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CO-CURRICULAR HIGHLIGHTS MICHAELMAS 2023 If you visit the College during term time you will find a huge variety of co-curricular activities taking place. Here is a selection drawn from the Michaelmas term of 2023.
SPORT We hosted a Palace for Life primary school football tournament, welcoming 15 schools from Croydon and Lambeth. The schools were competing for a place in the Crystal Palace FC final competition, held at their training ground, alongside the winners from other local London Boroughs.
The College took on a team of OA badminton players in their third annual reunion fixture. Included in the OA side was Felix Wright who left the College this summer and is currently ranked second for his age in the country. The Junior Haskell Cup was a fantastic first fixture of the season for our younger cross- country athletes. Highlights of the day were our A team’s silver medal and the leg run by Cassius, where he took us from eleventh position to third. We hosted 30 local schools for the annual under-10s football tournament, with over 300 pupils playing in an inclusive competition on the magnificent pitches adjacent to the Barry Buildings.
DRAMA AND DANCE
Students of Drama, English and Music attended the London premiere of Dani Howard’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ at Sadlers Wells. The project was conceived by The Master, who also wrote the libretto.
The annual Bedford School rugby fixture took place, with 16 matches against our oldest friends and rivals. There were competitive fixtures across the board with the U14 A team fighting to a 12–12 draw and the U16 B team winning another one-score game. All of our matches are great occasions but the Bedford School weekend is always a highlight, with closely contested matches played with great sportsmanship. The Junior and Intermediate swimming teams travelled to Birmingham to compete at the 65th ESSA Secondary Schools’ Team Championships. It is an enormous achievement to qualify for this prestigious event: only the fastest 24 schools in the qualifying rounds are invited from over 160 entrants across the whole of England.
Finding the Folio was a newly commissioned play allied to the joint Art, Drama, English and Archive project inspired by documents ‘exploding’ from the 1619 Treasury Chest. The promenade production, with a talented cohort from Dulwich and James Allen’s Girls’ School, showcased the terrific commitment, collaboration and skill-sharing that went on in the rehearsal room.
CCF, DUKE OF EDINBURGH AND SCOUTS On Remembrance Day, the College CCF were once again joined by cadets from James Allen’s Girls’ School and Alleyn’s School CCF at the Chapel of God’s Gift to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in the Great War and subsequent conflicts. The service was beautifully observed by the cadets and local residents, and afterwards the cadets had the honour of marching through the Village. Over the first week of the summer holidays, our Gold Duke of Edinburgh participants completed a challenging four-day and three-night Qualifying Expedition in the Lake District. After much physical effort and great teamwork, all the participants achieved the Expedition Section of their Gold Award. Our Scouts (aged 10–14) held their summer camp at Tonfanau on the Mid-Wales coast, improving their camping skills and developing the leadership skills of our older youngsters. The Explorers (aged 14–17) spent two weeks travelling across Bulgaria, including climbing Mt Musala – at 2,925m the highest mountain in the Balkans. Thirteen cadets (three from JAGS) and two members of staff travelled to RAF Halton, Oxfordshire for the South East England round of the annual AST competition. Throughout the day, which started early and finished late, the cadets were outstanding – real ambassadors for our CCF.
MUSIC The 23rd Thwaites Bach Competition took place. This special event in the Dulwich College music calendar is entirely dedicated to performing the music of JS Bach. The College’s Winter Concert was held in the Cadogan Hall. Some 270 pupils were involved in performances of an eclectic programme that drew on a diverse range of music styles, including works by David Childs, Alessandro Marcello, Guy Woolfenden and Johannes Brahms. The College Chapel Choir sang Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral. A substantial congregation including parents and friends of the College heard the Choir sing music by Thomas Tomkins, Herbert Sumsion and Patrick Hadley. The College Chapel Choir sang for the Mark Evison Foundation Service in Chapel. The College’s Carols by Candlelight took place at Southwark Cathedral. The Chapel Choir, Brass Consort and percussion led a packed congregation in traditional Christmas hymns, with the Choir singing carols by Vaughan Williams, William Mathias, John Rutter, Michael Head, Eric Whitacre and Cecilia McDowall, the College’s Visiting Composer.
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