Now aged 98, former teacher John Jammes (pictured above being interviewed by Heads of School Isabella and Tom) taught languages at Solihull from 1955, having been awarded the Croix de Guerre for his contribution to the French Resistance during World War II. During his thirteen years at Solihull, Mr Jammes became Housemaster of Jago and was well respected and liked by his students, being awarded a “Certificate of Amiable Eccentricity” by the Jago House Bench in 1967.

The John Jammes Cup was presented to Chloe Hazelhurst (Windsor 2016-2025), who shares Mr Jammes’ passion for the French language and is now enjoying her first few weeks of studying French with Business Management at Manchester.

During the evening, Mr Jammes was interviewed by Head of School Isabella. He spoke about his love of languages and his firm belief that, contrary to popular belief, he find Britons to be very good at learning them. He also offered words of wisdom, founded in his wartime experiences, about the importance of forgiving former enemies.

Former pupil and teacher John Wall (Pole 1942-1951) spent five years in the world of Engineering, followed by two years National Service before returning to Solihull to teach mathematics from 1959-1962.

He emigrated to New Zealand in 1962, and it was from there that Head of School Thomas interviewed him about his experiences of leading schools in New Zealand and what his days at Solihull had taught him. He advised Freya Cooke (Jago 2018-2025), the first recipient of the John Wall Cup for Mathematics, to never forget that mathematics was both the queen and servant of the sciences – and to grab every opportunity that came her way.

Michael Gledhill (Fetherston 1992-2003) first acquired a love of languages at Solihull School. Following the acquisition of a first-class joint honours degree in French and Spanish, a desire to pass that love of language on brought him back to school to teach, in 2014.

During his time at Solihull, he became Head of Scholars in 2017 and Head of Lower School in 2019, before leaving to rejoin the legal profession in 2025. The prize for excellence in Modern Foreign Languages in his name was awarded to Emma (Fourth Form).

The final award was sponsored by former pupil Philip Buttifant (Pole 1976 – 1987). After Solihull, Mr Buttifant studied History at Oxford, before moving into financial services in London amongst other things. During his time at school, he particularly enjoyed English, History and Latin – winning a History Prize at Prizegiving in 1987. The prize bearing his name was awarded to Skye Homer (Pole 2016-2025), an outstanding student of Latin.

During the evening, Headmaster Charles Fillingham said: “Each year it is a privilege to recognise the academic achievements of pupils across the wide range of academic subjects and opportunities open to members of the Senior School community. It was a particular treat to welcome some Old Silhillians back to school to witness the prizes they have donated or sponsored being awarded to some of our most promising pupils.”