| Added June 2010
Eton v Harrow at Lord's - 26 June 2010
On a beautiful English summer day, the sort we get about once every five years, Lord’s cricket ground was bathed in sunshine for this year’s match against Eton. The form book suggested that the match would be an even contest between two average school sides with similar seasons behind them. Both had lost to Tonbridge and Radley, two very strong sides this year, and also Winchester, but there had been victories too.
2010 was also the centenary of Fowler’s match, perhaps Harrow’s greatest ever humiliation, when the XI gave an unforgettable lesson in how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Ominously MCC had printed full details of the 1910 match on the back of the scorecard.
Eton won the toss and elected to bat, surely an advantage on such a scorching day. Their captain Vanderspar (42) began briskly and confidently, the lightning pace of the outfield accentuating the usual short boundary on the Tavern side. Runs came quickly and an ominously large Eton total looked likely. However Vanderspar, looking full of confidence and runs, surprisingly dragged on a rising ball from Sert to give Harrow the break through. Sangha, Eton’s other danger man, looked very threatening and had just lifted a ball onto the top tier of the Tavern stand before also falling to Sert. When the other opener, Gross, went for 39, the game was already beginning to swing Harrow’s way. MacIntyre bowled the Eton number four, Shaw, for 31 and the Harrow bowlers quickly gained in confidence backed by excellent fielding – a feature that had not been apparent for much of the season. Tommy Faber, with orthodox left arm slow, mostly over the wicket, bowled well to concede only 27 runs in his 11 overs and captain Tom Pearson-Jones and Douglas Pratt fully deserved their two wickets apiece. The eventual Eton score of 204 all out set Harrow an achievable target at fewer than four runs an over.
Harrow’s response could not have got off to a worse start as three wickets fell very quickly: at one stage the score was 11-3. However Castleman and Sert showed real character and settled down to give some much needed shape to the Harrow innings. The Eton bowlers, Warburton and spinner Fox, looked dangerous but Harrow reached 150 without giving too many chances. Castleman was dismissed by Warburton for an invaluable 44 but Sert continued to bat with confidence and power. His last shot was a hook for six over the long boundary to reach his hundred and win the game for Harrow. Will 2010 be known as” Sert’s match”? Probably not, but his was an outstanding performance.
Added April 2010
Sue Allen, Matron of Bradbys 1983-2008
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Sue Allen, Bradbys Matron from 1983-2008.
She died last Friday in a Torbay hospice with her family at her side. The funeral will take place at Torquay crematorium at 3.30pm on Tuesday 4th May. Family flowers only. Donations to Rowcroft Hospice, Rowcroft, Avenue Road, Torquay, Devon TQ2 5LS
Sue Allen retired in 2008 after a very distinguished period of twenty-five years as Matron in Bradbys. She very quickly established herself in the House as an energetic, hands-on matron, who supported Bradbeians in a wealth of different activities.
Her administration throughout her twenty-five years was impeccable. Boys would always receive a fair hearing from her and striking a balance between medical protocol and common sense came naturally to her. Her experience with her own two sons, Mike and Richard, gave her a real insight into the way adolescent boys could behave, and she was always a good judge of motive and character.
In the second half of her career at Harrow she became deeply involved in the Theatre and much enjoyed her involvement with costumes backstage. Sadly she had a nasty fall five years ago and this did rather dent her physical mobility. Indeed Sue showed great courage and loyalty, keeping going when others less steadfast would have retreated.
Generations of Bradbieans have enjoyed Sue's company, her passion for rugby and her humour at House Songs. She could always talk the language of Neighbours and the most fashionable current soap.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
Appointment of the new Head Master
Barnaby Lenon is retiring from Harrow in August 2011 after twelve years of outstanding service as Head Master. The Governors have chosen as his successor Mr James Hawkins of Norwich School.
Mr Hawkins, 44, was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford where he read mathematics and took his PGCE. He taught at Radley College before being appointed Head of Mathematics at Forest School, East London. Subsequently he was Deputy Head of Chigwell School and was appointed Head Master of Norwich School in September 2002.
The Old Harrovian Players Shakespeare Play: Much Ado About Nothing
23 & 24 April, 7.45pm – Speech Room
Following the success of last year's production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Old Harrovian Players return for their fifty-ninth consecutive Shakespearean production with a dish of a similar flavour, Much Ado About Nothing. A heady cocktail of love, denial, deception, betrayal, atonement and redemption, the play at once mixes Shakespeare's established comic bravura with glimpses of the tragic genius which characterises his subsequent output. The play is widely regarded as representing the zenith of the Bard’s comedies.
This year's cast boasts young OH professional actors, Will Ellis (The Head Master's 1994³) and Al Barclay (Elmfield 1988³), two exciting young actresses currently training at LAMDA, as well as three RADA graduates including John D. Collins (The Park 19563) and Tom Noad (Druries 19923), who is also directing. Much Ado promises to be a delightful evening to usher in the summer's sun and the Players warmly invite you to come and share the experience.
To kick the evening off in the proper spirit, there will be champagne on Speech Room terrace from 7.15 pm. Tickets are a steal at £5/3 and may only be purchased on the door.
Added March 2010
Harrow Football - Newcastle vs Durham ends in Newcastle victory
On a relatively warm, still afternoon the ‘boys’ from Newcastle, still smarting from the recent exposé of their university lifestyle in The Sunday Times, arrived in Durham to take up the challenge set by their fellow Old Harrovians, to play some footer on Durham soil.
Despite the absence of Harrow clay the pundits need not have worried; recent rainfall and serious use of the scruffy pitch below St Mary's College by the University Extreme Frisbee team ensured ideal conditions for the really beautiful game. No posts was another issue swiftly solved with the purchase of some Homebase bollards by match organiser Fred Lower that morning. After a few swift hairs of the dog in the New Inn adjacent to the pitch, both sides were ready to take to the field. Old skills were rapidly rediscovered, old ways of interpreting the rules employed, and it was soon clear that, despite being outnumbered, the Durham boys were considerably fitter than their counterparts from "Jesmond". The pace was surprisingly fast and the score swung back and forth. But by the end Newcastle had beaten Durham by 7 bases to 6, despite the best efforts of the umpire Mr Peter Bieneman (Durham graduate).
A post-match session back in the New Inn, kindly sponsored by the Harrow Association, was much enjoyed by all as Mr Bieneman responded to the thirst for news of the Hill.
Peter Beckwith Scholarships documentary repeats on 30 May at 10pm on More 4
In the Autumn term Harrow School participated in a documentary about the Peter Beckwith Scholarships scheme. Our objective was to highlight the existence of our scholarships and bursaries, and to spread the word about the opportunities available to talented children in a more effective way than we can through our limited advertising budget. The programme synopsis and details are as follows:
London's elite Harrow School is one of the world's most famous private schools. Renowned for producing the finest statesmen, including Churchill and Nehru; writers like Richard Curtis and Anthony Trollope; and numerous captains of industry, Harrow is one of the last remaining all-boys boarding schools in Britain and one steeped in history. Each year, two boys from far less wealthy families are offered the chance of the Peter Beckwith Scholarship. The means-tested scholarship can pay up to full fees for a boy's entire career at Harrow, and two years at a prep school before they join Harrow at 13, worth close to £200,000. Last autumn Harrow granted Cutting Edge access to film the annual selection contest which happens on a single day in November. This documentary follows the journey of three of the 11 shortlisted boys as they undergo a relentless day of tests and interviews.
More 4: Cutting Edge – Too Poor for Posh School: 10pm, 30 May 2010
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