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Hurst
Hurstpierpoint College
Senior School & Sixth Form
Michaelmas Term 2014
Newsletter no 38
Welcome to the Newsletter for the Michaelmas Term 2014
Dear Parents
Reflecting on this term during our superb Carol Services last Friday, I felt that, by and large, it had
been an excellent one. The children have worked immensely hard and achieved a huge amount,
academically, in extra-curricular activities and socially. I think they will certainly have returned home
exhausted but they should be proud of everything they have accomplished.
This newsletter will give you a snapshot of what has been happening at Hurst this term. I hope that you
will agree it has been a very good one.
A well-deserved rest over the Christmas holidays will, I hope, enable the children to recover their
energy levels, ready for all that 2015 will bring with it.
I wish you and your families a Happy Christmas and a very good New Year.
Yours sincerely
Tim Manly
Headmaster
Academic Hurst
Academic Report
Pupils have been working hard and with
good effect. Although there was occasional
sluggishness following the Summer break, the
weeks just before half term were very productive
and continued right up to the end of term.
As parents will know, Christmas is the only
time of year when we do not set vacation work
(except for those Upper Sixth who are re-sitting
AS modules in the summer or Lower Sixth resitting this term’s exams). The pupils worked hard
and effectively and were able to put their books
down on the last morning of term and know that
they have earned a good rest and don’t need to
trouble themselves with their studies until the
New Year.
There have also been some real stand out
performances on an individual basis, indeed,
many more than we have been able to recognise
within the Challenge Grade Reviews. Well done
to everybody who has done so well.
Community Hurst
Hurst Festival
Sixth Form Boarding Trip
Hurstpierpoint College hosted a number of events
as part of the Hurst Village Festival which took
place from 13th to 27th September.
The full-time Sixth Form boarders and ESL
students (English as a second language) went on
a trip to Chichester on Sunday 31st August.
The events included Cake at the College, The
Grandfathers drama performance, The Only Way
is Downton comedy, A Play in a Day workshop
for children, an organ recital and a tour of the
College.
The trip allowed the new students to get to know
each another. They visited Chichester Cathedral
and the city centre, and the afternoon ended with
a traditional afternoon tea.
Hurst Prep School Choir visited Ribbetts House
retirement home in Hurstpierpoint to sing to
residents. The pupils performed songs from the
musical ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat’.
Cake at the College involved the Sixth Form
Prefects serving tea and cakes to over 90 guests.
The event took place in the Music School where
the Senior School Jazz Band performed a varied
repertoire to the guests.
Bomber Boys
A group of WWII veterans visited Hurst and
recounted their war time experiences to the RAF
cadets and staff.
Three were flight crew members in Bomber
Command, accompanied by a lady who served in
the WRNS as an aircraft technician for the Fleet
Air Arm.
Year 10 students performed The Grandfathers by
Rory Mullarkey in the College Drama Studio and
at the Players Theatre in Hurstpierpoint Village.
With an average age of well over 90, they spoke
movingly of the time they spent serving their
country.
Community Hurst
Hurst holds Remembrance Service
The Choir sang two anthems; Dear Lord and
Father by Parry and For the Fallen by Peter
Hurst held a Remembrance Service in the College Irving. The latter included musical parts for three
Chapel on 11th November to commemorate the
trumpets and was played from the gallery, which
Hurst students and staff who died serving in the
heightened the emotion of the occasion.
First World War. A flag party from the College’s
Combined Cadet Force (CCF) took part in the
procession with the Chaplain and acolytes.
The Headmaster read out the names of every
Hurst pupil who died in the War and with each
name a current Sixth Form student stood up in the
Chapel. 108 Hurst students were killed in the First
World War, along with four members of staff.
Community Hurst
Boar’s Head Procession
The traditional Boar’s Head Procession took place
on Wednesday 3rd December. The choir sang
during the procession along the cloisters.
The black tie dinner after the procession was
a real success with some terrific entertainment
from Maddie Leeper, Annie Livingstone and Mr
Beeby. Alabama Jackson and Doug Brion also
entertained pupils with the game they devised
based on hymn numbers and cryptic clues to do
with first lines.
Creative Hurst - Art
Kew Garden
Clay masterclass
In October, Remove Art students and AS
Photography students went to Kew Gardens.
The Remove students worked hard completing
sketches and paintings of the plants in the Palm
House and Princess of Wales conservatory.
A clay masterclass was held by outside Art tutor
Claire Ireland.
Work in Progress Show
Creative Hurst - Art
Book Art
Over the summer, Art students worked on
transforming an old book into a piece of art. The
results were amazing and it was an excellent start
to a very busy and productive first half of term.
First prize was awarded to Susie Exley, second to
Esme Dowle and third to Megan Steward.
The AS students concentrated on the theme
‘Concealed/Revealed’ and, after engaging with
the works in the National Gallery, applied this
understanding to the more contemporary works
in the BP Portrait award at the National Portrait
Gallery.
Hastings Trip
The Fifth Form went to Hastings to launch their art
mock exam on the theme ‘Barriers’. They began
in the Jerwood Gallery which had an amazing
drawing exhibition with ideas to inspire everyone.
The rest of the day was spent on the beach
sketching and the students produced some
strong work. The highlight of the day was the trip
on the Cliff Railway.
Hurst Festival
Art Scholars Jess Dryden, Millie Player, Flora
Koska and Ally Faughan volunteered to help 65
local children turn cardboard boxes into cars to
watch a drive-in Lego movie as part of the Hurst
Festival and in association with the Hurst Film
Club. The organisers were impressed with the
way our girls helped out.
We also held a Life Drawing class run by Peter
Harrap. It was brilliant to see the studio so busy
and buzzing with local people.
London Art Galleries
The AS Level and IB Art students went to London
to view works in the National Gallery and National
Portrait Gallery.
The IB students focused on architecture and the
theme ‘Inside/Outside’. They attended an hour
talk by the Gallery Leader, spent time drawing in
Trafalgar Square and researching the exhibition
Building the Picture.
Creative Hurst - Drama
Hurst in Rep
This year’s initiative in the Drama department
was Hurst in Rep. Repertory theatre involves a
company having many plays so that they are able
to put on something different each night.
Hurst in Rep involved students producing six
different plays in one week, with six having the
opportunity to direct their own plays. There were
also large casts.
Each night from Monday to Saturday there were
three different plays in different auditoriums.
Four plays were set at Waterloo Station, the fifth
was a victorian Melodrama by George Bernard
Shaw and the final play was written by Anna LeaPaul after attending classes with our Playwright in
Residence, Mike Carter. All performances played
to full houses.
Creative Hurst - Drama
Twelfth Night
The Bury Theatre opened its doors to Twelfth
Night on 18th November, upholding Hurst’s fine
tradition of performing a Shakespearean play
every year.
This makes the College host to the oldest
Shakespeare Society in the country (older, even,
than the RSC). This light comedy was performed
with sophistication and maturity by a surprisingly
young cast, who thrived under the direction of
Mike Carter.
Creative Hurst - Music
The Jazz Band
House Music Competition
The Jazz Band attended the Wivelsfield Church
Harvest Supper where they were well fed and
played a big set. Before half term the band played
to a knowledgeable and appreciative audience
of more than 250 people from all over Sussex
at Clair Hall in Haywards Heath. This was a
professional standard concert in which the band
showcased not only their fine ensemble playing
but also the depth of the soloists.
The House Music Competition involved some
vintage performances, particularly from the
ensembles, who had all worked very hard and
played with confidence. It was an evening of
high-quality music-making and entertainment and
it was clear the audience enjoyed all the House
Shout songs and ensembles.
Fifth Form Recital
At the Fifth Form Recital there was some excellent
playing from our GCSE Music pupils who are
a talented group. There was a huge variety of
instruments and styles represented from Julius
Lord’s unaccompanied saxophone to Phoebe
King’s beautiful Gershwin song.
Remove Recital
The Remove Recital included performances from
all of the Remove GCSE Music set. There was
great playing all round and particular highlights
were Lydia Hancock who played the cello
beautifully and Josh Bruell whose trombone
playing was superb.
The adjudicator, Marcus Pashley, Director of
Music at Cranleigh School, was impressed by
the standard of the competition and gave positive
comments. Pelican House was a worthy winner
singing Picking Up the Pieces as an ensemble
and Some Nights as their House song.
Creative Hurst - Music
Hurst Unplugged
The Hurst Music School held Hurst Unplugged on
Wednesday 12th November. It was an opportunity
for the Senior and Sixth Form students to
showcase their musical talents in front of an
audience.
Students sang and played current pop and rock
music, as well as older favourites, all without
microphones. Some students perfomed original
pieces which they had written themselves.
the Hungarian Bell Carol. This led nicely onto
the Wind Band whose sheer number cannot go
unmentioned. Their playing of Leroy Anderson’s
Christmas Festival was enthusiastic and this was
clearly a piece that all performers enjoyed.
The flute ensemble produced a lovely blended
sound alongside some highly accurate playing.
Their performance of Faure’s Pavane was
evocative and captivating.
The saxophone group played Yellow Jazz and led
into the orchestra who now, at over 40 players,
have real strength and depth in all sections. The
first piece was an overture by Bizet in which the
woodwind players were able to show their talents
in a number of tricky passages and solos.
The concert concluded with the orchestra playing
a five movement suite by Rossini arranged by
Benjamin Britten. These movements are all highly
contrasting and enable each section of the
orchestra to be showcased at different times. The
tutti sound that opened and closed the suite was
both strong and rounded and the orchestra is to
be congratulated on its achievement playing these
tricky pieces.
The large audience clearly enjoyed what they had
heard at this concert and all players should be
congratulated for their achievements. Ensemble
music-making is one of the most enjoyable
aspects of learning an instrument and it is great
to see so many of our musicians getting so much
pleasure from their experiences.
Winter Concert
The Jazz Band opened the Winter Concert
and played with real gusto in their set of jazz
standards. They began with Sing, Sing, Sing and
continued through Winter Wonderland, sung by
Chloe Sweetland in the Lower Sixth, and finished
with the ever-popular Frosty the Snowman.
The Brass players played a fanfare by Arthur Bliss
before moving onto a more festive repertoire in
Creative Hurst - Music
Advent Procession
Hurst marked the beginning of Advent with a
procession in the College Chapel. The event
raised £740 for the British Red Cross Ebola
appeal.
Former and current members of the Hurst
community joined together to sing, listen and
be still. The entire service was lit solely by
candlelight, which enhanced the atmosphere. The
choir sang and pupils gave moving readings of
prophetic texts, both ancient and modern.
Our singers rose to the occasion performing
with both refinement and accuracy. Particularly
memorable was the singing of Bob Chilcott’s
Jesus Springing in which one could hear a pin
drop. There was some fine solo singing too,
during the Matin Responsory and the Advent
Prose.
The choir also took part in the service for Christ
the King in the Sports Hall which was ably
accompanied by a band that included some fine,
stylish improvisations from Douglas Brion and
Robert Loveless.
Creative Hurst - Music
Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
On the last day of term the College held the
annual Nine Lessons and Carols service in the
Chapel.
The choir enjoyed preparing for these services
and their repertoire was both challenging and
highly enjoyable. They filled the chapel with their
fabulous singing all the way to the last note of
Hark, The Herald-Angels Sing.
Not only did the choir really impress with their
incisive fortissimo singing in the last movement,
but their distant plainsong at the end of the third
song was spine-tingling. It is terrific to hear choral
music sung so well by such youthful and bright
voices.
The second half of this concert was given by the
Choral Society of Parents and Friends who joined
with the orchestra, Nicholas Warden and Oliver
White (another of our fantastic singing teachers)
to give a thrilling performance of Puccini’s epic
Messa di Gloria.
Choral Society Concert
At the beginning of December the Chamber
Choir gave the first half of a concert in the chapel
in which they sang the Five Mystical Songs by
Vaughan Williams accompanied by a symphony
orchestra. They were joined by Nicholas Warden,
one of the College’s three singing teachers, who
sang the baritone solo.
The Chamber Choir’s singing was pure and
still and the large audience was impressed by
the choir’s blended and youthful sound and the
strength of the choral sound.
Activity Hurst
Shell Activity Day
The whole Shell year group visited Broadstone Warren as part of their induction to the Senior School.
The pupils took part in ten outdoor activities and team building exercises at the Scout Site and Activity
Centre in Ashdown Forest on Friday 5th September. The activities included archery, climbing, abseiling
down a 10 metre high tower, navigating a rope assault course and balancing on the cube course. They
also took on a challenge which involved building a tower of crates whilst standing on them.
Activity Hurst - CCF
Tower of London poppies
Cadets from Hurstpierpoint College helped install
ceramic poppies at the Tower of London’s art
installation on Friday 17th October.
The students ‘planted’ poppies for the World
War I Centenary commemoration, called
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. The art
installation surrounds the Tower of London in what
used to be the Tower’s moat.
Work began in the summer and was designed
by artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom
Piper. The sea of poppies continued to grow as
volunteers help ‘plant’ them.
A total of 888,246 poppies were in place by
Remembrance Day. Each poppy represents
a British soldier killed during the First World
War and the installation marks 100 years since
Britain’s involvement in the First World War.
Activity Hurst - CCF
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh Service afternoon has
expanded this term with increased numbers as
Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth have continued with
their chosen activity. Without their assistance in
leadership and teaching the afternoon would not
be such a success.
CCF Inspection
The CCF had their Biennial Inspection by
the Ministry of Defence before half term. The
afternoon went well, and we await the official
result.
Activity Hurst
Activities
Digital Genius International Final
Climbing, Kayaking and Mountain Biking has
continued this term with large numbers of Shell
and Remove pupils participating.
The Hurst Digital Genius team were one of four
schools to attend the Greenpower International
Final at Goodwood Motor Circuit. Katherine
Sheridan, Harry Briggs and Josh Bacon had the
opportunity to interview school racing teams from
around the world, as well as Lord March. They
edited their work back at the event and had their
footage broadcast on the large screens around
Goodwood.
Sailing in-land and off-shore has flourished and
trips to the Solent have been exciting. There have
also been Wakeboarding and Paddleboarding
weekend trips. We now have over 160 pupils
participating in our Woodland project, Recycling,
Community Service and working on our Farm.
Most of the Lower Sixth will also have the
opportunity to take their First Aid award.
Inter-Schools Show Jumping
The Hurst Show Jumping teams rode well at the
Inter-Schools Show Jumping Competition at
Hickstead. The Red and Blue teams finished 1st
and 2nd in Class 2. In Class 3 Hurst finished 1st
place overall and the team jumping in Class 1
finished 6th out of nine teams.
Young Engineers Club
When Head of Design Technology, Robin
Johnson, invited some of the new Shell (Year 9)
pupils last September to form a Young Engineers
club, he had to find an engaging project for them
to get their teeth into.
NSEA National Championships
The Hurst 95cm Show Jumping team are NSEA
National Champions after a three day event at half
term. The competition was intense with between
25 and 30 qualifying teams in each class. The
Hurst teams were exceptional in appearance,
camaraderie and attitude.
The 75cm Jumping with Style team finished in 2nd
place, the 95cm Jumping with Style team finished
in 3rd place and our 90cm County Champions
team were placed 4th in the County Challenge
competition. In the 1.05m competition the Hurst
team finished in 6th place.
Mr Johnson just happened to have a 1,000cc
BMW motorbike in pieces that had been bought
for spares. This proved to be an excellent
resource for the club to use in their weekly activity
sessions. The Young Engineers are now building
a Formula Education car to take part in the
Greenpower International Finals in 2015.
Activity Hurst
Indoor Skiing Championships
Two teams from Hurstpierpoint College took part
in the British Independent Schools Ski (BISS)
Racing Indoor Championships on Monday 29th
September. This was the first year Hurst have
taken part in the indoor Championships and were
skiing against 250 other young skiers from nearly
40 schools. The event took place at The Snow
Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
Watersports Activity Day
The Outdoor Education department took
Senior School pupils to West Wittering beach,
Chichester for a Watersports Activity Day
on Sunday 12th October. The students learnt
Windsurfing and Power Kiting as part of their
Kitesurfing course provided by X-Train.
***STOP PRESS!*** Skiing Championships
For the third year running, Hurst skiers have done
exceptionally well at the Independent Schools Ski
and Snowboarding Championships held at Les
Deux Alps in France. Congratulations to the Hurst
A team who won overall and also to the B and C
teams who finished comfortably in the upper half
of the rankings. A news report and photographs
will be posted online early in the New Year.
Activity Hurst
Wakeboarding at UK’s biggest water-ski park
Nine students from Hurstpierpoint College
had wakeboarding lessons at the UK’s biggest
wakeboarding and water-ski park.
The group were taught wakeboarding over a
weekend at JB Ski in Chertsey, Surrey.
The Year 9 to Upper Sixth students learnt the
basic skills of wakeboarding, how to control the
direction of the boards and how to make ‘S’ turns.
Competent riders were given individual tuition to
learn turns and cornering. The students also had a
go at knee-boarding.
Students design Smartphone Apps
Year 10 designed apps for smartphones
as part of an Appathon event organised by
Founders4Schools. The GCSE students worked
in teams of three and prepared a short pitch to
present to a group of local business people.
The winning idea from Hurst was The Collective
Kitchen. This app would allow users to type
the food items in their fridge, which would then
suggest recipe ideas. Users would also be able
to add their own recipes to the community and
follow celebrity chefs’ recipes.
Activity Hurst
Christmas Cross Country
The annual Inter-House Cross Country run took
place on the last day of term and involved all
Senior School pupils.
The Santa Fun Run and the Chocolate Sauce
Walk were especially festive, with pupils wearing
santa hats, Christmas jumpers and a few wore
Christmas fancy dress.
Christmas music was played across the field, the
Sixth Form rock band performed live and after
the run there were stalls selling popcorn, hot
chocolate and hot bacon rolls.
Sporting Hurst
Hockey - Girls
This term the girls fielded 14 teams, playing 145
matches in the block fixtures, scoring 140 goals in
the process.
Overall victories were recorded in the fixtures
against Sutton Valence, Epsom and Cranbrook,
with draws against Eastbourne, Churcher’s and
Ardingly.
The team of the term is the U15B team with the
best win ratio in the school of 67%. Overall the
U15B team won 7 out of 12 matches, drawing
two games. A particularly good result was the 7-0
win over Eastbourne College.
However, the most successful side in the school
has been the U14A team. They were county
runners-up and progressed on to the regional
rounds of the National Schools competition. Some
notable wins were the 12-0 victory over Sutton
Valence and the 10-1 win over Cranbrook.
That game showed how much the team
has progressed throughout the year – they
demonstrated a superior level of technical ability
and better tactical awareness against a very good
Cranbrook team.
There have been a number of outstanding results
for individual teams during the term. The U16As
beat Portsmouth Grammar 7-0 and the 1st XI beat
Brighton College 5-0 away.
All the teams have worked very hard in training
and played some good passing hockey. There has
been good movement off the ball and all players
are improving their core skills.
Hockey - Boys
The U16 and U18 boys both have reached the
regional finals of the national indoor competition.
A large number of players have been selected
for Sussex this year as well as progressing from
JRPC to Tier 1 and Tier 2 respectively.
Sporting Hurst
Rugby
The rugby club finished the season having won
47% of its matches with 65 wins, 3 draws and 72
losses.
The first half of the season was tough with the
school competing against strong opposition
including John Fisher, Brighton College, St John’s
Leatherhead and Reed’s.
The 1st XV have played some excellent rugby this
year; Captain Morgan Griffin who has represented
Welsh Exiles and James Hadfield, who is in the
Harlequins EPG squad, have been the leading
lights.
The 1st XV progressed through to the fifth round
of the NatWest Vase with an excellent win in a
closely fought contest against Worth.
Rugby colours have been awarded to: Paul
Delaney, Morgan Griffin, Nick Donovan, Callum
Macintyre, Matt Pearson-Miles, Rob Cope,
James Hebbard, Charlie Austin-Groome and Ben
Meyerratken.
The 2nd and 3rd XVs have had some good results,
even though they haven’t had winning seasons
overall.
The U16As won nine times this term and are
now in the semi-finals of the Sussex Cup, a
competition that they have the potential to win.
The U16B team played with considerable tenacity
and, after their first two games, have competed
strongly in all matches since, the 17-7 win against
Eastbourne being their best match.
The U15As improved as the season progressed
and finished the season strongly with two good
wins against Christ’s Hospital and Cranbrook.
The U15Bs have had a winning season, with eight
victories and the U15Cs finally got off the mark
with a superb win over Christ’s Hospital.
The U14 boys are our strongest year group overall
and the fact that we put out a U14D team this
year is testament to that strength and depth.
The U14As have secured their place in the
quarter-finals of the County Cup and have
finished the season undefeated. The U14Bs have
won eight times, the U14Cs have won twice and
the 14Ds have won three times, which bodes well
for the future.
Although the overall results are slightly down
in terms of wins, the rugby club has battled
excellently and the talent coming through from
the younger year groups will only strengthen the
College’s performance in future seasons.
Sporting Hurst
Netball
Netball this term started positively for all four
age groups. The U16A, U15A and U14A have
comfortably cruised into the quarter-finals of
the Sussex Knock Out Cup and the 1st VII have
secured a spot in the semis.
The 1st VII’s training started with matches in the
Tuesday night Brighton League in September.
Weekly training and an impressive win over
Cardinal Newman prepared them for the National
Schools qualifying tournament. Unfortunately
drawing two key games left the team one goal
short of qualification. The girls were naturally very
disappointed but are now focusing on a final spot
in the Cup and retaining their SISNA title.
The U16s were runners up in the Sussex round
of the National Schools tournament at Roedean.
The girls beat Bede’s, Mayfield, Durrington,
Roedean and Brighton College, only losing one
match against Ardingly. The squad has a strong
combination of U16s and U15s, with Remove
girls, Saskia Hammond, Ellen Welsh, Sofia Yousif
and Millie Adams, all playing up. The girls are
delighted and looking forward on the next part of
their journey at the Regional round in January.
In the Sussex Cup, the girls (minus the U15
players) had a bye in the first round, then beat
Sackville in round two and face Uplands next.
Having won the title last year, the U15s started
their Sussex Cup campaign in round two, beating
Sackville comfortably.
This remains a very talented age group. The arrival
of Sofia Yousif and Ellen Welsh has extended the
depth of the squad and keeps the competition for
A team spots hungry!
The U14As have juggled hockey and netball very
maturely. Their hockey success has impacted on
their netball training time. The quality of the squad
has made selection challenging but the future
of this team is exciting. The team was 5th at the
National School tournament, just losing out on key
games. In their cup match, the girls beat Bede’s
40-12, demonstrating their high levels of fitness
and versatility.
The girls and coaches are looking forward to next
term. There are plenty of fixtures and wins up for
grabs!
Sporting Hurst
Hockey U17 students play for England
Hurst Cricketers add to their credentials
Three Upper Sixth Hockey players took part in the
U17 tournament at the University of Manchester.
Sixth Former George Garton and Fifth Former
Tom Haines played for the Sussex County Cricket
2nd XI team this term and George was named 12th
man in the 1st XI squad.
Courtney Hansford played in the girls’ England
red team, Sam George played for the boys’
England red team and gained a silver medal for
progressing to the final stage, and Ben Cooke
won a gold medal playing in the boys’ England
white team. Sam and Courtney also played in the
winning sides for the Saxon Tigers in the Futures
Cup.
Golf
This term our golfers played in the HMC national
competition at West Sussex Golf Club and came
4th out of 20 schools, ranked above schools such
as Harrow and Radley College.
The Hurst team came joint first in the triangular
meeting with Epsom College and Brighton
College at the prestigious Walton Heath Golf
Course.
Students Versus the Masters Football match
The annual ‘Students Versus the Masters’ football
match took place on Friday 3rd October, 101 years
after the first Hurst football challenge.
The first ‘Students Versus the Masters’ match
took place in 1913 just before the First World
War. Sadly, of the 22 men that played that day,
two students and four masters went on to die
serving for their country in the War.

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