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SENIOR SCHOOL
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 21st February | Year 9 Options Meeting 6.30pm |
| Wednesday 22nd February | Ash Wednesday Mass 9.00am—All Welcome |
| Thursday 23rd February | Year 9 Orange Tree Theatre Workshop in School |
| - | Siena Society 5.00pm |
| Wednesday 29th February | Year 8 Parents’ Evening 4.30-7.30pm |
| Friday 2nd March | FOSC Pub Quiz 7.30pm |
A full version of the fortnightly Newsletter can be accessed online by logging into the Parents Section of this website.
CHARITIES’ FORTNIGHT EVENTS
Bieber fever sends teen temperatures into orbit.
The singing, dancing, skateboarding, ice-hockey playing Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber took St Catherine’s by storm last Tuesday, flying in, like, in his own Lear Jet (OK, his own Nissan Micra) to raise, like, money for, like, the School’s Charities Fortnight.
Justin was, like, immediately, like, mobbed by adoring fans (OK, 8S) who did totally, like, everything in their power to look, speak, move and behave like (!) their superstar hero (OK, they, like, totally channelled the hoodie and the hat but drew a line at, like, the pants)
Justin, like, totally amazed his fans by, like, showing off his latest, like, moves , like, on stage as record producers and promoters (OK, members of Staff) looked on during the hi-tech performance (OK, during the Teacher Auction) in what could only be described as total, like, admiration (OK, disbelief).
Later in the day, there was, like, this totes mass hysteria as Justin made, like, a redic unexpected appearance at the Debating Society Debate being held in his honour at the O2 Arena (OK, the Drama Studio). The motion was “This House, like, totally Belieebs in Justin! Yah!”
Although there were a few die-hard Non Belieebers – the motion was carried by an obvs majority. Justin was whisked away from the venue in a Hummer with his shawties.
The “Never Say Never” platinum-selling artist raised the totally sick sum of, like, £300 million pounds (OK, £300 quid) for charity.
As part of Charities Week 9S spent Wednesday dressed as either angels or devils....
Combined with a themed cake sale, the class raised over £100. Mr Rock revealed his true nature at last, but the organisation and good spirits of the class and Miss Neale showed that they were all true angels.
Mr Rock
On Tuesday 7th February, a group of 14 pupils from years 7, 8 and 9 took part in a sponsored swim for charities week. All of the girls did extremely well and are all excited to see how much money we raised! All in all our laps added up to 1018 lengths. We are thankful to all who sponsored us and hope to raise a lot of money for charity.
By Emilia Meyer - Hubner 7M
GCSE DRAMA
On Friday evening the 3rd February the year 10 GCSE Drama pupils performed their Drama Showcase of, “My Mother Said I Never Should” by Charlotte Keatley to an audience of their families and teachers.
The Year 10 GCSE Drama pupils have had a range of experiences so far this year including theatre trips, workshops and master classes. Recently, they have been studying the play, “My Mother said I Never Should” by Charlotte Keatley as a part of their Drama GCSE course. The play is immensely challenging and complicated. It is a naturalistic play, telling the story of four women who are all related to each other. However the time sequence of the play is not in chronological order-so the scenes jump back and forth through times from the 1920s to the 1980s. This non-linear time structure allows the story of each character to be revealed in a more dramatic way. The play travels through the decades in flash backs and time jumps, so each character is revealed to the audience at different points in her life.
The women of the play are: Doris, Margaret, Jackie and Rosie. They believe they are grandmother, mother and two sisters- however there are some very big family secrets which will shatter the illusions of many characters throughout the play.
Each of the Year 10 girls portrayed one of the four main characters at different points in her life. The performances were excellent and the responses from the audience were overwhelmingly positive. The girls performed with exceptional focus and control. The highly emotional scenes had a very strong impact on the audience, including lots of laughter and even quite a few tears!
All of the Year 10 girls worked extremely hard and performed some exceptional theatre. Their teacher, Mrs Armitage, is very proud of every one of them!
The GCSE Drama Year 10s
CAST
Jess Abrey, Taraneh Azimi, Charlie Hogben, Emma Lockard, Rachel Lorant, Tamara Sidwell, Zoe Smith, Lucy Turner, Laura Antalffy, Catherine Bartley, Priya Bhuller, Millie Green, Annabel Pilecka, Rowan Souray, Isabel Stewart, Sinead McGrath, Matilda Memaripour, Sam Jac-During and Daniella Everitt.
SPORTS NEWS
Swimming Gala versus Harrodian
On Wednesday we hosted Harrodian School in an exciting, competitive swimming gala. Girls from years 6,7 and 8 took part and swam their hearts out. Our St Catherine’s pupils won a majority of their events, claiming victory overall earning 100 points to Harrodian’s 80 points. Mrs Ward has chosen Lydia Rodford as the swimmer of the gala.
We would like to thank those girls who helped out with the lane judging and scoring.
Cover Story
In January, year 7 girls were treated to a visit from staff at Richmond Library Service, promoting the ‘Cover story’ initiative. ‘Cover story’ is a compilation of books that are likely to be of interest to pupils in the 11-14 age range. Colm O’Reilly and Jess Green took turns to recommend different books and to read passages from a few of them. All the books have been published in the past 18 months and were selected as being appealing to young teenagers.
Books from different genres were chosen; including the humorous ‘The Real Rebecca’ about a mother / author who wrote a diary based on the antics of her daughter Rebecca (much to Rebecca’s humiliation!) In contrast, they mentioned ‘The taming of Lilah May’; a sad book about a family’s reactions on the disappearance of their daughter. This book is based on entries from Lilah’s diary, discovered by her zoo-keeper father and circus performing mother after Lilah’s disappearance.
The discovery of a diary was also a key event in ‘The hunting ground’ by Cliff McNish was the book that generated most interest, girls asking for a second passage from it to be read. This is a scary thriller about a father and sons who move to an old crumbling haunted house in which the boys find a diary about the history of the house and its former residents…. children who died before adulthood … what does this presage for the boys?
The girls were told about the facilities available to them through Richmond Libraries and a Teen Manga Group, held at Teddington Library. Full details of this and other services, plus a competition to win an HMV voucher by writing a book review are available at:
http://www.richmond.gov.uk/libraries
If your daughters are not already members, why not suggest that they enrol now?
Emma Doran (7c) wrote:
“I enjoyed the library visit and I liked most of the books read. I found the cover story leaflets quite useful because it has helped me to look for new releases and books to read. I also found out about many of the resources (e.g. computers) the library has to offer, overall I found it a very informative experience.”.
Mrs J Ruffle
Senior School Librarian
Swimming Success for St Catherine’s Senior Swimmers
On Thursday 19th January the Year 7 and 8, A + B Swimming Squads travelled to Gurnell Pool in Ealing to compete in a Gala against St Benedict ’s School. With the exception of one disqualification, the St Catherine’s Swimmers won ALL of their individual and relay races. The final score was 25 points to St Benedict’s and 47 to St Catherine’s.
Well done to all swimmers on a very well deserved win!
The team were:
Nicola Hanlon, Charlotte Wells, Charlie Mitchell, Matilda Harper, Lydia Rodford, Hannah Callaghan, Isabella Mills, Rebecca Holt, Eleanor Attridge, Gracie Mackie, Emily Heyworth-Taylor, Jessica Kirkham, Emily Currey, Francesca Turner and Scarlett Wright.
Mrs Edwards
PE Teacher
Scholars' Concert - 7th March 2012 - 7:00pm
Drama Studio
Refreshments will be available from 6:30pm
If you would like to reserve a place for this event, please call Chantal Goldburn on
0203 261 0142
or
Email: cgoldburn@stcatherineschool.co.uk
Spring Concert - Prep and Senior - 28th March 2012
6:30pm in the Main Hall
Refreshments available from 6:00pm
If you would like to reserve a place for this event, please call Chantal Goldburn on
0203 261 0142
or
Email: cgoldburn@stcatherineschool.co.uk
Ski Sugarloaf 2011
The Christmas Ski Trip was a huge success with 16 girls spending 5 days on the slopes in Maine. We arrived in Boston to bright sunshine wondering where all the snow was! On arrival in the resort we were still rather nervous that there was an absence of the white stuff! We need not have worried as there were snow cannons going 24/7 to make sure we had a good time on Sugarloaf. There were a number of girls who were first time skiers and their progress was so swift that they were all able to ski down from the mid-point chair lift with the advanced group. Well done everyone.The trip ended with the compulsory shopping in Boston on our return journey (sometimes I wonder if they come for the skiing or the shopping!). All arrived back safe and sound ready for Christmas.
Many thanks to Mrs Ward for her help.
Janet Saddler
Venice Trip - 2013
Mrs Jones, Head of Art and Photography, is organising a trip to Venice in February 2013.
All year 7, at the time of trip, are welcome to join us.
Letters for the Venice trip are now available from Mrs Jones.
U11 & U12 Swimming Gala v Putney Park School
On Tuesday 10th January the Year 6 and Year 7 swimming squads competed in a Swimming Gala against Putney Park at St Catherine’s pool.
St Catherine’s swimmers performed outstandingly in their individual events and won the majority of their medley and freestyle relays. The Gala was enjoyed by all and there was a great competitive atmosphere in the pool.
The final score was 54 points to Putney Park v 109 to St Catherine’s.
Thank you to the senior pupils who helped out with scoring, judging and organising on the day and well done to all swimmers on a well-deserved win!
Mrs Edwards - PE Department
Star Pupil Spotlight
Last weekend Lydia Rodford won two gold medals at the ISA NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS….
‘ Being a swimmer isn’t as easy as most people think- in the ISA Freestyle Race I could just get into the pool and swim as
hard as I could! It all goes down to how much effort you put into training, the people that support you and your state of
mind. I have to train every day. I cannot have a day off or my standards will slip. In Manchester, I used to have to get up at 4.40am and swim until 7am. So, getting up at 5.30am in London is a lie-in. I swim for Teddington Swimming Club,
with people around my age. The training varies each session, but we would probably do about 350 lengths on average.
Waking up in the morning before the Nationals was the hardest part of it all, knowing that the next time I would be there, I would either have succeeded or failed! The car journey was two hours long and it is not easy to sleep when you’re so worried about what it was going to be like in your race. To calm myself all I have to say is ‘what is the point in getting nervous, it just uses energy, I have trained, what more could I do’. As long as I kept drinking water and focusing on my race, everything would go to plan.’
Going up there and waiting for the race makes me feel sick. I get so scared of how I am going to do it’s like my fear is taking over. As they shout LYDIA RODFORD, you know you are coming towards your race. They take me round to my lane, I started to try to look bigger than all the other people by jumping and warming up, it makes them feel intimidated and shows how in control I am of this race, When you hear the three whistles I always think when I get out of that water, I have to leave everything in it. GO everyone races down to the other end. I remember looking up and before I did anything I looked at my Dad just to make sure I had achieved what I came here to do. I had never seen him so happy. That was when I realised I had won the Nationals. I was the National Champion! ’
Senior Carol Service
The Senior Carol Service was held on the 15th December and was a joyous occasion. The readings were carefully selected to illuminate the true meaning of Christmas, combining words from the Bible with poetry and verse from writers through the ages.
The girls’ talents, both as readers and as musicians, contributed to the variously reflective and celebratory atmosphere. We were delighted to receive a new Nativity set from FOSC which formed the centrepiece for the service. It was a wonderful way to begin the Christmas holidays.’
Mrs K Casper - Head of Music
&
Ms M Ryan - Head of Religious Studies
A big thank you to Debbie Lebosquet who on behalf of FOSC worked very hard in sourcing a wonderful new nativity set before the Christmas break. It was delivered to the School just in time for it to be displayed at the Senior Carol Service.
Rookie Lifeguard Classes:
A fun way to keep fit and get a nationally recognised award that will look good on your CV! It includes swimming fully clothed, rescue and personal survival training. You must be aged 8 – 17 and be able to swim at least 4 lengths of a pool. Classes run on Tuesday and Friday evenings at St Catherine’s School. As well as children’s lessons we run classes for adults from absolute beginners to stroke improvement for Triathlons.
The next children’s crash course for non-swimmers and beginners is in February half term.
Please contact Springboard Swimmers on 020 8255 7455 or email springboardadmin@blueyonder.co.uk for more details about these or any of our other courses.
YEAR 11 HISTORIANS VISIT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE
On the afternoon of Tuesday 29 November the Year 11 GCSE history groups visited the National Archives in Kew. The aim of the visit was to explore and examine primary and secondary sources of evidence concerning the case of Jack the Ripper, in the context of the effectiveness of the police force in late Victorian England in order to complete GCSE Controlled Assessment.
Students were able to work with an Education Officer in interpreting and analysing letters that were sent by key figures in the Ripper case, suggesting new methods to use to try and apprehend the killer. The students were also shown primary sources including the original census of London from 1881 which listed one of the Ripper’s victims and gave insight into the social structure of London at this time. In addition to the workshop, the girls were given a guided tour around the museum; this houses the history of the Archives itself alongside other fascinating primary sources such as the original Domesday Book (both volumes.)
With thanks to Mr. Hall for taking us to Kew in the School mini-bus and to Mrs. Hockaday for accompanying us. It was a very informative afternoon in every way.
Ms. Batty - History Department
Christmas Lunch
On Wednesday 14th December, the pupils enjoyed their first Christmas lunch in the new Dining Room. Crackers were pulled, paper hats were worn, jokes were told and a traditional Christmas lunch was eaten.
THE LAWN BUILDING IS OPEN!
As you will no doubt have heard, the Lawn building is in use at last. We are now eating in the dining room and enjoying a wider choice of food.
We also have two new classrooms (RE), a Tutorial room and a new staff room in the building.
Sophocles' Greek tragedy 'Oedipus Rex'
On Tuesday 6th December Miss Baker took some of her Year 12 Psychology students to the theatre. Ashni Parmar, Simrin Grewall and Lauren Jackson watched an abridged version of Sophocles' Greek tragedy 'Oedipus Rex' ('Oedipus the King'). This took place at Richmond Adult Community College, and was performed by students on the Access to Drama programme. The girls are soon to be studying Freudian Psychodynamic theory as part of their AS course. It covers research methods in this approach, such as the clinical interview, and evaluates the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions based on Psychodynamic theory of personality development.
Freud was obsessed with Greek drama, and the play covers themes such as unconscious motives, catharsis, and determinism. It focuses on the life of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who, while trying to escape his fate, runs head first into it. Taking place in real time, the original play would last 4 hours. This was (luckily!) abridged to 1 hour. Girls enjoyed the experience and are already well on their way to understanding some of the motives of one of Psychology's controversial practitioners.
Ms Baker—Psychology Teacher
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award London Gold Award Forum ...or GAF for short
In case you aren't familiar with it, GAF is a Forum made up of participants from all across London who are working towards their Gold Award. The government is keen for young people to have a say in the design and decision-making stages of programmes and provisions that affect them and GAF ensures they have that say!
Simrin Grewall who is one of our Gold Award participants, has been selected from a large number of applicants to represent Richmond on the forum. Following the initial forum Simrin was contacted and invited to become the new Face of DOE. She attended a photo session on Friday. Look out for Simrin appearing in the monthly newsletters and all Award publicity in the future.
Mrs Janet Saddler
Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator
A Level Law: Visit to The Old Bailey
The Stephen Lawrence Trial
On Thursday 1st December Ashni Parmar, Marianne Huck and Hattie Bernstein Dale visited the Central Criminal Court, more often referred to as the Old Bailey, as part of their AS Law studies. This was no ordinary visit as Mrs Bailey, having pulled numerous strings, had managed to arrange for her three students to be treated as her"pupils" (that is, trainee barristers) for the day. This meant that the girls were allowed special access to the body of the Court and the courtrooms, rubbing shoulders with all the advocates, rather than being restricted to the public gallery.
Once through the tight security at the entrance of the Bailey - there had been a tricky moment where the girls were "detained" by a burly, armed police officer whilst their precise details were checked! - they were whisked up to the Female Advocates Robing Room to experience what it would be like if they were at the Bailey with their brief and due to appear in court that morning!
As luck would have it, there were two murders being tried before the two most senior judges at the Bailey – the Recorder of London and the Common Sergeant and, as Mrs Bailey knew the barristers involved in both cases, she quickly arranged for her "pupils" to go and sit in court.
The first murder was an allegation against a father whose baby son had died in suspicious circumstances. At the post mortem examination, the child had been found to have a human bite mark on his cheek. The girls were able to watch the cross examination of the Forensic Orthodontologist by a female "QC" (Queen's Counsel) whose task it was to suggest to the witness, in front of the Jury, that the bite mark could have been caused by over exuberant "play-kissing" by her client, the child's father. It was fascinating for the girls to see an experienced advocate (and a woman to boot!) in action on her feet!
The second case was a drive-by shooting, hinging on identification and, when the girls went in, the Crown was painstakingly taking the jury through the forensic examination of every piece of evidence which allegedly linked the defendants to the killing. Again, the girls were exposed to skilful advocacy at the highest level.
However, the highlight of the experience had to be when the girls were permitted to go into the Stephen Lawrence trial before Mr Justice Treacy – a so called "Red" Judge. Inside, they sat feet away from the Lawrence family and listened as Defence Counsel attempted to establish with the Forensic Scientist that, due to the failure to follow best practice when different pieces of clothing were examined, contamination of the clothing could not be ruled out. They witnessed the crucial part of the case – which made headlines in all the newspapers and the Ten o'clock BBC News that evening. Whatever the final outcome of this extraordinary trial might be, the three lucky law students from St Catherine's will be in the privileged position of being able to say that they were there and actually witnessed the crucial episode in a trial which is likely to have an enormous impact on the criminal justice system of this country.
Mrs J Bailey
Law Department
TWELFTH NIGHT
Mrs Turner, Head of English and Drama, organised for the Orange Tree Theatre to visit on the afternoon of Thursday 10th November to give an interactive workshop presentation of "Twelfth Night" as an introduction to Shakespeare for Year 7.
“I thought the play was funny and interesting. Their acting was brilliant as if they were the real characters. They made everyone laugh and did excellent actions”. Sabrina Savic 7M
“I really enjoyed the play and I found it really funny but sometimes I got bored when they endlessly talked. My favourite bit was when Toby, Mary and a friend were hiding in the bushes.” Lili Kraft 7M
The girls study a different Shakespeare play in Years 7, 8 and 9 in their English lessons and will read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in the Summer Term.
ISA London West Regional Swimming Championships
The ISA London West Regional Swimming Championships took place (early!) on Thursday 3rd November. A small group of St Catherine's Prep and Senior pupils took time out during their half term break to travel to the Aldershot Garrison Pool to represent the school at this event.
All of the girls swam well and must be congratulated for their efforts. Lydia Rodford (Yr 8) won her individual 50m front crawl race, and as a result she has been selected to represent the school and the London West Region at the National Championships on 19th November.
Further congratulations must be offered to the Prep relay team (Eloise Jones, Liberty Scutcher, Zara Hill and Miranda Hodgson) who won their relay race.
Well done to the Senior relay team (Francesca Turner, Jess Kirkham, Matilda Harper and Lydia Rodford) who came a’ very close second’ in their relay race.
Due to their strong individual swims Amelia Mackie, Eleanor Attridge and Roisin Neligan-Ayling have also been selected to compete in their age group relays at the National Event; whilst Gracie Mackie and Matilda Harper are reserves. Well done to all of the swimmers, and great support from parents on the day.
Ms Chantal Goldburn
Senior Carol Service
Thursday 15th December 2011
at 7:00pm in the Main Hall
The service will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies
St Issey School Trip
A group of 24 girls met at Paddington Station for their journey to St. Issey. Everyone was very excited with a number of girls making it their third visit.
Photo Gallery (Requires Adobe Flash installed to view)
Remembrance Service
The Senior girls and Years 5 and 6 went to the war memorial in Radnor Gardens for a service of remembrance held jointly with Radnor House School today.
A wreath was laid on behalf of the school by two Prep girls, Roisin Neligan-Ayling and Miranda Hodgson, and the Head Girl, Megan Wheating, read a poem.
A two minute silence was observed at 11.00am.
Autumn Concert - A Great Success!
20th October
The Autumn Concert on 20th October was a real success. A most appreciative audience of parents, teachers and governors was treated to an evening of music that ranged in era from the 1600s to today. The St. Catherine’s Singers performed The Seal Lullaby by Rudyard Kipling set to luscious music by Eric Whitacre, as well as sending us off at the end with a lively arrangement of the ‘The Beatles’ Penny Lane. The Chamber Choir performed a popular praise piece called You Raise Me Up, and after the interval, were suited up in white gloves to do the signing (and, of course, the singing) of a beautiful song by Bob Chilcott called Can You Hear Me? which was received warmly. The Gospel Choir worked in some Sforzandos to raise the roof a little with Great is the Lord. The Orchestra played Renaissance Dances and Themes from Harry Potter.
It is a bit of a challenge to put something of this magnitude on in just six weeks, but Mrs Casper was determined and the girls were hard workers. The Choirs and the Orchestra performed with panache and enthusiasm. In addition to the ensembles, many girls performed solos or duets of every style imaginable.
From the great wealth of St. Catherine’s girls came singing, guitar-playing, a clarinet duo, and an oboe extravaganza expertly accompanied by Mrs Garty. We heard original compositions as well, which were very impressive and well received. Several of our visiting music teachers were there to hear the girls they teach privately perform and to cheer them on.
Mrs Casper wishes to thank everyone for their tremendous support. So many things go on in ‘the background’ to put productions of this nature on, not the least of which is the decorating – and a special thank you goes to Ms Goldburn for the time and effort she took to make the Main Hall look beautiful. If it were not for other people too numerous to mention, many other magical things that went into the evening would not have occurred. We are hard at work preparing for the Carol Service now and hope you will join us for the festive celebrations in December!
Mrs Casper – Head of Music
Year 11 Workshop at the Orange Tree Theatre
As part of GCSE Drama the Year 11 pupils will be rehearsing and performing sections of the play, “The Crucible” by Arthur Millar.
On Friday 14th October the Year 11 pupils were treated to a workshop from the Orange Tree Theatre exploring this play in detail. During the session, the girls worked through a number of activities exploring how to develop their acting skills in performance. The girls were challenged and their skill repertoire extended in this excellent workshop from The Orange Tree Theatre.
Miss L Armitag
Drama Teacher
Mass at Westminster Cathederal
7th October 2011
A special Mass for all Catholic schools in the London area, covering the Dioceses of Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood was held in Westminster Cathedral on 7th October. The Mass was to mark the end of the Year of Catholic Education, launched by the Pope on his visit to Twickenham last year, and also to prepare schools for the hundred days of peace leading up to and following the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
Roisin Neligan-Ayling from the Prep Dept. and Jessica Kirkham from the Senior school represented St Catherine's at the Mass and had the opportunity to meet Archbishop Vincent Nichols afterwards.
Miss M Ryan—Head of Religious Education
CAFOD School Conference
12th October 2011
On Wednesday 12th October, 18 Year 11 students joined almost 300 students from Catholic schools across the South East at a one day conference focusing on ‘Sport, Development and Peace’ organised by CAFOD and hosted by St Mary’s University College.
In 2005, Nelson Mandela addressed thousands at the launch of the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign where he called upon young people to become the ‘Great Generation, inspiring change and fighting the causes of injustice in the world. This speech was the inspiration for a campaign by CAFOD where the charity aimed to work alongside young people, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle social injustice issues on a local and global scale.
Miss M Ryan - Head of Religious Education
Year 11 - Sixth Form Taster
Following on from a very beneficial visit to Surrey University, the whole of Year 11 spent Wednesday, October 5th getting a taste of Life in the Sixth Form. As such the girls were allowed to wear ‘smart business dress’ for the day and make use of the Sixth Form Common Room. The morning was spent experiencing typical A level classes, gaining an understanding of their content and style. All the students agreed that this gave them real insight into what studying 4 AS subjects might be like: challenging but also very exciting. After lunch, every member of Year 11 received an individual interview to discuss AS subject choices and possible plans for university and beyond.
All agreed that the day was fun but that it also provided a clear message: that in a very competitive world, good degrees from good universities are going to become essential currency in the jobs market. And to get into such a university you should be aiming for a minimum of AAB at A level. The question that the students were left with was: which sort of environment will best support them in their quest?
Mr A Pearson
Head of Sixth Form
Year 11 Trip to the University of Surrey
On Wednesday 28th of September, Year 11 travelled to the University of Surrey to learn about life at university. After arriving at the beautiful campus, we were introduced to several ‘student ambassadors’ who were currently at the university.
We were then split into groups in order to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of going to university. Although the rise in fees was discussed, the student ambassadors ensured everyone that they adored everything about student life: from joining the endless list of societies and attending the engaging lectures to meeting a diverse range of people from different cultural and social backgrounds.
After having a tour of the university, we went to the Hillside Café to have lunch, which everyone agreed was absolutely delicious. Later, in groups, we researched certain jobs in order to determine which A-level and GCSE results and skills were required for different university courses. This enabled us to see that we have already made decisions such as GCSE options, which could affect our futures. After expressing our gratitude to our host and the student ambassadors, we loaded onto the coach. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip and found it extremely eye opening.
Phoebe Jones—11C
Feast of Our Lady of Mercy
On Friday 23rd September students, staff and guests celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy with Fr Ulick in the School Hall.
This was the first whole school Mass of the new academic year and also the first time using the revised translation of the Roman Missal.
We were delighted to welcome a number of parents and parishioners as well as some of the Sisters of Mercy on their special Feast Day.
Borneo Training Week-End Peak District (23-25 September)
The 26 girls who are signed up for our next expedition in 2012 to Borneo travelled to Thornbridge Outdoor Centre in the Peak District, for a weekend of training to see what they are really going to experience next year.
“We arrived after our journey, to be immediately thrown into team building games that kept everyone on their toes or bottoms depending on what activity they were experiencing. The activities were followed by a series of talks explaining what the conditions would be like in the jungle and how we would have to cope with them.
Saturday took us on a four hour trek, starting at the car park in Edale at the beginning of the Pennine Way, followed by lunch at the top of Grinsbrook, with stunning views. The walk up took us over boulders and a winding river, great practice for the real thing. Arriving back at the centre, the afternoon was spent practising how to put up our hammocks, bashas and mosquito nets, our mode of sleeping whilst in the jungle. Great fun was had by all and we will all be making sure we pitch them high enough from the ground to avoid being prodded by night hunters (wild boars) in the jungle!
Sunday was the highlight of the weekend, with the girls up and ready to go at 8:00am, it was their fundraising opportunity, abseiling from the bridge at Millers Dale on the Monsal Trail (80ft drop).”
Senior School Extra Curricular Activities - Weekly Diary
School Lunch Menus
Len Smiths / Online School Uniform Service - Went live on 14th July 2011
Len Smiths - Supplier of School Uniform - Online Service
The above link includes an online shopping cart and a 24 hour online service. This went live on 14th July 2011.
For those parents of children entering the school for the first time and wishing to buy a full school uniform you are advised to visit Len Smiths' shop in Twickenham, where girls can try on different sizes for the best fit, - unless you are confident about the sizes of items required.
Price Lists
Early Years
Prep Years
Senior Years
Shop Contact Details
Len Smiths
1-15 Heath Road
Twickenham
Middlesex
TW1 4DB
Sales 020 8892 2201 [ Option 1 ]
