Old Ewellians take part in Sixth Form Enrichment 
It was lovely to welcome back Tom, Milan, Sasha, Dawood, Will and Eloise last week to help with Sixth Form enrichment.  They talked to our current students about their various post school experiences, including studying at a number of universities including Oxbridge and working for EY on a higher apprenticeship scheme.

Save the dates:

Golf Day: Friday 24th April 2020 and Cricket Afternoon: Wednesday 8th July 2020

 

Ewell Castle Winter Ball - Saturday 25th January 2020

You and your partners and friends are invited to the Ewell Castle School Winter Ball on Saturday 25th January 2020. Tickets for the event which will take place at Glenmore House in Surbiton will be on sale via the Alumni Office from November.  Ticket prices and further details will be on the OE events page of the website from November.

 

OE vs School Netball Match - Wednesday 11th

The next OE vs School 1st team netball match is Wednesday 11th December 2019.  Save the date and futher details nearer the time.

 

Share your Time & Expertise

Many of our Sixth Form students would benefit greatly from work experience opportunities during their 2 years at Ewell Castle.  If you or your company can offer a few days or a week work experience over the next year, please contact c.hernandez@ewellcastle.co.uk

 

The Universal Language of Music

Music is a universal language which transcends all spoken languages. Music has the ability to reinvent and reinvigorate mystery; to contrive a range of unexplainable emotions and neurological phenomena. The inexplicable ability to shift mood and shape how we feel through melodies, harmony or rhythm is a highly complex thought yet simple in its understanding as a universal language; an incredible force that allows for anyone to find a common mutuality. Its various complexities and intricacies are fascinating and highly provocative of thought.  Whilst the mastering of any instrument or composition of any work requires significant talent and dedication, I have come to see its accessibility to everyone that undoes this division between export performers and its bystanders to reveal a greater sense of unity. Daniel Levitin’s This is Your Brain On Music: Understanding a Human Obsession, reveals that Americans spend more money on music than sex or prescription drugs, declaring that most Americans qualify as expert music listeners due to its ubiquity. Although many may not have been formally trained in music, they have the cognitive ability to detect wrong notes, remember melodies or synchronise the tapping of their feet in time with the music – a process of meter extraction so complicated that most computers cannot even do so.  These are skills integral to the fundamentals of music but are commonplace among non-musicians, explaining why the love for music is so diverse and universal. Similar studies enforce these ideas. Adam Tierney’s study on The Language of Music explains that the stimuli for musicality, and the criteria that any people use to make these judgements with, are ranked the same. This could explain why Derek Paravicini, a blind and severely autistic savant, understands music so systematically despite his impairment in any development of social and communicative skills. 

Why is it that after a relationship breakup, we instantly begin to listen to sad music? Playlists like “Life Sucks”, with over two million followers, or “cry yourself to sleep” have become a frequent popup in my Spotify Friend’s Activity list, and why is this? Music infers emotional meaning, a craving that all people seek to indulge. There is an unparalleled ability for music to act as a form of communication; for anyone to relate and resonate with. We can all convert words into meaning relatively quickly but certain meanings and mood, or emotions and feeling, are created within us by music, directed by our collective reactions to specific harmony, chords, intervals and various other devices. In a more practical aspect, a more mainstream example of this would be the use of music within film. Imagine massive blockbuster hits such as Star Wars, Harry Potter or any film as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, without their iconic music soundtracks. Music acts as an emotional connector to the film; it’s what makes the film seem real, more authentic, and appear truthful. It is for these reasons that I leave Ewell Castle School to further my passion for Music, specifically composition, at University of York.  By Naym Ali 

 

Richard Smart Reporting from Australia

There are clichés and clichés. The one that says "Who said Test cricket is dead?" has been bandied about on countless Australian and British news, radio, TV and social media outlet since the recent Headingley dramatic finale. However, for the true believers, Test cricket has never, and will never, go away: the sheer fascination of a bat-and-ball contest between Australia and England, lasting for up to five days, and with more fluctuations than the world stock market after a standard Trump-tweeting day, has been constant since it all began, in 1877.

What the last day at Headingley emphasized was that a game's never over until the last ball's bowled. That there's uncertainty until that moment fielding fumbles, dropped catches and "wrong" umpiring decisions are always just around the corner. And, if a batsmen with an eagle eye and steely intent decides his or her day has come then, as we witnessed, nothing is impossible.  Reactions from here? Some understandable disappointment and grumbling, but here's another cliche - "The game's the winner". And that's the point. The result could have gone either way. But the Ashes are still on the line and the series unresolved. So, cliche three, "There's everything to play for". Finally, cliche four: "May the best team win". Neither side is the "best". They have equally serious flaws and feature a handful of standout players who can win the day (or days) - either side can win. 

 

Digital Archive - Missing Ewellian Magazines

If you have one or more "missing" Ewellian Magazines, please contact us.  We would like to borrow them for scanning and uploading to the archive, after which we will return them to you. Visit the online archive to see which ones are "missing" from our collection.  Click here to access the archive page on the website and email oldewellians@ewellcastle.co.uk for a username and password to allow you to view the photos, videos and Ewellian magazines.

  

Basement Changing Rooms

The Castle basement changing rooms are now complete. We now have 8 individual showers, 4 toilets and 2 seperate changing rooms.  Girls and boys have been using these lovely new facilities since the start of the autumn term.  Those of you who remember the previous basement changing rooms will be amazed at the transformation.

 

Japan: OE Daniel Toms Gets Married in Japan

As maybe the only first world country that was never part of a European empire, the culture in Japan is very different to anything I’d experienced before. I Even after 5 years there is an extraordinary experience almost every day and around every corner, and the wave of challenges to settle into such a unique society has been really rewarding.

I met my future wife after only 3 months, and we were married in a traditional Shinto religious ceremony 3 years later. Shinto is a religion that focuses on ones ancestors and the ceremony involves the bride and groom, and the guests, drinking sake together in a shrine as priests bless your wedding.

I have learnt a totally different etiquette system ranging from the depth of bowing relative to the situation, to the correct way to place a business card on the table! With an almost zero crime rate, amazingly courteous people and out-of-this-world cuisine – I‘d highly recommend a visit to anyone!  

 

Visit Us & Share Your News

If you have moved, changed jobs/email recently, or have some good news you would like to share with the alumni community, get in touch.  We'll include your news in future e bulletins and we'll update your details on the alumni database. We love to see our OEs.  Pop in for a visit to reminisce like Tim Palmer did from Texas USA or Philip Cooke from Jalisco Mexico and other more local visitors.  Please make an appointment in advance with Carol via  oldewellians@ewellcastle.co.uk 

 

Sixth Form Bursary

This autumn we will be launching a new OE Sixth Form Bursary to offer financial support to current families who otherwise would find it financially impossible for their children to continue into our Sixth Form.  'I am proud to be an Old Ewellian and I am grateful for the life-long friendships and happy memories I still have from my school days at Ewell Castle.  That's why I'm supporting the Old Ewellian's Sixth Form Bursary Fund and I hope you will too'. Michael Brunwin ECS 1947-1953