Junior Team Maths Challenge National Finals - 21st June
Last term the St Helen’s maths team comprising of Katya Richards, Alice Lindsay, Joanna Savage and Helen Gildersleeves qualified for the finals to be held in the Royal Horticultural Halls in the centre of London. In the finals the questions would be harder, there would be a poster competition based on Varignon’s Theorem and quadrilaterals, and there was an extra mathematical activity round. Armed with the requisite scissors and felt pens we left Abingdon at 7.00 in the morning! After a very exciting, and mentally exhausting, day the girls finished a very good 34th out of the 80 finalists as in fact 1450 schools took part in the entire competition. Our girls are to be congratulated on all the hard work they put into preparing for the competition, particularly on Fridays after school.
US1 Geography trip to Studland - 21st June
As part of their preparation for A2 level geography next year, all 23 US1 geographers visited Studland Bay in Dorset on Monday 21st June to undertake fieldwork and study succession in a psammosere. The weather was glorious and the girls worked extremely hard collecting data which they will analyse back at school as part of thier preperation for the Unit 4a examination on fieldwork at A2
Art and Design Exhibition Evening - 18th June
Many GCSE and A Level pupils brought their parents and friends to see their artwork displayed in an exhibition in a number of venues around school.The work consisted of coursework and exam pieces and made a wonderful display. Our artists are to be congratulated on their talents and hard work.The furniture and storage pieces made in Design Technology were the focus of much interest.
Year 8 Careers Activity Afternoon - 17th June
Year 8 spent a busy afternoon honing their teamwork, investigative, creative, organisation and presentation skills to complete a series of timed team challenges. They were also introduced to the careers team and to some of the information and resources available to them as they move through the school.
The NHS was chosen as a backdrop for the afternoon’s events both as the largest employer in Europe and as an employer of a wide range of careers and professions.
The year group was divided into teams, each of which had to create a potato creature to represent the NHS- but that was only the start of the afternoon!
The teams then investigated a specific career using information from two excellent careers websites- stepintothe nhs and Jobs4U and prepared posters on both the career and on the type of person that would suit such a career. They then presented their work and explained what was involved in their chosen career to their peers.
An enjoyable and informative afternoon was had by all.
Junior Concert - 16th June
On Wednesday evening, girls from Years 6 - 10 gave a wonderful concert in YPH. It was a beautiful summer's evening and YPH was full of friends and supporters. The evening began with Sinfonietta, who have grown and developed into an excellent orchestra, and exciting performances followed from Junior Choir, Supaphones, Flute Group (directed by four members of Year 11 who are in the middle of their GCSEs!) and Junior Vocal Ensemble and Brass Band. Sinfonia, our most junior orchestra, which is open to boys and girls from all local schools, performed "Star Wars" to great aplomb, and the evening ended with three rousing numbers from the Wind Band. Many thanks to all the performers, stage managers and staff who helped to put on such a lovely event.
Oxfordshire Youth Parliament
Zenia Selby has been selected to represent St Helen's at the Oxfordshire Youth Parliament from September when she is in Upper School One. Zenia will take over from Jessica Murray who has done an excellent job during the last year. We wish Zenia success in her new role.
Year 9 Shakespeare Festival - 11th June
The Studio Theatre was the venue for the first ever Shakespeare Festival at St Helen’s on Friday afternoon. Each English set performed a short version of a Shakespeare play: ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ and ‘Twelfth Night.’ The festival was the culmination of six weeks of intensive work, which included cutting the script, casting roles, directing the play, learning lines and designing programmes, costumes, props and music. There were many memorable performances, but special mention must go to Jess Ward-Zinski for her portrayal of Malvolio – no one in the audience will forget her pursuit of Olivia in yellow stockings! All of the plays were lively and engaging; congratulations to all for their hard work.
Carnegie Quiz - 10th June
The 2010 Carnegie Quiz took place in the Amey Theatre at Abingdon School on Thursday 10th June. Shadowers from the five participating schools had a fantastic time discussing the books that they have been reading and answering questions about them. Imogen Richards from St Helens was part of the team that achieved the highest score in the quiz and Anvi Halabe was awarded a prize for her outstanding contribution to shadowing here at St Helens.
Chloe Taylor from St Helen and St Katharine said: “ I had a really good time at the Carnegie Quiz because I got to talk to other people about the books. I enjoyed hearing other people’s opinions about the books and it was good to work in a team with people I hadn’t met before”.
Junior Scholars' Concert - 10th June
Our younger scholars and exhibitioners (from Year 8 - Year 10) gave a stunning concert on Thursday evening in the Studio Theatre. Performances were given on violin, piano, clarinet, voice, trumpet, harp and cello and the music ranged from Fats Waller and Aaron Minsky to Puccini, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. the standards set by these young musicians is quite astonishing and many congratulations go to all the performers.
Year 8 visit Fishbourne Roman Palace - 8th June
Year 8 visited the Roman palace at Fishbourne. They have been studying the palace in class and our visit brought the opportunity to view it in the flesh - or marble. They were extremely lucky with the weather, dodging showers with perfect timing so that they could wander around the garden area in the sun. There was also a chance to handle Roman artefacts, as well as admiring the amazing mosaics. In the museum one could have a go at weaving, while in the workshop a few girls demonstrated to their friends the art of grinding corn in a quern - some with more success than others! This was the perfect way to revise the topic before answering questions on it next week in the examination...
Year 7 Critical Thinking - 7th June
Year 7 enjoyed a thinking skills morning in school on the 7th June.
They took part in a variety of activities ranging from assessing the use of opinions and facts, working out what happened to the Princes in the tower to solving the problem of clearing a toxic waste site without getting contaminated. An informative and enjoyable morning was had by all!
Year 9 Student receives Highest Guiding Award - 27th May
Sophia went to guides as usual with her sister Victoria. However the evening ended with a surprise presentation to her by the County Commisioner for Oxford with the highest honour in Guiding - the Star of Merit. The award was made in recognition of Sophia’s bravery throughout her treatment for cancer and for all she has done along with her fellow guides to raise money for the CLIC Sargent charity. Many congratulations Sophia!
‘In Holland Stands a House' - 24th-27th May
This year’s Lower School production was the story of Anne Frank, and this well-known story of the Jewish teenager who documented her life in hiding from the Nazis in her diary was told movingly and powerfully by the young actors. The play was very well cast, and the Year 7 and 8 girls showed real maturity in the way they handled their roles, many of them playing adults. Jenna Chick was a marvellous Anne Frank: flighty, lively and loveable – although sometimes clearly very annoying to the adults with whom she shared the tiny, clearly claustrophobic, hidden apartment. Jenny Matthews as Miep, the Dutch woman who helped the Jewish hideaways, held the different parts of the story together and there were very effective moments using the chorus. The ending was particularly moving, as Anne and her family, with other Jewish captives, were sent off to the death camps. This was an impressive performance from so young a cast, which had real emotional depth. We were left with tears in our eyes and the warning, delivered by Miep, that it is only us who can prevent such evil events happening again.
Year 6 visit to Legoland - 25th May
Year 6 spent a wonderful day at Legoland. It was beautifully sunny and the girls were very excited. They were studying control technology and took part in a workshop programming a lego vehicle to shoot a ping pong ball.
Later on they could study the rides up close and look out for the sensors, as they sped around the watery Viking Invaders, plummeted down the Pirate's Log Flume and rocketed around the Dragon Roller coaster. An informative, and fun, day was had by all!
Year 10 Geographers Nettlecombe Field Trip - 19th-21st May
Forty six Year 10 geographers visited the field studies centre at Nettlecombe to undertake fieldwork as part of their IGSCE course.
The girls studied water quality, river characteristics, coastal processes and management. A fantastic time was had by all and the staff agreed that it was one of the most successful visits to the centre of recent times.
Summer Singers' Concert - 20th May
The last Singers' Concert of the year took place on Thursday 20th May, and featured girls from year 8 to some of the 6th form leavers. There was a huge variety of music from Handel to the Beatles, and lots of songs from musicals both old and new. The girls all performed beautifully, demonstrating how much progress they have made over the year, and showcasing the huge vocal talent in the school.
Junior Residential trip to London - 12th-14th May
The Junior Department have just returned from an exciting residential trip to London. For many of the girls this was their first residential trip and they were certainly kept busy! The girls visited many attractions, including St Paul's Cathedral, HMS Belfast, the Tower of London, the London Eye as well as having excellent seats for an evening performance of the Lion King and bumping into M.P.s outside Downing Street.
A good time was had by all and, as always, the girls set an excellent example for the school.
GCSE Drama Student to Perform in West End
Eleanor Hurrell (10L) will perform in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End on Sunday 18th July. A student at Stagecoach Oxford, Eleanor and two others have been selected to perform the closing moments of the production, a huge responsibility and honour.
Eleanor will sing the reprise of the song 'The Letter', which she performed in Clea Southall's recent lunchtime showcase. Eleanor and her fellow Stagecoach Oxford students have also been selected to go to the regional final at the Wycombe Swan theatre this Saturday, but for Eleanor to have been individually selected to perform in the West End is an enormous achievement. Our huge congratulations to her.
Tickets are available direct from the Victoria Palace Theatre.
Old Girls Reunion - 8th May
At least 60 Old Girls and 10 former teachers returned to St Helen’s for a very happy reunion, having not seen each other for anything between 20 and 40 years. There was so much talk and laughter as many happy memories resurfaced. All were very impressed by our wonderful new library and buildings, but the highlight of the school tour for them was Old School Hall, the Art Rooms and ICT Suite, previously dormitories when St Helen’s was a boarding school. Some very special, enduring friendships had been forged in those very rooms and all the special moments came flooding back.
After lunch we were joined by another 70 Old Girls and staff who all wanted to say their own farewell to Mr Ireland, who is retiring after 36 years of teaching maths here. He was presented with a book voucher and a bottle of wine by Mrs Wassell, an Old Girl and former member of staff herself, on behalf of all Old Girls of the school. We still have a considerable sum of money collected on the day for another gift for Mr Ireland, yet to be decided upon.
At the end of the day everyone went home on a little bit of a high. One of our attendees wrote, ‘I had the very best of days with my chums from the past – I hope I can keep them with me into our futures. They were the best news ever & a great advert for the warmth, strength, compassion and humour women express towards one another. Very uplifting & hilarious!’
I couldn’t agree more! Sandie Burnett (Old Girls’ Alumnae Officer)
Mock Election - 6th May
St Helen's pupils joined in with Election Fever by casting votes at our mock election. The campaigning by the political parties over the last few weeks fuelled lively debate between pupils and staff alike, with the final results closely resembling the actual election outcome.
YE Company, Cloud 9, Radio Oxford Interview - 30th April
Wesley Smith from Radio Oxford visited St Helen's today to interview the members of Cloud 9. The interview will be broadcast on the 8th May between 12 - 2pm. Cloud 9 also received the exciting news that they will be joining Magma in the county finals next month.
Congratulations girls!
Confirmation service - 28th April
On Wednesday the 28th April a number of girls were confirmed by the Bishop of Oxford in St Helen's Church. It was a lovely service, led prayerfully by the Bishop and the wonderful voices of Chapel Choir. The event was celebrated with a magnificent confirmation cake made specially by our excellent kitchen staff.
Click here to see the photographs
Young Enterprise Area Presentation - 28th April
Well done to Magma who were winners at the Young Enterprise Area Presentation on Wednesday evening. The judges looked at each company's presentations, company accounts and at the quality of their stands.This takes them through to the county final which is on the 13th May at Said Business School.
Cloud 9 gave, every one agreed, the best presentation of the evening and with Magma being successful overall, they both excelled above the competition in their performances.
Cloud 9 have a really exciting couple of days ahead being interviewed by both the Oxford Times today and Radio Oxford tomorrow.
Both teams have performed exceptionally well and deserve to be congratulated on their achievements.
Election Debate organised by Sixth Form Pupil - 23 April
Alex Holroyd, a sixth form student, organised an election debate at school because there were so many undecided voters among her peers. She sent "persuasive" e-mails to each of the candidates for the Oxford West and Abingdon seat encouraging them to attend the event at St Helen's which was also covered by the local media.
Several hundred students, including those from several other schools, attended the debate on Friday.
Miss Holroyd said: "I told the candidates that there were 80 undecided voters and that we were critical. "Once I got one of them on board, it was very easy to get the others on board too."
Topics scheduled for debate included university places and potential cuts in higher education.
Nicola Blackwood (Cons), Evan Harris (Lib Dem) and Richard Stevens (Labour) attended the debate.
Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad Success
Each year about 200,000 Years 9, 10 and 11 pupils nationally enter the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, a multiple choice competition which is aimed at the top 30% of the national ability range. About 500 pupils from each year group are successful in getting through to the next round, the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad. This is a two hour follow paper requiring full written solutions.
Katya Richards in Y9 was successful in getting through to this round and we have just heard that she was one of only 9 students in Y9 in the country to score full marks in her paper. This is an absolutely outstanding achievement. Katya will also receive a medal for being in the top 100 pupils in her paper and a book prize for being in the top 50.
Many congratulations to Katya for her stunning success in this competition.
National Youth Theatre Success
Three St Helen's girls and one Abingdon boy have been accepted into the prestigious National Youth Theatre following successful auditions.
Charly Clive (Upper School 1), Agnes Donnelly (Year 11) and Emily Heath (Year 13) join Abingdon sixth former Nick Williams in gaining a place on NYT's summer courses. After some audition preparation at St Helen's each student made their way to one of NYT's national audition centres to participate in a group workshop and a solo audition, performing a monologue of their choice. It is a terrific achievement for all four, but especially so for Agnes Donnelly as it is very rare for a student outside of the sixth form to succeed in an NYT audition. We hope all of them have a terrific experience with the National Youth Theatre and look forward to them lending their expertise to the next batch of auditionees in 2011.
UCAS Application Success - 21st April
Given the competition for places this year we are delighted that each of our UCAS applications have resulted in girls getting offers, this includes those who have applied for medicine, veterinary medicine, law, English and other very competitive courses.
Congratulations to all of them.