St Helens Magazine 2015-2016

A n e xc e p t i o n a l s c h o o l

St Helen’s

Magazine 2015 - 2016

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Contents Little Saints:

Nursery and Reception Xmas 6 Easter Bonnet Parade 8 World Book Day 10 LSH Sports Day 12 Chiltern Open Air Museum Visit 14 Year 1 Trip to Clay Lane 16 Year 2 Victorian Day 18

Juniors:

New Junior School 22 The Queen’s Birthday 24 Year 3 Trip to Kew Gardens 26 Year 3 The Porridge Pot 28 Year 4 The Porridge Pot 30 Year 4 Golden Hinde Trip 32 Year 4 trip to Aldbury 34 Legoland Trip 36 Hooke Court 38 Year 6 Trip to France 42 Shakespeare Rocks 44 Year 6 RAF Hendon 48 Gym and Dance Show 50 Swimming Gala 54

Seniors:

Year 7 PGL 58 Belgium Choir Tour 2015 60 Liverpool Philharmonic 62 Year 9 Trip to Ypres 64 Ski Trip to Austria 66 Medea 68 Macbeth 70 Debating Finals 72 Year 10 Trip to Bath 74 Heath Robinson Club 76 Phab Week 78 Spanish Exchange Trip 80 China 82 Japan 84 Poland 86 Galapagos Islands Trip 88 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh 92 Silver Duke of Edinburgh 94 Morocco 96 Moor Park Fun Run 100 Senior School Sports Day 102 House Arts 106 School House 108 Senior School Prizes 114 Destinations of Leavers 116

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From the Headmistress I am writing this introduction at the end of a most exciting and significant year in the history of St Helen’s School.

resilience in all of our pupils and to provide the academic opportunities to excite and inform their academic growth.

The construction of the new Junior School and the major reconstruction of School House have provided the School with facilities and resources for learning which are of the highest standards and which invite independence and intellectual curiosity, and promote ambition and achievement. This year’s Magazine captures so much of what we do to enable our 1150 pupils to explore the world around them – and sometimes at considerable distance from them – and to engage fully with it.

Individual, group and whole-school achievements are recorded and celebrated in the stories and glorious photographs that show the range of activities which girls enjoyed in the past academic year.

The activities which you will read about in the Magazine are some of those which we know are essential to developing bright, well-rounded, determined and successful young women who will lead their professions and communities in the future. The Magazine has grown since last year but there remain many more events and experiences which cannot be fitted into it and the growth of the Development Office is one of these: last year we held several events where pupils, parents, Alumnae and staff were able to create networks which will provide the pupils with support and advice, as well as work experience, as they grow and move into the workplace.

We have entertained Alumnae at school productions, sport and cultural events and teas. We have seen rugby take off as a co-curricular sport and two girls selected to join the England squad. In Little Saints, the impact of vastly improved outdoor activities has transformed the learning environment for the youngest pupils and has made a significant impact on their progress in the classroom.

Some 2 ½ years ago I set out Our Vision for the School which would inspire us all to achieve our very best.

The masterplan for the site, including the two newest buildings, was one element of this and whilst we now move onto the transformation of the former Junior buildings and to the development of better sports facilities with an all-weather-pitch, we are also able to further increase our focus on the people who inhabit the estate and who make up the St Helen’s community. The four pillars of Our Vision will continue to shape all that we do and I am excited by the work we have already begun to develop intellectual, physical and emotional

The St Helen’s Magazine is not a full and complete record of the school year but it is a beautiful record of what the pupils have achieved and seen and experienced in the year.

What cannot be seen in a magazine such as this is all that goes on,

every day and in every part of the School, to excite and feed intellectual curiosity but this is what schools do and what pupils also experience and relish. The routines of the day, the personal interactions with peers and staff, the opportunity to try new things and to experiment with the unknown, the laughter and the mutual support, the talent and the enthusiasm, the sheer love of life are what make a School grow as a community and we are so fortunate at St Helen’s that we experience this every day of the year.

I hope that you enjoy reading and looking at this snapshot of the outstanding events of the past academic year which Mr Johnston, Head of English, has spent so long collating and editing. The pages which show the construction of Junior school and the re-building of School House make clear what progress we have made towards the achievement of our Vision and will excite you about our next steps.

Dr Mary Short

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Little St Helen’s

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Nursery and Reception Xmas Nursery and Reception took part in “The Bossy King” for their Christmas play.

Reception did all the acting and Nursery were the choir. Nursery went on stage and started the show with several Christmas songs and then sat at the front to act as the choir.

Everyone in Reception had a speaking part and all the girls learned their lines beautifully. The girls were very enthusiastic and it was a really enjoyable performance for everyone.

Mrs Begley

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Easter Bonnet Parade All the girls were encouraged to create their own Easter bonnets.

Girls brought in decorations from home and made their creations.

There were various designs including eggs, sheep and lovely flowery gardens. Class winners were chosen during the parade.

The time, care and effort which went into creating the bonnets was impressive.

Miss Cooper

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Easter Bonnet Parade

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World Book Day On World Book Day the girls were very excited about the visit from the author Denis Bond.

The girls loved listening to him talk about how he came to write his first book and they even saw his original manuscript. He made story writing come alive for the girls, and they enjoyed making up a new story together. The girls used his ideas to help plan and write stories the following week.

Mrs Scherbel-Ball

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LSH Sports Day The LSH girls had a glorious afternoon competing in a variety of races. There was an exciting atmosphere with parents cheering enthusiastically from the sidelines.

Highlights of the day included the traditional Daisy race and the much-loved toddler race.

Mrs Smith

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Chiltern Open Air Museum Visit On the 7th of June, Reception had a wonderful trip to Chiltern Open Air Museum.

The sun shone and the fields and flowers looked lovely as we arrived. The girls were lucky enough to visit The Three Bears Cottage. Goldilocks and the Three Bears were waiting inside in toy form and there were three bowls on the window sill. The girls watched porridge being made with water and then cooked over a fire.

They were all allowed to taste it when it was cool. Some of them decided to add honey while others preferred plain porridge.

Whilst the porridge was cooking the girls made bear masks just outside the cottage. They each decided which bear they were going to make. Leaves were collected from nearby bushes to add to the masks.

In another area of the museum, the girls were told the story of Goldilocks and visited the wood that the three bears lived in. They split up into groups and made houses for each bear from twigs, sticks and other materials that they could find. The girls had to think about what to put inside the house as well as outside. They really enjoyed the challenge and were

proud of the results.

After having lunch on the village green, the girls visited the buildings and houses from a variety of time periods that make up the museum. They were also fascinated by the cows, sheep and hens that can be found in the fields surrounding the buildings.

After a busy day, the girls returned to school with lots of news to tell their parents.

Mrs Begley

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Chiltern Open Air Museum

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Year 1 Trip to Clay Lane The trip to Clay Lane Environment Centre has always been a favourite amongst the Year 1 girls.

The girls had a very productive and practical day participating in various hands-on activities. Their opinions were divided as to whether pond dipping for mini beasts, science experiments looking at cleaning water and flushable objects, or ‘The Water Cycle’ drama workshop was the most exciting.

Mrs Johar

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Trip to Clay Lane

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Year 2 Victorian Day The girls loved the trip to the Victorian Schoolroom.

They looked like real Victorian children dressed in their smocks.

They had a lesson in the gallery classroom with a very strict, but fair, Victorian teacher and visited the Headmaster’s house. The girls enjoyed learning about the differences between schooling then and now and they realised how lucky they are!

Mrs Smith

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Junior School

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New Junior School JULY 2015 - SEPTEMBER 2016 The new Junior School is the largest single development the School has undertaken in over ten years, and it marks the first step in delivering the infrastructure needed to support the School’s Vision.

After thorough consultation with the local community and the local planning authorities, we were delighted when Hillingdon granted planning permission for the new school in October 2014. Construction began in mid-July 2015 and would take a full year to complete. Although there was some disruption to the heart of the School site during the construction phase, the operation of the School was unaffected and the existing Junior School continued to operate as normal throughout the building programme.

Opening in September 2016, this state-of-the art building provides a significantly enhanced ageappropriate environment and improved opportunities for learning.

The new building will, for the first time, bring all the disparate elements of Junior School under one roof. Year groups will enjoy permanent classroom locations with light and airy rooms to encourage exceptional learning. We have made extensive provision for specialist teaching in Music, Art, D&T, Science and Drama. The Main Hall will provide for PE, assemblies and productions and, following the successful example of The Centre, will also benefit from retractable seating with enough seats for the whole of Junior School.

learning environment for our equally wonderful girls in the Junior School, enabling them to enjoy the benefits of a School designed entirely with their needs in mind. Their fabulous facilities will also be available to the wider School and, in particular, the proximity to Little St Helen’s will facilitate much smoother transitions between LSH and the Junior School.

The Senior School will further benefit from being able to utilise the vacated space in Claremont, Mackenzie and Lund, and planning for this has already started.

Mr Mackenzie Crooks

As well as designing the building to be as energy efficient as possible, we have also taken the opportunity to install photovoltaic (PV) cells on the main 2-storey roof. The energy generated by these solar panels will pay for themselves within 10 years and will, thereafter, contribute to energy savings across the School.

The Junior School project marks a significant step towards the School’s Vision; it will provide a wonderful

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The Queen’s Birthday We chose to celebrate the Queen’s Ninetieth Birthday on Wednesday 11th May because it is also the true Founder’s Day (it would have been the 133rd birthday of our Founder, May Rowland Brown) and because we believed that the weather would be much better in May than in April.

How wrong we were! We had to abandon the planned picnic on the athletics track, but we were able

to hold indoor picnics around the School.

As part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations, Year 3 designed a birthday invitation for the Queen and baked some Queen of Hearts jam tarts for the party! Year 4 designed their own five pound coins, with designs ranging from corgis to wellington boots, and

Year 5 imagined that they had to accompany a family member to Buckingham Palace to receive an award. The girls then went on to write a descriptive piece about their experience. They also had a debate about whether or not we should have a monarchy and developed a balanced argument about this.

Mrs Serinturk

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The Queen’s Birthday

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Year 3 Trip to Kew Gardens Year 3 were very excited about visiting Kew Gardens in the Summer Term.

When we arrived on the day, we began participating in a workshop.

We were plant scientists, observing plant parts and examining different petals. There were amazing types of seeds, all shapes and sizes. The seed with the prickles became attached to us. This was so hilarious! It helped us learn about

how seeds are spread, by looking at the seed hooks and sticky parts.

Outside in the gardens, we pretended to be squirrels and hid seeds. At the end of our garden tour, we had to find our seeds. If we couldn’t find them, our Kew Garden leader said that we were helpful squirrels and after our hard work, another tree would grow.

We also went into the Palm House but it was scorching hot. In there

we hunted for plants from Australia and Asia.

After a picnic lunch, we headed around the gardens one more time, drawing interesting plants and enjoying the rare sunshine.

Advika Rao, Sia Shah and Esther Fox-Rushby

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Kew Gardens

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Year 3 “The Porridge Pot” Christmas 2015 saw the girls from Years 3 and 4 perform a comedy musical called “The Porridge Pot”.

The students began their production with the song ‘Once upon a Crime’, which set the tone of this detective story. A crime wave hits Happy Valley and detective Jack Spratt and Goldie Lox set out to solve the mystery of Ma Hubbard’s stolen recipe book and the disappearance of Marigold, the

pantomime cow!

It was a familiar fairy tale, told through sparkling song and brilliant acting by the girls as they portrayed a cast of crazy characters including barmy billy goats, loopy lumberjacks and a potty police squad. It was a fantastic performance by all which left the audience wanting seconds and shouting for more.

Mrs Casingena

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Year 4 “The Porridge Pot”

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Year 4 Golden Hinde Trip The most memorable trip was definitely the Golden Hinde trip.

The coach journey took ages but was totally worth it. Firstly we were introduced to a very humorous and humble person. Next we entered the ancient ship with our heads constantly bumping on the ceiling.

Everyone was petrified of how vilely and wickedly sailors must have been treated. A fact that really astonished me was that women weren’t allowed to go on board…

Well, thank goodness for that! The cannons were not real but really scared me, and I certainly would not have liked to have been the

gunner. My favourite bit of all was when our guide told a few people to do the job of a cabin boy, and wind something so that it keeps the rigging nice and firm. Looking at the rigging, it made me feel nervous and anxious, especially because there were no such things as harnesses, the weather was very bad and if you were scared of heights... well, too bad, you had to do it anyway.

Learning about life as a Tudor cabin boy really made us think how boys not much older than us suffered on board. We thanked the hilarious guide for all the overwhelming knowledge she filled us with.

The Golden Hinde trip was fun and exciting and I would like to go there again with my friends and family.

To remember this outstanding trip I bought a bookmark and a replica of the ship. I would certainly recommend this trip to those who ever wondered what life was like on a Tudor ship.

Antara Rao

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The Golden Hinde

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Year 4 Trip to Aldbury I’m always happy and excited to go on school trips because we always learn in an alternative way to the classroom.

This time, we visited a place called Aldbury in Hertfordshire because we were learning about settlements in Geography. At first, I didn’t really know much about Aldbury - I only knew that it was a small village close to Northwood but far enough away for me never to have heard of it!

However, this trip filled me with lots of information about Aldbury and historic small villages in general.

The day started and I was extremely excited about learning something new! Firstly, we ate our snacks in the Town Hall which looked somewhat old-fashioned.

Then we explored the houses starting from the centre of the town,

which is the oldest part. As we were standing there, in the middle, we saw the pillory (it was real and from around the 1500s) which was falling to pieces. A pillory is a wooden punishment instrument where criminals were forced to put their arms, head and legs inside slots – and they would be pelted with rotten food! Next to the pillory there was a murky pond with a fountain which officially signified the centre of the town.

space. One of the pubs was called The Greyhound Inn. I feel that life in Aldbury is very different from our lives and was very difficult in the past. If you wanted to travel on the bus you would have to wait a very long time and you had to be on time as the bus only came about 5 times a day!!! There are some positives about Aldbury such as the beautiful landscapes and the green environment which is different from life in Northwood.

Later in the morning we discussed how people lived in comparison to those in Northwood. People who lived in Aldbury normally got their daily food and household goods from the post office. There were also other different shops such as blacksmiths which we don’t have today. Old pubs were also used as hotels because of the shortage of

I had an interesting, enjoyable and informative trip with all of Year 4 learning lots of facts and I hope future years will enjoy the trip too.

Raissa Hirji

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Trip to Aldbury

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Legoland Trip

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Legoland Trip On the 16th of June we went to Legoland. I felt so excited as I got on the coach. As we got nearer to Legoland I saw some Lego people pulling big Lego letters. It was amazing to think that something could be constructed like this.

We entered and my group headed straight to Tomb Raiders. We saw lots of Egyptian artefacts and I tried to zap the green dots. I scored 750!

We then climbed up a hill towards the horse rollercoaster. I squealed as my hair went whizzing backwards. I could see a lovely view of Legoland.

After the rides, I was ready for a rest.

I quickly ate my cheese sandwiches and tucked into my tender apple.

Mrs Parry told us that it was time for our Lego workshop in the Discovery Centre – we all felt excited!

Our instructor, who was called Ellie, told us to find a partner and sit down at one of the computers.

She told us all about the input and algorithms. It all felt so interesting.

We followed instructions to construct a lion that moved and

roared. It could do absolutely anything – it was a super lion!

Next stop, back to the Rapids.

Everyone climbed into the small boats. I sat next to Rhea, Anaia and Mrs Pearkes. It went gradually at first but as soon as it reached the course it was as rapid as fire spreading through wood or a sharp blade cutting through ice! It was the wettest ride in the world – I was glad I wore my raincoat! Everyone screamed as we bumped on the bend. All too soon it was over. We wanted to do it again, but we had to get on with the Jolly Rocker.

As two grown-ups had to sit either side we went on in three groups. I watched my screaming classmates joyfully and, finally, it was my turn.

What a ride it was! It swung so high that I could almost touch the sky!

Next, the dragon rollercoaster. Fun – yes! Scary – yes! Boring – NO, NO, NO! It started with a trip through the castle, past all the Lego characters.

The wizard and princess looked rather serious. I saw a crimson

dragon, its rich red tail sticking out of the wall, then daylight. Whee! We zoomed downwards and curved around. We did a loop the loop and, finally, re-entered the castle. “Yay!” We all cheered.

On our way to the exit we decided to stop for one last go on the Rapids. It was the shining star of Legoland, my favourite ride.

We collapsed onto the coach, exhausted. As we began our drive home, I looked back and thought what a wonderful day it had been.

Shanti Vijayadeva

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Hooke Court The excitement had been building all year and finally the time had come for Year 5 to head off on their residential trip.

Hooke Court in Dorset is a unique study and activity centre in a safe, tranquil rural setting. Previously it had been a home, a school and a hospital. The girls enjoyed being a part of the on-going story which continues to unfold in the centrepiece of the activity centre, a 14th century Manor House.

Each group is treated individually

and the tailor-made programme supported previous learning in both history (the Victorians) and geography (Rivers). Our itinerary included learning about the value of locally sourced food by visiting a trout farm, a dairy farm and exploring the market garden on site.

Many of these products were then used to prepare lunch for everyone.

Highlights of the trip were role playing Victorian children from the workhouse hoping to be taken on as staff. Tasks included laundry, embroidery, shoe and brass polishing and table laying, all the old

fashioned way. The girls also got to experience a Victorian schoolroom, writing with a quill and ink - not as easy as it looked! So many activities were packed in, culminating with a barn load of fun and a barn dance where we all learned how to do-si-do our partners and make stars of the left and right-handed variety.

Mrs Groves

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Hooke Court

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Year 6 Trip to France After a long 6 hour journey, we arrived at Nausicaa, a sea life centre. We saw some colourful and interesting species of marine life, such as jellyfish, stingrays and sharks. We also saw these exquisite and graceful seals which we got to feed!

On the third day we went to the Boulangerie. We made croissants with a man named Bruno. He only spoke in French and would call us up to the front to test our French vocabulary. Afterwards, we visited the bread oven. They use an old-fashioned oven to bake the bread using sticks to heat it up.

As the lady only spoke French, it helped us with our French speaking experience.

In our groups, we were set a task to display a meal that we had made and bought from Le Touquet market ourselves. We were given one hour to buy our food and only 3 euros per person. We had to use our French to barter and purchase all the ingredients we needed. We were then judged on how healthy our meal was as well as its presentation.

By Kiyanna Mistry, Mei Yin Lim and Anisa Natalia

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Year 6 Trip to France

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“Shakespeare Rocks” To celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary, and to say farewell to Junior School, the Year 6 students performed “Shakespeare Rocks”.

They sang and acted moments of Shakespeare’s life and they performed scenes from “Macbeth”, “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

It was a magnificent performance which was a tribute to both Shakespeare and to all our Year 6 2016 leavers.

Mrs Casingena

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Shakespeare Rocks

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Shakespeare Rocks

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Year 6 RAF Hendon In September, Year 6 visited RAF Hendon. We went there by coach and wearing our evacuee outfits.

Everyone looked splendid! We went there because we were studying World War Two. When we arrived we all went to a World War 2 classroom and we made evacuee toys, boxes and gas masks. There was an air raid alarm to scare us and we had to

cram under tiny desks! After we finished the classroom workshop, we all went to see the planes. This museum has the most Second World War planes in Europe. This was a highlight of Year 6 and we all enjoyed it so much.

Isha Shah

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RAF Hendon

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Gym and Dance Show The Gym and Dance Show took place on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th February with over 270 girls from Years 3 to 10 taking part.

This is an extremely popular school event that displays high levels of Gymnastics and Dance talent.

The show was spectacular, with a variety of dance styles performed to songs from well-known Musicals.

The show consists of class dances in Years 7 and 8 that are choreographed by PE staff with creative and imaginative ideas from the girls. Throughout the year there are Gymnastics competitions

held for Years 7 and 8 with the winners performing their routines in the show. The display is a great opportunity for Junior School to perform in Gymnastics and Dance routines that they work on in squads throughout the year. Congratulations to all the girls who performed and to the PE staff for producing such a successful event.

Miss Pickering

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Gym and Dance Show

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Junior Swimming Gala The House Gala is the whole Junior School competing in their houses: Keller, Earhart, Curie and Nightingale.

We sat in our houses and cheered for our team. After every few races they announced the scores.

There are swim squad lessons for all years and most of the people in swim squad are put in galas against other schools. St Helen’s swimming has improved over the past few years and more people are joining swim squad. The best gala is division 10, as there are lots of schools competing. Recently a few Year 6s went to Nationals with Miss Hurt and Miss Chadburn and overall they came fourth!

Jasmine Milbank and Emma Cohen

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Junior Swimming Gala

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Senior School

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Year 7 PGL In September, Year 7 went on a team building activity trip.

The trip was a week after school had started, so everyone had a chance to get to know each other a little. This only added to the excitement and anticipation we all felt.

During activities such as “The Crate Challenge” we worked together as a team to build the tallest tower.

The trip was a great opportunity to make new friends, reinforce old friendships from Junior School and, of course, to get to know our new Senior School teachers better.

The short time we spent together was fun and memorable. I am certain that the friendships forged during the two days will ensure all

of us help each other through our Senior School journey.

Layla Ladak

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Belgium Choir Tour 2015 During October half term, 32 girls from Years 8 to 12 and 6 teachers travelled to Belgium in order both to sing in three concerts and to experience Belgian culture.

Upon arrival on Day One after travelling through Calais, we all rushed to the Sea Life Centre in Blankenberge. We were interested to see the difference between this one and the London Aquarium. The general consensus from the choir was that Blankenberge won hands down.

There was lots of excited anticipation on Day Two at the prospect of visiting Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc, one of the few

establishments which still make handmade chocolate. We discovered how they were made and were allowed to try some on the way out! We followed this treat by visiting the Historium in Bruges. Whilst there we were able to view an interactive visual tour of Bruges in the Middle Ages. This gave us a flavour of the history of this small historic city. It showed how it was once one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe.

It was then time for our first choir performance. We performed at Berkenhoff, a retirement home for the elderly. The audience particularly enjoyed The Beatles medley we sang, and we met a man

there who was originally born in Ruislip! He was very excited to hear we were visiting from Northwood.

On Day Three we arrived in Ghent and were treated to a boat trip along the canal. The architecture was stunning and we were able to see the imposing churches and old houses of the rich traders of the past. After this it was a complete contrast to witness the creative graffiti which included murals all around us whilst we travelled along the water.

Later in the day, we performed at St Bavo’s Cathedral. This is a huge building which, as well as

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hosting amazing sculptures and vivid paintings, also provided us with an excellent acoustic for our choir recital. We were shown one of the most famous paintings from Belgium called ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by Jan van Eyck.

It measured 15ft by 11ft and it was both imposing and impressive.

We performed pieces such as ‘Adiemus’ and ‘Irish Blessing’. It was very moving to sing in such a huge cathedral and hear our singing voices echo back to us. I have to say it made us sound even better! The concert was followed by the traditional bowling trip on the music tour, which brought out an

interesting amount of competition from the girls and teachers involved. The more experienced sixth formers helped out the younger ones on their first music tour when things got tiring.

On Day Four we visited Groeninge Museum, an art gallery in Bruges which allowed us to view 19th century neoclassical art as well as Flemish expressionism and postwar modern art. Our final concert was at a Church in Anjelierenlaan, Ostend built only three weeks previously which was also very large. The audiences we played to in all three concerts were very different. However, they all appeared

delighted to hear us sing and made us feel extremely welcome. Our final activity was going out for a restaurant meal together where we all enjoyed pizza.

This was my fifth music tour and, as usual, it was a hugely enjoyable trip where we made some special memories to return home with.

Anna Thompson

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Liverpool Philharmonic In early March, 2016, I had the enormous pleasure of being in the audience at an evening concert at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in which St Helen’s pupils joined those from all of the other schools associated with the Merchant Taylors’ Company. The quality and range of the music which these talented young singers and players achieved was exceptional, and the applause at the end of the concert almost took the roof off this beautiful venue.

The schools which enjoy this special relationship with the livery company include MTS Northwood and St John’s Prep, the Merchant Taylors’ schools in Crosby, Wolverhampton Grammar School, Wallingford School, King’s Macclesfield, St Saviour’s and St Olave’s, and Foyle College. In addition to its stated purpose of enhancing the relationship of the Company with its associated schools, the concert provided the opportunity for some three hundred young people, from very different backgrounds and experiences, to come together for two days and to share their love and enjoyment of music.

Each of the schools offered a short performance in the first half of the concert before everyone came together for a stirring and powerful performance of Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria”. The sight of so many young people coming in to fill what is a very large and impressive stage was wonderful, but the quality of the sound which they produced was even more tremendous. The Director of Music from the boys’ school in Crosby, David Holroyd, had less than two days to bring the musicians from eleven schools together and to enable them to give a

rousing, disciplined and professional performance. He did so with great warmth and generosity, and the final product was exceptional.

Each of the young musicians who took part in the Puccini had already performed in their individual school’s contribution, which is evidence of their talent, enthusiasm and maturity.

These performances ranged from a beautiful, moving and appropriate (unless you happen to support Everton...) rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Rogers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel”, Aaron Copeland’s “Hoe Down”, choral works by Mozart and Vivaldi, and the St John’s boys singing Abba’s “Waterloo”!

The St Helen’s choir performed the world premiere of “High Flight”, a choral piece by Simon Couldridge, which had been commissioned by Robert Crowley. This beautiful and challenging composition draws on the moving poem written by Second World War pilot, J G Magee. The poem begins with the line ‘Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth’ and concludes: ‘And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod / The high untrespassed sanctity of space, / Put out my hand, and touched the face of God’. McGee died mere months after writing these words, and Simon’s setting captured the sense of a man reaching beyond the mortal world. It was the perfect piece for the girls, and they performed it with the most delicate precision.

I arrived in Liverpool some 24 hours after the choir, and so only had a brief chance to listen to a rehearsal.

I heard at first hand, however, just how much fun there had been on the Friday evening when all of the performers had come together to

relax over supper, provided in the crypt of the spectacular Metropolitan Cathedral, and had then competed to provide the best rendition of a Beatles’ number. The appeal of the Mersey sound persists more than fifty years after it first emerged from The Cavern.

Saturday’s concert provided me with the opportunity to feel immense pride in the girls and their talents and expertise, along with that particularly special pleasure which comes from sharing this experience with schools which share our values and aims, and which want their pupils to achieve excellence.

I am enormously grateful to Mr Crowley and Mrs Parker who accompanied this trip, and to those who were not there but had worked so hard to make it possible, including the staff at Merchant Taylors’ Hall.

Dr Short

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Liverpool Philharmonic

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Year 9 Trip to Ypres In March, the whole of Year Nine Went on a school history trip to Ypres in Belgium to learn more about World War One. The trip was a great experience, as it really developed our understanding of the War. We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot cemetery.

The trip was extra special for me as I had the opportunity to visit the grave

of my Great, Great Uncle, Thomas Cooper. Thomas Cooper was killed in action on the 21st of September 1917, and he was remembered with honour at The Huts Cemetery. Thomas Cooper had been in France with a labour company six months before he was killed. He was a 26 year old married man with a wife and child back home. It was an emotional experience to be able to visit his grave and pay my

respects. Overall, it was an amazing and eye-opening experience, and I would like to thank the school for giving all the girls the opportunity of visiting Belgium.

Lola Forsyth

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Ypres

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Ski Trip to Austria It was clear that the girls were excited about going on the Austria ski trip, as not one of the forty girls from Year 8 and Year 9 were late for the 3:30am departure from the coach park.

The exuberance on the coach to Heathrow set the tone for the rest of the trip. Check in at Heathrow went smoothly, with airport staff commenting on how organised and polite the girls were. The flight to Munich went well, for almost all of us except for the one person who decided to leave her phone on the cabin when disembarking. Fortunately for her it was found by cabin crew and returned to her later in the week. It was onto passport control at Munich airport with one soggy passport that had an unfortunate experience in the toilets and then onto a coach to the resort.

On arrival in the resort we dropped off the luggage and went to ski hire to get our equipment for the week. All kitted out, it was time for lunch and a walk around Sol. We then returned to the hotel to settle in and prepare for the next 6 days of skiing.

Day One of skiing was in Sol where

the nursery slopes had been improved from previous years with more tow lifts to get the beginners going. This year the girls were very well prepared with the majority having at least two sessions in Hemel Ski Centre prior to the trip. This meant that progression was quick and girls were moving around the slopes in no time at all.

Day Two was once again at Sol where more improvement was made and then Day Three we went to Scheffau.

Here the upper groups had a few more challenging runs and a bigger ski area to explore. By Day Four the beginner groups were starting to look more like intermediate groups with all skiers making fantastic progress. Up until Day Four, skiing went well and without any major incidents. This was to change on Day Five whilst skiing in Scheffau, where one of the girls decided that she would prefer a helicopter ride down the mountain above skiing down.

Unfortunately for her, she broke her collar bone, meaning that she could not ski the last day, but she remained in very good spirits and spent her final day sipping hot chocolate in one of the restaurants on the slopes. The final day of skiing was once again in Sol,

with all the beginner groups taking the cable car up the mountain and skiing the blue trail back to the base. This is excellent progression in one week of skiing and credit can be given to these girls for their ability to persevere even when there are times when the skiing is tough and a little bit scary.

The skiing, however, was not the only entertainment on offer. The girls also enjoyed the evening entertainment which comprised of a bowling night, movie night, a quiz night, a disco and an unforgettable Tyrolean evening. At the Tyrolean evening the girls took part in a range of Austrian alpine activities including yodelling, milking cows, hammering in nails, sawing logs and traditional dancing.

Throughout the entire trip the girls were a credit to the school, behaving in a way that drew compliments from all the staff and members of the public who dealt with them. This exemplary behaviour along with their steadfast commitment to learn new skills truly demonstrated the grit, determination and integrity that the girls of St Helen’s School have.

Mr Hoffman

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Ski Trip to Austria

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“Medea” Written over 2,500 years ago, “Medea” is one of the earliest plays examining female oppression, and stands as Euripedes’ projection of a woman retaliating against a patriarchal Greek society.

I was lucky enough to play the title role in the St Helen’s School production this year, providing audiences with the study of a destructive marital relationship, in which Medea slaughters her own children to avenge her husband’s betrayal. Despite the play being written in 431BCE, its expression of elemental human passions and undertones of feminist political theory resonates with audiences today, and has elevated the play to timelessness.

In my opinion, what makes Medea a particularly rewarding antiheroine to play is the complexity of her emotions; the great love she possesses towards her husband, Jason, is ironically revealed in the extremity of her hatred once she finds that her love has been violated. Whilst Medea’s murder

of her children is perceived as an attempt to reclaim her female pride, she must also destroy all remains of their past relationship for that final emotional detachment.

To accurately portray the tempestuousness of a relationship that entwines passion with resentment, Henry Gee (playing Jason) and I underwent an intense and emotionally investing rehearsal process with Mrs Sinclair.

Providing running commentary to Medea’s artful manipulations was the chorus, made up of Corinthian women. Being foreign, Medea is ostracized by society and is considered a ‘barbarian’ who breaks Greek rules of civilization.

Living under the same system of patriarchy, the Chorus seems to identify with Medea’s experiences yet are tamed to acquiesce, and ultimately criticise her for a lack of emotional restraint. Mrs Connell’s choreography expressed the tension they felt between instinct and convention, as at times they would echo Medea’s movements, but at others they were

distanced from her, intimidated by her singularity and dangerous capabilities. The action unfolded outside Medea’s house, which was designed by Head of Art, Mrs Smith, in collaboration with Mrs Newby who oversaw the design elements of the play. The simplicity of the set balanced the emotional intensity of the play, which climaxed in the final revelation of Medea’s blood-soaked hands and the corpses of her children behind the central doors.

This final shocking image left audiences contemplating whether Medea is inherently evil or driven to madness through mistreatment.

Although she does have dark powers, for me it was crucial to communicate the idea that she puts them to use only to revolt against an oppressively gendered society.

In “Medea”, revenge is a violent eruption of unhappiness with the status quo, and it is a play still considered transgressive due to its brutally tragic ending.

Selin Balcioglu

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Medea

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Macbeth

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“Macbeth” Playing the role of Macbeth was definitely a unique experience.

To do a play in Shakespearean language was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It is practically the equivalent to learning a completely different language, as I had to translate almost every line of mine in the play. As well as this, remembering lines is one of my weaknesses when acting so having to remember about 100 Shakespearian lines was not easy! However, once knowing and being aware of what Shakespeare was writing, so many loose dots were connected and everything began to fit in my head, making me understand and really acknowledge just how powerful and brilliant Shakespeare is.

Coming from a woman’s perspective, it was very interesting having to put myself in a man’s shoes. I had to notice the small things that men do which distinguish a typical male character from a female. For example, having to let your chest lead your walk, and when walking keeping your head high without slouching, slightly

broadening your shoulders and letting your feet walk quite openly and outward. It was small details which made a big difference.

The actual character of Macbeth was very confusing at the start. I was quite naive and thought that it would not be difficult to play the role, assuming he was just a high-status man with a lot of power and connections. Of course, there was more to it than that, much more! As I researched the character and went into the depths of the play, I realised how many phases of his character there are, how many layers to his persona, and how he changes throughout the play, in himself and his relationships with others. This was the hardest of all to tackle, as I had to understand the exact moments when he changes and the stages of his change as well as why. The play is about how power changes you, and the influences of others. Some of the most fascinating parts about Macbeth were my soliloquies because I really understood the thought processes of Macbeth, and I felt like I was him the most when performing these. I have never known a character so well,

and it was overwhelming seeing the way he changes, having many doubts at first about killing, and slowly turning into a monster, somebody completely different from who he was to begin with.

Once you understand the language of Shakespeare you realise just how fascinating and exciting it is, and acting that is even better. The whole production was just such a great experience.

Iman Hasna

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Debating Finals The Junior and Senior debating finals took place on the last day of the summer term.

The Junior Final was between Sophie Khaddaj and Anya Vaghani of Year 7 and Ishani Mehta and Raagavi Sivarajah of Year 8. The girls debated the motion, “This house would do away with school uniform.” Nicole Bilan and Hannah Rose as judges, together with

Gabriella Schuman as chair of proceedings, agreed that the final was closely fought. In the end, they awarded the cup to Raagavi and Ishani. In The Centre, the Senior debating final was between Maya Kateli and Zara Chowdhry for the opposition and Venusha Baskarathasan and Sophie Peters for the proposition. Their motion was, “This house believes that

single-sex schools are good for education”. Abigail Mowlem chaired proceedings, and we were very pleased to invite back from their post-A level holiday Shivani Ananth and Maya Raichoora to judge the Senior final. They judged Maya Kateli and Zara Chowdhry the winners of the Senior debating final.

Mr Johnston

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Trip to Bath

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Year 10 Trip to Bath The trip to Bath was a really fun day where many of us studying Latin had the opportunity to put our learning of the language into context and improve our understanding of what society was like in ancient Britain.

The museum and baths gave us more information about what an average person who was visiting the baths might be like. It was surprising at times to see references

to characters and stories we have learnt about in our lessons, as it is easy to forget that Latin was actually a spoken language which was used by real people with real lives. This was brought up again when we had a talk from a guide about the stones dedicated to the gods and what they told us about the people who put them there. We also heard about what happened at the baths and we were all shocked at some of the horrible things people did, including

using the bottled sweat and dirt from a famous person as a face cream with the hope of absorbing some of their essence. It is fair to say that we all gained an insight into the ancient world and Latin from this trip, as well as some very nice fudge from a nearby shop at lunchtime.

Joanna Matsangos

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Heath Robinson Club The Heath Robinson Club at St Helen’s encourages the creativity and practical ingenuity of students to explore mechanical contraptions in drawings and experimental projects.

Calling on inspiration from the artwork and mad designs of William Heath Robinson, we have constructed elaborate marble and domino runs, animated some of Heath Robinson’s cartoons with levers and pulleys, and every year we combine all our efforts together in an extraordinary “grand project”.

Last year, a Mad Mechanical Magical Music Machine emerged from explorations of objects that made more or less musical noises combined with a hand-operated carousel consisting of bicycle parts and other recycled materials. The resultant cacophony of sound was displayed and “performed” at the Open Heritage Day for the Heath Robinson Museum at West House, Pinner, contributing to the Pinner Village Show (see photo).

This year, we have created a hair-brained Enigma decoding

machine which will be on show and demonstrated by the club members at the opening of the new annexe at West House, where we will also enable the official cutting of the ribbon with another contraption using parts from the old school clock!

Mr LeBas

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Heath Robinson Club

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Phab Week During the first week of Easter break, forty Sixth Formers from St Helen’s and Merchant Taylors’ School (MTS) embarked on a journey that we had spent the previous seven months fundraising, planning and training for. Phab Week is a residential camp at MTS in which we provide respite care to twenty disabled teenagers, giving them once-in-a-lifetime opportunities from fraternising with an albino Burmese Python at the petting zoo to flying a tiny aeroplane 1500 feet above terra firma.

The week saw a lot of sweat and tears, but it was easily the best adventure any of us have been privileged enough to enjoy.

The much-anticipated moment came on Monday afternoon, when our guests arrived. Each guest had been matched with a Sixth Form

pair (one Upper and one Lower) - both of whom had been briefed and trained to accommodate their guest’s disability. Hosts’ and guests’ nerves alike quickly turned to rapture as we became familiar with each other and discovered mutual interests. After a stimulating Easter egg hunt, a round of icebreakers and an eventful hour at the petting zoo, our guests were ready for bed (as were the hosts!).

Airport, where we released our inhibitions and felt the wind on our skin as we took to the skies for a flying trip with Aerobility. The guests had a brilliant time, either having a go at handling the aeroplane controls or enjoying the experience from the safety of the flight simulator in the hangar. We returned to MTS for the perfect end to the day: a live music extravaganza around the campfire by the lake.

Tuesday morning saw guests and hosts appreciating an interactive planetarium experience, in addition to experiencing MTS’ facilities, such as swimming, boating on the lake, and arts and crafts. Subsequently, we boarded our minibuses to Garston, where we enjoyed an action-packed bowling session.

Thursday was devoted to roistering with Electric Umbrella, a talented bevy of performers who conducted vibrant music workshops throughout the day which catered to everyone, including wheelchairbound guests. The school was flooded with the sound of laughter and melodies as everyone had a brilliant time, whether they took to the stage to showcase their talent

We spent Wednesday at Blackbushe

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or simply revelled in the music.

The overwhelming sight of our massive group, all clad in bright blue Phab hoodies, created quite a stir in Watford on Friday as we ventured into Intu for some retail therapy.

Afterwards, we stopped by St Helen’s for a Mad Science demonstration and a go at the climbing wall. A talent show in MTS’ Studio Theatre concluded the evening; the guests were on cloud nine as they were given the chance to exhibit their virtuosity at singing and dancing.

On Saturday, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue sent their biggest, baddest fire engine down to MTS on a mission to douse every Phab team member in sight with a jet of freezing water. Our guests had heaps of fun, whether they were drenching everyone with the hose,

dancing through the stream of water or observing the chaos from the warmth of the Rec Room. The afternoon saw throngs of parents, siblings and Phab hosts from years gone by crowding into the Dining Hall for lunch, an Electric Umbrella concert, and to celebrate the fantastic Week we’d had. Much to the delight of our guests, we ended the day with a fancy dress disco.

Sunday morning was full of tears and hugs as we bid our lovely guests farewell. Throughout the Week, we had grown to love our guests and formed hopefully lifelong friendships with them. We had become very conscious of how much we have to be thankful for and how privileged we are. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who was a part of the week, including our guests, hosts,

staff, visitors, parents, OMTs, the students who support us throughout the year and, of course, our Phab heads, Mr Bond and Mrs Cawthorne.

Phab Week has been a part of St Helen’s and MTS’ history for over forty years and we cannot wait to continue the tradition next April!

Maansi Shah

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Spanish Exchange Trip People say that the best way to learn a language is to speak it, and after last year’s exchange to Madrid, I would have to agree.

Living and being surrounded by a language is so different to being in a classroom – and you learn so much more! It’s a great way to meet loads of new people and just have a great time as well.

During the exchange we visited a variety of cities like Segovia and Toledo, as well as exploring the many renowned museums in Madrid. We even went roller-skating, though that resulted in a few bumps and bruises for a lot of us...

We also spent a day in school with our exchanges, and understanding the lessons was a real challenge!

I mean, I can barely understand Geography when it’s taught in

English – I had no chance in Spanish!

But I think we all agree that the best part was the food; after all, how could we possibly visit Spain without sampling their amazing frozen yoghurt or the delicious churros?

Looking back on the exchange, it has probably been one of the best experiences in our lives at St Helen’s, and something we would love to do again. To anybody who is thinking about going on an exchange in the future – go for it!

You will love it and I promise you won’t regret it!

Uma Gurav

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Spanish Exchange Trip

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China In April, St Helen’s girls visited China.

After arriving at Shanghai airport we met our tour guides, Emily and Jennifer, who ushered us onto a coach heading towards our hotel.

We then went to a landmark called “The Bund”, and from here we could see a large river in front of us, a beautiful view of the sun setting and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower reflecting the light off its pink panels. We crossed over a bridge, went through the entrance of the tower and climbed all nineteen levels of stairs to the top where we were lucky enough to eat dinner. We saw all the buildings surrounding the tower as the room revolved and we saw a 360 degree view of everything. Right at the top of the tower we also saw the view of the ground from five hundred metres above, as the panels of the floor were transparent.

Another highlight was a trip to the next province of SuZhou. Here, we visited The Master of the Nets Garden and this title was definitely misleading to all of us, as we thought it was just a garden. How wrong we were!

The landmark was not just a lovely landscape but also was actually a show about China’s history, which included illuminated gardens where the performances were held. At first all our attention was drawn to the gardens as it was pitch black and the gardens were lit by lights in shapes and different designs, but as soon as the show started we were drawn to the actors, dancers and musicians and they made it especially enjoyable as they interacted with us a lot making it entertaining, educational and exciting all at the same time.

In Hangzhou we attended a show which consisted of Chinese songs, dances and acting and explained the history and beliefs in the 10th century during the Song dynasty. At all three places we learned a lot by expanding our speaking and our knowledge about the Chinese culture, and we are all looking forward to the next opportunity to visit China again.

Ria Patel

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China

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Japan In October 2015 Sruthy, Vera, Alice and I went to Japan for two weeks.

our facial features underwent the most peculiar of contortions.

During the first week we toured Japan’s most famous cities and landmarks, such as the Tokyo Sky Tower and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial. The second week was spent interacting with our amazing host families and going to a Japanese high school.

This trip allowed us to experience not only a new culture, but also a new lifestyle, and let us discover the difficulties of using a foreign language in its natural surroundings.

Japan’s transport network seems to run like clockwork; that is to say, every single train and bus arrives on the dot, with little fuss, and the memories of signal failures and severe delays on the Metropolitan Line were gladly left behind. We used the Shinkansen, Japan’s bullet train, to travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima and Osaka in the span of a few hours. We were able to visit the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial, Mt. Fuji, and Miyajima Island. We were also able to try out various traditional Japanese dishes such as Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki.

We spent our first few days in Tokyo, Japan’s capital. Tokyo is a mix of both modern and historical architecture, which became evident to us when we were able to visit the Senso-Ji temple in Aasakusa just five minutes after being 365 metres in the air in the Tokyo Sky Tower. I particularly enjoyed visiting one of the many famous shopping districts in Tokyo, where our group explored the wonders of Purikura, the Japanese photo booth, where

Anastaseia Talalakina

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Japan

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Poland Between 1st September 1939 and 8th May 1945, 3,000,000 Jewish Poles were murdered, leaving only 300,000 in post-War Poland.

One can never truly comprehend the horrors behind such numbers given to us by a deplorable part of history that seems so distant from our lives today. For this reason, students from Year 11 and Year 12 went to Poland, visiting concentration camps, museums, and the cities of Warsaw and Krakow, in order to remember the lives lost, reflect upon the significance of such an event and get closer to understanding the impact that the Holocaust has had on Judaism, Poland and the world today.

The first day in Warsaw proved to be more educational, although still very poignant, than the rest of the trip. The origins of the Holocaust had previously been a difficult concept for us to grasp, but our visit to the Jewish Museum of Polish Jews provided us with an exploration of the deep-rooted anti-Semitism in Europe and highlighted to us a feeling that would deepen our understanding of all the sites we later visited. As we walked through the history of the Jewish people, from their entry to Poland as refugees in the 11th century to the Holocaust, we met figures such as Emanuel Ringelbaum, who documented the depressingly callous yet habitual nature of prejudice against Judaism at the time. Considering these writings alongside trenchant first-hand accounts allowed us to contextualise the atrocities of Nazioccupied Europe, which became more evident to us when we then visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum. Here we learnt about the major World War II operation

by the Polish Resistance Home Army to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The interactive exhibits portrayed a certain feeling of despondency, for the Uprising had failed and led to the absolute demolition of the city. More pertinently, however, the museum taught us about the long-lasting legacy of this event in Warsaw, as the Uprising was the largest single military effort undertaken by a European resistance movement during the Second World War; indeed, the valour of those involved was as incredible as it was moving.

On our second day in Poland, where we visited the sites of the old Warsaw ghetto, the Jewish cemetery and Treblinka, we started to understand that there are so many different aspects of the Holocaust that very few of us knew about. Our visit to the Umschlagplatz, the square where Jewish citizens unknowingly began their journey from the ghetto to Treblinka, led into an afternoon that would be, for many of us, the saddest part of the trip. That which remains of Treblinka acts neither as a representation nor as a museum of the atrocities of the extermination camp, for in 1944 the Nazis embarked upon the mass destruction of the site and all its evidence. Such cowardice, however, seems to have only cleared the landscape for the poignant simplicity of the memorial that Treblinka stands as today. The silence and seclusion of the forest serves as a setting for profound reflection. For every victim, there lies a stone on the ground, the result being a vast grey landscape that allowed us to get closer to fathoming the number of lives taken by the Holocaust. We lit a candle

as a group in remembrance of all these victims.

The visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau took up the majority of our final day in Poland. As we walked through the entrance of Auschwitz, “Arbeit Macht Frei” was no longer just a German phrase seen in our History textbooks but a phrase on the sign above our heads, a phrase that innocent Jewish people would have read before being worked to death in a labour camp. In seeing the layout of the camp, the working and living spaces of the Jewish people and a gas chamber, it became clear to us that the Nazis had been disturbingly systematic in the forced labour and extermination of the Jews. Looking at the suitcases, hairbrushes and jewellery of people who had been murdered there reminded us that every victim had their own personality, their own aspirations in life and their own memories. We ended the trip with this concept at the forefront of our thoughts. Gathering together as a group by the memorial in Birkenau, we read an extract from the novel ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel and bowed our heads in respect as Mr Nemko said the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

We all agreed that our visit to Poland, whilst difficult at times, was an invaluable experience that left us with memories so important as to be held onto for the rest of our lives. The trip was not only helpful in terms of understanding the horrors and impact of the Holocaust, but also in broadening our minds to questions of philosophy, ethics and humanity.

Above all, it instilled in us a greater appreciation of the significance of respecting victims and

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Poland remembering the past as conveyed

by Elie Wiesel, “For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences.”

Jessica Graydon, Jessica Buckley and Priya Tanna

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Galapagos Islands Trip On the 10th of July, ten St Helen’s girls, accompanied by Miss Baker and Miss Cox, embarked upon a lengthy journey together to the other side of the world. The trip was 10 days long and filled with once in a life time experiences that have left every girl and teacher with incredible memories.

Our first flight was a 12-hour journey to Bogota, then a connection flight straight to Quito in Ecuador, where we met with our Gap force representative Sophie who accompanied us for the entire trip. The first day we spent in Quito eating vegan Ecuadorian cuisine, visiting handicraft markets, walking around the town and visiting a beautifully green park. On the second day in Quito we had an exciting morning up the Teleferico (cable car) where there was a significant drop in temperature!

On this journey we had a fantastic photo opportunity presented by the stunning views of the Andes and the densely populated, sprawling city of Quito. After our descent, we visited the Old Town centre in Quito. Here we visited La Ronda, Independence Square and the presidential residence before resting in another nice park and eventually retiring to the hotel in eager anticipation of our journey to the Galapagos Islands that awaited us early the next morning.

On the third day of the trip our Galapagos adventures began. After landing we took a ferry, and became mesmerised by how blue the water was, and by the colourful crabs that we saw. The ferry took us to Isla Santa Cruz where we were to stay for 3 days and where we met Louis our knowledgeable Galapagos guide. First we visited The Darwin Centre where we learnt about the ongoing conservation projects on

the islands, and also saw many giant tortoises and marine iguanas!

We spent time at the pier where we saw some sea lions and reef sharks swimming nearby. Dinner on the islands comprised mostly of chicken and rice, or fish and rice and a juice from a local fruit, such as guava and occasionally delicious plantain chips.

Our next day on the island involved a long walk to a beautiful stretch of beach called Tortuga Bay where we saw many marine iguanas basking in the humid sun. Not so used to the humidity as the iguanas, we were all relieved to cool down in the sea and have a chance to use our snorkels for the first time on the trip, and to explore the water below the surface. We then visited El Chato Tortoise Reserve where we saw many giant tortoises and tried fresh guava from the trees growing there.

We also walked through the lava tunnels which were an enchanting sight to behold.

On the penultimate day in Santa Cruz, we had a boat trip to Picon Island where we spent the day snorkelling. We encountered colourful fish, turtles and reef sharks! On our final day in Santa Cruz, we had a boat trip to Las Grietas, a gorge where we could swim. The gorge was unusual as it had both salt and fresh water. The

water was extremely refreshing and it was a beautiful and unique place in which to swim. We then had a 2 hour bumpy boat journey to Isla Isabella, which was not a fond memory for those with travel sickness.

Isla Isabella welcomed us with just as many amazing sights and experiences. On the dock when we arrived we were greeted by a pair of Galapagos penguins and a large ray. That evening we watched the sun set and saw flamingos in their natural habitat in the lagoons.

The next day involved more activities, including a hike up Sierra Negra Volcano, snorkelling and watching snuggling sea lions on the beach. Our last full day was a real adventure, with some culture and great snorkelling at La Roca where we swam again with turtles, golden mantas and sharks before our last night on the island, and the long journey home to London.

As well as the trip being academically stimulating, it was truly an unforgettable adventure, and we are all very grateful for having been given this exceptional opportunity.

Alison Driver

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Galapagos Islands Trip

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Galapagos Islands Trip

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Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Duke of Edinburgh was a challenging but enjoyable experience.

Tring after walking all day. I had never been happier to see my teachers!

My team and I worked extremely hard and enjoyed creating our routes and supporting each other with different tasks. We faced challenges during the day and had many amusing memories which I will never forget. My team and I arrived early at the campsite in

We set off early the following morning after having pancakes and made our way to our destination.

To complete my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh my group and I gave a presentation to the younger years about our time doing the Duke

of Edinburgh award. Overall, the experience was so rewarding and enjoyable. I learned so many important life skills and was extremely proud to complete my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.

Olivia Millet

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Bronze Duke of Edinburgh

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Silver Duke of Edinburgh After a very sunny and successful practice expedition to the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, we greeted the sight of grey skies with slight trepidation on our first day of walking in the Derbyshire Peak District.

However, the occasional heavy showers did not dampen our spirits (just our clothes) as we began our silver Duke of Edinburgh

expedition. We walked in groups of 4-7 people for three days (as well as two nights of camping), cooked our own food on a camping stove and spent some time completing a task that we had chosen previously.

My group’s task was to investigate land use at different heights, which led to some interesting experiences with curious cows and horses.

Despite this, what will remain with

me are the lasting memories of teamwork and mutual support, vain attempts to dry my soaking walking boots in a tent and singing every song we knew to encourage us to reach the top of a particularly steep mountain. We completed the three days with many stories, a lot of blisters and an incredible sense of achievement.

Hazel Lee

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Silver Duke of Edinburgh

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Morocco On the 12th July, twenty-six students from Year 12 and four teachers embarked on our Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition to Morocco, which would prove to be as challenging as it was enjoyable and valuable.

On arriving in Marrakech, welcomed by an unfamiliar heat of 40 degrees, we made our way into the beautiful city, which would provide, for most of us, our first experience of North African urban life. The vibrant colours and movement of the medina stood out to us as we navigated, with some difficulty, through the maze of souks and explored Jemaa el-Fna square.

A traditional Moroccan meal of tagine and cous cous, which, unbeknownst to us, would form the basis of almost every single meal for the next ten days, was followed by a walk to our riad, where we would enjoy our only air-conditioned sleep of the trip.

A long coach journey through the Atlas Mountains took us to the location of our community project, a small Berber village; its rural simplicity was a welcome contrast to the usual fast pace of our everyday lives. One part of the project here manifested itself in a cultural learning experience; we were able to spend time with Berber families in order to participate in traditional activities such as baking bread and making and pouring Moroccan tea, which, as we learnt, requires much more skill than simply boiling a kettle. Some of us were even able to milk a cow for the first and, judging by most of our reactions, probably the last time in our lives. The other part of the project was much more physically demanding, as through cement mixing, carrying bags of sand up a mountain and building steps out of

rocks, we helped to make a path that would allow the villagers to transport food, cattle and water.

Although much of the work involved the local people actually helping us, we left the Berber community with a clearer understanding of the term ‘manual labour’ and, more importantly, a greater understanding of a beautiful culture that we had known little about before.

We then moved onto our Gold Duke of Edinburgh trek, the difficulty of which we had all hugely underestimated. Setting off from the village of Tacheddirt, with excitement, trepidation, and bags that felt as if they weighed a tonne, we began our four day trek across the Atlas Mountains. This expedition brought with it many challenges, such as the seemingly insurmountable incline on the second day. Nonetheless, the experience was brightened by many things, like our Moroccan guides who would never hesitate to laugh amongst themselves about our level of fitness, but would also stand on the edge of cliff faces to make sure we were safe. The views of the Moroccan

landscape were almost as worthwhile as the view of our final campsite at the base of Toubkal. However, this would not mark the end of our venture; we woke at 4 o’clock the next morning to climb the highest peak in North Africa, Mount Toubkal. Beginning as a half-asleep stumble up the mountain, the four and a half hour ascent took us to the peak; at 4,167 metres above sea level, we were full of happiness, disbelief and pride at our joint achievement.

Despite our incessant complaining, we all agreed that our teamwork, determination and the remarkable locations in Morocco had shaped it into the best school trip of our time at St Helen’s. If it did not succeed in stressing the absolute necessity of hand sanitiser and water purification tablets, it certainly did in teaching us the importance of appreciating different cultures, overcoming challenges and making the most of the opportunities we are fortunate enough to have offered to us.

Jessica Graydon

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Morocco

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Morocco

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 99

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Moor Park Fun Run September is always a busy month at St Helen’s, but the Girls in Green always make time to support a local charity by taking part in the Moor Park Fun Run. For the last 3 years over 470 girls have run to raise money for the Lynda Jackson MacMillan Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital and last September was no different.

The older girls ran 3.9km with Sophie Peters finishing a very respectable 2nd place overall.

The U15 team (Rosie Joslin, Alice Woodcock, Sophie Peters and Lucy Caston) was exceptionally strong and won the team trophy. The U12 team of Mya Addison, Emma Cohen, Asha Kateli and Katya Zykova ran 2.6km. They also won the team trophy for their age group, which was a fantastic achievement.

Later in the afternoon came the U10 and U7 age group races where nearly 200 girls from the Junior School and Little Saint Helen’s gathered at the start line to run 1.3km and 850m respectively. Due to the extraordinary number of girls taking part in this event, St Helen’s won the ‘2012 Shield’, which is presented to the school with the greatest number of participants. Well done to all who took part.

Mrs Arnot

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Senior School Sports Day Bonington - 273 Bruce - 240 Shackleton - 239 Scott - 197

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Senior Sports Day

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Senior Sports Day

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House Arts Celebrating creativity is central to the annual festivity that is House Arts. As a new teacher at St Helen’s, I had to have the concept explained to me more than once to fully grasp its ambition and scope.

impressive resourcefulness, strong self-discipline and remarkable team spirit to pull off mini-productions of epic scale in the midst of a competitive frenzy that left many teachers’ ears ringing!

In essence, each of the four St Helen’s houses, Bonington, Bruce, Scott and Shackleton, are given the opportunity to mix ingenuity, imagination and originality with drama, dance and music to produce a thirty minute production that will be shared with the whole school on the last day of term. But the truth of the matter is much more than the sum of its parts, with the students demonstrating

The theme they had to work to was ‘Shakespeare’, chosen in recognition of 2016 being the 400th anniversary of the great playwright’s death. All four houses responded to the theme in different ways, and they were recognised for different aspects of their productions, from the interesting and artistic programmes to best performer, concept and director.

Bruce House won the Overall Prize

for a show that imagined a dystopian future where a school girl, starved of culture by a crazed dictator, falls in love with a boy from another district who teaches her about love and literature. The sharp twist in the tale left the audience reeling, and in hot anticipation of more great performances at House Arts next year.

Mr Williams

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School House

It has been a year of dramatic change across the school site and the two major building projects are arguably the most visible aspects of the School’s investment in its vision.

School House will have a positive impact for the Senior School: new and renovated spaces for teaching and learning will be available and a smart new entrance will welcome pupils and visitors alike. The bright and airy cloister corridor will greatly improve the circulation and make getting to lunch a far more pleasant experience.

Our work does not end with these projects, however, and we know that we must continue to invest in the School’s facilities and infrastructure if we are truly to provide the enhanced learning environment to which we aspire.

Our immediate task is to bring the soon-to-be-vacated former Junior School buildings back into use for the Senior School.

This work will take place in 2017 and, perhaps, early 2018 as we convert Mackenzie into a centre for the Sixth Form and Futures Programme, convert Lund into a versatile space for use as an Examinations Centre (freeing up the RBH and the Centre at key times of the year) and seek to replace Claremont with a new purposebuilt Music School. The replacement of Claremont has not been a decision taken lightly (and is still subject to planning permission), but the building is too limited for use in a modern day school, and the investment needed to make it so is disproportionate when compared to the cost of starting afresh and providing something

truly in keeping with our vision for Music in the School. Of course, the decision to demolish the “temporary” classrooms between Lund and the Centre was a much easier one to make!

Beyond the work in the south-west corner of the School, we also seek to continue to improve our sporting facilities. Building on the success of the Airdome, the Climbing Wall and new athletics facilities, we hope to construct an All-Weather Pitch on the current RBH pitch over the summer of 2017. This will greatly enhance our ability to provide Lacrosse and other sports throughout the winter months, when currently the ducks often get more time on the RBH pitch than we do. Although numbers in the School remain high and the School is financially secure, our resources

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 ¡ 109

are not without limits. However, the projects planned over the next couple of years are affordable within our current financial plans without the need to raise fees excessively or to borrow significant sums.

As many will have read in the masterplan document last year, we do have aspirations beyond the

current projects, but the planning of these will depend on a multitude of factors, including, very importantly, the amount of disruption we are prepared to accept.

Our Development Office is beginning to establish itself, building its networks with Alumnae, Parents and friends, and it is hoped

that in time it will be an important source of additional fundraising to support our Vision.

Mr Mackenzie Crooks

110 · St Helen’s Magazine 15/16

Ibstock Place School Performing Arts Centre BHM Architects

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St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 111

Maia Boccardo Nicole Hui

112 ¡ St Helen’s Magazine 15/16

Nila Selvachandran

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 ¡ 113

Celia Dipple

Esther Modaresi

114 · St Helen’s Magazine 15/16

Senior School Prizes 2016 Alice Rowland Brown Prize for Services to Upper School

Bethany Brown

Prize for Achievement, Year 10

Georgina Willis

Alice Rowland Brown Prize for Services to Upper School

Maya Halai

Prize for Achievement, Year 10

Uma Gurav

Alice Rowland Brown Prize for Services to Upper School

Esther Modaresi

Prize for Achievement, Year 10

Ananya Hari-Narain

Andrew Motion Prize for Poetry

Sophie Peters

Prize for Achievement, Year 10

Martha Donald

Bater Prize for Progress in Advanced Level Studies

Rianne Bisal

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Fatima Yaquob

Bater Prize for Progress in Advanced Level Studies

Fyza Bashir

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Daliya Hassan

Bater Prize for Progress in Advanced Level Studies

Adela Mila-de-Puri

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Sophie Khaddaj

Cranwell Cup for Lacrosse

Holly Haynes

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Samara Khimasia

Cullen Cup for Endeavour in CCF

Amy Cook

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Ria Patel

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Nitashaa Baskarathasan

Prize for Achievement, Year 7

Prachi Saraf

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Nicole Bilan

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Abirame Sritharan

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Olivia Braun

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Sophia Gadsby

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Emma Brown

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Sarah Watts

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Richa Dorai

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Alice Woodcock

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Ria Gaglani

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Hannah Orme

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Jessica Graydon

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Ellie Hopkins

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Gemma Jolliffe

Prize for Achievement, Year 8

Deborah Adenigbagbe

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Rhiana Mandair

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Tasha Neelakandan

Dame Lucy Sutherland Prize for Outstanding GCSE Results

Hannah Rose

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Ruth Shaw

Deputy Head Girl Prize

Amy Cook

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Sarah Todd

Deputy Head Girl Prize

Rebecca Hallam

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Venusha Baskarathasan

Dorothy Steward Memorial Prize for Progress in Mathematics in Year 11

Sara Goldstein

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Karina Natalia

Emma Grose Cup for Performing Arts

Lucy Tun

Prize for Achievement, Year 9

Sophie Peters

Eva Seldon Bursary for Music

Kaoruko Shirasaki

Prize for Progress, Year 10

Maisie Hopkins

Eva Seldon Bursary for Music

Anna Galloway

Prize for Progress, Year 10

Keya Pindolia

Fell Prize for Continuous Effort

Emma Wearing

Prize for Progress, Year 10

Moroti Otiti

Frances Watson Memorial Award for Citizenship

Yass Rad

Prize for Progress, Year 10

Joanna Matsangos

Frau von Berlepsch Memorial Prize for German

Jil Holzhammer

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Meera Balasubrabmaniam

Grace Sharples Prize for Classics

Tamsin Rimmer

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Molly Drown

Head Girl Prize

Shivani Ananth

Prize for Progress, Year 7

India Fisher

Isobel Thompson Prize for English, Year 13

Anya Gill

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Anya Maisuria

Janine Warton Prize for Excellence in French

Anya Gill

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Anya Vaghani

June Leader Bursary for Services to the School

Ria Gupta

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Ashni Lakhani

June Leader Prize for Progress in English, Year 11

Maryam Hussain

Prize for Progress, Year 7

Natasha Fuller

June Leader Prize for Progress in English, Year 11

Kristy Kwok

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Simi Unercat

June Leader Prize for Progress in English, Year 13

Jemma Wolff

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Neevitha Thayaparan

Lucy Braham Award for Progress in Art in Year 11

Esther Modaresi

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Amy Weston

Mary Webster Prize for History, Year 13

Lehana De Silva

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Rhea Shah

Merchant Taylors' Travel Prize

Maya Freiman

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Juhi Pandya

Merchant Taylors' Travel Prize

Anna Scott

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Mia Donegan

Old Girls' Club Travel Award

Nitashaa Baskarathasan

Prize for Progress, Year 8

Ella Coleman

Old Girls' Club Travel Award

Saniya Crouch

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Dina Sapra

Merchant Taylors’ Guild Photography Prize

Jasmine Murphy

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Annabel Armour

Miss Edwards Prize for Mathematics in Year 11

Sophie Clifford-King

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Bo Ju Khaw

Miss Pitt Award for Outstanding Contribution to Middle School

Chloe Rabin

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Shreya Patel

Mrs Dover Prize for Geography

Maya Raichoora

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Anouska Chatrath

Patricia Hodge Cup for Outstanding Contribution to School Drama

Selin Balcioglu

Prize for Progress, Year 9

Sayinie Easwarakumar

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 115

Rosalind Onians Award for Endeavour

Kimya Ghazi-Zadeh

Year 7 Scholarship Award

Zoe Costigan

Leader Baker Scholarship

Maya Kateli

Year 7 Scholarship Award

Hannah Phillips

Leader Baker Scholarship

Ruth Shaw

Year 7 Scholarship Award

Neha Shah

Leader Baker Scholarship

Millie Ward

Year 7 Scholarship Award

Fatima Yaquob

School Prize for Art

Natasha Mellman

Year 7 Sport Scholarship

Asha Kateli

School Prize for Biology

Maya Freiman

Year 7 Music Scholarship

Ella Hearn

School Prize for Business Studies

Natasha Mellman

Year 7 Music Scholarship

Wendy Wilson

School Prize for Chemistry

Anna Scott

Year 9 Enquiry Prize

Sarah Todd

School Prize for Design and Technology

Anaya Patel

Year 9 Enquiry Prize

Shivani Malde

School Prize for Economics

Bijal Shah

School Prize for Further Mathematics

Bijal Shah

School Prize for Geography

Alice Lassman

School Prize for History

Shivani Ananth

School Prize for Mathematics

Maria Ahmad

School Prize for Philosophy

Roxy Orloff

School Prize for Physical Education & Sports

Vicki Oyesola

School Prize for Physics

Lily Berman

School Prize for Politics

Georgina Connah

School Prize for Psychology

Maddie Hicks

School Prize for Religious Studies

Maya Raichoora

School Prize for Science

Maria Ahmad

School Prize for Spanish

Simran Thakrar

Sixth Form Art Scholarship 2016-2018

Celia Dipple

Art Exibition - Year 7

Roisin MacKinnon

Sixth Form Music Exhibition 2016-2017

Victoria Edwards

Sixth Form Music Exhibition 2016-2018

Anaya Patel

Sixth Form Music Scholarship 2016-2018

Lucy Evans

Sixth Form Music Scholarship 2016-2018

Bethany Lai

Sixth Form Music Scholarship 2016-2018

Emilia Peters

Sixth Form Drama Scholarship 2016-2018

Bibi Cox O'Brien

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Flora Sayers

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Emma Caston

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Margarita White

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Olivia Paes

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Hazel Lee

Sixth Form Academic Scholarship Award 2016-2018

Talia Spitz

Sixth Form Sport Scholarship 2016-2018

Madeline Blackwell

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 11

Hazel Lee

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 11

Milana Manoraj

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 11

Isobel Windsor

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 11

Kavisha Leelasena

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 13

Vicky Oyesola

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 13

Kelsey Patel

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 13

Janavi Shah

St. Helen's School Prize for Commitment to Academic Study, Year 13

Amy Cook

The Founder's Prize for Services to the School

Georgina Connah

The Gascoigne Bow for Music

Bethany Lai

Trophy for Mathematics in Year 10

Shatvika Vettivet-Pillai

Valerie Howarth Prize for Chemistry

Janavi Shah

116 · St Helen’s Magazine 15/16

Destinations of Leavers 2016 (correct as of 13.09.2016)

Imogen

ABLETT

Politics and International Relations

University of Reading

Selin

ACI

Politics and International Relations

University of Nottingham

Elly

ADAMS

Optometry

Cardiff University

Dana

AFSHAR

Biomedical Sciences

Royal Holloway, University of London

Maria

AHMAD

Medicine

Queen Mary, University of London

Shivani

ANANTH

History

Oxford University

Jaznique

ARORA

Economics

University of Bath

Mihika

ATHALYE

Aerospace Engineering

University of Sheffield

Alexandra

BAIKOV

Biomedical Science

University College London

Fyza

BASHIR

Gap Year

Hanaa

BASHIR

Gap Year

Lily

BERMAN

Chemical Physics

University of Edinburgh

Rianne

BISAL

Accounting and Finance

University of Leicester

Varsha

BORKHATRIA

Gap Year

Sydney

BUNTING

Psychology

University of Sussex

Hana

CLEMENTS

Biology

University of Manchester

Talia

COHEN

English Language and Linguistics

University of Leeds

Georgina

CONNAH

History

London School of Economics and Political Science

Amy

COOK

Liberal Arts

University of Bristol

Saniya

CROUCH

Gap Year

Lehana

DE SILVA

History

University College London

Beatrice

EVERETT

Economics

Newcastle University

Kate

FALLOWFIELD

Psychology

University of Bristol

Heather

FITZGERALD

Psychology

University of Nottingham

Maya

FREIMAN

Biology

University of Bristol

Anna

GALLOWAY

Music

University of Manchester

Shanitha

GANESHATHASAN

Economics

Queen Mary, University of London

Kimya

GHAZI-ZADEH

Gap Year

Anya

GILL

English Language and Literature

Oxford University

Leah

GLATER

Criminology

University of Sussex

Alisha

GUPTA

Architecture

Oxford Brookes University

Rebecca

HALLAM

History

University of Warwick

Holly

HAYNES

Spanish and Portugese Studies

King's College London

Sarah

HAYWOOD

English

University of Nottingham

Grace

HEALY

Gap Year

Maddie

HICKS

Liberal Arts

Jil

HOLZHAMMER

Aylin

HOWE

Law

Swansea University

Safia

JESSA

Economics

Cardiff University

Stephanie

KELLEHER

Psychology

Keele University

Shriya

KOTAK

Psychology

University of Birmingham

Dionne

LAI

Biology

University of Bristol

Alice

LASSMAN

Gap Year

Natasha

MELLMAN

International Business with Marketing

University of Leeds

Adela

MILA-DE-PURI

Medicine

University of East Anglia

Xuan

ODOFIN

Medicine

Imperial College

Roxy

ORLOFF

Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Oxford University

Yale University Studying in Germany

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 117

Vicki

OYESOLA

Mechanical Engineering

Loughborough University

Anysia

PALMER

Geography

Royal Holloway, University of London

Esana

PATEL

Economics

University of Bath

Kelsey

PATEL

Economics

University of Cambridge

Nisha

PATEL

Civil Engineering

Coventry University

Natalie

PORTER

Criminology

Keele University

Prithika

PRASAD

Medicine

University College London

Prashankthie

PREMARAJ

Optometry

Anglia Ruskin University

Zoe

PROSSER

Education

University of Birmingham

Yass

RAD

Psychology

University of Bristol

Jina

RAHIMI

Gap Year

Maya

RAICHOORA

Geography with Innovation

University of Bristol

Janvi

RAJANI

Optometry

University of Manchester

Anoushka

RAVAL

International Relations

University of Birmingham

Shakitiya

RAVINDRAN

Biological Sciences (Neuroscience)

University of Leicester

Tamsin

RIMMER

Psychology

University of Sussex

Emma

ROSE

American Studies and English

University of Nottingham

Libby

SADLER

Biology

University of Bristol

Chatura

SARAVANAN

Chemical Engineering

University of Bath

Anna

SCOTT

Mechanical Engineering

University of Bath

Ashni

SHAH

Economics and Management

University of Bristol

Bijal

SHAH

Mathematics

University of Cambridge

Janavi

SHAH

Medicine

University of East Anglia

Anushka

SHANMUGARAJAH

Medicine

University of Birmingham

Kaoruko

SHIRASAKI

Music

University of Edinburgh

Kristin

SMITHERS

Geography

University of Manchester

Imogen

TAIT

Politics and International Relations

University of Nottingham

Simran

THAKRAR

Classical Civilisation

University of Warwick

Lucy

TUN

Computer Science

University of York

Pirashani

UMASSUDAN

Dentistry

King's College London

Tomi

VON BREDOW

Gap Year

Emma

WEARING

Biological Sciences

University of Warwick

Elizabeth

WILLIS

Nursing

King's College London

Jemma

WOLFF

Modern Languages and English

University of Birmingham

Hannah

YERBURY

English Language

Newcastle University

118 · St Helen’s Magazine 15/16

St Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 119

CONTACT DETAILS St 3AS Helen’s Magazine 15/16 · 120 St Helen’s School, Eastbury Road, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 Tel: +44 (0)1923 843210 | Email: enquiries@sthelens.london | www.sthelens.london ADMISSIONS ENQUIRIES +44 (0)1923 843230 | Email: admissions@sthelens.london