CODA 2016 - 2017
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CONTENTS
CODA is a word sometimes used to refer to the concluding passage of a musical piece or dance, forming an addition to the basic structure. As the name of Walthamstow Hall’s Senior School magazine for fifty years, Coda celebrates some of the successes of the past academic year.
CODA 2016 - 2017
Contents PREFACE Headmistress’s Introduction
3
Head Girl’s Prize-Giving Speech
3
CURRICULAR Head Girl Josie de Kock Deputy Head Girls Beatrice Carpenter Lydia Chaloner Prefects Sophie Alcock Olivia Hall Holly Haworth Sophie Khaleeque Paige Manchip Hannah Neicho Harriet Reed Eleanor Reynolds Katie Saunders Charlotte Sawyer Olivia Wyatt
Art
5
120
Business and Young Enterprise
23
Computer Science and ICT
24
Design Technology and 3D Design
25
Drama
42
Economics
54
English
55
Geography
69
Government and Politics
77
History
78
Library
82
EXTRA-CURRICULAR
Mathematics
84
Careers and Work Experience
118
Charity
122
Bushcraft
124
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
126
Sixth Form Lecture Programme
127
House Reports
128
Staff News
136
Friends and Parents
138
Prize-Giving 2017
139
Year 13 Memories
141
Leaver Destinations 2017
143
House Captains Chartwell: Isabel Martyn and Suzannah Williams Down: Charlotte Howard and Alice Lupton Knole: Maisie Boulton and Liberty Green Montreal: Annabel Jackson and Emily Kenny Penshurst: Amelia Ball and Rachel Livingstone Quebec: Emily Goldsworthy and Lucie Hobbs
12
Modern Foreign Languages
86
Music
90
Philosophy and Theology
94
Physical Education
95
Science: Biology, Chemistry & Physics 102 Textiles
113
Lacrosse Captains Olivia Wyatt Sophie Alcock Emma Whitlock Music Captains Jessica Bache and Emily James Library Captain Amelia Ball
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 2
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CODA TEAM Honorary Editor Mrs J Milner Editors Mrs O Cornes and Ms S Pelling Design, artwork and production Baines Design 01707 876555 Front and Back Cover Paige Manchip, Year 13
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P R E FAC E
My mantra on the way to school in the mornings was “be the best you can and have fun” and that encapsulates my memories of life at Walthamstow Hall.
Preface Headmistress’s Introduction A great school deserves a great magazine, so I am sure that you will agree that this splendid edition of CODA gives a real flavour of the wealth of talent at Wally. 2016-17 has been a truly great year! I congratulate the Editor, staff and girls on their myriad achievements and wish CODA and the school equal happiness and success in the years ahead. Enjoy! Jill Milner
Head Girl's Prize-Giving Speech
One of my favourite things about Wally is the long-standing traditions, like the House events and annual play that form friendships across all year groups. I am sure you will all agree that the production
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Other drama productions this year, including the GCSE and Year 10 devised plays, have also amazed us with their level of creativity, incredible acting and sheer professionalism. However, the most anticipated tradition of the year cannot go unmentioned; the annual Year 13 pantomime. We transported the school to the world of Toy Story where, in true Year 13 style, we went all out to put on an unforgettable show, even agreeing that painting the soldiers green from head to toe and creating life-sized Mr and Mrs Potato costumes was not a step too far. Special thanks must go to Mr Castell and Mr Buckingham for their worryingly convincing performances as the Benenden Barbies. Wally has also put on many musical concerts this year, including the Spring Concert which featured the debut of the
organ, and Wally Stage and Screen where girls from all year groups performed songs from musicals. On the sports field this year we have excelled across the board with all three netball teams qualifying for the Kent Schools County Finals, which was a fantastic achievement. Our Inter cross country team qualified for the Regional Finals and went on to compete at national level, and our lacrosse Senior Squad qualified for Division 1 at National Finals. In badminton, Wally currently holds the title of Kent Champion and was runner-up at the Regional Finals. Every production, every musical event and every sporting success are testament to the expertise and dedication of the teachers here at Wally Hall. They help us to achieve our very best, and encourage and challenge us to strive for higher honours. This attitude is fundamental to the Sixth Form. I’m sure we can all agree it isn’t easy; the pressures of those allimpor tant decisions that have to be made about subjects and university choices compounded by the pressure of exams that follow. Never theless we’ve all been able to flourish and discover our remarkable potential for life beyond school.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Memories of that very first day in Little Shipmates at Walthamstow Hall Junior School in my oversized smock, new shoes and pony tail are all so vivid, it seems it was only yesterday. It’s incredible to believe that 15 years have passed since then and I’m here giving the Head Girl’s speech at our final prize-giving. To say time has flown is an understatement, but time only flies when you are having fun. My mantra on the way to school in the mornings was “be the best you can and have fun” and that encapsulates my memories of life at Walthamstow Hall.
of Oliver! in November yet again set an even more professional standard of drama here at Wally, with outstanding performances from Alice Lupton as Nancy and Annie Jackson as Fagin, to name a few. It epitomised our attitude at Wally, which is never to do anything half-heartedly. This was exemplified by the wigs, moles, rotten teeth and wrinkles that sometimes produced an almost too lifelike portrayal of some of the characters.
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P R E FAC E
We will never forget the support we received from every teacher and from each other - whether our friendships date back 15 years to Little Shipmates, seven years to the beginning of Senior School or just two years to the beginning of Sixth Form.
We will never forget the support we received from every teacher - and from each other - whether our friendships date back 15 years to Little Shipmates, seven years to the beginning of Senior School or just two years to the beginning of Sixth Form. We have all grown as a year and we have always been able to rely on each other, be that on the spor ts field, on stage, in the classroom or just in the Common Room. Our year now boasts England Academy lacrosse players, National Youth Choir singers, international gymnastic silver medallists and gold medal award-winning chemists. But most importantly I think we have all developed as people. We have all come so far and I think we have all truly discovered what it means to be a Wally girl and are immensely proud of this. A very special mention and enormous thanks must go to my Deputy Head Girls, Bea and Lydia and the Prefect Team for the unfailing commitment and effort they have put into every school and charity event this year, including their angelic performances of some classic Christmas carols at Sevenoaks station. Our favourite fundraiser was definitely the staff vs. Sixth Form netball match; however there was a slight misunderstanding from the teachers as they put their team of 14 on to play our team of 7.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 4
to the constant support from Ms Ancrum, Mr Howson and Mr Hughes over the past two years as we grew into our Sixth Form roles, building on all we had learnt with the support of staff lower down the school. Thanks are due to our Sixth Form tutors for their care and guidance.
always remember you. Thank you for being our leader, our mentor and our friend throughout these fundamental years.
I could not come to the end of my speech without mentioning our wonderfully inspirational, dedicated role model: Mrs Milner. Your personable nature and knowledge of every single girl makes us all feel at home and creates the inherent warmth that everyone talks about at Wally.
Although this is a sad day for all of us, I know we will leave with a smile and a spring in our steps as we ready ourselves for what comes next.
This school wouldn’t be the same without a headmistress we can laugh with as she falls up the stairs in assembly, or whose distinctive chuckle we can always hear from the audience in every school play. You are Wally and that is how we will
To continue tradition I will end with a quote from one of my favourite childhood authors Dr Seuss who aptly states “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”.
We will take with us not only our many unforgettable memories and our lifelong friendships but also the privileged foundation that this school has gifted to every single one of us. Thank you for listening. Josie de Kock Head Girl 2016-2017
Despite their efforts, we still came out victorious. We are proud to say we raised an astonishing £4,972 this year for our school charity FUZE. Thanks must also go to the wonderful House Captains who too have been very busy this year with House events such as the renowned House Music Competition, once again highlighting Down’s undisputed musical talent. We are ready to take the next step and we could not be more prepared, thanks
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Head Girl Team Lydia, Josie and Beatrice
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Year 13
F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3
Fine Art
Suzannah Williams
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Anja Huddart lino cut prints
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3 Kristina Candy
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 6
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Nancy Brazel
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3 C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Paige Manchip
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Rachel Livingstone
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3 Isabella Woods C O DA M AG A Z I N E 8
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3
Katie Saunders
Nancy Brazel
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Suzannah Williams
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3 Isabella Woods
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Katie Saunders
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3
Misha Nikkhah
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Gabrielle Phythian
11
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3 Anja Huddart
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Abigail Tutton
12
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 3
Amelia Ball
BP PORTRAIT SUMMER SCHOOL
The Summer School course was a greater experience than I could have comprehended. We spent the first day of the course drawing from the life model, Thomas, to prepare for our paintings and then spent the remaining days painting.
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The course was led by previous BP Portrait Award artists and they supported and advised us individually over the three days. This alone was an amazing and hugely beneficial experience, but as well as this, each day another BP Portrait Award artist would join us to give us a talk. Each talk was different but they discussed their work, their practice and advised and informed us both individually and as a group. Furthermore, we were given mini-talks and had discussions about the paintings in that year’s BP Portrait Award exhibition. We were also encouraged to draw and make notes on individual paintings there. In fact, I was lucky enough to meet one of the artists, who had come to visit her portrait and the exhibition, when I was sketching her painting! The course not only provided me with knowledge but also gave me a confidence in my ability and work that I hadn’t previously had. The ar tists and those running the course were extremely inspiring and encouraging and it was a privilege to meet them, let alone to be taught by them. This summer my painting has been chosen for the same Next Generation display that inspired me last
year and as much as it is unbelievable to see it there, it has given me the confidence to pursue ar t fur ther. Liliana Pavier, Year 11
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
When I visited the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Por trait Gallery last summer, I saw the Next Generation display and intrigued by the paintings, especially as the painters were mostly around my age, I picked up a leaflet. Upon realising that they offered summer courses for free I thought it’d be an oppor tunity to learn more about ar t and to gain more skills. Initially I was only interested in doing their Taster Session, however, on a whim I applied for the three day Summer School course too. I had to write a shor t piece about why I wanted to go and hope that they might select me because of it. I realised the course was a brilliant oppor tunity so tried to convey as much of my passion and personality in the email as I could, but forgot about it entirely until I received an email informing me that I had been selected and that I would be attending the Summer School.
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 2
Year 12
Anna Gutierrez-Garcia
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 14
Evangeline Redman
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 1 2
Kate Butler
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Erin Hughes
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Emily Freeman
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F I N E A RT | G C S E
GCSE
Liliana Pavier
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Alice Mills
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F I N E A RT | G C S E
Jemima Andrews
Juliette Grieve
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C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Alice Mills
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F I N E A RT | G C S E Lydia Sturgess
Natasha James
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Alexa Rushin
Alannah Watson
Isabella Fitzsimons
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F I N E A RT | G C S E
Jessica Dootson
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Anna McAnallen
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F I N E A RT | G C S E Olivia Pearce
Natasha Cooke
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Natasha Cooke
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F I N E A RT | G C S E P H OTO G R A P H Y
GCSE Photography
Katie Saunders
Katie Saunders
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Anja Huddart
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F I N E A RT | Y E A R 8
Year 8 YEAR 8 TRIP TO JERWOOD ART GALLERY layering – to incorporate different ideas This award-winning gallery into one piece, texture – to give the in Hastings houses the piece depth and interest, and prints – Jerwood Collection of to give an unusual effect. My favourite Modern and Contemporary painting by Eileen Agar, is ‘Pigeon Post’ (pictured right). It shows so many British art. Year 8 students methods of communication, brought were inspired to create their together in one piece of ar t, for instance, own collage seascapes. the wavy green and dark brown lines I found the Eileen Agar exhibition very inspiring. I liked how she used surrealist ideas in her work, which made her paintings really interesting. She incorporated many different ideas, some from her childhood in Buenos Aires, some from her life in London. The techniques she used were unique:
represent radio signals. I also liked how the paper she used was actually letters from friends – this gave another method of communication. I thought that the permanent exhibition was quite small, containing just over 200 pieces, but these pieces were all very different, and of different styles and movements. It included figurative contemporary and abstract work. My favourite painting of the permanent collection was ‘Two Boats’ (pictured left) by Alfred Wallis. I liked the childlike simplicity of this painting, but I also like how he used charcoal in the sky.
I found the Keith Tyson exhibition very interesting. He painted one of his pieces every day, and they portrayed something happening in the world that day or in his own life. I enjoyed his controversial style and I liked how his exhibition was displayed in the style of his brain, instead of, for example, chronological order. My favourite drawing of his was ‘Weapons of War’. I liked how it just showed different eyes, representing how war starts and how they are your greatest weapon. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Jerwood Art Gallery in Hastings. Isobel Smith,Year 8
WORK INSPIRED BY OUR TRIP
Amelia Childs
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Julia Nicklaus
Kathryn Aaron
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YOUNG ENTERPRISE Young Enterprise is a financial education charity that aims to connect students at school with the world of work. It runs a competition for pupils to set up and run a business throughout one academic year, and Walthamstow Hall always enters a team.
B U S I N E S S | YO U N G E N T E R P R I S E
Business
We thoroughly enjoyed our Young Enterprise experience. Our product of hand printed 100% cotton tea towels sold well; sales of 197 raised a profit of £268. We had many selling opportunities, with the school Christmas Fair being our most successful event. Our tea towels were also available for sale in Rafferty’s Café. The group has learnt many selling skills and the importance of working in a team to meet deadlines. We would like to thank everyone at school who has supported us and bought our tea towels. Poppy Goldsworthy Managing Director, Annie Blundell & Lydia Barwick, Finance Directors,Year 12
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COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ICT | BBC MICRO:BITS AND COMPUTER BUGS
Computer Science and ICT BBC MICRO:BITS The Computer Science Department took part in a oneoff BBC initiative to give every Year 7 child in the country a pocket-sized codeable computer. I have found my BBC micro:bit really interesting and fun to work with. I managed to program my name to show up on it, which I was really proud of. I am finding programming my device really easy and I can even do it at home. Micro:bits are also really clever; they showed us how to get started, gave us prompts to get us to push the right buttons and even welcomed us with a hello! My favourite thing is that you can program them to do whatever you want with no difficulty whatsoever. My friends are all really enjoying their micro:bits and I am too!
When we got the actual micro:bits, I was really excited. Once we had put the coding onto the devices, I was fascinated by how easy it was but also how amazing it was too! I programmed mine to show a smiley face and then a flower, after I had pressed ‘A’. Then when I pressed ‘B’ it displayed the letters ISSY to spell my name in lights. Thank you Mr Swann for teaching me this; I absolutely loved it! Isobel Slater,Year 7 As 2016-17 draws to a close, I too would like to thank Mr Swann for supporting and inspiring our Computing students over many years. Mrs Rowell, Head of Computer Science and ICT
May Scott,Year 7
COMPUTER BUGS This year, our lunchtime coding club for lower school students was led with great enthusiasm by the Year 12 Digital Leaders: Olivia Crisp, Grace Dean, Victoria Hooper, Lily Jack, Evie Redman and Isabel Warren. Two Year 7 Computer Bugs give their verdict:
We have been making 3D computer games using Kodu, which is a programming software package used for making games to play on PC or Xbox. We first created the virtual world in which the game would be played. We then made a Kodu to live in it and programmed the Kodu to move as the player commands. There were so many virtual worlds to create. Some people played in Mars, mazes, or in a lava world. After a few mishaps, our games now finally work!
We love programming, listening to the music and eating lots of sweets! We sometimes have competitions like who can build the biggest tower. Some people also made racing tracks. It is fun learning to program our games. We are now better at making games than the 6th formers!” Natalie Humphries and Dot Vanblarcum, Year 7
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 24
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A Level, Year 13 Design Exhibition
3D DESIGN | A LEVEL - YEAR 13
Design Technology & 3D Design
All work by Elizabeth Dreksler C O DA M AG A Z I N E 25
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3D DESIGN | A LEVEL - YEAR 13 All work by Nancy Brazel
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3D DESIGN | A LEVEL - YEAR 13
Misha Nikkhah
Elizabeth Dreksler
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Nancy Brazel
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3D DESIGN | A LEVEL - YEAR 12
A Level, Year 12
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 28
All work by Alexandra Judd
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 11
GCSE, Year 11
Daisy Campbell
Alexandra Bache
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Beatrice Harrison
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 11 Phoebe Roubicek
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Abigail Howard
Josephine Hamon
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 11
Sophie Ball
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Honor Pelling
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 11
YEAR 11 VISIT TO AYLESFORD PRIORY POTTERY
Liliana Pavier
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Madeleine Ball
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 10
GCSE, Year 10
Alessandra Kazi
Isabel Avery C O DA M AG A Z I N E 33
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 10 Caitlin Barry
Grace Pelling C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Sophie Lee-Aimes
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3D DESIGN | GCSE - YEAR 10 / YEAR 9
YEAR 10 V&A TRIP - RIBA GALLERY This year we were lucky enough to combine our trip to the RIBA Gallery with a visit to a major retrospective of the 20th century engineer, Ove Arup at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Year 10 GCSE 3D Design group
Sketching a tensile structure
Year 9 WEALD AND DOWNLAND MUSEUM TRIP - SEPT 2016 The class saw the famous Downland Gridshell Building at the museum and made a model of one themselves. A gridshell building has the shape and strength of a shell, but is made of a grid instead of a solid surface. The students used the principles of tension and compression to build their own model, giving them a good start to their architecture project.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 35
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3D DESIGN |
Year 9
YEAR 9
3D DESIGN
Leané du Toit
Rebecca Graham
Lily Harris
Eleanor Wood
Tanzy Kelley
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Chanté du Toit
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Tabitha Lamport
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3D DESIGN | YEAR 9
Isabella Wood
Lucy Curran
Alice Hills
Ela Tary
Rosanna Allan
Natasha Goffin
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Alicia Webb
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3D DESIGN |
Year 8
YEAR 8 Abigail Launder
Fleur Masters
JEWELLERY-MAKING We star ted our jewellery-making project by looking at flowers and floral designs. We each brought in a flower and took pictures of it and sketched it from different angles. We also used water colours and pencil pens. The jewellery project was done much more independently. We star ted off by planning the design we wanted to create. Mrs Evans then talked us through the different materials and processes: pewter, resin, and wire work. Dorothy Haworth,Year 8
Dorothy Haworth
Ruby Roubicek
Katherine Magee
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 38
Abigail Launder
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Kitty Pope
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3D DESIGN | YEAR 8
Cara McCann
Edith Norton
Kitty Pope
Students made designer Tithi Kutchamuch's paper rings
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Rosie Williamson
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Beatrice Godin
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3D DESIGN | YEAR 8 Jasmine Wallace
BĂŠatrice Godin
BOX-MAKING The box project challenges girls to create a simple box, with a liner, using a different joint in each corner. First we learnt the categories of wood: hard wood, soft wood, plywood, and MDF. Then we tried out the different saws for woodwork. I found the tenon saw hardest because I was unable to saw in a straight line. My favourite saw to use was the coping saw because I can control it the most and stay on my lines the easiest.
We started with a plank of wood and sawed the wood into four quarters, using a tenon saw. Our first joint was the finger joint, after that the dowl joint, then the half flap and mitre joint. Together these formed our wooden box. We added design that we drew in our books and then used the laser cutter to put it on our lids and added any pictures or fabric to finish off the box.
We used the laser cutter to put our design on our lids and added pictures or fabric to finish off the box
Dorothy Haworth,Year 8
C O DA M AG A Z I N E 40
Nina Sherwen
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Ruby Roubicek
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MY YEAR IN DT I have really enjoyed DT this year, although some of the tasks have been a challenge. Recently we have been using a 2D design tool on the computer, which I have found very interesting and I liked scoring lines to define my bookmark, and then using a laser cutter to cut it out. However, I think my favourite tool to use is the vacuum moulding machine, as it was very cool melting the plastic to create a dome. I also enjoyed the soldering; it was astonishing how much stronger soldering makes wire! Decorating my Jitterbug was definitely a highlight of DT; although after my fiddling with the glue gun and some tissue paper
MY YEAR IN DT my Jitterbug looked a bit tatty!
3D DESIGN | YEAR 7
Year 7 This year in DT we made two projects.
Another thing I liked was creating the electrical circuit for my Jitterbug. It made me feel really proud when my Jitterbug actually jittered with the flick of a switch. I had never made anything like that by myself before! May Scott,Year 7
In the first half of DT, we made Jitterbugs, where we used the vacuum former to create a black shell, then decorated it with reused materials. We then created legs with injection moulding, and a circuit to make our bugs jitter. We learnt how to solder when we were working with our circuit. This was really fun, and it meant you could be as creative as you liked. When we had finished, we made posters for our bugs. In the second half, we were introduced to the work of Charlie Harper. We used his simplistic style to transfer an image of an animal of our choice into a bookmark design. We used 2D Design V2 to show the laser cutter where to cut and where to score. We then used the laser cutter to cut out our bookmarks. I really enjoyed DT this year, especially using the vacuum former, decorating and designing our Jitterbugs, and making the bookmarks. I also enjoyed learning new skills such as soldering and injection moulding. In fact, one of my favourite parts was watching my bookmark get cut out, it was funny and exciting (though I don’t know why). Katherine Price,Year 7
Rosemary Rapley
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Daisy Dreksler
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Natalie Humphries
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DRAMA | OLIVER!
Drama Oliver! The Ship Theatre was in full rig for the Senior School production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! “Wow!” is the first reaction to this wonderful production at Walthamstow School of the musical Oliver! It was difficult to forget that the cast, set, performances and band were not professional actors, and we were not sitting in a West End Theatre. The set was austere yet gave the impression of the Victorian era. It proved itself to be extremely versatile in the way it managed to represent so many
Charlotte Collini locations, from The Three Cripples pub, to London Bridge, the roof tops and Mr Brownlow’s house. The costumes gave the play a wonderful rich feel as they were so authentic-looking. The orphans for example were in bland colours, which contrasted well to the boys in Fagin’s den, who had got their hands on some more colourful garments. The funeral gang were exquisitely dressed in harsh black and white which again made them stand out as a very separate group. The attention to detail was very pleasing, I noticed their shoes were not Walthamstow school shoes but shoes and boots in the Victorian style. Nancy
India-Rose Slack
Paige Manchip of course stands out magnificently in her red dress which gives her a bright, vibrant feel giving a clue to her personality, but the flowing skirts show she has a kind sensitive side too. The performance that really stood out for me was that of Fagin. This was especially interesting as there was a different actor for each half of the play. The first Fagin was so strong that I was worried the second Fagin wouldn’t be as good, but I had not needed to fear! The first Fagin had such stage presence, taking care to own the stage, and yet give a true sense of a rather creepy old man. The actor had a wonderful strong singing voice too. The second Fagin had a slightly quieter stage presence, but gave such a detailed characterization, it was mesmerizing. In par ticular, the wide eyes, creeping posture, and exaggerated
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Scarlett Goffin
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Alice Lupton
Workhouse boys sing Food, Glorious Food
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DRAMA | OLIVER!
Rachel Livingstone, Charlotte Collini and Alice Lupton movement of the hands gave such a good idea of Fagin. They also both built up such a good rapport with the audience, you felt you were on his side! The whole cast created a lively atmosphere with the singing and dancing. I thought it worked particularly well when the action and music took place all around the stage, bringing actors on through the public entrances kept the audience on their toes! The dancers always made sure to use the whole stage and it felt very vibrant. This was helped by the live music provided by the band, which somehow gives a more exciting atmosphere. At half time, all the audience were saying that they couldn’t believe it was a school production. There were so many rousing and moving scenes that it is difficult to choose just one, but I think the sheer joy that the I’d do anything routine gave the audience, has to make it my favourite. Emma Sorrell,Year 7
This production is set in the streets of London in the 1840s where robbers and thieves wandered the alleyways. The set has been cleverly designed to support this with secret tunnels and stairs the actors
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can safely navigate. The general design consists of darkly painted wooden planks layered randomly across a large bridge with three staircases to exit from. There are also black curtains on the wall that were useful for quick scene changes. The set is perfect for any scene and ranged from a treacherous workhouse to friendly Paddington Green and the different lighting helped to portray this. As well as the set, the costumes, that were kindly loaned to Wally by The Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Birmingham Rep, did a great deal to recreate the Victorian era
Rosie Wright, Jaime Bullock and Alexandra Bailey
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Oliver! was an amazing production that was impressively produced in just eight weeks. It was a wondrous experience for the audience who came out with big grins on their faces.
Fagin's gang in rehearsal
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DRAMA | OLIVER! Alice Lupton
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on stage. Waistcoats, top hats and walking canes really added to the impression made by the wealthy gentlemen and even the devious pickpockets. For the ladies, the feathered hats, white lacy parasols and long, pastel yellow dresses created the look of rich women back in the day. The poorer ladies blended into the night with their black and crimson dresses, underskirts and white breeches, especially in the scene of The Three Cripples pub where Nancy swished her ruby red dress in the song Oom Pah Pah.
moved from desperate times to lifethreatening situations. Manchip’s character adjusted to the life of a pickpocket with ease but was soon faced with risk and danger which Manchip showed beautifully. I particularly loved the scene where Manchip’s character meets Oliver for the first time with secret bad intentions and hides it with merry dances and jolly singing – this gives the audience a sense of a mischievous and cunning character as well as a very humorous one.
The actors, who worked hard to bring Oliver! to life, shared their happiness with the audience. Paige Manchip, who plays the part of The Artful Dodger, gave a wonderful performance as her character
Alice Lupton, who plays the part of Nancy, showed true talent as she sang her songs with her character’s pain. Lupton introduces a character who has experienced many unpleasant things but fights for the people
Charlotte Collini and Charlotte Robertson
Emma Saunders and Lauren Freer
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Kate Pullen
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DRAMA | OLIVER!
Anna Brown
Emma Saunders and Charlotte Collini
she loves. She demonstrates heartache in her expression when she looks back at the life she has lived, and she shares her worry and anxiety with the audience as she depicts a very lonely yet caring woman. She shows many of these aspects in the song It’s a Fine Life and also in As Long As He Needs Me.
Jemma Manuel
Josie de Kock
night created a magical feel to Oliver! and the Musical Director, Nick Castell, helped the actors time their songs perfectly. Many of the songs were lively and energetic while others were deeply emotional, giving a wide variety of musical experiences for the audience to enjoy. I was very impressed with the direction of the play and can’t think of anything that didn’t go well. The only thing I would change is the complicated movements of plates in the song Food, Glorious Food but it goes to show, Mrs Bower-Morris has added in extra to really make Oliver! as brilliant as it can be. I absolutely loved Wally Hall’s Oliver! and even though I have now seen it six times, I would love to see it again.
The band who performed the music live each
Béatrice Godin,Year 8
Isabella Phillips
Charlotte Sawyer and Annabel Jackson
Lucy Docherty and Agnes Goodson
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Mrs Bower-Morris, the director, has done an incredible job in creating Oliver! and the band and crew helped in this too. The lighting structured the scenes and kept changing to suit the emotion of each one and I especially liked the different colours designed to portray this. For instance, dark blue showed sadness and loneliness when Oliver was locked in downstairs, all by himself, next to the coffins.
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D R A M A | A 2 D E V I S E D - A R I D E TO R I G H T S
A2 Devised A Ride To Rights Our Stimuli
Characters List
A Level Drama students drew on a range of sources to devise their play about the female journey to emancipation. They studied the play Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale, which looks at the women who risked their reputations for the chance to study at Gir ton College, Cambridge in 1896. They watched the film Suffragette directed by Sarah Gavron, which follows the true stories of women who fought for the right to vote in 1912/13. They then considered the life of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot for speaking out against the Taliban, and who is now an activist for female education. The students also learnt about the role of the magazine Spare Rib in the late 1960s in shaping the debate about second-wave feminism in Britain.
1896—1st Generation Dr Maudsley: Paige Manchip Anna: Abigail Tutton Mary: Rachel Livingstone Farquar: Charlotte Sawyer Tarquin: Alice Lupton Albert: Paige Manchip 1913—2nd Generation Paper Boy: Rachel Livingstone Emmeline Pankhurst: Abigail Tutton Connie (suffragette): Charlotte Sawyer Doctor: Paige Manchip Nurse: Rachel Livingstone Bet (suffragette): Paige Manchip Maud (suffragette) : Alice Lupton Emily Davison (suffragette): Rachel Livingstone Lucy (suffragette): Abigail Tutton
Crew List Lights: James Mitchell Set:: James Mitchell Sound: James Mitchell Teacher: Victoria Bower-Morris Costumes: Walthamstow Hall/The Oast Props: Robert Dilks—Walthamstow Hall
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In February,Year 12 Theatre Studies students performed two incredibly powerful plays, ‘Esther’ and ‘The Father Will See You Now’ which they had written and staged themselves.
The Father Will See You Now
The students devised the pieces based on the stimulus of the Lorca play The House of Bernarda Alba, about five daughters trapped and controlled by their mother, and the naturalistic acting techniques pioneered by Stanislavski, one of the most influential modern theatre practitioners. Both plays confronted themes of being trapped, controlled and powerless in environments of institutionalised violence and hatred. The Father Will See You Now, opened the evening. Set in the Magdalene Laundries for so-called ‘fallen women’ in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century, the play explored the relationship between five women held in the institution and their plans of escape from the brutal abuse of a malevolent nun and the unseen ‘Father’ of the title. Esther was set in a concentration camp and tackled the hideous reality of survival and the lengths to which the imprisoned will go to protect themselves. Ideas of escape in this play hinged on the desperate keeping of a secret. It explored the themes of the unstinting power of maternal love and how war creates monsters.
D R A M A | Y E A R 1 2 D E V I S E D - T H E F AT H E R W I L L S E E Y O U N O W / E S T H E R
Year 12 Devised
Esther
Every actor gave an incredibly powerful performance. The unspoken fear and terror endured by the ‘trapped’ characters and their silent desperation and sense of dread was palpable in both plays as was the nonchalant and chilling sadism of their captors.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
The beautifully crafted scripts and incredible performances from every actor were further enhanced by simple, ingenious staging and direction which plunged audiences into both the spartan laundry and filthy camp.
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DRAMA | YEAR 11 GCSE - THE 39 STEPS
Year 11 GCSE The 39 Steps We all love a good murder mystery, so for their GCSE Drama,Year 11 performed The 39 Steps, a spoof based on the novel by John Buchan. The play is set in 1935 in London and Scotland and brings to life a lost world of RP accents, tweed suits and pre-war social certainties. The plot is about stopping a valuable secret leaving the country and getting into the hands of the Germans. Hannay is the reluctant hero, an English gentleman who does all he can to prevent the information getting into the wrong hands, while getting involved in various mishaps, mistaken
identities and romantic entanglements along the way. The Head of Drama, Victoria Bower-Morris directed the girls to play the piece straight, not as a comedy and to keep the action fast and energetic as the spy story twists and turns with high drama.
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Year 10 Drama students performed two deeply thoughtprovoking plays which they had written and devised themselves. The stimulus for both pieces was Rene Magritte’s 1928 painting, Specchio Falso (False Mirror). The surrealist image of a giant eye framing a cloud-filled sky has been the subject of much debate and the students used their plays to explore their interpretations of it. In front of a capacity Ship Theatre audience of teachers and fellow students, the first play Never Alone, explored the relationship of a daughter and a mother who suffered from a dissociative identity disorder. The students combined the simple staging of three wooden chests, dramatic lighting and a paper puppet, created on stage, to great effect in telling their story. The second play, Diamonds in the Water, also employed powerful lighting and combined it with a short film, shadow puppetry and ingenious choreography to give great impact to their disturbing piece about a family in which the mother suffers from a breakdown. The development process, performance and accompanying portfolio of these devised plays, accounts for 40% of the students' final GCSE Drama grade.
Diamonds in the Water
D R A M A | Y E A R 1 0 D E V I S E D P L AY S - D I A M O N D S I N T H E W AT E R / N E V E R A L O N E
Year 10 Devised Plays
Never Alone
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D R A M A | L O W E R S C H O O L P L AY - T H E M A J O R T R A G E D Y O F M A D A M E B O V A R Y
Lower School Play The Major Tragedy of Madame Bovary Students from Years 7 – 9 performed an audacious and ambitious pastiche of Gustave Flaubert’s 19th century classic, Madame Bovary in June. Written by Nicholson & Marzan (the creators of the Sherlock Holmes spoof Hound), The Major Tragedy of Madame Bovary, takes Flaubert’s complex novel of the downfall of bored, discontented and beautiful Emma Bovary, and lovingly derails it. In a review of the 2016 production at the Liverpool Everyman The Guardian observed that, ‘Flaubert’s dry comicobservations are replaced with full-on slapstick’. The Liverpool Echo summed up the play as a ‘charming carousel of invention and idiocy with a serious story at its heart’. Alongside the fast-paced witty repartee and tomfoolery the play also has an ambitious and unusual strand adopting the ‘metatheatrical ‘ conceit that the actors play both themselves and their characters throughout. As is tradition, the Wally Hall Drama team achieved the impossible, transforming a play, with an original cast of four into one of 70.
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D R A M A | L O W E R S C H O O L P L AY - T H E M A J O R T R A G E D Y O F M A D A M E B O V A R Y
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
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D R A M A | T R I N I T Y D R A M A AWA R D S 2 0 1 7
Trinity Drama Awards 2017 GRADE 2 -
GRADE 4 -
GRADE 3 -
ACTING IN PAIRS
ACTING IN PAIRS
ACTING IN PAIRS
Mathilda Butler
Merit
Aislinn McSharry
Distinction
Holly Crofts
Isobel Slater
Distinction
Katherine Magee
Distinction
Freya Cowan
Distinction
Katherine Davies
Merit
Abigail Launder
Distinction
Kitty Matson
Distinction
Katherine Price
Merit
Annabelle Durnford
Distinction
Kira Brown
Distinction
Emma Sorrell
Merit
Katherine Munro
Distinction
Lily Harris
Distinction
Emma Moss
Merit
Alice Shaw
Distinction
ZoĂŤ Naylor-Perrott
Distinction
Isabelle Mackenzie
Merit
Amelia Childs
Distinction
Isabella Whittall
Merit
Saskia Garrad
Merit
Alexis Sturgeon
Merit
Emilia Bright
Distinction
Kateryna Iwasko
Merit
Isabella Sankey
Merit
Natasha Goffin
Pass
Sasha Ford
Merit
Olivia Fenlon
Distinction
Lilian Miles
Pass
Isobel Wright
Merit
Rosie Butler
Distinction
April Kidd
Merit
Heather Gibb
Distinction
Eleanor Cockburn
Distinction
Antonina Iwasko
Merit
Clarissa Walsh
Merit
Isobel Jenkins
Distinction
Ella Tary
Distinction
Daisy Dreksler
Merit
Distinction Distinction
Distinction
Hannah Sarshar
Distinction
Isabelle Baxter
Madeleine Brassington Distinction
Eve Bellhouse
Merit
Georgia Johnston
Daisy Mansell
Merit
Julia Nicklaus
Merit
Eleanor Mackenzie
Distinction
Liberty Woof
Distinction
Darcy Pearce
Distinction
Mabel Wright
Distinction
Ruby Tanner
Distinction
Katie Tudor
Distinction
Grace Stone
Distinction
Clementine Mayhew
Merit
Katherine Lingard
Pass
Lucy Curran
Distinction
Claudia Appleford
Distinction
Annabel Sykes
Pass
Tabitha Lamport
Distinction
Thea Hood
Distinction
Polly Rigney
Merit
Zoe Brown
Distinction
Elsa Boomgaart
Distinction
Lilie Chambers
Merit
Amelia Davies
Merit
Harmony Ramanathan
Merit
Isobel Talbot
Merit
Tanzy Kelley
Distinction
Lilianne Knynenburg
Merit
Dorothea Constantin Merit
Charlotte Johnstone
Distinction
Aiko Sheraton
Merit
Katie Stone
Distinction
Rebecca Graham
Distinction
Scarlett Johnston
Merit
Rosie Williamson
Distinction
Distinction
Rebecca Swindin
Pass
Ruby Roubicek
Pass
Antonia FahieWilson
Sienna Rogerson
Merit
Phoebe Brinan
Merit
Lily Eatwell
Merit
Isabella Patterson
Distinction
Olivia Monks
Pass
Elizabeth Swindin
Merit
May Scott
Distinction
Madeleine West
Pass
Alice Hills
Distinction
Scarlett Collins
Distinction
Farah Walsh
Merit
Fleur Matthews
Distinction
Josephine Bamber
Distinction
Olivia McNicoll
Distinction
Merys Daniels
Distinction
Imogen Clarke
Distinction
INDIVIDUAL ACTING SKILLS
Isabella Wood
Distinction
BĂŠatrice Godin
Amelia Hummerson
Merit
Ava Willison
Merit
Abigail Turner
Merit
Isabella Stonard
Merit
Mariella Cullum
Merit
Dorothy Haworth
Pass
Charlotte Astley
Pass
GRADE 3 C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Distinction
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GRADE 6 -
GRADE 7 -
ACTING IN PAIRS
ACTING IN PAIRS
ACTING IN PAIRS
Emma Dalton
Distinction
Lucy Docherty
Distinction
Charlotte Collini
Merit
Hebe Bower-Morris
Distinction
Scarlett Goffin
Distinction
Katherine Aitchison
Merit
Eva Benford
Merit
Alexa Rushin
Merit
Rachel van den Berg
Distinction
Lena Thompson
Merit
Isabella Marsh
Merit
Charlotte Robertson Distinction
Bethany Hook
Distinction
Lauren Freer
Merit
Olivia Surguy
Distinction
Vita Milana
Distinction
Katherine Payne
Merit
Distinction
Isabel Avery
Merit
Sophie Ball
Merit
Katherine Headington
Rosa Zanelli
Merit
Madeleine Ball
Merit
Kate Pullen
Distinction
Ella Stennett
Pass
Phoebe Roubicek
Merit
Annie Blundell
Distinction Distinction
Nancy Dennis
Pass
Beatrice Harrison
Merit
Tegan Daniels
Isabella Childs
Merit
Naomi Freedman
Distinction
Jade Sobrany
Distinction
Annie Butler
Merit
Jessica Leech
Distinction
Ella Wallace
Merit Merit
Emily Tutton
Distinction
Georgia McDougall
Distinction
Emilia Dunn
Eleanor Lingard
Distinction
Olivia Stone
Distinction
Eleanor Busvine
Merit
Isabella Phillips
Merit
Ella Akhurst
Merit
Honor Pelling
Merit
Alessandra Kazi
Merit
Evie Butler
Merit
Rosie Dennis
Distinction
Natasha Cooke
Distinction
Georgia Bowers
Merit
Francesca Eagle
Distinction
Isobel Nott
Distinction
Juliette Grieve
Distinction
Bethany Michie
Distinction
Lucy Roubicek
Distinction
Grace Pelling
Pass
Abigail Howard
Merit
Olivia Sturgeon
Pass
Michela Cullum
Distinction
Emilia Donovon
Distinction
Alice Lupton
Distinction
Rebecca Grant
Distinction
Megan Roberts
Distinction
Amanda Taylor
Merit
Alexandra Bailey
Merit
Jaime Bullock
Merit
Emma Saunders
Merit
D R A M A | T R I N I T Y D R A M A AWA R D S 2 0 1 7
GRADE 5 -
GRADE 8 ACTING IN PAIRS Emily Kenny
Merit
Sophie Khaleeque
Merit
Paige Manchip
Distinction
Beatrice Carpenter
Distinction
Charlotte Sawyer
Distinction
Natasha Roberts
Merit
Abigail Tutton
Merit
Rosie Wright
Merit
Josie de Kock
Distinction
GRADE 5 INDIVIDUAL ACTING SKILLS
Olivia Hall
Distinction
Gabrielle Phythian
Distinction
Natasha Cooke
Distinction
Lucie Hobbs
Distinction
Francesca Eagle
Distinction
Nancy Brazel
Distinction
Rachel Livingstone
Distinction
Eleanor Reynolds
Distinction
Suzannah Williams
Distinction Distinction
Harriet Reed
Distinction
Amelia Ball
Merit
Elena Funnell
Pass
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Annabel Jackson
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D R A M A & C L A S S I C S | AT H E N S T R I P | E C O N O M I C S
Athens Trip In the February half term 40 lucky students went on a very cultural trip to Athens, organised jointly by the Drama and Classics Departments. They visited key sites of antiquity including the Parthenon and the Acropolis. They watched a fabulously innovative production of The Oresteia by Aeschylus (in English) and afterwards the girls performed extracts from Sophocles’ Antigone and the director gave them feedback. A Greek chorus mask-making workshop was a highlight.
The Acropolis
Agamemnon's Mask
The Herocles Theatre
Greek soldiers at the Hellenic Parliament
Students and staff at The Acropolis
Economics C O DA M AG A Z I N E 54
‘IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT MATCH’ THE ROYAL ECONOMICS SOCIETY LECTURE In November we travelled up to London for a tour of the Bank of England and for a Royal Economics Society lecture. After a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting tour, we walked to the lecture through Bond Street and admired the Christmas lights. The lecture was given by Professor Philipp Kircher whose topic was “In search of the perfect match - the economics of picking our partners and jobs”. He explained that finding the right match was important in the labour market - but also in the “marriage market”. He argued
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that while the discussion of labour markets typically focused on unemployment, a new question had been developed about how people were in fact in the wrong job. It was a very interesting talk which prepared us for learning about the labour market next term and we are very grateful we were able to attend. Tegan Daniels, Siobhán Azzopardi, Lydia Barwick and Sophia Hornsby,Year 12
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Year 7 3015 I toss, I turn, I bury myself into the depths of the mattress, but the digging thought in my head still vanishes any possible ability to sleep. I take a deep breath in, but there is no point; it just transforms into quick, shaky gasps. I do everything I know to calm my panicked, hyperventilating body to something like a normal state, but nothing can change the truth. They will come for me, and it will be tonight. My heart flutters like a bird fighting to be free of its cage. I open drawers, slam them shut. I unfasten shuttered windows, lock them again. I switch on my phone to see the time. Bright white letters flash up on the screen: 23:34, 31st December, 3015. I stare at the time, my brain too distracted to register it. However, turning on the phone has reminded me. I open up ‘Max’ and instant message a goodbye to him from the implanted microchip in my head. Then Fiona, then Ben. Calmer now, I slump on my bed. 50 years old. It’s a good age, but nothing special. Nearly everybody lives to that now, surviving on Superblast after antibiotics were no use. Someone will have a life now, because of my artificial death. If no one had died for you, I tell myself, you wouldn’t be alive now. There are too many people in this over-populated world, so when people get to 50, that’s it. Death, to afford for another’s life. They say it’s painless. But how do we know? The only people who could tell us are beyond all reach. Except that you don’t go anywhere. Science says that there is no afterlife; there is no heaven, no paradise. The few people who had the nerve to protest were thrown in prison, labelled as mentally ill. They say this millennium is a step forward, those who have sense say that it’s a step back.
ADRENALINE IS A PROWLING WOLF Adrenaline is a prowling wolf She hides deep inside her burrow, but she’s always there, buried deep inside
E N G L I S H | C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G - Y E A R 7
Creative Writing She slowly creeps and crawls towards her prey Ready to attack, Ready to break free Giant and grey, like a swirling cloud consuming you But in the end, she will always come out on top The relief as it’s over; she’s finished There are times when she’s silent, when lying low She can be shy, not needing anything There are times when she’s howling, she hurts and breaks She has cubs to protect, her purpose always She jumps up and down, rising and falling When she is released she runs through your body, like she is with her pack When she is around you are strong like her She messes with your brain, like she messes with her cub She makes your mind howl, but when it’s over she sleeps with you, protects you She makes everything better, as she runs through the starry night. Mathilda Butler
Nothing can be done. My eye catches the time. 23:51. They’ll be here soon. Nine minutes. I feel my throat closing up, but I exhale, not letting my growing fear conquer me. I switch off my microchip, shut down the communicating system, and close the curtains.
May Scott
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
A thought races through my head like a plane swooping across the sky. A thought so obvious that it never occurred to me before. I won’t settle for a death that has been planned for weeks, that has been registered by immaculate men with fake smiles. I’m going to die a death of my own choosing. I take a few, tentative steps towards the blinds, and then I lower myself through the ground floor window, and as the darkness swallows me the only thought in my head is excitement.
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E N G L I S H | C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G - Y E A R 7
MEMORIES
THE FIGURE
Click. There it was again. The sound that torments my thoughts. It’s been a month. When will it end? Why won’t it stop?
I had walked into my cramped bedroom expecting nothing but the cold breeze of my open window to hit me. Instead I was greeted by a dead body that lay, motionless, on my cream carpet that had now changed to a deep, dark red…
My Papa gave it to me on the night he departed from my life. His last words, “I love you darling, I need to tell you though the, the...”. So suddenly he went from my life, in a blink of an eye. I still can’t believe he’s disappeared. It feels like it was only yesterday he gave me that camera. I haven’t used it yet. I catapulted it into the corner of my chaotic room the day he died. Memories. Flooding back. I’ve got to find that camera. Now! It’s the only thing that I still have that connects me with my Papa. Where do I even start? I’m never going to find it; it will be consumed already by all this mess. Reality sinks in. It’s gone. Wait. What’s that glinting in the waning sunlight? I bolt to the unkempt window. Like a dog, I start to unearth the camera. Glancing down at it, I start to contemplate why Papa gave me a camera. Why an obsolescent, worn, scarcely usable one as well? It’s seen better days. Just what do I intend to do with it? Does he think this will make up for him abandoning me? How do you even take a picture on this ancient thing? I think it’s one of those self-developing cameras. A Polaroid I believe it’s called. Abruptly, Mama bursts into my bedroom. She has been a wreck since Papa’s death. “Get out of your room this instance!” Mama shrieks. “You need to get over your father’s death!” Mama is more emotional than ever. “NO! Get out of MY room! You may be over Papa’s death but I’m not,” I respond awkwardly. You would think that the death would have brought me and Mama together but we’ve got even farther apart. I had better pursue her though, otherwise things could get unpleasant. I must try the camera afterwards. Following an exasperating evening of sitting in uncomfortable silence I finally manage to skulk back to my room. Then comes the difficulty of finding a spare moment when Mama isn’t looming over me. I will presumably have to wait until she is asleep. Across the hall, a distant snore travels through my door. Tick, tock. The faint sound of my clock lulls me to sleep. I must test the camera out in the, the morn… As the sun climbs through the sky, I awake as it glares through my window. Last night I went to sleep thinking about Papa; I can’t get him out of my mind. Anyway, now is the perfect time to try the camera while Mama is dozing. I decide to catch the sunrise by my window seat. I take it and it comes out perfectly. Except for the two-people sitting on the window seat, exactly where Papa and I used to sit. A memory.
As I stared at the dead body, hoping that it was just my awful eyesight that had conjured this disgusting imagery, I started to realise that this tragedy was not an accident… a murder had taken place in my house. I got down on one knee to inspect the victim’s wounds, and removed the knife that was wedged into his chest. My eyes ran down his body and were immediately drawn to a note that lay next to his left leg. The note read: “Hello Sadie”. As these words were processing in my brain so many questions were unfolding. Who wrote this note? How did they know my name? Do I know this person? As this was happening, I became suddenly distracted by a sharp noise that caused me to turn around, only to come face to face with a dark hooded figure holding a pointed kitchen knife. The figure dived for my chest, but only just missed as I dodged the sharp weapon. I sprinted down the stairs, running for my life, literally. As I tried to unbuckle the door, my hands trembling, I came to the shocking realisation that I was locked in my house… with a serial killer. It took a while for my brain to realise that my life depended on how I acted next. The first thing that came to my truly terrified mind was to hide. Trembling with fear I thought as carefully and quickly as I could and decided to hide in the shoe cupboard. I clambered into the tiny cupboard, trying desperately not to be heard. And as I shut the door behind me, I was submerged in pitch black, and all I could do was wait. It felt like hours by the time the killer came into earshot and I listened intently, with bated breath. I tried to pretend it was all a horrible nightmare by just closing my eyes, just a game of hide and seek I tried to believe. But something inside me told me it was not. Now, I could hear the mysterious man quite clearly, as he tipped my whole house upside down, trying to find me. I was stuck in a trance of terror as I heard loud, heavy footsteps that seemed to be getting closer and closer. The next events are just a blur to me now; but I will never forget the sound the door handle made as he creaked open the cupboard door, and found me. Ella Ireland
Thea Hood
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It was bitterly cold. Overnight the ice and snow had eaten our town. I loved it. It was deep, crisp, and sparkled in the early morning sun. I was transfixed at the window.
"Sure."
"OK."
"Cross your heart?"
"So Daddy is going to be in the army."
"Cross my heart."
"With a gun?" I asked, intrigued.
"Are you coming?" my sister called, drowning the silence.
"Do it".
"Yes, with a gun!" my sister said, laughing.
I watched eagerly as she slowly took her mitten off and crossed her heart.
There was a pause.
"Yes." I muttered quietly. If only daddy could see this snow. I don't know where he's gone. He went suddenly one day. I wish I knew. I don't know why I did, but I asked. Mummy told me not to. It would upset her too much, she said. But I did. I guess curiosity engulfed me. I couldn't fight it. The words just poured out. "Will he be back?" I asked, looking up hopefully. Perhaps she was in the mood to tell me the truth finally. "Mum told you not to talk about it," my sister said, not looking at me. "I know. But how come you know but I don't?" "Because I'm five years older than you." "Please, will he be back?" Yes," she said, giving up at keeping the secret. "How do you know?
"There," she said, putting her white hand back into her glove. "There." I smiled. "Why did he leave, anyway?" I asked, tilting my head. "Do you really want to know? "Yes!" I said. Finally the truth. We were standing out on the old ice rink, the cold nipping our fingers even though they were covered with the finest mittens in the shop. We could see our breath as we talked. As we walked along the slippery surface, we would sometimes see a pile of snow that was slushy. I would jump in it, and it would ooze. I liked that. "Well, our father. Well. How to put it for a five year old. Ahhhh, you know, this war?" my sister said, hesitating.
"And he will come on little visits to tell us all about it!" I looked at the ground. "Can we catch snowflakes now?" "Yes." We used to catch snowflakes with Daddy. They used to fall daintily down twirling like ballet dancers until they reached our gloves. I looked looking at their crisp pattern. The tiny dots of ice looked like glass. "I caught one!" I called, "Wait, it says something!" "That's impossible. A snowflake can't say something!" she called back, running towards me. She looked over my shoulder. "You're right, it does say something." "What?"
"Yes".
"Daddy loves you. He will never forget you. Never."
"Really?"
"Well, Winston Churchill wants Daddy to fight so that we win."
Emma Sorrell
"Really".
Who's Winston Churchill?" I cut in.
"Sure?"
"Well now, he's the Prime Minister."
"I just...." She paused. "I just know, I suppose."
E N G L I S H | C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G - Y E A R 7
SNOWFLAKES
THE LABYRINTH Running through endless corridors. Trying to escape from the ‘thing’ that was following me. I silently prayed to any god that was watching, hoping that they would help.
I heard the breath of the ‘thing’ behind me. The light was getting closer, closer, closer. I was only about a foot away; I jumped through it and found myself in a sunlit forest. It was next to a massive lake with a cabin on the other side. I dived into the clear water and swam across to the cabin. Abruptly, a group of people walked out
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I swam back to them; once again he offered me his hand. I took it this time. They helped pull me out and as they did, an image appeared above my head. It was a trident.
It was too late to turn back now. They had already seen me. I thought to myself ‘I hope they aren’t another monster, I really, really, hope’.
************************************
He offered his hand to me. I refused. I swam away back to the tunnel, hoping that the monster wouldn’t be there. I hated being around people. I always hurt them in one way or another. Even if they are my closest family. But the people that were there seemed different somehow. Not only in their appearance, but how they viewed people. Like sunflowers in poppy field.
It’s been two weeks here, but I still feel a longing for those dark, murky, monsterridden tunnels under this camp. Even though I now know who I am and what I am, I don’t know why I’m here. So tonight, I’m going to run away from this place, and back into the tunnels. Back into… the labyrinth. Natalie Humphries
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Suddenly, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. I ran faster than I ever thought possible to reach it. Then I realised that the corridor was slowly filling up with salt water. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. I found it invigorating.
of the forest. However, something about them was slightly strange. One of them had goat legs. And another’s skin was tinged with green. And I think one of them had a sword.
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E N G L I S H | C H A R L E S D I C K E N S I N S P I R AT I O N - Y E A R 8 C O DA M AG A Z I N E 58
Year 8 Charles Dickens Inspiration Year 8 drew on their visit to the Dickens Museum and their reading of the opening of Bleak House for inspiration in writing the following pieces. WIND
SNOW
Wind teasing hair, dancing strands, whipping numb faces. Wind sparking imagination as it howls in pipes at night, a savage dog prowling through your moonlit garden, a screaming child outside your door. Wind whipping waves to white crests, charging horses racing to shore. Wind waltzing leaves to the auburn floor, pirouettes and arabesques. Wind behind great canvas squares, a quiet connoisseur of legendary expeditions. Wind barely there in muggy evenings, brushing bare legs as they stroll through the dark. Wind stinging frozen faces as a tear trundles stiffly down one cheek. Wind battering and bruising. Wind mellow and considerate. Wind a laugh whisked away, a whispered word never heard. Wind darting like a minnow, slinking like a cat. Wind ferocious and impossible, but gone without you knowing…
The wind races up the Thames, buffeting boats and skiffs. Slapping the faces of young mud larks and leaving red heats on pale skin. Wind rattles weak windows and darts about houses. Candles are extinguished as wind whistles his hideous tune, and hats are lifted and carried through the gin-lined streets. Alcohol-riddled men cackle as wealthy women’s skirts are parachuted into the air. The few leaves left in the city tango to a new destination, lying on a bed of speeding wind. The wind dies but his presence is ever hanging in the pollutionstreaked sky, ready to pounce as the night draws on. The mud larks retire, but on their unsheltered cobble land, wind cracks at their toes with his whip of breezes, showing no mercy. The people freeze as wind swirls around their very minds. Wind. He will be back.
Crystals dived down from the heavens like a parliament of owls plummeting for their prey. They engulfed the North and started to tuck into the South, East and West. Snow spread across the channel, raising SOSs from ships; the entire phone signals were down, and the UK lost contact with the world. It was as if the UK had been dropped at the North Pole, or was floating deeper into the Milky Way, shining like magnesium does when it burns in oxygen. Snow fell over such a vast landscape that it couldn’t get into every nook and cranny; these places where the cattle and the bright sun dwelt. Whilst the snow raged on around the country, night and day you could hear it, like air conditioning. Farms were ruined. It would take years to overcome such a catastrophic force of nature.
Kathryn Aaron
Eve Bellhouse
Emma Clarke
The wind washes through the streets, enslaving the night and taking control. The breeze creates illusions of trust. While the trees cheer in the wind’s arrival, shapeshifting snakes slither through the doors. Every breath follows you. Then hurricanes fly, shifting the rest of your mind into chaos. The curtains dance in the endless fiasco of the wind‘s rhythm. Wind cuts through all that stands in its way. Its invisible angels climb up the roof tops with pride and scoop out all the rust locked in the chimneys.
Wind. Wind is a trickster, sneaking through the gaps of my thick winter clothes, the icy blast making my skin crawl. Teasing the loose leaves on the ground, it flings them around until they are dizzy; disturbing the skeleton branches on trees, it weakens them by the hour. That omnipresence breathes down my neck. It snoops about relentlessly, harassing closed windows and dancing gladly into open ones….
Snow everywhere. No escape. Windows burst open, throwing ice in through the gap that has appeared. Child running. Window slamming. Outdoors. Child sledging. Child crying. Snowballs flying. Another child, making a snow angel. The homeless, naked, dead, frozen bodies silently scream in the shadows. Wattle and daub houses snooze under the trees. Their occupants swim in the snow. Clouds form on people’s breath. Children sing sweet Christmas melodies and wait on good St Nick to bring the warmth. Night time falls. The darkness brings the cows, trying to nibble on what was once succulent grass. Afraid. Everyone is afraid. The crops are failing. Eat bark and snow to survive. Sleep. Sleep brings life. Sun. Tomorrow? Goodbye cruel cold.
Sparks sail between reaction and neutral, turning the wind’s patterns and flying past spores. The wind is as white as snow but as thin as paper; cautious as miners but powerful like fighters; communicators, sending signals to their brothers across the seas. The wind waves over St Paul’s, creating a cascade of anxiety as it prances like a deer in this Sunday’s moonlight. Wind, controller of the hinges and of all open doors. Marking its territory on all shreds and all thorns. Master whistler of all the Seven Seas. Creator of the sky and all open fields, engulfing streets and alleys with all its might. Wind marks his domain this blessed night.
But at times, when it is bored of being just a common pest, tornado turbulence hits the city. The wind is a monster. An invisible monster. It throws any living organism out of its way and torments it, screaming in ears and invading personal space. Then, at times its rage becomes visible, and smoke from chimneys and fumes from the exhausts of cars are its distant relatives. The wind’s temper is unpredictable. Pandemonium arrives forebodingly like the occasional strike of lightning.
Leila Burcham
Julia Nicklaus
Rosalie Köster
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Solitary as a snake split from society, distant as a peak enclosed in thick fog; he had imprisoned himself, trapped in a dungeon of loneliness. It ate at him constantly, gulping down joy so only anger and depression remained. His voice was coarse, grating the air it breathed into tiny shreds of terror that darted into people's hearts with icy bullets of slaughter. He paced back and forth in his fortress of slavery, like the pendulum of a clock, waiting until it was the hour to devour himself in his pool of isolation. His face had a leathery texture, like folds of cloth with eyes watery and weak. Hands that were misshapen from the clenching of fists, were clinging onto
his last shreds of life; he was covered with limpets and barnacles from the waves of distress and calls for help. The darkness fled, the space free of everything gloomy. Her grin shone and twinkled, with a thousand diamonds. Her cheeks were rosy, blistered from the cold, her hands warming on the fire creating a tingly chill that wafted over us like a wave swallowing a surfer. The heat of her presence rubbed onto others, flaking off joy and peace. Her eyes shiny and hopeful were like pearls emerging from a clam. She glowed like the princess of light; she shone, a shooting star in the dull midnight sky.
His glare could cut ice. His face sharp, pointy and cold. Underneath his wiry, brittle yet wispy hair, his eyebrows were fixed in a constant frown. Fingers were grazed from denting walls, knuckles bruised. Like knives he sliced the air he walked through, hacking innocent people as he pushed past violently. Glued in anger, frozen in a glare of hell. Katherine Magee
E N G L I S H | C H A R L E S D I C K E N S I N S P I R AT I O N - Y E A R 8
CHARACTER SKETCHES, INSPIRED BY DICKENS
FOR THE LOVE OF VENUS Sometimes he lay on his back, staring up at the speckled widespread of stars that covered him like a cloak, counting himself lucky every time he saw one shoot across the horizon. He would sing to himself while strolling through the woods, a beautiful doe slung over his shoulder, tears once filling her glass-like eyes. A tanned, muscular lad, with features so fine they could have belonged to Apollo himself. The darkest of trees were his friends, lovebirds his companions and when he would sit and play his pan-pipes, a hauntingly beautiful tune, he would smile to himself from under his long eyelashes and tousled fawn hair.
He was handsome. She was stunning. A match planned long before Gaius came to be. Cherubs in their long, flowy white dresses would sing to them as Venus lay, tenderly running her ebony fingers through her lover’s bronze hair. They would swim in the moonlight, leaving trails of blue and green in the shimmering water behind them. But Venus grew weary of hiding her secret, she wanted to declare her love for Gaius from the highest point on Mount Olympus, but she knew it could not be. She lied many a time about her love, telling others she was toying with him, making him love her. She soon grew so irritated even proud Mars asked her what was wrong. She gave in, told him everything and he was enraged.
Venus knew what she had to do. With tears streaming down her pale face she ran, barefoot and wild, through the howling grove to the temple of Almighty Zeus. Kissing Cupid a reluctant goodbye, she kneeled by his feet and pleaded for mercy. Later, she left the temple, no longer a halo glowing above her graceful figure. She was covered in burns from the Head God’s lightning bolt. But she didn’t care; she had done it for him, the one who loved her dearly, the mortal who had run away with her heart. She could no longer walk across the clouds, or be sung to by the most beautiful angels, or watch the mortals from above. She was one of them now; she would die and enter the afterlife like any other. Sometimes she would miss being a Goddess, having control over others, but she was at peace with her heart. No more yearning for man, no more being unfaithful. Bliss surrounded her. She had conquered her fears. Love had won. Katie Stone
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
But one day he was spotted, not by mor tals (he lived far away from them), but by Venus, while she was floating on a nearby cloud, watching her sons labour on ear th. Such a flirt was she, and so exquisite that any strong man who caught sight of her would faint, turn to dust and disperse like ashes caught in
the wind before her very eyes. A lowly daisy was tucked behind her ear, keeping her russet hair from falling and covering her angelic face. No faults had she, until Gaius came along.
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ENGLISH | CONTRAST POEMS - YEAR 8
Contrast poems Year 8 students researched and wrote poems about contrasting places NEW YORK TO PORTSTEWART They towered over us, The huge metallic falling giants, Booming noises enclosing the outside world. The one day of sunshine this world ever sees, I can feel it, The moist salty breeze burning at my nose. The kaleidoscopic road revolves with colours, Taxi horns bang and engines groan, Yellow, Black, Grey and Green form the palette of New York. Birds ‘coo’ from a great height Above the glitter-dusted sea, Almost inviting me to soar in the cerulean sky. Never-ending grids of logical concrete jungles, Packed with stalls selling shiny pretzels, The raucous clamour of men bellowing through the smog of tiny carts. But on a strangely lush beach, A small black dog burrows in the mist-haunting sands, Even in summer a ghost lingers across the distant dunes. Silence. Other than the trickling noise from the memorial base. I look up. Nothing more than a vast space in between, The giants that once towered over us seem almost non-existent. Scarlett Surgeoner
OPPOSING PACES OF LIFE The city is full of ideas Chancers arrive at the bustling centre In hope to take away an anecdote of success Everyone paces with purpose and vigour With people to see and places to go The worker bees in an industrious hive of activity Ceaseless hills flow down the scenery With specks of earthy colours knitted within Silver olive groves fleck the hillside Green fields and grasses and gnarled citrus trees Sun baked terracotta villas nestled in the rises of the land Cool stone streets in archaic stone towns The skyline is brushed with towering concrete Whispers in the Gallery and dancing in the street This is a constant celebration Of success and failure Poverty lines the streets just as affluence lines the skies But a vision of prosperity keeps them here Prayer and praising of blessed past lives are customary practice The Basilicas hold the secrets to righteousness Riches hold no worth Only ‘making merit’ and benevolence are valued In cool stone places of worship wealth is found In refuges from heat and malevolence alike Life is hasty and half full Ruled by routine and administration Pressure and strain reign freely Crimson buses and black taxis Celebrated monuments and renowned buildings Everybody occupied in chaotic London. Women contentedly converse in cobbled streets Men smile continuous compliments Anxiety is unknown in such undisturbed tranquillity The serenity of the olive grove and the familiar comfort of the villa The sweet coolness of the basilica and the flavourful scent of citrus Everyone unruffled and content in tranquil Umbria. Eleanor Cockburn
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Year 9 Rolvenden is a remarkable village and a close knit community in the Kentish countryside. If you want some peace and quiet, or somewhere to relax, then Rolvenden is the place to be! Are you a car fanatic? If so, The Rolvenden Motor Museum, with an amazing collection of Morgan cars, really is a must see. Or perhaps you are looking for a day trip with the family? Go to Hole Park gardens and enjoy the poignantly perfumed flowers, surrounded by the 15 acres of beautiful
private park land, not far from the village centre. Are you ready to plunge into a world of poppies, pansies, painted daisies and more? Or meander amidst the spectacular bluebell wood and totter through the topiaries? Go to the fabulous Thursday village market, with fresh produce and succulent summer fruit. If that hasn’t encouraged you enough then visit the Kent and East Sussex Railway; prepare yourself for the breathtaking views as the steam train twists and turns through
the calming countryside of Kent. Or spend a day in Tenterden, the neighbouring town just outside of Rolvenden’s parish borders. Surround yourself with shops, or stop and have lunch at one of the many quaint period tea shops on the High Street. Go to Rolvenden and see for yourself what an amazing village it really is! Alicia Webb
Sonnets
ENGLISH | PERSUASIVE WRITING AND SONNETS - YEAR 9
Persuasive Writing
Year 9
SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SHOP OF SWEETS?
SHALL I COMPARE YOU TO A FRUIT MERINGUE?
Shall I compare thee to a shop of sweets? With hair like silky chocolate-covered strawbs. When doors fling open children beg for treats, But you’re more fun than sugar coated cords. Your smile’s as white as fluffy marshmallows, Your eyes as big as giant lollipops, Your skin a peachy tone of pale yellow, Reminds me of the colour of pear drops. Sometimes short tempered like an angry child And red hot like a chilli flavoured bean, But your centre stays soft and always mild And your short temper soon melts like ice cream. For I will love you till the end of time: We suit each other alike lemons and lime!
Shall I compare you to a fruit meringue? You are more gorgeous and a lot more tanned! Your eyes are better than the whole shebang. In fact, you’re more preserved than fruit that’s canned! Let’s not forget that some fruit can be sour, But your sweetness, my love, tops them by miles! The fruit meringue will crack up in an hour, However, your face is always full of smiles! If not left in the fridge the cream goes off, Yet you are still on-going for months on end. After this I will become a Prof. As you’ve taught me we should be more than friends! So long as we can breathe and eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Mabel Wright and Kitty Matson
Lily Eatwell and Isabella Brown C O DA M AG A Z I N E 61
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E N G L I S H | C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G - Y E A R 9
Creative Writing Year 9 DOUBLE CROSSED
SUMMER
“Miss Whall, would you care to explain…”
June 22nd 2004
“I, I what have I done?”
I went back. Of course I went back. He was interesting in a good way. Someone you wouldn’t, couldn’t forget. However, I could sense the unease in his voice. Something had changed. I was never a fan of change.
June 21st 2005 I met him a year ago; we were inseparable. He based his life on telling stories and tales. I was never sure if I should have believed them to be true. It would have made more sense. I liked to listen. I still do. There is something thrilling about the unknown tale. I never realised I would experience it myself. June 21st 2004 There he was. Alone. He was as cold as stone. I couldn’t watch him suffer so I went over and he talked. A lot. He was an orphan, abandoned at birth, never knew his mother, never would. She had died in a car crash. A drunk driver. He could barely talk at the time. However, he was still struggling from the aftermath of it all. As for his father, he doesn’t know. He appeared to go off the grid as soon as he found out about him. His name was Jamie. Currently cared for by his foster parents. They were unbearable. Nothing could sugar-coat his situation. JAMIE June 21st 2004 I met her today. We talked non-stop. I always felt talking was a method of coping with the abandonment. The civilised way to manage my anger. Anyway, she doesn’t know yet. I plan for it to stay that way. I want this one to be different. Rope her in before she discovers more.
I tried to inquire but he nudged me away. I figured that something must have happened at home, maybe he didn’t go back last night. Was it my fault? I sat and talked to him. He seemed emotional but at the same time seeking sympathy. So I gave him sympathy. After all, I can’t begin to imagine what he has been through. One thing led to another and I was in his arms on the bench, listening to the children squealing in the park. I had never felt this way about anyone before. He seems to be so caring and deeply interested in nature. Today he aided an injured puppy that some idiot had trampled on. Every time I see him I step into some invisible bubble and leave everything else behind.
Winter. The unbearable truth of frosty brows. Summer. The unbearable truth of sweaty brows! And the unbearable truth of thermal damage to the body. Sun. The trap. However, whistling through the breeze, sweet voices flow. Peach blossom dapples through the serene breath of God. Sun. The Saviour. Vitamin D seeps into skin providing vital needs for sweltering organisms. Yet malarial mosquitos sabotage the air, injecting their sun-filled venom into tanned, famished victims. Sun. The provider. Lily Eatwell and Freya Cowan
JAMIE June 22nd 2004 I fooled her today. It was time. I knew that I had to take action as soon as she told me her surname. Whall. My mum left me one thing, the name of my dad. The one that abandoned me at birth and left me to rot in care homes or with loveless foster families. He was HER father, HER’S. Charlotte Johnstone
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One two, one two. My footsteps are like the steady beating of my heart as I walk to my new school. I’m not nervous; not this time. New schools are not a new thing. Well, they are but I’ve had so many now they just feel normal. I’m used to sticking out from everyone else like a pigeon in a flock of bright, tropical birds. Feeling like I don’t belong. Being labelled “The New Girl” instead of my name. My dad’s job means we have to move all the time. I have my headphones on loud and the music is all I’m thinking about. Everything else is blocked out. All my worried thoughts have vanished. The beat of the music echoes my steady, confident footsteps. One two, one two. I start the engine of my car. It was my last present from my Dad, for my 17th birthday. That was the last time I saw him. He left home later that day. I’ve wanted to drive ever since I was little and sat at the steering wheel pretending. I guess I’ve always wanted the freedom. I feel like I’m a caged bird at home
with my parents. Wait… parent. My car was my release from my cage. But, instead of flying away I can drive wherever I want. Dad said he’d teach me to drive properly. That was before he and Mum broke up. I knew he wouldn’t keep his promise. Nobody keeps their promises to me. He hasn’t texted me once in the endless six months he’s been gone. I don’t care anyway. I’m not going to be a caged bird anymore. I’m going to fly as far away from home as I can. I cross the road. My mum must be the most protective person ever when it comes to walking to my new school. She’s on a loop repeating the same words over and over. “Don’t talk to strangers”, “Stop, look and listen when you cross the road”, “Don’t play your music when you’re crossing roads.” Well, this is the new me now. I was like a tiny chick: never straying from the nest, always worrying too much. Now I’ve grown into a bird I’m going to fly away. I’ll be confident. I’ll make new
friends. I smile to myself as I listen to the steady beat of my music. I step out into the road. I speed along the empty streets, not focusing. It’s as if a fog has descended upon everything except me and the car; I’m not thinking about anything except that I have to drive. On and on. As I’m passing my school, I hear a quiet ding. The noise penetrates the fog all around me. A text flashes on my phone like a lighthouse shining in a storm. Dad. My heart skips a beat and a million confused thoughts race through my brain like a tornado. Suddenly, another noise becomes audible. A scream. A terrified helpless scream.
E N G L I S H | C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G - Y E A R 9
FLYING AWAY
Jennifer Ryan
WHEN WINTER STRIKES As winter begins to drift in and autumn floats away, the nights begin to get darker. The days get shorter, and the nights get longer. I don’t like winter. Do not get me wrong. It can be very pretty, but that is only when it snows. Although, winter can only be pretty during the day time; which isn’t for very long. There are lots of different reasons why I don’t like winter. One of them is because, well, it reminds me of evil and darkness. This is because it is cold and sinister; the way it creeps in after autumn finishes, drowning it, making it lifeless. Forcing all the trees and plants to die.
Winter is the time of darkness; this is when light slips into dark. The cold, eerie dark nights last a life time. Never ending…
I’ve hated winter for such a long time now. It all started when my mummy and daddy were fighting and arguing all the time; apart from when my daddy would go to work. He could be gone for days at a time. Well, what I thought were days, I was never too sure. I only knew when daddy was home when I heard mummy and daddy shouting loudly. When this happened I would normally be in my bedroom. Sometimes I would hear my mummy scream; normally I think it is because she has fallen down. This is because when she shrieks I usually hear a thud afterwards. I think my daddy seems panicked because when mummy falls, daddy normally goes out, I think he goes to get medicine to make her feel better. I don’t like it when daddy leaves, this is when mummy gets sad and angry. She doesn’t like it when I see her upset; so she makes me stay outside in the garden. She says I’m like her little pet. It’s okay to be outside in the summer that is because it is nice and warm. Although, when it’s winter it is cold and bitter, especially at night time.
Once I tried to come back inside; but that made my mummy more upset. So she decided to find me a chain that went around my ankle like a bracelet. She said that this will make me learn my lesson for not listening. I never ran away again. Although, my mummy still didn’t trust me. I still had to wear the metal ankle bracelet with the chain attached to the wall. Sometimes mummy would forget about me. I knew this because she would forget to bring me my food. It wasn’t her fault; she forgot to bring it all the time. It’s okay, I’ve gotten used to my tummy hurting. I have learn to just ignore it; because I love my mummy, and she loves me. *** Winter is the time of darkness; this is when light slips into dark. The cold, eerie dark nights last a life time. Never ending… Ela Tary
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The frost bites like a raging, wild dog that has been starved and scavenging for food. Winter grips onto the very last drip of warmth that is left in your body. Shivering at every chill it throws your way. It’s like chains strapped to your ankle preventing you from moving, preventing you from leaving. Compelling you to be helpless… stranded…all alone.
***
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E N G L I S H | T R AV E L W R I T I N G - Y E A R 1 0
Travel Writing Year 10 DEAR DIARY Light streamed through the shutters in rectangular forms. A single yawn danced lightly on my tongue, lining the edge of my mouth, looking for a small opportunity that may allow it the chance to break free. However, it was nothing but a gentle flutter of my eyelids that saw it force an escape. I sat up, gradually drinking in my surroundings and allowed my eyes to drift, blinking at an increased rate as they glazed over but only to find everything around me clear into high definition. My thoughts, my surroundings, even the faint voice grew louder and louder in my head: ‘wake up’. ‘Wake Up’. ‘WAKE UP’. But nothing is ever just in your head. I was awake.
As I looked up, I found myself standing on one of the purest beaches I had ever beheld. Beneath me, the sand trickled through my toes as I walked, imprinting a foot-sized signature in the white sand with each step, before the wind would gently sweep it up only to settle it back down into neat layers laid across one another like the softest blanket. My feet had taken me further than I realised for now, just in front of me, lay the sea, tranquil and serene as it lapped up the silvery white sand like a thirsty puppy. Often, yet unnoticeably, it stole just a few grains; each time, dragging them down to lie at the bottom of the ocean for evermore. They would never be missed.
Breakfast was a blur; a hurried haze of overflowing cereal and underdone toast topped with constant checking of watches before setting out, armoured with a sea of sunglasses and a bundle of beach towels. We were ready.
Gazing ahead, I could just make out the pale outline of a small fishing boat. Bobbing gently on the calm waves before me, it rocked in a tender fashion as an intricately woven net was cast overboard. Suddenly, a voice from behind brought me back from the trance I was in. I turned back.
We set out together, and although we had no precise plan, I felt as if we knew exactly where we were headed. As we walked, the sound of rustling leaves drifted through the air as they were gently blown about by the wind. Golden brown, their delicate shape crinkled and compressed as they floated down to rest on the grainy golden sand. From time to time they would flutter down to settle for a second, before the warming sea breeze glided underneath once more and they flew up, dancing as they were carried away to repeat this endless cycle. ‘Follow the sand, follow the sand’ as like the leaves we drifted; wherever the beach line took us and the breeze decided to set us down, we would follow. We had arrived.
The next few hours were a blur, but I was told that I had slept through the return journey, for a rushed decision had led to the calling of a taxi to escort us back to our villa. The next memory I could recall was of me awaking to a picturesque Sicilian dusk, warmed by the breeze and the dying sun. As I woke, my first glimpse of the city at night was the sight of an emerald green pool studded with smooth grey pebbles. Enhanced by the scene of a merry dinner party, it rippled and shimmered in the moonlight, the water scintillating almost too brightly with a white glow. Blinking furiously, my eyes could finally fully adjust. Suddenly,
the night sky lit up like someone had flicked a switch and I was able to see for the first time what the source of such a glow had been; there were creatures whizzing and zooming around in the air. No bigger than the pebbles they rested on they zipped about my head, creating a trail of glowing patterns everywhere they flew. Time moves differently on that balcony, for hours melt away like butter and seconds are all but nought to the beholder. Now, it seemed dawn was breaking and as I gazed around at my beautiful surroundings I allowed my eyes to gloss over one final time and drink in the splendour. Something was beginning to stir, the first to wake from its slumber before the world beneath it followed suit. Suddenly, the atmosphere started to glow, as the entire sky blossomed with colour; flooding it with a field of light as a river floods a grassy bank. No inch of the sky was left untouched, no centimetre safe; the light stretched its empire as far as the eye could see, seeking out every corner and transforming it in the work of a second. I stepped inside once more, treading carefully for fear I should wake someone, and allowed myself one last gaze across the wakening scene outside. Little did I know that in that moment I had just captured a memory. A memory that I would hold close to me, for I will not allow it to become meaningless, to fade away with time. I will not allow it to age as nothing more than a forgotten entry in a leather book labelled ‘diary’. Another entry in the diary that is life. My memory… Vita Milana
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N.B. This was written before Hurricane Irma struck Tortola and other Caribbean communities in September 2017. When you think of the Caribbean, you might picture wonderful white sand, brilliant blue seas and skies, and palm trees blowing in the breeze. When I think of the Caribbean, I picture tidal waves, mosquitos, shark bites, coconut-obsessed dogs, and worst of all, horrific travel arrangements… Our destination, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, is not your standard destination, certainly not if you are accompanied by whingeing children with flights starting in Paris. At its best, it involves two flights, but on this occasion, we had decided, for reasons unknown to me, to take three… A mother and her two children were looking bored, which was slightly reassuring that we were not alone in that respect. Their mood lifted slightly as a man, wearing an airport badge, approached them. I could just decipher Michael printed on his name tag. As he neared them, he took a silver coin from his suit pocket, smiled brightly, and proceeded to perform the classic magic trick of making it disappear and reappear behind one of the children’s ears, afterwards, chatting animatedly to the mother. Watching this joyous exchange cheered me up considerably. Fortunately, our speed picked up and we arrived at our final destination at 3am, twenty-five hours later: Tortola at last. The hotel, Fort Recovery, was located on a fairly pleasant beach, with built-in dogs, called Becky and Beau. Of course, after we arrived, we immediately collapsed onto the not-so-soft mattresses and shut our eyes.
We met Pamelah, the owner of the hotel, who welcomed us warmly and told us that we had to try their pool. I took one step forward and stopped again. A coconut was floating in the water, but of course it was not just a coconut, it was the coconut. I went to retrieve it, and put it on the edge of the pool; she just put it back in the water. I took it out and she put it back in again. And again. And again and again and again. The game was endless, and no one knew when to stop. Becky’s obsession with coconuts was made obvious once more, when she deposited one outside our door each morning. Despite my pleas to keep them, my parents insisted we threw them away. This was of no consequence to Becky, as she merely brought another coconut to replace it. After we realised it was pointless to argue, we just let them pile up! The next morning, we met a man who I like to call “Shark Man George”. The reason for such a name lay behind a little misadventure of his. It happened when he was surfing, and he just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He ran into a shark, who, obviously irritated by the incident, injured him. Luckily for him, he managed to make a quick escape back to shore. However, when he called the hospital, he was informed that the helicopter, which was to take him to the nearest hospital on a different island, was going to take a while. Unfortunately, the bleeding of his wounds was so severe, the only way to stop it was to tape his cuts together with the gaffer tape from the boot of his car. After this tale, I refused to go swimming in the sea for fear of sharks! I say it was for fear of sharks, but that may not have been the only reason. Unfortunately, Shark Man George was once again the root of the problem. After mentioning the sinister threat the sharks were posing, he decided to move onto the dangers of natural hazards, more specifically, tidal waves. I, who was born in the United Kingdom, where tidal waves are
about as rare as rain is common, am not entirely comfortable with the possible risk of potentially catastrophic natural disasters. Shark Man George listed the precautions we should take, which made me feel worse, rather than better. My mind unintentionally pictured a scene, where I was oblivious to the inevitable wave about to sweep us away. The scene was picturesque. The sun was shining down warmly onto the children, scattered on the beach, playing merrily in the sand. Some parents sat at a distance, sleeping or reading, with one eye on their children. Others joined in, helping build unbelievable sand structures and swimming in the impeccable green sea. It all seemed too perfect, almost surreal, like a dream. Several things happened simultaneously: first, it occurred to me that the whole picture was a figment of my imagination; and second, an enormous wave slammed into the beach. As one would expect, it was chaos. Any plans or precautions were forgotten, which can happen when one’s life is in immediate danger. As I was analysing the situation as efficiently as any eight year old can, I was scooped up and chucked into my parents’ rental car. The last thing I heard was a panicked voice saying, “Where do we go now?” Back to reality, rather than trembling, or anything particularly dramatic, I simply sat exactly where I was before. Only my slightly startled expression hinted at what I’d just imagined. Shark Man George was finally at the end of his list of precautions, recited like a poem, when he added, “Make sure you know the quickest route to high ground.” I would definitely bear that in mind if I were you. He had paused for a moment, and I was about to leave, when I heard the dreaded words, “Oh, don’t forget about…” which became a two hour lecture about earthquakes. As coconut-obsessed dogs and people like Shark Man George are not necessarily a regular occurrence in the Caribbean, do not let them put you off. On the other hand, if you do not have reliable travel and, maybe, a back-up plan, taking three planes to cross the Atlantic Ocean may prove tiresome. I have not covered the potential threat of mosquitos; be warned, bring insect repellent and bite cream, as they could just ruin your holiday! Eva Benford
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The next day was packed with the excitement of exploring. The dazzling sun poured heat onto the grainy sand beneath our feet, while the waves slid silently, leaving trails of wet sand and foam. I could hear a faint panting in the distance and eventually a large dog emerged from the palm trees, carrying a colossal coconut in its relatively small mouth. How such a feat was accomplished I have absolutely no idea! Closing the distance between us, the dog picked up pace, and reached me. It then proceeded to place the coconut delicately in the sand at my feet. As I bent down to pick up the coconut, which I assumed
was for me, the dog jumped forward protectively… I staggered backwards and watched, confused, as it again, started to arrange the coconut in the sand with the utmost care. Since she had made it clear, we were not to touch her coconut, we carried on along the beach.
E N G L I S H | T R AV E L W R I T I N G - Y E A R 1 0
COCONUTS AND SHARK BITES
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ENGLISH | V I S I T TO T H E F O U N D L I N G A N D D I C K E N S M U S E U M S
Visit to the Foundling and Dickens Museums English Department Trip, November 2016 After studying Coram Boy, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, the whole of Year 8 visited The Foundling Museum and The Charles Dickens Museum. We spent half a day at each and enjoyed workshops, guided tours and creative activities such as writing in the style of Dickens with a quill pen. At the time we were eagerly anticipating the school production of Oliver!
THE FOUNDLING MUSEUM GIN LANE PAINTING The first thing we looked at was a painting by William Hogarth called “Gin Lane”. We learnt that poor people drank gin in the 1700s as water was contaminated and gin was cheaper than food. The painting was full of dark images and sinister symbolism – many drunk people were piled up in corners or slumped on the ground. Some of the many babies were being fed gin and one had a spike going through its middle. Possibly the focal point of the picture was of a woman ridden with disease, sprawled on some steps; her baby is tipped over the edge with a look of horror frozen on his face. His mother is too ill or drunk to even notice. This painting tied in with many
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things we were later told at the museum and at Charles Dickens’ house. It helped me to understand the scene Thomas Coram must have witnessed when he returned from sea and which prompted him to set up the Foundling Hospital. TOKENS When a mother gave her child to the Coram Hospital she left a token as a symbol of remembrance, or to help her reclaim her child later on if her circumstances changed. Tokens such as a hazelnut or penny could be special to the mother. The pennies were engraved to personalise them and there were also rings, embroidery and pieces of fabric. In the museum there is a board where many of the tokens are displayed.
sometimes lost his temper (we learned that he was thrown off the hospital board because of his fiery temper!). LOTTERY PAINTING This painting showed the lottery which was a system for choosing which babies were to be admitted into the hospital. Three different coloured balls were placed in a bag and mothers had to draw one out: a white ball gave passage to healthy babies immediately, a red placed a child on the waiting list but a black turned them away. This process was replaced with one where mothers had to plead their cases. The painting had us all thinking about how difficult life was for poor or disgraced mothers in the eighteenth century.
THOMAS CORAM PAINTING Unusually, Thomas Coram was painted wearing bright colours and he looked as if he had just returned from a busy day at work. He was not wearing a wig and the buttons on his coat had popped open. He had a globe by his feet and the sea in the background: he clearly wanted to be seen as a ship’s captain and perhaps he was missing his days at sea. My impression was that he looked a bit like a Santa figure and, like Santa, he cared for children. He struck me as being a jolly man who wanted to help others but
EMMA BROWNLOW PAINTINGS During my research into the context of Coram Boy I learnt about Emma’s father, John Brownlow who was a foundling and how he then encouraged his daughter to do whatever she wanted in life; unusually, she chose to be an artist. Some of the paintings showed women coming back to collect their children as their circumstances had changed. THE HANDEL ROOM It was interesting to see the Handel Room which told us about Handel and how he composed some music for the school. We also saw the original manuscript of The Messiah.
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I very much enjoyed the tour of the museum and my favourite room was the dining room. It was very fancy and very different to the servants’ quarters. The bright colours showed that Dickens was becoming more wealthy. There was also a grandfather clock showing nationalised time because of the railways. The table was set to give an indication of where Dickens and his important guests would have sat, with Dickens at the head of the table. The valuables were on display but locked away in glass cabinets. I liked the sound effects of horses and chattering outside.
The room was adorned with expensive paintings, decorative carpets and luxury items. Dickens was showing off his newfound wealth! CATHERINE’S ROOM I loved the decoration in this room. This is where Catherine would have entertained her friends to tea and where they would have chatted and sewed. Ladies in the nineteenth century would have made soft furnishings to give a cosy touch to the room as the houses were cold before the invention of central heating! There is a painting of Catherine embroidering an overmantle and below the painting is the actual piece displayed in a glass box. This was my favourite room. THE STUDY
THE DRAWING ROOM This room was mostly used for entertaining guests, acting out plays, dramatic readings of books, drinking and eating. Dickens had a special lectern from which he used to read to his guests. He took this all the way from London to America where he toured around the country. Entertaining his guests was very important for Dickens’ career – he was a rising star and more and more people wanted to meet him.
It was exciting to see Dickens’ desk upon which most of his books were written and where the leather was completely worn down. Opposite the desk was a painting called “Dickens’ Dream” – although unfinished and only partly in colour, we could see some of the characters that Dickens had created which featured in little bubbles all around him. We were also privileged to see a tiny bit of the original manuscript of Oliver Twist. His handwriting was very messy (perhaps because he was stressed as he had to meet tight deadlines for each of the instalments) and there were lots of crossings out but we felt that it was amazing to be standing in such a wellknown author’s study. THE SCULLERY AND KITCHEN I learnt that in the Victorian era they kept hedgehogs in their kitchens to eat the bugs! We also learnt how they churned
their own butter and how they made a manual washing machine. It must have been hard work as they had to collect their water from the well, then heat it up by making a fire before they added it to the washing machine/bucket! It must have been heavy work carrying the water as Dickens and his family were living three floors above the kitchen. Some of the servants would have slept in the kitchen on a mattress.
V I S I T TO T H E F O U N D L I N G A N D D I C K E N S M U S E U M S
THE DINING ROOM
ENGLISH |
THE DICKENS MUSEUM
THE NURSERY I loved the nursery as it had a very homely feel to it. Dickens wouldn’t visit his children there but Catherine used to read them bedtime stories. At the other side of this room was some information about Dickens as a boy, how his family were very poor, in fact they had to go to Debtors’ Prison and Dickens was sent to work in a blacking factory to make some money. OUR WORKSHOP AT THE DICKENS MUSEUM
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The workshop consisted of two activities: a discussion about the character of Scrooge and then writing our own descriptions using a quill pen. I found the draft of A Christmas Carol extremely interesting with the crossed out words and phrases which didn’t make it to the final version. We looked over the first description of Scrooge and analysed some of the words we found compelling; everyone put forward very strong and well thought out answers and had fun in doing so. I particularly enjoyed the image of flint which was used to describe Scrooge. I chose this because Scrooge is a cold character and flint feels cold. Back at school we have been working on our own character sketches after being inspired by Dickens! Contributions from Year 8
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ENGLISH | T H E AT R E T R I P T O S E E O F M I C E A N D M E N A N D S T R AT F O R D - U P O N - A V O N T R I P
Trips THEATRE TRIP TO SEE ‘OF MICE AND MEN’ AT BROMLEY LITTLE THEATRE Before John Steinbeck wrote the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, he wrote a play version. He then used feedback from the audience and critics to make some changes before he published the novel. For example, in the play, we learn a lot more about Curley’s Wife, but in the novel, we are kept at more of a distance from this character, so our response to her is more ambivalent. The play gave us all a new insight in to the text
– even those of us who have been teaching it for the past 20 years! Miss Sue Mehaffey, Head of English On the 13th June 21 students from Year 10 travelled to the Little Theatre in Bromley to watch the production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men to further deepen our understanding of the novel which we had recently studied. The experience was
unique as the theatre really was ‘little’, and we all thought that the actors and directors did a fantastic job to stage such a complicated play only using one small set. The acting created a hefty amount of tension and the actors managed to give some characters more layers of personality, which was great to see as we could apply these insights to our work. Hannah Köster,Year 10
YEAR 13 TRIP TO STRATFORD-UPON-AVON THE JOURNEY We gathered at 8:30 on Friday morning at Sevenoaks Station to begin our train journey to Stratford. Freshly brewed coffees in hand, we jumped on our first train heading for London. The journey flew by, as we were all studiously reading our relevant Pre-U English texts to pass the time. We got off the train and we were all swiftly assigned numbers to ease our teachers’ nerves, in order to check that nobody had got lost. Getting on the underground seemed a lot more challenging than anticipated; we arrived at the next tube station with 15 girls safely off the tube, one that just managed to not get trapped by the closing doors and with
two out of four teachers. We waited for our sensible teachers, who had decided that their safety was more important than the group’s speed of travel, and then made our way to the most exciting train most of us had ever been on. As a group of very enthusiastic and easilypleased English students, the shiny silver train with huge black comfy seats, phone chargers and a food trolley was more than enough to keep our spirits high. After completely raiding the train’s supply of Mars Bars and Jaffa Cakes, we changed once more to arrive at Stratford-uponAvon. The teachers then bravely let us loose to roam the town, find lunch and explore the shops: the favourite being the famous ‘Nutcracker Christmas Shop’. SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHPLACE
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When we visited Shakespeare's birthplace, we found ourselves walking through a small doorway, which had been a wall previously belonging to the next door family. We entered the room where Shakespeare's family would have had the parlour room, to see a huge four poster bed, which we found out was there to let people know that the family had money to spend and wanted to show off. Shakespeare's father was a glove maker, making gloves for anyone from the local blacksmith, to the high class ladies of Stratford. The man who demonstrated this was incredibly enthusiastic and told us all about the different materials, and some girls had the gloves thrust into their hands to try on.
We then headed upstairs into the main bedroom where Shakespeare's parents would have slept, before going into a display room, in which there was a bust of Shakespeare, which many girls took selfies with, and a glass window. The window had the names of many pilgrims, poets and writers engraved onto it, including Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens. We then went into the children's room, where a few of us heard about some Elizabethan superstitions. The reason all four poster beds of that time were so short, was because they believed that if they slept lying down, the devil would mistake them for the dead and take their souls! We then headed outside into the gardens, where we met two actors, who after failing to persuade Charlie Sawyer and Alice Lupton to perform their drama monologues, proceeded to recite soliloquies from many Shakespearean plays.
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GEOGRAPHY | GREENWICH - YEAR 7
Geography YEAR 7 TRIP TO GREENWICH
At Greenwich bandstand
Doing an environmental survey near the Cutty Sark
GREENWICH London is great for everyone, And there is lots to see and do But Greenwich Park is great to visit And it’s in the middle of London too!
Sketching the view
Traffic count in Greenwich
You can visit the Royal Observatory, And admire the beautiful view Or you could stroll around the park all day It’s up to you to choose! Another great place to visit Is the Greenwich Meridian line Every place in the world is measured From east to west how fine! If you think that’s all then you’re wrong. Because just outside of the park, Is an old tea-carrying ship And it is called the Cutty Sark
London is great for everyone, And there is lots to see and do But Greenwich Park is great to visit And it’s in the middle of London too! Roseanna Bishop and Emma Sorrell Identifying different species within a quadrant
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If you’re not interested in attractions, Then maybe go when the sun is hot, And enjoy a summer's picnic, In a pretty but shaded spot!
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G E O G R A P H Y | T R I P S T O S E V E N S I S T E R S A N D S T R AT F O R D
SEVEN SISTERS COASTAL FIELDTRIP We set off from the Centre and walked toward the Cuckmere River where we saw an oxbow lake. This was fascinating and we were told that the mud was alluvium, [a deposit of clay, silt and sand left by floodwater] which is very fertile so helps the grass to grow.
Our first task was to measure the length of the beach and its gradient. This was very entertaining as someone’s measuring pole ended up in the sea. We also learnt that Cuckmere Haven is special because it is the only bay that doesn’t have a harbour at its mouth.
We were asked what percentage of the park was completely natural and later on we found out that the answer was just 2%. We walked beside the river towards the beach where we had lunch before beginning our activities. While we were there, my friends and I saw a seal playing in the water, although at first I thought it was a buoy.
Our second activity was to look at the shape and sizes of the rocks. We found out that the size of pebbles decreases with distance from the sea and that pebbles are bigger behind the ridges because of wave energy loss. The rocks nearest the sea were angular, in the middle of the beach they were sub angular but at the top of the beach they were rounded.
We admired the white chalk cliffs and we could see a line of flint running through the middle of them. We learnt that as chalk is very soft it erodes quicker than other rock and that last year a huge piece of the cliff fell into the sea because of erosion. Then we did an exercise where we had to be waves; we all linked arms and did the best we could to become a wave. Afterwards we headed back towards the coach and I decided that I wanted to return with my dog and my family as I had such a good day. Lauren Brooke,Year 7
Measuring the gradient of the beach
Sketching on Oxbow Lake on the Cuckmere River
STRATFORD AND THE OLYMPIC PARK It was very easy to see the difference Year 9 visited Stratford and between the areas of Stratford that had the Olympic Park to assess been developed for the 2012 Olympic urban change Games, and those that hadn’t. The
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Carrying out an environmental survey at Stratford New Town
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developed area includes the Olympic Park, the new housing in East Village (which was where Olympic athletes were housed) and Westfield shopping centre. Above us was the Orbit, the huge observation tower which is also Britain’s largest piece of public art. The area around the Olympic Park seemed very nice and I would definitely go back there as it was geared up for tourists.
Hearing about coastal erosion
The undeveloped areas had a lot of graffiti and derelict buildings and the shops were clearly aimed at the locals rather than tourists. This showed how much the area where the Olympic Park was built had changed. We also saw the efforts made to make the area sustainable: lots of new trees had been planted, rainwater was collected to flush the toilets and the river had been cleaned up. Jennifer Ryan,Year 9
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Sketching the High Stacks
Selwicks Bay
Flamborough Head
Each girl was asked to write down three words summing up the trip:
G E O G R A P H Y | G C S E C R A N E D A L E A N D A L E V E L C L I M AT E C H A N G E C O N F E R E N C E
GCSE CRANEDALE 2017 Geographers visited the Field Studies Centre at Cranedale in North Yorkshire
Measuring the groyne
A LEVEL GEOGRAPHY CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE In March, Year 12 Geographers travelled to Reigate Grammar School for a day of lectures hosted by the Royal Meteorological Society. Throughout the day we were offered an amazing insight into the world of climate change from experienced university lecturers who have dedicated their careers to solving the problems associated with this phenomenon.
Overall we all found the day very insightful and we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to discuss these issues in our groups. It gave us new information from different perspectives on the implications of climate change and relevant case studies to complement our A Level course in Physical Geography. Stephanie Mullin-Henderson,Year 12
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One of the most interesting talks was by a professor of Arctic Ecology and Ecosystems who explained how the Arctic is experiencing a degree of warming about three times greater than the global average. He also enlightened us on what this means for global carbon and water cycles.
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GEOGRAPHY | ICELAND TRIP 2016
Iceland Trip 2016 Between the 19th and 23rd October 2016, 40 girls from years 10, 11 and 12 embarked on an adventure across Iceland. After a relaxing plane journey with plenty of films to watch, we were greeted with sub-zero temperatures and a heavy downpour. Within an hour of landing we were swimming in the world-famous Blue Lagoon. The warmth of the lagoon made us all forget how cold it actually was outside the water. We were then taken to a cinema at the Old Harbour in Reykjavik where we watched two short films about what we were going to be experiencing over the next four days. We couldn't wait to see what the next day had in store! On our first official day, we were greeted by our tour host, Aga who took us to the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power station. Whether you were a geographer or not, everyone found this very educational, however the strong smell of sulphur was very off-putting at first! Next we visited the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused air
Skógafoss travel chaos all over the world. In the tourist centre we watched a film about how a family living under the volcano managed to survive during and after the devastating eruption. It was another interesting stop and was very helpful for GCSE students because it is part of their course!
ice-axes, we made our way to the start. We were sure but steady on the glacier; one foot wrong and you could end up down a crevasse. Luckily, that didn’t happen to anyone! We were all glad that we had welltrained instructors. I’m sure everyone would agree that it was a wonderful experience.
To rest our brains a little, we headed to the Skógafoss waterfall which was absolutely beautiful! For the more daring of us, there was now a chance to feel like a proper climber. As we pulled up to the Sólheimajökull Glacier the whole coach fell silent, no one knew what to expect. After being equipped with crampons, helmets and
To end the day on a high note, we then went to a town called Vik to visit the famous Black Sand beach and see the basalt sea stacks (Reynisdrangar). We had a chance to buy some souvenirs and then we checked into Hotel Katla, our home for the next two nights, where we had a very enjoyable dinner. It was an exciting first day!
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At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
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GEOGRAPHY | ICELAND TRIP 2016
Gullfoss The next day was cold, wet and windy, but we ended up having a great time. It was a day of travel to get to our boat trip, of which more later. At the start of the coach journey we had a short stop by the side of the road to see some rocks, which looked like towers and had an interesting formation. Along the rest of the way we saw small waterfalls and more lava fields, but what we all loved were two glaciers in the distance. It looked as if the icy water was still flowing but in slow motion. Our next stop was at the amazing Diamond Beach, which has black sand. There were ice blocks scattered everywhere you looked and it was magical. Lastly, we headed off for the boat trip in the icy lagoon. We split into two groups on two different boats, which drove on land and in the lagoon. It was bitterly cold but we had a whale of a time! There were icebergs and it did feel quite Titanic-like. On our last full day we headed towards Seljalandfoss waterfall. This is a waterfall you can walk behind and it was such fun,
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but we had to face a lot of freezing spray. We then continued to a greenhouse where tomatoes are grown. We learnt about the growing process, and tried some tomatoes and tomato juice, which were delicious. In the same place we were shown to some stables where we saw a woman ride Icelandic horses. As well as the usual walk, trot and canter, Icelandic horses are also born with two extra gaits, the tolt and the flying pace. The tolt is a very smooth gait in which at least one of the horse’s feet is always on the ground. It’s so smooth the rider was able to hold a glass of beer as she rode the horse, spilling virtually none of it.
Continuing on, we visited Gullfoss waterfall. It was the largest waterfall we had seen, it was a series of waterfalls formed into one. This was such an amazing site. We then went on to see the geysers, which were spectacular. We waited for about four minutes to see the largest geyser explode. When the water blew out of the ground it flew out so high! When the large bubble at the base popped, you could feel the warm air reach your body, and the smell… was not pleasant! After this we went to the plate boundary between the North American and the Eurasian plate. It was fascinating to see the gap and we even learnt about how criminals were tortured here. On the topic of torturing criminals, I will say that Iceland seems to know rather a lot about elves, trolls and fairy tales, as Aga gave us many stories. At first we thought it was a joke but we eventually realised they actually believe in these creatures! Anyway, we took the coach back to the hotel and Mr Hughes had organized a quiz between all the years. Well done to the fabulous group “The Doritos (Cool Original)” for winning – it makes sense because we ate a ridiculously unhealthy amount of Doritos and junk on the trip! On the final day we were all sad at the thought of coming home. Although it was a disappointment not seeing the Northern Lights, we saw mud pools instead, which were similar to the geysers, but hotter - and were mud. It was a great way to end the trip.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
The Diamond Beach
Sólheimajökull Glacier
Anna Brown and Alex Judd,Year 12
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G E O G R A P H Y | P O V E R T Y T R A P S I M U L AT I O N
Poverty Trap Simulation All students in Years 7-10 had a taste of what it’s like to live and work in a slum for a few hours as part of a Poverty Trap simulation workshop held in June. In a cross-department effort, the Geography, Drama and PSHEE Departments invited local charity Empathy Action to lead the two-day event. The Main Hall was decked out as a sweat shop and teachers dressed up as bosses. The aim was to inform girls about the vast gap between different nations’ development and to encourage them to think of solutions to poverty around the world.
REFLECTIONS ON THE POVERTY TRAP SIMULATION 21-22 JUNE 2017 This workshop put us into a state of shock and disbelief. We got a taste of what billions of peoples’ lives are like and it was really quite distressing. Abigail Launder,Year 8 It really showed us how we are in the top 10% of living conditions in the world and how hard the other 90% of the world’s population live. Natalie Humphries,Year 7 This workshop made me realise how fortunate I am and how I take a lot of things for granted. Amelia Manning,Year 8
The slum simulation was stressful, hot and tiring, I was exhausted by the end. With the added strain of disease and big families, I don’t know how people survive this day after day. Isobel Smith,Year 8 ‘Never judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes’, was the quote that inspired our activity. I had never imagined what it’s like to slave away on the floor in a boiling hot place just to stay alive. But this is the reality for many people. It has made me cherish what I have and has encouraged me to support people who don't have nearly much as me. Dorothea Constantin,Year 8
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by the end of each week, the family had to have earned enough money from making paper bags to pay the rent and food and water to the landlord. The bags were never sold at the same price and sometimes they would be turned away from a shop if their quality was not good enough. If a family had not earned enough money through their bags, they would have to sacrifice a possession of theirs in return for money, or leave the slums and go and live under the bridge. This place was worse than the slums.
The atmosphere made me feel frightened, pressurised, hot, dehydrated and nervous. It made me realise how privileged such a small percentage of the world’s population are and how desperate the majority of the world are to sustain a life and provide for their families. The workshop has helped me empathise with these people and has inspired me to raise money for this worthy charity.
G E O G R A P H Y | P O V E R T Y T R A P S I M U L AT I O N
The workshop led by Empathy Action was centred around a lady called Hamida and her life in the slums of Bangladesh. It took place in the hall, which was set up to look like a slum; there were scarves draped on the walls, pieces of ripped newspaper on the floor and pots of glue for making bags out of newspaper. All girls were split into ‘families’ of six for the day. To sustain a living in the slums, each family had to make bags out of newspaper and glue. Each 10 minute period of the workshop represented one week, and
Julia Nicklaus,Year 8
THOUGHTS ON THE EMPATHY ACTION WORKSHOP The Empathy Action Geography workshop taught us about what life is like in slums and how a large proportion of the world’s population live. We learned about a woman named Hamidah, who lives on $1.49 a day, to feed her large family. She was part of the 60% of the world’s people who have just enough food to get by without dying. Another 20% of people simply do not have enough money to get by and only the last 20% of people in the world have more than enough; we are part of the top ten per cent. This really made us realise just how fortunate we are to be in the position we are in.
In the first part of the workshop, we had to try to make enough to live on by making paper bags. We then learned a bit more about the conditions of the slums. We thought about how we could help the millions of people like Hamidah, who live in these awful conditions without much hope in their lives. We brainstormed ideas and came up with how our whole school could help too. At the end of the morning, everyone was given a paper bag, made by Hamidah herself (paid at a fair price), containing a coloured heart made of soapstone. Every time someone buys one of these bags, three
hot meals are given to a child in the slums of Nairobi. We also got to hear about Mrs von Kaufmann’s trip to the slums in India, and how the people there should be such an inspiration to us. This was an eye-opening experience, and we came away more thankful for what we have, what we eat and how we live than before we walked through the hall doors. We would like to thank Mrs von Kaufmann for organising such a fascinating event; we learned a lot. Katie Stone and Katherine Lingard,Year 8
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G E O G R A P H Y | F I E L D T R I P TO M A L H A M
AT MALHAM TARN It was a seven hour journey on the minibus, for eight of us students with Miss Burtenshaw and Miss Taylor to reach the Field Study Centre in Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire for the week. We arrived at the National Park Centre where all we saw was fields, sheep and stone walls with the sun shining, making the welcome to Malham lovely. In the village we collected data, which would later go towards our field course, which is worth 25% of our A Level. We then travelled to the Field Study Centre and had dinner and went to bed. C O DA M AG A Z I N E 76
The following day was a wet and windy one in Morecambe, but we did not let this dampen our spirits! This was the physical geography day, collecting data on the coastline, using all different types of measurement tools. During lunch we decided to stop off at Dominoes as we needed to get dry and have something warm to eat! We finished off collecting data and went back to the Study Centre.
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At this point we all appreciated a shower and some dinner and then went to what would become our regular evening lesson with our Instructor, Ellie. On the third day we travelled to Settle, which was a beautiful town with a great community feel. This was the day for collecting data on human geography. A few of us stopped off at a café and had cake, teas and coffees but realised soon after we had eaten so much junk we needed a healthy food shop, so we stocked up with carrots, grapes and so much more! When we arrived back at the centre we had our usual shower, lesson and dinner. This evening session was very important as we had to create our course title, decide what data we were going to collect and where we were going to do it; either in Morecambe or Settle. The next day was the one that really counted as this was when we had to collect our actual data for our field course. We split into groups, according to whether we wanted to go to Morecambe or Settle. The work involved either asking the locals/ tourists questions about the area, or taking measurements on the beach. The weather was better this day, but let’s just say we were all very excited to head to bed and have an early night after a very tiring day.
On the last day we had our final lesson with Ellie, finished off what we needed to do and thanked her before our eight hour return journey home. We were very glad that Miss Burtenshaw and Miss Taylor were the teachers who came with us, and we all loved Miss Burtenshaw’s sheep! Alexandra Judd and Anna Brown,Year 13
Measuring the gradient of the beach
Perceptions of place in Malham
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KENT YOUTH COUNCIL After the success of Charlotte Robinson, who was elected onto the Kent Youth County Council in 2015, Walthamstow Hall was delighted another of its pupils, Emily Kendon, was elected the following year. Four candidates are elected every 12 months to represent each district of Kent. They join council meetings to give a voice to young people’s concerns.
This year I was elected to represent Sevenoaks at KYCC. I created a manifesto and after two weeks of campaigning an election was held at school. This was a good way to emphasise the importance of political involvement. The process was relatively stress-free and easy and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the community or who wishes to pursue a career in politics. Emily Kendon,Year 12
Since joining KYCC in November 2015 I have been delighted to work on the Curriculum for Life campaign. The campaign has the goal of improving the quality of PSHEE lessons in schools around Kent by providing a large range of resources on a variety of topics that students have an expressed an interest in learning about. I have mainly been focusing on educating young people about politics and the importance of democracy. This is especially important in recent years as young people now should have a larger stake in politics! I’ve also had the pleasure of being part of a mental health interest group, creating short videos educating young people about mental health and the stigma that surrounds it. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in KYCC and thoroughly encourage anyone interested to stand for election next November. Charlotte Robertson,Year 12 Emily Kendon (right)
WORLD COMMONWEALTH DAY
Charlotte Robertson, Ana Lawther and Emily Kendon with Sevenoaks Mayor, Andrew Eyre
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
In March 2017, three Year 12 students, Emily Kendon, Ana Lawther and Charlotte Rober tson took par t in events at Sevenoaks Town Council to mark Commonwealth Day. Assembled guests watched as the Commonwealth flag was raised to affirm the joint values of democracy and cooperation that Commonwealth nations share. The Town Council then held a commemorative service to mark World War I, in which the Mayor of Sevenoaks, Andrew Eyre extinguished and then relit candles to symbolise the darkness and light that the war and subsequent peace cast over Europe. Emily, Ana and Charlotte then closed the service with a reading of the poem Peace by Ruper t Brooke.
G O V E R N M E N T A N D P O L I T I C S | K E N T Y O U T H C O U N C I L A N D W O R L D C O M M O N W E A L T H D AY
Government and Politics
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H I S T O RY |
History
B AT T L E F I E L D S T R I P - Y E A R 9
Battlefields Trip Year 9 travelled to northern France and Belgium in July as part of their studies on World War I. WWI is significant because it affected a lot of people not only in Britain, but in other countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand who were part of the Commonwealth. Many men aged 18-40 were killed fighting, resulting in the loss of fathers, sons and brothers. WWI also led to our present. For example, after the war the British and French took parts of the Middle East that were rich in oil and drew new lines on the world map which suited them, but resulted in putting people together who had a long history of conflict. These conflicts continue today in the Middle East. Marie Khomin We found out that 11 million people were killed in WWI. I was shocked that so many people joined the war and died as young as 15 which is only a bit older than me! The machine guns that mowed down men must have been terrible because medicine, doctors and even hospitals were shelled. Jennifer Ryan When I think of war, I think of the bravery, victory and the suffering the soldiers went through whilst fighting for our country. Our trip to the battlefields made me realise the four years of torment and boredom they went through. I was also surprised by the number of soldiers that are still missing. We paid our respects to these heroes that let us live in peace today because they protected our country. What is left are memories, grave stones and poppies. Zoe Brown
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World War I wiped out a whole generation of men, affecting millions of people. It did bring benefits for some, though. For example, Britain won the right to land, oil and reparations. Britain also succeeded in stopping the Germans from taking over and expanding their empire. WWI affects people’s beliefs and attitudes today. People visit war cemeteries in order to commemorate the dead and we are taught the mistakes of the past in order to avoid starting another war.
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LeanĂŠ du Toit
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H I S T O RY |
THE LOST MEN People only think of them as numbers, They go down with a quick and painless shot. We don’t think of how they met their slumbers, We think of them in glory, not how they were left to rot. These people had families and wives, Many died in vain, They had to throw away their lives, Dying with unbelieveable pain.
B AT T L E F I E L D S T R I P - Y E A R 9
Battlefields Poems
Shooting or gassing or suffocation, Limbs born off by the bullets, earth stopping breath, Some people missing, buried in an unknown location, ‘Men, continue fighting!’ Why? There’s no reason left. So, now when you think of the men who fought in the past, When you think of the men who died in their glory, Don’t think of the numbers, of how long they might last Think of every war hero, think of their everyday story. April Kidd
REMEMBER The trenches deep down in the uneven earth; The cries and screams of the underage men. Never knowing what was coming But they could not show fear, not now, not then. We will remember how they fought with passion for their country. We will remember and respect all the graves in the cemetery. We will remember their stories of old And their strength and courage as rich as gold. We will remember all those who served our country. As long as we live, we remember humbly. Kitty Matson,Year 9
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H I S T O RY | B AT T L E O F H A S T I N G S A N D C H AT H A M D O C K YA R D S - Y E A R S 7 A N D 8
Year 7 Battle of Hastings Trip 1066 came to life for Year 7 on their trip to Battle Abbey and Pevensey Castle to discover more about the Battle of Hastings and its legacy. Starting at Battle Abbey, the girls enjoyed a guided tour of the battleground and learnt about the dynastic struggle for the crown and who really had the most convincing claim to the throne in 1066. Pupils then listened to the story of the battle as it unfolded on the very ground where it took place, learning why the Normans were triumphant, the truth about King Harold’s death and the legacy of the Norman Conquest. From the battlefield the girls visited Pevensey Castle where they learnt more about the purpose and designs of castles and the methods used to defend and attack them.
Year 8 Trip to Chatham Dockyards I really liked going on the World War II destroyer, HMS Cavalier, and the Victorian sloop Gannet. It was super interesting to go round the ships on our own and explore them. I also found the ship under the floorboards, HMS Namur, very interesting. Isobel Jenkins I loved the hands-on activities like making the rope because it gave you a better idea of the work that people used to have to do in the eighteenth century. Adele Hubbard Hearts of Oak helped you to understand what life was like for people and younger children. I liked the fun facts that the guide told us at the rope walk – they made rope for Pirates of the Caribbean (then I went to see it and it was very exciting!). I liked the hands-on activities because although what we did was easier than what the workers did, it was an insight to what life was like. Scarlett Surgeoner
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
I loved the trip to Chatham because of the historic and amazing things like the life boats. I found the rope-making interesting and the Hearts of Oak a great way to show the different processes in ship building. The Namur was the best thing for me, I found it so intriguing with its mysterious story. Rosalie Köster
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Our trip to Berlin helped my understanding of what life in Germany was like under the Nazis and during the Cold War. I was really interested in hearing the innovative way the people tried to escape East Berlin. I was also really affected by our visit to the Nazi concentration camp at Sachsenhausen and learning of the horrifying struggles of the prisoners held there. Katherine Payne I really enjoyed our trip to Berlin. A definite highlight was visiting the Reichstag building; the views were incredible. I will never forget the chilling stories we heard about life at Sachsenhausen.
H I S T O RY | T R I P T O B E R L I N - Y E A R 1 1
Year 11 Trip to Berlin
Michela Cullum
At the Stasi prison
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Honor Pelling and Lucy Roubicek by the Berlin Wall
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L I B R A RY | O V E R V I E W
Library The library issued 6,215 books this year and Montreal deserves praise for being the House that borrowed the most. Char twell was on the naughty step for having the most overdue books. Fifteen student librarians and two Duke of Edinburgh volunteers helped the School Librarian Mrs White throughout the year (is her generosity with cake anything to do with this, we wonder?). On top of its core activities, the library hosts a range of book-related activities aimed at engaging students and inspiring them to read. Author visits, creative writing competitions and reading games all helped generate a buzz. The library also plays a key part in welcoming girls to the school through its various book clubs. Booked for Lunch and Book Club meet weekly and there is a Monthly Manga Club too. This year the Staff and Sixth Form Reading Group had more people coming than ever before. In the summer term, the Carnegie Reading Group meets weekly to review the titles that have been shor tlisted for
Author Robin Stevens paid a visit to the school as part of Book Week the annual CILIP Carnegie Medal. The award is judged solely by children’s librarians and is considered the most prestigious children’s book award. It was also the first year of the Amnesty CILIP Honour, which is selected from the same shor tlist of eight books. This year was
unusual in that the students agreed with the judges’ choice of winner for the CLIP Carnegie: Ruta Sepetys's Salt to the Sea. Zara Fraillon’s The Bone Sparrow won the Amnesty Honour.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Booked for Lunch explored the world of Oliver Twist
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L I B R A RY | L I B R A R Y C A P T A I N / M O N T H L Y M A N G A
Carnegie encouraged me to read books that I wouldn’t have thought to pick. Every week, the activities were really fun and the cakes were very tasty! Overall I had a really fun experience and liked the group of books I have been able to read over these last few weeks. Elizabeth Gregory, Year 9 I enjoyed Carnegie as it made me read books a lot quicker than I usually would. I also liked hearing everyone’s opinions on the different books. Madeline Korvin, Year 8 I thought Carnegie was great this year; the books were unlike anything I have read before and really allowed me to experience a new genre. The sessions were a very good way to learn what others thought about the books and everyone had different opinions. The cakes were an added bonus! Alicia Webb, Year 9
LIBRARY CAPTAIN It was an honour and a delight to be given the role of Library Captain, as I had been a student librarian since Year 7. One of the highlights for me was organising ‘Booked for Lunch’, a weekly meeting for Year 7s interested in broadening their reading experiences. During these meetings, I introduced the girls to forms of reading they may not have encountered such as graphic novels and encouraged them to try new genres. It was a privilege to meet and work with this lovely group of girls. Every year there are lots of events organised by the library to inspire readers of all types and ages. Introducing the Year 6s from the Junior School to our library was an especially rewarding afternoon as I enjoy encouraging younger readers.
Amelia Ball, Year 13
MONTHLY MANGA Konichiwa (Hello) my name is Gabrielle Phythian and I want to talk about Monthly Manga Club. MMC started about two years ago and courtesy of Mrs White, we had chocolate and mango at the launch party, delicious! I have led the group for the last 18 months and have been overjoyed to see it grow, through word of mouth and love of animation culture. We have experimented with drawing characters from our favourite graphic novels and manga and if I say so myself, the results were amazing. We then started creating a comic timeline for our own graphic novel, creating and designing our
own characters and learning the ways of the mangaka (manga creator/author). We have continued to meet each month and discuss our novel and our favourite comics. The overall favourite is Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson. My hope is that even after I leave Wally, Monthly Manga Club’s love for all things animated will continue to thrive. Sayou nara (Goodbye). Gabrielle Phythian,Year 13
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
I have enjoyed working with the librarians Mrs White and Ms Boardman and have learnt a lot from them over the years. I would like to congratulate the next Library Captain and wish her the best of luck for next year!
Drawings from the Monthly Manga Club, inspired by the comic book series Lumberjanes
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M AT H E M AT I C S
Mathematics Wally students took part in several maths team competitions throughout the year.
SENIOR TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE DEC 2016 In December, four Year 12 Further Mathematicians travelled to Canterbury to participate in the UKMT Senior Team Maths Challenge with 21 other schools. We worked well as a team and tackled all challenges thrown at us, including group questions and a testing cross number puzzle in which each pair only had half the clues and no communications were allowed. All rounds were timed and we had to work very hard to beat some of the tough opposition. We didn’t win, but we did very well in some of the rounds. It was a great day and we are really grateful for the experience. Georgia Rawlins and Charlotte Collini, Year 12
JUNIOR TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE APRIL 2017 In April, four Year 8 girls travelled to Tonbridge Grammar School to take part in the UKMT junior team challenge. This competition is for Year 8 and 9 pupils (a maximum of two Year 9 students are allowed), but Year 8 were so enthusiastic that we fielded four Year 8 girls. The girls had to spend some lunchtimes in training with Mr Dakin, so that they were ready for the competition. It was an intense day with rounds called ‘group competition', ‘cross number’, ‘shuttle’ and ‘relay’. They put in an excellent performance, coming about halfway through a very competitive field – a great effort considering they were all Year 8.
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YEAR 10 MATHS FEAST MARCH 2017 In March, four girls from Year 10 travelled to Maidstone to take part in a team competition organised by the Further Maths Support Programme. The girls had to work together to solve challenging and interesting mathematical problems, which they did with enthusiasm and determination.
UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE INDIVIDUAL COMPETITIONS Many of the girls have taken part in these competitions this year, achieving bronze, silver and gold certificates.
achieved a very commendable score in this second round.
In the Junior Challenge (Year 7 and 8), Katie Stone (Year 8) did extremely well and was invited to take part in the follow on round called the Kangaroo. Only 3% of entrants are asked to do this. Katie
In the Intermediate Challenge (Years 9, 10 and 11), Amelia Hummerson was also invited to take part in the Kangaroo. She did very well and her mark put her just outside the top 25% of students taking part in the advanced round.
Katie Stone
Amelia Hummerson
YEAR 12 MATHS IN ACTION LECTURE
Jemima Korvin, Julia Nicklaus, Alice Shaw and Madeline Korvin
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On Tuesday the 15th of November Year 12 maths students travelled to UCL to attend the A Level ‘Mathematics in Action Day’. There was a range of lectures including ‘The hidden maths in pop music’ and a talk on ‘The enigma and the secret world of code breaking’. My favourite session was held by Michael Blastland who spoke us about ‘Bad statistics - what they don’t tell you on the news’. This included information on how statistics on the news aren’t always representative as they don’t reflect external factors which affect the issue. Overall it was an eye-opening day and we learnt a lot about how maths is used outside the classroom. Ella Wallace,Year 12
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M AT H E M AT I C S
WALTHAMSTOW HALL HOSTS THE GREAT MATHS RACE In June, 12 junior schools came to compete in The Great Maths Race, bringing two teams from Year 4 and Year 5. Each team first had to solve a question, before running round the main hall to their scorer, who then gave them their next question to crack. If they managed to get the correct answer they won five points for their team, a maximum of 100 points to score. It was a very competitive atmosphere with the Year 4 teams competing first. Anthony Roper CPS maintained a strong lead throughout and won the race with an amazing score of 80%. The Year 5 race was even more impressive. Sevenoaks County Primary came out on top with an astonishing 100%, the first time this has been done in The Great Maths Race for 13 years. Walthamstow Hall’s Year 7s played their part in the event by looking after and guiding each team. It was a great afternoon, full of fun and competition. Roseanna Bishop and Mathilda Butler, Year 7 Walthamstow Hall Year 5 team
YEARS 7 AND 8 ‘STATISTICS GONE WILD’ TRIP
Jemima Korvin and Lauren Brooke,Year 8
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C O DA M AG A Z I N E
In June, 12 girls from Years 7 and 8 travelled to the University of Kent, in Canterbury, to attend a programme called ‘Statistics Gone Wild’. First of all we were split into groups with different animal names, and then we listened to a lecture in a vast lecture room. During the day, we studied different ways of estimating the numbers of animals in a population. The fist was ‘capture-recapture’, which entailed throwing plastic birds into a bowl! We also did removal modelling, which involved scooping plastic lizards from sand and finally occupancy modelling. Occupancy modelling is where we lifted up a cup to see if we could spot a toy penguin. At the end of the day we took part in a quiz to see what we had learned. Jemima, Lauren and Julia beat all of the other schools, which meant we collected a huge bag of Haribos! We learnt lots of useful tips and equations and can now apply this knowledge when we cover the topic next year. It was a great trip! Finding plastic lizards in the sand
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES | FRENCH
Modern Foreign Languages French
Port of Dinan
The students' house
ADVANCED FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE daily lessons; all the teaching was done by In the Easter holidays Kathryn Caroline Tracey. However, I felt I learned Headington in Year 12 opted even more by using French every day to travel to France for a and picking up idioms and expressions French immersion course. Her listening to locals in cafés and shops. We destination was the home of Caroline and Richard Tracey, who since 1990 have been offering residential French courses at their home, a 16th century renovated farmhouse in Brittany. The tuition is designed to improve students’ oral and written French and to expose them to the French way of life. C O DA M AG A Z I N E 86
At Easter I went on an immersion course in Brittany, at the Traceys’ house, Le Grand Osier, close to Saint-Hélen and to Dinan. I was there for six days with five other A Level students from different schools and I learnt a lot while I was there. We had to speak French all the time, and although it sounds scary, (it was at first!) it felt a lot more comfor table towards the end of the week. I really learnt a lot from the
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went out into Dinan, a small town with a pretty harbour on two occasions and were set questionnaires to complete either individually or in small groups. We also went to Saint-Malo to do a similar project, and there was a beautiful por t there, with a lot of history attached to it. The food was great, the weather was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I would recommend this to anyone studying French for A Level, it has really boosted my confidence in both spoken and written French. It has deepened my understanding of French culture and society and I am still in touch with the friends I made there. Kathryn Headington,Year 12
Rue de Jerzual, Dinan
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES | FRENCH
YEAR 8 FRENCH TRIP TO BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, MAY 2017 We took the ferry on the way there and we enjoyed exploring the shops and restaurants on the somewhat blusterous outside deck.
were set a booklet to complete. Before the time came for us to leave, we naturally decided to take a turn around the aquarium gift shop.
We arrived early in Boulogne and so stopped off to run around on the sandy beach. From there we visited the Becasuc sweet factory. Here, we saw how they make both soft and hard sweets. Our guide at the factory had an English translator – allowing us to grasp various snitches of French vocabulary from his explanations. After sampling various flavours of sweets all made on site, we could then buy some.
From Nausicaä we climbed the steep hill up to the old town of Boulogne, where we were given an hour’s free time. We spent this shopping in the many gift shops and eating, from stalls or in the old town’s restaurants and cafés. Finally, we made our way, weary and very tired to the coach for the journey, back home. Taking the Eurotunnel back for a quicker journey, we discovered we had a whole section of the train to ourselves and so a mini Wally disco took place, which I think very much finished us all off!
Our bags packed full with sweets, we travelled back to the beach to eat our lunch. We were happy that the sun came out for us. After lunch we went to the Nausicaä aquarium, which is France’s national sea centre. As we ventured into each new room we found ever more surprising and interesting marine life. To improve our understanding of the French names for various examples of fish we
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers, (with a special mention to Mrs Hunt for organising the event), for coming with us and helping us enjoy this exciting experience, we had a fantastic time! Katie Stone and Eve Bellhouse,Year 8
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At the Becasuc sweet factory
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At the Nausicaä aquarium
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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES | GERMAN
German THE CHRISTMAS MARKET TRIP TO AACHEN On 13th December Mrs Hofmann, Mrs Hunt and Mrs García travelled to Aachen in Germany, for a two night visit with a group of German students from Years 8 to 11. We set off early with a coach full of excited, chattering students. The coach ride was long but we made the most of it, eating, singing, watching films and playing games. We arrived in Aachen quite late at night and settled into the youth hostel before making our first visit to the Christmas markets and eating dinner in central Aachen. The next day was fully eventful, visiting different Printen shops as well as the Christmas markets of which there were many. The Printen biscuits are a traditional German treat, a bit like English gingerbread (although the Germans do not like it when someone compares it to gingerbread!). Over the next two days we were given a tour around the town and learnt a lot about the culture, certain statues and marks on and in the ground. We were shown inside a cathedral with breath-taking stained glass windows and sculpted walls. Eventually the day turned to dusk and the glimmering lights of the Christmas markets came on again. It was one of the most beautiful and merry sights I had ever
seen. The stalls were lit with lights of all different colours and the variety of stalls and quality of the products just brought it all together. The markets shimmered in the night sky and even though it was cold outside, the sight and the smell of the food cooking made you feel all warm inside. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and gave everyone a full, traditional Christmas experience! Megan Moore,Year 8
At 8:30am an excited group of children were making a hubbub in the hub. Still comparing snacks and who had the most sweets, we boarded the coach. Phones came out and the whole coach was already taking selfies, watching films and making jokes before we even started our journey. At Folkestone, we boarded the Eurotunnel train and explored! We passed some extraordinary scenery, including an archaic prison on the journey through France. After a long trip, we eventually arrived at the A&O Youth Hostel in Aachen. We found our rooms and trudged upstairs to dump our luggage and make our beds. Later that evening we ate some lovely food and spent most of our money in the magical Christmas markets; it was awesome! After having breakfast in the hostel, we wandered into Aachen to try the yummy Printen, it tasted a bit like gingerbread with additional sugar – amazing! We went on a guided tour through Aachen and saw fountains, heard about everyday life hundreds of years ago compared to today, and ate more Printen. We received an hour of free time to spend more money in the busy market, this time in daylight, ahead of the tour of the cathedral. The cathedral contained beautiful stained glass windows which covered most of the building. I liked the chips and schnitzel at the Hofbräuhaus at dinner that night.
Shop window
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The final morning led to a mouth-watering trip to the Lindt Factory. Purchasing half the store, we left with boxes of chocolate for our families and friends (or to eat on the way back!). The whole trip was fun and we enjoyed it all, especially the Lindt store.
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Jemima and Madeline Korvin,Year 8 Aachen market
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A SUMMER IN SPAIN I never really enjoyed my language classes in my previous senior school. This all changed when I took part in my first exchange trip in year 11 to the beautiful town of Santillana del Mar in the north of Spain. When I was there I wanted nothing more than to just be able to communicate with the people around me and be a part of that culture. I learnt more on that trip than I did in a whole year’s worth of lessons! It made me realise that to learn languages in a classroom setting is one thing, essential, but completely different to being in the country itself. After that trip I was filled with a fresh enthusiasm, and approached my Spanish lessons with a completely new attitude which allowed me to get so much more out of what I was learning. I went from one of the worst in my class to performing consistently well. I decided I really wanted to pursue languages further and so decided to take my Spanish on to A Level, something I would never have imagined doing only a few months previously! I organised another exchange for myself with a distant relative I had in Spain, to remind
myself how much I loved being surrounded by the language as much as to improve my skills. It was extremely daunting, to stay with a family I had never met before and to be unable to say much of what I wanted to. I won’t lie about how scary or challenging it is, but that is part of the joy of going on an exchange, it takes a lot of bravery to put yourself so out of your comfort zone and you feel a huge sense of achievement. My distant cousin, a girl my age called Aitana, lives in Madrid so I was able to stay with the family in one of the most fascinating and vibrant cities in the world. Whilst there I visited, among many other sites, El Prado museum, and saw the work of Pablo Picasso, including Guernica about the Spanish Civil War. I also saw the play I had been studying in Spanish that year - La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca which hugely aided my comprehension of it. After a few days in Madrid, we drove all the way to Galicia, to a peninsula called the O Grove, which allowed me to appreciate the diversity of Spain. My cousins and I were out every
day with a group of friends, exploring the coast and surrounding towns all day. There were times I forgot I was on an exchange at all, it felt so natural and I am still in contact with friends I made there. Of course, there was still a significant language barrier, but by the end of the trip this almost ceased to matter; I could understand the majority of what was being said to me and didn’t need to agonise over my responses, the language started coming naturally to me. I was able to appreciate the subtleties of idiom, and aspects of the grammar (…hello subjunctive) that made no sense to me in the classroom but whose purpose became obvious when hearing it used in conversation. I was there for slightly less than two weeks, but the amount of improvement I saw in my language skills was amazing. I will definitely go and live in Spain at some point and cannot wait to improve my language so I can speak it fluently. As Federico Fellini said: “A different language is a different vision of life”. Eleanor Busvine,Year 12
M O D E R N F O R E I G N L A N G U A G E S | S P A N I S H & E U R O P E A N D AY O F L A N G U A G E S
Spanish
European Day of Languages
We loved doing the four different activities: dancing, playing a word game, taking part in a group discussion and learning Japanese. First of all my group had to discuss and agree on ten reasons why languages are important. It really challenged us to think about it, but
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Mrs Hofmann and Mr Smith, a visitor to the school, were there to help us. We came up with some really good reasons. Then we did some Spanish dancing. Amaya, the Spanish assistant, taught the ‘Jota’ dance to all of us and to Mrs Hunt too. It is a native Spanish folk dance of Aragon in northern Spain. It was a lot of fun! At the end we also danced the Macarena. Thirdly, we learnt to speak some Japanese with Mrs García and also wrote our names in Japanese script. This was fine for me as my name is Japanese, but for others the letter R became the letter L, which they found strange! Lastly, my group and I played a game with Miss Fournier and our French assistant Anaïs called ‘Time’s up’, using borrowed words. It was hard at first but it got easier. It made us more aware of the origins of words. The European Day of Languages was awesome and I learnt so much in one morning! Aiko Sheraton,Year 7
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The European Day of Languages is celebrated on the 26th September each year. This year the Modern Foreign Languages department led morning Prayers, joined by our guest speaker Mr Rodney Smith who spoke about his love of language learning and his different experiences during a varied career. Year 7 girls were then with us for their morning lessons and took part in a carousel of four different activities.
Dancing the Macarena
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MUSIC | THE NEW SCHOOL ORGAN
Music Concerts 2016-2017 The school year is punctuated by a full calendar of wonderful concerts which showcase the students’ talents and enthusiasm for a wide range of music. The musical year begins promptly with ‘Wally Stage and Screen’ in September, which although only in its third year, is already an established favourite. This charity event gives all girls the chance to sing and play their favourite songs to what is always a packed Main Hall. This always includes the debut performance of the Year 7 Choir, who enjoy performing to their new school. Stage and Screen is swiftly followed by the October ‘Scholars’ Concert’ in The Ship. Music Scholars from Year 7-13 raise the bar with their impressive solo pieces played to assembled friends
and parents. As Christmas approaches, Walthamstow Hall musicians are kept busy. First, providing live accompaniment to the main school play, and then at the Christmas Concert, where choirs, the orchestra, the Swing Band, ‘Cellistas’ and other ensembles deliver an uplifting and celebratory evening of music. The winter term is rounded off by the beautiful and atmospheric Carol Concert at Tonbridge School Chapel attended by all girls. There’s a big blast of musical personality in the Spring Term when all girls compete in ‘House Music’ (photos in the ‘House Events’ section). This year each House was allocated a pop group and a musical from which they had to choose two songs to perform. The annual Spring Concert
at the end of term was really special this year – the new School Organ was the star of the show. A detailed report is in these pages. ‘Wally Pop’ near the start of the Summer Term gives everyone the chance to show off their talents. It’s a very popular and more informal concert featuring a repertoire of girls’ favourite pop songs – including their own compositions - which they perform with great enthusiasm to parents and peers. The Midsummer Concert gives younger girls a chance to shine, as it comes just before the Lower School Prize-Giving. Once again it was a wide-ranging programme, with pieces ranging from Bach to The Beatles being performed.
The new School Organ The Music Department's latest addition, the new School Organ, made its debut at a spectacular Spring Concert. The Main Hall was filled to capacity as parents, students, governors and teachers converged to meet and hear it. The Spring Concert is traditionally a time where the School bids a musical farewell to musicians in Year 13 as they perform in their last school concert. This year, Director of Music, Mr Nick Castell paid homage to the superb and dedicated senior musicians performing for the last time; Sophie Khaleeque, Amelia Ball, Nancy Brazel, Alice Lupton, Beatrice Carpenter, Emily James and, leader of the orchestra, Jessica Bache. Most fittingly, the concert opened with a perfect showcase for the organ with a magnificent performance from the orchestra of the Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saëns.
At the end of this roof-raising piece and with the sound of the organ still reverberating around the Hall, Mr Castell gave the School Organ a more formal introduction, speaking of its beginnings at St Mary’s in Riverhead and the complex project undertaken to convert to a MIDI instrument and move it to its new home at Walthamstow Hall. Mr Castell explained how every note from the organ in Hereford cathedral was painstakingly recorded and fed into a bespoke computer programme. When the organ is then played rather than the notes sounding from a set of organ pipes, in the traditional way, they instead feed through the computer programme and play from speakers concealed within a special casing on the wall, beautifully hand crafted by Walthamstow Hall’s multi-talented Mr Roger Older. Mr Castell and Mr Ward gave a demonstration of how the instrument’s two keyboards work
alongside the foot pedals. The audience were able to view this, and the organists subsequently playing their pieces, courtesy of a camera sited above the keyboards which projected a live stream of the organist playing onto a screen on the wall above. Following Mr Castell’s introduction, the organ remained at the heart of the concert with a rich and varied programme that demonstrated its full range from subtle accompanist to booming star, centre stage. Favourite and well-known organ
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pieces, such as Jesus bleibet meine Freude from Cantata 147, by J S Bach, arranged for sisters Jessica (violin) and Alex Bache (cello), were followed by the less wellknown like the quirky Les Corps Glorieux, by Olivier Messiaen, expertly delivered by Year 11 Sasha Puller. Year 10 Emma van Setten also gave an accomplished organ solo, playing Magnificat by Alexandre Guilmant.
by Friedrich Kuhlau before the Swing Band brought the first half to a punchy close with an Instant Swing Concert arranged by Eric Osterling, a speedy, whistle-stop tour of the swing classics including Putting on the Ritz, It Don’t Mean a Thing if it ‘Aint Got that Swing and In the Mood as well as audience participation from the men in the audience shouting out ‘Go Daddio’!
The organ didn’t displace the established musical groups who also shone. The Chamber Ensemble led a change of pace, putting the ‘Spring’ into the Spring Concert with their performances of Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms and the Flower Duet from Lakme, by Delibes. The ‘Cellistas’ group of cellists from Year 8 and above (and Mr Castell!) maintained the theme with their short and sweet Spring Tanz by Edvard Grieg. The Flute Choir gave a beautiful performance of Grand Quartet in E Minor,
The second half of the programme took on a choral theme, opening with the Senior Chamber Choir singing the lively and unusual modern pieces, Gloria & Sanctus from A Little Jazz Mass, by Bob Chilcott and the haunting God so loved the world, by John Stainer, both pieces accompanied by Mr Castell on the organ. The extensive Year 7 Choir also performed a contemporary choral piece, singing David Hamilton’s setting of Ave Maria.
The Senior Choir brought the concert to a stirring close with John Rutter’s All Things Bright and Beautiful and their final piece by Walthamstow Hall’s very own Head of Physics Dr Phillip Le Bas. Mr Castell explained that whilst it carries a Christmas text, Dr Le Bas’s Watt’s Cradle Carol is so loved by the Walthamstow Hall Choir, for whom it was a favourite on last year’s Venice tour, that it had to be sung for a Walthamstow Hall audience and it did indeed end the concert on a particularly joyous note. With the performances over Mr Castell asked for one more piece of audience participation, this time with the new School Organ accompanying everyone as they sung the School Hymn, Our Father, by whose servants. Afterwards, the Chair of Governors Mrs Adams described the occasion as 'A concert to end all concerts' and teaching alumnae Miss Plant and Miss Dallas described it as 'surely the best ever'.
MUSIC | THE NEW SCHOOL ORGAN AND MIDSUMMER CONCERT
In their final Walthamstow Hall concert,Year 13s, Beatrice Carpenter and Emily James gave pure and poignant performances, Beatrice singing Sweeter than Roses by Henry Purcell and Emily performing Pie Jesu from Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. Bea and Emily’s pieces were interspersed by two performances by the Year 7 Chamber Choir, including Litany to the Holy Spirit by Peter Hurford.
MIDSUMMER CONCERT The Midsummer Concert always ends the academic year on a high note and this performance was no exception as musicians from Years 7-10 performed a programme throughout which ran the common thread of 'fun'. The upbeat tone was set by the orchestra opening the concert with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and continued as the Cellistas group took on Eye of Tiger. The Year 7 Chamber Choir sang Lennon and McCartney's When I'm Sixty Four, the Year 7 Choir gave a rousing performance of Stage Fright, complete with back flips, and Senior Choir sang Three Hungarian Folk Songs, by Seiber, complete with utterly nonsensical lyrics. Interspersed between the lighter numbers were some more serious pieces; Symphony in D, by Pleyel, was played by the Advanced
The concert was a fantastic show case for the School's younger musicians and a celebratory prelude to the Lower School PrizeGiving which followed.
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Ensemble, Jesu, dir sei Preis, by Bach, was played by the Early Music Group, Cimarosa Suite movements 2,3 & 4, arranged by T R George, was played by the Flute Choir and Vois sur ton chemin, by Coulais, was sung by the Year 7 Chamber Choir. Year 8 Music Scholar Helen Eastwood played her Grade 6 piece for cello, Sonata 1st Movement by Romberg.
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M U S I C | W A L LY P O P
WALLY POP The annual Wally Pop concert is one of the musical highlights of the Summer Term and is a much-anticipated platform for students to perform to parents, fellow students and teachers. Its ambition and brilliance grows every year and 2017 was no exception, with 21 fantastic performances of current and classic pop songs chosen by students from Years 7 to 13. Wally’s most experienced musicians from Year 13 opened, closed and compèred the show, which was a poignant way to mark their last time performing at the school. Suzannah Williams and Beatrice Carpenter kicked off the evening with a quirky performance of Home. Beatrice was then joined by fellow Year 13 student Alice Lupton, to introduce the amazing acts which followed.
Down Ensemble
The programme included Year 12s Isabella Phillips and Emily Pitts-Tucker mashing up Shape of You and No Scrubs on the vibraphone, Year 12 Ana Lawther's haunting vocals on West Coast, Year 8 Katie Stone lending her beautiful soprano voice to You Raise Me Up, Year 7 Ruby Tanner giving an amazing delivery of Read All About It; and Year 12 Georgia Rawlins playing and singing pieces she had written. The show closed with Year 13 Emily James belting out All the Stars, Beatrice and Alice combining a sense of humour and beautiful harmonies with their unique rendition of Reach for the stars and the Chamber Choir singing It must be love. Big thanks to singing teacher Miss Leather who orchestrated the whole show.
Students managed the sound and lighting
Georgia Rawlins
Isabella Phillips and Emily Pitts-Tucker
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Alice Lupton and Beatrice Carpenter
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Ruby Tanner
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ASSOCIATED BOARD OF THE ROYAL SCHOOLS OF MUSIC (ABRSM) NAME Elsie Atkinson Nancy Brazel Emily Bretz Emily Bretz Lauren Brooke Eleanor Cockburn Emilia Connelly Lucinda Connelly Annabel Dalton Alice Davies Emily Jane Easton Helen Eastwood Helen Eastwood Antonia Fahie-Wilson Olivia Fenlon Sasha Ford Juliette Grieve Antonina Iwasko Kateryna Iwasko Isabella Johnstone Marie Khomin Gabriella Lowe Amelia Manning Eloise McKean Eloise McKean Elizabeth Miller Emma Moss Julia Nicklaus Isabel O’Brien
SUBJECT Piano Violin Oboe Piano Violin Theory Singing Singing Clarinet Flute Alto Saxophone Cello Theory Oboe Singing Violin Piano Singing Singing Flute Piano Piano Singing Piano Singing Violin Oboe Singing Piano
GRADE 1 8 8 8 3 5 3 5 5 4 7 6 5 4 4 5 5 5 3 4 5 3 3 3 4 5 1 3 4
RESULT Merit Pass Distinction Merit Pass Pass Pass Merit Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Pass Pass Pass Merit Pass Merit Pass Merit Distinction Pass Merit Pass Pass Pass Merit Merit Merit
NAME Isabel O’Brien Darcy Pearce Amelia Pepper Emily Pitts-Tucker Georgia Rawlins Isabella Sankey Emma van Setten Emma van Setten Aiko Sheraton Nina Sherwen Isobel Smith Maisy Smith Silvia Steiner Rebecca Swindin Chanté du Toit Emily Tutton Madeleine West Rosie Williamson Isabella Wood
SUBJECT Theory Singing Violin Piano Flute Flute Singing Violin Singing Singing Cello Alto Saxophone Viola Flute Violin Clarinet Alto Saxophone Singing Cello
GRADE 5 3 5 7 Diploma 2 5 7 4 3 4 3 7 2 3 4 4 2 2
RESULT Merit Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Merit Merit Pass Merit Merit Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Merit Merit Pass
GRADE 2 2 7 5 6 2 6
RESULT Distinction Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit
M U S I C | M U S I C E X A M R E S U LT S
Senior Music Exam Results 2016-2017
TRINITY COLLEGE NAME Charlotte Carr Daisy Mansell Isabel O’Brien Anna Pearson Skye Popert May Scott Trinity Western
SUBJECT Recorder Guitar Clarinet Clarinet Singing Recorder Singing
SUMMER CONCERT - ORCHESTRA REHEARSING BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
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PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY | EXPLORING PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE
Philosophy and Theology EXPLORING PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE In November, a group of Year 12 and 13 Philosophy and Theology students enjoyed a day of stimulating talks and debate in London, led by the British philosopher, theologian and author, Dr Peter Vardy. The conference at the Bloomsbury Baptist Church was attended by students from other schools from across the UK.
The topics covered included: "Can we say what we mean, or mean what we say?"; "Truth and reality"; "The concept of God"; "What is a human being?". The final debate was "This house believes that killing in virtual reality and killing in reality are morally equivalent". The debate had an informal structure and if you wanted to argue your case the microphone would be passed to you. Charlie Robertson participated brilliantly on behalf of Walthamstow Hall. Mrs V Jones Head of Philosophy and Theology
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Walthamstow Hall has been ranked 22nd in the country in a list of the “Top Independent Sports Schools 2016”. School Sport magazine compiles its league table independently – the schools themselves don’t submit the results – and it reflects achievement across 20 different sports and in more than 120 different national competitions. It places Wally alongside renowned sporting schools such as Millfield (which came top), Whitgift, Wycombe Abbey, Wellington and JAGS and is one of only four all-girl schools in the top 30. We also note that we are placed above our friendly sporting Kent rivals, Benenden!
ATHLETICS Running club is popular at Wally with over 20 girls participating regularly at lunchtime and after school. The teams had another great year. The Juniors and Intermediates came 2nd and 1st respectively in the first round of the ESAA Cross Country, to qualify for the South East Regionals. There, the Inters ran brilliantly as a team to come second and earn a place at the Nationals. The School also competed in the Junior and Senior Knole Run.
CROSS COUNTRY ESSA FIRST ROUND OCT 4TH 2016
Intermediates won 1st place in first round of ESSA Cross Country
P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | AT H L E T I C S
Physical Education
Juniors won 2nd place in first round of ESSA Cross Country
In the October half term Emilia Vorster in Year 7 competed for Team GB U13 Girls in the World Series Biathlete Championship in Florida. Emilia finished 14th and helped Team GB come 3rd overall in the medals table.
ESAA Athletics, Ashford, May 2017 In April, Vita Milana came 7th in the National Schools Biathlon Championships and as a result was invited to attend the England Talent Programme. In this, Vita has been training alongside the squad for GB modern Pentathlon.
Emilia Vorster, World Biathlete Championships, Florida In February two teams travelled to Coventry to run in the King Henry VIII Cross Country Relay. The girls did exceptionally well for their first time at this event and achieved an outstanding 5th and 17th position.
Elizabeth Miller in Year 10 won Silver in the 1500m at the Kent Schools Athletics Championships in June. This result qualified her to represent Kent Schools at the South East Schools Inter County Championships in Basingstoke, where she finished a very creditable 6th overall. The Kent Schools team, which she was part of, drew the whole event with Surrey.
Medallists at the IAPS Athletics June 2017
Junior Knole Run, Nov 2016
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Elizabeth Miller won silver in the Kent Schools 1500m
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Cross Country King Henry VII Race Coventry Feb 2017
A small group of girls travelled to the Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford in June. In what turned out to be a very successful trip, Scarlett Bonner-Leney won silver in the javelin, Isabelle Mackenzie won silver in the high jump, Masie Smith won a silver in the 1500m and the 70m hurdles, while Lauren Brooke won gold in the shot put. All girls qualified for the National Finals.
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P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | B A D M I N T O N
BADMINTON The badminton results are testament to the great enthusiasm for the sport in the School since it was added to the curriculum and extra-curricular programme when the new Sports Hall opened in September 2015.
U14s Badminton win December 2016
Junior Inter-regional 2017 both teams
Our U14 teams dominated the Kent County Competition and took both gold and silver medals, in February 2017. The U14 squad (Scarlet Collins, Holly Williams, Rosie Williamson, Annabel Sykes and Kitty Pope) then went to Guildford to compete in the South East Regional Finals.
Reading, who fielded a couple of national players. Unfortunately they couldn’t quite match this level so lost 1-4. However, Wally is now second in the South East region - a huge success considering most of them have only been playing for one year.
Wally did brilliantly to reach the final, where they faced The Kendrick School from
The U13 girls doubles badminton teams scooped gold and silver in the Tunbridge Wells Badminton Tournament. Well done to Rosemary Rapley, Imogen Stoddart, Elsa
U14 Kent Badminton Championships
Badminton team March 9th 2017
Boomgaardt and Amelia Beeston. In the same event Rosie Williamson and Annabel Sykes won silver in the U15 age group. Rosie and Annabel also won the FastStep Junior Girls Doubles Championships in Sussex in November.
Annabel Sykes and Rosie Williamson Finally, in a class all of her own is Wally’s badminton superstar, Holly Williams. Holly was the most successful athlete at Nationals in April 2017, where she won two gold medals (for the mixed and ladies doubles) and one bronze.
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Jo Muggeridge wins Mixed Doubles at English National Masters Badminton Championships Dec 2016
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Jo Muggeridge wins Ladies Doubles at English National Masters Badminton Championships Dec 2016
Holly Williams with two gold medals and one bronze at the Nationals
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Holly Haworth took silver in the British Schools Gymnastics National U19 Tumbling Competition in May. She executed three different tumbles with precision and power to confirm her position of second in the country.
P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | G Y M N A S T I C S
did exceptionally well and there was only 0.05 dividing the competition after the floor and vault round. Wally were beaten into a bronze medal position by just 0.1 – exceptionally close behind the National champions from last year.
U14 Gymnastics March 2017
GYMNASTICS Gymnastics continues to go from strength to strength with medals in the British Schools Floor and Vault Regional Finals, and both Regional and National Acrobatic and Tumbling Finals. The U14 and U19 squads competed in the Floor and Vault Finals, the U14s coming 5th, with the highest individual score from Emilia Vorster. The U19s (Bella Watson, Dorothy Hawor th, Holly Hawor th, Jade Sobrany and Annabel Jackson) achieved bronze medals with a very high score, considering they had moved up an age group. In the Regional Acrobatics and Tumbling Championships in January 2017, Katie Tudor, and Rebecca Davie both won gold medals in their age groups. Bella Watson and Dorothy Haworth both won bronze medals.
The School competed in the Milano Gymnastic Regional Finals for the first time in January 2017. The competition consisted of three individual floor routines, three vaults and one trio routine. The U13s finished in fifth place with the highest individual score for floor and vault by Dorothy Haworth. The U19s
Holly Haworth, national silver medal, May 2017
Milano Gymnastics January 2017
GYMNASTICS SEVENOAKS DISTRICT MEDALS MARCH 2017
Dorothy Haworth, Gold Sevenoaks District
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Katie Tudor, silver and Annabella Watson, gold, Sevenoaks District
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Acrobatics and Tumbling Regional Finals
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P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | L A C R O S S E
LACROSSE Many of the year's lacrosse fixtures are part of the run up to the big National Schools Tournament. Wally did well, its first team made Division 1 in their National Finals, while the U13s and U14s reached the last 16. The U13s were narrowly beaten in the quarter finals by the eventual winners, Guildford High School. Congratulations were due to the U15s who won the triangular tournament against Haileybury and St James’ School in the spring term.
Wally competed in the Kent Indoor Championships and beat a number of opponents to reach the finals. Both teams from Wally ended up in a tie for first place and therefore we retained the title of Kent Indoor Champions for a second successive year. Special mention goes to Wally players who were selected for regional teams. Emily PittsTucker was selected for this year’s South East Junior Regional Lacrosse Squad. Hannah McGowan was selected for the U19 Scotland National squad. Mathilda Mantovani was
Mathilda Mantovani and Emily Pitts-Tucker selected for the U15 London South B team and Genevieve Allan played for the U17 South West region. BENENDEN INDOOR TOURNAMENT Every year we compete in the Benenden Indoor Lacrosse tournament in all age groups (except for Year 7). The U13s entered two teams of seven girls and did well. The Wally Red team beat Benenden A 2-1, Benenden B 3-1 and Dulwich College Prep School B 3-1, with their only loss against DCPS A. The Wally Black team beat Benenden A 2-1, DCPS B 5-1 and drew against Benenden B 2-2 and DCPS A 1-1. After totalling all points, Wally Red and Black ended up in a tie for first place, retaining the title of Kent Indoor Champions for a second successive year.
Lacrosse Nationals U14s quarter finalists
ROUNDERS, CURLING, RUGBY Every year the U15 Rounders team travels to Benenden for their annual Rounders Festival. It was a fantastic achievement this year as out of 14 teams – Wally won! The U15s cruised past Kent College Pembury and Benenden B in the qualifying rounds, then beat Ashford School comfortably to reach the final against stiff competitors and arch rivals, Benenden A. Wally clinched top spot by just half a rounder.
Jessica Richards represented the School at the Regional Judo Finals and received a bronze medal.
Mia Andell (left) at the IJCCB with Kent and Sussex Junior Curling Club team
Year 7 enjoying a summer rugby festival Benenden Rounders champions
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Wally took two Curling teams to the annual English Schools Curling Championship at Fenton’s Rink. They prevented the most senior team reaching the finals, but couldn’t quite qualify themselves.
Curling: Charlotte Gardner, Rosalie Köster, Katie Munro, and Imogen Munday
Mia Andell represented Kent and Sussex Junior Curling Club and England, at the International Junior Curling Club Bonspiel (IJCCB) held in Edinburgh. Mia has been invited to join the Junior England Women’s
Curling Team, and the team will be attending a curling summer training camp at Sweetlake in the Netherlands to prepare for playing in the World Championships in Finland, in 2018.
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Year 7 enjoyed a day of Ultimate Frisbee
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P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | N E T B A L L
NETBALL The many netball fixtures through the Autumn and Spring Terms give girls of all ages a chance to represent the School. The highlights of the bigger events include all age groups reaching the quarter finals of the Kent Schools Netball Championships. The U12s went further, coming second in Kent. The U12s did very well again to reach the last 16 in the National School Sports Magazine Cup, one of just two teams from the South East in this late stage of the competition. In the Independent Schools Netball Cup for U15s, Wally’s team edged ahead of Goldolphin and Latymer in a thrilling match to reach the last 16. After a three hour journey to Bromsgrove, the girls were knocked out of the competition, however it was a fantastic achievement to reach the quarter finals.
U15 Independent Schools Netball Cup quarter finalists
U12 Kent Netball runners up
Condover U12 Plate winners
Condover Hall send off
The annual trip to Condover Hall in Shropshire is always a fun weekend for netballers from across the country. The students won 50 out of 64 matches played and the U13As, U14As and U15s all won their sections.
U14 Kent Schools quarter finalists
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U16s Kent Schools quarter finalists
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P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | S W I M M I N G
SWIMMING Wally’s swimming relay teams won a clutch of medals at the Kent Schools’ Relay Championships at Gillingham in September. The Intermediates won gold in the 200m medley relay and gold in the 200m freestyle relay. The Juniors won silver in the 200m freestyle relay. These great results earnt the students several spots at the National Finals of the English Schools’ Swimming Association Team Championships at the London Aquatic Centre in November. The Intermediates fought their way into the top ten swimming teams in England. Their 200m freestyle team were placed 7th after the heats and went one better in the final to finish 6th overall.
Kent Schools swimming Gold and Silver medallists September 2016
At county club level (in the Kent Swimming Championships 2017), the Senior School could boast three new Kent champions after Amelia Childs won golds in the 100m and 200m backstroke, Zoë Naylor-Perrott won gold in the 100m backstroke and Imogen Stoddart won gold in the 50m breaststroke.
Kent County Swimming Championship medallists At regional level, Imogen Stoddart took gold and became Regional Champion in the 50m breastroke. Lilie Chambers took gold to become Regional Champion in the 50m freestyle. Zoë Naylor-Perrott won silver in the 50m freestyle, and Amelia Childs won silver in the 50m backstroke and bronze in the 200m backstroke.
Kent Senior Schools Individual medallists Normal school fixtures and galas continue alongside these regional events. In November, Wally swimmers competed away against Sevenoaks School, securing a convincing win overall. In the Spring Term, Wally hosted the IAPS Swimming meet, welcoming over 200
students to the school and demonstrating superior strength in many events. A fantastic year of achievements from all of the pupils who represented Walthamstow Hall in swimming competitions. Well done Team Wally!
Zoë qualified for the 50m freestyle at the British Championships in July and also qualified for the English National Championships the following week. Amelia Childs also swam at the English National Championships. C O DA M AG A Z I N E 100
Zoë Naylor-Perrott
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ESSA Finals November 2017
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Outside school, Nina had a great summer half term winning the Wimbledon Club U14 Girls’ Singles. She and her partner also came runners up in the U14 Doubles.
Lots of tennis was played and enjoyed over the year, at all ages and abilities, so well done to everyone for participating. At the high end of the ability range, the school did very well and we can boast several Kent champions! In September, the U14 squad (Nina Sherwen, Amelia Eagle, Eleanor MacKenzie and Eliza Mantovani) competed in the South East Division 2 Tennis Finals, which consisted of four singles matches followed by two doubles. All four players worked exceptionally hard, and won the whole competition, with a score of 6-0 in the final. In May, Lily Knynenburg and Nina Sherwen fought their way through a fiercely competitive field of 30 pairs to become Kent Schools Tennis Doubles Champions for the Year 7/8 age group. Playing alongside Lily and Nina were Lauren Brooke and Kitty Pope, who reached the semi-final stage of the consolation competition. In the Year 9-10 age group, Walthamstow pair Scarlett Collins and Eliza Mantovani reached the semi-finals, whilst Amelia Eagle and Eleanor MacKenzie won the final of the Year 9 consolation.
Year 7 & 8 Kent Tennis Doubles Champions Lily Knynenburg (L) and Nina Sherwen (R)
P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N | T E N N I S
TENNIS
Nina Sherwen Wimbledon Juniors winner
The Year 9 and Year 10 A team: Nina Sherwen, Amelia Eagle, Ellie Mackenzie and Eliza Mantovani reached the finals of the Kent Inter Schools competition. They beat Kings Canterbury 6-0, to become Kent Champions. The same Year 9 and 10 team also reached the semi-finals of the Division 1 School Team Tennis competition. There, they met a very strong Newstead Woods team who won the title. Our team came a very creditable third.
Eliza Mantovani, Amelia Eagle, Scarlet Collins, Eleanor Mackenzie, Lily Knynenburg, Nina Sherwen, Lauren Brooke, Kitty Pope
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Year 9 and 10 Tennis A team, Kent Schools Champions
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SCIENCE | BIOLOGY
Science - Biology YEAR 7 TRIP TO PORT LYMPNE On the 6th July we visited Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent. We had lots of fun, first listening to a talk from Lucy Stevenson about the adaptations and differences between specific animals. This was followed by a tour of some of the many animal enclosures. The animals were magnificent, from roaring tigers to wolves, gorillas and lions. The highlight of the trip was the fantastic Asian experience. This included riding on safari buses through open areas full of stunning wild animals. To top it all off, we had our own personal tour guide who explained some of the many adaptations of the animals we saw. After lunch, we explored more of the animals’ habitats and paid a short visit to the gift shop. Overall it was an amazing day full of fantastic experiences. Mathilda Butler,Year 7
Port Lympne A distinct howl from a pair of wolves, A nasty snarl from a sly African wild dog, A long yawn from a bored tiger, A swivel of cupped ears, A swish of long tails, A flash of angular teeth, These are the carnivores. A cheeky grin from a baby gorilla, A loud snore from a snoozing silverback gorilla, A stern stare from the alpha male, An evil glare from a mother gibbon, An angelic swing, An excited babble, A protective cuddle, These are the apes.
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A shrill neigh of a wild horse, A satisfying roll of black rhinos in mud, A slinky stroll of a female leopard, A glimmer of wildebeests’ hair, A springy scamper of antelopes, A noisy rustle from towering giraffes, A flap of wings from an ostrich, A striking artwork of nearby zebras, A tousle of feathers, A butt of horns, A flash of stripes, This is the safari.
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YEAR 10 BIOLOGY CHALLENGE The Royal Society of Biology holds an annual competition to stimulate students’ curiosity for the natural world and to encourage them to take an interest in the subject outside school. Wally students did very well in 2017, gaining four gold, four silver and seven bronze certificates. Among the other entrants, six were highly commended and a further six commended. Well done, everyone.
Year 10s with their Biology Challenge certificates
YEAR 12 BIOLOGY IN ACTION Students went to London for a day of inspiring lectures on biology FOOD AS MEDICINE: DIET, MYTHS AND MICROBES
EVEREST LAB: THE SCIENCE OF HIGH ALTITUDE SURVIVAL
“If you want to get thin, become a caveman.” Needless to say this opening sentence was not what we were expecting from our trip to London to attend a series of biology lectures. We were expecting studies, stats, lots of words ending in ‘synthesis’; instead we were given dieting facts.
The final lecture of the day was given by Greg Foot, who is a TV presenter specialising in science. He spoke to us about his time with ‘Xtreme Everest’ at Everest Base Camp. His team was investigating the effects of hypoxia - a lack of oxygen - on the human body and potential treatments. The findings have many applications, particularly for intensive care medicine. One treatment that Foot told us about was nitric oxide, which is a vasodilator that helps alleviate some symptoms of hypoxia. Many patients in intensive care suffer from hypoxia and so new treatments such as this could save many lives.
Tim Spector is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Director of the Twins UK Registry, a data collection of over 11,000 twins. His research has demonstrated the genetic basis of a wide range of common diseases previously thought to be mainly due to ageing and environment. Within his vast study of twins, Spector found what makes twins different - their microbes. There are believed to be 100 trillion microbes inside our bodies, mostly in the colon. When you are born you do not have microbes, but you’re given them by your mother - through her faeces and breast milk. If you are delivered by caesarean section, your microbes will resemble the skin microbes of whoever picked you up first, which will also be of a lower concentration. Spector noted that C-section babies are more likely to be overweight and develop allergies over their life time. A negative correlation between the amount of microbes inside a person’s body and their weight was also supported by Spector’s study into twins. He came across a set of twins in which one was fifteen kilograms heavier than the other. The lighter twin was found to have more microbes within their body. This suggests that the more microbes you have inside your body, the healthier you may be.
Greg Foot also spoke about the genes affecting responses to hypoxia, in particular the ACE gene and genetic differences between low altitude populations, such as us here in the UK, and high altitude populations, such as the Sherpas in Nepal. I found this particularly interesting as it links with the genetics and cell structure topics from A level Biology. I found these real life applications of what we were learning in class to be fascinating and it has encouraged me to look into the applications of other work that we do in class as well. Sophie Atkinson,Year 12
Skye Popert,Year 12
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SCIENCE | BIOLOGY
YEAR 12 TRIP TO JUNIPER HALL FIELD CENTRE, SURREY SUNDAY On our first afternoon, we went for a walk through the woods on Box Hill and identified two sites to study. One of the sites was an area of woodland that had been coppiced, the other was a site that was unmanaged. We wished to investigate the impact coppicing has on the biodiversity of a habitat. For both sites we randomly placed quadrats, in which we identified species, calculated species richness, estimated percentage ground cover and were also able to use specialised equipment to record soil pH, temperature of the air and soil, humidity and light intensity. Once we had collected this information from both sites, and had taken enough quadrats to have a suitable and reliable sample size, we all decided to have an ice cream break and enjoy the spectacular view in the late evening sun off Box Hill. Once back at the field centre we evaluated our results. MONDAY On our second day at Juniper Hall we undertook field work to investigate succession and measured plant abundance, species richness, maximum plant height, soil depth and percentage shade. After a ten minute climb, we arrived at our investigation site on Mickleham Downs. We laid out a 30m tape measure from the path to the woods, to use as a transect, then at every 3m we placed a quadrat on the ground and recorded what was in it. Later we made kite diagrams of our results. We could clearly see that the fine-
leaved grass and plantains were the pioneer species, with colonisation and establishment of the species between 3 and 18 metres. At 18 to 24 metres there was competition between species and at 24 to 30 metres there was stabilisation of the species present. This field work was very useful in supporting the work we had done on succession in school and was a clear example of how succession occurs next to well-walked paths. Our most memorable moment of the trip was probably when we opened the small mammal traps we had set the night before. We had put bedding straw, grain and meal worms in them before hiding them in the woodland undergrowth. We were lucky enough to catch a vole and a mouse. However, as soon as we took the mouse out of the trap, it escaped with an impressive jump before we had the chance to look at it. Luckily, our vole was not so speedy and we transferred it to a clear bag so we could pass it round to look at. To be as humane to the animal as possible, any animal caught should be carefully released back into its original environment. To our dismay, less than five minutes after we released our vole onto an area of grass next to the woodland, a large crow swooped down and caught it! So, our vole joined the food chain at Juniper Hall and showed us how harsh survival in the wild is.
River Tillingbourne to study the organisms living on the riverbed. The stream itself was in a field shared by two horses, who came and said hello. After only a few minutes, the rain became torrential, but as dedicated ecologists, we had to persevere through the dire weather. The only break we had from the rain was lunch, which we had sitting on hay bales in a barn up the road.
For our last piece of fieldwork, we carried out a mark-release-recapture exercise with snails in the field centre’s pond. We used a net to collect as many snails as possible and then painted each one with some harmless nail varnish, so they were distinguishable from the unmarked snails. We then recorded how many we had painted and returned them to the pond, ready to recapture and estimate the overall size of the population.
WEDNESDAY
TUESDAY
Analysing the sample
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On Tuesday, we began by opening the small mammal traps again and examining what we had caught this time. After resetting the traps, we travelled in the minibus to the
Mark, release, recapture of pond snails
For our main investigation we observed how an abiotic factor, such as depth, affected the number of a particular species, for example, swimming mayflies. Once we had collected all of our results, we travelled back to Juniper Hall to write a group report on our results, and to conduct statistical analyses of the data. This was one of the most interesting parts of the field course, as we were able to see how our observations in a natural environment related to the work that we had previously completed in class.
On our final day we recaptured our pond snails as part of our mark-release-recapture experiment. We also went back to our small mammal traps and found that we had successfully caught several small creatures, including some voles and a very speedy dormouse! Following this we collected some leaves growing in areas of different light intensity and carried out a paper chromatography experiment to find out which types of photosynthetic pigment each contained. Lastly, we investigated the effect of environmental variables on the movement of woodlouse using a choice chamber. We varied the light intensity and moisture in each chamber and looked at how these changes in stimuli affected the woodlouse’s movement. We headed back to school in the minibus with our packed lunches. Our field course seemed to go very quickly. It was very rewarding to actually see and sample different habitats and ecosystems, carrying out for ourselves so many techniques that we had learnt about at school.
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Chromatography of leaf pigments
A well-earned break!
Y12 Biologists
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SCIENCE | CHEMISTRY
Science - Chemistry SCIENCE WEEK - MOON ROCKS AND METEORITES Exciting rare samples of moon rocks and meteorites landed at Wally Hall for the start of the annual Science Week in May. The Science Department had arranged the special loan from the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. On the 10th and 11th May we got to handle rocks from the Moon, Mars, and various comets in a once in a lifetime event. The compositions of the rocks ranged from a nearly solid iron meteorite chunk, to beautiful “deser t glass” (a silicate mix) found in Libya. The oldest of the rocks was around five billion years old – older than planet Ear th itself – and had a beautiful rock/metal structure. The rocks were extremely popular, with hundreds of students and staff visiting the chemistry labs during these two lunchtimes, and were a perfect prelude to Science Week, this year themed around Space and Exploration. The Chemistry Depar tment and the School are very grateful for this amazing oppor tunity, and hope that all of the students and staff who saw the rocks left with a new-found sense of wonder at our amazing universe. Georgia Rawlins,Year 12
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SCIENCE | CHEMISTRY
YEAR 13 CHEMISTRY FIELD TRIP TO ECTON In September, Year 13 Chemists ventured to the Peak District to explore the chemistry of the Ecton Copper Mine and expand our knowledge of Transition Metal Chemistry. After a long journey, we received a warm welcome from the Hartington Hall Youth Hostel. We finished the evening with a delicious meal and rested for a long day ahead. We travelled the short distance to Ecton and started the day with a challenging hike to collect rock samples, on which we later carried out chemical tests to identify the different metal ions in each one. We were mainly looking to identify copper, iron (III), calcium and lead. The tutors Bill and Jeff educated and entertained us by demonstrating a number of experiments, in a way that we would not be able to do at school. We later explored the Ecton Copper Mine, and learnt about the conditions the men, women and children who worked in the mine would have experienced hundreds of years ago.
In the mine
On our way home the next day, we had the pleasure of visiting Chatsworth House where many of the valuable Ecton ores are exhibited. The Devonshire family were closely associated with the Ecton mine when it was the most valuable copper mine in Europe. We walked the beautiful gardens and discovered the fascinating history of the house. We finished our trip with a picnic outside in the sunshine. Charlotte Howard,Year 13
Colourful chemistry from Ecton rocks
Chatsworth House
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY CHALLENGE-C3L6 At the end of the Summer Term, Year 12 students took part in the Cambridge University Chemistry Challenge. The girls have to use their skills and knowledge to complete the demanding questions set by a team of university chemists at Cambridge. There were a total of 7061 entries into this year's competition. Georgia Rawlins performed exceptionally well and has achieved the highest score so far for a Wally Hall girl. She was awarded a gold certificate placing her in the top 8.5% of entries.
Copper certificates were awarded to Sophie Atkinson, Annie Blundell, Hannah Crofts, Emily Jane Easton, Emily Pitts-Tucker and Alice Rapley placing them in the top 60% of entries. Mrs M Wood, Head of Science
L-R: Emily Pitts-Tucker, Hannah Crofts, Alice Rapley, Charlotte Collini, Georgia Rawlins, Annie Blundell, Emily Jane Easton, Sophie Atkinson
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Charlotte Collini also performed well and was awarded a silver certificate placing her in the top 23% of entries.
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SCIENCE | CHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY IN ACTION In November,Year 12 Chemists went to University College London for Chemistry in Action. The first lecture of the day was by Professor John Nicholson on the topic of poisons. His talk was very thought-provoking and engaging, full of interesting facts that cleverly encompassed chemistry relevant to our A Level studies. We all learnt that almost anything can be poisonous to the human body in large doses but that the most deadly elements are found on the bottom right hand side of the periodic table. He also spoke about The Poisons Act 1972 and Dr Harold Shipman. His talk was particularly gripping because he incorporated chemistry into many other subjects. Sujata Kundu spoke to us about Materials Science. We learned about what different materials can do for us, and about unique materials. She also talked about materials that we are familiar with from chemistry at school, such as graphite and diamond. Sujata Kundu was so passionate it was hard not to take an interest. In addition to talking to us about her favourite smart materials and their uses, such as capturing solar energy, Kundu told us about what her job entailed which helped us see how chemistry can be used in the real world after education. Before lunch we had time with a former examiner, Sally Ailatt, who gave us some very useful exam tips. These included ways of avoiding making common mistakes seen by examiners, such as remembering to include UNITS!!! In a fascinating lecture on scent we learnt that many chemists are employed developing and refining aromatic chemicals. We learnt that combining a few different scents can produce a unique and highly recognisable perfume. We used our noses and sticks of scented cardboard to identify the key components that make up the smell of Coca Cola.
Year 12 Chemists attending ‘Chemistry in Action’ lectures at UCL
After the amazing smells, Steven Ashworth took us through some kitchen chemistry i.e. chemistry one can do using only equipment found in a typical home. Among the experiments were some bubbles, colour-changing drinks, static electricity and a human circuit made from eight daring audience members. Annie Blundell, Charlotte Collini, Hannah Crofts, Emily Pitts-Tucker, Emily Jane Easton, Georgia Rawlins,Year 12
SALTERS FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY
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On Wednesday 10th May, we took a train up to London to take par t in the Salter’s Festival of Chemistry at Queen Mary University. We were all excited about working in the University labs and enjoyed the two investigations that were par t of the competition against lots of other schools. The first challenge was based on forensics and we used our powers of deduction to figure out who committed the crime. The second challenge was using the pH scale and universal indicator to make the range of colours in the scale. During the final par t of the day, we got to experience an interactive lecture full of lots of fun demonstrations. We all had a brilliant day, enjoying the chance to experience Chemistry at a university! Alice Shaw, Saskia Kazi, Katy Aaron, Holly Williams,Year 8 L-R: Holly Williams, Alice Shaw, Saskia Kazi, Kathryn Aaron
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SCIENCE | PHYSICS
Science - Physics YEAR 7 FIELD TRIP TO THE OBSERVATORY SCIENCE CENTRE AT HERSTMONCEUX IN JULY When we arrived, everyone was split into groups. Three groups went on a telescope tour while the other three did some experiments with water. After that the groups swapped. The telescope tour was very interesting; we visited and had a talk about two different types of telescopes. After those activities, everybody separated into the six different groups and had teambuilding exercises at different times. The exercises were a competition between all the groups. My group was the first group to do the tower challenge. This was where you had to work as a team and try and build the highest tower out of chosen foam blocks. Then we had some time to investigate the different experiments that lined the halls. My favourite was a chair that was powered by a vacuum that could lift you up in the air at the press of a button. Afterwards we moved on to our second team-building exercise. For this you had to work together to try and make a bridge out of pieces, to have everyone cross it, and to disassemble it. To win you had to have the quickest time out of all the groups. After this activity, we had some time in the discovery park. There were lots of different experiments and you had to work out what happened at the end and why. We explored
these for about half an hour until we got back together to find out which team had won which activities and who won overall. For the two activities, my team won the bridge-building exercise and group one won the tower challenge. Overall group one won and all received a prize. Then sadly it was time to head back to the coach and make our way back to school. Thea Hood,Year 7 Before we visited the telescopes, we were told a little about the history of the observatory. For example, the domes were painted green to blend in with the surroundings. As the astronomers only used the telescopes at night it was dangerous for them to walk around because there was a big drop at the front them. They couldn’t use lights because that would make light pollution. So they added gravel and big stones to the paths’ edges so the astronomers knew when they were too close to the edge. Handrails were added later. Once we were inside, we were told about how the telescope worked and how they made two different types of picture, negative and positive. Next, we visited the
water activities. It was a series of different methods of how to transport water, and one of the ways was the Archimedes screw. After lunch, we split into our separate groups and took part in a number of different activities, all to do with aspects of physics and discoveries. Over all, it was a great experience and we look forward to learning more about physics. Natalie Humphries and Mathilda Butler, Year 7
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SCIENCE | PHYSICS
‘PHYSICS IN ACTION’ SIXTH FORM STUDY DAY - DECEMBER 2016 Dr Nic Harrigan was the first speaker at this day of physics lectures at the Institute of Education in London. He gave us an inspiring lecture on how to build a quantum computer. He gave us an insight into how quantum computers compare to our normal computers, how powerful they could be and a brief history of the computer. He explained how technology has evolved since the beginning of time by comparing it to the 17 years of our lives so far, and he showed how there is a need for such computers in the development of drugs, of new materials and of machine learning. We all found this lecture engaging and interesting and admired the enthusiasm and expertise Nic had for quantum computers. Holly Haworth and Elizabeth Dreksler,Year 13 Dr Mark Lewney gave us a talk on acoustics and string theory with the aid of his electric guitar. It was very interesting how he managed to incorporate the guitar into his talk so fluidly. A particular highlight was his rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, his take on the Queen classic, with the lyrics based on quantum mechanics. Charlotte Collini,Year 12 One of our lectures was about the invisible universe. Dr Jen Gupta showed comparisons of the night sky from more densely populated areas to more remote areas, demonstrating how light pollution affects our view of the universe. We were shown images of galaxies through telescopes detecting different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, for example, infra-red and ultra-violet. We also learnt about nebulae and what they consist of. The dust and gas of these nebulae fluoresce with incredibly vibrant colours, when illuminated by the hot stars embedded in these clouds and by exploding stars behind them. Megan Webster,Year 13 Our final talk of the day revolved around the innovative sport of Formula E motor car racing and was presented by two Formula E team members. Formula E is a new adaptation of Formula 1, yet it has an ethical edge. Instead of using fuels to power the cars, they are driven by 200 kilowatt batteries. Throughout a one hour race the drivers have two racing cars at their disposal. The engineer holding the talk highlighted the importance of using renewable energy resources to conserve our environment, as fossil fuels are likely to run out within the next fifty years. The need for renewable energy resources extends further than just to power cars. Hence this is something our generation needs to tackle. Olivia Hall and Jovita Kobler,Year 13
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SCIENCE | RSSSE
YEAR 10 THE ROYAL SOCIETY SUMMER SCIENCE EXHIBITION In July 2017, 29 girls studying separate sciences travelled to London to attend the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and discover some of the latest cutting edge developments in global science. Overall we found the trip highly stimulating as it gave us the opportunity to explore some very interesting innovations in a relaxed and enthusiastic out-of-class environment. Every stall gave us the chance to supplement our learning, be it in chemistry, physics or biology. We were also given the chance to meet some highly passionate scientists from across the country. We par ticularly enjoyed the exhibition on glowing corals, where we learnt how the luminescence emitted by sea anemones and different types of coral can help marine biologists check the health of coral reefs. It was fascinating to see how beautiful our planet is – and scientific! Learning about the tools which crows use to hunt larvae was also amazing. It was incredible to realise how humans have evolved through tool making, from rocks for hunting to smar t phones. If crows are using sticks to hunt with now, perhaps in two thousand years they will also have smar t technology! I also enjoyed learning about masers, instruments that magnify microwaves, which allow scientists to communicate
with rovers on Mars, as well as how tiny supernovas can now be made in a laboratory with powerful lasers. We also attended a talk on space which was coincidentally given by a young scientist who we had recently met at our school during Science Week. This talk used a mixture of technology and comic sketches to illustrate intriguing facts about
planets and our possible future inhabitancy of Mars. We discovered the size of other planets and stars in comparison to Earth and were intrigued by the fact that you could fit a million earths into the sun! Proxima Centauri is in the Alpha Centauri triple-star system and it is one of the closest stars to our earth. We also heard about the international space station and the stories of some of the people who have lived on it! Another favourite exhibit was mapping cancer’s secret chemistry as we were given the chance to step into the shoes of a surgeon. We learnt about the heart, and how different diseases look on an MRI scanner. We also saw how lasers are used in forensics and learnt about making renewable energy using water. We were inspired by the enthusiasm of each scientist when asked about their projects and have come back to school with a new enthusiasm for lessons after realising the opportunities which science can lead to. The exhibition was jam-packed with exciting stalls and we would go again in a heartbeat. C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Emily Bretz, Annabel Dalton, Emma Dalton, Heather Mackenzie, Elizabeth Miller, Rebecca Smith, Amanda Taylor, Year 10
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SCIENCE | SCIENCE WEEK
Science Week PHYSICS DAY On Monday 15th May the excitement of Science Week began in the Physics Department. There were many diverse and intriguing activities on offer over the lunch hour, all centred round the investigation of Space and Light. The first was making a telescope from cardboard tubes and glass lenses, which was interesting and fun to do. The telescope actually worked! A second activity was searching for stars using a website called Stellarium on a laptop, locating them and placing them, using a star-shaped sticker, on a map of the night sky. A third task was making and using a spectrometer to analyse the light coming from stars. Other investigations included learning how to use the Stellarium software, and we found out why stars twinkle using a laser and a waterbath. There were opportunities to use our creative skills in the science lab as well, for example building a star wheel and a model of the International Space Station. Overall it was a very interesting and educational lunch time, with fun had by all. Sophie Lee-Amies,Year 10
CHEMISTRY DAY Chemistry Day proved very popular with the Wally girls. This year’s theme was ‘Space’ and as always the chemistry teachers came up with a range of innovative and hands-on activities. Some of the activities on offer included making bracelets out of photochromic beads, setting light to a variety of materials and exploding eggs. The photochromic beads changed colour when exposed to UV light and therefore showed how much UV radiation is absorbed daily. Perhaps the loudest activity of them all was the exploding eggs. These were filled with hydrogen and then set on fire and the bang that followed symbolised
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the Big Bang and the beginnings of time. Another exciting activity included coating cloths in a variety of chemicals and setting light to them to see which one would be the best chemical to use for a fire proof space suit. All these activities helped us to begin to understand the chemistry behind everything space-related in a fun and exciting way. Hannah Crofts and Emily Pitts-Tucker Year 12
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SCIENCE | SCIENCE WEEK
SCIENCE WEEK SHOW THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY GREENWICH – ‘A QUESTION OF SPACE’ I know that I speak for many of the girls in Years 7, 8, 9 when I say that I thoroughly enjoyed participating and watching the Science Day presentation about space. I thought that the quizzes and buzzers were a great way to get all the girls involved and interested. We learned a lot about different rockets and space time; we all came out of the Ship filled with facts about rockets taking off. I would like to say a massive thank you to the people who came in, and to our teachers for an amazing experience. Isobel Talbot,Year 8
Year 6 were thrilled to join the Senior School for the Science week show. Here are some of their impressions of it. ‘I learnt that every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. It was fun watching how this worked with skateboards.’
‘I learnt that the speed of light is 300,000 km per second!’ ‘I enjoyed looking at space, the moon and eclipses.’ ‘Our favourite part was pressing the buttons when doing the questionnaires. We were surprised by some of the answers.’ ‘I enjoyed learning about rockets and how powerful they are. Most of the rocket was made of fuel. Only the top part had people in it.’
Students with Dhara Patel, Astronomer from The Royal Observatory, Greenwich
BIOLOGY DAY I made an alien!!! This year’s Biology Day saw the ‘birth’ of some imaginative and scary aliens! Some aliens came from planets where they lived underwater with very little light. Others had to cope with hot, dry, sandy soil or constant snow and ice. Many bags of ‘junk’ had been lovingly collected over many months in preparation for the big day!
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Emma Dalton and Amanda Taylor, Year 10
Natalie Humphries’ alien had tentacles for speedy swimming, a filter to catch small pieces of food and spikes to defend itself from predators. Isobel Wright’s alien had four eyes, for all round vision, tentacles for swimming and light-tipped antennae to see in the murky ocean depths.
reduce heat loss, stay afloat, catch predators, keep snow out of their eyes…..you name it!
Other aliens had features including silvery skin to reflect radiation, elaborate appendages to attract mates, various sor ts of camouflage, adaptations to
A quote from Roseanna Bishop, Year 7, to finish: "It was so much fun!!! There were so many materials and art and science is the best combination ever!!!!"
Students from Years 7-12, working individually or as teams, came and tested their creative powers. Lots of glue and many metres of sellotape were used!
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Isobel Wright,Year 7 and alien
Genevieve Allan, Hannah Crofts and Emily Pitts-Tucker
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SCIENCE | ST JOHN'S
St John's ST JOHN’S VISIT FOR SECONDARY SCIENCE TRANSITION Wally Science staff enjoy welcoming Year 6 pupils from St John’s Primary School for an introduction to secondary school science. Below are extracts from thank you letters written by two pupils.
It was a great experience. When we arrived, my group went to chemistry first and I really enjoyed using the Bunsen burner and doing experiments. It was lots of fun! My favourite part of chemistry was putting the porcelain in the flame and taking it out covered in soot! My favourite part of physics was testing my reaction time.
First in chemistry, we used Bunsen burners and we learnt about the safety flame and the blue flame. Also we had to wear safety glasses and if you had long hair you had to tie your hair back. Next was physics, it contained creating circuits and testing your reaction time. I learnt how to create a parallel circuit.
I would recommend this to Year 5 because they would love the Bunsen burner.
My favourite part was creating circuits to make things beep and light up.
Yours sincerely,
Yours sincerely,
Lucas
Charlie
I would recommend this to every pupil.
ST JOHN’S SCIENCE AMBASSADORS VISIT TO THE SENIOR SCHOOL SCIENCE CLUB In May ‘Science Ambassador’ pupils from St John’s Primary School joined our lunchtime Science Club. Daniel and Kayla the year 5 Science Ambassadors wrote this letter about their experience. Kayla and I both thoroughly enjoyed these Science Club activities. We loved the sound of the owls when we entered the building. It was very exciting. When we star ted in the lab with the owl pellets, we were amazed because we had never seen them before. I was C O DA M AG A Z I N E 112
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surprised how many bones I found and couldn’t believe how tiny the bones were too! Kayla was amazed that the owls would cough up such a big ball. I think it is great how, when you are older, you get to do amazing science things. I look forward to being in secondary school so I can do more of it. The space session was fun too. I thought it was the best because there were rocks from comets and meteors and things way older than the planet Earth! I love learning about space and find the stars and planets very interesting. Thank you once again for inviting us. It was very kind of you. Our class friends all want to come too. Please can we come again? Daniel and Kayla (Class 5)
ST JOHN’S VISIT SCIENCE WEEK On Friday 19th May, Year 6 pupils from St John’s Primary School came to join in the Science Week activities. Below is an extract from a letter written by Gracie Cawfield. “I am writing to thank you for a most exciting and educational science afternoon. St John’s pupils especially enjoyed the demonstration of the Big Bang using an egg and a flame, which showed how the universe began. My favourite activity was making the telescope; we used a cardboard tube and put lenses at each end. When I tested mine through the window, the image was upside down! I even got to take it home and show my sisters. All the girls helping were enthusiastic and kind. I hope science at secondary school is all as interesting. Thank you for inviting my class”.
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TEXTILES | A LEVEL
Textiles A Level
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All work by Anja Huddart
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TEXTILES | GCSE Kristina Candy
Lydia Chaloner
Kristina Candy Lydia Chaloner
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Lydia Chaloner
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TEXTILES | GCSE
Textiles GCSE
Sole Mangal
Evie Butler
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Sole Mangal
Evie Butler
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TEXTILES | A LEVEL Jasmine Emmerson
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Jemima Andrews
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TEXTILES | A LEVEL
Harriet Hind
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Alannah Watson
Katherine Payne
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C AREERS | WORK EXPERIENCE
Careers Careers Day
Year 11 Work Experience
Year 8 took part in ‘Step into the Future’, an annual competition run by the NHS.
FOOD ENGINEERING
DESIGNER RETAIL
I worked for the ingredients company ‘Andina Ingredients Ltd.’ who test and sell natural products e.g. stabilising agents such as starch for sauce or souring agents for sweets. The work requires a knowledge of both food engineering and chemistry. I thoroughly enjoyed working at ‘Andina’ since chemistry is my favourite science and I absolutely love food.
I worked for The Second Wardrobe, which is an online retailer for preowned / brand new luxury designer goods. I was lucky to have this opportunity organised by my mum who frequently sells her clothes through the online store. My tasks were varied and included doing price forms and interviewing a stylist. I enjoyed every minute of it! I especially enjoyed watching how they ran an online business. Helen and Hannah (my employers) were so nice and whenever I had a question it was easy for me to ask. My favourite par ts of the week were meeting their stylist, Victoria Genevieve, and helping them organise the pop-up event.
We were split into groups of four. My group included Lottie, Lucy and Tanzy and we were told that we were to make a leaflet or presentation to send to the NHS judging panel. Once we had taken the Step into the Future quiz, we decided to focus on the career of dietician. We agreed that Lucy would produce the information for a website, Lottie for a booklet and that I would create a leaflet. We researched different aspects of being a dietician such as the salary, working hours and daily tasks and then put all the information in our leaflet, website and booklet. In January we handed in our work to Miss Burtenshaw and it was sent off to the NHS. We were Highly Commended in our efforts as well as presentation skills. Tabitha Lamport
First, I learnt the basics about what the company do and about hydrocolloids (food gums): one of their focuses at the company. We did a test trial in the lab and made a white sauce that needed to match the one the customer sent but without using butter. In place of butter, we used two different starches to thicken the sauce to obtain the same texture as the butter sauce. We observed our results after a night in the fridge to thicken and set; therefore, we could see that the corn starch worked the best. The second day consisted of mainly admin work such as filing and filling out cer tificates of analysis that needed to be sent off to customers. This cer tificate listed the composition of the product and the quantity (e.g. I found out that surprisingly Xanthan Gum - used in chewing gum - contained lead). The next day, we made the glue for veggie burgers that were composed of 80% vegetables and 20% PKH (the glue). We then shaped, fried, and tasted the burgers. The other days in the office were slightly less enjoyable; however, I didn’t mind doing admin jobs such as filing, washing up from the experiments and answering the phone to clients.
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Overall, I had an interesting and positive experience which has broadened my view of future career options. It also gave me an insight into important but more mundane work, which balances the exciting work in the lab.
Annabel Lewington
LAW My work experience was in a law firm called ‘Gateley’ in London. The experience was very useful and it helped me improve my time management skills. I was set a variety of different tasks such as attending meetings and writing formal responses to inquiries. I also had the opportunity to delve into previous current cases which gave me a real flavour for what employment law entails. I found reading the claims and the responses to them, very interesting as they were topical and very raw, because they were ‘real life’ problems. The highlight of my week was visiting the Royal Court of Justice and going into a hearing room, as it was so exciting and gave me an insight into law, and encouraged me on my final goal of becoming a barrister. Michela Cullum
Jessica Leech
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C AREERS | WORK EXPERIENCE
PHYSIOTHERAPY I did my work experience at Valence School in Westerham. Over 65% of the children in school have cerebral palsy and the rest have a mixed range of learning difficulties and physical difficulties. I helped for two days in the physiotherapy department and three days in the PE department. The roles of the physiotherapists within the school include: providing physiotherapy for all the students, arranging lunch time activities and clinics, attending support plan sessions with students and their families, fixing wheelchairs and working as part of a multidisciplinary team. Every morning, I went to the drop in clinics where students asked for help for things such as: fixing wheelchairs, leg stretches and arm stretches. I took various students on their walking frames around the school and learnt about the importance of having time away from their wheelchair. I attended a support plan session with one of the physiotherapists and it was interesting to see how all the parts of the multidisciplinary team work together for a successful outcome.
In the PE department, I set up the soft play mats for non-ambulant children and played with them on it. Afterwards I par ticipated in wheelchair rugby. Some of the favourite activities of the younger students included rolling balls,
Amelia Pepper
PUBLIC RELATIONS I spent my week with the Harrods PR team between the department store in Knightsbridge and the Headquarters in Hammersmith. In Knightsbridge I did fashion pulls for magazines [where you organise the loan of items for use in fashion shoots], some for global clients such as a Paul Smith junior pull I did that was sent to New York. In Hammersmith I checked for magazine coverage and did type ups. Highlights included choosing items to feature in a shoot for the magazine Numero, sending The Sunday Times Fashion Editor items from Autumn Winter 2017 womenswear for a feature and getting to see the Harrods archives, which date back to the Edwardian era. It was a fantastic experience and I learnt so much from the wonderful PR team at Harrods. It has confirmed my ambition to work in the hectic yet incredibly rewarding world of PR in the future. Georgia McDougall
I was lucky enough to do my work experience with the Kent community archaeologist. This was a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into the varied and vastly expanding field of archaeology. On my first day I worked with 120 pupils from a nearby primary school, and I took them around Shorne Woods Country Park. Here I showed them three key archaeological sites in the park; the medieval manor, the Mesolithic settlement and the RAF shelters. This was a good example of the more community-based aspect of archaeology. Then, I spent a day in Maidstone Museum. I was given a tour of the store rooms, and I was surprised to see how little was actually on show in the museum. I learned about the difficulties in conservation and preservation in modern day museums and the importance of engaging the public. On the following day, I worked with the volunteers for the Cobham village project. We dug test pits to discover if the site had much potential to contain interesting ar tefacts. Although I mostly found pottery, I did find some potential Stone Age arrow heads which was very exciting! The following day was also with the volunteers. We used a magnetometer to locate finds in a field in Cobham without having to dig. This was a very new experience and showed me the scientific aspect of archaeology which I found the most interesting. The last day was spent researching the properties involved in the Cobham village project, and I printed and edited maps of the 30 properties using special software. Overall I really enjoyed my work experience because I was always trying new things. I learned a lot about the importance of heritage in the community. Juliette Grieve
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Many children in the school had very weak chest muscles caused by Muscular Dystrophy, which meant they needed assistance with coughing. I saw how a cough assistor machine was operated. This machine clears the mucus out of their airways to remove the chance of a chest infection developing. I also learnt about other equipment physio uses such as a petracycle (a running bike) and tests such as a Gross Motor Function test (GMF) used to assess the mobility of children with cerebral palsy.
ARCHAEOLOGY bean bag throwing, crawling through tunnels and attempting to hula-hoop. On Friday I was lucky enough to meet a British Paralympian. Louise Hunt is a wheelchair tennis player who has Spina Bifida. She competed at London and Rio and is currently 19th in the World. Louise provided inspiration to the children and she talked to me about how physiotherapy has helped her to overcome challenges in her life. She told the students that they could achieve anything they wanted and that their disability did not make them a burden and it should not make them feel confined or trapped. I couldn’t agree with her more!
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C AREERS | WORK EXPERIENCE
STEM COURSE I successfully applied for a three-day course in the Headstart STEM scheme. STEM stands for ‘Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ and is about encouraging girls to consider a career in these fields. The course took place in the brand new science and robotics wing of Queen Mary, University of London and was designed to encourage problem-solving and application of knowledge. We started with a focus task; we were told to make a sheet of A4 paper into a circle that could encompass as many people as possible. My group won by managing to fit 32 people into our circle. We then began a three-day research project that we would present at the end of the course. My group of four chose the topic ‘Can London support Electric Cars?’. Unfortunately, after calculating energy costs and fuel costs, safety risks and the cost of installing the many charging ports London would need, it turned out it would cost the government around £6 million a mile and would be completely unsustainable. So it’s unlikely we’ll see a rise in electric cars in London any time soon. We also had a talk on PowerPoint, to help us with our presentations. For the rest of the day we did an experiment involving shoes vs. bare foot, and which is better for us. As the nominated runner, I spent 20 minutes running round the lab with shoes on and off, whilst a machine was strapped
INSURANCE to my leg. We used a computer to calculate my cadence (strides per second) and angle of my knee at maximum and minimum heights. We ended up coming to the conclusion that it is actually better for our hips, knees and feet to walk and run bare foot; you can also run faster. The second day brought another session on our presentations and a task looking at plane propeller materials. We looked at how different materials’ properties would affect the plane’s ability to fly, the best material being carbon fibres - which is what is used in industry, as well as how air passes over plane wings at different heights, wind speeds and velocities. We also completed our second experiment, involving building a 30cm long bridge, from 20 paper straws and tape. My group used 11 of the straws and constructed a bridge from overlapping triangles for strength. It weighed 21g and was able to hold 1300g worth of weight. Although our bridge didn’t hold the most weight, it won by having the best weight to load ratio. On the third day we gave our presentations to a panel of PhD student judges. Although my group didn’t win a prize, it went well and the presentation prep definitely showed us what engineers do to benefit our everyday lives.
I did my work experience at Axa PPP healthcare company in Tunbridge Wells (a health insurance company). I was in a group with nine other people and we were told that at the end of the week we would all have to present our own insurance plan. Over the first three days we toured the company and were given talks by various departments including finance, environmental, marketing, sales and PA training. One of my favourite parts was listening to the phone calls from customers. On Thursday we started to prepare our theoretical insurance plan. We were given a list of costs of various insurance benefits and had to choose which to include and how to market them – we were also encouraged to come up with new unique selling points for our product. On Friday we presented our plans to various employees from Axa and some representatives from the other students’ schools. Overall it was a good experience and it helped me understand how a large company works. Evie Butler
Francesca Eagle
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FASHION
VETERINARY
ESTATE AGENCY
For my work experience I was fortunate enough to have a placement with a fashion company, Sortz. They work with Topshop, Urban outfitters and Nordstrom in the US. I was able to observe meetings with Topshop's head designers and buyer meetings, I also took finalised garments to the head office just off Oxford Street and saw the finance paperwork where we decided what items globally would be put on sale if they were not selling well. For me, wanting to be a designer, I found it interesting to work with pattern cutters and trend forecasters, especially in designing intricate skirts for SS17. I was fairly surprised that Topshop employed a whole different business to make garments for them to purely come in and buy to mass produce. I thoroughly enjoyed my week’s experience and I would definitely recommend anyone looking to go into fashion to take experience as you learn what a hard world it is!
During the summer I spent a week at Pennards Vets in Sevenoaks. While there I got to experience lots of the fun and exciting aspects of being a vet as well as some of the more tedious. On my first day, I was engrossed in veterinary medicine from the start as I was sent in to watch a cat spay. I got to go into theatre many more times during the week and I also got to observe hydrotherapy, stand in vet consultations, watch dentals, attend a puppy party and do much more! It wasn’t all fun and games however; I did have to work hard (I did a lot of cleaning for one) and by the time I got home each evening I was exhausted. During that week I learnt a lot about myself and about working life; being a vet is not your regular office job and it's hard work being on your feet all day but it is also a very rewarding job.
Isabella Phillips
ARCHITECTURE
I thoroughly enjoyed my week at Strutt and Parker Estate Agency in Sevenoaks sorting through brochures and paperwork and going into town to collect some items from Tesco. I learnt a lot from using their main websites, Repit and Promap and after this I felt I had more knowledge of properties and estate agency in general. After the first day of making coffee and browsing through houses, I was encouraged to design an invitation for someone’s retirement and follow other businesses on Twitter. This was quite enjoyable. The second day was a bit more tiring after virtually redoing all of the brochures for so many houses, creating ‘Date as Postmark’ letters and also organising a contact list. The third day I began to learn how to use Repit and to transfer paperwork digitalised, because in the near future this company wants everything on the computer. Day four, I began to use Promap, a very useful website which shows the exact detail of each property and how much land each house owns. This all helps with pricing of individual houses. I even had a half day! Lastly, I visited a beautiful £3 million house in the morning and then had a relaxing afternoon, sorting letters into envelopes, making drinks and buying milk from Tesco. Overall, I had a really good learning experience and I had great fun doing it. They even gave me a box of chocolates to finish.
THEATRE PRODUCTION For my work experience, I went to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group in London. I had the most enjoyable time there and learnt many skills necessary for working in an office. I managed to work in the finance department and then spent a few days with the merchandise team. I was very interested in finding out what happens behind a West End production and to see the processes of licensing, marketing and production. I was privileged to watch some auditions for the new musical School of Rock and witnessed the talent of the young children auditioning. I would love to go back because everyone was so welcoming and I had a very pleasant week. Charlotte Collini
Hannah Crofts
I did work at an architecture firm called a2d architecture. Throughout the week I worked with the small team of four. At the beginning of the week I talked to the man in charge, Darren, and we went through what I would like to get out of the week. The first task I was set was to research and write the week’s blog for their website. This took me about a day and a half with intervals of coffee and lunch! The most enjoyable part of the week for me was visiting a construction site with two of the architects, and meeting the contractor to talk through any changed plans. At the end of the week I was able to take home my own portfolio that I had put together from the week’s work and Darren said I was welcome to come back to them with any questions in the future. Not only were the team very welcoming, I learnt much more than I expected. Alexandra Judd
C AREERS | WORK EXPERIENCE
Year 12 Work Experience
Anna Brown
POLITICS
Emilia Dunn
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For my work experience I spent three days with the Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh. During the two days I spent shadowing Siobhain in Westminster I was able to visit the House of Commons and saw Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron debate different policies. The last day I spent at Siobhain's constituency office based in Mitcham and Morden, helping to campaign, make posters and going on the Labour website to modify data entries from the public. Overall this was a really enjoyable and interesting experience and I learnt a lot about politicians, which is very helpful as I am doing Government and Politics A Level.
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CHARITY
Charity Prefects Hannah Neicho, Lydia Chaloner, Sophie Alcock, Eleanor Reynolds
Red Nose Day's winning cake
Operation Christmas Box, December 2016
Charity It has been another extremely busy, yet successful year of charity events at Wally. So many girls have been active in raising money for numerous charities, supporting those who are less fortunate than us both in the UK and in other countries around the world. Firstly, I would like to thank Mrs Phillips, the Charities Co-ordinator, for all of your guidance and support this year. It has been an honour to work with you, and you have made being part of the Charity team one of the highlights of my time at Wally. I must also thank the other Charity Prefects, Sophie Alcock, Eleanor Reynolds, Charlotte Sawyer, and Hannah Neicho, for their constant enthusiasm, determination and contributions this year. Together they have made the Charity team a pleasure to be par t of and have made every event extremely successful and joyful.
AUTUMN TERM 2016 C O DA M AG A Z I N E
The Autumn Term star ted off with the teachers and the pupils electing the new whole school charity for 2016 – 2017. This included each student or teacher paying £2 to ‘vote’ for their favourite charity. Fuze Beyond Borders was the most popular choice and became the new school charity. This event alone
raised £320. Later on in the term, Kim from Fuze kindly came in to explain the aims and impact of the charity, which strives to provide humanitarian aid to refugees in Dunkirk. The Charity Prefects hosted an early morning pop-up coffee shop down in EBH (the Sixth Form centre) in aid of Macmillan Cancer. The coffee morning broke a cake sale record and raised £371. We would like to thank the staff members and students who ventured down the path to EBH to buy coffee and cake so early in the morning! The same day, pupils par ticipated in Wally Stage and Screen to treat family and friends to a wonderful evening of music. This raised an amazing £1,610 for Fuze Beyond Borders. Thanks must go to Mr Castell and Mr Ward for helping to make it even more successful than last year and to those who gave such beautiful performances. The annual Jeans for Genes day raised a total of £1,190, which will help so many children with life threatening genetic disorders in the UK. Thank you to Mrs Cox and the Lower Sixth Biologists for organising this. Following half term, the charity prefects held several spotty-themed events to raise money for Children in Need. In total £398 was raised from the ‘Spotty Baking Competition’ and ‘Guess the Number of Spots on the Cake Game’.
This featured some gorgeous Pudsey Bear cakes. The school also suppor ted Loaves and Fishes, a local organisation which helps those who live in pover ty and face daily hardships in Kent, by donating enough food items to fill over huge 20 boxes. This required a minibus and large car to move everything! Thank you to everyone for your generous donations. Poppies were sold for Remembrance Day raising money for The Royal British Legion. Thank you to the House Captains who have held individual cakes sales for their own local House charities. Together Char twell, Knole, and Down raised a total of £338 for Rockdale House, The Bridge Trust and Mind UK. With Wally filled with festive cheer, everyone was offered the chance to wear their best Christmas jumper for the day. From this we raised another £476. In addition, Year 13 took the Christmas spirit down to Sevenoaks train station and sang carols. Silent Night proved to be the real money maker, so we sung this every time a train from London arrived! We raised an impressive £409 for Fuze Beyond Borders. We also sung carols at Rockdale House, to provide some joy to the elderly residents. The term finished off with the collection of Christmas boxes for Operation
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CHARITY
Best Tasting cake winner Isabella Stonard,Year 7
Christmas Child, thank you very much to those who par ticipated in this, we managed to collect 174 boxes in total (77 more boxes than last year). These were all lovingly received by children who do not receive a Christmas present. Lastly, on the final evening of term the annual School Carol Service raised £1,127 for the other four charities pitched at the star t of the term.
SPRING TERM 2017 The Year 13 netball team kindly offered to play two charitable matches, the first being against Tonbridge School’s Year 13 prefects. This high-energy game saw Wally’s strategic tactics win over the boys’ fast-paced approach. We also saw the return of the Wally versus the Teachers match. This game was well attended by students, many of whom were impressed by some of the teachers’ secret spor ting talents, but this was not enough to beat Year 13 again. A total of £200 was raised. Penshurst and Quebec together raised £118 for the Kent Air Ambulance and Hospice in the Weald.
For Comic Relief, the charity prefects ran a red-themed cake sale, which was very
successful with over 40 cakes being baked and sold. The home clothes day was also a highlight, with everyone, even the teachers, wearing at least one item of red. Together, the events raised £1,017, which will be used to help make a difference to the lives of people both in the UK and in some of the world’s poorest communities. To celebrate Easter, we held Wally’s first ever Egg Sale, raising £85 for Fuze Beyond Borders. There was also the Great Wally Easter Egg Hunt, where Mr Dakin and several prefects dressed up and hid as bunnies. Congratulations to Marie Khamin and Anka Iwasko, who found Mr Dakin secretly hiding behind the swimming pool!
SUMMER TERM 2017 This term saw many form groups generously raising money for a wide variety of charities, usually in the form of cake sales! £100 was raised for Crossway Communities, £97 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, £140 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and £100 for the DiGeorge Syndrome Trust. Charity is not just about raising money, it is also about giving something back to the community. This was demonstrated by Wally Hall students doing various types of regular voluntary work across the year, for example at St. John’s Primary School. After exams, the Year 11s hosted a par ty for the Rockdale House residents. This was a hugely fun
and rewarding afternoon, that was filled with food, music and even some comedy sketches. This year, Year 13s set ourselves a target of raising £1,500 for Fuze. Across the academic year, the Prefect body organised and held three very busy and active discos for the Year 7s and 8s. The total amount raised from the discos was £3,153. With the additional amounts raised from the netball matches and carol singing, we raised a total amount of £3,762. Lastly, the total money raised for charity this year in the Senior School was an incredible £11,725. Thank you to everyone who helped organise or suppor t an event this year. Lydia Chaloner, Year 13
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Thank you to the English Department, in particular Mrs White and to those who donated books during World Book Week to Oxfam. We collected 11 large boxes, which added up to approximately 200 books.
Spotty Baking Winner, Isabel Nott,Year 10
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BUSHCRAFT
Bushcraft Year 8 spent a glorious three days (and two nights) living in the woods in deepest Penshurst Place in July. They built fires and shelters, slept out, jumped in lakes and generally got muddy.
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BUSHCRAFT C O DA M AG A Z I N E 125
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D U K E O F E D I N B U R G H AWA R D S
Duke of Edinburgh Awards DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS PRESENTED IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2016 - 2017 SILVER EXPEDITION 2017 For our 2017 Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition, our team of seven travelled firstly to Dorset for our practice, where we spent three days and three nights walking along the coast of Poole with Helen, a trainer from the Cumulus hiking company, spending the majority of the time on the Purbeck Way. We spent our first night in a campsite at the base of Corfe Castle, believed to be the inspiration for the Famous Five’s “Kirrin Island”.
Although the landscape was hilly and various team members had injuries, the view from the reportedly unstable cliffs was spectacular. Our final day in Dorset was a scorcher, not helped by the fact that we spent the majority of the day navigating a golf course, where we had to send a very enthusiastic member to scout for water at the country club which reportedly had a very strict dress code.
For our qualifying expedition, the same team journeyed to the New Forest where we and Mr Hayward, with the help of our assessor Neil, wild-camped among the gorse bushes. As anticipated there were many wild horses, cows and deer around every corner, but we were fortunate enough to also see an adder. Luckily, we spotted the poisonous snake before Ana stepped on it. For the most part of the first day the weather held up and we enjoyed the sunshine, giving pleasant walking and camping conditions. On the second and last day however thunder storms plagued the New Forest and we were forced to bring out our waterproof trousers and rucksack covers. Our team was so efficient at walking that we also had plenty of breaks, which were definitely required by the time the third and final day rolled around. Despite two mysterious illnesses and two team members having tendonitis, our New Forest expedition was a success and we passed our assessed walk with flying colours.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Alice Rapley Ana Lawther Anna Gutierrez-Garcia Charlotte Collini Genevieve Allan Emily Pitts-Tucker Olivia Crisp
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The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is most famous for the expeditions that par ticipants have to complete. The majority of par ticipants walk the expeditions; however, I decided to take a different route and canoe the expedition section with an open group, meaning that I would be under taking expeditions with a team that I had never met before. The practice expedition took place alongside two training days in May on the River Severn. This is my team’s journey through two countries, three counties and 134.6 kilometres. The two training days reminded us of the skills we would need for the expedition, both on and off the water. Everything learnt on Silver was revised, and in more detail. We even had to be trained in CPR, because in wild country you can be hours away from transport links. Cooking skills, navigation and camp craft were all on the agenda for the training days, as were capsize drills, much to our delight! It was necessary for us to be able to right a boat from capsize and to know how
to deal with an all-in capsize. Training was incredibly fun and encouraged strong bonds to form between all six of us. Nevertheless, the training was soon over, and now things would become more serious as we were left to our own devices for the next four days. The expedition was fantastic, and our whole team bonded further. Throughout the expedition, Wales threw everything it could at us, including pouring rain and beating sun, frozen mornings and overly friendly sheep. The highlight of the whole expedition was when we had to paddle down two hundred metres of white water rapids. After portaging all of our gear from the canoes to the end of the rapids, we jumped in the boats and were absolutely terrified of what was to come. Steering was essential to avoid rocks, but we had to keep moving faster than the water in order for the steering to be effective. A few narrow escapes later, we all survived and made it to the end of the rapids: boats and bodies intact!
This experience was one of the best I have had in my life so far, and it was only the practice expedition. Bring on the assessed! Sophie Atkinson,Year 12
The Sixth Form Lecture Programme
D U K E O F E D I N B U R G H AWA R D S A N D T H E S I X T H F O R M L E C T U R E P RO G R A M M E
GOLD PRACTICE EXPEDITION
All Sixth Formers attend a series of talks from eminent speakers from different walks of life. The aim is to inspire them and to open their eyes to different viewpoints on the world around them. This academic year, the students were introduced to a wide range of topics: MR ASHWELL – PALESTINE THE 5TH GOSPEL
ZOE WILLIAMS - INVICTUS GAMES GOLD MEDALLIST
PROFESSOR NIGEL TOWNSON SPANISH CIVIL WAR
The speaker gave a talk on the West Bank, including a brief history of the Holy Land, some insights on to life there now and what lies behind the tensions in this part of the world.
Zoe delivered her motivational story about overcoming adversity and the challenges of facing mental and physical battles throughout her life.
The speaker drew on his recent book The Crisis of Democracy in Spain 1931-36 to discuss the Spanish Civil War and its legacy.
ROBERT COLVIN – COMBATTING MODERN DAY SLAVERY
JULIET NICOLSON – HOUSE OF DAUGHTERS
Robert is a lawyer who has worked as a Legal Fellow for International Justice Mission (IJM) where he assisted in the prosecution of child sex traffickers and in the rescue of victims of cyber-sex trafficking.
The author talked about her latest work which focuses on seven generations of women in her family. She is the greatgranddaughter of Victoria Sackville-West and the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West, and her story is about daughters, mothers, abandonment, secrets and jealousy.
REBECCA EVERNDEN - DIRECTOR OF POLICY, UK SPACE AGENCY The speaker discussed the UK civil space programme and the UK's space ambitions. C O DA M AG A Z I N E 127
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HOUSE | REPORTS
House Reports The many House events provide a big part of the fun and warmth that life at Wally has to offer. The music and sporting competitions see loyalties spring up between students across all age groups and they also give everyone a chance to just have a go, be it on the sports field, in the pool, or on stage.
after finishing fifth in the Swimming Gala, they came out fighting to win the House Cricket, Rounders and Tennis in spectacular style, ending the day 18 points ahead of the rest. True Wally spirit!
OVERALL HOUSE POSITIONS
MOST INDIVIDUAL HOUSE HOUSE POINTS
1st – Montreal on 3762 points
In Year 7: representing Montreal, Charlotte Carr
3rd – Chartwell on 3446 points
In Year 8: representing Penshurst, Jemima Korvin
5th – Quebec on 3364 points
A big thank you is due to everyone who helped organise the competitions and to everyone who took part. Congratulations to the 12 House Captains who led their Houses with tremendous drive, enthusiasm and good humour. Staff in the PE and Music departments once again gave their time generously to ensure everything ran smoothly, so thank you to you too.
In Year 9: representing Montreal, Farah Walsh
The margins were fine and House fortunes were often made and lost within hours. Knole House is a good example: just hours
In Year 10: representing Down, Isabel Avery In Year 12: representing Quebec, Tegan Daniels N.B. Years 11 and 13 were on exam leave Mr P Howson Deputy Head and Head of Houses
The final house positions for 2016-17 based upon all academic, sporting and music results are:
2nd – Knole on 3628 points
4th – Penshurst on 3372 points
6th – Down on 3166 points HOUSE SPORTING RESULTS Junior Winter Games winner: Knole Senior Winter Games winner: Quebec Junior House Summer Games winner: Montreal Senior House Summer Games winner: Knole House Swimming Gala winner: Penshurst House Athletics winner: Chartwell House Gymnastics winner: Knole Junior Netball winner: Knole Senior Netball winner: Montreal Junior Lacrosse winner: Penshurst Senior Lacrosse winner: Quebec Junior Badminton winner: Knole
HOUSE GYM DISPLAY
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HOUSE | JUNIOR HOUSE SPORTS
JUNIOR HOUSE CRICKET, TENNIS AND ROUNDERS - YEARS 7 AND 8
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HOUSE | JUNIOR HOUSE SPORTS
JUNIOR HOUSE NETBALL, LACROSSE AND BADMINTON
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HOUSE | SENIOR HOUSE SPORTS
SENIOR HOUSE CRICKET, ROUNDERS AND TENNIS - YEARS 9-12
SENIOR HOUSE NETBALL AND LACROSSE - YEARS 10-13
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H O U S E | AT H L E T I C S
HOUSE ATHLETICS
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HOUSE | MUSIC
HOUSE MUSIC, FEBRUARY 2016 Mrs Milner made no secret of House Music being her favourite House competition of the year and no effort was spared in making this, Mrs Milner’s final House Music, an extra special occasion. Each House was allocated a pop group and a musical from which they chose their two songs to perform. Sitting alongside Mrs Milner and Mr Castell on the judging panel was a former pupil of Mr Castell’s and now West End star, Chris Cowley. Chris graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013 and has played roles including Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever and Fiyero in Wicked. After judging, Chris headed straight back to the West End where he was playing Enjolras in Les Misérables.
Chartwell Sing Salute by Little Mix
The Houses pulled out all the stops to make the judging panel’s job as difficult as possible. The importance of this House Music competition above all others was in no doubt when One Direction reformed especially for the occasion, taking to the stage with Penshurst for a lively start to the show followed by a moving ensemble piece from Rent. Montreal gave an uplifting performance of Viva La Vida, by Coldplay, packed with precision-timed, quick-fire actions. A large ensemble then pulled on school uniform and jumped on desks to transform into ‘Revolting Children’ for their performance of When I grow up from Matilda. The fantastic levels of energy generated by Montreal were maintained as Chartwell quickly stormed the stage from all directions, an army in camouflage gear and war paint to give a thunderous , attitude-packed performance of Salute by Little Mix. In sharp contrast the army gear
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was quickly swapped for pink sparkles for the ensemble piece So Much Better from Legally Blonde. Down showed why they were reigning House Champions as they delivered 5 seconds of Jersey Boys. Super slick in their ‘Rat Pack’ shirts and ties Down’s Jersey Boys medley was ingenious and brilliantly accomplished with stellar performances from every single House member. After
Knole playing Star Girl on the trumpet this energetic performance Down’s ensemble performance of Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer was full of beautiful, wistful harmonies. Another change of pace saw the stage filled with nuns and gingham dresses as Knole took on The Sound of Music with a joyful and sparkling rendition of Do Re Mi, complete with back flipping dancers. Knole didn’t lose their shine as their ensemble group performed McFly’s Star Girl. The absolute highlight of which was the three dancing gold stars from Year 7, including Mathilda Butler on trumpet. Following a dancing and trumpetplaying gold star is no easy feat, but Quebec were undaunted as they gave an energetic performance of Somebody To You by The Vamps. Quebec continued to work their magic with their ensemble piece, Popular from Wicked, featuring a brief special guest star appearance from House Music pro Mr Ledsham.
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Knole sing The Sound of Music
Quebec sing Wicked
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HOUSE | MUSIC
After an intermission for judging Mr Castell congratulated everyone on being ‘brilliant’, adding that the impressive performances meant it had never been harder to choose the winners. Chris Cowley then presented the awards. Best Presented House Winner: Knole Runner-up: Chartwell Best House Song Winner: Down Runner-up: Montreal Best Ensemble Song Winner: Montreal Runner-up: Down House Performing Arts Cup Winner: Down Mrs Milner praised all the students for an exceptionally entertaining afternoon, her best House Music, and thanked the House Captains for their ‘hard work, ingenuity and imagination’.
Penshurst sing Rent Before Mrs Milner could send everyone home, the lights in the Hall were dimmed and Mr Howson introduced a special surprise. Led by the chamber choir and with phone torches held aloft the whole school serenaded Mrs Milner with a rousing rendition of one of her favourite pop songs, Eternal Flame, a unique, moving and very fitting end to Mrs Milner’s last House Music.
Down sing Jersey Boys
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Quebec sing The Vamps
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HOUSE | MUSIC
Chartwell sing Legally Blonde Down sing Amnesia
Penshurst sing One Direction
The whole school serenades Mrs Milner with Eternal Flame
Montreal sing Matilda
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
Montreal rehearse Coldplay
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Down with 1st prize
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S TA F F N E W S | G O O D B Y E
Staff News STAFF V SIXTH FORM NETBALL In one of the most hotly anticipated netball matches of the season the U19A team took on a formidable rabble (team) from the Staff Room in their annual charity match.
There are only two umpires who can keep control of a fixture of this scale and so Miss Taylor was called out of retirement to support Mrs Cameron.
Despite entire team changes every quarter, strong support from the crowd, blatant cheating (including fielding a team of 13 players at times!) the Staff were no match for the Sixth Formers who soundly beat them with a definitive final score line of 13 - 7! Thank you to all players for a very entertaining and lively match and to the very vocal supporters who cheered their teams on so enthusiastically.
Goodbye and welcome In 2017 we said fond farewells to some very familiar faces and extended a warm welcome to some new ones.
GOODBYES Mrs Clare Howell, most recently a very part-time Piano VMT (Visiting Music Teacher), but in earlier times a Classics Teacher, leaves Wally Hall after over 30 years’ service. Thank you Clare and enjoy your retirement to the full. Mrs Denny Gaskell has taught Literacy Support for the past six years, we wish her well for a more relaxed future and say thank you on behalf of the many girls she has helped. Mrs Lonnie Christophers, one of our Drama teachers leaves with our best wishes after seven busy years teaching Trinity lessons and inspiring a love of Drama. Mr Robert Dilks is also retiring, having joined in 2007. None of us can quite imagine the Ship Theatre without Robert. Thank you. C O DA M AG A Z I N E 136
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One of our ICT Technicians, Mr Tom Stevens is moving on to life in the commercial sector. Tom has been here for five years, the last two as Senior Technician and we thank him for his contribution. All the best for the future Tom. Mr John Ward came to the Music Department in 2012, becoming full-time and then a tutor some two years later. You will all know what a superb musician and organist Mr Ward is, and the contribution his talents have made to extra-curricular as well as curricular Music. We wish him all the very best on his future path as an ABRSM examiner and hope he’ll stay in touch. Mr David Swann joined the Mathematics and ICT Departments in 2004. Quite soon I realised David had quite a range of skills to offer, and just a year later, he took over as Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator. Under his careful leadership, the Scheme grew and blossomed and we are most grateful to him. Then – a glutton for punishment perhaps – David agreed to lessen his teaching timetable to take on another onerous responsibility, as our Examinations Manager, working very effectively with Mr Buckingham in this important and taxing area. It is just as well that David is a man of stamina. Anyone who has seen Mr Swann playing Netball or Rounders knows this (frankly, he’s deadly on court) and that he is therefore likely to enjoy a long, lively and active retirement, and we all wish him a very happy one too. Thank you, David.
Amaya Pérez spent two academic years with us as our Spanish assistant – she enjoyed the first year so much she wasn’t ready to leave! Amaya returned to Spain with her fiancé Jorge, who had also been living and working here. They got married in Spain a few days after their return and she plans to continue teaching in Spain. Anaïs Radière spent one academic year working as our French assistant. At the end of the year she secured a job at the Science Museum in London and she also volunteers at the British Museum, so she is enjoying London life! Fiona Dallas was one of Wally’s biggest fans. She joined the School in January 1984 and remained here until her retirement 33 years later. She was employed initially as a member of the Domestic Staff and would have been familiar to the School’s Boarders as she lived in and was a very larger than life character! Latterly, she worked at the Junior School where she enjoyed her cleaning role especially the brasses which she would polish daily. Fiona had a wonderful retirement party in the dining hall just before she left which was attended by past and present staff including Mrs Milner and Mrs Lang, where she was presented with a copy of her portrait that now hangs in the staff dining room. She has settled into her new home in Nottinghamshire but does miss her old friends from Wally.
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S TA F F N E W S | W E L C O M E
WELCOME
Miss Katie Alcock BA Hons (Durham) Lacrosse Coach
Mrs Crystal Barnes MA (East London), BSc Hons (Anglia), PGCE (Greenwich), DipSpLD Literacy Support Teacher
Miss Caroline Bridge BSc Hons (Worcester), QTS (Bucks) PE
Mrs Olivia Cornes BA Hons (Bristol) Marketing Assistant
Mrs Clare Effingham MA Hons (Edinburgh), PGCE (King's College), PGDip, Dys & Lit (York) Literacy Support
Mlle Laurine Gollunski French Assistant
Miss Corinne Lesieur BA Hons, MA Hons (Amiens, Fr), PGCE (UWE) Modern Foreign Languages
Mr Andrew Miller BA Hons (Rose Bruford College), BSc Hons (Deakin University) Drama, Trinity Drama
Sta Marina Senero Sauras Spanish Assistant
Mr Jim Clements MusB Hons (Manchester) Music
Mrs Sabine Kรถster German Assistant
HELLO TO THE NEW YEAR 7s
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F R I E N D S A N D PA R E N T S
Friends and Parents Another busy year for FPWH… It is always wonderful to start off the academic year with a ‘sell out’ event! The much-loved Junior School Par ty never fails to sell out and the girls in Years 3 to 6 look forward to it with great anticipation. The girls in Year 3 are so thrilled finally to be able to attend the par ty and the girls in Year 6 really cannot believe that this is their last par ty. Dancing, games, hot dogs and face painting are the perfect recipe for a fun-filled par ty. This year glitter tattoos were introduced and immediately long queues formed. Everyone was sparkling beautifully by the end of the party! A Comedy Night took place in the Autumn Term. This was a new event for FPWH and proved to be very popular and a huge success. Four comedians kept the audience laughing all evening. Parents who were sitting at the front were the targets and some of them even ended up dancing on the stage as par t of the show! The comedians had got ready in the Geography Room. It was quite incredible, how in just a few minutes, one
comedian had put together an act just by being in there! He had the audience in fits of laughter about geography! Due to popular demand, another Comedy Night will definitely take place. The Spring Term saw the return, again by popular demand, of the Quiz Night, ‘Test ye Cunning Par t the Fifth’. The usual fish and chip supper was served. The competition was very fierce. The scores were so close that the winners were decided on who had built the tallest tower out of straws, playing cards and elastic bands. The winning team was the Teachers’ Table and they were delighted to have won as they only came second in the last quiz! The annual Christmas Fair is a wonderful star t to the festive season. In accordance with Wally tradition, the Reception girls become Santa’s elves and help Santa open the fair and walk to his beautiful grotto on the stage in the Main Hall at the Senior School. The Main Hall is a hive of activity and looks very festive with many outside stallholders and the FPWH Wreaths Stall. For many children, the first place they rush to is the Secrets Room where no adults are allowed and they can buy all their Christmas presents
and have them wrapped! In the Coffee Shop, the very popular waffles have their usual long queue and are well wor th waiting for. Due to the success of the first ‘Christmas Wreath Workshop’, FPWH ran this again and over 40 parents came along through the course of the day to make their own Christmas wreath. The Christmas Fair is very much enjoyed by everyone and a lot of hard work goes into it. Many, many thanks go to all those who worked so hard to make it such a success. Cowboy hats – including beautiful pink ones – were part of the dress code for the Barn Dance which took place at the Senior School in the Summer Term. A caller and a five piece band kept the dancers on their toes. Great fun was had by all. It was wonderful to see so many families very much enjoying themselves. A chilli was served which proved to be very popular indeed. With funds raised by FPWH, the Junior School is being provided with a new wooden ship for the girls to play on in the School grounds. The Senior School will receive another silver round bench, which will be situated outside the new Sixth Form Centre. The annual contribution to the Bursary Fund was also made. Many, many thanks go to everyone who comes along to our events, your suppor t is very much valued. A huge thank you also goes to those who help put on the events, all your hard work and efforts are very much appreciated. We look forward to welcoming you to next year’s events, please do come along and have some fun! Susanna Cullum Chair Friends and Parents of Walthamstow Hall
Quiz Night
Santa's elves
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PRIZE-GIVING
Prize-Giving 2017 YEAR 10 PRIZES FOR INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT ELLA AKHURST, EVA BENFORD, EMILY BRETZ, NANCY DENNIS, HANNAH KÖSTER, SOPHIE LEE-AMIES, ELEANOR LINGARD, VITA MILANA, ELIZABETH MILLER, EMILY TUTTON
JESSICA LEECH In Memoriam Miss Enrica Garnier Prize for Religious Studies CHIARA PARISOTTI Sixth Form Open Exhibition AMELIA PEPPER Sixth Form Open Exhibition
CERTIFICATES OF COMMENDATION
CHLOE RIDGE The Diana Burn Rosen Award
HARRIET ALCOCK, LUJAIN AL-MUSAFIR, CAITLIN BARRY, HEBE BOWER-MORRIS, ANNA BUTLER, ISABELLA CHILDS, EMMA DALTON, REBECCA FITZSIMONS, REBECCA GRANT, ZOE HIGGS, BETHANY HOOK, ALESSANDRA KAZI, HEATHER MACKENZIE, ELOISE McKEAN, REBECCA SMITH, OLIVIA STURGEON
LYDIA STURGESS W O G A Lantern Award for Art
YEAR 11 JEMIMA ANDREWS The Corson Prize for Textiles W O G A Lantern Award for Art ALEXANDRA BACHE The Rheinbach Award for Outstanding Achievement in German The Darwin Scholarship for Sciences EVIE BUTLER The W O G A Award for Science MICHELA CULLUM Sixth Form Open Exhibition FRANCESCA EAGLE The Katy Fox Prize for Achievement in Creative Writing ISABELLA FITZSIMONS The Amstell Prize NAOMI FREEDMAN The Erasmus Scholarship for Languages and Humanities SCARLETT GOFFIN Sixth Form Open Exhibition
BEATRICE HARRISON The Ian Philip Prize for Three Dimensional Design HOLLY KEELING The Darwin Exhibition for Sciences
PRIZES FOR INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT: SOPHIE ATKINSON, ANNIE BLUNDELL, ELEANOR BUSVINE, KATE BUTLER, CHARLOTTE COLLINI, HANNAH CROFTS, ESTELLA DURNFORD, ANNA GUTIERREZ-GARCIA, SOPHIA HORNSBY, KATE PULLEN, ALICE RAPLEY, GEORGIA RAWLINS, RACHEL VAN DEN BERG, ELLA WALLACE
CERTIFICATES OF COMMENDATION: KATHERINE AITCHISON, GENEVIEVE ALLAN, SIOBHÁN AZZOPARDI, ANNA BROWN, GRACE DEAN, POPPY GOLDSWORTHY, AGNES GOODSON, KATHRYN HEADINGTON, ERIN HUGHES, ALEXANDRA JUDD, EMILY KENDON, JEMMA MANUEL, STEPHANIE MULLIN-HENDERSON, ISABELLA PHILLIPS, EMILY PITTS-TUCKER, EVANGELINE REDMAN, INDIA-ROSE SLACK, OLIVIA SURGUY, LUCINDA SWAIN, ISABEL WARREN, ROSIE WRIGHT EMILY JANE EASTON The Foulger Award for Service to the School CHARLOTTE ROBERTSON Prize for Individual Achievement The Warham Award for Service to the Community
SOPHIE ALCOCK The Sister Dora Whitby Prize for Classical Civilisation Prize for Advanced Level Studies The Sylvia McCrann Award for Lacrosse JESSICA BACHE The Salmon Prize for Geography Prize for Diligence The Sir Geraint Evans Award for Service to Music AMELIA BALL Prize for Diligence The Friends & Parents’ Award for Service to the School NANCY BRAZEL In Memoriam Christina Vokins Prize for Three Dimensional Design The Kate Unwin Prize for Computing KRISTINA CANDY Prize for Diligence The Aylward Award for Service to PE ELIZABETH DREKSLER Prize for Diligence EMILY GOLDSWORTHY Prize for Diligence Award for Service to the School ZAHRA GRAY The Emmeline Blackburn Prize for Economics The E L Ramsay Prize for French HOLLY HAWORTH In Memoriam George Borwick Prize for Physics Prize for Advanced Level Studies Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sport LUCIE HOBBS Prize for Diligence YASMIN HORTON-PIZZEY Prize for Diligence CHARLOTTE HOWARD Prize for Diligence ANJA HUDDART In Memoriam Christina Vokins Prize for Textiles Prize for Diligence ANNABEL JACKSON The Emma Ford Award for Service to Drama Award for Service to the School
C O DA M AG A Z I N E
JOSEPHINE HAMON The W A T Green Award
YEAR 12
YEAR 13
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PRIZE-GIVING
Prize-Giving continued... EMILY JAMES The L C Sennitt Prize for History The John Downton Prize for Music
OLIVIA McANALLEN The Krish Prize for English The Unwin Memorial Prize for Politics
SUZANNAH WILLIAMS The Miss Cheetham Award for Service to the School
ISOBEL JONES Prize for Diligence
HANNAH NEICHO Prize for Advanced Level Studies
ISABELLA WOODS Prize for Diligence
EMILY KENNY The Barbara Taylor Award for Netball
ANNABEL PENNINGTON-DAVIES Prize for Diligence
SOPHIE KHALEEQUE The E L Ramsay Prize for Spanish Prize for Advanced Level Studies Award for Service to the School
HARRIET REED In Memoriam George Borwick Prize for Biology The Mulberry Prize for Mathematics The Elisabeth Woosey Award for Grace and Endeavour
OLIVIA WYATT The Joseph Michael Woosey Award for Sporting Endeavour
JOVITA KOBLER The Pye-Smith Prize for Chemistry Prize for Advanced Level Studies RACHEL LIVINGSTONE Prize for Advanced Level Studies ALICE LUPTON The Crawley Award for Contribution to Musical Theatre Prize for Diligence PAIGE MANCHIP The Elwes Prize for Drama ISABEL MARTYN The Treasury of the Kingdom Prize for Philosophy and Religious Studies Prize for Diligence
KATIE SAUNDERS In Memoriam Christina Vokins Prize for Fine Art Prize for Advanced Level Studies CHARLOTTE SAWYER Prize for Diligence The Laura Davis Award ABIGAIL TUTTON The A W D James Award for Service to the School
LYDIA CHALONER Prize for Diligence The B M S World Citizen Award Chair of Governors’ Award to the Deputy Head Girl BEATRICE CARPENTER The Davies Prize for Mathematics Prize for Advanced Level Studies Chair of Governors’ Award to the Deputy Head Girl JOSIE DE KOCK Award for Service to the School given by the Old Girls Chair of Governors’ Award to the Head Girl
MEGAN WEBSTER Prize for Diligence EMMA WHITLOCK Prize for Diligence
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Dr Josie Meade (Speaker), Mrs Milner, Josie De Kock, Beatrice Carpenter, Lydia Chaloner
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Y E A R 1 3 | M E M O R I E S O F W A L LY H A L L
Year 13 Memories of Wally Hall I joined Wally in Year 7 at 4ft10 and I’m leaving seven years later at a solid 5ft6. The last seven years have been full of so many fun memories which I’ll keep for life. In a strange way I’m going to miss having paper balls thrown at my head by Mr Castell in every single A Level music lesson and I’m definitely going to miss all the fun I’ve had at events like Wally Pop. A particular highlight was dramatically dancing to every number backstage and only realising at the end of the night that half of the audience could see us and many of them had chosen to watch our little show instead of the main event. At Wally I discovered the benefits of being small as during my first few years I could easily fit into our lockers which was very useful when hiding from teachers looking for homework. One thing I know I won’t miss are the old red summer cardigans which vaguely resembled wool bin bags that the current years can be thankful that they will never have to experience. I joined Year 7 as a painfully shy 11 year old and I’m leaving as a much more confident 18 year old and I know that without my time at Wally I wouldn’t be who I am today. Emily James
My favourite trip at Wally has to be the Yorkshire trip for A Level Geography when Miss Burtenshaw enlightened us with a fantastic way of remembering the sequence of coastal erosion. This involved a tribal-looking dance and loud chanting: Cove, cave, arch, stack, stump. I also enjoyed our last ever GCSE English lesson with Miss Mehaffey where we all brought in a variety of snacks including the famous party rings and played lots of games, I mean lots of revision for the exam! Lucie Hobbs I have truly loved every minute of my time at Wally. I have had so many amazing opportunities thrown at me and I have always tried my best to embrace and enjoy them as much as possible. I will always remember my first day in Year 7. On that day, dressed in the famous Wally uniform, consisting of my oversized black blazer, pleated skirt below my knees and my extremely shiny shoes, I caught the bus by myself for the first time ever and I arrived knowing no one. It was fair to say that I felt beyond nervous and very lost. However, as soon as I got to the gates, I was greeted by the Prefect team at the time and I felt instantly calmed. The day just
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Since starting Wally, I have had my fair share of memorable memories. One of these is during Year 12 in AS English. I was overjoyed to have my favourite two English teachers that year, Miss Mehaffey and Ms Knight. Throughout the first term, my friends and I noticed that Ms Knight and I seemed to be co-ordinating outfits unintentionally on a regular basis. However, it became more and more apparent that there was more than just co-ordination; instead, we both seemed to be turning up in almost identical garments. It was on the Wednesday before the Christmas holidays, that our small class of 10 trekked up the EBH path to the Salmon Wing, only to find Ms Knight wearing black trousers, a stripy top, black blazer and brogues – the exact same as me! We were so identical, even the width of our stripes matched. From then on, Ms Knight and I decided that we were the trend setters of the school!
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A hug from Jill at the Leavers' Ceremony, July 2017
got better and better, I made some of my closest friends, I met my form tutor Miss Burtenshaw, who displayed her apparent love for the colour pink that day by matching her lipstick to her hot pink dress, and most importantly, I began to find my Wally feet.
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"Our Ship has Sailed" As a textile student, I have spent a lot of time in the Art Department. Nevertheless, I could always guarantee that there would always be something to laugh about. This was mainly because Mrs Solan and Mrs Brown, my textile teachers, were up there. With the help of Mrs Hughes, they never failed to make the department such a fun, creative and enjoyable place to be, and it will always remain my favourite place at Wally for that reason. I will miss chocolate Fridays with Mrs Brown, whereby Kristina, Anja, Mrs Brown and I take turns in bringing chocolate to make Friday afternoons just that little bit better. I will especially miss Mrs Solan’s stories and adventures. One of my favourites being when she convinced Anja to draw an apple tree branch for her project. The three of us were sitting in the lesson, when Mrs Solan wacked out this apple tree branch from under her desk, and said “Anja, I found a small tree for you”! This left us all in hysterics, especially after we found out how Mrs Solan managed to sneakily obtain the branch and then proceeded to parade it around the department. Lastly, I have very fond memories of the times I have shared with Mrs Milner. I will remember Mrs Milner dancing at the Leavers’ Ball and surprising everyone by knowing all of the lyrics to ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’, writing me an 18th birthday card, and buying Josie, Bea and I tins of our favourite biscuits as a revision booster.
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Mrs Milner, and all of my teachers, have made the last seven years at Wally extremely special for me, and I am very grateful to each of them for helping me to become the mature, kind and disciplined person I am today. Lydia Chaloner
I joined Wally in Year 7 having moved from a different country and without knowing anyone, I remember feeling really intimidated on my first day especially seeing as the bus was late and there was no one there to meet me. However, everyone was so friendly and kind and I quickly made friends and ones who I genuinely feel will last me a lifetime.
but you did not want to make her angry. All of us have had at least one breakdown in her lessons, as she would brutally tear through our sketchbooks before giving us a plan, telling us how to improve and to bring our work up. Through all of the happiness and the tears I am still amazed with the amount and quality of work that I have produced over these last years.
One of my favourite memories was when we used to play indoor rounders in Year 7 with our form using leftover shortbread and a ruler. I will never forget all the amazing opportunities I have had at Wally like Strictly Wally and Wally Pop. I remember so clearly the feeling of dread at Christmas time when it was announced we had an extra hymn rehearsal but that soon turned to delight as it turned out it was actually the pantomime put on by the Sixth Formers including a set, costumes videos and male teachers in dresses and wigs. It was so amazing to be able to give back and do our own pantomime this year and to know we gave the year 7s the same experience I had 7 years previously. In all Wally has given me memories I will never forget and will no doubt be sharing for many years to come.
Elizabeth Dreksler
Yasmin Horton-Pizzey Mrs Mulcahy will always be my most memorable teacher. She is notorious for filling the 3D design room with unique and miscellaneous objects; I particularly recall her chicken and emu legs. She would hide them in the classroom drawers and in students’ bags, just waiting for the chaos to ensue. The reactions were perfect - hilarious each time. But besides this and her love for stuffed animals, she was invigorating; a motivator forcing students to push themselves and improve the work they produce. She was a happiness booster
When I came to this school, I knew no one and was extremely shy. Even though I can still be quite quiet, being at Wally and around so many friendly people has massively contributed to my growing confidence. Some of my favourite memories are: • Watching Wild Child every year before House Music or on school trips and having Miss Burtenshaw point out every scene she was in • Megan Roberts accidentally setting fire to the gas tap in Chemistry (anything involving Megan and Chemistry to be honest) • In Year 8 Maths, someone went to the toilet and the teacher forwarded the clock by about 30 minutes and then asked ‘where have you been?’ • Our Year 7 assembly, in which we sang a song about friendship to the music from ‘The Lazy Song’ Megan Webster
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Sophie Alcock Jessica Bache Maisie Boulton Nancy Brazel Kristina Candy Beatrice Carpenter Lydia Chaloner Josie de Kock Elisabeth Dreksler Alexandra Edwards Elena Funnell Emily Goldsworthy Zahra Gray Liberty Green Holly Haworth Yasmin Horton-Pizzey Charlotte Howard Annabel Jackson Emily James Emily Kenny Sophie Khaleeque Alexandra Lawrence Rachel Livingstone Alice Lupton Paige Manchip Isabel Martyn Olivia McAnallen Hannah Neicho Annabel Pennington-Davies Gabrielle Phythian Harriet Reed Eleanor Reynolds Megan Roberts Charlotte Sawyer Ivonne Shoobridge Merryn Smith Emily Swindin Abigail Tutton Megan Webster Emma Whitlock Suzannah Williams Isabella Woods Olivia Wyatt
Combined Honours in Social Sciences Geography Fashion Marketing and Branding Fine Art Fashion Design and Technology Natural Sciences Biomedical Science Psychology Product Design Engineering Modern Languages Education Studies (English Studies) Rural Land Management International Relations Gap year and International Development Mathematical Physics Nursing Studies Geography Civil Engineering History Gap year and reapplying Modern Languages Geography Architecture English Literature and Theatre Studies Sociology Biology English Literature Gap year and Biology Gap year and Business Archaeology and Ancient Civilisations Medicine Geography Theatre: writing, directing and performance Journalism, Communication and Politics Human Biology Gap year and reapplying International Business Psychology Astrophysics Mathematics Architecture Business Administration Finance
Durham University Leeds University Nottingham Trent University Loughborough University Manchester Metropolitan Uni Cambridge University King’s College London Cardiff University Loughborough University Birmingham University Durham University RAU (Cirencester) Durham University Leeds University Edinburgh University King’s College London Liverpool University Exeter University Cambridge
Non UK Universities Olivia Hall Jovita Kobler
Economics Biomedicine
Utrecht University Zurich University
L E A V E R D E S T I N AT I O N S 2 0 1 7
Leaver Destinations 2017
Exeter University Sheffield Hallam University Cardiff University Leeds University Exeter University Southampton University Edinburgh University
Durham University Cardiff University Exeter University York University Cardiff University Loughborough University Loughborough University Warwick University University College London Leeds University Loughborough University Bath University Swansea University
ART FOUNDATION Camberwell Camberwell Camberwell Epsom University for the Creative Arts
WORK Lucie Hobbs Isobel Jones
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Employment Higher Apprenticeship, Deloitte
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Amelia Ball Anja Huddart Katie Saunders Misha Nikkah
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Walthamstow Hall Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3UL Tel: 01732 451 334 www.walthamstow-hall.co.uk A70981 Walthamstow Hall Coda 2017_AW.indd 144
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