Harrow School | News Feed

Harrow win a Gold at British Schoolboys' Ski Races

2012-02-03T00:00:00

Hard work and dedicated training has paid off as the Harrow Ski Team returned with a coveted Gold medal won at the British Schoolboys’ International Ski Championships held at Meiringen-Hasliberg from 29 January to 1 February. The Harrow skiers won top position for the best combined performance for a non-registered British-based ski team. Each team has four members who ski two runs in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom events and the fastest three skiers’ times count.

The competition awards medals for non-registered and registered teams because many of the registered competitors in the event train throughout the year and ski for Team GB as well as a number of other clubs that compete throughout the winter all over Europe. Splitting the prizes gives boys who do not ski as regularly something to aim for in the Championships. Competition amongst the 39 teams and 166 racers was keen, but there was a good atmosphere throughout the event.

For Harrow, the races did not begin and end last weekend. A squad of boys has been training every week at the Hemel Hempstead Snowdome since the beginning of the Autumn term. At the start of the Christmas holidays, thirty-one Harrovians headed out to the Marmot Basin in Canada for nine days of skiing. A squad of ten boys took advantage of intensive race training provided by an ex-national Canadian team member and the trip culminated in the inaugural ski competition for the Canada Cup between Eton College, Surbiton High and Harrow School. The 34 racers competed in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom disciplines. Harrow won both categories in the Canada Cup as well as the combined result.

Nine Golds for Harrow in Physics Olympiad Round 1

2012-01-16T00:00:00

The results of Harrow’s Sixth Form physicists this year in the British Physics Olympiad Round 1 have been truly remarkable. Last year the Harrow entrants achieved just one Gold and one Silver Award.

This year Harrovians achieved nine Gold Awards, six of which were Top 50 Golds (ie in the top 3% of all candidates). Five boys received Silver Awards. 1,600 candidates from all over the UK sat the paper.

The six Top 50 Gold Award winners will now gain entry to Round 2, from which the British team to participate in the International Physics Olympiad (held in Estonia this year) will be selected. They are Takehiro Fujita, Leroy Lim, Victor Sun, Ernest Tai, Lawrence Wang and Clement Woo.

Ben Ingledow, Philip Leung and Dinislam Tebuev achieved the other three Golds, while Lucas Chan, Chris Cheung, Harry Houghton, David Leonard and Rory Maclean got Silvers

Congratulations are also due to Lawrence Wang and Richard Isbister for being awarded a Silver Award for their British Physics Olympiad Experimental Project. This year’s project concerned determining specific heat capacities of low mass objects.

Fourteen schools nationally submitted entries this year. Four of those schools were awarded Silver and the rest were awarded Bronze (yet again no Gold Awards were given out this year for this competition), so Lawrence’s and Richard’s project was as good as any.

Chemists get top results in Chemistry Challenge

2011-12-01T00:00:00

Takehiro Fujita, Leroy Lim and Victor Sun from Harrow School have received an award to acknowledge their outstanding performance, achieving some of the highest marks in a new competition called the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, which was taken by 3,000 students in 250 schools across the country this year. Takehiro, Leroy and Victor were amongst 30 students who achieved the highest marks in the Challenge. All award winners were rewarded with a trophy by Cambridge MP and research scientist, Dr Julian Huppert at an event in the Houses of Parliament.

The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge is supported by the University of Cambridge Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge International Examinations, The Rushton Bequest from St Catharine's College and OCR. It is the brainchild of Dr Peter Wothers who is a chemist at the University of Cambridge and is made up of a monthly online competition which is open to anyone of any age from anywhere in the world and is designed to push boundaries and stretch students’ science knowledge. At the end of the online competition the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge team, made up of teachers and university chemists, set a written exam for Year 12 students at schools in the UK. Dr Peter Wothers said, “Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. It is fantastic to see this competition strike a chord with so many students. At school students are taught the facts but here they have to apply knowledge of other subjects and think creatively– these are exactly the kind of skills which are needed for university.” Ann Puntis, Chief Executive of University of Cambridge International Examinations said: “I’m delighted that this competition has proved to be so successful - engaging and inspiring thousands of students around the world. These are our young chemists of the future. Through participating in the Challenge they demonstrate an interest in chemistry which goes beyond the classroom, preparing them for success at university and beyond.”

Harrow group wins Best Delegation award in Prague

2011-12-01T00:00:00

Nineteen Harrovians took part in the Yale Model Government Conference in Prague in November. "Individually and collectively they performed outstandingly well, and were excellent ambassadors for the School and indeed the UK, winning plaudits from all quarters," said the master-in-charge, Mr James Poole, who organised Harrow's participation in the conference. As a consequence of their tremendous performance, Harrow was awarded the 'Best Delegation' award, beating off competition from schools from eighteen other countries spanning four continents. Of the nineteen Harrovians who took part, eleven won individual awards which were given to the most outstanding delegates in each of the committees.

Byron Consort performs in National Memorial Concert

2011-09-21T00:00:00

On Sunday 11 September, the Byron Consort from Harrow took part by special invitation in a National Memorial Concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This took place in Grosvenor Square in front of the memorial to President Roosevelt and close to the US Embassy in London. Also taking part were the Band of the Welsh Guards and the address was given by Sir Christopher Meyer, British Ambassador to the USA back in 2001. This event was especially poignant for members of the choir as almost all of them had performed the same pieces six months ago in a lunchtime concert in Trinity Church, Wall Street, just 300 yards from the site of the former World Trade Center, shortly after visiting the site itself.

The choir were particularly praised by the organisers of the event, not just for their singing, but also for their resilience as there was heavy rain throughout much of the outdoor ceremony. The organisers said, "you lifted our spirits and I saw family members of those who died strengthen listening to you. I could not believe the weather, but it was such a unique moment with so much significance."

Exam results 2011

2011-08-31T00:00:00

Harrow School pupils are celebrating fantastic results in 2011’s A-level and GCSE exams.

At A-level (A2) the very top universities normally ask for three A grades, with a few of the most competitive courses requiring a combination of A*/A grades; 50% of Harrovians taking A-levels got three or more A*/A grades with 29.9% getting A*s. Overall, 71.3% of A-level exam papers submitted by Harrow boys were graded A*/A.

At AS-level (taken in the Lower Sixth) four A grades is the top outcome, allowing boys to aim at the highly selective universities such as Oxford and Cambridge; one third of Harrow’s Lower Sixth achieved this level.

At GCSE the Government’s target is five A*-C grades: 100% of Harrow boys achieved this easily, with almost all having at least ten, and 43% have ten or more A*/A grades. The GCSE gold standard at Harrow is ten A* grades: 24 boys achieved this or better. Overall 83% of GCSE grades obtained by Harrow boys were either A* or A and 97% were A*-B.Remarkably, two boys obtained seven A*s at A-level, while two fifth formers got fourteen A*s at GCSE.

“This year’s exam results were again excellent which is a tribute to everyone who works at Harrow to support the boys in their progress,” said Dr Iain Farrell, the outgoing Director of Studies at Harrow. “I also want to highlight the fact that results like these take a lot of hard work and dedication on the part of the boys, and they should be very proud of themselves.”

Harrovians building Malawi school this summer

2011-07-06T00:00:00

Follow Harrow School's Malawi project through a daily blog on the progress of the Harrovians on the Malawi expedition as they build a school house. If you would like to follow their exploits please follow the link below or google "harrow malawi 2011".
Go to http://www.harrowmalawi2011.blogspot.com/ Look out for progress from the 9th July onwards.

Harrovians selected for National Youth Theatre

2011-06-10T00:00:00

Two Harrovians have joined the National Youth Theatre this year and have been cast in productions which will play this summer.

Olivier Huband has been selected to take part in a National Youth Theatre production called Our Days of Rage. The show has a cast of 34, cut down from almost 1,000 auditionees and will have a run of sixteen performances at the Old Vic Tunnels in Waterloo, London. Aled Williams has been cast in the National Youth Theatre’s production, Slick, which will be a 90-minute spectacle of site-specific theatre around one of the UK’s most thrilling urban settings – Sheffield’s Park Hill Estate – also running this summer.

Harrovians win prizes in Russian Essay Competition

2011-05-19T00:00:00

Jordan Reed, Sheldon Kaplan, Grigory Slipenchuk and Alex Tyryshkin were prize-winners in this year’s National Essay Competition for pupils of Russian. There was a record number of entries from across the country this year, with categories for both native speakers and learners. Sheldon Kaplan and Grigory Slipenchuk both took first place in their categories, while Jordan Reed and Alex Tyryshkin were placed second and third respectively. This is a great achievement in Harrow’s first year of entering this competition.

Fencers win at British Schools Championships

2011-03-14T00:00:00

A fencing team of Ed Little, Chris Nagle and Kareem Cheriton-Francis represented Harrow at the British Schools Team Championships this weekend, held at Brunel University. They came second in the U18 sabre event but won the U18 foil event convincingly.

Medals for Harrovians in National Independent Schools C

2011-03-14T00:00:00

The Harrow School judo team competed in the National Independent Schools Championships in what was a long day of hard-fought matches. There were 15 players fighting across a range of weight categories.
In the junior section Philip Gajland and John Ross-Tan fought tough matches. Philip Gajland won some very impressive fights and came away with a well earned silver medal. John Ross-Tan did his bit for the team and gained a bronze medal.
However it was Felix Evans who was the star of the junior squad. He won all his matches, often against far more experienced players and won the gold medal in a bruising encounter with a very strong and determined opponent.
In the intermediate section there was more success with Sam Collins, Ali Judeh and Peter Hedley all earning bronze medals and valuable team points. Ed Hardy, Alastair Bath and Alex Tyryshkin also fought well but were unlucky to not be medal placed. Josh Stephens was particularly unlucky after he fought in a very big group of 11 players and came fourth, narrowly missing out on a bronze after some fine victories against big opponents.
Finally in the senior section Carlos Baird and Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris both managed to win bronze medals. They narrowly missed out on silver and possible gold by the slimmest of margins in tightly fought contests.
Tariq Judeh showed great determination as did Safal Ahluwalia but despite a couple of good wins they missed out on medals.
It was left to Fraser Barr to finish the Tournament on a high for Harrow. He fought and won all his matches in outstanding fashion showing great speed, fitness and skill. He thoroughly deserved his gold medal.
In the team table Harrow came second overall which was a magnificent achievement.

Swimmers win third consecutive Bath Cup trophy

2011-03-14T00:00:00

In March, Harrow participated in the Otter Challenge Trophy. Hugo Tse, Will Seex, Kevin Lau and Casper Woo represented the School, against Bath Cup finalists of recent years and the Otter Swimming Club, to achieve a creditable sixth place.

In this competition, Harrow played its cards close to the chest, giving some of our younger swimmers the chance to compete against top schools and to gather intelligence on the main competitors for the following day.

In the Public Schools National Championships, held at Crystal Palace on Friday, involving schools from all parts of the United Kingdom, Harrow achieved Silver in the Otter Medley Cup. Callum Barratt, Luke Target, Ben Parfit and Kyle Hamilton swam a fast time in the heats but were just unable to close the gap against Robert Gordon’s College Aberdeen, who set a new event record in an exciting Final.

In the Bath Cup, Eric Tso, Patrick Jack, Ben Parfit and Kyle Hamilton took Gold for Harrow. After the heats, the School had recorded the second fastest time behind Robert Gordon’s College. A personal best swim was needed for Harrow to win. Our team produced an outstanding performance in the Final to win this prestigious event in a new record time. Harrow have now won the Bath Cup Trophy for three years in succession and set a new event record in all of these three Finals. No other school has matched this outstanding performance in the history of this competition - dating back to 1910.

Swimmers become Schools Champions in freestyle relay

2011-02-07T00:00:00

On Saturday Harrow participated in the ESSA Relay Championships held in Stockport. This competition represented the 16 fastest relay teams in the country in each age group. Our seniors – Kyle Hamilton, Arthur Wong, Caspar Woo and Luke Target finished 6th in both the freestyle and medley relays. However the intermediates – Callum Barrett, Patrick Jack, Benedict Parfit and Eric Tso - were joint winners of the Gold medal in their freestyle relay, effectively making them the fastest schools relay team in the country. It is the first time in 53 years that Harrow has won a race at this competition – this is an outstanding achievement.
Of the 24 races swum at Stockport, Millfield and Plymouth Colleges won 23 of them – Harrow was the only other school to win a Gold medal!

Harrow mathematicians win Maths Senior Team Challenge

2011-02-03T00:00:00

In yesterday's Final of the UK Mathematics Trust Senior Team Challenge, the Harrow School team finished first with a winning score of 178/180. Harrow beat over 1500+ of the best schools in the country who took part in the competition and the 65 who made today’s Final. The team was Takehiro Fujita, Clement Woo, Richard Chen and Kirby Lam and they are managed and coached by Mr James Hanson, Maths Master at Harrow.

Academic teams shine in national competitions

2011-02-01T00:00:00

In December Harrow won the prize for best design/innovation at the national Lego competition.

In the British Mathematics Olympiad five Harrow pupils won distinctions: Perry Dao, Takehiro Fujita, Clement Wood and Kirby Lam, who also won a medal for his score of 32 which put in him in the top 60 nationally. Meanwhile, in the London and South East schools Hans Woyda Maths Competition, the Harrow School team won all three of its opening group stage matches, reaching the knockout stages. The school beat the top seed, Westminster School, to advance to reach the Quarter Finals.

In Physics, three Harrow pairs submitted entries for this year's British Physics Olympiad Experimental Project. No Gold awards were given out and out of 25 schools only four teams were awarded Silver medals, three of which went to the Harrow pairs. 30 Upper Sixth and Lower Sixth boys also sat in the British Physics Olympiad Paper 2. Richard Chen was one of the 98 boys our of the 1,690 who submitted entries to achieve a Gold Award and Kirby Lam only missed one by half a mark.

Ofsted judges Harrow to be outstanding across the board

2011-02-01T00:00:00

Harrow had a very successful Ofsted inspection at the end of 2010, gaining the highest grade (outstanding) in all the six categories used by these inspections – one of very few schools to do so in the past year.
For the full report, go to the Ofsted website, or click here.

Harrovian musicians make it to Royal Academy

2011-02-01T00:00:00

Next year Harrow will have no fewer than four pupils studying at the Royal Academy of Music – a record for the School and an outstanding achievement by the boys concerned.

Swimmers take medals at Middlesex Championship

2010-12-14T00:00:00

In December, Harrow swimmers participated in the Middlesex Championships and achieved outstanding results. Callum Barrett was placed 2nd in the 100m backstroke and 1st in the 200m backstroke. Benedict Parfit was 2nd in the 100m freestyle and 1st in the 50m freestyle. Patrick Jack was 2nd in the 100m breaststroke, 2nd in the 50m freestyle and 3rd in the 200m freestyle. Christian Parfit was 2nd in the U14 50m backstroke.

New organ installed in Crypt Chapel

2010-11-02T00:00:00

To the delight of the Director of Music, the Crypt Chapel has now been provided with its own chamber organ which will embellish the worship there, provide further practice opportunities and allow Harrovians to learn about the specific skills of playing these smaller mechanical instruments.

The organ was installed through the wonderful generosity of the Tsang family at a cost of £45,000. It is a 58-pipe organ, designed especially for the space and built by Peter Collins of Melton Mowbray. It is described as having a “sensitive mechanical action provided for the keys and pedals and a robust mechanical system for the stop action.” The case is made of oak, which will be finished to match the panelling in the Crypt. The keys are covered with selected bone, with ebony for the sharps. The pedal board is of a “radiating and concave pattern, conforming to normal standards.” In the base of the instrument are a quiet blower and traditional-style bellows.

Organ-playing is experiencing a golden period at Harrow, with a number of pupils winning organ scholarships to Oxbridge colleges in the last three years. There are also a number of promising young players coming up through the ranks. The new organ joins the main Chapel organ and the Speech Room organ in providing superb instruments on which Harrovian organists can practise and perform.

After morning service on Sunday, those assembled in the Crypt were led by the Chaplain in a simple act of blessing and dedication. The kindness of the Tsang family in making this glorious extra provision possible is very much appreciated by the Chaplain and the Director of Music, as well as all Harrovian organ students and aficionados.

GCSE results 2010

2010-08-24T00:00:00

Harrow is delighted with some outstanding GCSE results this year – 90% A*/A (a record) and well over half of the GCSEs taken by Harrovians were graded A*. Eight boys achieved 12 or more A* grades.

More detail will follow when the results are finalised in a few weeks' time and the full list of results will be posted on the GCSE Results page under the Academic menu tab.

Harrovian labour will save orphans a two mile

2010-08-23T00:00:00

“Not very long ago I had the privilege of organising a charity project abroad to Costa Rica,” says Mrs Lotje Smith, Harrow’s master-in-charge of charity projects overseas. “The aim was to build a bridge on the south coast which gave the remote community of El Pogreso access to the beach. Afterwards, I thought that a second project couldn’t possibly live up to the standards, excitement and gratification of the first. However, the water project in Tanzania was enormously rewarding and anyone reading the blog (http://harrowtanzania.blogspot.com/) will have noticed the enthusiasm that the boys showed throughout the duration of the project.”

The project installed a water supply for The Good Hope Orphanage, pumping an average of 20,000L per day, and the Harrow team also installed sufficient storage tanks to store it, and solar panels to run the pump. The water will provide for drinking and washing within the Orphanage, and save the children having to walk two miles a day to fetch water from the river. The new well will also provide up to 10,000L of water per day available to the local community. In addition, the boys concreted a courtyard, replaced some guttering and painted many of the walls.

The blog gives a detailed account of the Harrovians’ daily activities on this project.

A-level results

2010-08-23T00:00:00

This year Harrow School’s pupils achieved record results with over 93% A*/A/B grade. Four pupils achieved five or more A-levels at A* grade and a further seven achieved four A*s.

Twenty-five lower sixth formers gained a full A-level one year early.

Harrovian musician performs in Proms concert

2010-08-23T00:00:00

Congratulations to Felix Lashmar who appeared on television this week playing in the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall as lead double bass in the National Youth Orchestra.

Appointment of the new Head Master

2010-04-12T00:00:00

Appointment of the new Head Master

Barnaby Lenon is retiring from Harrow in August 2011 after twelve years of outstanding service as Head Master. The Governors have chosen as his successor Mr James Hawkins of Norwich School.

Mr Hawkins, 44, was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford where he read mathematics and took his PGCE. He taught at Radley College before being appointed Head of Mathematics at Forest School, East London. Subsequently he was Deputy Head of Chigwell School and was appointed Head Master of Norwich School in September 2002.

Harrow Maths team 6th in national competition

2010-04-07T00:00:00

Matthew Zhao, Clement Woo, Takehiro Fujita and Jack Hou finished 6th out of 70 schools who were Regional Finals winners in the National Final of the of the National Senior Team Maths Competition. Nearly 1000 schools took part nationwide.

Additionally, the Harrow Maths team beat Claremont High School and then Haberdashers’ Aske’s in the Quarter-finals of the Hans-Woyda (London and South East schools) Maths tournament . Harrow faces Westminster in the Semi-finals.

In the Maths Olympiad, six boys achieved a Distinction , Harrow's best result ever.

Harrovians take U15 rackets title

2010-04-07T00:00:00

Lalit Bose and Angus Gillams came back from a perilous position of 2 games to 1 down and 12-11 down in the 4th game of the Final to win the Peter Gray Cup (the Junior Colts Public Schools Doubles) by 3 games to 2. This is Lalit's second success, having won the Jim Dear Cup in the Singles Championships at Queen's at Christmas.

Chemists take record medal haul in Olympiad

2010-03-19T00:00:00

Harrow achieved a record haul in the first round of this year's Chemistry Olympiad. Four boys achieved Gold certificates, nine boys got Silver certificates, and seven boys got Bronze.

Praising his staff, Dr Andrew Worrall, the Head of the Chemistry department at Harrow said, ”What is so impressive is to see so many Lower Sixth boys getting certificates in what is essentially an Upper Sixth exam. Many thanks to all my team for teaching and preparing them all, over their time at Harrow."

"This was an amazing achievement on which we as Chemistry department will build for the years to come," said Mrs Lotje Smith, who organises the School's participation in national Chemistry competitions.

The School has also entered two teams of Lower Sixth boys for the National Schools Analyst Competition on the 27^th April, so watch this space to see how they get on.

Harrow retains prestigious Bath Cup

2010-03-19T00:00:00

In the Otter Cup, the Harrow team of Callum Barrett, Luke Target, Tristan Goodfellow and Kyle Hamilton finished in second position to Robert Gordon's School, Scotland. It was a particularly close race and Harrow were clearly closing in the very exciting final length.

The Bath Cup is the premier event on the UK schools' swimming calendar and is in its 100th year. Harrow are the holders from 2009, however the poolside word was that Harrow would not be competitive this year. Like most rumours this proved unfounded. Harrow managed a horrible draw to start the competition - Lane 1 in Heat 1 out of 7 heats - and thus needed to set their fastest possible time to ensure they qualified for the Final. Harrow won the heat by a massive margin and went into the Final in Lane 4. Harrow swam superbly in the Final, set a new record for the event by a two second margin, (second place was seven seconds behind) and retained the Bath Cup. This is the third time in 100 years that Harrow have won this Cup. Congratulations to Kyle Hamilton, Ben Parfit, Patrick Jack and Tristan Goodfellow. Harrow's professional swimming coach, Will Stokes, now has a record of 100% success for Harrow in this event and the future holds great promise.

Harrow too good for rivals in a2om League

2010-03-19T00:00:00

Three wins for Haileybury in their four a2om Cup matches with Tonbridge emphasised the strength of Haileybury this year but also handed all four a2om Cups to Harrow. This clean sweep of the trophies is the first time that any school has achieved this and reflects the impressive dominance which Harrow has achieved this year.

It is the second successive year that the Harrow 1st XI have won the a2om Lent Term League (Charles Alcock Cup). Reflecting the School's tremendous depth of talent across the age groups, the 2nd XI, the U16 and the U15 teams all came out top in their respective Leagues.

Harrow takes second Roehampton title

2010-03-09T00:00:00

PUBLIC SCHOOLS SQUASH - ROEHAMPTON TOURNAMENT 2010

Harrow won their second Roehampton title with a nailbiting victory in the Final against Eton. The last win was in 2006 but in many ways this win was more impressive because Harrow were without their number one player, Angus Gillams. It showed the impressive strength in depth that Harrow have at the moment. As the Harrow team were all similar in ability it meant that they were very strong at 3, 4 and 5 but perhaps vulnerable at 1 and 2.

As it turned out, Will Michele, captain and playing at 2, had a great day, remaining unbeaten and clinching the Final in the deciding match. However, all the team members contributed strongly to a really solid team performance. Lalit Bose at 3 and Charlie Marlow-Thomas at 4 remained unbeaten all day. Will Selmon at 5 only lost in the Final, while Chris Baird, with the hardest task at 1, had a great win against the strong St Paul’s number one in the second round.

A sleepy bunch boarded the minibus at 8.30am but they all knew that they were in with a chance this year. A bye in the first round was great news because it meant one less tiring match in the day. St Paul’s were a dangerous opponent in the next round but no one relaxed and they were despatched 5-0. Epsom have won the title regularly in the past few years but they did not have the strength in depth of Harrow. Baird lost at 1 and Michele had a real battle at 2, drawing 1-1 when the hooter went (each match lasts 22 minutes). But the bottom three proved really strong and Harrow went through to the Final to play Eton – who else?

These two teams always play on the Thursday before Roehampton and the result on that day is usually reversed at Roehampton. Harrow had won 3-2 on the Thursday and so the omens were not good. As on Thursday, Baird and Selmon lost, Selmon throwing his racket into a bush in disgust. Bose and Marlow-Thomas won, leaving it all to the captain, playing in his 100th squash match for Harrow, an all-time record. Such was Michele’s commitment and determination, there was only one winner, although he did waver in the second game at 5-7 before realising that he was in danger of throwing it all away. It was very fitting that Michele hit the title-clinching shot because he has given blood, sweat and tears in the service of Harrow squash over five occasionally frustrating years. Suddenly, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in South West London, all the pain seemed worthwhile.

Mathematicians in final of national Comp

2010-01-11T00:00:00

A team of Harrow’s top mathematicians have made it to the National Final of the Senior Team Maths Competition to be held in London in early February. The School won the Regional Final in the London Northwest-Hertfordshire area by beating twenty-seven other schools including Eton College and Haberdashers' Aske’s Boys and Girls schools. The competition is entered by over 1,000 schools nationwide, of which the top 60 schools from the Regional Finals go through to the Final.

Harrow is also competing in the Hans-Woyda Contest for 64 schools in London and the South East, in which the boys won the first round group stage (winning fixtures against North London Collegiate, Heathfield and Preston Manor High schools), and finished in the top four in points difference. The Harrow team is now into the last-16 knockout stage of the draw.

Harrow in Finals of national Chemistry comp

2009-12-02T00:00:00

Top of the Bench is a national competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry for 14-16 year old students. The competition begins with heats run by RSC Local Sections to select a team to represent the area in the UK final the following year.

The Final is normally held in the following March/April and is organised by the RSC's Education department. It includes a short test of factual chemical knowledge, and a practical chemical problem-solving team exercise.

Twelve Harrow boys were selected by their Chemistry teachers as being the best Chemistry students in the Lower School (which comprises the Shell, Remove and Fifth Form). These boys were then put through a selection process to determine who would represent the School in the Local Section heats. Harrow Chemistry teacher Mrs Lotje Smith set up a very difficult quiz to narrow the field down to four students only, and those who scored the highest marks were chosen for the Harrow team. Each school is only allowed to take two boys from Year 9 (Shells), one from Year 10 (Remove) and one fifth former.

The four boys that were successful and represented Harrow School were Daniel Hallstrom, Dhiren de Silva, Philip Leung and Rory Maclean. They managed to win the regional heat, beating twenty other schools participating from the Middlesex and Chilterns areas. The boys received £20 each and the School £100. Harrow's name is also engraved on a beautiful shield for this competition which the School will keep for a year. The Harrow team is now through to the national competition which will take place at Loughborough University in the spring.

Harrow Diploma gets exam board accreditation

2009-12-01T00:00:00

Edexcel have accredited a new qualification devised by Harrow School, The Harrow Diploma. The Diploma provides an over-arching qualification which goes further than any existing UK qualification to recognise the breadth of education offered in most independent schools, including Harrow.

In order to pass the Diploma pupils will have to achieve a high level in the seven areas of educational experience Harrow School believes are both important and measurable: Academic Results (nine good GCSEs and four good AS levels), Cultural Activity (such as grade 5 on a musical instrument, performing in a play, singing in a choir), Physical Activity (such as being in a school sports team), Communication (which includes passing the Harrow Year 12 Literacy Test, debating, reading a lesson in Chapel, writing a website), Service to Others (working in the community, raising money for charity, running a society), Developing a Skill (such as first aid, life saving, cookery, cadet force, completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award), and Work Experience.

The Head Master, Barnaby Lenon, said: "We regard our Diploma as being more flexible but more demanding than the IB and other similar qualifications. It is tough and probably no more than 65% of our pupils will succeed in passing. We are delighted that our qualification has been recognised by one of the leading exam boards in the country. It is not our intention to sell our Diploma to other schools but of course others may choose to adopt a similar system.

"Like most good independent schools, we are strong supporters of A-level and GCSE. We like their flexibility and we are delighted that A-levels have been toughened-up this year. However, exams are only a part of our curriculum and form only one of seven elements of our Diploma.

"Independent schools, and boarding schools in particular, place a great emphasis on the importance of extra-curricular activities in the curriculum. The Harrow Diploma is one way of recognising this. Not everything we do can be measured – the spiritual and moral dimensions of life for example – but many areas of achievement can be rewarded through our Diploma.

"The Diploma inspires our students to achieve across a wide range of activities. It gives them that extra nudge and it defines clearly what we mean by a broad education."

This is not the first time that Harrow has been noted for educational innovation. In 2008 the School announced the introduction of a literacy test for all 17-year old pupils with extra English classes for those who failed.

Magical traditional Christmas CD from Harrow'

2009-12-01T00:00:00

A new CD from Harrow’s Music department went on sale at the beginning of November. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols features the Harrow School Chapel Choir and the Brass Ensemble in a programme of traditional readings and carols for Christmas.

The CD bears testament to the contribution of two Old Harrovians to the magic of a traditional Christmas. Eric Milner-White, was an Old Harrovian who, as Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, instituted the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is now an unmissable part of the spiritual celebration of Christmas. The recordings also feature a number of the much-loved works of another Old Harrovian, GR Woodward, who wrote many of the nation’s favourite Christmas carols, including Ding Dong Merrily on High, Past Three O’Clock and Unto us is born a Son. This is a beautiful and heart-warming Christmas present for anyone with a Harrow connection or considering Harrow for their son, and is just the soundtrack to prepare you for a wonderful Christmas.

The CD is available from the Music Schools now at a cost of £12 plus £2 P&P – call on 020 8872 8231 or email musicassistant@harrowschool.org.uk for more information.

2009 A-level exam results for Harrow

2009-08-24T00:00:00

2009's A-level results revealed that 73% of A-level examinations taken by Harrovians were awarded A grades.

Overall, 527 A-level examinations were taken by 153 Harrow School sixth formers, with the School achieving 73% A grades.

Today’s outstanding results are led by the results of four Harrow pupils who achieved six A grades at A-level, and eight more who got five A grades. But the results across the board reveal the School’s academic strength with 54% of pupils achieving three A grades or better.

“This was an outstanding achievement, not least because we are a school which has a very large proportion of students taking the ‘hard’ A-levels such as Maths, Physics and Chemistry,” said Harrow’s Head Master Barnaby Lenon. “We achieve exceptional exam results by a combination of motivating teaching and the hard work of our pupils.”

The UCAS points score hit a record high at an average of 461.8 points per pupil, an excellent result for the School which prides itself on its wide-ranging and high quality extra-curricular and sports provision. “These results show that it is possible to provide a huge number of activities outside the classroom without sacrificing the focus on academic studies,” said the Head Master. “At Harrow we seem to have got the balance right.”

New International School to open in Hong Kong

2009-08-24T00:00:00

The Harrow family of schools is set to welcome a new member in 2012, with the launch of Hong Kong’s first international boarding school. Harrow International (Hong Kong) has won a license from the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong government to open a co-educational day and boarding school in Asia’s World City.

The school plans to open its doors in August 2012 to 1,200 boys and girls, helping to further the aspirations of the HKSAR government to establish Hong Kong as an educational hub for Asia. The school will be part of the Harrow family of schools which includes Harrow School and John Lyon School in London and two schools in Bangkok and Beijing. Dr Mark Hensman, currently Chairman of the Federation of British International Schools of Southeast Asia and East Asia and formerly the Head Master of Harrow Bangkok, is Executive Head Master overseeing the establishment of Harrow International (HK).

Harrow International (HK) will offer places for 290 boarders in a student population of at least 1,200. “We are building on our successful experience in Bangkok and Beijing and on the centuries-long culture of Harrow School UK,” says Mr Barry C Cheung, Director of Harrow International (HK) and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Harrow Beijing. “We intend to make Harrow Hong Kong into the leading primary through secondary school in Asia, capitalising on the strong support of the Hong Kong government.”

Harrow was one of fourteen organisations bidding for four sites in Hong Kong, and the only winning school to be establishing a new school from scratch. The others are all expanding existing schools on the new sites. “I am delighted that the Education Development Board has recognised the excellence of a Harrow School education by granting this license to HIS (HK),” said the Chairman of the Harrow School Governors, Mr Richard Compton. “I am looking forward to attending Governors' meetings once the new school is up and running.”

“The Government supports the development of a vibrant international school sector in Hong Kong to underpin our aspiration to be an Asian world city. I am encouraged by the keen interest from the community in the expansion of Hong Kong’s international school sector and I believe it has been a step forward for Hong Kong to develop a vibrant international school community attracting students from different parts of the increasingly interconnected world as well as to help develop education as an economic area in Hong Kong,” said Mr Michael Suen, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Education.

Harrow London’s Admissions office was inundated with enquiries when the news broke in Hong Kong in August, which bodes well for the future success of recruitment of new pupils to Harrow International Hong Kong in 2012.

For Admissions information about Harrow International School Hong Kong, please email harrow_hongkong@harrow.asia

Harrow School wins Good Schools Guide Award

2009-06-11T00:00:00

Harrow School has won the 2009 Good Schools Guide GCSE Award for Boys taking D&T Engineering at GCSE at an English Independent School and the GSCE Award for Boys taking Astronomy at an English School. The Guide made this award on the basis of the School's Key Stage 4 results for the three years 2006, 2007 and 2008 combined, and in particular on the basis of the popularity of each subject relative to similar schools, and of the success that pupils achieve relative to the other examinations that they take. The aim is to highlight excellent teaching in individual subjects. Click here to go to the page on the Good Schools Guide website.

Art teacher selected for international award

2009-05-28T00:00:00

One of Harrow's Art teachers, Mr Dan Llewellyn Hall, has been selected as a finalist in the BP Portrait Award competition this year.

His portrait of the Last Tommy, Harry Patch, will feature in the annual BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious portrait competition in the world, highlighting the very best in contemporary portrait painting. The portrait of Harry was made during a visit to the veteran earlier this year.

The BP Portrait Award 2009 exhibition is open for viewing at the National Portrait Gallery, Wolfston Gallery, (free entry) from 18th June - 20th September. For more information visit www.npg.org.uk

Harrow break record to take Bath Cup prize

2009-03-19T00:00:00

In March, Harrow travelled to Whitgift School to compete in the Bath and Otter Cup competitions. These are the premier events in the Public Schools swimming calendar; the Bath Cup is a 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay and the Otter Cup a 4 x 50m Medley Relay. This year the event attracted 56 schools from across the United Kingdom. After the qualifying rounds, Harrow made the Final in both events. The team qualified second fastest in the Otter Cup with a time of 1:53:46s and second fastest in the Bath Cup with 3:39:37s.

In the Otter Cup, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Ben Lam and Kyle Hamilton finished second behind the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and were awarded Silver Medals. Nottingham High School was third, with Whitgift coming in fourth ahead of St Paul's in fifth. This was Harrow's best result in this event since the competition began.

In the Bath Cup, an event Harrow had not won since 1913, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Kyle Hamilton and Tristan Goodfellow, not only won the event, but set a new Bath Cup record time of 3:35:26s, smashing the previous record held by The Royal Belfast Academical Institution. They beat RGS Guildford, Whitgift, Eastbourne College and The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, who finished in that order. The Harrow boys were presented with Gold Medals and the much coveted Bath Cup.

"It was an incredible achievement – all four boys recorded personal best times for 100m with Kyle Barrett breaking Alex Rust’s long standing School record," said Mr Eugene Higgins, Harrow's master-in-charge of swimming. "It is impossible to convey what this means to the boys, who train at 5.30am three times a week, and during prep two evenings. Their commitment and team spirit has grown steadily, and winning this coveted prize is a just reward for all their hard work."

"This was truly an outstanding performance by Harrow's swimmers and it is wonderful to think that Harrow now holds the record in a competition that began in 1910," said the Head Master, Mr Barnaby Lenon.

Chamber musicians return to National finals

2009-03-19T00:00:00

Alan Kim, Rafi Coleman and Cheman Cheung were amongst the winning finalists of the 2009 National Chamber Music Festival for Schools, playing Shostakovich’s Trio no. 2. With the exception of last year (due to a rule change in the competition), Harrow has been in the Finalists concert for the last seven years.

Twelfth boarding house to open in 2010

2009-03-11T00:00:00

In December, Harrow School's Governors gave the go-ahead for the new boarding house. The new House will join the eleven existing Houses, and will eventually be home to around 70 boys.

In January, work started on the demolition of Peterborough Cottage and the site was cleared ready for the start of construction. While this was going on, there was great excitement and debate over the name for the House, with correspondence and comment in The Harrovian weekly newspaper, culminating in a vote by the boys in Speech Room. The overwhelming popularity of "Lyon’s House” as the chosen name of the boys and many staff members meant that this was an inevitable choice for the name of the new House.

The next development was the selection of the House Master. An historic post, in that this is the first new House to open at Harrow in over a century. The House Master will be Mr Keith Metcalfe who is currently the Head of Geography at Harrow. Keith was Assistant House Master in Druries and Rendalls for some years so he is experienced in the unique challenges and rewards of running a House. He is a talented sportsman in running, golf and soccer. He is married to Clare and they have a young son.

When the new House opens in 2010, it will have fifteen new Shells, fifteen new lower sixth formers and some Upper Sixth boys who will transfer from other Houses. In the first year (2010-11) it will be half full. By September 2011, it will have 60 pupils and will therefore be close to the final figure of 70.

Lyon's House will have high quality purpose-built accommodation and a good location in Garlands Lane close to the playing fields and the main teaching blocks. It is an advantage that it will only have about 35 boys in the first year – so there will be a period when the House can become firmly established in an uncrowded environment.

League wins put Harrow on soccer map

2009-03-11T00:00:00

Harrow’s reputation as a growing force in independent schools’ soccer was further enhanced when the 1^st XI lifted the Charles Alcock Cup in early March. They clinched the a²om Lent Term League by defeating St John's, Leatherhead 2-1 in a fine match played in an excellent spirit and refereed by Premier League referee, Stuart Attwell. The team was undefeated, scored a total of 22 goals and conceded only 2. Other competing schools were Haileybury, Tonbridge, Wellington and Sevenoaks.
Harrow secured further silverware in winning both the 2nd XI and Under-15 leagues. A clean sweep of the trophies was only prevented by a narrow win for St John’s over Harrow at Under-16 level.

End of Term Announcement

2008-12-11T00:00:00

The Verney Prize for Argument was won by Sam Hardy (Druries).
The Glees and Twelves (House Singing) Competition was won by The Knoll (Glee) and Druries (Twelve).
In the Cock House rugby finals Moretons beat Elmfield.
In the House Rugby Sevens Moretons beat Bradbys; in the Fifth Form Rugby Sevens Moretons beat Elmfield; in the Removes Rugby Sevens The Grove beat The Knoll.

Harrow wins London Schools’ Debating Comp

2008-11-27T00:00:00

Harrow submitted two teams to participate in the annual London Schools’ Debating Competition, established and hosted by MPW in South Kensington. Mark Greaves and Sam Hardy made up the A team while the B team comprised Tosin Oyetunji and Alasdair MacRae. Debators were given only given fifteen minutes to prepare an unseen motion and they are not allowed any external help during preparation. The competition took the structure of a two-round event, with one team qualifying from each of the preliminary rounds to make a four-way final. The motion for the first round of debates was ‘This house believes that Jonathan Ross should not be reinstated by the BBC’. The A team faced three very fiery girls’ teams, but managed to narrowly squeeze through to the Final, with their perceptive uses of points of information receiving special mention from the adjudicator. The B team were commended on their skills and performance but unfortunately did not qualify for the Final.

Having made it to the Final, the A team were tasked with being ‘Second proposition’ (the third and fourth proposing speakers) for the motion ‘This house believes that anyone of any age has the right to choose to die’. North London Collegiate School were also proposing, but were still very much 'the opposition', with King’s College School, Wimbledon and Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ completing the line-up.

The initial two teams were extremely eloquent and during their debate, Harrow’s Mark Greaves took the decision that in order to win Harrow would have to break the mould. He therefore attempted to move the debate in a new direction: a potentially extremely risky strategy, as redefining the motion can be considered a cardinal sin in the debating arena. He turned to his team-mate, Sam, asking for his approval, who, without even examining the proposal, boldly and very trustingly replied “Who dares wins!” Thus Mark argued that choice is not in itself a right and hence the motion needed clarifying: he now argued that the motion should be interpreted as implying that anyone able to make a reasoned choice should have the freedom to act on that choice by choosing to die.

The whole room went up in arms. Sharp intakes of breath could be heard from the floor and a member of the KCS team interjected, “You have just redefined the motion. You can’t do that,” and sat down, somewhat smugly. In response, Mark re-iterated that it was merely a point of clarification, but it was clear that the debate would hinge on how the adjudicators interpreted this action. Potentially, there was a chance for Harrow to win the debate.

There was nothing for it but for Sam to press on and summarise the argument in the closing speech, pausing perceptively to point out the irrelevance of the religious debate in which the other end of the table had become entangled - as although clearly a Catholic would never make the choice to be euthanised, he should at least have that choice. He also spoke movingly of the decisions faced by families when their loved ones are diagnosed with a terminal illness.

In response the Habs’ team, one of whom, it must be noted, is a member of the England Under-18 Debating team, took a very philosophical tack and argued that no right could exist that impinged on one’s ability to have future rights. With the speeches over, the adjudicators broke to consider their decision. Tension was high; with the Habs’ boys thought to have over-philosophised and to have too hastily brushed over the ethical issue of whether someone who does not yet exist can have rights. Although the Harrow team felt it had been derided by the floor, they were still convinced that their argument held, and just had to hope that the adjudicators would agree.

The adjudicators finally announced their decision, and it was revealed that Harrow had won: the adjudicators had accepted the clarification and the boys were given special praise for focusing on the ethical issues at hand and on extending the argument from the legality of suicide to euthanasia. The delighted Harrow pair were presented with a very smart glass trophy as their prize. It has been many years since Harrow even reached the Final, so this win means a huge amount to the master-in-charge, and the Debating Society as a whole, which thrives on inter-school and inter-House debate, but now adds this important trophy to the list of its achievements.

Record results in national Maths Challenge

2008-11-27T00:00:00

Harrow’s mathematicians achieved record results this year in the national Mathematics Challenge. Thirty gold certificates were won by pupils, compared with 25 golds last year, and 27 silver and 49 bronze certificates completed the haul. Nine boys made the qualifying score for the British Mathematics Olympiad Round 1 (compared with six last year). The Challenge is entered by 92,520 students from all over the UK, and overall they achieved a mean score of 48.5. Harrow’s top achiever in the Shell year (age 13) got a score of 81, which demonstrates the calibre of the School’s mathematicians. It is also fantastic that the Maths department encourages participation in this national competition, as it gives Harrow boys a chance to compete with top mathematicians from all over the country, and really test themselves on the national stage.

Harrow wins Tatler Schools Best Food Award

2008-10-15T00:00:00

Julia Tyler, Harrow's Domestic Bursar accepted an award on behalf of her staff at the Tatler Schools Guide Awards this week. Harrow took home the 2008 Tatler Schools Award for the best food in any independent school.

"We've worked very hard on our catering, and are proud to say that we provide all our food services in-house," said Julia. "So this award really is for our own team of chefs and servers, and also recognises the positive impact of our £2.5 million investment in the dining and cooking facilities, which now include a "theatre" kitchen, where boys can see their food being freshly cooked before their very eyes!"

Value-added research puts Harrow 9th for GCSE

2008-10-15T00:00:00

Every year for the past few years every pupil in an independent school and most pupils in good state schools have taken part in the University of Durham’s value-added exercise. They take an intelligence test when they are aged 13 and then when they take their GCSEs and A-levels the university tells us how well each boy has done in each subject relative to other pupils of a similar intelligence. Half the pupils in the survey do less well than the others of similar ability and half do better…so even getting into the top half is quite difficult.

In the 2008 research results, Harrow did extremely well across all subjects. At GCSE the School was ranked 9th in Britain, and at A-level (where the results are presented in a slightly different way) Harrow was in the top 15%. And our pupils are being compared with pupils from the best schools in the country.

The results mean that on average each boy at Harrow got one grade higher in every subject he took than he would have been expected to have done. This shows that Harrow's teachers are helping pupils to achieve more than their potential, and is an excellent indicator of a top quality education.

Bridge built for Costa Rican community

2008-09-09T00:00:00

In the summer holidays thirteen Harrow School boys undertook a "Harrow Challenge" in Costa Rica, Central America. The aim of the Harrow Challenge was very simple: to build a bridge fifty metres long over a river. The bridge gave the very poor community there access to the beach and negated the need to cross the river with canoes. It is also to be hugely beneficial to the conservationists, biologists and volunteers that work to protect the endangered turtles that use the beaches around the area to lay their eggs. "Everybody realised on arrival that I had not exaggerated when I warned the boys that we were going to a very remote area in the Costa Rican jungle with very few luxuries," said Mrs Lotje Smith, the Harrow beak who organised the project. "However, I had not exaggerated the beauty of the area either, which was some compensation."

As well as the planning of the bridge, the boys had to dig six foot deep holes in thick mud for the anchors and towers and then mix and pour the concrete for the anchors. The planting of the four six-metre steel towers included mixing and pouring 12.5 tonnes of concrete, manually collecting all the sand and stone needed for the concrete and carrying the steel towers for more than 500 metres through the jungle.

The boys did have some breaks, with a trip to Cano Island for a day of snorkelling and swimming and a football match against a local team.

"In spite of a number of setbacks where materials hadn't been supplied, the day before we had to return to England we actually had built a bridge that could be used to cross the river," said Mrs Smith. "It was a great relief to get to a stage where we could all walk over the bridge and we put up the plaque with the names of all the Harrovians that helped build it. I congratulate all the young Harrovians, they are excellent ambassadors for Harrow School. They worked hard and gave something of themselves for the benefit of a community that they hardly knew and might never see again, working long hours in terribly difficult conditions where everything that could go wrong tried to do just that. But what an experience! What an achievement!"

Harrow enters Swedish football tournament

2008-09-08T00:00:00

Over the summer, the largest football tournament in the world, the Gothia Cup, took place in Gothenburg. Established in 1975, the Gothia Cup is the most well-known youth soccer tournament in the world. Since its first year, 770,000 youths from over 127 different countries have participated and today more than 1,500 teams enter the Cup annually.

This summer Harrow sent an U16 team. This year's tournament attracted 35,000 football players in thirteen boys' and girls' age-groups ranging from eleven to eighteen, including those from forty-two English teams. From the independent school sector, Harrow, Charterhouse and Tonbridge competed against county and professional football club sides from the UK as well as teams from all over the world.

"The Harrow team did well. They won three out of five matches and would have gone on to the Quarter-finals, should they not have lost the last game," said Harrow parent Dag Andersson Tilk, whose son Douglas played for Harrow in the tournament. "My wife and I saw all matches and I believe that the team, with some further training and coaching, can do even better next year."

Exam results 2008

2008-09-05T00:00:00

The public exam results this year were outstanding. At GCSE the A* grade rose to a record 53%. Twenty-four boys achieved ten or more A* grades and 92 obtained ten or more A*/A grades. This was a tremendous achievement.

At A-level, 93% of papers were graded A or B and over 66% were graded A. 120 boys achieved the UCAS points equivalent of AAA. Four boys got five A grades, four got six A grades and one achieved the amazing total of seven top grades. Thirty-four boys in the Lower Sixth obtained a top grade in an A-level, not just an AS-level.

For a school which continues to admit quite a wide range of boys academically this was a remarkable achievement. The value-added analysis places us amongst the best schools in Britain and this is thanks to a combination of hard work by the boys and very effective teaching.

Ofsted Inspectors rate Harrow as Outstanding

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Ofsted Inspectors rate Harrow as "outstanding"

October’s Ofsted Inspection of the boarding and pastoral facilities at Harrow produced a very positive verdict. Three full-time Inspectors looked at the boarding houses, the pastoral support, the catering, the Medical Centre, extra-curricular activities – in fact, everything that is not academic about the School.

There are four categories into which schools are placed, and Harrow’s overall rating was the highest possible: “Outstanding”. A range of boys and staff from all areas of the School helped welcome the Inspectors and show them round. The main comments from the verbal feedback at the end of the Inspection are given below.

The boys, House Masters and Matrons were excellent: very open and helpful School, very good at nipping problems in the bud.
All meals very good – nutritional and balanced. Service was good and quick.
Systems for PSE are excellent (drugs, alcohol etc...). Boys are clear that they can go to a wide range of people – every boy has one person they could talk to; most have four or five.
Policies about drugs, alcohol etc. very clear; within general policies it is obvious that boys are dealt with as individuals.Anti-bullying policy is very effective.
Anti-bullying workshops were powerful and impressive; issues were identified and dealt with; good follow-up in small groups.
All boys think that punishments are fair and reasonable and recognise that anti-social behaviour is not acceptable. Boys realise they must take responsibility if they are in the wrong and are punished.
Works Department have very good, tight, forward-looking systems for servicing of all equipment; very good records kept.
Health and Safety Policy is very good.
Boys are very lucky to have such a plentiful range of activities and opportunities. Boys appreciate recent improvements – music studio, astro, athletics track etc.
All boys are treated fairly. School is forward-thinking in responding to issues. Every boy says he can put his views forward and they will be taken seriously. This is a really positive and excellent aspect of the School – the boys have such a wide variety of ways they can contribute. Wide variety of consultation mechanisms – House councils, surveys, Food Committee (asked for ice cream machine and got one!)
Boys get a lot of support. Pastoral Support Committee is very good, very impressive, fantastic.
Everyone aware of a major shift in the School’s ethos – now much more supportive and inclusive; School keeps boys and works with them rather than exclusion (boys and staff commented on this).
Accommodation is very good. It is good that boys can personalise their rooms.
Management is very strong and hits all the right areas from all directions.

Swimmers win Gold at SE Championships

2008-08-11T00:00:00

The Harrow Senior Swimming team, Kouji Urata, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Ben Lam and Henry Brewster, won Gold in both the Freestyle and Medley Relays at the South East England Relay Championships. In the Medley Relay they set a new South East England record – breaking the previous record that had stood since 1991.

The Intermediates, Kyle Hamilton, George Brewster, Max Roberts and Tristan Goodfellow, won Gold in the Freestyle Relay and Silver in the Medley Relay. Both Seniors and Intermediates will now represent South East England in the Nationals in February.

In October, Kyle Barrett represented the School at the National Inter-Divisional Swimming Championships held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. He won a Bronze medal in the Senior 100m Backstroke event – beaten by less than three hundredths of a second! Kyle will now be considered to represent England at the Schools’ International Championships to be held in March in Coventry.

Mathematicians bring home haul of medals

2008-08-11T00:00:00

In early November, 120 Harrow boys of various ages sat the UK Senior Maths Challenge and achieved an unprecedented level of success. 25 achieved Gold certificates with 28 winning Silver and 16 receiving Bronze.

Amongst the successes was Benison Cheng with 121 out of a maximum of 125 marks. He will go through to the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad along with Joseph Lam, Russell Kueh, Cheman Cheung and Noel Lam. Cheman is in the Removes (second year at Harrow) and his result was outstanding, considering his young age.

Harrow fills Royal Albert Hall

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Harrow is probably the only school in the world that can fill the Royal Albert Hall with parents, alumni and staff to sing songs together. Churchill Songs is a unique event held at the School every year, and on very special occasions, it is held in the Royal Albert Hall.

In November just over 5,500 people gathered in this awe-inspiring venue to sing Songs to celebrate the Centenary of the Harrow Association, the School’s alumni organisation, founded in 1907.

Old Harrovian Tim Bentinck, Earl of Portland, who is the voice of David Archer on Radio 4’s long-running drama, The Archers, acted as compère and the main speaker was Lord Butler of Brockwell, also an OH and currently Master of University College, Oxford.

The programme featured solos by Shell boy Theo Platt and sixth former Robert Opoku as well as readings by pupils and a welcome speech by Roger Boissier, the President of the Harrow Association.

Songs concerts are unusual in that the main part of the programme is made up of Songs which are sung by the audience as well as the 800 pupils.

Lord May gives 2008 Rayleigh Lecture

2008-08-11T00:00:00

This year’s Rayleigh Lecture was given by Lord May, Professor of Zoology at Oxford University, a distinguished speaker who is a former Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government and former President of the Royal Society.

Addressing a large audience of Harrovians and staff on the subject of modern dilemmas, he discussed the rapidly expanding population, the world’s food problem and climate change. In 2007, Lord May was awarded the Royal Society’s Copley medal, the world’s oldest prize for scientific achievement.

Intermediates take Gold at Wellington Relay

2008-08-11T00:00:00

This year Harrow took two teams to the annual Wellington Relays cross-country competition for teams of five runners.

While the Seniors went with a weakened team due to absentees, the Intermediates had a full strength team that believed it was in with a chance of getting in the medals. First leg runner Jack Stow ran his heart out to put Harrow into third place at the changeover; second man Ed Parsonthen maintained the pace and managed to move the team up into second.

He was followed by Hugh Bayley, running above his age group, who maintained the position and kept Harrow in with a chance. Richard Whiddington then gave his all to close the gap on the leaders Abingdon to just 30 metres at the final changeover. This gave anchor leg runner Chad Lambert enough to work with. Chad overhauled the lead runner in the first 300 metres and then pulled away, with an impressive display of speed and stamina, to bring Harrow home as worthy winners

Field Day from the Thames to the Somme

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Field Day is an annual event at Harrow in which Masters take groups of boys on expeditions outside School. The themes can be educational or physical but the trips are always fun. This year’s Field Day saw Shell boys travel to the battlefields of the Somme in France, while a group of artists and designers went to Paris, biologists visited the Berlin Zoo and classicists went to Rome.

Closer to home, Masters took advantage of Harrow’s proximity to the best that London has to offer, with trips to Greenwich in south London, the London Aquarium, Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Wetland Centre for the conservationists.

For the adventurous, there were activity expeditions to the Mendip Hills, the Forest of Dean and River Wye, and the CCF spent two days training in Surrey and Hertfordshire. The Community Service boys took a group of pensioners on a boat trip on the Thames while another group of boys visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

Inaugural Old Harrovian bursary awarded

2008-08-11T00:00:00

The first Kelsey scholar has been appointed.

The Award has been set up in memory of Old Harrovian Mr Derek Kelsey who died in July 2006, just before his 99th birthday.

Derek bequeathed a sum of money to Harrow to pay for bursaries for very talented boys from Old Harrovian families who might have been put off applying to Harrow by the cost. The bursary is paid for from the annual proceeds from the bequest, and can cover up to 100% of fees for one boy every five years, or the equivalent sum for more boys, depending on applicant requirements.

Candidates and the level of awards are determined by the Head Master and applicants are means-tested and must pass the Scholarship exam in the year before entry as well as being interviewed and tested as part of the application process.The first beneficiary of Derek Kelsey’s generosity will enter Harrow in 2009, following in the footsteps of several generations of his family members who attended the School.

Swimmers unbeaten for sixth year in a row

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Harrow’s swimmers have just completed another phenomenal year of national competitions and galas against local schools with thirteen wins out of thirteen on the local circuit.

At a national level, Harrow sent a team to the English National Secondary Schools’ Team Swimming Championships held in Sheffield. It was the first time in the School’s history that Harrow had qualified in four events. The fastest twenty teams in the UK were invited to these Championships and the Harrow Intermediates, Tristan Goodfellow, Max Roberts, Kyle Hamilton and George Brewster, put in a tremendous effort to finish 13th and 14th in the freestyle and medley relays respectively.

In the Seniors competition, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Kouji Urata and Ben Lam finished fourth in the medley relay, setting a new School Long Course record of 1:56:87s in the process. This was a particularly impressive performance against the best in the country. In the freestyle relay, Kyle Barrett, Connor Barrett, Kouji Urata and Henry Brewster put in another excellent performance, finishing in eighth place.

Maths Olympiad results best ever for Harrow

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Over two hundred Harrow boys from the Fifth Form, Removes and Shells entered the UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge. Harrow achieved record results with 49 boys achieving a Gold certificate, 54 Silver and 52 receiving Bronze certificates.

The top few boys in each year qualified for the Olympiad stages of the competition where a special paper is sat in each year group and the top few elite candidates are asked to attend a summer school run by the British Mathematics Olympiad (BMO) organisation. Thirteen boys from Harrow achieved the very high marks that qualified them for the Olympiad stage of the competition and, after taking the Olympiad papers, four of the Harrow boys got certificates of Distinction and eight got Merit. Clement Woo and Takehiro Fujita finished in the top fifty in the country and Tony Sun and James Lo made the top 100 in the country.

Teachers release CD with London Mozart Group

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Classic FM Magazine’s Instrumental Disc of the Month for June is Shostakovich’s Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2 and Piano Quintet performed by the London Mozart Trio and Chamber Ensemble.

There is a double Harrovian connection in this recording in that it features not only Harrow’s highly regarded piano teacher, Mr Colin Stone, who is a member of the London Mozart Trio, but also, in the Quintet, Harrow’s Head of Strings, Mr Dimitar Burov.

Harrow’s athletes make Borough team

2008-08-11T00:00:00

Athletics has historically taken second place to cricket at Harrow, but since the opening of the new Olympic-standard athletics facilities at the School, the sport has grown in popularity and quality and now Harrow’s athletes are really having an impact on the school and regional circuit.

So far this season, Harrow has produced some tremendous results at the Oxford City Relays held at Radley. Our athletes won four of the six relays, picking up two cups and two sets of Gold medals. The U17s won both the 4 x 100 and Medley relays, as did the U15s. The U15s broke records in both their races and special mention must be made of the fact that the U15 Medley relay record had stood since 1980. Breaking a 28-year-old record was a particularly noteworthy achievement.

Earlier this month, twenty-four U15 and U17 athletes competed in the Harrow Borough Championships. The team once again proved their strength by winning seventeen of the twenty-six events. Twenty-two boys from Harrow School were selected to compete for the Borough at the County Championships in June and Reiss Palmer again showed his class by clearing 1.80m in the high jump, earning him a potential place at the National Championships.

World Class violinist leads masterclass

2008-08-07T00:00:00

In the latest in the series of masterclasses with international professional musicians, some of the School’s talented violinists had the wonderful experience of a masterclass with Min-Jin Kym, one of the leading violinists of her generation. Miss Kym, the youngest-ever pupil at the Purcell School, made her international debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of thirteen.

In a two hour session in Speech Room, she worked with three young musicians individually, coaching them in the performance of a piece of their choosing. She asked the players to think hard about their understanding of the music and their approach to it, running through the music in their heads to get a vision of the shape and line of the piece. She concentrated upon the mechanics of the instrument as well as listening to and planning the whole piece. Her positive, softly-spoken advice proved most encouraging to these fortunate Harrovians.

In the evening, Miss Kym was joined by the renowned pianist and conductor Ian Brown. Their recital commenced with Mozart’s Violin Sonata K454. They then performed the Brahms Violin Sonata No 3, giving a ravishing performance of this romantic work. After an interval they performed Fauré’s Sonata No 1. The enthusiastic audience called them back several times, and was rewarded with an encore in the form of a blistering rendition of Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No 2. This was an exciting way to end a wonderful day’s music-making.

Top mathematicians descend on Schroder's Bank

2008-08-07T00:00:00

Three of Harrow’s finest mathematicians descended on Schroder’s Bank in Westminster this term.

The mission was to gain an understanding of the theory and applications of Mathematics to the world of finance. In the morning the group thrashed out answers to the big questions and took on some of ex-Harrow teacher Dr Dalton’s trickiest problems, before chatting with some of this year’s graduate crop.

The pupils played an ‘asset management’ game before the day concluded with a presentation from Clare Adams (Head of Graduate Recruitment). The experience provided a useful insight into both Mathematics in finance and how the big City institutions work.

A-level results 2007 BEST EVER

2008-08-07T00:00:00

A-level results this year are the best ever at Harrow.

Of 568 subjects taken, 408 (72%) were graded A and 94% were either A or B.
All but a small number of boys have achieved their UCAS offers.
Six boys achieved six A grades at A-level.
Fourteen achieved five A grades at A-level.
A further twenty three achieved four A grades and forty one achieved three A grades.
Over half the year group achieved three A grades or more at A-level.
Including AS and other exam passes, 128 boys out of 165 achieved the UCAS points (360) equivalent to three A grades at A-level

Harrow Prize been awarded to 6th form boys

2008-08-07T00:00:00

The Harrow Prize has been awarded to boys in the Upper Sixth who have made an all-round contribution at a high level during their time at Harrow: in academic achievement, sport, culture, service to others, communication skills and work experience.

New ice cream machine a hit with boys

2008-08-05T00:00:00

The new Italian ice cream making machine in the dining hall is a great hit with boys.

Computers in boy's study bedrooms

2008-07-01T00:00:00

All year 10 (Remove) boys have been given a networked computer in their rooms. This successful programme will be extended to other year groups next year.

New Art Gallery & Studios

2008-06-17T00:00:00

The Leaf Schools refurbishment is nearing completion as a new art gallery and a suite of painting and drawing studios.

Harrow Boys win Awards in Maths Olympiad

2008-06-17T00:00:00

Ben Lam (silver medal) and Simon Kim (bronze medal) were awarded distinctions and prizes in their Olympiad categories. James Eyton, Dominic Wong and Ronald Tso all achieved merits in their respective Olympiad categories.

Maths is the most popular subject in the Sixth Form at Harrow and boys achieve more A grades in Maths than in any other subject.

Increase in Oxbridge places for Harrovians

2008-06-17T00:00:00

Thirty boys so far have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year. As the head of one Oxford college commented recently, "'if Harrow carries on producing boys as well educated as this, we will run into difficulties with our state-school admissions targets."

50% of boys who applied achieved an offer compared to the national average of 20%. The breakdown of results shows that Oxford was much more popular with Harrovians than Cambridge (48 applications compared to twelve) but that applicants to Cambridge were more likely to be made an offer. The most successful applicants were those for Maths, Science, Engineering, Theology and Modern Languages.

The applicants who have received offers have mostly been asked to achieve AAA grades at A-level. Because of the modular exam system they should have no difficulty at all in achieving this. The difficulty is getting an offer in the first place. Because too many applicants will achieve AAA grades at A-level, several subjects (Medicine, Law, History and others) have introduced additional tests which pupils have to take as part of the admissions process. Apart from this, the entry system is similar to the system operating twenty years ago - the emphasis being placed on a tough and sometimes unpredictable interview."

We are hoping for two changes which would help aspiring applicants to Oxford and Cambridge," says Harrow's Head Master, Barnaby Lenon. "Firstly, from 2010 the A-level top grade (A) should be split in two (A and A*) enabling the most demanding universities to return to using A-level as a discriminator. We hope that the additional tests will then start to wither away. Secondly, we hope that Oxford and Cambridge may go over to a more centralised admissions system because the process of choosing a college has always been hopelessly difficult - and is certainly a main reason why some schools are put off recommending Oxford and Cambridge to their best students."

Harrow Chamber music bucks national trends

2008-06-02T00:00:00

The members of Harrow's Under 15 cello quartet, Rafi Colman, Joon Kwon, Felix Lashmar and Robert Stone, and the members of the Under 19 String quartet, Stephen Hung, Raymond Cheng, Arthur Yeung and Geoffrey Hung, were amongst the winning finalists of the 2007 National Chamber Music Competition held in March.

Performing in the finals of the national competition, these two groups are not only amongst the best chamber music performers in Britain but are especially rare because they are boys. Of the 102 teenagers who played at the Chamber Music Finals this year only fourteen were boys, and eight of those were from Harrow. Judging by the representation at this high profile national music competition, Harrow's Music department is single-handedly maintaining male involvement in chamber music.

Classics event at Harrow School

2008-05-21T00:00:00

It's the oldest marine adventure in the world. It was already ancient history when Aristotle and Socrates were in the cradle. It has spawned a hundred spin-offs and inspired writers and artists, philosophers and poets, statesmen and soldiers for the last three thousand years. It's the original Odyssey: a Bronze Age blockbuster and a cornerstone of Western civilisation. And not surprisingly, most people have presumed that Odysseus' homeland of Ithaca is as imaginary as Ithilien in Lord of the Rings.

Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle and John Underhill think they're wrong. On Monday April 30 the authors of Odysseus Unbound will present their proposal and the latest discoveries on the island of Cephalonia that can help us decide on whether it really is Homer's Ithaca. This is a joint event between Harrow School and Merchant Taylors' School, to be held at Harrow School. Parents and also students and staff from other schools with an interest in Classics, Ancient History, Geology and Computer Science are warmly invited to attend, subject to capacity. There is no charge for admission and the seminar will take place at 5.30pm.

For further information and to register, contact Judith Affleck: jpa@harrowschool.org.uk

Careers Convention helps Harrovians

2008-04-21T00:00:00

The annual Careers Convention took place in the Shepherd Churchill recently, attracting large numbers of Fifth and Sixth Form Harrovians keen to learn about the world of work. Many Fifth Form pupils are considering their AS-level options at this time, while members of the Lower Sixth are thinking about A2 options and university applications. The Careers Convention is designed to encourage and prompt their thinking and the main purpose of the evening is to help guide Harrovians along a path that leads from school to a possible gap year, to university and then to a career.

The School welcomed over sixty advisers about specific careers, many of them Old Harrovians and parents, or other friends of the School, from the top firms in the land. The City careers - fund management, investment banking, private equity, stock broking and so on - were well represented and generated considerable interest among pupils, particularly the Fund Manager who was dishing out industrial quantities of bijou rugby balls. The creative industries were also well covered and pleasingly popular, with acting, screen-writing and TV production, journalism and various music-business options, as well as publishing, all surrounded by enquirers through the evening. The professions were also represented with the law, medicine, the Civil Service, veterinary medicine and surveying all hosting stands, as well as the Church and the Army. Hotels, marketing and travel and tourism also attracted interest.

One of the strengths of this occasion is the number of what might be called cross-curricular strands that are available for pupils to consult. Hence a clutch of advisers talking about Gap Years were popular, IT and Web Solutions stands had advice for a wide range of interests and Personal Business Expansion advised on how you could work for yourself, rather than someone else. The Independent Schools Careers Organisation was also represented, able as ever to give authoritative independent advice.

This was a great occasion for many boys to advance their thinking about their future and discuss their possible careers with people currently employed in them. "It is incredibly convenient to have all this expertise laid on just a short walk from the House on a Sunday evening," said one of the pupils who benefited from the event. "Clearly without the enormous goodwill towards the School of all these people who happily gave up their time for our benefit this kind of event could not go on."

2006 Inspection passed with flying colours

2008-03-17T00:00:00

In October eight inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate visited Harrow. Their report was extremely positive across all areas, and concluded that Harrow has "no major weaknesses" and a "relatively minor need for improvement".

As well as visiting the School, the inspectors analysed the results of a pre-inspection survey to parents and pupils, interviewed pupils and examined samples of pupils' work. Of pupils' academic achievement, the report says 'Pupils have a secure and thorough knowledge of the subjects they study and they show curiosity and willingness to develop their understanding in all areas of their academic work... Their understanding often stretches beyond the confines of GCSE or A-level specifications.'

The extra-curricular strength of Harrow was also praised: 'The provision of extra-curricular activities is excellent. There is a veritable Aladdin's cave of opportunity, with activities to suit all tastes and aptitudes.'

Staff were commended for their enthusiasm in organising activities, as well as their 'highly effective' teaching and 'outstanding support and guidance' of pupils in all aspects of school life.

The boarding provision has improved significantly since the previous inspection and is highly successful.