Emanuel has a reputation for producing talented actors who enjoy successful careers on the stage and screen. Our former drama scholars include Joe Quinn, who currently stars in the BBC drama Howards End. Joe’s growing list of acting credits include Game of Thrones, Timewasters (2017) and Dickensian (2015). There is also Tallulah Haddon, who performed alongside Tom Hardy in the TV series Taboo, The Living Dead and Spaceship. The school’s current crop of talented actors includes Rudi (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Beauty and the Beast) and Daisy, who has an impressive list of stage performances to her name. Samuel is another Emanuel thespian to join the silver screen club. Currently appearing in cinemas alongside everyone’s favourite Peruvian, marmalade-eating bear in Paddington 2, Sam has appeared in a number of films including disaster drama The Impossible

with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, and the sci-fi fantasy The Nostalgist. Sam returns to Paddington 2 having appeared in the first film, released in 2014. Speaking about his experiences, he shares some interesting tales from the Paddington 2 set. “The director and writers, Simon Farnaby and Paul King, have such broad imaginations that, to be honest, we all knew there would be another Paddington film,” he says. “I was very excited be in the sequel, especially with all the new characters.” Having appeared in the first Paddington film, Sam describes the differences between making the two movies. “When I filmed Paddington 2 my voice had not broken, and when we later went back to do automated dialogue replacement (ADR) my voice had changed... it had since broken. It was weird to do ADR and

make the same high-pitched sounds of my old voice. My character also changed, so I was basically trying to be someone I am not.” And how did he and the rest of the cast manage to act alongside a bear, who in reality, wasn’t actually on

set? “Paddington was added in later via computer generated

imagery. It was tricky but we had a lot of help,” he explains. “We had Lauren, who is a small person,

who played Paddington’s double. This way we

had reference to eye line, space and

position. We also had people on

set who added his voice and I was able to

adapt to that.”

Cont’d on p3

Friday 1 December 2017

Sam’s latest Paddington adventure

2

BY MAXEmanuel Senior Rugby side were for-tunate to be given the opportunity to face our historical rival Latymer School at the Twickenham Stoop last Friday (24 November). This dramatically changed the dynam-ic of the squad’s mind-set in preparation for training and fixtures in the build up to the Friday Night Lights Series. Individuals were extremely focused on improving their own personal skill set and pushed themselves more than ever in training. Many recent sessions focused on solidify-ing our current game and improving our expanding backs moves and lineouts so that every member of the team knew the playbook inside out. As a team, we promoted the fixture to students, family and friends, as it was absolutely crucial that we had lots of friendly support on the night. The sense of camaraderie was greater than it has ever been and we were excited and honoured to represent the school on such a tremendous occa-

sion. Due to injuries, lots of boys have stepped up from the Second XV and were given the opportunity to prove that they deserved to wear a 1st XV shirt. Leading up to the game we had a series of tough losses in an extremely competi-tive fixture list. On Friday 17 November we travelled to Merchant Taylors’ School, and all the drama and errors that oc-curred on that forgetful night only better prepared us for the Latymer fixture. Mr Gaynor assured the players that all we would need to do on the night was “turn up and play.” Every tiny detail had been taken care of by Mr Gaynor and his team. We arrived at the stadium for 5pm to soak up the atmosphere and get used to the scale of the surroundings. We were given the away changing rooms and Mr Leigh had prepared the changing room layout, warm up shirts and playing shirts, to give the occasion that special feel. It related to what we as players imagine a premier-ship appearance would be like.

Mr Gaynor took us out onto the pitch for a walk through and units, keeping us calm and trying to manage and control our excitement. It was important for the coaches that we “savoured and enjoyed every moment.” As kick off drew closer the intensity of the warm up increased. With the opposition arriving this added to the build-up. Friends and family also began to fill the stand, adding to the atmosphere and nervous energy. We were taken back into the changing rooms at 6.20pm and Mr Gaynor reinforced his expectations and then left the players to it. The boys were focused and ready. We had never been as prepared for a fixture as this. Then came the knock on the changing room door. I was given the honour to lead out the 23 strong Emanuel 1st XV, running out side-by-side with Latymer Upper School through the Harlequins tunnel. It is a memory that will live with me forever. • Match report on p7

Friday Night Lights victory

St Cecilia is the patroness of musicians, and this time of year traditionally became the occasion for concerts and musical festivals. On Friday evening, a packed Hampden Hall was treated to 14 differ-ent ensembles and the House Music solo winners performing in what was a high quality and fun event. The ensembles var-ied from the choir performing Bairstow’s

Nunc Dimittis, and Handel’s famous And the Glory of the Lord from his epic work The Messiah, to Stevie Wonder’s lively I Wish performed by the jazz ensemble. More than 100 pupils and staff performed in the concert, and it was not only lovely to see so many involved, but also the amount of pupils right across the ages performing alongside each other. My thanks to all who coached the ensembles and bravo to all the pupils who enter-tained us all. TWR

St Cecilia’s concert

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Of course, working on such a big film with many famous actors must have been fun for Sam, with many highlights. “I think the train scene, where I commandeered a train, was fun. Hugh Grant was also fun to work with. He is a bit of a perfectionist and he was someone to look up to. Occasionally he would come out with some very colourful expletives, which we all found amusing. Although filming can be a slow process, the sets are generally amazing, so you do not tend to get bored… I just wandered around a lot exploring.” As a drama scholar at Emanuel, Sam explains how the school has helped him

Cont’d from p1

Last week (21-24 November) the schools in our United Westminster Schools Foundation came together to exhibit a wonderful selection of our students’ art work. Work selected from Emanuel, The Grey Coat Hospital, Westminster City School, Queen Anne’s School in Caver-sham and Sutton Valence School was of an extremely high standard and included a wide variety of approaches and media ranging from ceramics and concrete to installation and props from performance based work. The Emanuel submission included work by current pupils and recent OEs who are studying art on foundation

courses. There were nine Emanuel works on show - quirky ceramic hybrid animals by Serena, a charcoal triptych of the un-derground by Kate, Sam’s oil portraits of his parents, Owen’s oil painting inspired by 1970s postcards and Alfie’s large graphic work inspired by our visit to Gee-vor Tin Mine during our St Ives art trip. Also included was Henry’s subtle pen and ink drawings of trees in Richmond Park, Marlas’ performance piece of alu-minium foil heads, Ben’s monotypes and Xavier’ painting of an avenue of trees. The private view took place on Tues-day and was so well attended that guests were spilling out onto the pavement of

the Kings Road. The tenth celebratory show was opened by Roy Blackwell, Clerk to the Foundation, followed by Claudia and Leo, delighting the assembled com-pany with their performances of cello and piano solos. I would like to extend a big thank you to Tanya and Pip Todd-Warmoth who not only hosted the exhibition at Tanya Baxter Contemporary but helped the heads of art curate an extremely successful show. My thanks also go to all our art depart-ment staff for their help in making it such a triumph. SEM

UWS Foundation Art Exhibition

develop as an actor and prepare him for his movie experiences. “On set it is just an acting style. When you study drama and acting at Emanuel, you get a broader vision of what you are doing. Some of the work I am given at school is a lot more challenging, not just with the acting but also the script writing and how to do the costumes. Drama at school broadens my knowledge of the subject.” And his immediate future? “It’s GCSEs for me. Once I have completed them hopefully I’ll get back on track with my acting. I would like to perform in a drama one day and I am currently auditioning for the National Youth Theatre. If I go to drama school, hopefully it will give me a better

idea of what I eventually would like to do, not just acting but maybe something ese.” Having completed work on Paddington 2 and setting his focus on his GCSEs, Sam says that it is hard to come back to reality after spending time on a film set. “It is difficult returning to school as you are returning to normality. It’s a big change and I find getting back into school work difficult.” With mentors such as Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville, and, of course Paddington himself, you would do well to watch out for his name, and our many other drama scholars in the future. Maybe, even, an Oscar or two.

SAM’S PADDINGTON ADVENTURE

By Xavier

By Henry

4

BY JULIANA & ROBYN (LOWER SIXTH)

Author Ross Raisin recently came to visit the school. He has written

three novels, one of which, God’s Own Country, has won several awards including the Guardian First Book Award. He was a very inspiring speaker who openly discussed the world of

fiction writing and how he teaches it at Goldsmiths. He read small extracts

from each of his books which explore socially challenged characters and how

they face everyday life. The most striking character to hear about was from A Natural, in which Raisin highlights the brutality and

dehumanisation suffered by a homosexual in a second division football club. This

was so striking as he collated stories

from real football players and used them to influence his story. A particularly interesting thing he said was “a novel involves learning a new language”, which he showed through his captivating readings of the extracts. Later he opened the discussion up to questions, and was extraordinarily open and very down to earth about what writing is like. It amazed us to see how truly genuine he is and how much adoration he has for his work. It was brilliant to listen to the experiences, chal-lenges and procedures of writing a book and how he has a burning passion for each one. It was very insightful to hear the challenges faced by writers from different backgrounds and ethnicities, too. We found it a thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring experience and look forward to more speakers like him.

Ross Raisin visit

18 business students visited the BMW Mini factory on the outskirts of Oxford Last Friday (24 November). With a total site size of nearly 200 football pitches producing 1000 cars a day, there was plenty to see. First up was the assembly plant, where pressed metal parts are welded together to make the body of the car. The plant was 90% automated with Swiss, German and Swedish built robots moving and welding parts which have travelled across Europe to arrive at the moment they are needed in the assem-bly hall. Throughout the process, cam-

eras take detailed images of each step which are fed back to quality control stations for review. Next came the body shop where the cars’ internal parts are fitted, requiring more complex tasks completed with aid of human intervention. What struck the pupils was how each car (being made to order) would require different parts, all of which were delivered to the right part of the factory exactly when they were required within a 60 second time win-dow. Whilst the number of workers had fallen from almost 29,000 in the 1980s to 5,000 today, the plant remains a signifi-

cant contributor to the local economy. BMW have invested almost £9bn since production of the new mini started, demonstrating the sunk costs which the company has in the UK and the impor-tance of its relationship with Europe as a supplier and market for its cars. A fascinating visit; the tour brought into perspective the importance of supply chain management, capacity utilisation and quality control which all form a part of the A level specification. Unfortunately, the only thing missing was the opportunity to test drive the finished product. MAH

Business trip to BMW

5

This week’s cake winnersThis week’s Emanuel cake was awarded to our Eco Society vol-unteers from years 6, 7 and 8. The students spent three hours last Saturday in Richmond clearing up the banks of the Thames. Eve-ryone did an excellent job and the volunteers were commended by Richmond Environmental Trust employees for their work ethic and behaviour. Well done everyone.

FINAL SCORE: EMANUEL 41 v ALLEYN’S 35Having beaten Wimbledon High School and narrowly losing to Dulwich College, last Monday evening Emanuel hosted Alleyn’s School in the final group stage match of the Hans Woyda Mathematics Competition. A victory would have meant qualification for the knock-out stage of the competition in either the plate or open competition, depending on the result of the other fixture, so the pressure was on. Captain George, despite a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes, performed extremely well. Team stalwart Anna put in another solid performance, however it was Luke and Siddiq who gave Emanuel the edge, with a series of magical solutions executed with blistering speed and apparent ease. Ultimately this vintage group of delightfully enthusiastic and hard-working mathematicians were worthy winners. AJL

Hans Woyda Mathematics Competition

Emanuel ‘A’ came within a whisker of win-ning the fiercely contested South London Heat of the Kids’ Lit Quiz for the second time last Monday; ultimately losing by a single point to both Kings College Lower 'A' and Kings College Junior 'A' who tied for first on 89 points. This may well have been the most competitive of the 19 heats across the country, with 45 teams trying to reach the National Final. The quiz master noted that this was certainly the biggest event, which also featured the National Champions Kingston Gram-mar School who represented the UK in the World Final in Canada last summer. To finish third, and get on the podium, we also had to survive a sudden death one question play-off with Latymer Upper ‘A’, who finished dead-level with us on 88 points. Our fantastic ‘A’ included the three quiz veterans Freya, Hilla, Molly, and competing for the first time in Emanuel colours the amazing Oscar, who showed nerves of steel in answering the sudden death question which secured us third place. Emanuel ‘B’ also did very well, finishing a very respectable 17th of 45 teams and beating the ‘A’ teams of many schools. The ‘B’ featured So-phia of Year 8 and three Year 7, Mia, Emma and Emma all of whom I’m

sure will return stronger for future quiz events. To be edged out by a single point was a tough loss, but the ‘A’ team also won prizes for winning one of the rounds and scored 10/10 for a very tough round on Folklore and an easier one on Shake-speare. Along the way we comfortably beat schools such as Dulwich College, Hampton School, the departing National Champions Kingston Grammar School and a host of other top schools. There is plenty more quizzing to come… after Christmas the annual Lower School Literary Quiz Competition for the Neale Trophy returns; this is a very big Form based quiz which involves many children, not just the top quizzers. Also, in May as we are defending champions, we once again host ‘The CWIZZ’ a South London quiz event organised by a collective of

local authors. Over thirty children came to various Kids’ Lit Quiz practices, and as The CWIZZ involves more children, those who missed out on Kids’ Lit Quiz will have another chance to make one of our teams. Well done to Emanuel ‘A’ and ‘B’ for a terrific effort at KCS Wimbledon last Monday. TRJ

Kids’ Lit Quiz… so close!

6

The school’s Christmas Carol Services are on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 December at 7.30pm in the chapel. The Carol Services are among the highlights of the school year and usually attract large congregations. A thoroughly enjoyable evening is guaranteed. To keep a track on numbers, free tickets will be issued. Please email Lucinda Stuart-Grant in the

music department on lsg@emanuel.org.uk with your request. You can have as many tickets as you need. RFW Please specify in your email:1) How many tickets you require in total2) Which evening you wish to attend, Tuesday 12 or Wednesday 13 December3) Your name and the name and form of your son/daughter

Christmas Carol Service tickets

GEOGRAPHY TALK: On Tuesday 5 December at 4pm in the library, Professor Alastair Owens from Queen Mary University will talk about the gentrification and ‘Hipsterfication’ of East London. Please come along to learn more about this interesting subject.

CONGRATULATIONS JOSIEJosie recently competed in the finals of the London gymnastics floor and vault competition. Josie qualified for the finals in May, when she came third at regional level (London South). The stand-ard was high and Josie was over the moon when she finished in third place to bring home a bronze medal.

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR 12TH NIGHTWhat’s all that commotion in the Fiennes Theatre! I’m sure I heard the haunting sound of a blues saxophone, and wasn’t that the deputy head boy reciting iambic pentam-eter? The technicians have been working their magic, the musicians have been tuning up their instruments and the actors have been brushing up their Shakespeare for what promises to be an entertaining evening for all. You will laugh and you might cry but above all you will be wowed by the students’ talent and hard work. Come sup-port them next week – tickets still available (request form below) for Wednesday at 6pm and Thursday at 7pm. LAS

Choral Evensong at St Paul’sOn Monday 11 December at 5pm, 50 members of the choir will be singing Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral. Do come and support the choir, singing Bairstow’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, Psalm 105, Rose responses, and Handel’s And the Glory of the Lord from the Messiah in what promises to be a special occasion in a fantastic and iconic building. The Evensong is free to attend, although donations to St Paul’s will be welcome I am sure. If you are intending to come along to support, the congregation is asked to be seated no later than 4.30pm. I very much hope to see lots of people there. TWR

7

1ST XV v LATYMER UPPER SCHOOLLast Friday (24 November) Emanuel was given the opportunity to play at the home of Premiership outfit Harlequins. The opposition was Latymer Upper School and the occasion took place under lights with an evening kick off to look forward to. 23 players were selected to represent the 1st XV, notably year 11 student Nat making his first team debut. The prepara-tion and build up to the fixture could not be faulted and the team were focused on the game in hand, managing to control their emotions and excitement. The match kicked off in front of an enthusiastic crowd, Emanuel quick to react to the ball forcing an early turn over. Emanuel crossed the white wash in the right hand corner through a George try. With the score 5-0 to Emanuel within the first five minutes, Gabriel failed to convert. Emanuel continued to apply pressure in the first 10 minutes, territory, possession and pressure rewarding us with a penalty and an opportunity to kick at goal. Gabriel lined up the kick, a moment only so many sports people can relate to. With the crowd finally drawing silent the kick hit the wood work. Latymer finally got into the game and continued to frustrate and slow the ball down for much of the first half. Ema-nuel kept their discipline and defence, with the likes of Sam and Ed putting in monstrous tackles, knocking Latymer back again and again. The boys ran in at half time still only five points ahead at the interval. During the break the team was told to rest, rehydrate and continue do-ing what they had been doing up to that point. I was confident the win was never in doubt. Both 1st XV captain Henry and 1st XV regular Max came on at half time giving us fresh legs and more of a direct impact in the mid-field. The second half was a completely different tale of events. The backs tactical kicking game put the likes of Dan, Eden and Sam, all in with try

SPORTscoring opportunities. Tactical substitu-tions such as Max and Kylan gave us more direction and penetration through the Latymer defence and Emanuel began to control the game and run away with the score line. The 1st XV came out on top beating Latymer Upper School 27-0. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the senior rugby players, academic and support staff, Harlequins FC Ltd and everyone involved in organis-ing and supporting such a great event. Your support allowed me to concentrate all my efforts on ensuring the 23 players had a magical evening and that Emanuel Rugby recorded and important win. You may have noticed the 1st XV in the world famous wooden spoon socks, this was the fixture’s supported charity for the evening. More information regarding Wooden Spoon can be found at wood-enspoon.org.uk.BY SIMON GAYNOR (DIRECTOR OF RUGBY)

U15A V COLFE’S: WON 34-5U15A V LATYMER UPPER: WON 12-10The U15A team got back to winning ways last week, with victories over Colfe’s and Latymer Upper. In the Colfe’s game, we played some of our best rugby of the season, running out 34-5 winners against a good team who were competitive throughout. There were tries for Charlie S, Charlie B, Will, Elliot, George and Jay and stand out performances from Monty at fly half and Matt in the second row. It was great game to watch. Parents and director of rugby, Mr Gaynor, were suit-ably impressed, as everything we had been working on in training seemed to click and we produced the full rugby package. To then have to face Latymer a day’s rest later was a tough ask, stretch-ing our fitness and resources to the full. In a tight game, we started slowly, before taking control towards the end of the first 30, going in to half time, 7-5 ahead. We dominated territory and possession in the second half, with no.8 Charlie S and flanker Nick to the fore, but couldn’t convert pressure into points until late on, with Jay crossing for his second try.

Rugby Another Emanuel error at restart time however, led to a Latymer try and a nerv-ous wait for a conversion that could have tied the scores. Fortunately for us, their kicker sliced just wide and we closed out the final minute for a victory we really had to grind out. DCH

U14A v LATYMER SCHOOL FINAL SCORE: 22-19 (WIN) BY LUKEAfter a superb performance last week, the U14As went into Saturday’s fixture with confidence and looking for our first win of the season. The team started the match putting lots of pressure on the opposi-tion. This resulted was our first try of the game after a strong run by Chris. For the rest of the half we kept the pressure on Latymer but after a lack of concentration in the defence, they got one try back. We were a bit slow at the start of the second half but after a few good runs down the centre of the pitch, we got our second try by Matt. This was soon followed by the team’s third try and a second for Chris. Latymer then used large amounts of pos-session to score their second try. How-ever, this did not put us on the back foot and Anthony got one of the best tries of the season, with an amazing run down the right wing. Latymer were able to get one more try but it did not affect the result of the match and we came away with our first win of the season.

U12A v COLFE’SFINAL SCORE: 80-15 (WON)BY SEBAfter our excellent win over Hampton last week, we entered the game against Colfe’s with renewed confidence and played aggressively. Although the first 10 minutes were a little shaky, we soon found our rhythm and Freddie powered through to score the first of many tries. It was 45-5 at half time and we used the second half to work on our technique and teamwork, moving the ball around successfully. It also gave us the opportu-nity to experiment with player positions in the squad. Cont’d on p8

8

U15A v IBSTOCK PLACE SCHOOLFINAL SCORE: 27-24 (LOSS)BY LIBBYAlthough a defeat, this was the best the team had played all season with every-one working well together. Amelia made some amazing shots and was deservedly awarded player of the match. We made a slow start, which resulted in us being behind in the first half. Eva and Natacha played brilliantly against the opposition’s key player, making her work very hard. Anna, Milly and Emma played some great passes into the D, setting up many great shots. Josie and Scarlett kept the team motivated with great movement and interceptions.

U12A v PUTNEY HIGHFINAL SCORE: 14-17 (LOSS)BY LILYWe anticipated a tough match we made a strong start and fought hard. However, we lost momentum midway through and struggled to regain our rhythm as Putney took the lead. Fleur (GD) played great defence, setting up many turnovers with Meg, Jemima and Izzy. Fleur was voted player of the match. Although we were disappointed with the result we were all happy with how we played and look forward to the next match.

U15B v HIGHGATE SCHOOL FINAL SCORE: 27-22 (WIN)BY ESME It was freezing cold which meant tricky and icy conditions. Edie played a fantastic game at GK, making loads of intercep-tions and working hard to keep the shooter out. Her defensive partner Anna was awarded player of the match. Grace, Lara and Scarlett were the perfect com-bination for the mid-court, getting the ball to the shooters efficiently. Emily and Esme worked well together despite some aggressive defenders. Overall we played a very good match.

U15A v HIGHGATEFINAL SCORE: 27-20 (LOSS)BY LIBBY MCMURRAYAlthough we stuck to our game in the cold conditions, we didn’t get acclima-tised until halfway through the match, which meant we were quite far behind. But with the shooting by Anna and Amelia we managed to nearly catch up. The slippery floor made us make mis-takes, but mid court still kept on their toes giving some great passes into attack. Natacha made multiple interceptions and kept the defence strong.

U12A v LATYMER FINAL SCORE: 45-10 (WIN)After a successful outing at Colfe’s the day before, the boys were keen to carry the momentum through to this derby fixture in what would be the squads’ first appear-ance at our Blagdons ground. Latymer dominated possession in the early phase of the game and were winning the break-down battle. However, some effective use of turnover ball saw us establish a healthy first half lead of 20 points. The second half continued in the same vein and despite conceding two late tries, the boys recorded a much deserved 45-10 victory, with the opportunity to experiment with some different combinations gratefully received. A special mention goes to Seb who stormed over the whitewash for his first try of the season. I have been hugely impressed with the team’s work ethic and commitment and I’m looking forward to seeing a strong finish to their first term of rugby at Emanuel. TG Netball

Rufus moved to fly half instead of scrum half and was awarded man of the match. We were mostly solid at the back apart from a few minor defensive errors which allowed Colfe’s to get on the scoreboard. However, Alex put in several great tackles to keep them away from our try line. It was a very convincing win with several players managing a hat-trick of tries - Luke, Thomsen and Freddie. Fred and Luke scored their first tries for the side and we continue to improve as a team.

Cont’d from p7

U12B v COLFE'SFINAL SCORE: 25-25BY MILESThe team had two fixtures this week with the first against Colfe's, who were a tough opposition. Getting off to a good start, it was clogged up around the centre until Julian intercepted the ball out from a pass and sprinted to the line to open the scoring. Then Maxime won the ball on the wing and went on to score another try. Soon Colfe’s had pushed us back onto our try line applying a lot of pressure resulting in them scoring. Then it was try to try for most of the game. With five min-utes left we led 25-15. Suddenly a loss of focus and poor defending allowed Colfe's two quick trys to tie the match. Well done to Jorge, Murray and Marley for scoring. Man of the match was Julian.

U12B v LATYMER UPPER SCHOOLFINAL SCORE: 20-5 (WIN)BY MILES After our disappointing draw against Colfe’s we wanted a win against a good school. We started with much better passing and rucking than the game against Colfe’s. Soon we had some very good breaks by Julian and Archie, which resulted in our first try scored by Archie. Latymer were very bunched up round the ball so we passed the ball out to Marley who sprinted down to the try line to score our second. After half time Latymer were putting a lot of pressure on us, but tries from Toby and Julian gave us a very well deserved win.

U12C v LATYMER UPPER SCHOOLFINAL SCORE: 6-2 (WIN)It was a cold frosty morning and the players were bitter with cold. The Blagdon grounds were covered with frost and freezing. Mr Phoenix refereed the match which was physical and fast paced. Stead-ily we gained possession and the tries came. The boys had a good formation both in attack and defence. However, in a few rucks we were too bunched together and the opposition managed to sneak in a couple tries. It was a great team per-formance, Daniel scored some amazing tries, everyone made great tackles and Etienne was awarded man of the match for his fearsome display. CJR

Netball Rowing

Fives

U12B v PUTNEY HIGHFINAL SCORE: 33-4 (LOSS)BY MILLIE We tried hard, chasing every ball and de-fending well, sticking to our opponents as much as we could. However, it seemed that every time they got the ball they scored. We need to work on our passing as it was often weak and inaccurate, or so strong the ball would go straight into our opponents' arms. Player of the match was Millie for being a strong and agile centre. Well done to all who played and for keeping up our spirits when we were obviously not going to win.

REFCA U12S COMPETITIONEmanuel entered a young and inexperi-enced team into the competition. With the team playing up an age group and none of our players having competed in a match before the tournament, we came in looking to gain some much needed experience. Our lack of experience showed in the first round. Four of the eight games played were lost, and only two of the others were won. The team was in need of a break to discuss tactics and boost morale. Improvements were quickly shown with our cuts becoming much more effective, stopping the other teams from scoring points, and more cut returns hit in, allowing more points to be scored. We proceeded to win six of the next eight games. Our top scoring player was Felix who won four of his five games, and was only six points off a place in the final. Some superb volleys from top step won Felix crucial rallies and secured him at least one victory, especially in a tense 12-10 win. Special mention goes to Evie for being Emanuel’s only girl in the competition and for convincingly beating older boys. With one of the best cuts in the team, she already has the makings of a fine player. The tournament was a great success with huge improvements shown across the board. Every player scored at least one victory and was demonstrably stronger than at the start of the day. With another year of development and if the team keep turning up to training, this is definitely a tournament Emanuel should be looking to win next year. BY MR MCCAHON (FIVES COACH)

9

HAMPTON SMALL BOATS HEADA very crisp, cold but sunny morning provided great rowing conditions for the 27 Emanuel crews and individuals competing at the Hampton Small Boats Head. This is certainly one of the major events in the rowing calendar, with a massive entry of 778 singles, doubles and quads from almost 50 different schools and clubs.

SENIOR BOYS: The Senior Boys had nine crews competing last Saturday in singles, doubles and a pair. Hampton Head is always a popular and well attended event and the competition is very strong. So in this context for Ollie and Tom to come in the top 25% of the forty J16 doubles was an excellent result, particularly as they were washed down by a rescue launch in the final 500m of the race. Ollie also came in the top 25% in the J16 singles, finishing 14th/62, beating all 17 Hampton School scullers on their home water, and 6 out of the 8 St Pauls’ scullers too. Tom also did well to come 38th / 62 in this event. Of the other results Jake came 19th / 29 in J18 singles, and Edward and Fred came 26th / 40 in J16 doubles, and they can all feel they did themselves proud. R R MAR-RIOTT (COACH)

SENIOR GIRLS: The squad had a good contingent racing in singles and doubles, with pride of place going to Maddie who finished 17/43 in her first ever race in the single sculling boat, beating the other Emanuel J16 girls in the process. Results table on p10

YEAR 10 GIRLS: The girls came away from Hampton with a resounding win for the WJ15 doubles crew of Violet and Lauren. They were perhaps fortunate to start directly ahead of the powerful crew from AB Severn, who finished second. Violet and Lauren held off their deter-mined challenge over the first half, before pulling away in the last 1000m to win by 2.5s. A brilliant example of exceeding even their outstanding training perfor-mances. The WJ15 double of Marnie and Kyra rowed well, but got caught in traffic which took the edge off their overall time, finishing 26th of 33. Meanwhile the quad of Annabelle, Milly, Imogen, Natasha and Friederike worked hard, but

overdid it and weren’t as effective as they have been in training, finishing 30th of 35. A big shame after all their effort this term. Violet and Lauren also raced in WJ15 singles. Violet finished 12th and Lauren third, again another terrific performance in a very strong field, particularly as neither had been in a single in six weeks. All round all the quad have put in an enormous amount of work this term and the rewards are starting to arrive, hope-fully with more to come. S GOUREVITCH (COACH)

J15 BOYS: After a strong start, the J15A coxed quad of Ben, Gabriel, James, Ben and Albie, quickly caught up and over-took the Hampton quad ahead of them. Though the boat speed dropped a little in the mid part of the race, they regained the initiative to power past Landaff RC. Despite looking a little untidy down the finishing straight, their determination was not in doubt and they crossed the line to finish 9th out of the 26 boats. The second quad of Fred, Henry, Billy, Jake and Luc, showed good commitment throughout the course, but just lacked a little in power and rhythm to get the best out of the boat, finishing in 24th place. Doubling up in the afternoon division, the two Bens competed in J15 doubles and despite exertions from the morn-ing, set up a great rhythm to once again overtake the two boats in front. Their final placing was a pleasing 11/36. Gabriel had a good fight on his hands in J15 single sculls, with a sculler from Kingston Grammar School pushing him all down the course. Just when Gabriel seemed to have got the better of him in the last third of the race, and was starting to pull away, he collided with an overhanging tree and was overtaken. However, it was great to see Gabriel really fired up now and aggressively powering back past him in the final stages to cross the line in front and finish 17/34. Starting a little further back, Jacob competing for the first time in a single, was having private battles of his own. Surrounded by a swarm of scull-ers down the narrow final section of the course, he kept his cool to cross the line strongly, albeit toward the back of the field. D M CONINGTON (COACH)

10

J16 GIRLS DEVELOPMENT DAY AT CAVERSHAM: Last Sunday, the J16 girls were invited to a GB development and training day in Caversham. Despite the freezing weather, we were warmly welcomed by GB’s head junior coach and were told that we were in for an inspir-ing day. Our two water sessions involved some low rate but high pressure work along side another crew, focusing on how far we could move the boat each stroke. Unfortunately, a land session (on robustness) had to be cut, but we were given a talk about the importance of our lower body in creating efficient boat speed. We were very lucky to spend the day in the incredible facilities and see what life would be like for the top rowers in the country. It was also great to gain some side by side experience with schools that will be our competition throughout the season, which gave us motivation to keep training hard. BY JAY

Rowing J15 GIRLS DEVELOPMENT DAY AT CAVERSHAM: The J15 girls went to the Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake, aka the GB Rowing Centre in Caversham. It was a real honour and an experience that I’m sure we will never forget. After a very early start, we arrived at the centre and went straight to work practising our sweeping in 8s. This was a new skill for us and definitely an amazing place to learn it. Our first water session involved us rowing eight kilometres, enabling us to practice and then fine-tune our tech-nique along the way. The second water session was great fun as we raced against other schools, as well as J16 boats! Not only were we able to practice being in a

race situation but it also gave us a chance to scout out the competition. The training day gave us so much time on the water without the Thames tides to worry about. The extra time and calm waters gave us a brilliant opportunity to learn, improve and totally focus on our new sweeping technique. We were even coached by a GB cox which was very exciting. On the bus home, the shock of our early Sun-day morning start had totally faded as we had all achieved and learnt so much during our time at the GB training lake. It certainly inspired us to work harder Many thanks Sam, Miss Blaikie and Miss Adams for taking us. Below is a photo of the course. GEORGIE

Name Event Time Div PlacingEMA-Jeynes W.J16A.1x 00:12:15:8 17

EMA-Bucknall W.J16A.1x 00:12:27:4 18

EMA-Polak W.J16A.1x 00:12:29:4 19

EMA-Martin W.J16A.2x 00:11:34:4 20

EMA-Weighill W.J17A.1x 00:12:11:1 21

EMA-Thomas W.J17A.1x 00:12:24:2 22

EMA-Jolly W.J17A.2x 00:11:57:2 23

SENIOR GIRLS RESULTS TABLE (REPORT ON P9)

Violet and Lauren (below) on their way to victory in WJ15 2x

Ollie and Tom in J16 2x