'My idea was that I wanted to set up something for boarders that would appeal to the type of culture that they were in; i.e. something that they would welcome on a night when they would have no prep, or something that they would just enjoy on a Friday night.'
That student was Jason Kow, and what he wanted to do was set up a Westminster School Box Office (WSBO), a fortnightly showing of a film at around eight o'clock on a Friday.
The WSBO got underway. So far the feedback from the pupils has been very positive. Most of the boarders think that it is very good since it provides them with some much needed relief from the workload that they get during the week. Planned improvements include the introduction of some sort of food service.
However, there are a few grey areas. The majority of pupils who go are mainly from the Lower School. I asked Jason to explain this.
'This is mainly because they have more free time on their hands. The Upper School in general have more work to do since they have to worry about coursework, and also exams. Thus the Upper School cannot really afford the time as much as the Lower School can.'
There has also been criticism that the films shown seem to show a lack of range. Jason responded by saying:
'I don't think it's really a wide range of films, but I'm trying to show what people want to see, what is popular at the time, and if, for example, action films are popular then I will show more action films. I am however trying to show more diverse films; for example, we showed Toy Story recently. However, the attendance was about a third of the normal attendance. What I'm really trying to do is have something that boarders will enjoy, and if they enjoy action films or comedy films, then I will show action films and comedy films.'
So one burning issue remains - what's going to happen when he leaves?
'I hope that the School can provide a successor, since I am funded by the School, because I believe that this is a service that every school should have since it provides a little relaxation at the end of a long week. I just hope that the person who replaces me will be able to do an even better job.'
Hopefully the School will be able to provide a successor since it seems that the WSBO is very popular, and many pupils want it to be continued. The only question remaining is whether the School will decide to replace him. They have a year to pick a successor. Let's hope they do.
Weng Yu (Busby's)
The League started off with a ritual trouncing of St Paul's (SPS has 7 teams, two of which are of international standard), who gave up well before the end of the match. Whitgift were tougher opposition, leading significantly at half-time, but fell before the inspired overbidding of Sam Treasure, who bid made five diamonds doubled when the opponents should have made five hearts. St Paul's A beat us by a large margin, but we finished the term with a convincing win over Dulwich B, again after falling behind at half-time. A knock-out match against St Paul's C awaits next term...
A new event started by the EBU this year is the Schools' Simultaneous Pairs, in which results of an internal competition are compared with results on identical cards achieved in other schools. The first of these was extremely successful, with the first pair being ranked in the top 15% of the national field. This event is extremely useful as it allows the younger players to gain experience in duplicate techniques.
Altogether, the year can only be regarded as a success for the team. New players in the Lower School are showing considerable promise, and the first team continues to improve.
Jonathan Monroe (Ashburnham)
The Team: Jonathan Monroe (AH, Captain), Saul Lipetz (QS, Secretary), Thomas Baranga (QS), Alice Fleming (PP)
Substitutes: Sam Treasure (QS), Ahmed Lajam (QS)
The first exciting project of the year was the performance, in two consecutive Abbeys, of Carissimi's beautiful oratorio Jephthah. Telling the story of a father's rash promise and its tragic consequences, we heard scenes of battle, triumphant homecoming, despair and lamentation. The two main characters were sung by Ben Linton and Hettie Williams; but there were a number of smaller solos and a prominent chorus role. Later in the Play Term we sang three pieces in the carol service, immediately after which we all trundled down to the Banqueting House where we entertained various members of the House of Lords and their guests at a charity dinner. As a result, Lord Archer seems to be on first name terms with our conductor, but not apparently the other way round...
After having successfully led the singing at the 1996 School Confirmation, the Henry VII Singers appear to have landed themselves a regular job. For this year's Confirmation Service we learned Jonathan Harvey's haunting anthem Come Holy Ghost, with the assistance of its dedicatee Martin Neary, the Abbey organist. We had to reassure several people that 'it is meant to sound like that', but in the end most appeared to enjoy it.
One of the main duties of the Singers is to provide music for School Communion services, held in the Henry VII chapel twice a term (hence our name). This we continue to enjoy. We have sung anthems by Pachabel and Gibbons as well as old favourites from the anthem book. This year's May Day madrigals, another regular, were our best ever.
Our first production, a semi-staged version of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury was a triumph. A courtroom drama about good old British justice, it was not without drama of its own: Maxwell Grender-Jones singing the Judge on less than a full complement of lungs, and Nick Clark gallantly learning in three hours the part of the Defendant after Ben Linton's late retirement with a sore throat. Rising star Meera Kumar sang the Counsel and Hettie Williams made a pleasing Plaintiff. Supported by some first-rate chorus singing and Guy Hopkins's piano playing, and followed by the Annual Dinner, it was truly an evening to remember.
Gilly French