Taylorian

2023-2024 TAYLOR I AN THE

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TAYLORIAN 2024

From the Editor

Welcome

M y intention when becoming editor of the Taylorian was to transform it into a vibrant celebration of everything that you have achieved over the academic year. I think we can all agree that Chris Wilsdon’s tremendous work in its design is befitting of such an extraordinary school and its many opportunities. I hope there is something in these pages that you can reflect on with pride. I would like to draw readers’ attention to Jonny Taylor’s valedictory and the article he penned about the battlefields trip. There are very few who can match his dedication in the school’s modern era. Despite our long and distinguished history, maintenance of the MTS culture is only possible through careful conservation; its traditions and heritage must be practised and then passed on. Jonny has upheld our values for thirty-seven years, and those of us who remain must strive to do the same. My job would not be possible without the year-round work from those on the Scissorum team – Lauren Green, Nate Ayling and Sonal Galaiya – and I would like to extend to them my gratitude. So too to Anneliese Brackin, without whose backing this fresh Taylorian would have remained a pipe dream. Last year I wrote that it had a new look; well, if that was a redecoration then this edition represents a refurbishment. As I close this editorial and reflect on what it means to be part of this great institution, I would like to share some lines from T. S. Eliot’s poem ‘Little Gidding’: ‘We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.’ Mr D. G. Robinson

Design Chris Wilsdon, 3Sixty Creative Contributing Editors Anneliese Brackin Nate Ayling Lauren Green Sub-editors Kate Shockley, Lucy Solomon Photographers Patricia Rayner, Nate Ayling, Sonal Galaiya, Anton Cataldo, David Robinson and all in the school community who have contributed photographs over the course of the year. A special thank you goes to Monty’s Photography for sharing the sport squads’ photographs. Cover Patricia Rayner: Rugby 1st XV – Friday Night Lights

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Contents

Page 4 Introduction from the Head Master Pages 5-12 News Pages 13-14 Head Monitor Interview

Pages 15-24 Speech Day Pages 26-33 Houses Pages 34-43 Trips Pages 44-75 Sport Pages 76-82 Drama Pages 84-89 Music Pages 90-91 Creative Pages 93-102 Societies and Activities Pages 103-104 Combined Cadet Force Pages 105-118 Valete et Salvete

Luca McCormick in Enron

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TAYLORIAN 2024 FROM THE HEAD MASTER

An Introduction from the Head Master

A s I write this introduction, I have just heard news of a sensational victory for our U18 cricket team, who went to Whitgift and comprehensively beat them in the National &up. :e are now through to the Tuarterfinals and :hitgift one of the leading sporting schools in the country can reflect on three defeats at our hands in the last two years, with no wins to their name. This is in a cricket season in which we have also whitewashed %erNhamsted 6chool oYer fixtures and 6t 3aulÖs 6chool oYer fixtures . 7ruly 076 is at the forefront of schoolboy cricket nationally. Richard Mulcaster – our first Head Master – would be proud, as he was one of the pioneers of school sport. You will hear other examples of his thinking later in this edition of the Taylorian , where I quote from his 1581 book on education in my St Barnabas’ Day speech. The book is called ‘Positions’ (Positions Wherein Those Primitives Circumstances be Examined, Which are Necessaries for the Training Up of Children, Either for Skill in Their Booke, or Health in Their Bodie) . Mulcaster was the first to promote healthy physical activity, alongside Greek, Latin and Hebrew. He is credited with the earliest introduction of organised team football into English schools. We can let him off his choice of football over cricket, rugby or hockey, as those sports had not been invented yet.

In his book, Mulcaster mentions the positive effects football has on the pupils’ health and strength, as well as the educational value of the sport. He was one of the first advocates of the introduction of referees, although he was a little overconfident that their decisions would be respected: ‘For if one stand by, which can judge of the play, and is judge over the parties, & hath authoritie to commande in the place, all those inconveniences have bene, I know, & wilbe I am sure very lightly redressed, nay they will never entermedle in the matter, neither shall there be complaint, where there is no cause.’ I wonder what he would make of VAR. Mulcaster’s discussion on football was the first to refer to teams (‘sides’ and ‘parties’), positions (‘standings’), the benefits of a referee (‘judge over the parties’) and a coach (‘trayning maister’). He writes: ‘Some smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges’. Well, it is good to be guided by tradition; Mulcaster would be pleased to note that his school is still doing good to the body, through the use of the legs. Enjoy this year’s Taylorian magazine. Mr S. J. Everson

NEWS

Change to Admissions

A t Merchant Taylors’ we understand that change is an essential part of growth. As we look towards the future, it is with careful consideration that we are adapting to meet the evolving needs of our pupils and their families. In response to increasing demand, Merchant Taylors’ School will no longer offer 13+ places but instead make an enlarged offer at 11+ (Third Form). Our previous practice was to make offers to fill approximately 75 Third Form places and a further 100 Fourth Form places. From February 2025 we will only make 11+ offers, sufficient to fill 140 places in the September. This change does not affect current offer holders for Fourth Form entry in 2025 and 2026, and we look forward to welcoming those pupils as planned. Whilst there will be a change in admissions, there will be no change to the small class sizes or tutor groups enjoyed by existing pupils; the long-term outcome will be a greater balance to numbers across the year groups. Merchant Taylors’ will continue to be a place where individuals thrive. There are many advantages to the initiative. Our pupils will benefit from a consistent academic experience from Third Form, as well as being able to participate in our outstanding musical, sporting and dramatic endeavours from an earlier age.

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NEWS

Julian Hill Cricket Centre Opens

“The Julian Hill Cricket Centre is an extraordinary facility. ,t is fascinating to bowl and bat on such realistic spin and pace tracks.” Aadit Arun (L6th)

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W ednesday 17th April 2024 saw the Grand Opening of the Julian Hill Cricket Centre. Our guest of honour was former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss OBE, who declared the new fiYe lane indoor facility officially open. At a celebration attended by supporters of the new centre, Sir Andrew Strauss said, “this new indoor training centre is an outstanding facility and will provide young cricketers with the opportunity to train year-round and hone their skills for success on the pitch. It truly is world-class and will, I am sure, help develop young talent for years to come.” As well as providing Merchant Taylors’ cricketers with one of the best school facilities in the country, the new centre will transform indoor cricket provision in the region. It is now the base for Middlesex County Cricket Club’s indoor training and will regularly host international touring sides. Middlesex County Cricket Club’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cornish, said “the Centre is an elite-level facility, giving our professional players an outstanding base for their pre-season preparations. On our first day of training, one of our experienced international opening batsmen declared it the best artificial surface he had ever trained on.” The London and East region’s women’s team, The Sunrisers, also hold weekly training sessions at Merchant Taylors’, while seventeen local cricket clubs have used the cricket centre to date. The building is named in recognition of Julian Hill, Merchant Taylors’ alumnus and keen cricketer, whose generous

Andrew Strauss officially opens the centre

“The Julian Hill Cricket Centre is nothing short of

one million pound contribution made the project possible, together with other donations from members of the Merchant Taylors’ community. In fact, the centre is a philanthropic initiative: lettings income profits will help to fund bursary places at the school. Merchant Taylors’ has been playing cricket for over two hundred years and, if you ever get the chance to have a look inside the school cricket pavilion, you will see over a hundred years’ worth of 1st XI photos on the walls. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the 1934 side was the first to play at Sandy Lodge, making this season our ninetieth at the current site. In January alone, we recorded over six hundred attendances (by one hundred and thirty different students) across the menu of sessions available. The centre was an instant hit; I can vividly remember arriving early one Friday morning in January to see a staggering twenty-eight fast bowlers warming up for a 7.30am start. Mr I. McGowan, Director of Cricket

brilliant. Boasting an impressiYe fiYe nets there is a variety of pitches for players to train on to get prepared for the cricket season. A highlight has been using the new and improved bowling machines.” Agastya Daphale (Divs)

“The new indoor cricket centre has reYolutionised the wicNet Neeping experience. The realistic bounce demands a lower stance, better preparing keepers for outdoor pitches, and the diverse range of nets enhances adaptability. $dditionally the astro fielding area proYides an excellent surface for refining outdoor ground fielding sNills.Ù Tom Ford (U6th)

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Varsity

2xford Tilak Patel History St Hugh’s College Ted Skelton History Balliol College Rohan S. Shah History The Queen’s College Guy Denne English Literature and Language Pembroke College Alex Paramor Theology and Religion

Cambridge Jake Hawkes Modern and Medieval Languages Jesus College Krishna Thayaparan Natural Sciences

Jesus College Zain Ahmed Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Gonville and Caius College Alex Quarry Natural Sciences Sidney Sussex College Niels Redman OMT History Queens’ College

Oriel College Faiz Siddiqui Chemistry Wadham College

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7he science 2lympiads are fierce competitions designed to extend the principles learnt at $ /eYel and which reTuire students to haYe undertaken wider reading and study. Those who achieve the top award are deemed to be in the top fiYe per cent of students nationally. Science Olympiads

Chemistry Gold Awards: Miles Johnson, Zain Ahmed, Alex Quarry, Faiz Siddiqui, Roshen Gnanakuru, Krishna Thayaparan, Henry Carpmael. Silver Awards: Oliver Southon, Edward Ault, Mateo Frankic Ruppen, Akshay Mistry, Kush Vora, Kai Patel, Saran Rai, Kyle Shah, Daniel Drizen, Yash Madhaparia, Niam Patel, Thomas Easterbrook. Notably, Thomas Easterbrook is the first Fifth Former at MTS to have sat the paper, making his achievement all the more impressive.

Biology Gold Awards: Faiz Siddiqui, Krishav Sehdev, Matthew Ault. Silver Awards: Alex Cumming, Amar Sethi, George Dalton, Oliver Costigan, Iago Palmer, Taiga Suzuki. Bronze Awards: Yuvraj Juttla, Suleiman Malhi, Paasha Mohammadi, Oliver Southon, Adam Khan, Saavan Patel, Anthony Poole, Saran Rai, Mustafa Syed.

Physics Top Gold Awards: Krishna Thayaparan, Alex Quarry. Gold Awards: Han Se Kendall. Silver Awards: Zain Ahmed, Shaan Fisher, Luka Hinton, Aayush Pandit, Stefan Jahora, Shivam Sangani. Bronze II Awards: Emre Arslan, Karam Gidda, Rayan Joshi.

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships This year MTS has secured a record six Arkwright Engineering Scholarships: Zachary Scott, Andrei Antohe, Aditiya Kulkarni, Rohan Aggarwal, George Killigrew and Ciaran Davies. Obtaining the scholarship is a challenging process, involving an initial application followed by a design and engineering examination, and culminating in an interview with experienced engineers. The achievement grants pupils access to several benefits, including engineering-based work experience, funding for future projects, valuable industry connections, and a competitive edge when applying for engineering-focused university courses.

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Imperial College Science Competition We finished runners-up in a bio-engineering competition hosted by Imperial College London and aimed at A-Level students across the UK. We chose to tackle stress – one of the 21st Century’s most prominent problems – and engineered a device to treat mild tachycardia (high heart rate). After delivering a pitch to Imperial academics about its benefits to the medical industry, we were delighted to be informed that we had finished as runners-up. This was a great moment for us, and we now look forward to developing the idea by creating a prototype. We would like to thank Mrs Stuteley for all her support. Samay Kachalia (Divs) Team: Samay Kachalia, Rayyan Taha, Noah West, Xander Mardle.

2xford 8niYersity (ssay Competitions Last summer I was awarded prizes in two essay competitions run by St Hugh’s College, Oxford. In my entry to the Julia Wood History Competition (for which I was awarded Fourth Prize), I investigated how the Supreme Court’s undisturbed memory of Reconstruction impacted their rulings. My submission to the Mary Renault Classical Reception Competition (which was Highly Commended) concerned the reception of Tacitus’s Germania , an ancient text which sparked fierce debate between fifteenth-century Italian and German humanists concerning their relative superiority, contributing to the rise of nationalism in Western Europe. Indeed, at the dawn of the Third Reich, Tacitus’s reference to the purity of the Ancient German people was used to justify antisemitism, leading to its reputation as “a most dangerous book”. Tilak Patel (U6th)

8pper 6ixth )ormer Attends House of Lords Last summer I entered the Supporters of Nuclear Energy Silver Jubilee essay competition and finished runner-up. The question was: The date is 2073 and your essay tells the story of what has happened in the fifty years since the British Government finally started to take on board the superior benefits of nuclear energy... Part of my research included reading Arthur Turrell’s The Star Builders, which highlighted some fascinating solutions to our energy problems; for example, thorium fission can reduce waste by a factor of 10,000. Nuclear energy is, I believe, imminent, thanks to AI and other rapidly advancing technologies. There is much scope for optimism. As runner-up, I was invited to the House of Lords where I had the opportunity to meet and listen to leaders in the field of nuclear energy. Shaan Fisher (U6th)

(xeter 8niYersity Ecology Essay Competition

This year Sohan Desai won an ecology essay competition run by the University of Exeter, which focused on the timely issue of how humans’ eating habits have affected the environment.

Public Speaking Competition

On Friday 22nd March both Benyamin Ahmed and Rien Dattani represented the school in the Worshipful Company of Educators Public Speaking Competition. Benyamin launched a defence of procrastination, while Rien discussed whether doctors should be allowed to strike. Both boys performed incredibly well in a highly competitive field of both independent and state schools across London. Benyamin was ultimately awarded the runner-up prize.

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National Youth Theatre Success Many congratulations to Chaitya Jain (Divs) and Shahraiz Siyyid (L6th) who are the latest MTS students to win places in the prestigious National Youth Theatre. Chaitya took on the role of a Trader in the most recent Senior Production, Enron . He was also the Assistant Stage Manager this year on Our Day Out , supporting and mentoring the younger students. Shahraiz has taken part in several performances including the Senior Production of Macbeth and House Drama. This is the fifth successive year MTS boys have won places with the NYT.

Space Sustainability Competition This year Krish Thakrar took part in satellite communications company Viasat’s first-of-its-kind ‘Beyond: Space’ competition, for which students had to research, design and present their own concept to improve space sustainability. Krish was one of five finalists to be selected from thousands of entrants, and was invited to Viasat HQ in London to present his design to a large audience and panel of industry experts. Krish’s idea focused on a new coating for spacecraft to minimize atmospheric light pollution and support astronomy. Krish came runner-up in the competition, securing a sizeable educational grant, a week of work experience with Viasat in the summer, extended mentorship from two industry experts, and a multitude of new connections. Ray Fielding, Head of Space Sustainability at the UK Space Agency and competition judge, said: “We were highly impressed with the quality of these students’ entries. In fact, their ideas are replicating many of the cutting-edge space sustainability concepts and technology ideas that the UK Space Agency is developing for UK Government. It has been amazing to see the level of research and knowledge shown by all the finalists.”

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Fifth Former Receives ,nternational &ricNet &all up In September, Peter Nedeljkovic received news from the Serbian Cricket Federation that he had been selected to represent Serbia in the European Cricket Championships (against Italy, Denmark and Sweden) in Malaga and in the T20I bilateral series vs Gibraltar. He was selected to play internationally after performing well in Serbia’s UK tour last summer, taking 11 wickets in six T20 matches. Peter had this to say after the matches: “The tournament was played at the amazing European Cricket Championship ground in Malaga. I bowled in all the games with good pace and took my first international wickets, which felt amazing. It was such a special experience, and I will never forget it.” Peter was even interviewed for the European Cricket Network, which you can watch via the link:

Music Successes Music Scholar Hugh Suggett was recently invited to join the prestigious and highly selective London Schools Symphony Orchestra. His first concert was on Wednesday 10th January at the Barbican Hall. Hugh has also, alongside Ben Cooper, been selected for the National Youth Concert Band. After two highly competitive rounds of auditions, Jack Barratt was selected for the National Youth Guitar Ensemble, which meets monthly throughout the year in three regional groups before coming together each Easter. He is part of the Foundation ensemble, in which he will stay for a year or so until he progresses to the more senior Camerata.

French Drama Competition In March four Lower Sixth Formers – Oscar Williams, Jacob Rose, Benjamin Ward and Gabriel Wellmann – represented Merchant Taylors’ at the ninth Independent Schools Théâtre Francophone competition at King Alfred School, performing an extract from the lesser-known Florian Zeller play Une heure de tranquillité . It is a comedy that demands a great deal of actors who must moderate their delivery in accordance with the (often rapidly) changing cadences of the script. The boys displayed great composure and skill as they exploited the subtext and humour of the play. Particular credit goes to Oscar Williams, whose outstanding lead performance saw him win the coveted award for Best Actor. The MTS quartet can be very proud of their overall performance in what was a very strong field, with teams from schools including Eton, St Paul’s, KCS Wimbledon, NLCS, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. Many thanks to Ms Danis and our French Assistants, Mathilde and Chaima, for their help with rehearsals. Mr J. M. S. Rippier

TAYLORIAN 2024 13 THE HEAD MONITOR 13

What have you thought of your experience as Head Monitor? What has been the highlight? I often think about my role and consider myself to be very lucky indeed. From a very selfish perspective there are some nice perks: no, I do not queue for lunch; yes, I do have an office. More important, however, is the fact that I am part of a long line of great Taylors’ Head Monitors, and I have felt the need to live up to their legacy and my responsibilities. I have over 400 predecessors in this role, each of whom has gone on to do some incredible things. The recent visit of Dr David Naumann (OMT and Head Monitor 1999-2000) reminded me of the difficulty and the privilege of acquiring this position. I would like to think I have made the most of my tenure to leave my mark on the school, not only literally by scratching my name into the infamous ‘Head Monitor’s Box’, The Head Monitor

+ead 0onitor

but also through the reallocation of the Head Monitor’s office to the Clock Tower (which was almost lost to time) and the introduction of a new annual Prom venue. I am sure that many in the Monitor Team would agree that the Doctors’ Dinner was a fantastic memory – the stresses of the role fell away on the night as we enjoyed the generous hospitality of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. The dinner gathered head pupils from other schools governed by the company, and brought me and my team closer together. I would not have been able to make it through the year without their support. What are your top three moments at the school? This is a question I have been actively avoiding these past few months. It is very difficult to distil my MTS experience into discrete moments, let alone rank them!

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my position as Head Monitor seven years ago, which either makes him a great judge of character or a fortune teller of incredible accuracy. Despite his magical foresight, Mr Gibbons was a man not to mess with. He was responsible for getting me to attend The Herrick in the Upper Thirds and for my ability to recite parts of Beowulf in Old English to this day. Whilst not the most useful skill, I owe him for his trust and encouragement. What, in your opinion, defines Merchant Taylors’? It is hard to tell what contributes most to an MTS education, and I suppose that’s the point. The boys’ intellect and resourcefulness is honed through not just the word-class teaching, but also the computer games they code and play during the Hour. The pupils’ competitive nature and gracious sportsmanship is generated through organised sport, certainly, but it is also fostered by playing ‘common room cricket’. I would argue that Taylors’ boys are unique in their ability to not only be academically focused, but to simultaneously pursue wider interests. A regular week for me has always involved rehearsals, dissections, watersports and meetings when not in lessons. I have also made many friends and received helpful guidance thanks to the school’s vertical tutor system. Providing others with the ‘inside scoop’, just as the older boys did for me when I first joined, helps to perpetuate the mutually supportive culture we are so proud of at MTS. Do you have any funny anecdotes you would be willing to share? It is easy to laugh at things after the event, but orchestrating a prank during Phab Week on the Lower Sixth was our idea of ‘Phab Heritage’. Relocating all their belongings to the foyer outside the Great Hall and filling their maths classroom base with inflatable beach toys, hundreds of glow sticks, a disco light, and music while they were in a meeting seemed like an excellent idea to raise their spirits. This was until they realised what had happened and retaliated by ransacking our room. It was a rookie error on our part – we forgot to lock our door! What advice would you give to a pupil further down the school or who is just about to join? Some of the principles I have held over the last seven years are: Set yourself goals and work towards them. This may sound simple enough, but once you imagine who you wish to become, you must take measured and tangible steps to fulfil those ambitions. I often preach

However, being a part of the Phab team is something I will miss. The charity impacts of the lives of so many families, and being able to form such strong relationships with the guests over the past two years, including two very special Phab Weeks, has been very rewarding. The team has bonded over many social events including netball matches in (very short) skirts; two (very long) marathon walks; ‘Revues’ and ‘PhabFests’; and, of course, inevitable fundraising stress. It is a high-performance squad akin to a professional sports team, although we probably get through rather more Pot Noodles and Red Bulls. I also think of my time on the stage. It is safe to say I enjoy the spotlight – probably more than my acting skills warrant. Being involved in The Addams Famil y and FAME amongst other performances – including my acting debut as a Sprite in Shakespeare’s’ The Tempest – has allowed me to not only test my singing voice, but my nerves. Whilst I may not have taken drama at MTS by storm, I am proud to have thrown myself into almost all theatrical opportunities on offer and gained some great experiences and memories. Lastly, I will miss my time in the Art and DT Departments. I have enjoyed continuing my passion for these creative subjects, despite the hours of coursework they have brought me. Hanging my final pieces of work for the upcoming Summer Exhibition puts into perspective how much I have refined my skills and developed my style. I still have some work I produced before joining MTS and am glad to report that they are vastly different to the pieces I produce now. Memories from my time here include late evenings in the workshops and early mornings in the studio. I have lost count of how many tubs of paint I have worked through and mistakes I have made, but I will always be grateful for the support I have been given to experiment, iterate and grow. These spaces have been almost like a second home for me. I hope to continue life drawing and painting alongside my medical career in the future. Who was your favourite teacher and why? Although no longer at MTS, Mr Gibbons was an excellent teacher and mentor. Not only did he adopt a holistic approach to teaching, but his form group – of which I was also fortunate to be a part – still fondly recalls the silly doodles and etchings we were given licence to graffiti his glass boards and whiteboard topped tables with. At the time he had just developed his brand new, ‘Google inspired’ classroom in EN42, and we loved spending time in there. He also predicted

manifestation to motivate yourself to get work done. Try EVERYTHING. Think of the school as a buffet of opportunities to sample. Sticking with this food analogy, do not take each day ‘à la carte’. For you to do well, you must go out of your way to find your calling – rarely is it handed to you on a silver platter. Stay organised. I am often seen carrying my diary and those close to me know that without it I would not have been able to achieve a fraction of what I set out to do over the last two years. Being able to stay on track with deadlines whilst factoring in time for self-care and social outings is key to maintaining a good work-life balance.

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St Barnabas’ Day Speech 2024 R ichard 0ulcaster was our first Head Master. When the Court of Merchant Taylors’ Company set up

had some wonderful phrases to describe a good school. Schools are: ‘treasuries of learning… storehouses of humanity…the sources of knowledge and wisdom’. Mulcaster’s vision for education at MTS was clear: ‘Nature to lead it, reason to back it, custom to commend it and experience to approve it.’ He was an innovator and would have approved of an exciting change in our admissions process. This year we shifted from dual entry points at 13+ and 11+ to a single entry at 11. This has been met with approval from applicants – it offers earlier access to our teachers and facilities, and also allows us to design a curriculum and pastoral care that seamlessly carries the pupils from Year 7 through to university entry. In this speech you will hear that we offer so much to our pupils, and they in turn enrich the experience of school. All this was anticipated by Mulcaster, who wrote that a school should offer ‘Excellence fashioned for another’. This would make it ‘The choice of promising scholars’. Education is demanding: ‘Scholars cannot rest satisfied with little’. He would be pleased to learn that they are still dissatisfied with settling for little.

our school in 1561, it gave some interesting instructions to Mulcaster in the school’s statutes. He was told that he was to teach the children not only good literature, but also good manners. However, pupils might object to the next instruction: “Let not the scholars to have leave to play except only once a week. Nor let the scholars use no cocN fighting tennis play nor riding about or disputing abroad, which is but foolish babbling and loss of time.” Very strict. Despite his appointment, Mulcaster was not always happy in his relations with the Company. On 26th November 1574, Merchant Taylors’ Court told him off for his ‘injurious and quarrellinge speache’ when they visited on the previous St Barnabas’ Day. I hope to do better in this speech, exactly 450 years later. Mulcaster was a well-known figure. Shakespeare may have been making fun of him in Love’s Labour’s Lost , with Holofernes the schoolmaster. We know that Mulcaster had pupils of Merchant Taylors’ perform at least three plays to Queen Elizabeth, to teach them “good behaviour and audacity.” There was great rivalry

St Barnabas’ Day between Shakespeare and the boy actors, and when he has Holofernes say, ‘I protest the schoolmaster is exceeding fantastical; too too vain, too too vain,’ Shakespeare uses a common expression of Mulcaster’s. Perhaps Shakespeare was making fun of his theatrical rival at court. In 1581, Mulcaster wrote a book on what a good education should be, which proposed a radical vision of schooling that still inspires today. I would like to use his own words, taken from the book we hold in our archive, to guide my description of the year’s achievements. In his book, Mulcaster Last summer, at A Level, 70% of results were A* or A. At GCSE, we had 86% A* or A grades, 68% of which were A*s, which was a new high for examined outcomes. This intellectual stretch and challenge is also true in terms of university applications. This year, the school had 11 Oxbridge offers; 9 students won places at Medical School. Every year, the vast majority go on to elite universities. I would like to capture some further vignettes of scholarship and excellence – albeit an imperfect and partial list. As ever, pupils won multiple Senior and Intermediate Olympiad Golds across

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recommended having a break. He noted that a good school would stretch the pupils in different ways, ‘For the variety is very great’ but added that ‘Learning must have leisure’. We agree, and so pupils and staff embarked on a number of different trips and tours. 10 departments took pupils away. In the UK we visited the Lake District, Pembrokeshire and Bath. Other trips went to Bologna, Athens, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and the Battlefields. Then there were the German, Spanish and French Exchanges. Nor should we forget the Year 9 Rugby tour to Biarritz, the Year 10 Cricket Tour to Dubai, the Year 8 Hockey tour to Holland, the Senior Hockey tour to South Africa, the Ski Trip to Canada, the surfing trip to Fuerteventura, and the physicists’ trip to CERN in Switzerland. Plus, all the Outdoor Ed based trips – DofE, Canoeing, CCF, rock climbing, and so forth. If you preferred to stay in school, there were over 100 clubs and societies this year and more than 20 Music Ensembles. The eight Houses clashed in over 20 different competitions through the year. Mulcaster led the school when it was at the heart of the City of London on a dirty urban site. He had a vision of a better experience for the pupils. He wrote, ‘I wish that schools were planted near to the fields, with little or no restriction in the matter of space.’ Later, he added, ‘Walking in an open place, and chiefly green, is much better and more wholesome … If ye walk in a place where birds haunt, it is of great efficacy to clear the breath, and to disburden the body so, as if ye did walk in some higher ground.’ He would have appreciated our current grounds and commitment to outdoor education. A radical for the time, Mulcaster did not, as most philosophers and intellectuals did, separate the mind and body. For Mulcaster, the good school would take a new path: “It is not a mind, it is not a body that we have to educate, but a man, and we cannot divide him.” We still do the same today, through our sport. In rugby, 26 boys were in the London and South Central Developing Player Pathway.

Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Linguistics – there were far too many pupils performing at an elite national level for me to read out their names today. Krish Thakrar, in L6th, entered a national space sustainability competition run by the satellite company Viasat. Krish came up with a novel solution to the issue of light pollution from satellites. He was awarded second place out of 1200 entrants – securing a grant and work experience with Viasat. Industry experts are looking to take his idea into commercial development. Joshua Rhodes, Divs, was one of only 38 students out of approximately 1,200 participants to reach the Newsquest Young Reporter semi-finals. Divs students Samay Kachalia, Xander Mardle, Noah West and Rayyan Taha were runners-up in the Imperial College Science and Medicine Prize, a competition aimed at Sixth Form students. In History, Tilak Patel was a winner in the Julia Wood Essay Prize competition (St Hugh’s, Oxford). Jacob Rose, Oscar Williams, Gabriel Wellmann and Ben Ward represented MTS at the 9th French Drama competition. Oscar Williams won the Best Leading Part prize in front of Helena Bonham Carter, who was in the audience. Shaan Fisher, Emre Arslan and Luka Hinton were selected for the Merchant Taylors’ Company Senior Design Competition. Although a Divisions pupil, Samay Kachalia won the Highly Commended Award at the same Senior Design Competition Final with his project. In addition, we had a record 14 students going through to the final stages of the Arkwright Scholarship – most schools are delighted with one or two. We had 6 VEX Robotics teams through to the National Finals. MTS_R3START (Charlie Apps, Dylan Lakhani, Nikhil Mehta, Shayan Nezami, Jai Patel) were crowned UK National Champions, also winning the High School Excellence Award. They, along with MTS_Hydra (Shay Nagda, Oscar Walsh, Ali Juma, Pranay Patel, Thomas Bignone), qualified for the VEX World Championship 2024 in Texas. There, MTS_Hydra placed 15th in their Division, which put them amongst the best teams in the world. After all that success, Mulcaster would have

The U14s enjoyed an excellent tour to Biarritz; Noah Kerr and Niccolo Camilotti shone in those games with their effort and commitment. The senior boys provided St Barna

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staged to date and was a new high for MTS Drama. It was a dazzling, dynamic evening. Luca McCormick, Ben Ward, and Aarin Kundapur-Pereira led the play from the hedonism of the first act, through to Enron’s decline and fall. The ensemble cast was excellent, playing traders, analysts, velociraptors and even Arnold Schwarzenegger. The production also took technical theatre at MTS to a new level, with a visual and audio soundtrack not seen before in the Studio Theatre. The Junior Play was Our Day Out . Willy Russell’s play is a nostalgic journey from an impoverished Liverpool school to the Welsh Hills. A large cast of boys in the Lower School honed their scouse accents, producing a memorable performance, both funny and moving. This year saw the fifth successive year of MTS boys winning places with the prestigious National Youth Theatre with Chaitya Jain (Divisions) and Shahraiz Siyyid (L6th) both offered places in courses this summer. The musical year began with the annual concert given by Music Scholars. Kaihan Tucker made his debut with a stunning performance. Kaihan later won Merchant Taylors’ Young Musician of the Year 2024, with a wonderfully lyrical performance of Brahms’s Intermezzo in A. The Senior Music Competition was won by Ivan Nabarro, the first person to win the Senior Music Competition more than once. We are a centre of excellence for organists, accredited by the Royal College of Organists. Other individual successes include Jack Barratt’s acceptance into the National Youth Guitar Ensemble. The Concert Band participated in the National Concert Band Festival for the first time this year. This Festival recognises the best of Concert and Wind bands from across the country, including adult bands. For Merchant Taylors’ to be awarded a Silver Award at the first attempt is outstanding.

support in coaching the U12 and U13s in the Spring Term, with Luka Hinton impressing all. Rugby Week was a triumph. In hockey, the 1st XI made the quarterfinals of the Independent School Plate Cup. The U14As made the East semifinal of the tier 1 National Cup. The Seniors had a 7th place finish in the international tournament in South Africa. Indoor hockey has also been a success. The 1st team won the County Cup and narrowly missed out on qualification to the National Finals. The U16s got the silver medal in the County Cup. Every student in years 7 and 8 took part in two hockey fixtures vs Reed’s. In total 27 teams represented the school at hockey with over 350 students representing the school in one fixture or more. In cricket, this Easter we launched the largest ever cricket tour to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We whitewashed Berkhamsted and St Paul’s in successive fixtures and are running at well over an 80%-win rate. The U14s won the Middlesex final against Harrow; the U15s narrowly lost their County Final; the U18s have progressed to the semifinals of the National competition. Finally, we celebrated the first professional cricket contract for over a decade. Aaryan Sawant has joined Middlesex, having already scored a century for their 2nd team as a schoolboy. In squash, the U18 team successfully made it through the qualifying rounds to reach the semifinals of the Squash England Cup Competition. In football, we had a year long unbeaten stretch, and three of our boys are Middlesex FA U18 County Cup champions: Rohan Dhawan, Arran Dhillon and Mateo Frankic-Ruppen, who was man of the match. A good school will nurture all the pupils’ talents. We have already heard that Mulcaster put drama at the centre of the curriculum. He wrote, ‘Natural capacities once being observed, must be followed with diligence, increased by good method and encouraged by sympathy.’ We still observe natural talents, we still seek to develop and improve them and still offer encouragement in Drama, Music and Art. This year, the Senior Play was Enron. This satire of 80s financial excess was the most ambitious play we have

The concert at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall brought together around 80 musicians from MTS, the Prep School, and St John’s. It was a triumph, as was the Joint Concert at MTS, which involved around 200 children from Merchant Taylors’, St Helen’s, St John’s, abas’ Day

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bursaries. The building was supported in part by philanthropic giving from OMTs, parents and friends of the school. Led by Nick Latham, our often unsung but wonderful Development Team raised over £2.3m for the project. I am reaching a conclusion but will be guided towards the finish with some final thoughts from Mulcaster’s book. He wrote, and I could not agree more, ‘The good that cometh by schools is infinite; the qualities required in the teacher are many and great’. Mulcaster adds words that should be written in letters of fire on every staffroom wall in the country, ‘The teacher must have determination to take pains, perseverance to continue in his work, discretion to judge of circumstances, cheerfulness to delight in the success of his labour, sympathy to encourage promising youth, hopefulness to think every child an Alexander, and courteous lowliness in his opinion of himself.’ Our staff are indeed courteous in their modesty, given the breadth of their achievement and hard work. I thank them all but pick out two long-standing colleagues for especial mention. Firstly, I thank Mr Taylor who retires after 37 years. I must also honour another valued colleague – Dr McNerney. She steps down from Headship at Merchant Taylors’ Prep after 21 years of service to the school. I thank her for her work, her wisdom and her friendship. I must offer one additional farewell – to our hard-working Chairman of Governors, Duncan Eggar. He has been Chair for the last four years but has served on the Governing Body since 2009. It is hard to overstate the importance of the role and I am grateful for his support and his challenge. I welcome Andy Cree as a worthy successor.

and Merchant Taylors’ Prep. It ended with massed choirs and an orchestra from MTS and St Helen’s, with the very welcome return to MTS of Harrison Robb OMT as a professional baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs . The Art Department has had a particular focus on getting work seen across the school. This year they introduced exhibition opening events for Lower School projects. Shows have included complex cubist sculptural constructions based on musical instruments and a very large group painting of a wild collection of monsters at a table, about to eat. Mulcaster believed a school did more than educate the pupils in facts. A good school would teach them to be a better person and not just a better scholar. He wrote, ‘They should be set to school, to qualify themselves, to learn how to be religious and loving, how to govern and obey, and in short, how to perform that excellently by labour, whereunto they are born but rudely by nature.’ We continue to teach pupils how to perform with excellence and to better themselves as caring people. The Phab team successfully raised funds throughout the year to support Phab Week during the Easter holidays, engaging in various fundraising activities and events. Phab Week 2024 itself was a roaring success. Community Action is also a hive of activity. We invited 145 students from two local primary schools onto our site. The children enjoyed a Harry Potter day, a bridge building challenge and VEX Robotics programming.

St Barnabas’ Day Charity Drive supported Phab and Mind UK. They hosted film nights, football tournaments, staff v student matches, and sleep-outs. Next year they are hoping to help out locally, linking with Watford food banks and delivering meals in the community. To return to Mulcaster’s words, he wrote, ‘I wish commodious situation and room in places for learning and exercise’. Commodious situation perfectly describes our wonderful new facility – the Julian Hill Cricket Centre. Since its opening in January, it has proven a great success and will soon begin to create funding for new Mulcaster sums up the role of teachers thus, ‘Our profession is certainly more arduous than most; but on the other hand, not many have such opportunities of doing good service.’ It has been an honour today to share some of the good service that my colleagues have offered this year. The pupils have benefitted greatly, and I am deeply grateful. Thank you all.

AWARDS/PRIZES 2023/2024

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Awards/Prizes 2023/2024

CLASSICAL PRIZES The Company’s Senior Prize for Latin

Alexander Sacranie

The Company’s Junior Prize for Latin

Anish Lingam

The Company’s Senior Prize for Greek

Hari Nolan

The Company’s Junior Prize for Greek

Perry Cross

The Sidney Hubert Clark Memorial Prize for Latin

Dominic Detre

The Sidney Hubert Clark Memorial Prize for Greek

Raffi Razavi

The Rimmington Prize for Classics

James Lee

The Curtis Prize for Classics

James Gent

Riwaj Sapkota

The Junior Prize for Latin (U3rd)

Pellis Papadopoulos

The Junior Prize for Greek (4th)

The Oxlade Prize for a Classical Essay

Tilak Patel

ENGLISH PRIZES The Frederick Fry Senior Prize for English

Jacob Rose

The Frederick Fry Intermediate Prize for English

Henry Lock

The Frederick Fry Junior Prize for English

Devin Seneviratne

The James Graves Senior Prize for English

Alexander Sacranie

The James Graves Intermediate Prize for English

David Auld

The James Graves Junior Prize for English

Monty Halkerston

The Company’s Prize for Verse

George Radburn

The Joe Tyler Prize for English

Guy Denne

MATHEMATICS PRIZES The David Ducat Senior Memorial Prize for Maths

Aayush Pandit

The David Ducat Junior Memorial Prize for Maths

Aaditya Bhandarkar

The Roberts Memorial Prize for Maths

Krishna Thayaparan

The Hodgetts Mathematics Prize

Ananth Hari-Narain

The Senior Mathematics Prize

Samuel Williams

The Intermediate Mathematics Prize

Shay Nagda

The Junior Mathematics Prize

Noah Phethean

Lower School Mathematics Prize

Ossie Karanja

Lower School Mathematics Prize

Jack Baker

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AWARDS/PRIZES 2023/2024

SCIENCE PRIZES The Company’s Senior Prize for Chemistry

Faiz Siddiqui

The Company’s Junior Prize for Chemistry

Viren Shukla

The Company’s Senior Prize for Physics

Krishna Thayaparan

The Company’s Junior Prize for Physics

Thomas Easterbrook

The Hilles Science Prize

Shayan Nezami

The Company’s Senior Prize for Biology

Amar Sethi

The Company’s Junior Prize for Biology

Aviral Agarwal

The Le Marquand Prize for Field Course Ecology

Ralph Suggett

The Fleet Prize for Biology

Raffi Razavi

The Rimmington Prize for Medicine

Seraj Ali

The Amersi Prize for Physical Science

Alex Quarry

The Harris Thorning Science Prize

Sid Tiwari

PSYCHOLOGY PRIZES The Senior Psychology Prize

Kyle Wagjiani

The Intermediate Psychology Prize

Zak Rosenbaum

SPORTS SCIENCE PRIZES The Senior Prize for Sports Science

Dilan Reddy

The Intermediate Prize for Sports Science

Rahul Rajkumar

MODERN LANGUAGES PRIZES The Company’s Prize for French

Andreas Georgiou

The Company’s Prize for German

Kush Raghvani

The Company’s Prize for Spanish

Jake Hawkes

The Pigeon & Pugh Prize for Modern Languages (French)

Veer Thakkar

The Pigeon & Pugh Prize for Modern Languages (German)

Daniel Lurie

The Mason & Davis Prize for Modern Languages (Spanish)

Benjamin Ward

The Gavin Brown Prize for Spoken French

Dominic Detre

The Denis Ogan Prize for Spoken German

Samuel Williams

The Campbell Prize for Spoken Spanish

George Turner

RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND PHILOSOPHY PRIZES The Hessey Divinity Senior Prize

Oliver Costigan

The Hessey Divinity Intermediate Prize

Theo Hawkes

The Hessey Divinity Junior Prize

Suraj Datta

HISTORY PRIZES The Company’s Prize for a Historical Essay

Tilak Patel

The Tyler History Prize

Dillan Shah

The Rickards History Prize

Thomas Easterbrook

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GEOGRAPHY PRIZES The Company’s Senior Prize for Geography

Niyan Kakad

The Company’s Junior Prize for Geography

Krishaang Bhimjiani

ECONOMICS/POLITICS PRIZES The Senior Economics Prize

Aryan Mistry

The Intermediate Economics Prize

Rohan Hadke

The National Westminster Bank Prize for Political Studies

Suleiman Malhi

The Intermediate Politics Prize

Simon Peart

MUSIC PRIZES The Company’s Senior Prize for Music

Ben Lakin

The Company’s Intermediate Prize for Music

Dominic Detre

The Company’s Junior Prize for Music

Steven Kormushev

The Philippa Hunter Prize for Music

Tilak Patel

The Gordon Keates Prize for Music

Zain Ahmed

ART PRIZES The Company’s Senior Prize for Art & Design

Jeevan Singh Bharj

The Company’s Junior Prize for Art & Design

Devan Gami

The Nishen Soochak Prize for Creative Endeavour

Yuvraj Juttla

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY PRIZES The Dudley Cox Senior Prize for Design and Technology

Emre Arslan

The Dudley Cox Junior Prize for Design and Technology Amitav Thakur The Shanta Kumarage Memorial Prize for Excellence in Design Nikhil Mehta

DRAMA & THEATRE STUDIES PRIZES The John Steane Prize for Drama

Luca McCormick

The Tyler Drama Prize

Benjamin Ward

The Middle School Prize for Drama

Ravin Abhayawickrama

Monty Halkerston

The Lower School Prize for Drama

ADDITIONAL PRIZES The Michael Milsom Memorial Prize for Promotion of the International Dimension of the School The Tomlinson Prize for the Extended Project Qualification (U6th)

Jay Ghelani

Aryan Mistry

The Spirit of the Manor Award

Krish Thakrar