Year 8 Activity Day - 25th March
On Thursday 25th March the whole of Year 8 set off to Hill End Activity Centre for a day of orienteering and problem solving.Despite the rain and the mud the girls had a stimulating day and rose to the challenge of working together in small groups.
Trip to English National Opera - 23rd March
A group of twelve girls had an exciting visit to see Donizetti's 'The Elixir of Love' at English National Opera. The production was set in a diner in the 1950s, and unusually for the company renowned for singing all their music in English, a last minute stand-in for the lead tenor sang his role in Italian. The girls were all very impressed with the high standard of singing, and inspired by the whole production, which certainly lived up to its positive reviews in the press. It was particularly interesting to experience two languages simultaneously, and it was impressive to see how the excellent acting helped the singers convey the meaning of the arias, in whichever language they were performing. The girls are already eagerly anticipating another trip in the near future!
Upper School trip to the City of London
On a recent trip to the City of London, the sixth form economists visited the Bank of England and Citi Bank. At the Bank of England we initially had a talk about the Bank’s role and its use of monetary policy to stabilise the banking system in the recent recession. After this we explored the Museum, testing our strength by lifting a bar of gold worth nearly £40,000, and grappling with inflation in an interactive game. We then travelled to Citi Bank in Canary Wharf at the kind invitation of Mr Crowe, where we got to see just how varied a career in banking could be. After an illuminating talk from a hedge fund manager, who tried to persuade us that hedge funds weren’t entirely to blame for the banking crisis, we were given a tour around the trading floor. It was a lot quieter and more relaxed than the stereotypical image of a trading floor, although the traders did all seem to have an excessive number of computer screens! We were incredibly privileged to see behind the scenes at one of the world’s biggest banks and everyone found it a very instructive experience.
Year 7 Kilve Court Residential Visit - 15th-19th March
Year 7 enjoyed a fantastic activity week at Kilve Court in Somerset, packed with fun, friends and lots of delicious food! There was plenty of challenge too, with girls facing a High Ropes course, a muddy stream walk and abseiling, to mention just a few activities. We all enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine, with only a little rain towards the end of the week.
To put it in the words of the girls, Kilve was amazing: it was a fun, scary, nerve-testing, team-building week and one they will never forget.
Young Enterprise Trade Fair - 20th March
After a wet start when setting up their stalls, the clouds cleared for Cloud 9 and Magma, who then enjoyed a busy day at the Young Enterprise National Trade Fair in Stratford Upon Avon on Saturday 20th March
Classical Reading Competition - 18th March
On Thursday March 18th 2010 Mr Moore and Mrs Shearan took a team of girls from St Helen and St Katharine to Magdalen College, Oxford for the annual classical reading competition. Several local schools enter for this event and there is always fierce competition. The judging also becomes ever more exacting. Despite this, all our girls acquitted themselves most creditably and several students were singled out for awards or commendations (there were no third prizes awarded this year).
Congratulations to all those that took part - Click Here to see the results.
Science Week Success - 18th March
Year 9 students Ellie Hadfield, Isobel Hall and Lauren Sahota won the Innovative Ideas Competition (secondary section) held at the Milton Park Innovation Centre on March 18th (part of a programme for Able Children supported by NACE).
They were presented with certificates, a trophy and a fantastic colour printer for the school, by the local MP Ed Vaizey.
British Physics Olympiad – 17th March
Seven physicists from US1 took the AS British Physics Olympiad competition this week. This was a very challenging paper with no time to spare. We are delighted that Alice Brown and Ruolin Wang gained Silver medal awards and Caroline Macé and Lucy Cunningham gained Bronze medal awards. On the strength of these results, Alice and Ruolin will be recommended for the Senior Physics Challenge held at Cambridge University in the summer.
US1 Geography Trip - 17th March
US1 Geographers visited a local river (Sandford Brook) to look at various river characteristics and their relationships. This was followed by the afternoon in school writing it up in preparation for the geographical skills section of their summer exam.
US2 Art History Trip to Courtauld - 16th March
The Upper School 2 Art History band of sisters (with an honorary brother) met at the Courtauld Institute, on a glorious morning that made you want to just stay in the sun, however we ascended the lovely, Chambers designed, neo-classical staircase, in order to spend a good hour in the Degas room, surrounded by his sculptures, talking about his quirky technique and outlook on life in general. Then it was Manet's turn: 'Bar at the Folies-Bergère', 'Déjeuner sur l'herbe'... did I mention quirky before? All pupils delivered really informative talks and took pages and pages of notes, before having a brief lunch and walking down the Strand to the National Gallery. A really thoroughly enjoyable and productive day!
Senior Music Festival 14th - 16th March
This year's Senior Music Festival took place this week. The festival is for girls in Year 10 and above and is divided into non-competitive classes for soloists and ensembles, and the two competitions - the Open Class (for grade 7-8 standard) and the Recital Class (for post grade 8 performers). The three adjudicators for the Recital Class were Andrew Tillett (former Director of Music), Robert Patterson (former Assistant Director of Music) and Carol Filleul (former Head of Strings), and they were full of praise for the standards achieved by the girls. Andrew Tillett remained to act as adjudicator for the rest of the festival and passed on his sincerest congratulations to all who participated.
Click here to see the results.
Pro Corda National Chamber Music Competition - Sunday 14th March
On Sunday 14th March, the Chakravarti quartet, from Years 9 and 10, (Nialah Chakravarti, Lucy Anderson, India Lunn and Katy Wang) travelled to the Birmingham Conservatoire to participate in the national final of the Pro Corda competition. It is an outstanding achievement for the girls to have reached this stage, particularly at such a young age, and they performed extremely well. The Tinlin trio (Eleanor Tinlin, Sue Lee and Amy Bladon) were also invited to attend the final but, due to family commitments, they were, unfortunately, unable to attend.
Many congratulations on another fabulous year of chamber music!
British Physics Olympiad – 12th March
Twenty-seven Year 11 girls sat this gruelling one-hour paper based on GCSE content but consisting of very challenging and thought-provoking questions. A good base knowledge of GCSE work is not sufficient to succeed on this paper. An ability to ‘think outside the box’ and apply knowledge in the widest sense will only ensure success.
Four girls did well enough to gain Bronze Awards this year so we congratulate Bonnie Gammer, Kitty Hutchison, Joanne Ridgley and Beatrice Allen for a commendable performance.
Art History trip to National Gallery - 11th March
On Thursday 11th March, the budding Art Historians turned up, good as gold, at the appointed time, in the foyer of the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing. We then had a presentation by each of the members of the Year 12 Art History group (one of them did a remarkable imitiation of Simon Schama in front of the Rembrandt). We then looked at the majestic Charles I on his enormous horse, trying to think why he chose to be pictured that way, and equally trying not to think of what happened to him soon after.
Madame de Pompadour was our next stop, with all the relevant historical background, of course, then a couple of blazing Turners, a contrasting Constable and, finally, the early days of Impressionism. An insipiring day was enjoyed by all.
Year 6 Visit to Abingdon Hospital - 11th March
As part of their PHSE curriculum, which has a focus on personal safety and injury minimization, Year 6 visited Abingdon Hospital. Here the girls were introduced to a variety of safety scenarios and through role play learnt how to manage these situations. They were also taught basic CPR techniques and then practised these new skills on hospital dummies.
Hopefully these skills will be with them for life.
Chaucer Study Day - 10th March
Early on Wednesday we set off to Red Lion Square in London with twenty- five US2 English A level students for a day of lectures on Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale. The girls are studying the tale in conjunction with Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus for their A2 examinations in the summer.
Four academics from various universities explored different aspects of the tale. A special mention must go to the stimulating lecture given by Dr K P Clarke from Pembroke College, Cambridge whose wit and relish for his subject was most inspiring. A long day, but one that provided some useful talking points!
UK Team Maths Challenge Success
Last week Katya Richards, Alice Lindsay, Joanna Savage and Helen Gildersleeves represented St Helen’s at a local Regional Final. After a gruelling, but fun, day doing mathematical problems the girls won the competition and are now through to the National Final at Camden Hall, London in June. This is an outstanding achievement - well done girls!
Music Trip to Glyndebourne - 5th March
Three girls from the Upper Sixth and Year 11 were given the opportunity to go to see 'Knight Crew' at Glyndebourne. This is a newly composed opera, featuring a chorus of young amateurs alongside a professional cast. The opera was based on the Legend of Arthur, but set in a modern times, with gang culture and knife crime between the Saxons and Knight Crew forming the basis for the story. Both the music and set were very exciting, and everyone enjoyed the performance, impressed with the excellent singing and lively action! The girls also had a chance to enjoy the beautiful grounds around the opera house before the performance, although it was a little too cold to eat their picnics outside! Gareth Malone from BBC's 'The Choir' has been working as Chorus Director, and TV cameras were there filming for a documentary called 'Gareth goes to Glyndebourne' which will be broadcast later this year. Watch out for the girls on camera!
The Jean Duffield Library - Official Opening - 3rd March
Arabella Duffield, granddaughter of Jean Duffield, opened the new library and started a day of great celebration. Visiting authors David Melling and Mary Hooper gave talks and workshops to Years 5-10 and there was a beautiful cake made especially for the event, with an irresistible cupcake for every girl in school to mark the special day.
300 parents, upper school pupils and special guests created a lively atmosphere at the evening celebration and visitors were dazzled by the new facilities. A very amusing and informative talk was given by best-selling author Robert Harris – a perfect conclusion to such a significant occasion.
Year 10 Art visit to Saatchi Gallery - 2nd March
All Year 10 students taking Art & Design visited the Saatchi Gallery, London to see the exhibition "The Empire Strikes Back" -Indian art today. We had an introductory tour by an education officer who selected six art works and discussed them with the group. She gave historical and political background information and put these contempory works of art in context.
This large exhibition contained a huge variety of paintings, sculpture and mixed media assemblages including a stuffed camel packed into a large suitcase. After the tour the girls spent a couple of hours drawing selected art works as part of their research for their coursework unit on the theme of "Identity".
‘Medicine- a Taster Evening’ - 26th February
We welcomed 320 students and parents, from 30 schools across the county, attending ‘Medicine – a taster evening’. This was part of our Higher Education programme, and was aimed at giving those in Years 11 and 12 a broad base of information on applying for medicine, what it means to be a medical student, and the lives of doctors today.
The evening was very successful, being packed with information and advice, and a great deal of expertise was shared.
Junior Singers' Concert - 24th February
On Wed 24th February, 18 girls from years 7-9 gave this term's Singers' Concert in Chapel. They sang a wide variety of music, from unaccompanied folk songs, to songs from the shows. Some of the girls who had received prizes at the Oxford Music Festival this year performed their winning songs again. All the girls sang beautifully, clearly demonstrating the extent of the vocal talent among the younger members of the school!
'Pride and Prejudice' at the Oxford Playhouse - 24th February
Two Year 10 English sets enjoyed a brilliant adaptation of Jane Austen's novel on Wednesday 24th February. Most of the girls already knew the dialogue by heart after studying the text in the first half of term and we were all fascinated to see how cleverly the play managed to condense so much action into a couple of hours. The stage design, in particular, was witty and imaginative, with its movable dinner table and cast transforming into topiary in the Bennets' garden. Luckily, Mr Darcy also lived up to everyone's high expectations!
Chamber Music Success
Shortly before half term, several of our chamber music ensembles participated in the regional round of the Pro Corda National Chamber Music Competition. We have just heard that three groups have been selected to go through to the semi-finals which will be held here at St Helens next week. The groups are the Tinlin Trio (Eleanor Tinlin, Sue Lee and Amy Bladon), the Wind Quintet (Charis Fisher, Eleanor Tinlin, Cara Ellison, Frances Long and Kat Telford) and the Chakravarti Quartet (Nialah Chakravarti, Lucy Anderson, India Lunn and Katy Wang). Well done, girls!
German Exchange - 7th to 17th February
Eleven girls from year 11 have just returned from Bielefeld in northern Germany, where they took part in our exchange with the Ratsgymnasium in conjunction with Abingdon School which has been running now for over 40 years. The weather was freezing with snow on the ground throughout their stay but this did not dampen spirits. There were a number of activities with their exchange partners including the traditional England/Germany football match, ice skating and an afternoon of discussing national stereotypes as well as excursions to Münster and Bremen. The girls made many lasting friendships and the understanding between the two countries was strengthened still further.
OISSP Sixth Form Physicist of the Year
The Oxfordshire Independent and State Schools Partnership (OISSP) invite us annually to nominate our best Year 13 Physics student to receive an award for their efforts during the past year. This year we had no difficulty in nominating Emily Maw.
The presentation took place on 11 February at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The evening began with a lecture by Professor Bill David from ISIS on ‘Element one meets element zero’, after which the students received their awards and prizes.
Many congratul;ations Emily!
County Hockey Squad
Margaux Wilson has been selected for the U16 Oxfordshire County Hockey Squad, congratulations Margaux!
Upper School trip to Paris - 4-7th February
With US1 students of French, we have just returned from a very pleasant four day trip to Paris. On Friday we had a perfect sunny Spring day to visit Montmartre and stroll up the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe before a conference discussing various aspects of the environment in French then a visit to the Louvre. On Saturday, we went to a conference on politics, business and the European Union followed by a boat trip on the Seine and some well-earned shopping. We ate well and began to appreciate French café culture and the only thing which spoilt our stay was the slowness of British customs making us miss our train back through the Channel Tunnel.
Oxford Music Festival Results - 7th February
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Congratulations to all those who took part in the Oxford Music Festival this year, there were many successes - too many to list here!
Click on the picture on the left to see results.
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Royal College of Music Competition Winner - 6 February
On Saturday 6th February, Hannah Tollemache in Year 9 won the Gordon Turner Memorial Harp Competition at the Royal College of Music in London.
Hannah attends the Junior department of the RCM on Saturdays, and to win this competition is an outstanding achievement. Well done, Hannah!
Buenos Aires Hockey Team Visit - 5th February
St Helen's hosted a hockey team from St Albans College, Buenos Aires. We played a match with them at Tilsley Park with the resulting score of 2-0 to the visitors. This was a creditable result for our senior team.
Abingdon Schools' Joint Author Visit - 4th February
We had the pleasure of hosting the fifth Abingdon Schools’ Joint Author Visit on Thursday 4th February 2010. St Helen's work closely with Abingdon School and Our Lady’s Abingdon to coordinate the event each year and the schools take it in turn to act as hosts. This year our visiting speaker was author Marcus Sedgwick who has written a range of books for children and young people. He spoke to secondary school aged pupils about his Carnegie shortlisted novel My Sword Hand is Singing and gave us a fascinating insight into the spooky research for the book that took him to Romania in search of the Wedding of the Dead ceremony that still takes place in remote and secret places. Over 250 pupils from visiting primary and preparatory schools came to listen to Marcus talk about his new Flood and Fang series of books during the afternoon. Marcus talked about creating the characters in a book and how he plans the plotlines of each book before he starts writing. He also chose volunteers from the audience to help him re-enact a scene from one of his books. All of the participating schools had an enjoyable day and it was great see lots of children from local schools coming together to celebrate the work of such a brilliant writer for children.
County Hockey Squad Selections
Briony Hearn & Freya Granger (both year 9) have been selected for the U14 Oxfordshire Hockey squad.
Alice Lowe (year 9) has been selected for the U15 Berkshire Hockey squad.
Very well done to all three girls!
Cross Country Championship Success
Girls from St Helen and St Katharine won a hat-trick of titles at the Vale of the Whte Horse Schools' Cross Country Championships at Radley College. Zoe Teh came first in the under 13 girls' race, Imogen Kempton won the under 17 race, beating schoolmate Cordelia Parker, and Gemma Bridge completed the treble in the under 19 girls' race.
In the Oxfordshire County Tournament, Gemma Bridge came second in the under 17 race and the school were placed third overall.
Congratulations to all!
Upper School Art Trip to London - 2 February
Upper School artists had a busy day at Tate Modern on Tuesday gathering material to use towards their AS and A2 work. This is the start of the externally-set units for both year groups and everyone found something relevant to research.
We all experienced the latest piece made for the Turbine Hall, "How It Is" by Miroslaw Balka, a vast cavernous metal contruction. We prefered the galleries!
The following image is in response to "Letter to my Son" by Asger Jorn, 1956-7
Annual Chamber Music Concert - January 26th 2010
In spite of the disruption to the start of term, which resulted in various chamber ensembles missing several valuable coaching sessions, the 2010 Chamber Music Concert was of an exceptionally high standard.
Twelve groups, involving girls from years 5 to 13, performed chamber music for strings, wind and piano, including movements from well known works such as Schubert’s “Trout” quintet, and less familiar repertoire including a fiery gypsy-style movement from the Quartet for four violins by 20th century female composer, Grazyna Bacewicz.
All performers played with confidence and accomplishment. Many ensembles displayed good communication and were clearly working together cooperatively as a team.
The groups have been rehearsing together since September, some of them for longer, and many will continue to work together and build their musical rapport into the next academic year. Some groups will be slightly reorganised in Hilary Term, in order to provide all girls with breadth of chamber music experience.
Well done to all girls who took part, and good luck with the forthcoming competitions!
The New Library Opens its Doors
On Monday 25th January at 8.30am the new Jean Duffield Library opened its doors to pupils for the very first time. The library has been busy every day and pupils from all year groups have been over to explore and work in the building. Ellen Harris from US2 celebrated her eighteenth birthday with a visit to the library on the morning it opened and she told the librarians that “In year 9 I decided to read the entire library. Now I think I’ll have to give up that dream, but the beautiful light new space makes up for it!” The first pupil to borrow a book was from Year 8 and she was followed by many keen St Helens readers.
Record Oxbridge Offers - January 26th 2010
We are delighted with our Oxbridge results. With a record entry of 45 applicants, girls have received a total of 23 offers: 9 from Oxford and 14 from Cambridge.
Congratulations to all the girls.
Upper School English Workshop - January 25th 2010
US2 English students enjoyed a gripping and very polished performance of 'Dr Faustus' on Monday 25th January. The Splendid Theatre Company presented their Brechtian interpretation of the play in the Studio Theatre and followed it up with a workshop exploring Marlowe's language and dramatic skills. This is an A level text for English this year and it was a great opportunity to experience a highly entertaining stage version.
Die Fledermaus - January 21st 2010
A group of girls went to see Die Fledermaus at the Oxford Playhouse, by touring company Opera della Luna. It was a very entertaining evening, with a modern interpretation of the staging and libretto, which has been a talking point among the girls ever since! The members of Camerata who came on the trip have certainly gained some inspiration for their forthcoming performance of the Overture from the Opera, which they will be giving in the Senior Concert at the start of next term.
US1 Historians visit the Ashmolean - January 21st 2010
On Thursday morning the US1 Art Historians gathered in front of the sun-lit Ashmolean portico. We had a great couple of hours, talking about old methods of display (the temple-like museum, dedicated to knowledge, literally and metaphorically stood on a pedestal), and the new, glorious, soaring interior that has recently been unveiled. We then looked at some Renaissance paintings in more detail, trying to imagine the context in which they were produced. The Uccello so-called 'Night Hunt', Piero di Cosimo's weird 'Forest Fire', the icy portrait of a Medici boy destined for greatness(and doesn't he know it!!) by Bronzino.
What a place! We'll be back...
Young Achievers Award - Briony Hearn - January 19th 2010
We would like to congratulate to Briony Hearn as she has been selected by South Oxfordshire District Council to receive a Young Achievers Award for her sporting endeavours in the last year. We would like to commend Briony on her commitment to sport both outside and inside of school and amongst her many sporting achievements she has gained a junior England rounders position, is on the county hockey and cricket squads and is in the Midlands Advanced Lacrosse Coaching Programme.
Very well done Briony!
US2 Physics Olympiad Results - 18th January 2010
Four girls in US2 sat the 3 1/4 hour British Physics Olympiad examination in November and we have recently received the results. Emily Maw gained a Silver Medal Award and both Helen Webster and Emily Stephens gained Bronze II Awards. Miriam Beer was commended. Congratulations to all the girls!
Handel's Messiah - January 3rd 2010
On Sunday 3rd January members of the public in Wantage combined to perform a 'Come and Sing Handel's Messiah' in the Methodist Church, under the direction of Malcolm Pearce. Rosie Miller (US1) and Julie Jo (US2) were invited to sing some of the Soprano solos, alongside Miss Grant. The girls performed beautifully, to a very appreciative audience and gained much from the experience of singing with professional singers in a public concert!
Music Success
Alice Lindsay in Year 9, has become yet another St Helens pupil to achieve national musical success. She has been offered a place in the National Youth Choir. Many congratulations, Alice.