STAFF NEWS

STAFF CHARITY CONCERT

On Tuesday, June 14th and Wednesday, June 15th the staff provided an evening of entertainment for all to see. The fare provided varied widely from Classical piano to Latin Guitars, from personal diaries of a 14 year old boy (yes Mr Hayler was such an individual, in days gone by!) to old music hall ditties (including horror tales related to a young Mr. Hanbidge to lull him to sleep!), and from dance to comedy (provided by Mr. Morrish, Mr. Metcalfe), and the script writing talent of Mr. Wilson. 20 members of staff were showing their skills beyond the academic ones for which they are already renowned to support Mr. Hyde in his biennial quest to raise money for the Cancer Research (UK) charity. The events were so successful that they raised £2,700.

LEAVERS

Stephen Wilson retires at the end of this term after 32 years at Haberdashers'. He was appointed to teach modern languages and was soon promoted to the Housemastership of Joblings before becoming Head of Junior School in 1983. As well as his outstanding pastoral work and his role in master-minding the admissions process, Stephen has been untiring in his service and support to his colleagues and to the school. He has chaired the Library Committee and helped with learning support; he has accompanied trips to various parts of Europe and has always been willing to umpire a cricket game or to accompany a rugby team to an away match. His support for Mencap Funday reflects a wider interest in and outside school in helping mentally or physically handicapped people of all ages. As well as the great expertise he has brought to his professional responsibilities Stephen will be remembered for his many acts of kindness to colleagues, parents and boys. We are pleased that he will continue to help in various ways with admissions.

Mrs Katherine Hedges leaves Habs to take up a post as Director of University Admissions at North London Collegiate School after 23 years at Habs. During this time she has combined her teaching of French, German and Latin with a senior role in the school's university and careers department - one which has made her arguably the most sought-after colleague among the boys at least for a few weeks in their final year! The department and the boys have benefited from her love of language and literature, and her numerous forms have appreciated her dedicated pastoral care.

Mr Jim Tarpey retires from the Mathematics department after 22 years service to the School. Widely regarded as one of the department's top teachers, he has also been a cornerstone of the CCF Army section for many years, most recently as Commanding Officer. He has mentored many of the pupils who have gone on to international success in Mathematics Olympiads, and has also spent many years advising pupils over Mathematics University applications through the Careers department. Mr.Tarpey's knowledge stretches far beyond the world of numbers however, as those who have witnessed his performances in Supper Quizzes, or the "Staff University Challenge" will agree. It would be difficult to find anyone with a more wide ranging general knowledge, and the Maths department and the school are very sorry to be losing his services.

Hugh Pearman who has been a technician in the Chemistry Department since 2001 following a long and distinguished career as a teacher at Haberdashers' retires at the end of the academic year. We wish him a long and happy retirement.

Mr Charles Netto leaves Habs after 17 years, the last 12 of these as Head of Spanish. During this time Charles has presided over a significant increase in the popularity of his preferred language, which he has promoted and defended with single-mindedness and determination. His linguistic interests have not been confined to Spanish alone, however - he has been instrumental in building up Italian at Habs, and has also taught French over many years.

Mr Matthew Judd joined the school (after a term at Habs as a student) in September 1993. Over the past twelve years he has made a tremendous contribution to the work of the Geography department, not only as an inspiring teacher but also in the introduction of innovative technology and the development of new fieldwork. He is always superbly efficient and has been instrumental in reorganising the department's library and resource room.

His participation in extra-curricular activities has been outstanding. Most notably he has championed public speaking and trained the most successful debating teams Habs has seen. He has also been deeply involved in school drama productions, occasionally as an actor but chiefly backstage. He has run a series of successful SCS groups and the school fencing team.

Given the breadth of his talents and his considerable energy, it is not surprising that he has also taken on a sequence of posts of responsibility: Head of General Studies, Staff INSET coordinator and latterly, Housemaster of Strouts. He now moves on to become Vice Principal at Mander, Portman, Woodward.

Mrs Andrea Adlam joined the school in January 2003 having taught at St Albans High School for Girls since 1994. She came with a fine reputation as an accomplished member of the profession and this has proved to be wholly accurate.

Andrea brings her teaching to life with a splendid blend of modern technologies, sound pedagogy and rigorous science. She has contributed to the development of the department, helping with the updating of Schemes of Work and in the development of new experiments and demonstrations. She has played a full part in Departmental INSET and has been on weekend and vacation courses. A delight to work with, she has added to the social atmosphere within Physics.

She leaves us to become a Head of Physics at Francis Holland (Girls) School. Both a professional Physicist and a first rate teacher, we say goodbye to a most valued colleague but wish her every success as new horizons open.

Mrs Barbara Bland leaves us after two years as a part-time teacher of French, during which time her junior pupils have benefited both from her teaching experience and from her passion as a true Francophile. She organised and accompanied a successful year 8 exchange this year, and we have also been fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of her willingness to provide cover for classes often at very short notice.

Mr Alex Keenlyside leaves the English Department to begin training for a career in the Law. He joined the school in February 2004, originally covering for Adrian Herzmark when he first became ill. Subsequently, Alex stayed on to take his father's timetable and we are most grateful to him for his very admirable work throughout. He has made a great impression on the staff and his pupils; and he has handled an exceptionally distressing year with admirable maturity. He takes with him our warmest wishes for a successful legal career.

Miss Angélique Lecorps moves on after her third year as French assistante to take up a job with a translation agency in London. During her time at Habs she has developed a thorough knowledge of the school and the requirements of the different examinations from which the department and the boys have benefited enormously. Her cheerful and hard-working approach has earned her the respect of pupils and colleagues alike.

Dr Esther Rowlands joined us in the Autumn Term to cover for an absent colleague, and has remained with us until the end of the year. We were very lucky to find such a well-qualified and energetic young teacher under the circumstances, and colleagues and pupils have profited greatly from her adaptability, professionalism and good humour. She leaves us to return to the world of academia where we are sure she will flourish.

Mr Len Cole leaves us to join the staff at St John's Prep School in Northwood and will be greatly missed by all who crossed his path when he leaves Habs after 5 years of loyal service. Len is a deeply thoughtful and sensitive man with the values of a true schoolmaster and gave freely of his time to boys and staff alike, coaching with a passion that inspired all. He demanded the highest standards of integrity from his charges and the boys duly obliged with performances that, in many cases, surprised the boys themselves. Len realised the role that sport can play in the development of the individual and every pupil under his wing would be immaculately turned out, honest and aware of the needs of others.

Dr Tracey Martin, who has been teaching Dr Perera's classes during her maternity, leaves at the end of this term to become Head of Chemistry at Kimbolton School. During her short stay she made a considerable impact through the excellence of her teaching and her dedicated professionalism in the department. We wish her every success in her new job.

Mr Mathew Cocks has spent his gap year providing support within the Games and PE Department and leaves us to study Exercise Sciences at Birmingham University. Mathew is a very experienced, talented and enthusiastic sportsman. During his time at Habs, he has contributed a great deal to the hockey club; coaching many of the teams and working closely with the hockey coaching staff. Mathew has made a particular impact upon the junior teams. He has developed the U12s and U13s, involving a large number of boys in hockey at lunchtimes. Off the hockey pitch, Mathew has worked closely with other sports clubs: match managing in the Rugby season, umpiring junior Cricket fixtures, judging at Athletics Meets, running Tennis fixtures, and life guarding at Swimming Galas. Mathew has also been extremely helpful within the PE Department, team teaching a variety of ages and activities as well as helping with the administration within the office. Mathew will be missed greatly by the boys and staff.

Mr Danny Jewell joined the Prep School in 2001 from Quainton Hall. As the form teacher of P4 he soon established himself as an enthusiastic and popular member of the team. His appointment as Co-ordinator of Sport allowed him to develop and raise the profile of rugby and cricket, culminating in a most successful and rewarding cricket tour to Barbados last Easter. He now leaves to join his wife Jayne and daughter Ella in New Zealand. We wish him and his family the best of luck and all happiness in this new and challenging time in their lives.

Miss Melanie Berenblut was appointed as the school's first staff ICT trainer in September 2003. She proved an immediate success with both the teaching and support staff across a broad spectrum of ICT ability. Everyone who has come into contact with her has been impressed by her calm willingness to help and complete patience with even the most novice of ICT users. Her establishment of the school as a test centre for the ECDL (the European Computer Driving Licence) must count as one of her greatest achievements and her meticulous approach to systems and paperwork ensured that the school gained a top accreditation grade in its first inspection. Melanie will be missed by the many colleagues to whom she has given invaluable support and the courage to broaden and deepen their ICT skills.

Gordon Graham, our visiting Trombone Teacher, leaves us this term to take up a full time post at the American School in London. During the four years that he has been with us he has been an inspirational teacher, a wonderful colleague and he will be greatly missed. We wish him well in his new appointment.

Mrs Mary Black has acted as the Work Experience Officer at the School for several years and in that capacity has been instrumental in assisting the boys to gain crucial experience of the workplace during their time in the Sixth Form. Many boys who are still completing higher education or who have moved on to employment owe Mrs Black their gratitude for the unstinting work she has put in on their behalf over the years. Mrs Black will be leaving at the end of September 2005.

A belated farewell in this letter to Mr Ron Elliott Head of General Studies, English teacher par excellence, and outstanding tutor to many of you, who left us in April to become 2nd in English Department at South Hampstead High School.

APPOINTMENTS

Miss Deborah Rivlin joins us as Head of the Junior School in January 2006 from Queen Elizabeth Boys' School, Barnet.
Mr Melvyn Bardou joins us as Head of Spanish from Merchant Taylor's, Northwood.
Dr David Nolland joins the Mathematics Department; he is currently lecturing at the University of Liverpool and has taught at the Universities of Durham and Northumbria.
Mr Emanuele Pauletto joins the Physics Department from St Benedict's in Ealing.
Mr Nathan Bowley joins us as a Teacher in the Prep School from Kineton Green Primary School in Solihull.
Mrs Frances Schwarz joins us as a Teacher in the Prep School.
Mrs Angela Bard joined in June for one-day per week as a School Counsellor.
Mrs Andrea Fielden joins us as a Teacher in the Prep School from Radlett Infants School.
Mrs Marie Carrick joins us to teach Geography part-time having previously taught at Sir John Lawes School and Leventhorpe School.
Mr Neil Ashton joins the Modern Languages Department.
Miss Nuala Murray joins the English Department.
Mr Steven Byron joins us as Visiting Trombone Teacher.

INTERNAL APPOINTMENTS

Mrs Keren Pollock was appointed Head of General Studies in April in succession to Mr Ron Elliot.
Mr Michael Day was appointed Head of Careers in April in succession to Mrs Katherine Hedges.
Ms Su Cook has been appointed Housemaster of Strouts in succession to Mr Matthew Judd.
Mrs Antonia Dable has been appointed Staff ICT Trainer in succession to Miss Melanie Berenblut

SCHOOL CAPTAIN, VICE-CAPTAIN AND PREFECTS

SCHOOL NEWS

ACTIVITIES


Bridge Club

This has been another successful year, during which several new players have gained experience in the school's A team. In all, six boys represented the school, Alex Morton, Hugo Stecklemacher, Alan Levenson, Nick Kanfer, Phil Maton and Meekesh Shah.

This year the top prize just eluded us, as the team lost in the final of the British Schools' Cup to Loughborough. It is a measure of our standard and expectations that this result came as a disappointment, but after three consecutive victories that was how it felt. There was consolation however in regaining the London trophy which we had somehow contrived to lose last year.

The best level of competition in which we play remains the Middlesex adult league; opponents are sometimes surprised to come up against a team comprising three bright and knowledgeable teenagers plus one slow-witted maths teacher, but the combination works well and I have certainly enjoyed the experience.

Interest among the younger boys has been strong, with an especially promising group of year 9 boys developing rapidly and preparing for their time in the school team.

My thanks are due as ever to the sixth formers, who do so much to maintain standards and encourage the younger players, particularly so this year to Alex and Hugo who took on all the organisation during my sabbatical term.

RAF CCF

Flying at RAF Benson and a shooting party of Year 10 cadets to Ash Ranges made up the content of this term's Field Day. The boys enjoyed some superb pilot care and range marshalling as, once again, we were able to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities afforded by the CCF Organisation.

This summer, Sajan Shah, Sunil Shah and Yanik Joshi will enjoy their week-long Gliding Scholarships and Tobias Stedman and Kristian Parry will attend the Leadership Course at Frimley Staff College. Chris McGeever was the recipient of a coveted place on the Air Cadet Pilot Scheme and will attend a course later in the year.

Our thanks go to Dave Tremaine for his outstanding organisation of all our logistical needs this year. We are going to miss the leadership and warm humour of Jim Tarpey as he retires from the post of Contingent Commander. He has been a wonderful officer and Range Instructor for so many years of service to the CCF. The RAF Section salutes and thanks him for all he has done.

Navy CCF

The summer term has seen the U6 hand over leadership of the Navy to the L6; keen to take command of the near 100 boys in the CCF section.

Fine weather has allowed the Navy to be very active this term, with boys from all the years completing raft building, sailing, assault course tasks and competing in inter-ship games. For Year 10 cadets, the summer term has allowed them to experience these activities for the first time. Certainly their lack of sailing hours showed on one particularly windy Friday afternoon when all the 30 cadets in Year ten disembarked their boats 'saturated'.

The Navy soon found itself battling with the commitments of GCSEs and A-Levels, with many cadets breaking for study leave. Despite depleted numbers, the remainder of the term remained a most entertaining and productive one. The newly appointed lower sixth used the time to get to know the Year 10 cadets and led them through a number of activities including an inter-ship football and Frisbee tournament, organised to take full advantage of the pleasant June weather.

During the summer field day the Year 10 cadets brushed up on their sailing skills under the tutelage of professional instructors. The Lower sixth found themselves neither on the sea nor land but having to weave their way through an aerial assault course, 30 feet up, between pine trees at the 'Go Ape' centre in Bracknell Forest. This was truly a unique opportunity and certainly a confidence-builder. Both the boys and staff found themselves hesitating, before tackling the aptly named 'Tarzan Jump' and leaping off a platform into a scramble net 20 metres away whilst only attached to a free swinging rope!

The term was rounded off perfectly with the CCF reunion dinner at the Royal Air Force Club, Piccadilly; a black tie occasion in the heart of London. Although this was not exclusive to the Navy section, it could be said that the navy were the best dressed; sophistication at its best from the Year 6 cadets in their dinner jackets; an elegant ballroom gown modelled by one senior officer and a multicoloured tie by another. Members, both past and present, from the three sections dined in style to say a fond farewell to our long-serving Commander of the CCF at Haberdashers, Major Tarpey, who is retiring after 19 years service.

Chapel

The Chapel has seen a lively and varied term. During Christian Aid Week, members of the Chapel Council manned a Traidcraft stall which raised the record sum of £372, and the ever-popular Rich Man/Poor Man lunch made £150 for Christian Aid. On the evening of June 21st, seven members of the Chapel congregation were presented to the Bishop of Bedford for Confirmation - a very happy conclusion to a course of preparation which began just after Christmas. The following weekend, June 24th-26th, nine members of the Chapel community travelled down to Dorset to enjoy the ordered tranquillity of the Franciscan friary at Hilfield; sadly, this will be our last such visit, as the brothers have decided that they must close their guest-house, but we are hoping that it may be possible to establish a similar link with a community of Anglican Franciscan sisters at nearby Compton Durville. On the final Monday of term, there was a well-attended service of memorial and thanksgiving for Mr. Perry Keenlyside, which included the dedication of a memorial garden just outside the Chapel.

Charities - JAC

This year has been most successful in raising substantial sums for our two school charities, Water Aid and the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. Both organisations were represented at our final assembly in order to receive their cheques totalling over £12000. In addition to this we raised £3000 for the victims of the Tsunami and this is currently being deployed in projects in Sri Lanka.

A major fund-raiser has once again been Russells' Ironman 11. Russells' boys have swum just over 50 miles and have so far raised £4400.00, 8R being particularly successful in raising £1500. They confidently expect to beat last year's total of £6150. Next year, in memory of Krishna Sabarwal (10R3), Russells will raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

In Calverts the Fete organised by Miss Bird raised £256 for the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. A sweet sale by 9Cb raised £50 and a great run by Alex Parker of 9Ca raised £100-05p for Water Aid and the Medical Foundation by running the London Mini Marathon on the same day as the main marathon.

Various football charity events have been run this year by Adam Solomons L6M1 and Philip Maton L6H1. Predict-A-Score was run throughout the year raising over £100 for the school charity. The F.A. Cup sweepstake was also a huge success and raised over £200. Adam is also raising money by means of a raffle of a Spurs Replica Shirt.

Rajiv Kakkad of Hendersons took the unusual step of organizing a sponsored Afro and benefited Water Aid to the tune of £50. Hendersons have also been supporting the baby charity Tommy's. During the Winter term 10/11 H3 rowed 1million metres on the Concept 2 indoor rowing machine over a seven week period and raised £1,372.92. All 16 boys participated in the event and everybody completed at least 20,000 metres. Peter Campbell and Daniel Barry both completed over 110,000 metres.

Fundraising by the chapel community this term has included:
o £240 to pay fees of one girl boarder at Mvumi
o £371 through the Traidcraft stall during Christian Aid Week
o £173 through 'Rich Man/Poor Man' lunch

Tutor Group 7M held a fete as a fundraiser for the school's nominated charities on July 4th, in the Art Department. They raised £50 for the WWF climate change appeal.

And finally sales of white 'Make Poverty History' wristbands from Traidcraft have to date raised £145.

Chess

Habs had a disappointing start to the term when both the A and B teams were knocked out of the BCF (Times) Schools Championships by Nottingham and Guildford respectively. We did manage to retain our Hertfordshire U19 and U15 titles, the third year in succession for the older boys and the fourth for the youngsters. To put the icing on the cake the U16 team won the Pontins UK Championships at the end of June. Senthuran Sathyanandha won the Player of the Year tournament and a number of boys accompanied Mr Barnes to London to see GM Michael Adams play the Hydra super-computer.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme

The Bronze and Silver Award participants who have been doing their D of E expedition training as their SCS activity had a successful practice expedition to the Marlborough Downs in June. This is the last year that The Award Scheme will be run as an SCS activity. Next year the expedition training will take place as an after school activity in order to make the Award available to more of the boys. There will be a number of both practice and assessed expeditions taking place during the first half of next term and in the summer term.

Engineering Education Scheme

Concrete samples testing on construction sites
A team of four L6 boys (Yanik Joshi L6C1, Herman Narula L6J2, Pirathaapan Suntharalingam L6S2, and Hayato Maeda L6R1) were set an engineering problem to guarantee the quality of the concrete that is being used on building sites by construction firm Holloway White Allom, as part of the E.E.S.

During the course of the year they have attended a residential workshop, produced a working solution to the problem, and written an extensive written report on their progress.

In April the team represented both Holloway White Allom and the School at a Celebration and Assessment Day, held this year at the University of Hertfordshire. The boys prepared a display stand, and gave a presentation to a panel of assessors, before fielding questions from guests at this well attended event.

The assessors were particularly impressed with the investment of effort and all-round professionalism of presentation. The marks awarded for the team were excellent, above the average in nine of the eleven categories for assessment. Each member of the team has been rewarded with a Crest Gold Award, a national accreditation scheme recognised by Universities.

Lifesaving Club Report

The Lifesaving Club has had another busy and successful term with many boys and girls achieving awards.
Adam Nathan was awarded Life Support 2.
Vishal Chohan, Oliver Cohen, Bhavesh Ghopal and Ben Silverblatt have all been awarded Life Support 1.

Mountaineering Club Trip to Mid-Wales (Dolgellau)

Saturday 28th May
The party (Greg Schey, Sam Hussain, Sam McPhail, Jerome Woodwark, Mr Gilbertson & Mr Hardman) aimed to complete the Rhinog ridge (8 x 600 metre peaks, running from Trawsfynydd in the north, to Barmouth in the south). The group were met by low cloud (about 500 metres) and strong (30mph) blustery winds at sea level as we awoke on Saturday morning. Having had an excellent breakfast, Mr Gilbertson and Mr Hardman drove to the start point. Mr Gilbertson left his car at the start point and Mr Hardman and the four boys began the walk at 09:40. Mr Gilbertson drove the minibus to the finish point and began the ridge from the north at 10:30.

As Mr Hardman's group reached the main ridge, it became clear that Mr Gilbertson would have a difficult walk ahead of him as the wind was very strong indeed and was blowing in a SW direction (against Mr Gilbertson, but with Mr Hardman) - 40mph gusts made movement very slow.

After 4 hours, Mr Hardman 's group had completed 5 of the 8 peaks: Diffwys, Diffwys west top, Crib-y-Rhiw, Y Llethr, Rhinog Fach. Visibility was poor (max 50 metres) and there were squally showers blowing in from the Irish Sea.

The movement of the group had slowed somewhat by this point and the next peak (Rhinog Fawr) took a further 2 hours to climb. We used the massif to provide some protection from the wind, but on reaching the summit, found the wind to be even more ferocious than before. At this point, Mr Hardman 's group had a bite to eat and decided on a plan. The plan was to get down of the ridge - quickly!

We dropped down to a pass (The Roman Steps) and made our way eastward to meet Mr Gilbertson at a pre-determined rendezvous.

The boys showed remarkable strength, courage and determination on this day in particular. We walked non-stop for 8.5 hours.

Sunday 29th May
We aimed to complete 2 x 600 metre peaks - Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr

Sunday dawned bright and clear. We headed off into the mountains that contain the water-shed of the Mawddach along narrow, winding lanes with precipitous drops into the river below.

We gained the first summit (Dduallt) after a couple of hours and spent 10 minutes enjoying the stunning views and scenery. Every mountain range was on display including the Snowdon group, The Glyders, The Carneddau, The Arenings, The Arans, The Berwyns, The Moelwyns and The Rhinogs.

We descended to 450 metres (having observed a bird of prey, possibly a Goshawk over the pine plantations) and then struck off west through a pine forest before reaching the long pull up the second peak. We were treated to more fine views before heading north, slowly descending across trackless moorland towards the minibus.

*****

DEPARTMENT NEWS

(This section makes mention of items which might be considered particularly news-worthy, in addition to the busy schedules which characterise all academic departments at Haberdashers'. The work of some departments is also mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter.)

Economics

The Department of Economics and Politics has concluded the academic year with a veritable concatenation of extra-curricular activity.

1) Economics Society. At the very end of the Easter Term the society held a well-attended and good-humoured debate on independent education in which each of the fluent and fully informed teams included sixth form members the Boys' and the Girls' School. Preparations for the Society's magazine are well-advanced.

2) Economics Day. Thanks to Mrs. Shah, on 21st June Price Waterhouse Coopers delivered an all-day, in-school participative seminar and workshop on business creativity, team-building and strategies. It was very popular and included a valuable PWC presentation on university applications and gap year employment. We are indebted to PWC for their expertise.

3) Open Days. We have continued our programme of guided open days. On 20th June Mr. Trinder took six L6 formers to Cambridge, where they visited the Economics Faculty, toured several colleges and were advised by OH's studying Economics and Maths. On 23rd June he and Mr. Reid took some ten members of L6 to an open day at Nottingham University, an increasingly popular destination for Habs. students of Economics and related subjects.

4) OH's UCAS advice. In the final fortnight of term Old Haberdashers studying Economics at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, and Warwick visited school and gave very interesting and informative talks to several L6 Economics sets, answering questions about the UCAS system and university life and study. During the Summer Holiday several members of L6 will further strengthen their applications by taking part in the department's own work experience scheme.

5) Politics Society. Guided by Mr. Reid, the Society's organised a Mock Election, which was held on Wednesday 4th May and contested by five candidates, representing all the main political parties. Interest in the election was marked and turnout was 70%, with a particularly high level of votes from the Junior School. A large crowd assembled in the Aske Hall on May 5th and heard Adam Barnes, the Conservative candidate, declared the winner with a majority of 129 over his nearest rival, Jack Breslauer, the Green Party's candidate.

6) On June 29th Mr Briercliffe and a group of AS Government and Politics students visited the Houses of Parliament. Thanks to Adam Barnes, a number of the boys were given a brief conducted tour of the lobbies by Mike Penning, the newly-elected Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead. The group then sat in the Public Gallery of the Commons to witness Question Time, firstly with questions to Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development and then to the Prime Minister. It was very much the usual knock-about raucous session in a very full chamber, enjoyed by all. Afterwards, Mike Penning treated the group to drinks, and some interesting anecdotes, in the rather splendid courtyard cafe of Portcullis House.

7) Business Competitions. Renegade Records won the Watford Found and went through to the Hertfordshire Final, at Hatfield University. Despite a strong performance, they were pushed into second place. Later in the term, Renegade won the regional heat of the Ogden Trust Business Competition held in Bedford and go forward to the national semi-finals to be held in Oxford in September. Mr Trinder, the m-i-c, and our outside advisors were pleased to learn that several U6 leavers stated in their Year Book entries that their experience in the Young Enterprise and Ogden Trust competitions had been amongst some of their proudest experiences at Habs.

Mathematics Department

National Competitions
In April, a total of 298 boys in Years 7 & 8 took part in the UK Junior Mathematical Challenge. The results were impressive with

o 86 gold
o 79 silver
o 73 bronze

certificates awarded. Nationally, 6%, 13%, 21% of the candidates achieved gold, silver and bronze, respectively. Particular congratulations go to the following boys who did so well in this round that they were invited to take the Olympiad paper on the 14th June and we await their results with interest:

Year 7 Stephen Murphy (C), Sahil Shah (J), Subon Sivananthan (S), Prasanna Nanayakkara (S) and Dev Thaker (J)

Year 8 Vedaant Patel (H), Ravi Normandale (J), James Glanville (C), Wei-Ying Chen (S), Neel Rajani (S), Ben Rebak (M), Andrew Rose (S) and Matthew Powers-Freeling (H).

In the Middle School, Arjun Mehta (11C2) excelled at the recent Olympiad paper, and has been invited to attend the National Mathematics Summer School at Queen's College, Birmingham from 4 to 8 July 2005.

This was the first year that we took part in The UK Team Maths Challenge. We came joint third with the Girls' School in the Regional Finals, which took place on 28th April 2005. The boys (Kelvin Wong 9Ma, Arrash Yassaee 9Ha, Wei-Ying Chen 8S and Parav Pandya 8S) thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Conferences
At the end of the Easter holiday, seventeen members of the L6 double mathematicians, accompanied by Messrs Whittaker, Hyde and Tarpey set off from Euston to Liverpool for three days of knotty problems, long walks, and cultural enlightenment in that splendid city. Highlights included the cathedrals, Pick's theorem, the waterfront, the generation of Pythagorean triples the easy way, and five-a-side against a local youth club.

German Department

Middle School Exchange to Munich
A group of Year 9 and 10 students from the Girls' and Boys' schools, accompanied by Mr Donaghey and Mrs Grieder, enjoyed ten days during the Easter holidays visiting the sights of Munich and Bavaria. We were given a warm welcome by our exchange partners and host families of the Gisela Gymnasium. Outings to the Olympic park included a tour of the stadium, home of Bayern Munchen, the Deutsches museum and a visit to Schloss Herrenchiemsee, were amongst the highlights of a very successful exchange programme.

6th Form Work Experience in Dusseldorf.
An enterprising group of Lower 6th Germanists spent a week in April in this bustling and vibrant city, where they acquired valuable work experience in a diverse range of companies. All of our students were most grateful to Herr Carsten Huttermann, who organised placements at Deutsche Bank, a clinic, a marketing company and an IT firm, amongst others. Our students not only improved their linguistic skills but were also able to experience, at first hand, life in the local environment. The German students will undertake similar work in London in February 2006. If any parents could help to find placements, please contact Marshall Donaghey in the Modern Languages Department.

Junior School Exchange to Offenburg.
Year 7 and Year 8 pupils from the Boys' and Girls' schools, led by Mr Wilson and Mr Swallow, are eagerly looking forward to their trip to Offenburg and the Black Forest during the first week of the summer holidays.

Science

British Biology Olympiad

On the last Friday of term, two teachers will escort the British Biology Olympiad team to the International Biology Olympiad at Beijing University in China. The team consists of four of the best A level students from the Britain and they will be competing against students from over 45 countries in this prestigious 10-day completion. Mr Glanville's role will include checking the biology papers, one practical and one theory and overseeing the competition as an observer. The Olympiad will include visits to a high school, the Great Wall and the Forbidden Palace plus the chance to mix with teachers and professors from the 45 countries. On their return they have been invited with the team to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Chemistry

Five boys received awards in the first round of the International Chemistry Olympiad competition. Chirag Dave, Rishi Pandya, Devesh Shah and Adrian Tan achieved silver awards and Viral Thackerar a gold award.

We have just received results of the LGC Analysis Competition (a national practical Chemistry competition for sixth formers organised by LGC in cooperation with the Nuffield Foundation. LGC is Europe's leading independent provider of chemical & biological analytical services). Haberdashers' entered three teams in this competition which assesses scientific accuracy and teamwork and the team of Chirag Dave, Jalpesh Patel, Aadarsh Shah and Shanil Shah (all U6S4) achieved a distinction.

Physics Challenge 2005

We were delighted that in March of this year, Abhi Ghosh of Year 11 gained a Gold Award in this prestigious competition run by the British Olympiad Committee under the aegis of the Institute of Physics. In addition, Abhishek Banerjee-Shukla, Dylan Devaux-Balbirnie, George Harnett, Jeremy Leong, Jayan Logararah, Daniel Winer and Taishi Yamazaki all gained Bronze Awards. A further 21 students gained a Commendation.

Andrew Abrams (U6S4) has been selected to participate in the Dr Bessie Lawrence International Summer Science Scheme at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Religious Studies

Several of our examination classes have had an opportunity to develop their understanding of key issues this year. Over the Easter holidays Reverend Lindsay took a group of U6 A level students to the Buddhist Sangha at Amaravati. The boys were able to discuss their understanding of the religion with one of the monks as they experienced daily life within the community.

Throughout the academic year all the boys who are studying AS and some of our Year 10 GCSE boys have been taking part in the Science and Religion in Schools project; an initiative set up by the John Templeton Foundation to “ensure that students are well informed, have a balanced view of the science and religion debate and study both subjects with open-minded humility.” The project, which is based in Oxford, is already establishing links with other countries and hopes to have a major impact on what is increasingly seen as an important area of debate. Boys in Year 10 looked at the question “What is Real?” whilst those in the L6 considered the Anthropic arguments connected to our knowledge of creation. Those who might be interested in this project can find more details at www.srsp.net/new/about.html

HABS ARTS

Art Exhibitions
The highlight of the Art calendar at HABS is always the GCSE and A Level Art show. Once again this year's exhibition was no exception. 35 Art and Ceramic Year 10 students, along with 17 sixth form artists spent two weeks midway through the term putting together their individual displays in the Bourne Foyer Exhibition Area. The Artwork on show included a wide range of subject matter in a variety of media including landscape, figurative, abstract and thematic compositions as well as paintings, prints and three-dimensional work.

The Private View which was held on Thursday, 26th May, was extremely well attended, prizes were awarded and presented by our special guest, Mr Matthew Judd from the Geography department, who has been a great supporter of the Art department for many years. His critical analysis of the work compared very favourably to the likes of OH Brian Sewell! The strongest work tended to come from the U6 students, Simon Francis' Miro inspired chair, Adam Naylor's sensitive self portrait and Winston Luk's moody London landscape. However, having said that both the GSCE and AS candidates produced some outstanding work this year, winning the lion's share of the prizes. There were finely crafted bowls and pots made by Peter Garside to the dynamic and evocative etchings of boxers by Martyn Cukier. These pupils both won prizes along with Jack Lloyd-Jones, for his ceramic self-portrait, and Max Herbert for his stunning Post-Cubist landscape. Congratulations go to these boys, and to all the pupils whose work, and effort, has resulted in such a diverse and entertaining display.

Art Trips
A small group of sixth formers travelled to Perry Green in North Hertfordshire to visit the Henry Moore Foundation, which features a splendid collection of his sculptures on display in the grounds and gardens of Henry Moore's old house and studio. On Field day the SCS Renaissance Group went to the Royal Academy of Arts to see this year Summer Art Exhibition.

Families Six Art Exhibition
The Art Department would like to announce that it intends to stage an Art Exhibition for Students, Parents (and other relations) and Staff during the first part of the Autumn Term. This venture will be similar to previous Family Art Exhibitions held at HABS. The venue will be held the Bourne Exhibition Area. The dates are
10th October - 18th November. Further details and application forms can be found at the back of this letter.!

Drama

Dawn Morris-Wolffe gave birth to twins Sam & Louie at the beginning of term. Mother and babies are very healthy and happy. We wish the family well and look forward to having Dawn back into the department in November.

The Drama department began this term with a very boisterous and dark production of “The Lord of the Flies” performed by members of the Junior School and directed by Jeremy Cox. Once again we saw clearly the strength of talent and focus of current Year 7 and 8 students and were impressed by the power of their ensemble work.

The end of term was brought to a close by three performances of “The Brothers' Menaechmus”, a hilarious farce of mistaken identity that Shakespeare used as the basis of the plot for “The Comedy of Errors”. Performed on the floor of the Bourne Hall and with the audience on three sides this wonderful bold production was an impressive achievement for directors Nicki Heinen & Matthew Wright, who only joined the English and Drama departments at the beginning of this term. Our congratulations and thanks go to them and their entire cast for such enjoyable performances.

Music

The summer term tends to inspire a distinctive atmosphere in the music department. The first half of the term is frenetic, as ensembles prepare for the Summer concert and Lunchtime Live recitals enliven each Friday's post-prandial lull; all too soon, however, our Year 11 and Sixth Form depart for their block leave, the formal ensembles take their summer break and the lower end of the school starts to fill the void thus created with unerring enthusiasm and energy through the medium of the Music Festival.

This term's Lunchtime Live concert series has proved enormously popular. The annual Big Band concert on the Quad, conducted by Messrs Simm and Pritchard, attracted a large crowd of enthusiasts for the sweet sound of swing and salsa. Audience members were equally entertained by the sight of the band members wrestling with elastic bands in a novel and (thankfully) successful attempt to counteract the effects of the whirling wind that had whipped up during the morning.

For the first (but certainly not the last) time, we were able to take greater advantage of the spectacular weather before the half term break with another concert on the Quad, this time an “Unplugged” that was enormously well attended. Running from 1pm until 2pm, the concert showcased lots of exciting playing of a unanimously high standard from our students and also students from the Girls' School.

The guitar and percussion concert took place on the evening of 27 April and once again highlighted the diversity of musical endeavours that take place within the school community. Solos and ensembles, classical and popular, loud and soft - they all have a place here.

The formal musical ensembles rounded off their year and the Upper Sixth formers rounded off their musical contributions to HABS in style with the summer concert on 12 May. The Senior Band and Senior Orchestra started and ended respectively, framing fine performances from some of the smaller ensembles and promising performances from the Second Orchestra and the Intermediate Band.

After the May half term, this year's music festival took place over a three-week period, culminating in a final on Wednesday, 29th June when 13 entrants out an initial 103 competed for the title of HABS Young Musician of the Year. Ros Asher, a former Hertfordshire Music Adviser who is now a Schools Directorate Adviser at the DfES, adjudicated the Final. The winner was violist Thomas Flint (10R2), who played the Prelude from Cello Suite No2 by Bach, who received the silver salver from Alan Taylor (Director of Music until 1996).

The musical year was rounded off in the final week of term by the Third Orchestra concert on Tuesday evening, giving the opportunity for younger boys to perform in a formal arena, and Alex Leadill's (L6S2) lunchtime piano recital on Wednesday.




SPORT

Archery

At the beginning of the autumn term it was all change for the school archery club with fresh input from the archery coaching staff and completely new equipment. These improvements were supported directly by the Headmaster. The rest of the term was spent with boys having intensive training on technique and learning to use the new competition level equipment.

At the beginning of the Spring term, the standard of archery had improved dramatically so that by the end of January two boys had completed a first for the archery club by competing in the British Schools' Indoor Archery Championships. They performed very well for their first time at national level competition. Mid-way through the term, two boys entered a local indoor tournament and again shot very well, just missing out on medals, but the standard was continually improving. Soon afterwards three boys entered London's Indoor County Championships and they all performed exceptionally well, Aaron Winsloe achieving First, Benjamin Gan - Second and Gaurav Jain - Third Place in their respective categories for medals. Towards the end of the spring term, two boys entered their first outdoor tournament, and they both performed very well, Jonathan Constantinou achieving a First Place medal in his first tournament.

The Summer term signalled the end of Indoor Tournament Calendar for which the school shooting facilities are best suited, so the focus moved towards the School Interhouse Archery competition. The competition had a new format mirroring the Team 'head-to-head' style format knockout tournament used in the recent Olympic Games in Athens, each of the six houses entering a team of two archers and then two teams competing against each other in a round, the winner progressing to the next round. To insure fairness a qualifying round was shot to establish seeding for the first round. The tournament was a great success with some very close rounds and some really intense competition; all the participating boys were congratulated on their exceptional performances under pressure with many records being broken. Benjamin Gan was the star of the tournament twice shooting a new school record and a number of boys achieved new personal bests. Two were shot in the final round by Russell's teammates Aaron Winsloe and Chris McGeever. This was an exceptional performance by the team, good enough for Russell's to ultimately win the tournament by just eleven points scoring two hundred and eighty nine to Jobling's two hundred and seventy eight.

Athletics

Probably one of the most encouraging aspects of this year's Athletics season has been the number of boys participating in the sport evident at both training sessions and in results at the various fixtures throughout the season.

Our strength in depth showed in the Watford and District Championships where Habs won the team event in 4 out of the 5 competitions, successful in the Year 7,8,10 and senior age groups and we were overall boys' winners. We had unprecedented success in the Dr Challoners relays, the first fixture of the season, where Habs won all nine events, the seniors gained 2nd places in the 4X100m and the 4X200m in the prestigious Achilles Relays and the U15 team were the most successful in the meeting at that age group winning the 4X800m for the second successive year and finished 2nd in both the 4X100m and 4X200m.

The U14 and U16 teams have both qualified for the Herts league final, the latter winning the area A league, the U14's finishing runners up to Bushey Meads school. The final takes place at Hemel Hempstead on July 4th and hopefully the teams will be able to repeat the success of last year.

The Year 7 and 9 teams have enjoyed good competition and success against Q.E.Boys Barnet, Dr Challoners, Amersham, Richard Hale Boys School, Sheredes school, Hoddesdon and a number of other schools in the county. In inter-schools fixtures we have suffered only one defeat and this was in the Habs Junior meet on the school track when the U14's finished second to Highgate and the U12 prep team finished 3rd behind St Columbas and Bedford Modern.

Perhaps the only disappointment has been in the English Schools Track and Field Cup where we were unable to repeat the success of last year. The County round promised much with the U16 team scoring appoints total that suggested they had a good chance to make the national final and the U14's also scored good points, slight adjustments to the team gave hope for a qualifying spot. In reality however the regional meet took place in poor weather conditions which affected the field events considerably and although the U16's won and the U14's finished second by one point, neither team scored enough to progress further.

Although school athletics is largely team based there have been some fine individual performances with a number of Habs athletes gaining selection for County and Regional teams. James Grant (9HA) is Herts county junior Pole Vault champion for 2005 and will represent Herts in the English Schools Championships at Birmingham on July 8th and 9th. Both Alex Petrides (10M2) and Kaz Ong (8H) have represented Hertfordshire in the South East England Multi Events championships after their success in the County competition and both have the opportunity to compete in their same respective age groups again next year. Kaz is also due to represent the Eastern Counties in the National Prep schools championships at Birmingham on July 4th in both the 75m Hurdles and the triple jump. He is the current 2004 U13 National Triple jump champion and hopes to repeat this success in 2005 at the U14 level. Needless to say the school triple jump record has been broken several times this season. Eden Tarn (7H) has broken the school 70m hurdles record 3 times recently and has been selected for the Eastern region in this event, Alex Barnett (8C) U14 javelin, Andrew Mushin (8M) U14 shot and prep athlete Charlie Rubin (P8) U12 javelin, are also selected for the team after gaining top two placings in the regional champs.

In all, 9 Habs athletes gained top three places in the County schools champs and 8 gained top three places in the Regional Prep schools meet. 14 boys are district champions.

The strength in depth is an encouraging feature of the athletics squad; it is a key element we should strive to maintain if we are to fulfil our aspirations of competing at the highest level on a regular basis.

Herts Athletics League Final 2005.
The league final is always a close competition and this year proved to be no different. Habs were competing in both age groups, U14 and U16 and in the latter competition were probably one of the favourites to win the trophy. The level of performance is high yet Habs were able to boast several individual winners including a fine run by Alex Petrides in the 400m in the U16 competition and wins by Andrew Mushin in the U14 400m, Ollie Fox in the U14 Pole Vault and Kaz Ong U14 Triple Jump. The team points were close, but this year both Habs teams had to settle for the runner up spot, the U14's finishing second to Bushey Meads school and the U16's second to close rivals St Clement Danes by just two points.

Although we were not outright winners in either competition this year, Habs maintained the record of having both teams reach the league final from as far back as 1995 which serves to prove that we remain competitive.

National Prep Schools Athletics Champs.
Although the official results are yet to come through, congratulations must go to Kaz Ong who has won the National Triple Jump title repeating his success of last year but this time in the U14 competition. This feat is made more remarkable by the fact that he also made the final of the 75m Hurdles competition but was unable to take his place in this event because he was needed to return to Hemel Hempstead to compete in the Herts league final. This has been typical of the schedule for this extremely talented athlete this year who has represented his county a year young as well as being a national champion. Well done!

Andrew Mushin finished 6th in the shot put at the championships and both Alex Barnett and Charlie Rubin were able to claim top ten places in the U14 and U12 javelin. Eden Tarn had a less happy time in his 70m hurdles race hitting one of the final flights of hurdles in his heat which prevented him from qualifying for the final of his event. Eden has been consistent throughout the term, it was unfortunate that his form should fail in his biggest race of the season. Well done to all these boys for representing Habs at the highest level of schools athletics.

Lanzarote Athletics Trip
During the Easter Holiday 32 athletes travelled to the Island of Lanzarote to spend a week at the warm weather training camp of Club La Santa. Training twice daily proved to be very beneficial, both the U16 and U14 teams have again qualified for the Herts League Final. The U16 having finished top of the league for the second successive year.

Badminton

This year the School's Badminton players have continued to do well.

The School has again achieved high placings in the Hertfordshire Schools Badminton Association Tournaments. At the end of a series of Tournaments Haberdashers' has won the U15 trophy and has done well in the U13 and the U18 Tournaments. The following boys won points in the U15 Tournament: Dipesh Borkhataria, Alex Gomar, Anjul Haria, Arun Kumarathas and Suraj Pabari.

Both the U16 and U14 teams performed very strongly in the Badminton England U14 and U16 Top Schools Tournaments. The following boys competed in the U14 Tournament: Akash Jhunjhunwala, Alex Gomar, Prakash Rajani, Philip Chee and Richard Tan (reserve). Teams from 18 Schools (out of 79) reached the Finals. Haberdashers' won the first four matches to reach the semi-finals. Here we lost against Thornden School from Hampshire and subsequently lost the play off with Chancellor's (Hertfordshire). This gave us a very creditable 4th place.

The following boys competed in the U16 Tournament: Nigel Tao, Kamran Haq, Arjun Mehta, Akash Jhunjhunwala and Alex Gomar (reserve). Teams from 18 Schools (out of 92) reached the Finals. Haberdashers' won all its six matches against six other Schools, beating Holly Lodge High School (Staffordshire) in the final. We thus retained the National title we had won last year without conceding a single game: played thirty; won thirty. As far as I know this is the first time this has happened. It was an outstanding achievement.

Nigel Tao continues to benefit from the prestigious World Class Start training programme. Nigel Tao and Kamran Haq have been selected to play for Hertfordshire Senior County teams. Arjun Mehta has played for the Middlesex U17 team. Alex Gomar has played for the Hertfordshire U15 team. In January Nigel represented England in an U17 European Tournament in Malmo, Sweden. At the recent U17 National Championships Nigel and Kamran both played outstandingly well beating the No. 3 seeds and winning the bronze medal. This is a remarkable achievement for an U16 pair and bodes well for next year.

Cricket

The 2005 Cricket Season has followed a similar pattern to that of 2004. Despite bad weather in the first half of the term, the Cricket Club has enjoyed another successful year, with the current win / loss ratio standing at approximately 3:1.

The 1st XI has had its best season since 1989, winning 12 out of the 16 matches played to date as well as the Aldenham Twenty20 competition. The U14A's and U13A's both reached the semi-final stage of the Hertfordshire Schools Cup Competitions while the U12A's show much promise for the future. The B teams have also performed with distinction and it is pleasing to note that the numbers of boys who want to play cricket continue to increase. The game is as popular as it has ever been and the depth of talent available is encouraging for the future.

During the Easter holidays a combined Year 7/ Prep squad enjoyed a highly successful tour to Barbados and thanks to the sterling efforts of Doug Yeabsley in particular, the senior squad can look forward to spending Christmas and the New Year in Hong Kong and Malaysia!

Of course the Cricket Club could not function without the efforts of a number of people and this is a good time to thank staff who give up so much of their time to coach and umpire the various teams, the ground staff for all their hard work in preparing the pitches, the scorers, the caterers etc. Thank you to all parents and friends who watch from the boundary - your support is always much appreciated.

And a final thank you to Len Cole, who has masterminded U12 cricket in recent seasons. We wish him well for the future.

Cricket Club Results (to 4th July 2005)

The 1st XI, under the captaincy of Edward Clements, has enjoyed its best season since 1989, winning 12 of the 16 games played to date.

Amongst our victories, notable triumphs have been recorded against the MCC, University College School, Berkhamsted, St. Albans, Bishop's Stortford HS and Queen Elizabeth's Barnet, the last two as a result of successful run chases which went down to the final over (and in the case of QEB, the final ball!!). We were also successful in the Aldenham Twenty20 competition, winning the trophy after defeating both UCS and the hosts.

Robert Clements' 133 against Berkhamsted was the highest individual score for nearly 14 years and he and Gavin Baker have been the mainstays of our batting. Gavin, with 6 half centuries to his credit, has now scored 556 runs at an average of 46.33 while Robert is not far behind (526 @ 52.60). Rishi Pandya (342 runs), Sheilen Patel (304) and Ed Clements (252) have also had good seasons with the bat and the team has totalled 200 or more on six occasions, the most since 1990.

Baker (23 wickets @ 15.69) and the Clements brothers (Robert 23 wickets @ 15.69, exactly the same as Baker, Edward 20 @ 21.05) are currently the leading wicket-takers with the captain's 6 for 30 against St. Albans a particular highlight. He also produced a fine delivery to dismiss the last UCS batsman to win the game with just 2 balls to spare.

All in all, however, this season has seen a great team effort, with everyone playing their part and contributing at some stage. We now look forward to hosting Glenwood HS from Durban and the annual Devon tour, to be followed this Christmas, by the latest tour to Hong Kong and Malaysia.

2nd XI Cricket 2005 season - the story so far. This has been a very successful season for the 2nds in all respects. We made a strong start despite the traditional early-season rain and consequent lack of practice, and it soon became apparent that this was a talented group of players offering considerable strength in depth. Apart from one game against UCS, which we should have won comfortably, and another against John Lyon which resulted in a draw despite our clear superiority, the team has won every game this season. One of the most gratifying things about this success is that it is the result of strong performances from almost every player at different times, rather than one or two outstanding individuals. The boys' commitment, good humour and energy have made them a pleasure to work with, and I look forward to another good season with some of them in 2006.

Three overs into the 3rd XI's first match, it looked like we were in for a very difficult season. The weather was pitiful, we were 15-5, our batting had been appalling, defeat looked inevitable. Up to the wicket strode Nick Westbrook (L6S1) and Rohan Jain (L6J1) who proceeded to take apart the Bancroft's attack with a 96 run partnership.

It turned out in fact to be a brilliantly successful season for the team. All six matches were won convincingly. The captain and wicket keeper, Timothy Thompson-Essex (U6M7), was superb. Kunal Amin (U6S1), Oli Adams (L6H1) and Alex Harris (L6S2) all starred with the bat. Alex Alimo (L6J2), Adam Barnes (L6M2) and Krishnan Patel (11M2) were the leading wicket takers. However the whole team deserve credit for their enthusiasm, their determination and their memorable banter.

The U15A have had a good season playing 13 games and winning 7 of the matches. The boys have practised hard and their skills with the bat and ball have improved enormously. The highlight of the season was scoring 180 - 2 against a strong Harrow side. Three of the side have played for the 1st X1 (Ajay Soni, Kailash Morjaria and Shamit Nathwani). The U15's are considerably weaker when these boys are unavailable but others have gained experience and I am hoping more of the X1 will play in the 1st team next season. Josh Newman, Amish Patel and Matthew Soffair have featured strongly in many of our matches and it has been a pleasure coaching the boys.

The U15B have experienced a mixed season but mixed only by the high standards of a team used to winning. Under the captaincy of Dimitri Fominyk, they enjoyed an easy victory over U.C.S., with Dimitri himself cracking a fine half-century. Another win over Berkhamstead added to the high expectations for an unbeaten summer - but it was not to be. Despite some deft, subtle spin bowling from the likes of the Ravi Pandya, Nimalan Chandran and Akshith Kaza mixed with the erratic but lively pace efforts of Rishi Patel and elegant seamers from Wangoo and Kumarathas, a defeat against a strong Merchant Taylors' outfit and a careless loss against a less formidable Bishops' Stortford side took a little gloss off an otherwise successful term. In any case, there were many positives: responsible but entertaining batting from the openers Sharma and Johal, a virtuoso century from Fominyk against Mill Hill and the resilience and camaraderie which brought further victories against St Albans, Watford Grammar and finally R.G.S. High Wycombe; this last match was a tense, exciting encounter, in which the captain, Pandya, did well to keep his team focused on the task. A team with constantly changing personnel (and batting order) enforced by absences, injuries and promotions, nevertheless presented a constantly united front and a shared love of cricket and sheer fun in the sunshine.

This has been an enjoyable and successful season for U14A, with to date 8 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats. The chief contributors with the bat were Lewis Jenkins, Luke Tullo and Hasit Mehta. Wickets were shared amongst the bowlers, but the most successful was Amish Parekh, who also played once for the 1st XI. Jenkins and Parekh also represented Hertfordshire.

The whole team played with enthusiasm and fine spirit, helped in the background by our coaching staff, notably Mr D Yeabsley, and by a particularly supportive group of parents.

This has been a successful season for U14B with six wins and just three losses. The squad has developed during the summer into a unit that enjoys its cricket, expertly captained by the ever cheerful and positive Nakul Patel. After a washed out first weekend, there were convincing wins against UCS and Berkhamsted. After two disappointing reverses against rivals Merchant Taylors' and Aldenham, the team practised hard and played some polished cricket, gaining four straight wins. The season's end caused some with quite a few injuries and a last over one wicket loss to QE Barnet. Rahul Pandya and Kishen Patel flourished as openers, with Tharun Puvaneswaran, Sayjoahn Mayooranathan and Millin Raja developing as a solid middle order. Guneet Luther, Ed Clayton and Ed Hughes-D'eath played the 'Pietersen' role and all the bowlers contributed with the bat at some point of the season. The bowling has real strength in depth. Nakul Patel, Jaidev Devlia and Dylan Baskaran all earned call-ups to the A team for their hostile seam bowling; Sanjay Selvanathan bowled with pleasant consistency, but the moment of the season was Akash Purohit's first ever over for the school when he bowled a wicket maiden. Both Kishen Patel and Athirayan Kailayapathivagan gained more control as the season went on. Millin Raja kept wicket until his unfortunate ankle injury, when Ed Clayton stepped into the breach. This is now a very happy unit with many players who potentially will play in the Senior XI's.

It has been an excellent season this year for the U13B team, full of success and improvement. We have developed individually, and as a team. The season began on a high note with an excellent performance against Berkhamsted and a comfortable victory after bowling the opposition out for 19! This match involved some excellent bowling from the whole team, especially from Roshan Baskaran, Branovan Rudran and Vishal Singhal. These boys continued to bowl exceptionally well throughout the season, and Roshan was rewarded with promotion to the A team. Our batting line up, although strong on paper, did not perform to its full extent in the early days of the season but developed well, with some excellent performances from Kaz Ong, Andy Middleton, Kishan Alahendra and Seb Schusmann. However, this was put behind us with a very close match against Merchant's Taylors. The high point of the season for the team was the excellent victory against a strong St. Albans side, where our batting and bowling were exceptional. The season was brought to an enjoyable close with a clash with the Girls School, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part and watched. The Boys were victorious and came home with the Habs' Ashes, although the Girls vowed to win it back! As our final match against R.G.S Wycombe approaches, we can hope to win and end our season on a high note.

Under 12A: This talented and enthusiastic team of young cricketers started the season in great style winning their first 8 matches. The knowledgeable Tom Edrich led the side intelligently against some strong opposition. The batting line up was spearheaded by Kushil Patel who amassed over 300 runs including 2 half centuries. He was well supported by Ben Cherkas and Tom Edrich, the latter's 58* being a match winning innings against local rivals Merchant Taylors'. Such was the depth of bowling that six bowlers were regularly used, Kushil Patel's 6 wickets for 3 runs against a strong Q.E.B. team being the best return of the season. Fielding was another strength of this team, with wicketkeeper Joe McCormack (who also scored a fighting 51* against a fearsome pace attack from Kingsbury H.S) leading the way. Well done to all players who were part of a very successful U12A team, it was a pleasure to coach you.

U-11's A XI: After the massive success of the Tour to Barbados, the U-11's were raring to go this season. Having already played seven cricket matches before term started, this team were far too well drilled and talented a side for most of our opponents. We blew away all but one of our opposition, Bedford Prep, where rain stopped play, fortuitously for Haberdashers'.

The whole squad has worked hard on its skills throughout the summer, and it was very apparent that these boys were more dedicated, talented and knowledgeable than the other schools we played. Nishanth Selvakumar, whose batting was stylish and leadership exemplary ably led the team. There are a number of all-rounders in the team this year - Paras Shah, Rikin Shah, Naveen Nandakumar, Vivek Patni, Alex Briggs and Charlie Rubin - and on many occasions I gave seven or eight players the opportunity to bowl. Unfortunately, as we were too strong for most schools, many of our batsmen did not have the opportunity to bat at the crease in a match situation. The depth of the batting was excellent, and if our top line batsmen failed the middle order could be relied upon to amass a decent total.

The final match of the season has been arranged for the penultimate day of term, and is against the Old Boys of the Prep School who are now in the Main School. I'm sure this will be a highly competitive and enjoyable affair, and an excellent way to finish the season.

Well done to the whole squad for their efforts this year.

U-10's Squad: Another successful season for both A and B teams at Under 10 shows that we have strength in depth throughout the school, and that there is plenty of talent coming through the ranks. Both teams only lost one game each, and the whole squad has shown enthusiasm in abundance, and every player is gaining in experience and knowledge. Both teams have enjoyed their matches as well as their training sessions, which have been ably led by Mr. Cole and Mr. Brown. With some specialist winter coaching, this group have the ability to continue Haberdashers' impressive record of the last two years' unbeaten seasons at Under 11 “A” XI.

U-9's Squad: This group of players has also shown remarkable knowledge and enthusiasm for the game, and this coupled with a hunger for improvement and learning will stand them in good stead for the future. The type of cricket played at this level is called Pairs Cricket and is excellent for youngsters learning the game, whereby if they are out when batting they are allowed to stay in and have another chance. However, at the same time this can be a leveller in terms of scoring, and I believe that this group will be a better cricket team when playing normal rules.

Well done to all the boys in the squad - the “B” team results show that there is plenty of strength in depth and this can only be good for selection purposes.

Results:

Tennis

Tennis Competitions in 2005 included the senior Glanville Cup, the senior Youll Cup (Eton - to be played) the U15/14 Thomas Bowl Cup (Eton - to be played), BSTA U15 (x3 teams), BSTA U13 (x teams), U14 + U13 District league; as well as the block of school 'friendly' fixtures!

In previous years, HABS have dominated school county tennis with all age groups winning the Herts BSTA rounds and reaching the regional finals. This year similar patterns evolved with the U15 1st IV qualifying for the regional BSTA finals (to be played) without losing a match all season! The U15 2nd and 3rdIV and U15/ U14 Districts teams also had an enjoyable season, playing consistently throughout the term. Our strength in depth at U15 and U14 level was evident at the end of the season with a convincing win over The Merchant Taylors' School in a school 'friendly' fixture.

The promising junior squads enjoyed a large number of fixtures; all playing some outstanding tennis. The U12s represented the U13 District team and played extremely well considering the age gap. The juniors look very promising for 2006.

Inter House Tennis also proved to be very successful. Six boys from each house for years 7 to 10 played doubles, resulting in a finals day. The level of tennis throughout the age groups and pairings was very encouraging. The competition also allowed the boys to officiate and record their own results which was much appreciated!!! Results below:

Golf

This academic year, the School have entered the HMC foursomes competition for the very first time. After victories over Kimbolton School, Framlingham College and St.Albans School, we faced Brentwood School in the East Anglian regional final at The Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club on May 20th.

With Jai Raja partnering William Gallimore to a 4 & 3 win in the middle match, and Jamie Susskind and Jamie Black maintaining their unbeaten record in the competition with a 2 & 1 win in the third match, all eyes were on the lead pair of Saarung Shah and Marc Kuber, who had just gone 1 up on the 17th green. Year 9 pupil Kuber then delivered possibly the shot of the day by sending a 5 iron shot 180 yards over water, which came to rest 12 feet past the flag to assure the clean sweep.

The team have now qualified for the National final of 8 Schools, which is to be held in Worcestershire on the 11th and 12th of July.

Waterpolo

This season has seen better results than expected. Normally the summer term sees matches for the U13 and U14 teams, but this year the U19 team played in the Finals of the English Schools Regional Championships (South), coming 3rd; the U16 team played in the equivalent tournament for their age group, and were placed 2nd; whilst the U14 team narrowly missed out on a place in the National Schools Finals after drawing (in normal time) with Trinity School, Croydon and Eltham College, but losing to them in extra time. Eltham went on to finish 6th in the National Finals and Trinity were placed 2nd in these Finals.

At present there is only a small group of players expressing a commitment to playing the sport at U13 level. It is hoped that the recently concluded Inter-House Water Polo competition for Year 7 will stimulate interest for potential players

Inter House Events - The Crossman Shield

This shield is awarded to the House that does best in a combination of sporting and intellectual competitions throughout the year. In most events the winning House is awarded 6 points, with 5 points for finishing second etc down to one point for finishing in 6th place. However, some major events are traditionally scored at double points giving 12 points for a win

It's been a brilliant and fiercely fought competition. It was extremely close run with Meadows overtaking Calverts in the final event of the year to take third place. Congratulations go to Hendersons holding on to the early lead they built up over Strouts right up to the finishing line.