Dreams to believe in

Outside school hours, Ben, Alfie and Violet, below, have been honing their skills in activities that are all very different. What these Harrodians share in common is the support that the School has provided for them to pursue their dreams. 

All three have had to work especially hard and make sacrifices to ensure they are dedicating enough time to both their chosen activity and their school work. Mr Hooke applauds their maturity and commitment. 'It is important to me that the School does all it can to support the interests, passions and ambitions of our pupils,' he says. 'We are always proud of what they achieve at Harrodian and it is equally great to see them demonstrating their talents outside School across such very different activities.'

Sixth Former, Ben, (above left), was five when Freddie Flintoff's heroic Ashes performance in 2005 first sparked his passion for cricket. He joined Chiswick Cricket Club and has played for them ever since. He has represented his borough (Hounslow) and his region, West Middlesex and started playing adult cricket at 10. By the age of 15, he had become the youngest ever debutant for the Chiswick first XI. 

Last season, Ben was invited to play as a guest in a two-day game for the Incogniti, the world's third oldest 'wandering cricket club' (that's a club without its own ground) and has been playing with the club ever since. This September he played with the club at Lords against the Cross Arrows (programme and match photo below), making a gritty 41 as the Incogniti won the game with two balls to spare. 

In the summer, Ben spends most of his weekends playing matches and many of the evenings practising. At school, he has been lucky enough to benefit from lessons and coaching from Mr Butcher, a member of the Harrodian PE department and former English county cricketer with Leicestershire. Ben would like to continue playing cricket at a university with a strong cricket tradition such as Sheffield or Cardiff. If all goes well, the aim is county cricket. 'I love the way cricket celebrates the individual as well as the team,' he explains. 'I get a buzz from the thrill of a cricket ball whistling past my ear at incredible speed. People have this image of cricket as a sport for the lazy. But the truth is you have to be incredibly fit, quick and agile.' 

Now in the 13s, Violet, (below), has been horse-riding since she was three. Her brothers and sisters all enjoy it and the family is constantly around horses when they're away in Suffolk. But only Violet has taken her interest to the next level by entering British Eventing competitions. 

Recently she represented her club, the Waveney Harriers, at Blenheim's British Eventing competition, taking part in the 'pony club eventer challenge' which combined cross country and showjumping fences in a single course.  Violet got one of two clear rounds and her team came eighth out of 41. Hugely committed, she trains every weekend and most of the holidays and regularly competes at one day events and hunter trials.

'I love the thrill of horse riding but also the fact that when I do it I have to completely focus,' she says about her passion. 'It means that any worries I might have just disappear in that moment leaving me with a mind that's calm and clear.' 

Violet aspires to competing successfully at BE100 (a British Eventing Competition with jumps of a maximum of 100cm in height) next season and in the long term, she has ambitions of reaching regional finals and hopes she can continue with her horse-riding through GCSEs and A Levels. 'At Harrodian I'm in the best place to make it happen and have lots of support from my teachers and peers,' she says.

Alongside his school time rehearsals for the Harrodian production of Twelfth Night in January, Alfie (10), above, has been busy rubbing shoulders with the British acting elite over the last few months. Since he featured in the Harrodian School of Rock production, Alfie's career has taken off and he was recently signed by Hamilton Hoddell, an agent that represents Tom Hiddleston, Rupert Grint, Tilda Swinton and Emma Thompson.

Excitingly, Alfie has been working alongside a cast including Emma Thompson on plans to bring a musical version of the film Nanny McPhee to the London stage. They have already tested out new material from the first half of the show to see how it works on stage and Alfie has high hopes of performing in the final West End production.  He is about to make his film debut too. Days of Bagnold Summer is a coming-of-age film directed by Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners with Monica Dolan, Earl Cave (son of Nic Cave) playing the leads along with Rob Brydon and Tamsin Greig. Alfie plays the the drummer in a heavy metal band. The film comes out in the New Year.

'A few years ago when I saw Matilda: the Musical, I said to myself, "I want to do that",' says Alfie. His initial auditions were unsuccessful but he has pressed on undaunted since then. His enthusiasm for drama and film is so infectious that it's easy to believe he will make his dream come true. 

We wish Ben, Violet and Alfie the best of luck in their coming ventures and look forward to sharing other inspiring stories from more Harrodians.