In the classroom, in the concert hall or on the cricket pitch, Croydon’s leading private schools continue to produce outstanding scholars, pianists and sportspeople.
Good shot: Marley Simpson, at 17, is getting a taste of the England cricket set-up
This week, Trinity School, in Shirley Park, announced that Joshua Lai, 16, had won this year’s Steinway Scholarship.
While over at Whitgift School in South Croydon, Sixth Former Marley Simpson, 17, was named in the England under-19s squad for their upcoming training camp in Sri Lanka.
Lai’s scholarship will see him study with a leading professor at the Royal College of Music and perform alongside professional musicians in Europe.
He won the award from an entry of 21 young pianists at his school, which has operated a partnership with piano manufacturer Steinway since 2012.
Trinity School has 25 Steinway pianos, including two concert grands, as well as a dedicated suite for piano teaching and practice.
Lai has lived in Sutton since his family moved there from Hong Kong. He has played piano since he was aged six.
“Auditioning in and of itself develops you as a pianist, whether you get the scholarship or not,” he said. “You learn to perform in a high-pressure situation, and that’s a very useful skill to have, not just in music.”
The final audition took place during October half-term, with Lai performing for Professor Vanessa Latarche from the Royal College of Music.
Keyboard keen: Josh Lai has been playing piano since the age of six
As this year’s Trinity-Steinway Scholar, Lai will receive a £1,000 musical development grant, lessons with Prof Latarche and opportunities to perform in Europe alongside professional musicians. He will also give a recital at the Steinway Hall in London.
“The Steinway Scholarship is an opportunity to showcase the music that you want to showcase to other people,” he said. “I want to share this variety of piano music and hopefully interest more people in it.”
Richard Evans, Trinity’s head of piano who has pioneered the school’s ground-breaking arrangement with Steinway, says he is very excited about Lai’s prospects.
“Josh has been building towards this for two or three years,” Evans said.
“He’s very inquisitive and thoughtful, and he listens to and researches a lot of music. I’m very excited about his year because I think he’s going to bring something a bit different.”
For Whitgift cricketer Simpson, the England call-up is the latest step in his progression towards potentially becoming a full-time sportsman.
A member of Surrey’s academy, Simpson made two appearances for the county side’s second XI this year. A right-hand bat and right-arm medium-pace bowler, Simpson took six wickets in the match against Gloucestershire Second XI at the end of the summer.
Studying A levels, Simpson is a senior prefect and also takes part in the school’s mentoring and volunteer programmes.
“Whitgift has given me the opportunity to give back, both in the community and on the pitch,” he said.
“Through cricket and volunteering, I’ve developed leadership into a genuine strength that shapes everything I do.”
Whitgift School has produced a string of Surrey and England players, including Rory Burns, Jason Roy and Jamie Smith.
The England under-19s training camp begins in Colombo next week and continues to the end of November. The squad captain is another Surrey prospect, Ralphie Albert, the grandson of snooker great Jimmy White.
The training camp precedes three age-group one-day internationals in Pakistan and an under-19s Test, which Simpson is not scheduled to play in, with a tour to Australia coming up in January.
“This is an opportunity for these young players to experience new countries and conditions and for our coaching team to help develop their game in a world-class environment, which will only help in their journey towards international cricket,” said Neil Killeen, England’s under-19s head coach.
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
