Cobham Hall News

Monday, 20th February |Week A Kindness, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Tolerance News

Round Square Exchange

What has been most memorable?

Anna: “I liked all the boarding trips; the Housemistresses are so nice. We visited the Tower of London, which was really cool.”

Macarena: “Bowling was my favourite, that was fun.”

What is the main difference between Cobham and your School?

Macarena: “You have to walk a lot to get to the lessons as this School is so big. The main difference is the weather though. I come from a desert, so I wasn’t prepared for it to be this cold. I didn’t even bring a coat.”

Anna: “I come from a co-educational school, so it’s different that there are only girls here. It is a lot smaller here than at my school too, which I like. It’s great how the teachers can help students individually.”

This term, we have welcomed Round Square students Anna, Year 10, Macarena, Year 10, and Ines, Year 12, into our School. They have been involved in lessons, various exciting Boarding activities, and have become truly immersed in life at Cobham Hall. Sadly, their visit has now come to an end, and they will be returning home at the end of the week. It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome such lovely students into our community.

We asked our two Bligh House boarders, Anna, from Canada, and Macarena, from Peru, to sit down with us so we could find out a bit more about their experience here

What were your first impressions of Cobham?

Anna: “The building is really cool. It’s really different to the School I go to; the timetable is different as we finish at a different time here and doing GCSEs is completely new to me.”

“It’s really welcoming, everyone here is so nice.”

Macarena: “I thought the building was amazing, when I first got here, I thought “Oh my God – Harry Potter!” The School grounds are really big, and different parts of the School are really different to each other; the main building is very historical and old, but T-Block is completely different.”

“There are students from a lot of different places, there is so much diversity.”

What helped you settle in?

Anna: “We are roommates so being new together has really helped to figure out everything.”

Macarena: “The teachers are really welcoming.”

Anna: “The teachers are so helpful.”

Macarena: “The small classes make it so much easier for the teachers to help you, they can answer questions really quickly. Back home I sometimes have my hand up for a whole lesson before the teacher can help me.”

What was your favourite part?

Anna: “The whole thing has been great.”

Macarena: “We’ve made really great friends, who I will miss.”

Anna: “There’s so much diversity.”

Macarena: “I love how everyone knows each other, there’s a lot of interaction between different year groups and everyone is so friendly.”

“People remember your name here.”

We later caught up with Sixth Former Ines, also from Peru, and she shared with us her impressions of Cobham Hall. (See following page)

Monday, 20th February |Week A Kindness, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Tolerance News

What did you think when you first got here?

“I thought the School looked like a castle. I’ve seen pictures of the building, but I didn’t expect it to be as beautiful as it was in real life.”

“The people were really nice. I hadn’t heard a lot of good things about boarding schools, so I was pleasantly surprised when everyone was so nice and accommodating.”

What helped you to settle in?

“The first two days were really hard without my parents, but everyone was so warm and welcoming. All the other students and the Housemistress definitely helped me to feel settled.”

What’s different about Cobham to what you’re used to?

“Boarding is different because we don’t have it at my school. I really like it because you get to see all your friends all the time, and we are like a family. We don’t have our parents here; we have each other and that brings you closer.”

An Interview with George

In January, we welcomed George, Year 12, into our School. George’s arrival marked an exciting new phase for Cobham Hall as he became the first boy in our newly co-educational Sixth Form. We sat down with George to ask about the personal challenge of starting a new school, of making Cobham history, and about his experience so far:

What have you enjoyed the most?

“Meeting new people. It is so great seeing where everyone is from and learning about different cultures.”

“Although the School isn’t in London, there is really easy access to London. It’s such a beautiful city, so every week my friends and I have gone there to explore, which I really enjoyed.”

We would like to wish Anna, Macarena and Ines the very best in the rest of their studies and say thank you to them for choosing to stay at Cobham Hall. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your time here and we hope you stay in touch.

If you would like to share your story in the Newsletter, please contact Miss Bilal or Mrs Ward Vine.

For more, see our News Article here: https://www.cobhamhall.com/2023/02/10/roundsquare-exchange/

What are your first impressions?

“Everyone has been really welcoming. They are just genuinely nice people. I was studying different subjects in my old school and the teachers have been really helpful and understanding with my subject changes.”

Has starting new subjects been difficult?

“A little bit, but I played sports already, so starting P.E. was quite an easy transition. I’m glad I chose it.”

How has it been, being the first boy in Sixth Form?

“It was a bit weird at the start, but I realised after a little while that it’s not a big deal. I feel settled now and everyone has been welcoming.”

What made you decide to join?

“I was really impressed by the small class sizes and the place is just incredible. The building and the scenery are like nothing else. As soon as I came here, I knew this would be a good choice.”

What’s the best part?

“The School has provided just what I needed at this point in my education.”

Check out our News Article here: https://www.cobhamhall.com/2023/02/10/an-interviewwith-george/

Valentine’s Hearts

In a Valentine’s Day-themed GCSE P.E. lesson, Year 10 students were tasked with creating heart diagrams using gym equipment.

Here are the best ones:

Holly K, Holly E, Anna A and Lamees Winners of the most accurate description of the pathway of blood through the heart

Cobham Hall News

Monday, 20th February |Week A News

Alannah, Liz, Anna and Crystal Winners of the most accurate visual representation of the heart

Olivia G, Freya, Ishika and Eliza Winners of the most theatrical performance describing the heart.

Cobham Hall News

Monday, 20th February |Week A Kindness,

Trust, Respect, Honesty, Tolerance

Charity Events

Turkey-Syria Earthquake

News

Following the devastating earthquakes that affected Turkey and Syria on Monday morning, Cobham Hall held a Non-Uniform Day on Friday as part of a Mill Hill School Foundation-wide drive to help raise funds for the children impacted by the disaster. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by this tragedy. If you would like to donate, please follow this link to our JustGiving page, or scan the QR code below.

Skipping for Cancer Research UK

Miss West has picked up a skipping rope and has been taking on 100 skips a day in February to help raise money for Cancer Research UK. If you would like to show your support, you can donate to her page here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/julias-skipping-challenge-giving-page-110

Running for Prostate Cancer UK

Congratulations to Mr Kipling for hitting over £1,000 in donations for Prostate Cancer UK. This is such a fantastic outcome, and these donations will make a huge difference to this important charity.

If you would like to contribute, you can donate here:

His Late Majesty King Constantine

All at Cobham Hall were greatly saddened to hear, last month, of the death of His Majesty King Constantine of Greece. As Round Square’s Patron and President of the Board, His Majesty was an unparalleled champion of the organisation’s ideals and work. He was present at its birth in the 1960s and attended almost every Round Square conference over a period of 50 years.

He was also a friend to Cobham Hall, visiting a number of times, including in 1991, pictured below, when he was Guest of Honour at the School’s Festival Day and presented prizes to our students.

Tracey Balch, Cobham Hall Elder and Chair of the Cobham Hall Elders' Association worked closely with His Majesty King Constantine on the Round Square governing board and counted him among her friends. She recalls how passionate he was about the Round Square ethos; about giving students the opportunity to blossom, to see things differently and to meet with others from across the world.

Along with five other representatives of Round Square, Tracey was honoured to be invited to attend His Majesty’s funeral. “It was a great privilege to be there,” she says, “to say my farewells and to be part of Greek history.”

To read more from Tracey and to see the messages of condolences left by our Elders, please follow this link to our News Article: https://www.cobhamhall.com/2023/02/10/his-majesty-king-constantine-of-greece/