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Report: Auckland Secondary Schools Disc Ultimate Championships

The Premier Disc Ultimate team in their match against Selwyn College

On Sunday 17 March, the Premier I Disc Ultimate team competed at the Auckland Secondary Schools Championships at Bruce Pulman Park in Takanini.

The team performed well in pool play, with comprehensive victories in pool play over ACG Parnell College, Selwyn College’s A team, Westlake Boys High School and Botany Downs Secondary College.

Playing in great weather conditions for the semi-final, the Premier team played against the B team from Selwyn College to win 11-1. The final was a rematch again Selwyn College’s A team; the team played strong and cohesively to win 12-1.

Overall, the Premier team accumulated 72 points for, and just 4 points against to win the title and claim Auckland Grammar School’s fifth consecutive win at the Auckland Championships.

On Monday 18 March, the Premier team, led by Form 6 student T. H. Craddock crossed stage to receive the Auckland Secondary Schools Championships trophy, their medals and the School’s congratulation. The team are currently competing at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Disc Ultimate Championships in Taupo for Summer Tournament Week and we wish them well.

Obituary: Zachary Simon Lerner ’17

Zachary Lerner

It is with sadness that Auckland Grammar School recognises the sudden passing of Zachary (Zac) Lerner ’17 due to a medical emergency. As a recent Old Boy, Zac was a third-year student residing at St Paul’s College and studying at the University of Sydney.

Zac was a loyal and genuine member of the Grammar community. He had a lively and dry sense of humour, while his abilities and relationships traversed sport, music and student leadership.  

Zac was an academically able student who also excelled at Tennis as was reflected in his selection in the Premier Tennis team in both 2020 and 2021. He was a capable musician who had been a member of the Big Band throughout his five-year tenure at the School. Alongside his musical and sporting talents, he gave back to the School community as a member of the Interact group and the Chronicle’s editorial team.

Zac was a School Prefect in 2021 and led with character, without seeking personal reward or recognition. He remained connected with the School as an Old Boy and a proud Grammar boy.  

Zac was well-respected for his genuine demeanour, positive attitude and considerable potential, and he will be sadly missed. 

Our sympathies are extended to Zac’s mother, Rachel, and his brothers, Old Boys Jacob ’13 and Ben ’15 as well as to his wider family and friends. Our thoughts are also with the St Paul’s College, the University of Sydney community and the Old Boys residing there.  

As a sign of our respect to Zac’s family, the flag on the Main Block of Auckland Grammar School will be flown at half-mast until the end of Monday 18 March 2024.

Student Services Update – March 2024

Auckland Grammar School

As the term swiftly moves towards the assessment period and summer extracurricular activities reach their apogee, our students are increasingly busy and face challenges for their decision-making skills.

For students and their families, finding and holding hope through the plethora of choices that now confront them can be challenging. Yet ironically, there is certainty in the School day and the routines here at Auckland Grammar School which international research confirms has a mitigating effect on the anxiety many young students now feel. 

A parent recently suggested to a counsellor, “in my day we would never use the word ‘anxiety’, we would get a bit nervous before a Maths test or performance day with the orchestra. Now my son talks of the anxiety around ensuring that he maintains his physique or that he needs a new phone in order to support an updated digital platform.” The risk of peer judgement is not limited to a few close mates. Peers he has yet to meet may judge him, and he may experience negativity or anxiety. Learning to reframe and rename anxiety as a normal response which can be identified and overcome is a key skill for our young men to master. 

SchoolTV, a digital platform supported by Auckland Grammar School, helps the wider community understand the drivers around navigating complexities. The information available on SchoolTV support parents, teachers and deans to talk with their son/students and, conversely for their son, to believe that their parent might understand their complex ‘physical real’ and ‘digital real world’ a little more. Please take some time to explore the SchoolTV platform. It is packed with podcasts by people who support adolescents and whose experience and training supports parenting.

Helping students navigate subject and career possibilities with an understanding of how the brain works makes this journey around choices less confronting and allows students to research and discuss options.

Do contact the Student Services team if you wish to frame up next steps as a parent. Often counsellors bring a wide perspective and can link home and school contexts without emotional ties. Encourage your son to contact one of the counselling team to explore further. As always, an early and informed discussion between the Student Services counsellor and your son before they get ‘stuck’ is a positive, be it around a subject choice, post school option or, tools to better emotionally self-regulate. You or your son can contact the team directly via email or you can fill in the online form found here.

Important Notices from the Headmaster – March 2024

Assembly in the Great Hall

Social Media

We have taken time over the last four weeks to remind students of their online responsibilities, and how these relate directly to the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

While we acknowledge that social media does have some benefits, we have reminded our young men that their behaviour on all social media platforms must be respectful and appropriate at all times. In particular, we have and will continue to remind young men not to:

  • Display images or send messages that may offend or harass another person
  • Create, send, save or share material that may bring them, our School or a member of our community into disrepute

Should a student identify himself as a member of Auckland Grammar School in any online environment, he will be considered under the authority of the School and subject to School Rules. We encourage you to continue talking to your son about how to interact positively in any social media forum.

Should you have any concerns please contact Associate Headmaster – Operations S. McNaughton via email, your son’s Dean or one of the Student Services team.

Smart Devices

Auckland Grammar School does not permit mobile phones or smart devices to be used or visible on our campus between 8am-3:30pm. We do acknowledge that some students wear smart watches. The School currently permits these to be worn for the functionality of telling the time, however, accessing digital content remains prohibited during School hours. Within the context of internal and external examinations, smart watches are not permitted to be in an examination venue.

If your son does bring a smart device (other than a watch) to School, it should be kept in his bag at all times and be switched off. We recommend such items are not brought to School as we cannot be responsible for their whereabouts or loss. Furthermore, personal electronic equipment may not be used on School trips.

If a student is found using a mobile phone or smart device it may be confiscated by a teacher and delivered to the Deputy Headmaster Pastoral – Junior School D. Askew, who will store the device securely for seven days.

Your son may see him after School any time after the seventh day to retrieve the phone or device. Please support us by not requesting the device to be returned any sooner.

Mountain Road

Please consider Gates 1-4 closed for vehicular access at the start and end of the School day. Whilst the reinstatement of the grounds in front of the Main Block and around the War Memorial is now complete, we remind you that there is no vehicle access through Gate 1 or 1A.

We do ask that parents do not drive vehicles into any of the School gates on Mountain Road at the start or end of the School day. This is not practical and vehicular traffic at peak times of the School day poses a significant risk for our 2,650 young men who are entering or exiting the School grounds on foot.

Please be aware that for health and safety reasons Barnett Crescent has electronic bollards nearest to Clive Road. These remain up during the School day.

If you are dropping your son off or picking him up, please do this in one of the streets around the School, rather than in front of the School or by trying to enter Gates 1-4. We appreciate your co-operation in this regard.

Daily Notices

The notices read to the School each day in assembly are available to all young men and parents on the School website and on GrammarNet. You are able to access these online and discuss some of the activities available to your son.

School Cross Country

This year’s School Cross Country has been rescheduled to early in Term 2. Parents will be advised of this new date once confirmation is received.

Lost Property

Parents are reminded that all student uniform and personal property should be named. This allows lost property to be immediately returned to students who have misplaced items.

Students are encouraged to report directly to the Student Office at the end of each School day to check for uniform or equipment that they have lost.

Uniform

There has been much positive feedback about how well presented our students are and we too commend them for meeting or exceeding basic standards of dress and appearance this year.

Sports uniform
As young men join various sporting codes to represent Auckland Grammar School, there is a set uniform that young men must purchase.

While representing the School it is expected that young men wear their sports uniform correctly and abide by School Rules.

Students not dressed in correct sports uniform will not be permitted to play for the School at any stage. It is also expected that associated registration fees be paid on time, prior to playing. If fees are not paid or an arrangement is not made with the Master in Charge of the sport, unfortunately, young men will not be permitted to play.

All items of sports uniform can be purchased from the School Shop. You will find that many of the uniform items can be worn across a number of codes, hopefully saving parents in the long run. We would encourage you to see Mrs Serra Galuvao, our Shop Manager, to purchase your son’s winter sports uniform before the start of Term 2.

Students who are selected in Premier teams should consider purchasing a blazer and full formal uniform for interschool fixtures before the end of term.

School Rules

As part of best practice, we continually review and refine our systems and procedures.

Our rules are important in creating a safe physical and emotional environment for students and staff. The general safety of our young men and the provision of a structured, challenging environment suited to the development of boys and young men is of paramount importance to us.

The school Rules can be found on the School website. Should you have any questions regarding the School Rules, please contact Executive Assistant D. Watson via email.

Student Driven Vehicles

Form 6 or 7 students who have completed the School’s permission process to bring a vehicle to School have permission to drive a car to School. Under no circumstances are students permitted to bring a vehicle to School until they have completed the permission process. Students at other form levels do not have permission to drive a vehicle to School. Students may not park in the School grounds.

Please note that permission to drive to School is granted at the School’s discretion and this permission may be revoked for instances of inappropriate or illegal driving.

We remind parents and our young men that this permission does not extend to carrying passengers, unless both the School and parents have approved it in writing. This permission process includes School-related extracurricular activities.

Please contact Deputy Headmaster Pastoral – Senior School N. Lobb via email for further information about student driven vehicles.

Winter Sports Codes

Registration for winter sports will continue to take place in the weeks ahead. Many young men will begin trialling for Premier teams from Week 9 and all other teams from Week 10 so that they are ready for strong competition very early in Term 2.

We do encourage all students to get involved with at least one winter activity; your son’s involvement will be logged in our Student Management System and will be noted on his mid-year report. If your son is not involved in the wider life of the School, please discuss this with him and us as it is part of Grammar life.

As with summer codes, young men who are absent from School on a Friday will be deemed ineligible by the School to play sport on a weekend. This applies to mid-week interschool fixtures as well, where a young man is absent the day prior to or the day of an interschool fixture. School attendance and academic studies are a clear priority.

A reminder also that where young men are involved in activities that return late at night, that without exception, they are expected to be at School the next school day. This includes international tours and regional or national tournaments.

2025 School Year

As advance warning for the 2025 School year, please be advised the academic year will start on Tuesday 21 January for all year levels. All key term dates for 2025 can be found on the School Schedule.

Message from the Headmaster – March 2024

Headmaster Tim O'Connor at the lectern

In assembly over the past six weeks, many young men have crossed stage to be recognised for their academic successes, leadership, and/or successes in sport or the performing arts. Their accomplishments are worthy of celebration and are exemplars for others to follow. 

Your sons are part of an environment that presents what is possible and challenges them to be the best they can be. From our experience, the most engaged students willingly participate inside and outside the classroom. They show self-discipline by being at school on time, meeting expectations and managing their time to meet their learning and extracurricular commitments. While not all engaged students are recognised by crossing the stage, they are building the resilience required to experience success.

My most recent messaging to your sons has included: “When you insist on the best, you often get it.” Insisting on the best involves being prepared to regularly study and making sacrifices to learn. Insisting on the best involves building the resilience to perform a personal best, rather than making excuses when things get tough, because learning can quite often be difficult. It also involves contributing to the School’s standards and expectations.

Within this Bulletin, you will read of considerable academic successes in Cambridge, NCEA and Scholarship examinations. We are proud of the way students achieved at the highest level nationally and internationally in 2023 and commend those who earned a place on the University Entrance Scholars Board. The names of the 33 scholars will join the names from previous years that surround the Great Hall.

While we will continue to celebrate those who achieve at the highest level in any area of School life, we also recognise those who regularly apply themselves to their studies, attend all classes and attend all examinations. Academically, they can and do achieve, no matter what stream they are in or what qualification pathway they follow. Perhaps the clearest example of this is through University Entrance, which is the only aspect of NCEA that can be compared like for like across the country. 

In a cohort of 417 Form 7 students last year, 86.1% earned University Entrance across NCEA and Cambridge pathways. This figure is much higher than overall national averages and far exceeds national averages for male students (41.5%) and female students (52.4%). Our congratulations are extended to all students who earned University Entrance.

I raise this with you as we enter a busy time of the term so that you can reinforce with your sons that their daily attendance, engagement and commitment to School standards will pay off. It will not always mean they can be the best, but through doing their best they can be proud of their efforts and experience success. 

Your sons should now have started their study programmes for the Term 1 examinations, which start on Thursday 4 April. The next four weeks are an important time for your sons to be putting regular discretionary effort into their studies prior to Easter.

Finally, alongside our responsibility to grow your sons’ knowledge, we take our responsibility to helping them become contributing members of their School and society seriously. Writer Bruce Chatwin reminded us that we can do this daily through what we say and what we do: “Our words shape our story, our story becomes our framework for our behaviours and our behaviours determine how we live our lives.”

Per Angusta Ad Augusta

Tim O’Connor
Headmaster

2023 Academic Results

Nicholas Clarke

The 2023 academic results are very pleasing, with students in senior year groups performing extremely well in all external assessments.

Cambridge Assessment International Education

In 2023, A Level performances were very strong. The percentage of A* and A grades was among the highest ever, at 45.4%, and the overall pass rate was 100%. The AS results were also good, with the A-C pass rate exceeding 66% and the overall pass rate at 91%. This represents exceptionally strong performance in one of the world’s most academically demanding secondary school qualifications.

While grades have returned to their pre-pandemic levels around the world, Grammar students continue to perform very well, and the 2023 set of results are comparable with some of the results from before 2020.

Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards

Auckland Grammar School students performed well in the 2023 Cambridge examinations, gaining 15 awards for performance at the highest level in specific Cambridge subjects. Their achievements were recognised at the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards. The awards include:

  • Two Top in the World Award
  • Eight Top in New Zealand Awards
  • Five High Achievement Awards (Top in New Zealand or Top in the World, but in subjects with limited entries)

The School congratulates the following students for their exceptional performance:

AwardLevel and SubjectStudent’s NameSeries
High AchievementAs Level EconomicsRamanujan MadhusudhanJune 2023
High AchievementAS Level GeographySamuel WheelerJune 2023
High AchievementAS Leve HistoryMaxwell FredericksonJune 2023
High AchievementAS Level FrenchStanley ZhangNovember 2023
High AchievementA Level FrenchAngus BakerNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandAS Level AccountingOliver GunsonNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level AccountingRoshan ter WalNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level BiologyJayden KumarNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level ChemistryOliver GunsonNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level EconomicsRamanujan MadhusudhanNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level HistoryShaohang TongNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level English LiteratureAndi SunNovember 2023
Top in New ZealandA Level PhysicsYiming LuanNovember 2023
Top in the WorldAS Level Physical EducationQuinn Gardiner-HallNovember 2023
Top in the WorldA Level GeographySamuel WheelerNovember 2023

NCEA

The School’s NCEA cohort also performed very well in 2023. At Level 2, 72% of students gained their certificates, and 24 students saw their certificates endorsed with Merit. At Level 3, 76% of students Achieved the qualification, and 15 had their certificates endorsed with Merit.

In 2023, 66% of Level 3 students achieved University Entrance.

University Entrance

Our students study predominantly rigorous, academic subjects and standards which lead to comparatively high University Entrance rates for the Form 7 cohort. Cambridge students achieved a University Entrance E pass rate of 100% in 2023, and the NCEA Form 7 cohort achieved 67%. Combined, the Form 7 students in 2023 achieved a UE pass rate of 86.1%.

Nationally, the 2023 UE pass rate for all students was 48.2%, which was down 2% from the previous year. The 2023 National Average for boys in schools comparable with ours, 72.4% achieved University Entrance , also down by around 2%s. For our School, however, the 2023 rate was up by 2%.

NZQA Scholarship

In 2023, 90 Grammar students gained 217 individual subject Scholarships. This represents Grammar students’ best ever performance in NZQA Scholarship assessments. Their results see the School take second position among the schools entering candidates in NZQA Scholarship.

Nicholas Clarke (who achieved 5 Scholarships, including 3 at Outstanding level), Jayden Kumar (who achieved 7 Scholarships, including 4 at Outstanding level, and 1 as Top Scholar in the country) and Oliver Gunson (who achieved 7 Scholarships, including 4 at Outstanding level, and 2 as Top Scholar in the country) were all were named as Premier Scholars, three of only 10 students nationally. To be named a Premier Scholar, students need to have gained at least four New Zealand subject Scholarships, including three or more at Outstanding level.

Four students were awarded Top in Subject prizes: Oliver Gunson in Accounting and Physics, Jayden Kumar in Geography, and Alistair Ha in English. Nine Grammar students received Outstanding Scholarship Awards for their excellent results: Ethan Chuang, Omesh Gupta, Emmanuel Hernandez, Ramanujan Madhusudhan, Cole McCulley, Atharv Shinde, Maxmilian Sobr, Arsh Verma, and Samuel Wheeler. 31 Grammar students in total also gained a Scholarship Award (gaining three or more subject Scholarships).

NZQA Scholarships were again gained in an impressive range of subjects, including:

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture and Horticulture
  • Biology
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Classical Studies
  • Drama
  • Earth and Space Science
  • Economics
  • English
  • French
  • Geography
  • Health and Physical Education
  • History
  • Latin
  • Media Studies
  • Physics
  • Religious Studies
  • Statistics

#SportSpotlight – Touch Rugby

Boston Krone crosses the line for a try in the team's game against Rosmini College

Touch Rugby at Auckland Grammar School provides a range of opportunities for students to participate and compete, from Auckland and national-level elite competitions to social ‘have-a-go’ games. The Premier team compete in Term 1, while junior teams have to wait until Term 4 for their chance in the Auckland competition.

At the elite level, Grammar players with highly developed running, passing and evasions skills compete with the best in the country, including at the annual New Zealand Secondary Schools Touch Rugby Championships in December. In 2023, the Premier team finished ninth and will look to improve on that result this year.

2024’s team includes some 1st XV rugby players, as well as some who are more Touch Rugby ‘specialists’, and is captained by Form 7 student P. J. N. Broadhurst who has been playing the sport for the past four years. He has earned representative honours as captain of the New Zealand Under 16 team, captain of the Auckland Under 18 team who were recently crowned National Champions, and he is a current member of the Auckland Open Mixed Touch team.

The Premier team is fortunate to have the services of current parent Le Toia Tainui who is assisting with coaching this year. Le Toia brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team, and she currently coaches both the Auckland and New Zealand representative sides.

In addition to the competitive teams, there is a social Touch Rugby competition which takes places on Friday afternoons and provides an opportunity for students across all year levels and abilities to participate. It is a great way for Rugby players to keep up their fitness skills ahead of the winter season, while others are there to spend time with their mates and earn bragging rights over their rivals. Players of all skill levels are welcome in this competition.

If students are interested in playing Touch Rugby for the School or finding out more, they can talk with Master in Charge G. Pope in the Commerce department during the School day or contact him via email.

Report: Annual Athletics Sports Day

Annual Athletics Sports Day

On Wednesday 21 February, 200 Athletes competed at the School’s Athletics Sports Day at AUT Millennium Stadium in favourable conditions. Although the heat posed some challenges for those competing in track events by the afternoon, the athletes persevered and delivered some strong performances, personal bests, and a number of broken records.

In the Junior grade, Form 4 student T. O. Henderson took out the Gold medal in the 80m hurdles. Form 3 student K. J. Chow won the Junior 3000m in 11.16.20min, and Form 3 student J. L. Martin won the 200m sprint in 25.52s. Form 4 student L. J. N. Caffery broke not one, but two records in the Junior Shot Put and Discus, with throws of 13.70m and 56.30m respectively; for the latter, he managed to break the record three times before settling with his final and best throw. Form 3 student T. Zhang won the 300m, while classmate R. C. Davies was first in both the 800m and the 1500m. Martin’s win in the 200m along with the 100m in a time of 12.87s and the high jump at 1.66m meant that he was named as Junior Champion for 2024.

In the intermediate grade, Form 5 student L. C. R. Thomson won the 200m race in a time of 23.14s. He followed this up with wins in the 100m, the 400m, and the Long Jump, along with a second place in the Triple Jump, and was named the Intermediate champion. Form 4 student H. C. Day won both the 800m and 1500m, R. W. Walker won the 100m Hurdles in 14.96, and E. B. Mora won the 3000m in 9.33.78, with Form 5 students B. M. Armstrong and A. K. Sharma won the Triple Jump and High Jump respectively. In the intermediate throw events, a number of personal best records were made, with Form 5 student M. K. Jacobs throwing 13.10m in the Shot Put, Form 6 student S. T. F. R. Naufahu won the Discus with a throw of 37.97m, and Form 5 student O. D. D. B. Neely throw the Javelin to Gold in 42.86m.

In the Senior grade, Form 6 student C. P. Wagener won the 3000m in 8.29.45, a new record, and now holds the 3000m records in all age grades. Wagener also won the 1500m and was second in the 400m behind classmate C. G. Howlett who claimed Gold in the 400m and the Senior 110m Hurdles. Form 7 student R. W. Fitzpatrick was first in the 800m, second in the 1500m and third in the 400m. Form 6 students A. J. Bedford and H. P. Mossman won gold in the jump events, while the throw events were dominated by Captain of Athletics J. A. Thomson, who won all his entered field events as well as the 100m and the 200m, leading him to the Senior Champion title for the second consecutive year. 

The squad is now looking ahead to the Zonal meet on Tuesday 5 March, which will hopefully culminate in representing the School at the Greater Auckland Secondary Schools Championships held at Mt. Smart Stadium on Tuesday 26 March.

We wish the team well and are looking forward to their further progress and performances.

Report: Auckland Rowing Club Championships

Auckland Club Rowing Championships

On Sunday 4 February, the entire Rowing Team competed at the Auckland Club Championships, held at Lake Karapiro for the first time. This meant that races were a full 2km long instead of 900m like it used to be when the Championships were held at Lake Pupuke. The entire team appreciated the change to a correct race course.

The team performed superbly with nine crews making the podium, including:

  • The Novice Under 18 Eight crew winning Gold over King’s College and Westlake Boys’ High School
  • The Under 18 eight who won Bronze behind Mount Albert Grammar School and St Peter’s College. The crew had undergone a few changes for this race and was composed of Form 6 students M. C. Goodall and L. W. Toner, and Form 7 students H. D. S. Barrell, F. P. Houghton, H. D. Mackenzie, A. J. Merrilees, A. P. G. Redshaw, W. C. Riley and coxswain S. W. L. Fisher. They had a good start and stayed close to their opponents to finish well in third place.

The team now enters an intense month-long training programme to prepare for the North Island Secondary Schools Championships at Lake Karapiro at the end of February.

Report: Annual Swimming Sports

2024 annual Swimming Sports

The annual Auckland Grammar School Swimming Sports were held on Thursday 8 February in the new outdoor pool for just the second time in the School’s history. With over 100 participating in a myriad of events, the most contested races were the 50m freestyle races with 50 students competing in the senior division.

There were a number of new records set across the day:

  • Form 3 student T. Y. C. Chin produced a time of 1.06.55 in the 100m backstroke to beat the 2020 record of 1.10.44
  • Form 3 student T. M. Lushkott produced two new records in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke races
  • Form 5 student R. H. Hou equalled the 100m freestyle record from 2023
  • Form 5 student S. Karpov broke two intermediate records in the 50m backstroke and the 50m freestyle as well as equally the 50m butterfly time he produced in 2023
  • Form 7 student H. P. Klouwens broke two senior records in the 50m and 100m backstroke races

The standout performers in the junior competition were T. M. Lushcott and T. Y. C. Chin. With four wins each, it was Lushcott who was named the overall Junior champion for 2024, winning Gold in the 100m breaststroke, 100m and 200m freestyle and the 200m medley, and Silver in the 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke.

In the intermediate competition, S Karpov was in outstanding form winning seven races to earn the Intermediate championship and defend his title from 2023. Karpov won the 50m and 100m backstroke, the 100m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle and 200m freestyle and the 200m medley. Karpov also placed second in the 100m freestyle and the 50m breaststroke.

In the Senior competition, Deputy Head Prefect H. P. Klouwens, with five wins, took out the Senior championship, also defending his 2023 title. He won Gold in the 50m and 100m backstroke, the 50m butterfly and the 50m and 100m freestyle, with third place finishes in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, the 200m freestyle and the 200m medley.

Congratulations to our three Swimming champions for 2024, to Master in Charge of Swimming G. Martin, and the Prefects for their assistance and organisation of this year’s event.