Jennifer Southern leads the way‘Outstanding exam results for 2010 leavers’ – page 3

The Heritage TrailTwo letters of appreciation – page 4

New Field proves ideal for FoxtrotAn exciting new sports event – page 7

Old Penrhosian joins House of LordsPeerage for Dianne Hayter – page 20

Issue 18March 2011news

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Calendar ~ 2011Preparatory School Speech Day

Fri 27 May 2.00 pm The Marquee, New Field

Guest of Honour: Mrs Pat Jones OP(Contact Headmaster’s PA 01492 530381)

Senior School Speech Day Prizegiving Sat 28 May 10.00 am

The Marquee, New Field(Contact: Headmaster’s PA 01492 530155)

Summer Ball Sat 28 May 7.00 pm for 7.30 pm

The Marquee, New Field(Contact: Sarah James 01492 530155

e-mail: sjames@rydal-penrhos.com)

London DinnerSat 11 June 7.30 pm

Public Schools and East India Club(Contact: James Duckenfield

e-mail: james@newfieldit.com)

Founder’s Weekend17–18 September at School

(Contact: Richards Room 01492 539736)

Foxtrot Fell RaceSat 17 Sept, Foxtrot Fell Race

(Contact: Richard Watson e-mail:richard.watson@yahoo.co.uk)

North Wales Dinner preceded by RP Society AGM

Fri 18 November, 6.30 pm AGM, 7.30 pm Dinner

(Contact: Richards Room 01492 539736 or Rachel Evans 01690 710937)

RP Society GolfSilcock Salver

Thur 28 & Fri 29 April, Maesdu & Conwy

Grafton MorrishSat 14 May Olton GC, Solihull

Marsden TrophyThur 19 May Brocton Hall GC, Stafford

Pochin CupSeptember, Sandiway GCWelsh Public Schools Golf

Fri 7 October, Royal Porthcawl(Contact: G Watson 01492 532230)

Dolphin’s Cricket WeekJuly 2011

(Contact: R Williams 01492 860787)

I came to Rydal from Preston in 1957 andmy son, Edward, and daughter, Fiona,followed from Bradford in 1986. As I hadenjoyed my ten years at Rydal, I alsowanted our children to be educated in ahappy and healthy environment on theNorth Wales coast.

We are all delighted to see the RydalPenrhos Society is thriving and the presentCommittee is well represented by formerpupils of Rydal School, Penrhos Collegeand Rydal Penrhos School. Thank you toall of you who responded to the reply slipssent out last summer. We had a very goodresponse: the majority of the replies werepositive and the regular issues of theNewsletter are particularly well received. Ifyou have not visited the School premisesrecently, please try to do so. I can assureyou will not be disappointed.

I am delighted to report that we had avery successful North Wales Dinner inNovember in Betws-y-Coed, with a fullhouse of around 70 attending. We

remembered Alison Hughes, the Dinnerorganiser for the past 25 years, who sadlydied during 2010. It was good to meetthree of my oldest school friends thatweekend, two of whom I had not seen foralmost 40 years.

After a gap of several years, I ampleased and grateful James Duckenfieldhas agreed to organise a London Dinneronce again, on 11 June 2011. Followingthe success of the Summer Ball last Mayon New Field, there will be another ‘Eventin the Tent’ on 28 May. Details will alsobe posted on the School’s website.

I would like to thank Neil Richards forhis hard work as President last year; alsomy thanks to Guy Watson and HeidiYork, the Society Secretaries and to all theOfficers and Committee members fortheir dedication. We are here to serve you.Please do your best to support us byattending some of the events. I lookforward to meeting you during the year.

Philip Reid (RS 1961-67)

Letter from the President

Letter from the Joint Secretaries2010 has been an exciting year for theSociety. We have enjoyed welcomingnumerous former pupils and showing themthe School. One of the year’s highlights wasthe week’s Anniversary Celebrations whichbegan on Saturday 22 May with theHeritage Trail and finished with SpeechDay on Saturday 29 May. The School andSociety jointly hosted the Anniversary Ballon a glorious summer’s evening on 22 Mayat New Field. We must thank our mainsponsors of the event who included DTMLegal, Metcalfe Catering Supplies, theDunoon Hotel and Babak Emanian and allwho donated the excellent auction prizes.The money raised was given to the PrepSchool to help re-stock the Library; to theSenior School to help the purchase of a newpiano and to Ty Gobaith, the children’shospice near Conwy.

The Founder’s Day Weekend was heldon 17–19 September. There were variedevents including a service at St John’s,hockey and netball matches against theSchool and a Rydal Vikings rugby matchagainst a North Wales President’s XV.

The Chester Dinner, planned for 1October at Delamere Forest GC, wascancelled due to low numbers, but wehope to stage this event in 2011. The

North Wales Dinner was held on Friday19 November, following the AGM, at TheRoyal Oak Hotel in Betws-y-Coed. It wasa very successful evening, attended by 69people. We were entertained to excellentspeeches from Ian Morris, the newlyappointed President Philip Reid,Headmaster Patrick Lee-Browne, HeadBoy Tom Carr, and Head Girl EmilyWynn. Raymond Pye finished the eveningwith his wonderful singing. The Society isvery grateful to Sara Ward and RachaelEvans for organising the evening. AlisonHughes was greatly missed; please see‘Obituaries’, below, for a tribute to Alison.

In August, 3,500 questionnaires weresent out to Society members and, to date,we have had 850 replies, which is apleasing response. Please continue toreturn these in 2011 to help us keep ourdata accurate.

The Society is reliant on help frommany individuals. Thank you to NeilRichards for his dedication and supportduring this past year as President and toall members of the Committee; also toDorothy Marriot for all her help. NicolaPrydderch, our Treasurer, is retiring aftermany years service; we are most grateful toher for all her help and support.

Please do call if you are in Colwyn Bayand keep sending us your news, includingany changes of address. We recommendyou visit the School website which hasrecently been updated: www.rydal-penrhos.com

We wish Philip well in his presidentialyear.

Guy Watson and Heidi York

Front page: Rydal Penrhos & Queen’s Gardens

Heralding from Liverpool (a red ofcourse) I was brought up in Shrewsbury. Iwas a boarder at Adam’s Grammar Schoolin Newport and thoroughly enjoyed theopportunities open to me, includingplaying for the 1st XV, presiding over thedebating society and singing in the schoolchoir. My academic interest was biasedtowards mathematics and science and Iwent on to read Mathematics andComputing at St Martin’s College,Lancaster.

After graduation, my first teachingpost was at Belmont, the Mill Hill JuniorSchool in North London where I taughtmathematics, science and computing. Ihad seven very happy years in NW7, thelatter part spent working as a House Tutorin the senior school. In 1992 however, Itook up the post of Deputy Head at theJunior King’s School, Canterbury. Again,I took on responsibility for Mathematicsand IT (as computing had become) aswell as coaching rugby and running theboarding house. In 1999 life took onanother turn when I was involved in aserious road traffic accident which put mein hospital for three months.

On return to work I started lookingfor a headship and in September 2000 wasappointed Head of the small, yet perfectlyformed, Newlands, a boys’ prep school inGosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Five

very happy years in the North Eastfollowed after which the School mergedand I departed once again for the SouthEast as Head of Hazelwood School,Oxted in Surrey.

Life changed enormously atHazelwood. After twelve months there Ifell in love with Emma, who was the Headof Science, and we were married in August2007 and in May 2008, Maggie McDuffarrived on the scene.

Emma comes from Swansea and mystudent holidays were spent working inPenmaenmawr and Conwy. We both felt ahuge desire to move to Wales and to bringup Maggie there. We were thrilled,therefore, when I was appointed Head atRydal Penrhos Preparatory School and welook forward to selling our house inSurrey and settling in North Wales.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my firsthalf year at Rydal Penrhos, contributingto the further development of the Schooland seeing the Prep School fully utilisingits wonderful site. Heritage is veryimportant to me and I close by issuing avery heartfelt invitation to members ofthe Rydal Penrhos Society to come andvisit the Prep School over the comingmonths. You would be made mostwelcome.

Roger McDuff

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Letter from the Prep Headmaster

Letter from the HeadmasterThe Upper Sixth IB and A Levelcandidates celebrated some record resultsin 2010. In the InternationalBaccalaureate, Jennifer Southern(pictured below) hit the pinnacle ofachievement with a score of 45 out of 45,the equivalent of six grade As at A Level.In 2010 only 72 candidates out of 48,000in the world sitting the IB achieved thismark. The other IB students also didexceptionally well, with 25% achieving 37points or more, putting them among thetop 10% of diploma candidates world-wide. Jennifer, who secured a place to readmedicine at Brasenose College, Oxford,said she thought the IB really prepares youfor university life as it demands that youmanage your time well. It involves a lot ofdifferent activities and requiresorganization and dedication.

In the A Levels, six out of 35candidates achieved the new A* grade,which is awarded only to candidates whoscore more than 90% in their final papers.Killian Murphy, George Sturley and TomWhite were awarded two A*s each and EdEvans, Faye Palin-Thomas and DaisyTudor were also rewarded with the newtop grade. Tom scored two As in additionto his A*s. This year was the Schoolís bestperformance since the current A Levelcurriculum was introduced 10 years ago:63% of pupils being awarded gradesA*–B, and a similarly impressive 82%achieving A*–C. Many congratulations toall the 2010 leavers.

Outstanding ExamResults

Some memorable letters down the ageshave been written in an educationalcontext: by the Earl of Chesterfield to hisson, by Abraham Lincoln to his son’steacher, by John Rae, the Headmaster ofWestminster, to parents at large.

Many boarders of more than a certainage will surely remember the weekly ritualof letter-writing at school, thankingparents for postal orders or asking forcreature comforts from home. Thepayphone was a technological leap thatstarted the demise of the letter home, andthe computer and mobile phone havelargely sealed its fate as a means ofcommunication except for formalpurposes between school and parents.

And yet the pleasure of sending orreceiving a handwritten letter writtenwith thought and care cannot beunderestimated; the handwrittencorrespondence that I receive as

Headmaster is often from former pupilsor their families, including one last yearthat reached me, addressed to theHeadmistress of Penrhos College...

The Society’s newsletters have beencompiled and edited with characteristiccare and thought by Frank Richards, whodeserves our thanks for this latest well-judged and packed edition.

Consider it if you will as a kind ofletter home, with details of matches wonand lost, arrivals and departures in theschool, and news of personalachievements and friends’ activities. It canbe read in a paper version, as a pdf file onthe school website, as an email attachmentor downloaded to your phone, but I don’tthink the editor has yet reduced it to atweet. Whatever the format, it is intendedto keep you in touch and to encourageyou to do the same through the Society.

Patrick Lee-Browne

Jennifer Southern

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HERITAGE TRAILSonia Ankers, formerly Head ofEnglish at Penrhos, and Old RydalianGraham Roberts, give their impressionsof the Heritage Trail.

On Saturday 22 May 2010 about 60 of usfollowed the Heritage Trail around theSchool buildings, where we wereentertained by the pupils, coached byChristina Bloomfield, who were wearingthe period costume of the earlynineteenth century. Many of the men onthe tour had left School in about 1960and had not seen each other for half acentury!

We were taken to the out-buildings ofthe Junior School (the store) by ‘LadyErskine’ (Alannah Jack) her coachman(Will Turner) and her lady’s maid (LucyXie), showed us the turn-table in the flooron which her carriage would have swunground for ease of access when it wasrequired next time. Hunt House was nexton the agenda where Will Lunt as thecaretaker eventually let us in and told usthat the building was haunted by a monk(James Kennedy), and by a lady in red,(Alex Bickerton), both of whom waftedsilently along the corridor. When we, thelate 60 year olds, had been at School,Hunt House was where the two FourthForm rooms, the Upper Sixth studyrooms and the tuck shop were to be foundand you could see David Moore, GeoffMorris, Tony Hedley, Peter Rigg, PeterSiddall, John Slater and myself lookingmisty-eyed and pensive at the memoriesof 50 years ago.

In the Quad we found LaurieBrummit playing the part of the PenrhosHeadmistress, Miss Constance Smith, andAndy McDonald impersonating the RydalHeadmaster, The Reverend AJ Costain,who were in post in 1939 when Penrhosmoved to Chatsworth House inDerbyshire and Rydal moved to OakwoodPark in the Sychnant Pass the other side ofConway because the Ministry of Foodcame to Colwyn Bay and needed all thespace they could find. Laurie and Andyexplained that both schools were givenonly days to move out and to findsomewhere else. Peter Siddall and I keptvery quiet about the fact that we had beenpupils in Oakwood Park.

Next was the Memorial Hall where MrRobert Tickner, the School’s Archivist,had laid out a lot of pictures and literatureand where Mrs Shona Brummitt, read anextract from one of Donald Hughes’

sermons in which he had spoken aboutthe need to live our lives well and notnecessarily to strive for fame and that weought to remember that we all stand onthe shoulders of giants, most of themunknown. As Shona spoke, I wasreminded with searing clarity of the innategoodness of our former Headmaster. Hehad an enormous influence on our livesand I, for one, remember him with greataffection. In the Carnegie Room we wereshown three films and especially enjoyedthe commentary written and spoken byDonald Hughes. The films were greetedwith much laughter when the ancientmembers of the audience recognised oldteachers and, in some cases, eventhemselves.

The event had been put together aspart of the 125th and 130th anniversarycelebrations of respectively, Rydal andPenrhos and was thoroughly enjoyed byeveryone who took part in the tour.

Graham Roberts (RS 1952-61)

As we come towards the end of the RydalPenrhos Anniversary Year I should like tosay how very much I appreciated theHeritage Trail Experience which I took inthe Summer Term. It was imaginative,spooky, funny and historically absorbing.I know the amount of research, rehearsingand arranging required in this joint effortby staff and students. Now that all thePenrhos stained glass windows are in placeand the portraits of all past and presentHeads of the schools are appropriatelydisplayed, I feel that both these importantschools are indeed one great educationalestablishment.

Sonia Ankers (Head of EnglishDepartment) Penrhos College 1949-1960(Top) A visit to Hunt House. (Above) Viewing the turntable in Erskine Lodge.

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SPEECH DAYSaturday 29 May 2010Guest Speaker: Duncan Kenworthy OBE

Duncan Kenworthy OBE (picturedright), producer of Four Weddings and aFuneral, Notting Hill and Love Actually,took time out of filming to return to hisold school as guest speaker at Speech Daypresentations. His latest film, The Eagle ofthe Ninth, which was still in production,formed the basis of some of the 26 thingsschool leavers need to know in the talkthat he gave. His speech also includedreferences to his work with Jim Henson ofthe Muppets, Richard Curtis andAnthony Minghella, who was a closefriend. The speech was amusing and yethit chords of truth for the older audiencepresent as well as for the Sixth Form.

Headmaster’s Report, An Extract:As we celebrate the last 130/125/10 yearsof this School, straddling the momentbetween all the certainty of the past andthe uncertainty of the next 130 years tocome, pause for a moment and thinkforward to the world into which ourchildren are growing up.

In 40 years’ time the work will be farmore different from now than the presentis different from how it was in the 1970s.There is now more computing power in amobile phone than NASA had at itsdisposal in all the Apollo space missions.People retiring today have probablyworked for 4 or 5 different organizationsor companies. Today’s generation ofschool children will probably work forabout 20 by the time they retire. They willbe reliant on and be comfortable with alevel of IT use that we can only guess at.

They will live in a far more globalisedworld which will seem fragmented,decentralized, depersonalized more than itdoes already, with great advantages forcommunication and development ofwider perspectives, but is likely tothreaten what might be called theopportunities for personal growth and thecore moral values that characterise theeducation system in which we have grownup. We can’t reverse the advance ofprogress so we must make sure that ourpupils are best prepared for that world andhave the personal skills and strengths tomake the most of it. The world they aregoing to live in is changing many times

faster than the schools in which they arelearning.

Culture will be even more based onthe accessibility of information than onknowledge. We will still need academics,lawyer, doctors, professionals, technicians,office workers and so on, but as much asthat we need to prepare our pupils to learnhow to invent jobs and createopportunities that do no even exist yet.To educate school leavers who can makethe job fit them rather than fitting amould. In times of change, learnersinherit the earth, while the learned findthemselves equipped to deal with a worldthat no longer exists.

…This is why we put so muchemphasis on more than just the academiccurriculum. Yes, school work and theattention to real understanding andlearning how to learn in the academiccontext is the single most importantelement in education, and yes, we expectand encourage every pupil to work hardtowards getting the best results he or shecan; but learning about success andfailure, developing the skill to adapt toother peoples’ strengths and weaknesses,and acquiring self-confidence in a newfound or a well developed passion can bestbe done in and through the other areas of

life here at school, whether it be sailingout on the bay, on the games pitch, on theside of a rockface, in the swimming poolor the dance studio; or through varied artsand drama and musical activity.

A good education will fuse thedevelopment of those personal skills withthe academic curriculum within theclassroom, through stimulating andinspirational teaching and a good varietyof activities and approaches to thesyllabus. But there is much more that canby achieved with the broader experienceon the periphery of the academiccurriculum. A reliable and flexible tutorialsystem; an enrichment programme tostimulate pupils eager to do more beyondthe syllabus; a wide choice of activitiesand games to suit the abilities andproclivities of each pupil; the boardingculture. These all bolster a sense ofbelonging and encourage pupils toparticipate and observe in equal measure.But each pupil must participate tobenefit, as Peter and Daisy the head boyand head girl reminded us in theirspeeches. To do nothing is a crime againstcommon sense. If you wait for tomorrow,tomorrow comes. If you don’t wait fortomorrow, tomorrow comes.

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GIRLS’ HOCKEYAfter losing 10 out of 16 players from theoriginal squad due to graduation, the2009/10 season was always going to be abig task. Those who had been in the teamthe year before knew that this would be ayear of rebuilding and it would not comeeasy. However, the new less experiencedplayers responded to the challengeadmirably. With only one Upper Sixthplayer, there had to be a great reliance onthe experience of one or two players fromthe previous year’s U16 squad. Theresponse of Emily Wynn, Imogen Watson,Sarah White and Ffion Griffiths wasexcellent, and their enthusiasm wasinfectious, helping the inexperiencedplayers from U15 squad to settle.

The girls duly won matches against StEdward’s, Liverpool and St Bedeís,Manchester. Good control was shown inthe middle of the field but despite theconsistent performances of Lydia Parryand Sarah White, goals were hard to comeby. In the Old Girls’ game the girlssuffered a disappointing loss, althoughthis was the first time the girls had trulyplayed as a team, working together todefend against a squad that included fiveformer captains. Despite the finalscoreline, the School dominated the game,losing only to a single strike.

The girls carried on with immenseenthusiasm and commitment, onlylooking slightly under pressure againstCheadle Hulme and Wrekin. The teamthundered through the Conwy titles, with

a powerful performance against EiriasHigh School, winning the game 7-0, withstar player Emily Wynn scoring four goalsfrom the midfield. However, the nextstage in the national competition wasmore of a challenge and with ten minutesto go the School was 0-1 down andlooking unlikely to make the NationalFinals. No other team would have beenable to get themselves out of this, but thegirls stepped up a gear, with help fromSarah White, securing a 2-1 victory. Thefollowing day the team played with greatfluency to defeat Llandovery College 4-0.

The National Finals took place in theSpring Term, and the girls travelled downto Swansea to play on the pitches ofSwansea University. It is fair to say theno-one in the team quite expected theresult they achieved. It is always useful towin the opening game, and this was justwhat they did. Winning the second game,the girls were off to a flying start, and bydrawing the next game, they qualifiedinto the semi-finals as group winners. Inthe semi-final the girls started slowlyresulting in a 0-1 deficit, but a strongperformance in the second half saw theteam through at 2-1, another fineperformance. However, the final proved astep too far. Gorseinon, a large sixth formcollege with a number of Swansea cluband Welsh squad players, had looked theform side for much of the day and provedtheir strength with a 2-0 victory.Ironically this was the same team the

previous squad had fallen to in the 2009Nationals.

Despite this loss, this was a crowningmoment to a difficult but ultimatelyrewarding season and all the players are tobe congratulated for their commitmentand effort. It is fair to say that none of thiswould have been possible without thededication of Stephen Wales whoencouraged the girls throughout theseason, giving them endless commitmentand support. All there is left to say for the2011 nationals is ‘Third time lucky’!

Old Girls’ MatchesHockey, Sat 18 September 2010The 1st XI hockey team produced avery encouraging performanceagainst a strong Old Girls’ side. Anearly goal from Lydia Parry settledthe nervousness of the side, anddespite pressure from the opposition,the defence tackled well and wereably supported by Natalia Holgate ingoal. This meant that whenopportunities came the way of theSchool, there were chances to extendthe lead. Myriam Langensteir in thefirst half, and Captain Emily Wynn(twice) in the second half did justthat, and the final score was 4-0.This was highly commendableperformance against many playerswho had enjoyed considerable successwhilst members of the School.

Netball, Sat 18 September 2010Founders’ Weekend celebrationscontinued on Saturday afternoonwith the 1st Netball Team taking onthe Old Girls. This was their firstgame of the season captained byCatherine Davies and debut outingsfor Emily Carr as goal shooter andSarah White as goal defence. The OldGirls team was made up of ladies whohad attended the Ul8/U16 NationalNetball Finals during their time inschool and included shooters whovery rarely missed. As a result, thegame was dominated by the OldGirls, but as the School Team gotinto their stride there was morefluency in their performance, and bykeeping it simple, they were able tocreate some very good attacking play.The School 1st Team’s performancedemonstrated a lot of promise. Finalscore 35-10 to the Old Girls.

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A Family Fun Day was held at New Fieldon Sunday 23 May. The event was anopportunity for the pupils of both thePreparatory and Senior Schools to gettogether with their families, friends andmembers of staff and enjoy themselves! Allmembers of the Rydal Penrhoscommunity were represented in the largenumber of people who attended. NewField was at its best and the weather washot and sunny with blue skies that wenton for ever. Various stalls and activitieswere positioned around a large marqueeclose to the Pavilion. The atmosphere wasdominated by the aroma of busybarbeques and the sound of ‘Hot, Hot,Hot’ kettle music and stormy jazz, some ofwhich involved guest singers (pupils andstaff ) who took to the stage and gaveimpromptu performances. The stalls werebusy all day, manned by staff and pupilswho did a great job of splatting things,painting faces, creating pirates andprincesses and sending people homeweighed down with the home-made cakes,

FAMILYFUN DAY

The first Foxtrot Fell Race was held onSaturday 7 August 2010. Forty fiverunners took part in the race whichcovered 7 miles and 1,000ft of ascent andstarted and finished at New Field. Theevent was organised through the WelshFell Running Association and the routetook in parts of the old school cross-country course heading out throughPwllycrochan Woods, up the Nant-y-Glynvalley towards Llysfaen before headingback over open farmland to New Field.The winning time was an impressive49:31 (Neil Parry from Clwydian RangeRunners) and the first lady home wasAndrea Rowlands (Eryri) in a time of57:02. There was only one former RydalPenrhos pupil running, Yvie Johnson, whocompleted the course in 68 minutes, withNicola Lee-Browne (the Headmaster’swife) coming in a few places before.

Russell Godwin (RS 1981-86),returning from injury, kindly acted as asweeper runner at the rear of the field but

Foxtrot FellRace

books and toys as well as some beautifulhand-made crafts and jewellery. Theactivities included a throwingcompetition, a golfing challenge, acarousel and the popular stocks andsponges. In addition, there were sixdonkeys who enjoyed the change of

providing rides on the immaculate turf ofNew Field from the beach at Llandudno.No-one could go hungry with a choice offreshly made crepes, ice creams, barbecuedsausages, chicken and burgers andtraditional cream teas.

is looking forward to entering next year.Afterwards, all the runners, helpers andspectators enjoyed tea and cakes. Thanksmust go to the landowners, to all themarshals and helpers who did a fantasticjob and to all those who made anddonated cakes and served the teas. Justover £175 was raised for the cancer unit atGlan Clwyd Hospital. For the full resultsand more photos from the day, please visitthe Welsh Fell Running websitewww.wfra.org.uk

The race will be run again next yearon 17 September 2011 during FoundersWeekend. Details will be posted on theRydal Penrhos alumni website and in theFell Running fixtures calendar. Next yearI hope to attract a few more Societymembers. So if you fancy a run fromSchool in September please get in touch.This year’s event was a real success and Iam sure next year’s will be even better.

Richard Watson

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The recently reformed Rydal Vikings tookto New Field again during FoundersWeekend in September 2010, and,despite leading 16-15 with only 15minutes to go, went down to RGC 1404’sdevelopment squad. RGC 1404 refers toGogledd Cymru 1404, the newlyconstituted rugby region in North Wales,which will soon be taking on all-comers inthe Welsh Premiership.

With a further fixture to come onBoxing Day against the full regional side,the match is a sign of the growingrelationship between Rydal Penrhos andthe WRU. The School is now an officialpartner for the newly formed North WalesRugby Academy and there are seven of thecurrent academy attending the School.

But the fixture is also a sign of howcompetitive a scratch side, who trainedtogether for only the hour before kick off,can be. Rydal leavers from three decadesplayed, with special mentions for RichardClements, who said he might manage acheeky 20 minutes before the game, butonce the competitive fires were lit playedthe full 80 in the second row. And forHuw Williams, who had a fine game atinside centre.

Commiserations to Mauricio Portilla,who, after 10 minutes on the field, hadhis nose well and truly rearranged by astray elbow and was whisked off to

hospital. ‘And I wanted to look good forFreshers’ Week,’ he groaned as he wasloaded into the ambulance.

All in all, the Vikings put in a decentdisplay, playing with as much attackingspirit and abandon as the soaking wetconditions would allow. The Vikings helda 16-15 lead at the hour mark. Butthereafter the failure to convert to gilt-edged try scoring opportunities cost dear,as tired legs took hold and the Vikingsnever managed to break out of their halfagain. RGC’s development squad spreadplay effectively, dominated territory andran in two tries to emerge as winners by30 points to 16. The good news is that fiveVikings – Alex Jones, Tom Blackwell, JoshLeach, Lewis Maxwell and Nick Blyth –are all now playing some part in theGogledd Cymru, with call-ups possibly onthe way for at least two others.

Rydal Vikings squad: Alex Jones,Rhodri Thomas, Marc Sorrentino, DanLycett, Peter Kirby, Richard Clements,Lewis Maxwell, Kristian Maxwell, BarryPicton, Mauricio Portilla, CharlesWotherspoon, Genna Lostikutnov, JoshLeach, Matt Bennett, Nick Blyth, HuwWilliams, Greg Gostage, Dan Evans,Dom Bennett, Gareth Miller, TomBlackwell, John Hall.

Rhys Williams

RYDAL VIKINGS New RugbyOpportunities

In 2009, Rydal Penrhos embarked ona joint project aimed at developingNorth Wales rugby. The recent trendfor the region’s best rugby players togo to England has been countered bythe creation of the North WalesRugby Team’s RGC 1404, GogleddCymru 1404. The Senior team begancompeting in January 2010, playing‘friendlies’, and are now in the processof joining the league programme.

To complement the senior team,North Wales Rugby has launched anAcademy programme to provide abreeding ground for senior and juniorteams, as well as providing acompelling reason for the best youngplayers not to look outside the regionfor a rugby career. The Academy isbased in Colwyn Bay and playersenjoy state-of-the-art training andcoaching opportunities. Being basedat their home club and utilising‘remote’ support, or in Colwyn Bayattending Llandrillo College, are twoways of providing a continuingacademic programme for the players.A third way, one being followed byeight members of the 2009/10Academy, is to receive their educationat Rydal Penrhos. With the traditionsof the School, two highly qualifiedsenior coaches, Mike Leach and PhilMather, outstanding facilities and astrong School fixture list, theadvantages are obvious. The Academyplayers have tailored academiccurricula which allow for rugby-specific training. The current U18and U16 North Wales teams train atthe School and attend training campsthroughout the summer. MarkRoberts, Academy Director, believesthe opportunity to create a fifthregion can be met through theestablishment of the Academy: “Weare proud that many boys from NorthWales represent Wales. However, theirparticipation is usually the precursorfor the regional sides to tempt themaway from home. If we can maintainour success against the other regionsand continue the throughput into thenational squads but retain the playersto represent RGC at a senior level, theaspiration of a fifth region willbecome a reality.”

9

(Above) Lower Sixth on Bryn Euryn for a teambuilding exercise. (Below) Puffin Island – a geography fieldtrip to Anglesey. (Right) Mr Cashell with a group of hillwalkers in Snowdonia.

10

(Above) Four Heads:Paul Bendall, Patrick Lee-Browne, Peter Watkinsonand Nigel Thorne. (Left) John Darlington,taken by John Ridyardafter Mac’s memorialservice. (Right) Roger McDuff,Headmaster of the PrepSchool. (Below left) Lilian Jones,who has given manyyears of service to theSchool. (Below right) JohnRidyard, Geoff Morrisand Peter Rigg, May2010.

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(Left) Zoe Kronenburger views the stained glass window in memoryof her father. (Above) Zoe Kronenburger and Sonia Ankers (seeGleanings p20). (Below left) Ontario OPs Marg McDonald, AnneMills and Nance Hutton (see Gleanings p20). (Below right) DavidMoore, Barbara Pollard and David Pollard.

(Right) PaulBendall retired asHead of the PrepSchool in 2010(see page 14).

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(Above) Dion Jones scores a try for Rydal Penrhos. (Right) Imogen Watson leads the 800m at SportsDay at the Eirias Park Athletics track.(Below) Seren Kerfoot-Robson on Llandudno’s dryski slope. (Below right) Wicket keeper Andrew Weldenpoised to take a catch.

13

RYDAL DOLPHINSIt has been another vintage year for theRydal Dolphins, the old boys’ cricketteam. It began with the welcome revival ofthe fixture against the School 1st XI on agloriously sunny afternoon in May. Toohot for at least three members of the side– Jim Rowsell, Anthony Rhodes and NickRhodes – Dolphins stalwarts one and all,who prepared for the match with somefine dining! Once they had shaken offtheir torpor, the Old Boys cruised to arelatively comfortable 60 runs victory.

The excellent form – on and off thefield, continued into Dolphins Week atthe end of June, with four fixtures of thehighest quality against Colwyn Bay, BuryCC (whose ranks numbered a SouthAfrican on the fringes of the test team),Denbighshire Colts and an invitation sideput together by another old boy, BenGriffin. Until Denbighshire prevailedwith only three balls to spare on theWednesday, the Dolphins had not lost amatch in three years. Alex Fowler madeplain his opinion of the no ball call thatgave Denbighshire the match, by walking

off, although the impact of the protest wassomewhat diminished by the fact thatsince it was the end of the game, we wereall walking off anyway. Needless to say,punishment for Alex’s fit of petulance andfor handing the match to the oppositionwas meted out vigorously and, with somerelish, by his fellow Dolphins at the Pen-y-Bryn later that evening.

Which leads us nicely on to the finessystem. Dolphins’ week has beenenlivened immeasurably by the TreasurerJonny Davies’ decision to dispense withmatch fees and introduce a set of punitive,random and occasionally eccentric fines.Players can be penalised £5 for obvioussins such as dropped catches, ducks, noballs and so on, but be equally required toreach for the dough for offences such asreporting for duty at New Field in flip-flops, excessive sunbathing or, as in onecase this summer, giving a fellow bare-chested Dolphin a back massage. With oil!Understandably, therefore, the Club’scoffers have swollen – in fact, you couldsay that they have grown in inverse

proportion to the decline in JonnyDavies’s fielding prowess. Thank you toour match sponsors, Spillane and CoWealth Management.

If anyone fancies joining the Dolphinsnext summer, get in touch with RhysWilliams, either through the RydalDolphins’ Facebook group or via theSociety office.

Rhys Williams

2010 Players: Jonny Davies, Matt Bennett, TimWilliams, Rob Pearson, Ben Griffin, Nick Rhodes,Patrick Leach, Rob Stewart, Dave Gale, DaveThornley, Huw Williams, Jim Rowsell, AnthonyRhodes, Rhys Williams, Will Evans, Mike Kitchen,Adam Campion, Lee Williams, Heinrich Venzke,Simon Kwan, Mike McDonagh, Charlie Fowler,Alex Fowler, Chris Spillane, James Hawley, SeanMcHale, Peter Kirby, Dominic Bennett, LeeWilliams, Ed Williams-Grey, Joe Chaplin, HarrisonHolmes, Gareth Wynne, Sam Nayar.

2010 Match Statistics: Played 5, won 3, lost 1 and1 draw.v Colwyn Bay Squirrels: Squirrels 196 all out,Dolphins 200 for 3, won by 7 wickets.v Bury CC: Dolphins 221 for 5 declared, Bury CC192 for 9, match drawn.v Denbighshire Colts: Dolphins 227 for 7 declared,Denbigh Colts 228 for 8, lost by 2 wickets.v Ben Griffin’s XI: Dolphins 242 for 7 declared,Griffin’s XI 190 all out, won by 52 runs.

RP Society GolfSilcock Salver 15–16 April 2010We were blessed with two sunny days forthis year’s event at Maesdu and Conwy GolfClubs. John McDonald looked after usextremely well during the mid-match dinnerat the Esplanade when 33 people werepresent. On the evening £280 was raised forTy Gobaith Children’s Hospice, Conwy.The leading scores: 1st Guy Watson 37+34= 71 pts, 2nd Steve Garge 32+34 = 66 pts,3rd John Millington 34+31 = 65 pts, 3rdTim Williams 34+31 = 65 pts.

Grafton Morrish Qualifying Round –Olton Golf Club 8 May 2010Our team of six played in the West Midlandsqualifying round and finished third out ofthirteen schools. This is a scratch foursomesevent and we did extremely well to qualifyfor the finals to be played at Hunstanton inearly October. Many thanks to our team forplaying so well on a wet and windyafternoon. Our team was: Brian Bulmer,David Weller, Guy Watson, Tom Watson,Julian Watson and Matt Bennett. Theschools who qualified: Shrewsbury 85 pts,Coventry 81 pts, Rydal Penrhos 76 pts,Malvern 76 pts, Monmouth 75 pts.

Marsden Trophy 11 May 2010This year we changed the venue to BroctonHall Golf Club near Stafford. We are verygrateful to Tim and Anne Williams, membersof the Club, who organised the day and lookedafter us so well. Twelve ORs played on thisinteresting parkland course and afterwardsenjoyed the meal in the beautiful oldclubhouse. There was a three-way tie for thetrophy which was won by Guy Watson with abetter score on the last six holes. Tim andAnne, who are local farmers, kindly gave threehuge joints of meat for the winners. Leadingscores: 1st Guy Watson 76–7 = 69, 2nd PhilArrowsmith 90–21 = 69, 3rd John Millington78–9 = 69.

Pochin Trophy 1 October 2010The Pochin trophy was held at Delamere onFriday 1 October when sixteen ORs and oneguest played on a damp afternoon. Therunaway winner was Bob Bruynooghe with 40points, which was a remarkable score indifficult conditions. Leading returns: 1st BobBruynooghe 40 pts, 2nd Ian Murray 35 pts,3rd Matt Yeoman 33 pts. Many thanks toMike Silcock and John Hollinshead forrunning the competition.

Grafton Morrish Finals 1–3 October 2010Having qualified at Olton in the spring wetravelled to Norfolk to play in the finals. Wewere drawn against Shrewsbury atBrancaster on the Friday morning. It was awindy day, but dry and despite putting up abrave show, we lost by two matches to one.Our third pair won convincingly 7 and 6.Our team was: Brian Bulmer and MikeWood, Guy Watson and Julian Watson,David Abraham and John Millington.

Edward Harris Trophy 8 October 2010This annual event for Welsh Public Schoolsand selected other schools was organised byDean Close. It was held at the Manor HouseGolf and Country Club resort at CastleCombe, which is an undulating parklandcourse. We finished down the field this yearwith 113 points for our three pairs: RichardWatson and Guy Watson 39 pts, JohnMillington and Steve Garge 38 pts, DavidWeller & Dale Bulmer 36 pts. The winnerswere Monmouth with a remarkable score of133 pts. It was good to see Alan Riley whocame to support us, as he lives nearby; he isstill playing golf, but at 84 years of ageusually prefers twelve holes. Next year’sevent, hosted by Christ’s Brecon, will be atRoyal Porthcawl on 7 October 2011.

14

Ken Jones and Paul Bendall Retire Two long-serving members of CommonRoom, Ken Jones and Paul Bendall,retired this year.

In his 37 years Ken Jones fulfilledmany different roles at both the SeniorSchool and the Prep School. His first 23years at the Prep School were interruptedby a year’s teaching exchange to Coloradoin 1980/81. Then in 1996, when the ageof transfer to the Senior School changedfrom 13+ to 11+, Ken moved to theSenior School, coincidently at the sametime as his sons, Nathan and Matthew,moved there. Another 14 years ‘haveflown by’ until Ken retired two years earlydue to a serious ski injury. Highlights ofKen’s career include the Prep SchoolFootball Team going unbeaten in threeyears in the 1970s, the Prep School SkiTeam becoming National Prep SchoolChampions in 1995, wins for both SeniorGirls and Senior Boys Skiing Teams in theWelsh Schools Championships in theearly 2000s, and various successes withtennis, swimming and athletics teams.Another, less obvious, highlight wascoaching the Under 15 Rugby Teamwhich were not very successful in terms ofresults but who showed great‘determination and commitment’. Besidesbeing an outstanding games coach and PEteacher, Ken also made a majorcontribution as a geography teacher. We

Mac’s Memorial Service

On the morning of Sunday 23 May aThanksgiving Service was held forPeter Maclaren in the Memorial Hall.It was attended by approximately 90former pupils and colleagues. AndyBathie and David Moore spokeeloquently about their recollectionsof Mac’s earlier and later years as avalued member of Common Room.The service was conducted by theReverend Nick Sissons, the SchoolChaplain. Most who attended theservice were aware that Mac had noknown living relatives and by theirpresence affirmed that the Schoolcommunity was Mac’s family and thededicated service he had given to theRydal over many years was lovinglyappreciated.

wish Ken and Carol the long and happyretirement they so fully deserve.

Paul Bendall also occupied manydifferent positions in his 39 years. Paulstarted at Rydal in the Maths Departmentin 1971. During that year, he was Tutor inOld House, organised Activity Weekendsand was in charge of the MotorMaintenance hobby. In 1973, Paulmarried Cath and became Play Secretaryand House Manager for dramaticproductions, a job he did for many yearsand which provided experience whichproved so valuable later at the PrepSchool. Between 1978-93, Paul wasHousemaster of Netherton. From 1982-2000, he was responsible for the Schooltimetable and organiser of some majorSchool events including a summer fairand three balls. From 1993–1998 he wasDeputy Head of Rydal School; in 1998 hebecame Deputy Principal of RydalPenrhos and 1999-2001 he was VicePrincipal of Rydal Penrhos and HouseParent at Beecholme Girls’ BoardingHouse. In 1999-2001 Paul wasHeadmaster of the Prep School duringwhich time he produced Joseph and HisAmazing Technicolour Dreamcoat andAlice the Musical. In 2003–2006 Paulreturned to the Senior School as DeputyHead. Then in 2006–2010, Paul cameback to the Prep School as Headmaster

Eton Fives is a hand ball game, played ina three-sided court. It is only played asdoubles (i.e. by two teams of two players),there being no official singles version ofthe game. Players wear padded leathergloves, since the ball (which is slightlylarger than a golf ball and made of rubberand cork) is quite hard. Rydal School hadregular fixtures and tournaments in thelate 20th century but the game lapsed andtwo of the four courts were closed to formstore rooms. The courts are the only onesin Wales. The game was revitalized in2009 with the introduction of a Fivesprofessional. There are plans to re-openthe remaining two courts and recently thecourts have been re-supplied withlighting. The Clubs and Societiesprogramme sees all pupils in years 7 and 9introduced to the game through a fourweek ‘taster’ programme. There is an‘open club’ every Thursday, with house

competitions, and the School had its firstcompetitive experience againstWolverhampton Grammar School in June

Fives Revived

and put on three more outstandingproductions: The Keymaster, The Tempestand Wind in the Willows. Paul embodiesthe idea of service in the commitment hehas shown to the pupils and the Schooland is rightly held in high esteem. He didmuch to help both Senior and PrepSchools, pass successfully through aperiod of significant change. Cathy andPaul have been an inseparable team andwe extend to them our best wishes for along and happy retirement.

2010. A full fixture list is now underwayfor the 2010-2011 season.

15

BEING A SCHOOL CHAPLAINI have in my office a rather tatty Velcrodog collar. It’s the kind you can get at ajoke shop, if you’re off to a fancy dressparty. Not that I’ve ever used my Velcrodog collar for that. You see, I have lots ofthe real things at home along with theexpensive shirts to slip them into. But thisVelcro dog collar reminds me ofsomething important. That if you want tobe a vicar, or a school chaplain, it requiresan awful lot more than simply dressing upand slipping a piece of stiff white plasticthrough your shirt collar.

Strangely enough I do wear my dogcollar around school every day. This maynot seem odd to you at all, but it does tomy ex-parishioners in Conwy andLlandudno, who were so used to seeingme in anything but a dog collar, that thesight still raises eyebrows. But then, as Ikeep telling them, there’s a big differencebetween church and school, and from myfirst days at Rydal Penrhos I wanted tomake it clear that I wasn’t just anothermember of the teaching staff in collar andtie. Yes, I do teach, but I’m not a teacher:I’m a chaplain who teaches.

There are 14 Methodist independentschools in the UK and Rydal PenrhosSchool is the only one in North Wales.The schools sprang up from the ministryof the Methodist founder John Wesley,who recognized the importance ofspirituality within the curriculum andestablished the first Methodist school near

Bath in 1748. ‘The bias of nature,’ heonce said, ‘is set the wrong way.Education is designed to set it right.’Whether those exact views of humannature and the purpose of education areshared by all or any of the schoolchaplains, who have inherited Wesley’smantle, I’m not so sure. Nevertheless,taking the spiritual temperature of theschool is an integral part of my jobdescription and that can’t simply be donein the classroom, much as I am enjoyingmy foray into those hallowed spaces.What it does require is quite a lot of justbeing around and gently getting to knowpeople and finding out what makes theschool tick. If I’m honest that could takeforever and it might seem to some a pooruse of resources, if that was all thechaplain got up to. But I would defendrobustly the right of every chaplain toloiter with intent and waste timecreatively. When most members of staffare stretched in more directions than everand understandably burdened with theheavy demands of their work, it wouldseem odd to argue that the chaplainshould be equally pressurized. Somewherein the system there needs to be a listeningear, someone whose job is to have timeand space on their hands in order to bethere when needed. The chaplain’s role isdeliberately so shaped and for fifteenthmonths now I’ve been trying to do justthat. And it’s great.

Back in my office there are two otherthings worth mentioning. On two piecesof paper I have two treasured sayings: thefirst is by St Francis, that famous 13th-century holy fool. He used to say, ‘Start bydoing what is necessary, then do what ispossible, and suddenly you are doing theimpossible.’ Well, I’m still on thenecessary at the moment, but when Imove on to the possible you’ll be the firstto know. As for the impossible, well that’sthe purpose of the other saying, whichcomes from St Francis’ master, Jesus. Luketells us that once, when his disciples weregetting rather fed up with how thingswere going and the lack of progress theywere making, he said to them: ‘If you hadfaith the size of a mustard seed, you couldsay to this mulberry tree, “Be uprootedand planted in the sea”, and it would obeyyou.’ I have this quotation stuck on theinside of my office door. I read it everytime I go out into the Quad. Becausechanging jobs is hard, even for people offaith, and it takes you some while toregain your equilibrium. So as I go out ofmy office, what do I see before me? As youprobably know, in the School Quad thereis this most wonderful, beautiful, whitemulberry tree. And if I stand underneaththe mulberry tree, as I like to do, and if Ilook north, over the formal gardens, pastthe War Memorial, then I can see thebroad sweeping horizon of the sea. NowI’m not promising anything, but if oneday you visit school and there’s this greatbig hole in the Quad...

Nick Sissons

‘And now for somethingcompletely different...’ The time has come to replace the hymnbook that has been in use by students inchapel for many years now and plans areafoot for providing them with somethingrather different: a book, which includes abroad selection of hymns, of course, butwhich also contains photos of the school,which has a brief history of the origins ofPenrhos College and Rydal School, whichreflects both our Methodist and Welshheritage and which contains prayers andliturgies to be used on annual occasionssuch as Founders’ Day and RemembranceDay. The photograph gives you some ideaof what we might be talking about.

Part of the reason for doing this now isto acknowledge that the school is takingownership of St John’s from the MethodistChurch. The history of St John’s is soclosely intertwined with that of the school

that a book of this kind will be a particularlyfine way of marking the transition. The movewill also mean that it becomes possible toproduce a book, which does not need to becarried around by students, but which can beleft safely in the pews. The intention is to billeach pupil for a copy when they enter theschool and then to present a brand new copyto them when they leave.

There are two purposes in my telling youabout this project: first of all, I would like youto share the excitement we feel at this initiativeand would hope that some of you may wish indue course to acquire your own copy of thenew book; secondly, because we are interestedin knowing whether any of you could supportthe project financially. As I mentioned above,student copies of the book will be coveredfinancially through the termly bill, but weneed to purchase another 100 copies, enoughto cover regular use by staff and also occasionaluse by visitors to special chapel events. Since

the book will cost about £15 per copy, thismeans we are looking to raise £1,500 fromformer students, with donors’ generositybeing recorded in specially-designedbookplates. If you are able to help us in anyway, please contact Debbie McCluskey inthe Marketing department at School.

The Reverend Nick Sissons, Chaplain

16

OUTDOOR EDUCATION

With the welcome arrival of several,enthusiastic and qualified staff to RydalPenrhos, Outdoor Education has widenedits parameters.

Gethin Roberts has brought kayakingback in a big way, with well attendedFriday evening pool sessions, and anumber of sea trips to local venues such asAnglesey and the Great and Little Ormes.Some new boats have been purchased andGethin has plans to develop the sport atSchool by organising some white-watersessions on local rivers.

Phil Baxter has organised somechallenging expeditions, including anattempt on the 14 three thousand footpeaks of Snowdonia, and a highlysuccessful trip to the French Alps. Phil’scommitment to the weekend programmehas also increased the number of campsthat can be offered.

Anne Margerison has added herconsiderable experience to the climbingand mountaineering groups, as well asproviding support and energy to the Dukeof Edinburgh Award scheme. The D of Escheme is going through a period ofchange where the participants now signup ‘online’, which makes keeping track oftheir progress much easier. In July andAugust, there were two assessmentexpeditions: one for the Silver Award inSnowdonia and one for the Gold in theYorkshire Dales. Both trips were very

demanding and the students all copedadmirably, with Steve Brown and SamOwens gaining their Silver and JenniferSouthern and Tom Mather gaining Gold.

As part of the school curriculumpupils take part in rock climbing,orienteering and walking and skiing onthe Llandudno slope. At weekends, we areable to take full advantage of the School’s

location. Trips to climb Snowdon andCnicht have taken place. A soggy camp atNant Gwynant tested the enthusiasm of ahardy group in September, as did a juniorcamp the same weekend. There are campsevery term, with the winter trips stayingovernight in mountain huts inSnowdonia.

John Pailthorpe

17

BRANCHNEWS

NottinghamMembers: Lesley Baker (Secretary,Treasurer), Pat Bentley (Chairman),Shiela Barber, Hazel Crookes, ClareGilman Abel, Elisabeth Whistler, SheilaTurner, Gillian Halstead, Joan Holbrook,Anita Hough, Janet McGill, GillianOrrell, Nancie Park, Anne Whitty, JuliaBeachell, Joyce Williams. Sheila Barberlives in Worksop and still enjoys singingwith The Sheffield Philharmonic ChoralSociety. She, Joyce Williams and Lesley,had lunch together in November. ClareGilman-Able, her husband and twochildren (eleven and seven) live nearLincoln. Clare works for Lincoln CityCouncil. Elisabeth Whistler retired fromrunning her family’s Pharmacy inNewark. She is involved with the NewarkMusical Society. Last year, Pat and AnnLee stayed with Elizabeth and all threevisited Lesley. Pat is living in Brisbane,Australia and Ann in Scotland. JoanHolbrook has moved to Uppingham.Janet McGill and husband (who hasretired) can now see more of their twodaughters, one in London, the other inNew Zealand. Both have had babies inthe last two years. Janet McGill andLesley are still Trustees of the OPProvident Fund. Lesley has had a busyyear which included a holiday in theScilly Isles to celebrate her 80th birthday,with Helen (Baker) Taylor and her familyand Anne (Baker) Mills from Canada.Anne was here in the summer, for twofamily weddings and a christening. Anne’sdaughter, Elizabeth, her grandson agedeight and her son, Peter Mills, also came.Anne had held a lunch party in Torontofor Nance and Marg Hogg on their 80thbirthdays. In November, Lesley metJudith (Jago) Orr in Lincoln for lunch.Judith is considering moving to Berwick-on-Tweed. Lesley saw Margaret (Miggi)(Glasier) Smythe in Oxford in October.Miggi recently met the Dowager Duchessof Devonshire; they discussed Chatsworthdays and mentioned Nancie Park, authorof School Days at Chatsworth, who has justmoved to Edensor. Dr Ruth Neale, whowas a GP in Nottingham, died inAutumn 2007. Judith Robinsoninformed us that her mother, Margot(Speight) Mackrill, had died in December2009. Judith’s son, whom Lesleydelivered, is reading medicine atNottingham University. In September, Jill

(Kemp) Orrell held a lunch party inCambridge attended by June (Blindell)Best, Jill Parks, Sheila (Lishman)Beckingham, Dawn Hodgson, KayRobson (from Ireland) and Lesley Baker.

Manchester We held two meetings this year. The firstwas on 27 May 2010 in the restaurant atDunham Massey when ten members werepresent. Unfortunately Margaret (Irwin)Watson was not well and could notattend. We were saddened to learn thatBeryl (Maguire) Collins, MBE (PC 1947-53) died on the 17 March 2010 and JanetHolden (PC 1955-63) died in January2010. A Thanksgiving Service for the lifeof Beryl was held on 19 April at St Mary’sChurch, Bowden and several membersattended. Both Elizabeth Hessey andPamela Jackson were 90 this year and arevery active. Pamela attends theManchester and Preston Branch meetings.Elizabeth still goes to the Halle concerts inManchester and sings in the Barnby Choirbut has resigned from the Liverpool WelshChoral because she can no longer managethe steps. Eight members attended oursecond meeting on 4 November at theHare and Hounds, Timperley. Mary(North) McLennan (PC 1939-41) hasmoved from Cheshire to Aberdeenshireand would welcome contact from OPs(address available). Roberta (Lister)Quinn is very proud of her grand-daughter, Danielle Richardson, who iscompeting in the Eurythmic Gymnasticsin Los Angeles.

Bristol and South WestIn May 2010, five of us enjoyed a visit toKingston Lacy. We were sorry moremembers could not attend and hope wehave good support for our next meeting at12 noon, Thursday 12 May 2011, at TheCourts Garden, Holt, near Bradford-on-Avon. Contact Christine (Gething)Brown tel: 01202 422848 or Muriel(Crowther) Hackett tel: 01453 883612.The Branch members were very pleased tomake a donation to the Society to helppay for the plaques situated beside thestained glass windows in School.

North Wales Our Chairman, Mrs Pat Jones, kindlywelcomed us to her home for the AutumnMeeting on Thursday 7 October 2010and she and Mrs Mary Cummingprepared a lovely lunch for everyone. Wewere very pleased that both headmasters,Mr Patrick Lee-Browne and Mr Roger

McDuff, were able to join us and bringnews of the Senior and the PreparatorySchools, while Mr Guy Watson updatedus on Rydal Penrhos Society activities. On29 April 2010 we held our AGM followedby lunch at the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, bykind invitation of Mrs Jane Pullee andfamily. Officers for 2010 are ChairmanMrs Pat Jones and Secretary Mrs HilaryWilliams. For information of futuremeetings, tel: 01492 581889.

Luncheon for OPs of Upper V 1949/50In summer 2011 Sally Shand andChristine (Gething) Brown are planning aluncheon in central UK for PC Upper V1949–50. Contact either Sally Shand:sal.shand@talktalk.net or Chris Brown:ni.cris@btinternet.com (01202 422848).

OP Event in Scotland?If you live in Scotland and are interestedin having a Scottish OP event, pleasecontact Delyth (Thomas) Harrod (PC69–75): delyth@northcotton.com (01356660243).

Manchester ReunionCalling all OPs who left Penrhos between1960–62. We are planning a reunion inManchester in August 2011. Contact Catherine (Wike) Money:money@chobham.net or Sallie (Salisbury)Crossley: mcrossley@uwclub.net.

The objects of the Old PenrhosianProvident Fund Trust are ‘to provide helpand financial assistance by way of gift orloan or in any other manner to any formerstudent or member of staff of the schoolknown as Penrhos College situated inLlannerch Road, Colwyn Bay, NorthWales who in the absolute discretion of theTrustees shall be in necessitouscirumstances’. As a result of notices aboutthis fund more Old Penrhosians haveapproached us. If you know of anyonewho may not be aware of the Fund andmight require assistance, please contact:Lesley Baker, Chairman,6 Private Road, Sherwood, NottinghamNG5 4DB (0115 9609572).Vera Male, Act. Secretary,Pretty Penny, Moat Green, Sherbourne,Warwick, CV35 8AJ (01926 624773).Anne Whitby, Treasurer,13 Belvedere House, 130 Grosvenor Road,London, SW1V 3JY (020 7821 0980).Anne Barker: 0118 966 2621.Janet McGill: 01636 636529.Susie Mitchell: 01270 625826.Felicity Bryson: (no number at present).

OLD PENRHOSIANPROVIDENT FUND

Charity Number: 1092283

1957, and two children, Judith and Andrew,were born to them. Family life was over-shadowed by Beryl’s illness whichnecessitated kidney dialysis at home foreleven years until her death in 1989, duringwhich time John shouldered much of theresponsibility of caring for her. His youngerbrother died in the same year as Beryl, andhe returned to the leadership of the firm fora further four years at the age of sixty fourwith continued involvement until 2002.John served as a magistrate on the LancasterBench, and tribute was paid at his funeralservice to his fairness and firmness withthose who came up before him.

The integrity which he showed in hisbusiness and public life sprang out of deepChristian conviction. John was a localpreacher for nearly half a century. He lovedthe Methodist musical tradition, andenriched worship with his fine bass voice.For all his concern for church, business andcommunity, family life was never neglected,and his love and care for Judith and forAndrew and Lorraine and their threedaughters have left them with preciousmemories and a fine example of Christianintegrity.

18

OBITUARIES

Beryl Collins MBE

Alison Hughes

Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and was assignedto the aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable as aPetty Officer and Radio Operator. In Julyand August 1944 Indefatigable carried outair attacks on the German battleship, theTirpitz. Indefatigable also saw service in thePacific and on September 27, 1945, sailedinto Tokyo harbour for the surrender ofJapan.

In 1946, Hubert joined the familybusiness, the Oldham Chronicle, to begin hiscareer in journalism. In April 1948 he andJoan married. Two children followed,Pauline and me. My father became SportsEditor and eventually Chief Sub-Editoruntil his retirement in 1983, following thetragic and untimely death of his daughterPauline. He enjoyed over 30 years retirementand able to lead an active life until the lastfew years. My father was a keen sportsman.His main love was cricket, having played forRochdale and Werneth in the CentralLancashire League. His other sporting lovewas snooker; he was a qualified snookerreferee with the World Professional Billiardsand Snooker Association. He was also arugby fan, keen golfer, and accomplishedpianist. Indefatigable means ‘untiring,persistent, industrious, inexhaustible’. Thesetraits suitably describe father. He was proudof his career but, as he grew older, lost faithwith modern tabloid journalism and itsseeming propensity for taking delight indestroying people and their reputations. Hewas a proud, opinionated, astute man, whowould not suffer fools gladly; he could alsobe stubborn, but he was kind and a goodfather and husband.

Hubert Hirst

Society members will be very sorry to hear ofAlison Hughes’ sudden death, aged 67, inMay this year. Her loss was a shock as Alisonwas always an active, healthy, vibrant,charming person who lived a fulfilled andhappy life with her family and friends.Alison married Kenneth Hughes (RS 55-58)in May 1964. She was everything to Ken,her three children Rachael, Philip, Jenniferand their seven grandchildren. Alison playedleading roles in the community life of Betws-y-Coed as Church Warden, charity fund-raiser, community counsellor and JP. WhenKen agreed to arrange the first Betws-y-CoedOld Rydalian Dinner in 1985, we all knewthat Alison would actually do the organising.She organised the Dinner, which laterbecame a Rydal Penrhos Society Dinner,annually, for some 25 years until heruntimely death. As organiser of the SouthWales OR Dinner until 2000, I once askedAlison how difficult was she finding it to getpeople to attend, organise the food, tablesand pay the bills. She replied, ‘Oh as theforms and cheques come in. I throw theminto a box and forget about them until a dayor two before the event.’ Such was Alison’sdescription of her skill in management! Itwas certainly effective as the Betws-y-CoedDinner has consistently been the mostsuccessful of the Society dinners. Alison’s

John Pye

Beryl Collins MBE was an active member ofthe Manchester Branch of the OPA. Herfund-raising abilities were apparent when thefines for failing to complete her quizzes raisedmoney for the OP Provident Fund. She alsoused her talent for fund-raising for her localChurch and community. The Church wascentral to Beryl’s life. She was a devoutChristian, a strong traditionalist and a greatadmirer of Cranmers’ English and The Bookof Common Prayer. As well as being involvedwith many local organisations, Beryl workedpart-time for the British Council.

Few people were aware of the extent thatBeryl suffered throughout her life fromchronic and debilitating asthma. Her lungcapacity was 30% of the norm and it wasonly the use of steroids and superb medicalcare that kept her alive. She was a trustee ofthe North West Lung Centre and, withtypical generosity, founded the Collins SeniorLectureship in Respiratory Medicine at theUniversity of Manchester. The associatedresearch has been recognised internationally.Second to the Church was her support forthe Conservative Party. She became the firstwoman chairman of the constituency and,for the last 16 years as Patron she hosted thehighly successful Patron’s Club Dinners withnotable guest speakers including a servingPrime Minister.

Beryl was a stoic who, despite her failinghealth, continued without complaint to helpothers. In recognition of her work in thecommunity she was awarded the MBE. TheBeryl Collins Charitable Trust that shecreated will ensure that her influence forgood in the community will continue. Berylwill be sadly missed by her husband, Peter,their children, Lisa and David, and theirgrandchildren.

We sometimes need to restrict the length ofobituaries which are generally edited versionsof tributes given at funeral services. Memberswho wish to read the full version of anobituary should contact the Richards Room,tel 01492 539736.

John Pye was a much respected businessman and local preacher in the Lancasterarea. He attended Rydal 1939-43. In 1943,John joined the Friends Ambulance Servicewhich took him to Italy, where he cared forthe wounded, British soldiers, Yugoslavpartisans and German POWs, all equallywith a thoroughness and compassion whichwere characteristic of his whole life.

Released from National Service in 1947,he began work in the family firm, Pye FarmFoods, and eventually became a director.With his brother, Edgar, he presided overthe steady expansion of the business in the1960s and 70s, seeing his work not as anopportunity for self-enrichment, but ascustodianship of an enterprise which hadbeen entrusted to him. The welfare of theworkforce was a prime concern, and workersfound him a fair and approachableemployer. He married Beryl Ridding in

While growing up in Rhos-on-Sea HubertHenry Hirst met his future wife, Joan.Following Rydal, he attended Jesus College,Cambridge, where he studied EnglishLiterature. After one year, he enlisted in the

19

Notification has been received of the following deaths since Issue 17 of Rydal PenrhosSociety News and up to 06/01/11. Hon = Honorary Member of Rydal Penrhos Society. ** = detail unknown at time of publication. CR = Common Room. G = Governor.

DEATHS

Name School School dates Death date(Thomas) McCulla, Janet PC 1929-36 22/02/10Jefferson, Alan Rigby RS 1935-37 09/04/10(Rogers) Wilkinson, Cynthia PC 1935-42 30/04/09(Holt) Strange, Margaret PC 1936-43 **/10/09(Sinclair) Stone, Nelson Anne Elizabeth PC 1937-44 06/07/09Hirst, Hubert Henry RS 1937-41 25/05/10Evans, Norman Harland RS 1938-41 22/11/10Wardle, William Terence RS 1937-51 14/07/10Pilling, Hilary (Hon) RS 1938-85 10/09/10Pye, John Armitage RS 1939-43 03/04/09Coombs, Clifford Keith RS 1940-50 22/04/10(Halliwell) Cobley, Pamela PC 1940-47 07/05/10Woolliscroft, John RS 1943-47 11/06/09(Speight) Mackrill, Margot PC 1944-48 25/12/09(Blindell) Scott-Pawson, Heather PC 1945-50 **/**/09Davis, Cecil Ewart RS 1946-49 22/12/09Oldroyd, Geoffrey Brian Smith RS 1946-54 **/**/09(Maguire) Collins, Beryl PC 1947-53 17/03/10Bewley, William Terence RS 1950-53 14/08/10Brownhill, Charles Robert RS 1950-53 **/**/10Holden, Janet PC 1955-63 28/01/10(Smith) Howarth Martin, Sarah PC 1971-78 **/02/09Hughes, Margaret Alison (Hon) RS 1985-2010 17/05/10Jayaram, Shukra RPS 1994-2001 **/06/10Todd, James RPS 2000-07 08/08/10

Alan JeffersonAlan Rigby Jefferson was born in Surrey in1921. His mother died when he was 12 andwhen the economic ‘crash’ came, his fathermoved to Cornwall. Alan was at Rydal 1935-1937. During the war he served as a Captainwith 9 Para, where he had the nickname‘Twinkletoes’ for attending ballet classeswhen stationed at the Tower of London. Hewas one of the few officers who reached theMerville Battery in Normandy early on D-Day when he was wounded and evacuatedback to England.

After demobilisation, Alan trained as aStage Manager at the Old Vic TheatreSchool. From there he went to Stratfordwhere he worked with the likes of JohnGielgud and Michael Horden. He joined theLondon Symphony Orchestra in the 1960sbecoming manager of the BBC ConcertOrchestra in 1968. During this time, hebecame acquainted with the movers andshakers of the London musical world, aboutwhom he later wrote some books. Hisbiography of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf,published in 1996, caused some controversyfor his claim that the singer was a member ofthe Nazi Party. Alan was dismayed andreplied that this was a very small part of thebook, which was a heartfelt appreciation ofthe singer. He produced over a dozenpublications after 1964, includingbiographies of Richard Strauss (1973), SirThomas Beecham (1986) and Lotte Lehman(1988). Alan also wrote his account of the D-Day Landings, Assault on the Guns ofMerville, published by John Murray 1987.In 2005, he was appointed Chevalier de laLegion d’ Honneur by the FrenchGovernment.

His wife, Antonia, survives him with twosons, along with two sons and a daughterfrom his second marriage and a son from hisfirst marriage.

Keith Coombs was a prominentbusinessman in the West Midlands andformer chairman of Birmingham CityFootball Club. Keith attended Rydal from1940-45 before going to BirminghamUniversity to read Commerce. Aftergraduating, he did National Service in theRAF. His father had started the familybusiness, Sports and Utilities, in 1938.Today S & U is a home credit business, andin the late 1990s it added a car finance arm.The Company was floated on the StockExchange in 1961, when it had over 100offices. Keith gained experience in the familyfirm at the age of 17, when his parents visitedthe USA and left him in charge for a coupleof months.

Under Keith Coombs chairmanship,Birmingham City’s managers included SirAlf Ramsey and Ron Saunders. Coombsearned a footnote in the game’s history as theman who sold Britain’s first million-poundfootballer when, in 1979, Trevor Francis,moved from Birmingham to NottinghamForest. After relegations in 1979 and 1984,the Club returned to the First Division in1985, when Keith retired as Chairman.Throughout his time at Birmingham City

funeral was attended by over 500 people;many were her friends from the RydalPenrhos Society, who had come to know andlove her through the dinners. The 2010Rydal Penrhos Society Betws-y-Coed Dinnerwas organised by Alison’s daughter, Rachael(Hughes) Evans (OP), and her close friendSara (Evans) Ward (OP). I am delighted toreport that it was attended by 69 diners whowere treated to excellent fare andentertaining speeches, including one of Ken’simpromptu speeches which, as usual,brought the house down. Long may thisdinner continue.

Ray Pye (RS 51-61)

Keith Coombs

Charles Brownhill

he ran the family business from which heretired in 1998. In retirement, he had homesin Marbella and Chelsea.

Keith Coombs is survived by his wife,Celia, whom he married in 1951, and theirtwin sons, Anthony and Graham.

The son of John Kenneth Brownhill (RS1919-24), Charles Robert Brownhill went tothe Prep School at Oakwood Park in 1946and the Senior School in 1950. He was amember of School House and Trojans. Heplayed a few games for the 1st XV in 1952and had success in athletics. After school, heran his own business selling furnishingfabrics in Huddersfield and was a singlefigure handicap golfer for most of his adultlife. Charles leaves a widow, Mary, threechildren and six grandchildren.

BIRTH

To Rachel (Gething) Willis (PC 1984-1991) and her husband James, adaughter, Eleanor Vyvian born31/01/10, a sister for Thomas.

20

GLEANINGSMarg (Hogg) McDonald (PC 1944-47) andNance (Hogg) Hutton (PC 1944-47),celebrated their eightieth birthdays at a luncheonat The Old Mill Restaurant in Etobicoke,Toronto, Ontario, on 24 April 2010. Anne(Baker) Mills (PC 1942-50) was among themany who attended. Marg lives in Scotland withher husband, Alistair. One of their children livesin Toronto, so they visit, nearly every year. Nancehas lived in Etobicoke with her husband Arthurfor over 50 years, and their family also live in thecity. Nance regularly returns to visit family andfriends in Scotland. Anne has also lived inEtobcoke for the last 50 years, and Nance andAnne see quite a lot of each other. Havingobtained a Social Work Certificate fromEdinburgh University, and worked in ChildWelfare in England for three years, Anne went toToronto (for two years) and stayed. She has fourchildren, eight grandsons and one grand-daughter. Anne retired after 44 years in socialwork, and now lives in Muskoka. Anne visitsEngland most years to see her two sisters, LesleyBaker and Helen (Baker) Taylor, her cousinMargaret Baker, her brother, John, and membersof the wider Baker family. If anyone visits theToronto area, Nance and Anne would love tomeet them (705-684-8109).

Steve Bartlett (RS 1953-64) elder son ofWilf Bartlett, late Rydal Bursar, has lived inFrance for the last 12 years with his partnerBrenda. He retired from the pharmaceuticalindustry and moved to South West France in1998. Various ORs have been out to see Steve andBrenda including Martyn Bennett and ChrisUnderwood. Margaret Bartlett, Wilf ’s wife, is oneof the last surviving members of the team of staffwives who sewed the curtains for the MemorialHall on a table tennis table in Brackley House.She lives in Malvern. Steve’s younger brother,Paul, continues to work in shipping finance.Steve’s children, Sarah and Philip were both atNewcastle-under-Lyme School, where they werelucky enough to be when Michael James wasDeputy Head before he came to Rydal Penrhos.The influence of Percy Heywood carries on withSteve singing with various choirs and Paul stillplaying the organ.

Congratulations to Dianne Hayter (PC1961-66) who was introduced to the House ofLords as Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 22June 2010. The honour came as a surprise forDianne, who lives with her scientist husband,Professor David Caplin, in Kentish Town, an areathat has been her home for 24 years, a time duringwhich she was chairwoman of the Labour Partyfor a year and also a long standing member of itsnational executive. Born in Hanover, Germany,where her father was an officer serving with the

Army, Dianne was educated at Penrhos and thenDurham University, where she studied Social andPublic Administration. Her introduction topolitics was as a research assistant with theGeneral Municipal Workers Union in 1970,when she was 21. ‘Giles Radice was my first bosswhen I went to work and Jan Royall I’ve knownsince I worked for the Labour group in Brussels,’she said. ‘They are two people I have grown upwith in politics, which is why I am delighted theywill be my sponsors in the Lords on Monday.’Since her trade union days, Dianne has beengeneral secretary of the Fabian Society, chiefexecutive of the European Parliamentary LabourParty, and currently holds numerous posts onorganizations dealing with consumer problems,insolvency, pensions and actuarial standards.Trade union affairs and women’s issues are alsohigh on her list of interests in the Lords.

OR golfer, John Millington (RS 1961-66),has been elected Captain of Sandiway Golf Clubfor 2011-12.

Zoe Kronenberger (PC 1963-68) and herhusband, Pat Zimmer and their friend JoanPastell visited School in the Summer. Zoe wasdelighted to see the Penrhos windows, inparticular, the Kronenberg window which wasmade to commemorate Zoe’s late father, theeminent scientist, Dr Hans Kronenberger. SoniaAnkers joined the party for lunch in the DiningHall. Zoe was thrilled to see her former English

teacher after more than 40 years.Congratulations to Professor Suzi Vaughan

(PC 19??-??) who was recently appointed DeputyVice Chancellor (Learning & Teaching) atQueensland University of Technology, Brisbane,Australia. After Penrhos, Suzi went to WrexhamCollege of Art, before entering London’s StMartin’s School of Art, where she gained a firstclass degree in Fashion Design. Suzi began hercareer as a freelance womenswear designer,exhibiting for several years under the labelWilbraham Vaughan. She then moved to JeffBanks, where she was responsible for the design ofthe womenswear collection. A move to HongKong’s Tillonsburg Company Ltd, followedwhere she worked as Account Manager. In 1995,Suzi returned to the UK as a design lecturer, andlater, as course director at the London School ofFashion. There, she managed the College’s degreecourses in menswear, womenswear, surface textilesfor fashion and accessories. Suzi first moved toQueensland University of Technology in 2002 tobecome its inaugural Head of Fashion.

Rydal Penrhos Governor, Delyth Draper(PC 1987-94), after six years as a Housemistress,has recently been appointed Deputy HeadPastoral of Wellington College in Berkshire.Delyth keeps in close contact with her formerHousemistress, Pamela Hoyle, now aged eighty.

Motorcyclist David Jones (RP 2002-07)was in great form in the 2010 Isle of Man TT,establishing himself as one of the leadingnewcomers to the famous races. Despite havingno experience of road racing, David was fourthquickest newcomer in the 600cc category andawarded the Joe Craig Trophy for the bestperformance on a British bike. He received thetwo finishing medals and praise from his fellowracers. David, who rode a Triumph 600 withMichelin tyres, is considering turning professionalbut is currently enjoying racing for Team DavidJones # and is looking for new sponsorship.

Jack Coates (RP 2004-09) is ‘the happiestperson alive’ having qualified as a commercialairline pilot just a year after leaving school. Jackobtained his private pilot’s licence when he was 16and, after completing his A Levels at RydalPenrhos, attended Oxford Aviation Academy.

Remember to order your tickets!

SUMMER BALL28 MAY, 2011

Join us in the marquee on New FieldBook a table with some friends

(Details available in the Calendar on p2, on the School websiteand in the flier enclosed with RP News)