Dear Parents,

It has been another fantastically busy term and I look back at some of the highlights from the last eleven weeks.

Year 4 Play : “Wind in the Willows”
The Year 4 boys staged a glorious production of “Wind in the Willows” in May. The boys had all worked extremely hard at rehearsals during the Spring Term and they gave us a real treat. There were exceptional performances from Rat (Sebastian Clarke), Mole (Oscar Muirhead), Badger (Tom Klafkowski) and Toad (Louis Foster) and the whole cast performed brilliantly. Many congratulations to all the boys and to the talented directorial team of Mrs Hardwick and Miss Ferguson, with splendid support from Miss Lowe, Mrs Newbery, Miss Allen and the backstage team.

Jubilee Celebrations
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in style on 1st June. The boys wore great costumes, their art work in the entrance hall was wonderful and we shared a delightful picnic whilst being serenaded by the Vocal Ensemble singing “O Taste and See” by R.V.Williams, the anthem sung at the Coronation sixty years ago. An afternoon of House games (all diamond-shaped, of course) concluded a very happy day. We hope you will all treasure your Eaton House commemorative mugs.

U.K. Junior Mathematical Challenge
On the first day of the summer term the boys in Years 7 and 8 took part in this national mathematical competition. Of the 45 boys who sat the papers, an impressive number (25) achieved marks which qualify for gold, silver and bronze certificates. 7 boys reached the gold standard, with 9 qualifying for silver and 9 for bronze awards. Certificates were presented to the boys in Final Assembly and special congratulations go to Oliver Vincent who scored the highest mark of all the EHTM candidates.

Residential Trips
Successful trips have taken place this term for three year groups, with Year 5 heading off to Osmington at the beginning of May in the same week that the Year 6 boys travelled to Normandy. After Common Entrance, the Year 8 boys had the pleasure of spending a week in the Lake District. I thank all staff who helped with these expeditions and the organisers in particular – Mme Lena, Mr Lottering and Mr Waring.

Visiting Speakers
Bertie Portal, the actor, came to school in May to tell the boys about his extraordinary row across the Atlantic with James Cash. He showed us some amazing photos and told us a particularly terrifying tale of having to lie still in the cramped sleeping quarters of the boat for days while a tropical storm raged outside.

Luke Bedford, our tennis coach, also spoke to the boys in May about his grandfather’s experience of competing in the 1948 Olympics in London and winning a gold medal for GB in the 4 x 400 relay team. Let us hope for plenty of similar stories to emerge from the 2012 Olympics!

Sports News
We had almost perfect weather for our annual Sports Day at the Millennium Arena in Battersea Park; the sun came out and we were lucky to avoid the rain. There was plenty of honest endeavour from all our competitors and some school records tumbled. I offer particular congratulations to Charlie Broad, the Senior Victor Ludorum, and Jude Russell, our Junior Victor Ludorum, and thank Mr Russell and my colleagues for organising the day so efficiently. Our new school record holders are Charlie Broad in the senior high jump (1.63 metres), Oliver Fox in the senior 800 metres (2minutes 33 seconds) and Jude Russell in the Year 5 100 metres (14.66 seconds).

Although the weather has been appalling this summer, some cricket matches have managed to go ahead and the 1st XI has enjoyed memorable victories over Thomas’s Battersea and Northcote Lodge. Our under-12 XI also scored a handsome victory over Sussex House, with Jack Hunter-Lees scoring a tremendous unbeaten century.

There were plenty of other victories to enjoy… the under-9s defeated Ibstock Place, with Leo Farzad taking a hat-trick wicket maiden, the under-10s defeated Sussex House and The Hall, and the under-11s beat The Hall and Hornsby House, with Kulraj Soor scoring 41 runs in the Hornsby game.

Poetry Competition
An excellent Poetry Competition was organised by Ms Lively this term and all the finalists rose to the occasion superbly. I congratulate the following boys on winning their different sections, either by reciting famous poems or their own work: Damian Flore (Year 4), Max Haigh (Year 5), Sebastian Galica (Year 6), Nicolas Gardner (Year 7) and Casper Woods (Year 8).

Summer Concert
A fantastic summer concert took place this week, with scores of performers of all ages and abilities providing the entertainment. It was wonderful to hear James Tamlyn performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for two ‘cellos in G minor with Mrs Newbery and there were many other highlights. Charlie Broad’s rich voice suited “Cry Me a River” quite beautifully, the Vocal Ensemble excelled in their rendition of “Vois sur ton Chemin” by Barratier and there was a wonderful finale with eighty boys on stage singing a medley from “Les Miserables”. Thanks, as ever, go to Mrs Newbery, Mr Freer and all the music staff for their splendid work this year.

Music Recital : Meng Yang Pan
This week many of the boys had the opportunity to hear a performance of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” by the acclaimed young pianist, Meng Yang Pan, in our theatre. We were astounded by the delicacy and strength of her playing. It was a real treat.

Summer Photography Competition
I hope you have all received a letter from Miss Allen about our summer photography competition and that the boys will snap away during their holidays. I look forward to seeing their photographs (on the theme of water) in September.

Year 8 Leavers
At the Year Eight Leavers’ Party last week I paid tribute to the excellent contributions the boys have made in every area of school life. It is an outstanding year group and we hope that they will all be happy and successful in their new schools. The boys provided some wonderful entertainment for staff and parents during the evening and it was a most enjoyable occasion.

Mrs Laura Williams
We say goodbye to Mrs Williams today. She has been head of the geography department for the last 7 years and is an utterly dedicated colleague. Everything she does is carefully planned and the annual field trips to Flatford Mill for the Year 7 boys have always been hugely successful. Geography results at Common Entrance are always strong at EHTM and this year they have been quite exceptional. She leaves the department in excellent shape, but is taking a break from teaching to look after her two young children. We thank her for all that she has done for the school and hope that she will come back and visit us very soon.

New Staff for September
Miss Aideen Seymour tales over as Head of Geography and becomes 7AS form tutor.
Miss Louise Mackie is the new Year 4 class teacher (4LM).
Mr Alex Woods, an old boy of EHTM (and a former Head Boy), will be an additional Gap Student for the Autumn Term.

Welcome Evenings in September
Please make a note of the dates of the September welcome evenings when I will say a few words about the year ahead and you will have an opportunity to meet your son’s new form teacher over a glass of wine. All the meetings begin at 5.45pm.

I hope you have a wonderful summer holiday and I look forward to seeing you again on Thursday 6th September.

Best wishes,
Jeremy Edwards

Final Assembly Prizes : July 2012