St Peter's College Concert - Wednesday 16th December

As term was finishing for most at St Helens, a number of our singers boarded the minibus to travel to St Peter's College in Oxford to rehearse and present a lovely concert in the rather chilly chapel. The girls were all pupils of Miss Grant and were joined by two of her pupils from other schools to sing solo items and combine in a variety of ensembles. The music ranged from opera to popular, and included a few Christmas favourites! It was a lovely evening and the girls dressed formally for the occasion - looking as beautiful as they sang.

Music Success

Anya Chomacki in Year 10 has been offered a place in the National Youth Training Choir for next year. This is another fantastic achievement and means that St Helens now have more girls representing us at national level than ever before. Well done, Anya!

Spanish Outing – 14th December

Sheldonian Theatre Christmas Concert - 13th December

Members of Cantores and Chapel Choir joined forces with the City of Oxford Orchestra on Sunday evening to participate in a Christmas concert at the historic Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. The girls performed traditional carols as well as two choral items, 'Zadok the Priest' and 'The Shepherd's Farewell' with the orchestra, and also performed alone - the medieval carol 'There is no Rose of Swych Virtu'. It was a wonderful and festive occasion, and the girls sang beautifully. Many thanks to everyone who participated.

Music Success

Hannah Tollemache in Year 9, has been selected to play harp in the National Children’s Orchestra next year. This is a fantastic achievement.  Many congratulations to Hannah.  

Lucy Anderson in Year 9 has become the latest St Helen’s pupil to achieve success at national level. Lucy has been offered a place in the National Youth Chamber Orchestra for next year. Many congratulations to Lucy.
 

Santas on the Run - 13th December

Members of staff abandoned their sleighs and took to their feet to take part in the annual sponsored fun run in aid of Helen and Douglas House. It was a great event for everyone involved and a lovely start to the Christmas season - congratulations to all those that took part.

Saxophone Ensembles at Headington Theatre - 12th December

On Saturday evening, a group of our senior saxophonists took part in a Christmas concert at Headington Theatre. The concert was given by two choirs 'Oxford Harmony' and the 'Great Western Chorus' and our girls provided an instrumental interlude in each half of the concert. The girls (Alison Cooke, Bethany Wright, Camilla Pegram, Cara Ellison, Emma Collinson,Emily Hearn, Emma Selinger, Georgina Pegram, Laura Hand, Geurim Ra, Emma Walsh and Venice Shrier) performed quartets, sextets and two saxophone big band numbers, for which they were joined by Hannah Findley on piano and Flora Havelock on drums. The girls' performance was much appreciated by the audience.

Many thanks to Mr Foster for organising the event.

Dalton Barracks - 11th December

On Friday evening, our senior string quartet (Sue Lee, Sarah Myhill, Hannah Findley and Grace Handy) were performing at the Dalton Barracks Sergeants' Mess Christmas Dinner. It was a formal dinner, and the quartet was providing music as the guests arrived and during the first part of the dinner itself. The girls played extremely well and their contribution was very much appreciated by the soldiers and their guests.

Junior Department Nativity - 11th December

The Junior Department began their Christmas celebrations in Chapel with a wonderful presentation of the Nativity. They performed beautiful traditional carols and more modern Christmas songs in front of their parents, governors and staff.
It was a special occasion, bringing School and family together, in a lovely Christmas atmosphere. Click Here to read a review of the production by a Year 5 pupil

Christmas Market – 4th December

At lunchtime on Friday 4th December, the year 9 German class organised a German Christmas market selling edible treats such as Stollen (German Christmas Cake), chocolate Santa lollies, spiced biscuits and chocolate marzipan. It was a great success and all was sold out in less than a quarter of an hour!

Music Success

Maddy Clarke in Year 10, has been offered a place in the National Youth Chamber Orchestra for next year, which is a fantastic achievement. Due to existing musical commitments, Maddy is unable to attend both of the courses which the orchestra runs, so she has been given the chance to lead the National Children's Chamber orchestra instead. This is a great honour - many congratulations to Maddy.
 

 
Year 9 Photographic Competition Results

The photographs entered for the competition were taken during the Year 9 Chateau Trip in October 2009. Over 200 entries were received from 50 girls, the standard was extremely high and entries are on display in Old School Hall.
The competition was judged in three categories with prizes and certificates awarded for First and Second, Highly Commended and Commended entries also received certificates.
‘Remembering the Past’ - for the best photograph taken at a World War 1 battlefield or memorial site.
‘Girls Just Want to have Fun’ - for the best social photograph taken on the trip.
‘Essentially French’ for the best photograph that captures the essence of France or the French.
Click here to see the winning entries.
 

Joint Choral Society Concert – 30th November

On Saturday the 30th of November the Joint Choral Society performed its concert, this year at Abingdon School, in the Amey Theatre.  The work was David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus which combines choral singing and chanting with taped sounds which were recorded in Africa in 1969.  There was an orchestra of two electric guitars, djembes and other drum percussion.  Girls from the school sang with boys from Abingdon School and with adult members of the Joint Choral Society.  The event was a great success and was very atmospheric indeed.  Rosie Miller (Upper School 1) sang the Lord’s Prayer as a solo to great acclaim.
 

 'The Zoo Story' – 25th-27th November

“How did The Zoo Story go?”
“Well, it was in the Old Sports Hall,” I replied.
 “The Old Sports Hall single-glazed-windows-perpetually-arctic-all-year-round-not-least-on-a-cold-November-evening Old Sports Hall?”
“Erm, yeeeaah….”
“What was it about?”
“Well 'The Zoo Story' is really Edward Albees’s exposé on Class and Identity, on the fear of being too unrecognised, too unloved. Jerry (changed to ‘Jenny’), a wandering vagrant, meets polite, well-mannered Peter (‘Peta’) on a park bench one afternoon. They begin to talk and slowly, elements of each other’s lives are revealed. The true nature of Jerry’s intentions is finally revealed in a shocking and violent climax. Charly Clive showed a maturity and professionalism well beyond her years as the enigmatic Jenny, all nervous smiles and icy stares, never giving too much away, always knowingly one step ahead of the audience. And Anna Canlan-Shaw as Peta was equally as impressive. With arguably the harder part, she is our constant, reacting in real-time, as we are, to what’s being said and done. She is taken on such a journey by the things Jenny says, and Anna went from each emotion to the next with a natural fluidity and a remarkably innate sense of character. In a play where all she could do was listen, she became our guide. The pair was certainly one of the greatest double-acts I’ve worked with.”
Mr A Verjee - Director

 
St Kate’s Day - 26th November

The school’s annual St Kate’s Day celebration took place on Thursday.  The Eucharist service in the morning set the tone for the day, reminding everyone of the importance of small acts of kindness.  The 2 pence race followed, offering the opportunity to raise money for school charities.  From gospel singing to Bollywood dancing, there was something new for everyone to learn before the much anticipated Lacrosse match against Abingdon School and the Sixth Form play, a fabulous rendition of ‘Pippa Pan,’ which included an ingenious parody of the St Helen’s promotional video.

National Writing Competition Success

Year 10 pupil, Lauren Kedar  met one of her heroes at Downing Street after finishing runner-up in a national writing competition, beating  more than 2,000 entrants in a contest run by Take a Break’s Fiction Feast magazine.
Lauren and other selected entrants were invited to have afternoon tea with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and bestselling children’s author Anthony Horowitz, who headed the competition’s judging panel.
Lauren’s story, which will be published in the December issue of the Fiction Feast magazine, is set in war-torn Afghanistan and is called The Calm before the Storm.
Mr Horowitz and the judging panel said about her story: “For a 13-year-old girl to capture the tension and fears of soldiers going into battle is quite extraordinary.”
As well as seeing her story published and meeting the Prime Minister, Lauren was presented with WHSmith vouchers and an overnight trip to London.
 

Senior Team Maths Challenge - 24th November

Our team (Emily Maw, Helen Webster, Alice Brown and Ruolin Wang) came 2nd (to Abingdon unfortunately!) at the Oxford regional heat of the Senior Team Mathematics Challenge at St Edward’s yesterday. Their mark was better than the winning score in the Reading heat but unfortunately it is a first past the post scenario in the regional rounds.  Thanks to Chris Russell who accompanied the team.

 
'The Big Draw' – 23rd November

Upper School 1 and 2 artists went to the Oxford University Museum on Monday to take part in 'The Big Draw' with Larkmead School, as part of the school's outreach programme. The day was led by Jeanette Barnes RA.
Students worked in the museum using the building as a stimulus for a wide variety of drawing projects.
In 2010, as part of the museum's 150th anniversary, there will be an exhibition of the work produced at the Big Draw.

 
Year 8 Design Museum Trip – 18th November

On Wednesday 18th November 40 students from year 8 went on a trip to London visiting the Design Museum as part of the Design and Technology Out of School learning.
Students took part in an Eco Product analysis workshop, looking at objects made of recycled materials and also asked to think about the environment and sustainability when designing and making products.
They also had the opportunity to visit and explore two exhibitions:
David Chipperfield (Architect) – “Form Matters”
“Ergonomics” an exhibition demonstrating the Science and Design involved in producing usable quality items.

UK Senior Mathematics Challenge 2009/10

The Senior Mathematics Challenge is aimed at Years 12 and 13 although our top set in Year 11 usually have a go at it too! In Years 12 and 13, four girls earned Gold certificates, 18 earned Silver and in Years 11, 12 and 13, 25 girls earned Bronze.  Congratulations to everyone who took part, even if you didn’t gain a certificate this time round. The Senior Challenge is significantly more difficult than the Intermediate Challenge. Particular congratulations to Alice Brown (Y12) and Emily Maw (Y13) who have been selected from this Senior Mathematics Challenge to go through to the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad. The paper for this lasts three and a half hours and contains six complex and involved mathematical problems for which full written solutions are required. High achievers in Round One are invited to try Round Two.  Alice Brown achieved Best in School, Emily Maw was the highest scorer in Y13 and Kitty Hutchison was the highest scorer of those in Y11 who did the challenge.
 

Senior Concert - 18th November

The first Senior Concert of the year took place on Wednesday evening in YPH. The evening began with a spirited performance of Ravel's ‘Bolero’ by First Orchestra, and the concert also featured three choirs, two saxophone ensembles and the newly formed viola ensemble. Highlights of the event included Sue Lee (US2) directing Camerata and taking the main solo role in their performance of Corelli's Concerto Grosso no. 12, and Concert Band's rousing rendition of highlights from Les Miserables. Special mention must also go to those members of US2 who took responsibility for some of the musical items, as well as stage managing the whole event. In addition, many thanks to the music staff for all their hard work in organising such an enjoyable evening.

 
 
Radley Conference – 18th November

US2 girls enjoyed a stimulating and challenging day at Radley College, attending the annual sixth form conference.  This year's topic was 'The Media: a Force for Good' and speakers ranged from John Ryley, director of Sky News, to Tom Bower, famous for his investigative biographies of Richard Branson and Gordon Brown.  For several girls the highlight was the afternoon discussion with Paul Watson on his documentary film-making and his forceful attack on the depths of reality television. As always the debate was heated, and the whole day has certainly made us question the ethics of spin, who controls the media and whether we can trust any politicians.
 

Year 6 - A Victorian Workshop - 6th November

On Friday 6th November Year 6 attended a Victorian workshop led by Mrs Gill Whitten. She took on the role of Granny Thompson and told the girls stories from the past. The girls dressed up in costumes and certainly learnt a great deal and enjoyed themselves.

 
Radley Debating Dinner - 6th November

On Friday 6th November, St Helen's hosted Radley College for a debating dinner, a warm-up for the joint school conference taking place on the 18th November.  A team from St. Helen's and Radley debated the motion 'This house believes the BBC is a waste of taxpayers' money'.  It was a highly entertaining debate with excellent speeches from both sides. However, St. Helen's narrowly won!
 

Mandir Temple Visit – 6th November

On Friday, 6th November year 8 girls visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden. They were welcomed by a member of the Hindu congregation who explain the importance of the temple and the main aspects of the Hindu faith. The girls attended the Arti ceremony, viewed the sacred images and explored the exhibition on Hindu life.
 

Spanish Exchange - 27th October - 5th November

The Spanish exchange was once again a great success. The Spanish School, Manuel Peleteiro, has moved to a more modern and spacious premises and it was great to be there. The highlights of our visit to Santiago de Compostela were visits to Inditex (clothing company Zara's Headquarters) where boys and girls learnt about how Zara's collection is designed and manufactured and to Sotavento, the biggest wind farm in Europe and main supplier of renewable energy for Spain. When we left, there was a general feeling of nostalgia amongst the students and we are all looking forward to the return visit in March.

Year 6 Mathematics Challenge – 5th November

Mrs Hall took four Year 6 girls to compete in the Year 6 Mathematics Challenge at St Edward's School on Thursday afternoon. One pair came 4th out of 32 schools and the other came 14th in their section. The girls all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and should be congratulated for their success!
 

PE News

Congratulations to Bryony Hearn from 9W, who has been selected for the England Rounders Under 14 Squad.  Kudos must also go to Emma Grant ('09 leaver) competed at the Senior Track Nationals in Manchester and managed 6th place in the Individual Pursuit (behind Olympic Champion Sarah Storey and a few other elite performers) and 4th in the Team Sprint.