Showcased work by Peter Monkman

Two paintings by Peter Monkman, Director of Art, have been selected as part of the prestigious Threadneedle Prize for Painting and Sculpture.

The Threadneedle Prize provides 95 experienced and emerging artists (selected from over 3,000 from across the UK and Europe) with the opportunity to showcase their work at the Mall Galleries, London W1. With many of the most high profile art prizes tending towards conceptual and abstract works, the Prize deliberately sets out to raise the profile of contemporary representational art.

The exhibition runs from 25 September to 12 October and admission is free. Find out more at: www.threadneedleprize.com

Monkman won the prestigious BP Portrait Award in 2010 and his recent portrait of children’s writer, Julia Donaldson, is on display in Room 35 at the National Portrait Gallery.

Helen Pinkney visits Edge Grove School pupils

Helen Pinkney, Deputy Director of Art, worked with Edge Grove School on Tuesday 1 October running a ceramics workshop for 6-8 year old pupils.

The workshop provided an opportunity for the pupils to develop their understanding of clay, working with a specialist clay, paper porcelain. The fine level of detail in the surface of this clay was fully exploited by using some unusual printmaking techniques.

Helen used her own work as as an example and the children worked on the surface of the clay using materials as diverse as cabbage leaves and shells to create imprints. Working with oxides such as manganese, pupils learnt how to colour the clay and create inlayed patterns. Paper clay’s strong structure enabled pupils to roll the clay very thinly. Then, using techniques akin to origami, the sheets of clay were folded and squeezed to create chicken forms, the textures from the cabbage leaves creating a surface like the feathers on a chicken. A little more time spent modelling the head of the chicken and using red iron oxides to paint details like the chicken’s comb, and the finished results were outstanding.

Sara Gregory (Head of Art at Edge Grove School) said the whole experience was ‘thoroughly enjoyable’. ‘It was a great opportunity to work in a new media and be shown a variety of different techniques; I couldn’t believe how much was achieved in such a short time.’ 

In support of WaterAid and Debra

The Charity Committee, run by pupils, has produced a set of Christmas cards and a 2014 calendar to raise money for two charities: WaterAid and Debra. The sales so far have raised around £3000 for the chosen charities.

The Charterhouse Calendar

The 2014 Charterhouse Calendar was produced by pupils and staff. All profits from the sales will go to Debra, a UK-based charity that supports people with a skin condition known as Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Afflicted patients have a genetic condition that causes their skin to blister at the slightest friction or sometimes even spontaneously. Debra helps these people in three ways: it funds research into EB, provides enhanced specialist nursing care with the NHS and also provides social care support to help people with EB live with dignity.

Christmas Card 2013

The Charity Christmas Card is designed by Madeleine Gordon (Year 13).  All profits from the cards will go to WaterAid, an international charity that transforms lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation.

The printing was kindly supported by Craddocks Printing Works Ltd based in Godalming.

Other Charity Events

Through ticket sales from Lack of Talent, Mufti Day as well as cake sales and concerts the Charity Committee have also raised money for the CCHF Summer Camp and for the Patiala School for the Deaf and Blind in India.

‘Sold to the Gypsies’ &‘Double Dealings’

The pupils ‘Drama Festival’ was held in the last week before half term. Fletcherites House plays are reviewed by the Head of Geography, Peter Price:

Under the direction of Melissa Price, Fletcherites brought their debut House play to the Ben Travers Theatre as part of the OQ House Drama Festival. Audiences were richly entertained by two amusing pieces of melodrama. In ‘Sold to the Gypsies’, it appeared that an impoverished rural family were being forced to sell one of their children in order to make ends meet. The evil stepmother (Erica Flint) broke the news to her horrified stepchildren: Lil, Liz, Flo and the hapless Maud (played by Jessica Cooper, Julia Alford, Ellen McLaughlin and Price respectively). The girls played the increasingly ludicrous situation for many laughs, backed up by their mono-sound father (played by a mystery actor) who gelled the piece together with a series of inventive grunts. Enter the ‘purchaser’ Daniel Hill played with great menace by Chris Waters. The denouement shocked everyone as the family turned on their stepmother allowing her to be sold to Hill.

In ‘Double Dealings’, Cooper’s cockney compere introduced Waters and Alford playing the same character (our ‘hero’ Thomas Bright) in an  attempting to declare their love for Agnes Appleby (Flint). Whilst the heroes got in each other’s way and stole each other’s lines, front of stage, Flint and her friend, Priscilla Smith (Price) gave us an Austen-esque scene of a domestic servant’s anguish following her betrothal to her evil master, Squire Atkins (McLaughlin). Enter Atkins in Dick Dastardly fashion and a brief homage to Benny Hill ensued as the heroes fought for Agnes’ hand. With Atkins overwhelmed, the compere returned to express her disgust at the remaining ménage a trois.

These were a couple of well-acted, funny pieces firmly in the spirit of Morecambe & Wise, perfect for a wet October evening. The cast should be very proud of their efforts. The Second Year Specialists have left their mark as their time in ‘Fletch’ hurtles to an end. Hopefully, we will see the promising First Year Specialists debutantes again in the near future. They have all made a fine start on building a Fletcherites drama legacy.

Candle-lit Carols

Friends and visitors were warmly welcomed to The Memorial Chapel, Charterhouse, Godalming for an enchanting evening of candle-lit carols sung by the School’s Chamber Choir.

There was a retiring collection for Godalming Old People’s Welfare Association and The Meath Epilepsy Trust, Godalming which raised £1,059.42 over the two evenings. 

This festive occasion is an atmospheric performance of carols, old and new, traditional and modern, sung by candlelight with readings to celebrate Advent and Christmas. The event, lasted about 45 minutes, and was conducted by the School’s Director of Music, Mark Shepherd. Carol singing is outstanding at Charterhouse.  

A new release of Candlelit Carols from Charterhouse is now available Monday to Friday from the School Shop.

An excerpt from the Headmaster's Letter OQ13

The year began with another excellent Lack of Talent Show, with its usual mix of bands, songs, and some fine solo dancing. The show raised nearly £7,000 for charity. Fletcherites and Robinites both produced House plays. Expertly directed and performed by pupils, the plays reflected a wide variety of style and content, and a high standard of acting and directing. Mr Freeman's production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was very powerful and moving indeed.

This has been another busy and successful Quarter for music. The annual concert in Chichester Cathedral was admired by an audience of 500. House Singing was the best so far, with excellent performances from Gownboys and Fletcherites. The Burczyk Singers performed beautifully at the Requiem Mass for All Souls' Day. The saxophone quartet played at a dinner of surgeons at Gray's Inn. The Chamber Choir gave an outstanding concert to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Richard Crashaw, a Carthusian Metaphysical poet, and the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth. All four Carol Services in Chapel were of as high a standard as I can remember, and the Christmas Concert on the last Sunday saw the Symphony Orchestra on fine form, and with a rousing finale from the Jazz Band.

Mr Elton gave a polished and hilarious performance of songs by Flanders and Swann, and that followed an immaculate performance of Bach's music the night before by Mr Parsons and Mr Blatchly. Miss Fox, Miss Pinkney, Dr Rand, Mr Shepherd and Mr Millard, along with a group of highly talented pupils, produced a spectacular French salon of drama, music and art during the last week.

The Fête de Noël in Concert Hall on the last Thursday of the term was a collaboration between the French Department and Studio. Miss Fox (Head of French) and Miss Pinkney (Deputy Director of Art) worked together with a number of art and language students to produce a festival to match any in Paris.

It was a creative party a true Fête de Noël and a great way to end the term. 

The eagerly anticipated annual Band Show in the Ben Travers Theatre did not fail to delight audiences. With the Jazz Band on fine form playing classics such as Little Brown Jug and A String of Pearls there were several hilarious comedy sketches. Emily Martin sang A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square with the Band crooning gently in moody blue light, and then Arthur Barnard lit up the scene with New York, New York in classic Sinatra Style, the show topped off with an explosion of confetti on his last note.

Pupils through to semi-final

The preliminary round of the Pro Corda National Chamber Music Festival for Schools (CMF) was held on Sunday 2 February. Two Charterhouse groups have progressed to the semi-finals to be held at Charterhouse on Sunday 2 March.

Pro Corda took over the former National Chamber Music Competition in 2006. This competition provides the opportunity for school chamber groups of all instruments, shapes and sizes throughout the region to engage in an annual festival of musical talent.

The Charterhouse groups comprise:

U16 String Quartet

Peter Adamson
Rodney Fung
Hamzah Tarawneh
Timothy Lam

U19 Octet

Ivan Chan
Anthony Wong
Michelle Fang
Calvin Man
Keith Tso
Prudence Pang
Lizzie Murley
Matthias Ravens

Pupils perform at St Martin in the Fields, London

Pupils from the Charterhouse Music Department gave a performance of chamber music at St Martin in the Fields, London, on Tuesday 11 February to a full and enthusiastic audience.

The programme is available below along with audio excerpts from the performances:

List of performers:

Ivan Chan (L) (Year 13)
Calvin Man (L) (Year 13)
Hamzah Tarawneh (L) (Year 10)
Anthony Wong (S) (Year 12)
Ben Harris (S) (Year 11)
Henry Griffiths (S) (Year 12)
Bill Freeman (S) (Year 11)
Keith Tso (P) (Year 13)
Katie Hastings (P) (Year 12)
Matthew Bagley (P) (Year 11)
Prudence Pang (B) (Year 11)
Clara Zettelmeyer (W) (Year 11)
Henry Mallin (W) (Year 11)
Matthias Ravens (W) (Year 11)
Elizabeth Murley (V) (Year 13)
Kento Naganuma (V)(Year 10)
Michelle Fang (V) (Year 12)
Charles Rockall (V) (Year 12)
Oliver Rockall (V) (Year 12)
George Pierson (H) (Year 12)
Cyprien Roche (H) (Year 9)
Adam Bagley (H) (Year 12)
Max Kam (H) (Year 9)
Tim Lam (H) (Year 9)
Felix Scott-Copeland (G) (Year 9)
Rodney Fung (G) (Year 10)
Peter Adamson (G) (Year 10)
Jenny Burrowes (G) (Year 13)
Elektra Georgiakakis (G) (Year 12)
Calypso Hetherington (G) (Year 13)
Richard Corrin (G) (Year 11)
Aster Chun (g) (Year 9)
James Chong (g) (Year 10)
Henry Crawshay-Williams (g) (Year 11)
Doug McNeil (D) (Year 13)
Oliver Taylor (D) (Year 11)
Will Coleshill (D) (Year 13)
George Tennent (R) (Year 10)

This year's Carthusian Day is on Saturday 24 May. Parents, OCs and friends of Charterhouse are most welcome.

The full programme of events is available to download below:

Charterhouse picnic hampers can be pre-ordered from the Little Picnic Company. The hampers will be available for collection on Carthusian Day from the Little Picnic stand which will be situated next to the marquee on J Ground.

The final day for ordering the picnic hampers is Friday 16 May 2014.

The Main Programme of Events for Carthusian Day is:

Pupils recite poetry at 5.45pm in Hall

The Ancient and Modern Languages Verse Speaking Competition takes place on Thursday 27 February at 5.45pm in Hall. 

This event was set up set up nearly twenty years ago and involves pupils reciting poetry by heart in all languages, ancient and modern.

Members of the Charterhouse community and parents are most welcome to attend.

First annual Charity Dinner

The Saunderites Charity Committee held its first annual Charity Dinner in the newly renovated Saunderites Dining Room on Saturday 8 February.  Review by Kanaspatr (Patrick) Wasinsungworn (Year 12):

The Headmaster and his wife took time out of their very busy schedules to introduce themselves to over 40 parents and staff who attended the evening’s event. After a drinks reception the guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by the catering staff which featured Sea Bass with Lobster Sauce, Rack of Lamb followed by a Chocolate Tear Drop. After the dinner the pupils performed a show with two top class musical performances by Edward Pinnegar, who played a self-composed piece on the piano, and Gaurika Rai, who sang ‘Turning Tables’ by Adele accompanied on the piano by myself.
 
Just before the auction, guests got up to play a quick game of head or tails. The rules were simple, each guest had to choose heads or tails, indicated by either putting their hands on the heads or their bottoms, a coin was then tossed and if the guest guessed correctly they would continue to play until only one was left standing.

After the game the Auction started and we were very lucky to have Robert Noble (Director of Sport) as our auctioneer, one of the best auctioneers at Charterhouse and he lived up to his name giving guests some great entertainment whilst generating a very large amount for charity. Auction items included, a week’s self-catering accommodation in Alderney, a fabulous painting by Luke Doyle (Fifth Form), 12 bottles of fine South African wine, a £200 Top Shop voucher with your very own personal shopper along with many more fabulous prizes.
 
The Saunderites Charity event was an amazing success, raising a staggering £4518.00, exceeding all our expectations. The money will be split between the two charities, Operation Christmas Child - Samaritans Purse and the National Association for Crohn’s and Colitis. We would like to thank everyone who attended the night, Mr Noble, the catering staff, Anne (Saunderites Matron), all the pupils who helped out throughout the planning process and finally Mrs Allen our Housemaster for giving this event her full support throughout the three months leading up to the evening.

‘The bizarre and the beautiful - Chinese Folk Music’

Mandarin teacher, Miss Miao Wang, and Charterhouse pupils embarked on a wonderful musical journey entitled ‘The bizarre and the beautiful - Chinese Folk Music’.

Miss Wang introduced different types of Chinese musical instruments such as erhu - the ancient Chinese ‘violin’ as well as classical Chinese folk songs including Jasmine and Butterfly Lovers. She also taught the pupils to understand the basics of the Chinese music and folk songs.

This event is part of series activities exploring the diverse aspects of Chinese culture. Pupils at Charterhouse have had the opportunity to experience Chinese calligraphy, traditional water painting and paper-cutting.

Miao Wang - Teacher of Mandarin

The author, teacher and performer, Ben Haggarty, visited Charterhouse on Tuesday 4 to the Friday 7 March to perform to the School staff and pupils and run workshops for pupils studying English.

‘The Grateful and the Dead’ Storytelling: a dead form?

Review by Carina Harford (Year 12):

When was the last time you turned on the radio and were completely captivated by a voice, by a story, a style of delivery? Oration in itself is no longer highly valued in our society - do David Cameron’s speeches stir you in the way Winston Churchill’s call to ‘fight on the beaches’ did for the Britons of the past? In an incredibly visual world, of pictorial storytelling, of reality television and of bloated ‘production’ values, Ben Haggarty stands apart.

He stood alone on a makeshift stage, his only prop a wooden stool. He was dressed ever so slightly like a magician, and held a similar air of command of the mysterious. Surrounded by a semi-circular audience, he began.

And from this point onwards, he completely has you. You are held by his skillful voice, his joyfully confident miming, his ability to drop and pick up narratives, all while deconstructing your preconceived notions of what a ‘performance’ is. 

Not for one second are you allowed to drift into your own consciousness, like you often do in a lecture or an extensive sermon. You do not sit, questioning why you are here: it is self-evident. You are captivated. No one was looking around; no one was tempted to distraction: every face, half bathed in the beam of the spotlight, stared straight at Haggarty for the entire hour and a quarter. 

The hint of the magical was there from the start; but what is this, after all, if not magic? No trickery - just spellbinding.

Performance Workshops

Review by Masha Voyles (Year 13):

With his red tie, high collared blazer and earnest expression, Ben Haggarty is as vivid as many of the characters that he describes in his stories. He describes himself as a performance storyteller, but over the course of the workshops he taught during the last week I discovered what that meant. He combines literature with the performing arts, transforming it into a collective experience. His technique might stem from an ancient tradition, but drawing on that tradition breathes new life into the folk stories that he tells.

In the workshops, over sandwiches and cake, he taught us some of the elements of his craft. We told stories using three types of language: ‘feeling’, ‘action’ and ‘description’, and practiced shifting quickly between one type and the other. This was just one of the techniques that he taught us to help us become better storytellers and writers.

Haggarty can tell any type of story on demand. The theme we picked was ‘love’ and without any notes or hesitation, he told us a thirty minute story of lovers separated by everything: faith, class and the sea. At the end of his visit, he performed another story for us. For a full hour and a half, a packed Hall listened with bated breath. His story was imaginative, humorous and sometimes disturbing. He took us through the palace of a possessed Princess, a garden of decapitated heads and a grave of frozen spit. The audience of teachers, Fourths and Specialists sat slack jawed with fascination. The teachers didn’t have to scold, the Fourths weren’t squirming and the Specialists forgot to pretend to look bored. Without 3D effects, a catchy theme song or Leonardo Di Caprio, Haggarty kept us spellbound. 

The upper floor of the Modern Languages Department was transformed into a bustling and boisterous Spanish street where guests were able to enjoy the experience of wandering through the labyrinths of Madrid, Granada or Barcelona on a warm summer night. El laberinto de las artes included a main street, a cinema in the woods, a tribute to one of the greatest Latin-American writers of all time and a tapas bar. All of these different spaces were surrounded by splendid music performed by a selection of talented pupils.
 
The Spanish Department wishes to thank all of the pupils involved in the project for their superb performances and highest standards of behaviour.

For the first time ever, the spectacular surroundings of Founder’s Court played host to a rock concert.

As the sun set, with the statue of Thomas Sutton standing watch over the event, the assembled crowd sustained by a fulsome barbecue, were entertained to a high quality evening of music. With songs by Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles and Guns n’ Roses there was something for everyone led by the excellent bands consisting of Will Matthews, Michael Okoye, Alex Campbell, Chris Akka, George Shipton, Tristan Matthews, Seun Oyeleye, Gaurika Rai, Michelle Fang, Jonathan Knight, Arthur Barnard, Vladimir Mikulik and Rollo Jackson.

This is an event that will last long in the memories of those present and has whet the appetite for an even bigger rock concert next year.

Photographs by Harry Sherwood

Under the guidance of the Elior Catering team at Charterhouse, led by Executive Chef Gael Daval, four first year specialists (Polina Novikova, Tony To, Sophia Willcox and Marina Lademacher) were trained over the year to provide fine dining food in the School’s very first pop-up restaurant.

Housed in the picturesque setting of the oak panelled common room of Gownboys, the students prepared dishes such as Lobster Bisque, Roast Cannon on Lamb and Lemon Tart for twenty discerning diners over two evenings during the festival. The front of house service was provided expertly by a team of six Remove students.

This was certainly an evening to remember for those lucky enough to get a table and hopefully it can be repeated in future years.

Photographs by Andrew Reston (Housemaster, Gownboys)

For one night only, the Llewellyn Room was transformed into a Jazz Club with candlelit tables.

Whilst the audience was served wine and cheese, they were entertained to a spectacularly professional evening of music led by Mr Alex Curtis with performances from Adam Bagley (piano), Shane Mallard (bass), Will Matthews (drums), Peter Adamson (piano, violin and voice), George Pierson (trumpet), Charlie Rockall (saxophone), Ben Harris (trombone), Gaurika Rai (voice), Seun Oyeleye (voice) and Robyn Durnford (voice).

The atmosphere was electric and they received a warm reception from an appreciative audience. This is surely to become an annual fixture in the Festival calendar.

James Bingham chosen for 2014 Exhibition

James Bingham (Charterhouse Teacher of Art) has been selected to display his painting at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  Entitled Shere, James used oil and acrylic on a 44cm by 35cm Charterhouse oak panel for his work of art.

James Bingham studied Fine Art at Falmouth College of Art and Painting at the Royal College of Art. He developed a multi-disciplinary approach, which is fuelled by the work of phenomenological thinkers alongside notions of modernism and landscape. He has exhibited throughout Europe and has work in public and private collections.

The Summer Exhibition has been held at the Royal Academy of Arts annually for nearly 250 years during the summer months of June, July, and August. Anyone can enter and around 1,000 works are selected each year from as many as 10,000 entries, all of the exhibited works are chosen by leading artists.

For more information: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/15