After drawing with Coopers (1-1) in their first match, the girls went on to win every other game, beating Brentwood (2-0), Bancrofts (3-1), Forest (3-0), New Hall (2-0), and finally Chigwell (2-0).
We are delighted to announce that the Neon Colour Run has raised over £13,000 to help children in Africa via Sparkle Malawi and Volunteer Uganda.
Congratulations to Camila and Beth from Thorne and Amy and Hannah from Stocks's who received the prizes for the Houses who won the challenge to raise the most sponsorship for Volunteer Uganda and Sparkle Malawi.
Click here to find out more about the Felsted Colour Run Festival.
It was a Felsted first as two teams of students entered the Senior U18 Category of the British Independent Schools Ski Championship, at Hemel Hempsted Indoor Ski Dome, in October 2015.
Felsted was especially proud Jud Rabey who won Gold after an extremely close second run for the individual title. The two Felsted teams, consisting of Jazmine Croft, Katie Evie-Smith, Josh and Sam Wisbey, Fergus and Hamish Cock, and Max and Jud Rabey, achieved a very respectable fourth place overall.
The team’s coach Barny Bury commented "I am immensely proud of the team's performance and Jud's second run was the highlight of the day. I look forward to further success next term in the BISS Indoor league and hopefully a Felsted team entering the Alpine Championships in 2016"
The morning after House Shout, we had a 5am start to catch our flight from Heathrow to Mumbai. Arriving in the city, we were hit with a wave of heat and humidity that we were not used to at all. Even by night, the city never seemed to sleep; there was constant hustle and bustle wherever we went. The first five days of the trip were spent acclimatising to the temperature, exploring the city, finding out more about the Magic Bus charity at their Head Office and visiting the various communities where they work.
The charity was founded by Matthew Spacie, an OF, whose passion for rugby continued when he moved to India. Large groups of children would watch his team training in the city, and after a while, they began to coach a few of the children at the end of their own session. The benefits the children were getting from sport were huge, and when more and more were keen to join in, the sports ground said they could not continue. This is how the Magic Bus idea started, to help children develop through sport with sports sessions for the children offered elsewhere. Now it has grown into the largest children’s livelihood charity in India, with over 300,000 children involved.
We joined several sessions with the Magic Bus team to observe and participate in the work they undertake. Through play, children are taught key life lessons, such as basic hygiene, how to avoid disease and how to improve their job prospects. We met several people who had been through the whole system from the age of seven until they were adults and they told us about the positive impacts it had made on their lives. After these sports sessions we visited the communities where the children lived and fully grasped just how much sport meant to them.
We are currently offering a fantastic opportunity for new gym members. Sign up from December 1st 2015 - January 31st 2016, pay £30 for the first month and for the next 11 months JUST £10 MONTHLY!
It is an incredible offer, you will be saving over 50% on our standard membership packages for a 12 month time period.
In addition, we are offering this promotion with no commitments or contracts. You can opt out any time.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP AT WWW.FELSTED.ORG/GYM
With over 17 nationalities in our pupil body, the school’s catering team have chosen 12 of these to cook over the same number of days leading up to the end of term.
The dozen days of feasting included Slovakian ‘Stedry den’ of battered carp and openkance (dough with poppy seeds and honey), Chinese sweet and sour pork and a Dutch Sinterklaas meal of gourmetten (mixed meat and fish grill) and poffertjes (baby pancake puffs).
Brazilian codfish balls and Russian Christmas cookies were among other international delights, and a traditional English Christmas finale rounded it all off.
General services manager Renee Hauret says: “Our chefs have really enjoyed putting these menus together – it has proved quite an educational talking point in the kitchen! Surprisingly, the ingredients have not proven too much of a challenge – we have managed to source them all locally.”
The West End was brought to Felsted as the Senior School put on a hugely powerful production of Jesus Christ Superstar
(An Amateur School production by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd). The whole cast gave such a talented performance of Andrew Lloyd- Webber’s much-loved rock musical, including a special supporting role from a group of superstar Felsted Preparatory School children.
Head of Drama Dr Charles Lee was “enormously proud of all students both on and off stage. They pulled off a highly professional production that appropriately maintained the standard of excellence that has come to be expected of Felsted School shows.”
The standing ovation that was given to cast, crew and musicians on the final night was recognition of all of their hard work, as well as Dr Lee’s commitment and creativity over more than twenty years.
Georgia Wilson, who played Mary, commented:“We are all incredibly appreciative of the experience we have gained and the chance to work with professional lighting, costumes and staging that really do have a West End quality.”
Photos: Dr Charles Lee, Felsted School
Felsted’s U15 girls are through to the 4th round of the Smile Independent Schools Hockey Cup after a nail-biting match, which saw Felsted win 2-1 against Bedford.
The U15s are down to the final 8 teams in the country and now await to find out which team they will be competing against in the New Year.
Director of Girls' Hockey, Ms Loren Sherer commented: “I am thrilled for the U15 girls who battled right to the last minute to secure their place in the last 8 in this National Competition. They are a team with fantastic team desire and I look forward to seeing how they progress further in the competition next term.”
The start of a new term at Felsted has seen some excellent news for two students. Anthony Hickling has been offered a place at Robinson College, Cambridge to read Mathematics, starting in September 2016. Anthony, an academic and music scholar at Felsted is an incredibly talented Mathematician and was one of only 40 students across the UK last year who was invited to take part in a prestigious Maths School based at Oxford University. He is taking A Levels in Chemistry, Physics and Further Maths.
Meanwhile, Faye Calow has been offered a place at Trinity College, Oxford to read English Language and Literature in September 2016. Faye, an academic scholar and Senior Prefect, is taking the International Baccalaureate, and is a member of the Andrews Society, the Sixth Form Academic Society.
Felsted offers excellent support for those applying to Oxbridge, with students attending Oxbridge style tutorials in their chosen fields and having the opportunity to practise their interview skills.
Rakesh Pathak, Head of History and the School’s Senior Academic Co-Ordinator, comments: "I am very proud of them both, as this has been a long cherished dream for both students. They have worked with great commitment and dedication to gain offers from such elite educational establishments. The application process is incredibly demanding and that makes their achievements all the more praiseworthy.”
Felsted’s U15 Girls’ Hockey team are one of only four teams in the country still in the running for the Smile Independent School Hockey Cup. A skillful goal by Annabel Hills, followed by a hat-trick from Nancy Hebron, lead to an impressive 4-0 win against King’s High, Warwick.
The team will now be putting in lots of hard work on the training field in preparation for the semi-final at home against Millfield School in the coming weeks!
Director of Girls Hockey Ms Loren Sherer comments: “I am delighted that the girls have managed to progress through to be one of the top 4 teams in the country. The girls from two year groups have come together fantastically well and produced some high quality passages of play against King's High School, Warwick.”
Felsted Upper Sixth student Ehren Painter has been selected for the England U18 Rugby Squad. Having previously played for teams such as the England Roses U16, England U17 and Northampton Saints U18, Ehren is keen to further develop his skills as he attends upcoming England training camps.
Ehren’s ambition is to become a professional rugby player, and if he impresses the coaches he has the opportunity to be selected for upcoming international games against France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Ehren commented:“I am delighted and privileged to be given this opportunity. I am so grateful to my Felsted School Coach, Mr Le Chevalier, for getting me to a point where I can be selected to play for England. It is a real honour. Felsted has given me nothing but encouragement and support with my rugby, and in all aspects of my life.”
Felsted currently holds a partnership with Saracens Rugby Club, which allows pupils to benefit from specialist coaching and expertise, and offers a clear pathway for talented players to join their academies. Rugby at Felsted is going from strength to strength, as shown by the success of former pupils, Rory Hutchinson and Max Malins, who are currently playing for Scotland and England U20s respectively.
Ehren’s success also echoes Max Malins’ selection for the England U18s in 2014,where he went on to Captain the team to victory
on more than one occasion.
Photo: Dr Charles Lee
Felsted Join Saracens in Prestigious Partnership
Old Felstedian Max Malins Captains England U18
Two Felsted pupils have triumphed at the Essex Squash Junior Grand Prix, claiming the titles of their respective age groups.
Year 9 pupil Abdullah Akbar, who only recently found out he had a natural talent for squash, beat players more established than him to become the winner of the U15’s group.
Meanwhile, Jessica Baxter, who is the only girl in the Felsted U13 Squash team, fought off her opponents in every game played to become the U13 champion.
The competition, which was held at Lexden Squash Club, is aimed at providing competition experience to players who are not currently involved with a county squad.
Felsted Squash Coach, Mr Richard Pilcher commented “This is a significant achievement for these players who have been playing the sport for less than 18 months and is a reflection of the hard work put in on the practice court”
Participation in such events, along with internal and external school matches, is a key part of the recently implemented Felsted Squash Development Program. There has been a significant increase in participation and improvement by pupils from ages 8 to 19. In April pupils from the Preparatory School will compete in the prestigious Independent Association of Preparatory Schools competition at Millfield School.
Felsted Upper Sixth student Anthony Hickling, has claimed the top spot in the county for Mathematics, after achieving bronze in Round One of the British Mathematical Olympiad.
The first round of the challenge lasts three and a half hours and contains six complex and involved mathematical problems for which full written solutions are required. Anthony’s score placed him in the top 100 nationally and qualified him for Round Two, which he sat at the end of January.
Anthony now waits to find out if he ranks high enough to be in with the chance of representing the British Team for the International Maths Olympiad in Hong Kong over the summer.
After being one of only 40 students across the UK last year to be invited to take part in a prestigious Maths School based at Oxford University, Anthony was recently offered a place at Robinson College, Cambridge to study Mathematics.
Speaking about the competition, Anthony comments: "It has been great fun competing against the top mathematicians in the country and I hope that I get the opportunity to compete with them in Hong Kong."
Oxbridge Offers for Felsted Duo 2016Felsted pupils gave an outstanding performance of Stacey Gregg’s “I’m Spilling My Heart Out Here”, a wonderfully relevant
and messy play about teenage life, as part of The National Theatre Connections Festival.
The Festival brings together 500 youth theatre groups from around the country, encouraging young people to engage with relevant, up and coming theatre productions.
After the success of the three-night run at Felsted’s Hunt Theatre to the local community, the nine-strong cast are now preparing to transfer to The Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch for one night on 9th May, where they hope to be chosen for the great honour of performing at The National Theatre.
Felsted Drama teacher, Miss Lauren Macey commented“The cast were amazing; literally spilling their hearts out on stage,
performing extremely difficult characters, with a challenging subject matter and a very subtle storyline. Their maturity and
focus was second to none.”
Felsted’s Mixed Senior team are through to the National Tennis Finals after winning every game of the Regional rounds.The Team consists of Matt Morley-Jacob, Izzy Minks, Charlie Broom and Anna Rachmann.
Felsted beat New Hall (5-4), KEGS (6-2), St Joseph’s (8-6), Framingham (5-4) and Culford (6-2). The team will now attend the National Final in Bolton on 12th and 13th March.
Mrs Roslyn Marriot-Cox, Director of Tennis at Felsted, commented “We are very proud of the team. After lots of hard work, training in the dark evenings in all types of weather they have been a credit to themselves and Felsted School”
Huge congratulations to Anthony Hickling who has become the first recipient of the prestigious Wallis Scholarship!
The Wallis Scholarship is named in recognition of John Wallis, OF (1616–1703) and is awarded to a pupil showing exceptional talent in Mathematics and whose aspiration is to study this subject at the highest level at University and beyond.
Anthony, who was named the top Mathematician in Essex after his performance in the British Maths Olympiad, recently received an offer from Cambridge to study Mathematics.
Ehren Painter played his first game for the England U18s last weekend (27th February 2016). We caught up with him this week to find out more, see video below.
Later this week Ehren also received the fantastic news that he has secured a professional contract with Northampton Saints Academy!
We look forward to following Efren's path as he continues to train and refine his skills!
Using the given theme of “The Dark Forest”, Henry wrote an introduction to an enigmatic story called “The Manual” (see below) which he hopes to continue. 
After originally becoming inspired by a televised Dior advertisement featuring Johnny Depp, Henry commented “I was delighted to win and it’s great to have the support of the School, especially the English Department behind me”
Felsted’s English Department gained over 90% A*- Bs at GCSE last year. Henry’s English teacher, Mr Joe Johnson, commented “We are very proud of Henry's achievements and his winning story has given the rest of the class the inspiration and confidence to write more. They are currently composing stories for an internally run competition based upon an idiom being true, as well as another external competition on the theme of Temples, Tombs and Treasure.”
He’d never dug one before. The hole before him, which he’d gouged out of the thick swamp-like mud, deep in the heart of the dark forest, but now he’d pushed the man’s body into it, suddenly it looked awfully shallow. Could animals or other things get down to the body?
Or maybe that was the point? Just deep enough for cover, but not so deep that it took too long for the flesh to turn to corruption.
This was really something TV should have taught him better. He hunched down and drank from his water bottle. Dragging the body a couple of hundred feet from the car had been exhausting enough so he wasn’t about to drag it back.
Something squawked overhead. It looked real. Not a drone. Maybe a bird. Nothing man-made that would record what he was doing.
Then an idea hit: there were bound to be other bodies buried out here. Maybe he should find another grave and dig down a little? Maybe he could find the body of a decaying guy and see how the professionals did it? A little river of sweat ran down his back, reminding him that it was a stupid idea. He took the map (which had instructed him where to bury the body) from his satchel and tucked it into the dead body’s pocket. They’d written ‘bury with body, do not burn” on it. It was paper, so would decay quickly enough.
Overhead more of the birds were circling, and landing on the nearby braches, vigorously staring down. That didn’t look too good.
He stood up.
The damp forest loomed with darkness. “Sorry buddy,” he said to the body and shovelled the first pan of dirt over it. It took forty minutes and plenty of foot stamping, but finally the grave was filled. He kicked some topsoil and rocks onto it, hoping to disguise its unnaturally rectangular outline. Maybe he should have dug something with a more organic shape.
Too late now.
He walked back to the car, drinking from the bottle. It was sealed, but the cool water inside had started to turn poisonous already.
On the passenger seat was a white book: The Manual. It was why he was out here in this place. He picked it up and opened it to page 1.
ITEM (1): The body of your predecessor must be disposed of in a location, such that the family and friends of the deceased will not detect it or have reason to detect it. (see detachable map for disposal suggestions for your location).
There was a box next to the item line. He ticked it and threw the book back onto the seat. It landed title up: “Protocols for Seamless Human Interaction” it read in pompous type. Below it, sarcastically, was scribbled: “How to be a Good Clone.” The handwriting belonged to the man in the ditch. The handwriting belonged to him now. He turned the book over and drove off, back to civilisation, back to the people who ‘knew’ him. Ready to continue the life of the buried man.
This is a huge achievement for the class, who took the exam five months earlier than their peers. They will now go on to take an Additional Maths qualification in the summer.
Their Maths Teacher, Mr Christopher Megahey commented“This is a fantastic achievement and I’m very proud of them.”
Initially staying in Mumbai there was the opportunity to engage in the inner city community projects including those in Dharavi Slum and Bombay Port Trust. Moving on to the Magic Bus Centre in Karjat, about 75 miles from Mumbai, the group was able to enjoy unique rural surroundings after the chaos of Mumbai.
