Welcome to LWC News
Dear Parents and Guardians,
What a spectacular finish to the autumn term!
Thank you for being a part of our magical Carols and Christmas Market last night. You can view some of the highlights below.
It’s been an extraordinary first term and we wish you a peaceful and relaxing break, surrounded by those you love.
From all at Lord Wandsworth College, have a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2025.
Calendar & Sports Schedule
The school calendar can be viewed using the link below:
LWC CalendarThe school sports calendar can be viewed using the link below:
LWC Sports CalendarPlease view the Sports Weekly Schedule here:
Sports Weekly ScheduleHere’s a guide to required kit per sport:
LWC SPORTS KIT LIST
News
Carols and Christmas Market – In Pictures
Last night rounded off the autumn term perfectly as nearly two thousand of us came together for our Carols and Christmas Market.
Warm chilli, rousing carols, magical fireworks and our artisan Christmas market, showcasing more than 40 local retailers, was a fitting end to a remarkable 12 weeks.
Here are just a few of the festive highlights…
Deputy Heads of College Reflect…
The first term is over and Deputy Heads of College, Sofia and Aidan have been looking back on the last three months.
“I’ve really enjoyed the sport this term,” Aidan said. “Especially being able to watch the Under 15 boys rugby, as they’re having a really successful season. It’s been really cool to see the school coming out to support them.”
Similarly, Sofia believes the College has really come together through music and sport. “Seeing how many people show up to support one another is indicative of our motto, ‘a community that supports a community, comes together’. This is something we’ve strived to achieve all term,” she said.
Both believe they’ve gleaned valuable experience from their time as Deputy Heads of College so far and admit that working alongside other Prefects has been hugely rewarding.
We look forward to seeing more from our amazing Prefect Team in 2025!
Turkey and all the SL-Trimmings
More than 700 students enjoyed Christmas dinner in Julyans on Wednesday….served by our Senior Leadership Team.
Roast turkey, stuffing and pigs in blankets were served alongside traditional vegetables and a sage gravy. An alternative option of honey and cinnamon roast butternut squash Wellington was also available. This was rounded off by a white chocolate and raspberry blondie, a dark chocolate mousse or one of LWC’s famous brownies.
Catering Manager, Iain Hedley concluded of the Senior Leadership Team: “All would receive at least a B+ grade for their efforts. A little too much chat prevents a higher grade. But it is a genuine help to have them mucking in on such a busy day.”
Haygate’s Gingerbread House…
It took in excess of 50 hours to make for LWC Head Chef, Roger Cole and will no doubt take considerably fewer hours to eat…
The House lucky enough to win this year’s gingerbread house is…..Haygate!
The draw was made yesterday morning and the work of gingerbread-genius was delivered (very slowly as you can see) to the winning House, just in time for their Christmas party!
Thank you to all who donated for an opportunity to enter the raffle.
As a result of your generosity, we raised £709. The proceeds will go to Haygate’s chosen charity, Honeypot, which supports young carers.
If Music be the Food of Love…
Upper Sixth English Literature students have just returned from watching William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night performed at the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon.
Head of English, Chris Radmann led the overnight trip and explained, “To see your set Shakespeare text performed in the writer’s home town (probably the mecca of drama) on very likely the world’s best stage (the 1,400 audience is so very close to the action), on seats designed by Lamborghini, is a real privilege.”
He continued, “The comedy features a storm, separated twins, love-sick nobles, cross-dressing, cross-gartering, yellow stockings, oodles of romance, drunken antics, a fake fight, riotous songs, a rude letter and a clown – what’s not to like!? The performance will inform exam answers, where pupils analyse directors’ choices across the ages.”
The Big Apple Comes to Basingstoke
From one legendary stage show to another…..
LWC’s production of Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone at The Haymarket in Basingstoke is now just under six weeks away. You can meet some of the principal characters in LWC News over the coming few weeks, including Bugsy and Blousey, below.
Rehearsals have been taking place four times a week for the last few months. Director and Head of Drama, Gemma Reeks admitted, “The biggest challenge so far has been planning costumes for a cast of 51! Also, managing everyone’s busy lives at LWC. Students have been working hard to balance their rehearsals with other commitments.”
She’s keen to point out that the hard work will pay off though: “We’re really looking forward to being back at The Haymarket. For new cast members it will be a wonderful first-time opportunity to perform in a professional theatre and for those visiting a second time, it will bring back some special memories from last year, as well as creating some new ones.”
A very limited number of tickets remain via The Haymarket Box Office. Please add the promotion code LWCBUGSY25 in the box below the pricing information to view the available seats.
Under 15 Success
4th Formers Harry B, Oscar, Digby, Laurie, Harry C and Ted represented the Bath Under 15 Player Development Group this week.
The group all benefit from regular coaching, conditioning and support from staff at the Bath Academy.
Meanwhile, their LWC team: the Under 15A’s have been drawn at home to Collegiate in the quarter finals of the Continental Tyres U15 Schools Cup. The game will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 12th February.
On the Rise…
Six of the CCF’s Senior Non-Commissioned Officers have been awarded promotions.
Sixth Formers, Freya, Isobel, Daniel, Will, Lexi and James (pictured) have been rewarded for their hard work.
CCF Contingent Commander, Alex Hamilton added, “This group were promoted to Staff Sergeants and Cadet Warrant Officers; the highest ranks available to a cadet and by no means easy to achieve. Many congratulations, richly deserved.”
Christmas Memories
We all have memories of childhood Christmasses. With more than a hundred years of yuletide under its belt, LWC has a treasure trove of reflections in its archive.
The 1964 autumn edition of College publication, The Sower records that on the last Saturday of term, “309 boys, 14 masters and 24 old boys consumed 20 gallons of soup, 290lbs of turkey, 140lbs of brussels sprouts and 340 mince pies”.
This, in itself was a lavish affair compared to the earliest days of LWC, when the first Warden (Colonel Julyan) spent Christmas Day, 1922 with four of our earliest students in the Lodge. There were no home holidays back then and home life for those formative Sternians may well have held little appeal, having suffered the loss of one or both parents.
Accounts of Christmas parties around LWC years later, are varied and vibrant. The School House Christmas party of 1997, saw “Mr Harvey and certain members of the House staff flying backwards through the air attached to a very strong piece of bungee,” according to The Sower. Highlights from Hazelveare in 1999 included a ‘chilli eating competition’ and Junior House in 1973 hosted a fancy dress party which involved an Arabian dancing girl outfit, fashioned out of two halves of a tennis ball.
May this Christmas make some more memories for the Sternians of the future.
A New Chapter
The LWC Library has earned a reputation for being a warm and welcoming space and now it has a new face.
Helen Komrower is LWC’s new Library Assistant and has been revealing what she’s learned to love about the job so far…
“I’m loving spending time in such a (mostly) tranquil, welcoming space, surrounded by books! It’s a privilege getting to know the pupils and staff at the College; helping and working with them where I can. I hope to encourage a love of curiosity, adventure and discovery through reading.”
What are your favourite books?
“This is such a difficult question, as there are so many wonderful authors out there and I seem to acquire new favourites quite frequently. I love fiction that transports me to a different world or period in history; one that has strong characters and gives me an insight into different cultures. For me to fall in love with a book or author, they have to make me really feel something or help me to learn and connect with something new. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte and Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Jung Chang, made particular impressions on me as a teenager. Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks and The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah had me sobbing my heart out. I also love the simple, heartfelt beauty of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.”
Supporter Update
LWC was founded on philanthropy and this spirit has remained at the heart of the College for more than a hundred years.
As 2024 comes to a close, you can catch up on all the news from the Philanthropy and Alumni Relations Team in their latest Supporter Update.
2025 promises much to look forward to as the LWC community continues to support our transformative Foundation and the College as a whole.
From the Iceland trekkers edging towards their trip of a lifetime, to our annual Giving Day. The launch of our campaign to provide next-level golfing facilities at LWC, to news of a UK-based fundraising challenge coming soon.
We look forward to sharing more with you in 2025.
Excellent Articulation
Upper Sixth Former, Isobel has been selected to represent LWC in the National Gallery’s annual Articulation Prize.
The acclaimed public speaking initiative invites young people to deliver a ten minute presentation about a work of art, piece of architecture or an artefact in a museum or gallery setting.
Head of Art, Graham Mobbs explained, “During our internal selection process, every Sixth Form Art student had the opportunity to present to an audience; introducing and showcasing a piece of art in the supportive environment of the Art School. As a result, their confidence grows, their perspectives broaden and they are often inspired.”
Isobel continued, “My presentation was on the Planet Set arrangement, made in 1950 by Joseph Cornell. It’s a collection of objects organised within a wooden box. They all relate to our solar system, the celestial sphere and the world around us. I related my presentation to how making art is an inherently human action and how it connects us to each other.”
Isobel will now take part in the regional round of the competition in Woking next month.
Haiku Winners
Congratulations to the winners and runners-up in the English Department’s Autumn Creative Writing Competition.
Students were asked to write a 7-haiku sequence on ‘Parsing Time’. Head of English, Chris Radmann explained, “Pupils were challenged to develop concise, beautifully-crafted haiku that stretched across a sequence of time or changes that symbolised time passing.”
You can find the winning entries here.
Winter Sun
The 1200 may not be blanketed in Christmas-card-perfect snow right now, but it still looks stunning.
Thanks to LWC’s Alumni Relations Manager, Clare Faherty for capturing this beautiful image of the winter sunshine, casting shadows last week.
If you have a picture of the 1200 to share, please send it to stories@lordwandsworth.org
Bugsy’s Coming…..
1929 New York is divided by gang warfare. On one side, Dandy Dan and his mob. On the other, Fat Sam; the owner of the successful Grand Slam Speakeasy. The two come to blows courtesy of rapid-fire, cream-shooting splurge guns.
It sounds like a fever dream, but this plot ( created to entertain his four children on ‘long and mostly boring car journeys’) was to provide director, Alan Parker with his golden ticket to Hollywood.
The film, Bugsy Malone went on to receive 15 award nominations after its release in 1976 and catapulted child actors like Jodie Foster to successful careers on-screen. In January, LWC presents Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone at Basingstoke’s Haymarket Theatre.
Occupying the roles of two of the stage version’s principal characters are 4th Former Barney (Bugsy) and Upper Sixth Former, Lexi (Blousey). If you recognise them, it’s because they both played a part in LWC’s sell-out production of Oliver!
“I was Nancy in last year’s production,” Lexi reveals. “I was actually quite surprised when I learned I’d been given the role of Blousey because I had a principal part last year. But I was so grateful to get the role that I did.”
Barney brought the character of nifty pickpocket, The Artful Dodger to life in Oliver! “I learned a lot from that role,” he admits. “I progressed hugely from it as an actor….I thought I’d love to be part of something like that again.”
A 50-strong cast has been auditioning and rehearsing for Bugsy for the last three months, transporting each other from Long Sutton to the mean streets of the Big Apple. Juggling the demands of a performance like this, along with A-levels has developed skills that Lexi didn’t realise she had.
“The most challenging part of Bugsy has been trying to organise myself,” she said. “Balancing being at all of my rehearsals when I need to be, whilst also making sure that I get all of my work done! I’m also not great at learning my lines, but that’s a separate issue! I actually think that, ironically it’s helped me, because I’ve learned to make sure that my time is managed more productively.”
Both Lexi and Barney are in agreement that the final production will be the pinnacle of months of hard work. “Performing in front of the crowd will be a real highlight,” admits Barney. “Show week was one of the best of the whole school year for me,” agrees Lexi. “As a result, I was really keen to try again to be part of the cast this year.”
Barney and Lexi believe that taking part in Oliver! and Bugsy has led to the development of other life skills. “It’s helped my confidence when talking to new people and making new friends,” reflects Barney. “My confidence and public speaking have improved so much,” concludes Lexi. “Whether it be in how I present myself on stage or feeling able to interact and give talks to those I might not even know.”
Lord Wandsworth College presents Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd January at The Haymarket in Basingstoke.
You can read more about Bugsy and Blousey here.
Festive Challenge?
If you have a pentathlon fan between the ages of 8 and 16, you can still book for this New Year Pentathlon Camp at LWC.
It’s taking place on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd January and involves swimming, running, fencing and laser shooting.
Days start at 9am and finish at 3.30pm.
The cost is £110 for both days or £60 for one.
Key Dates
End of Autumn Term
Noon, Friday, 13th December
Start of Spring Term
Monday, 6th January
LWC Presents Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone, The Haymarket, Basingstoke
Wednesday 22nd-Thursday 23rd January
Exeat Weekend
From 4pm, Friday 24th January