCKS Forest School

Design Museum

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