Celebrating 100 Years

Throughout 2022 we have celebrated the centenary of the School’s move to its campus in Cold Ash. Our Archivist, Mrs Jane Caiger-Smith, shares here a little of the history of that move, which cemented the foundations of all that our School has become since that time.

In the early 1920s, an increase in the number of pupils and staff at the School and the pressure to develop the area around the village of Downe in Kent, meant that the School’s Founder, Miss Olive Willis, sought a new home for her School. Whilst visiting a friend in Berkshire, Olive and her sister Dorothy came across the sale particulars for The Cloisters Estate. Olive was clear that she wanted a place on a hill, with relatively easy access to London and enough land to offer some real countryside for the community to enjoy and on their first visit, they realised that they had found their new home.

Miss Nickel set about making the necessary changes to the layout of the buildings with the help of local craftsmen, and the final move was made after the close of the Lent term in 1922. Furniture, books, kitchen equipment, linen, blankets and other belongings were transported over, by road or the railway. The buildings put up by the School in Kent had to be removed, under the terms of the lease, so they were taken down and all materials were moved to Cold Ash. There are even reports of steam engines being used to get everything from Hermitage Station up Red Shute Hill to the school.

For a short time, some girls slept outside on camp beds as not all dormitories were finished. A balmy start to the Summer term and a supply of exceptionally comfortable wood and canvas camp beds made this a great pleasure and the tradition of sleeping outside as a treat on warm nights, under the cover of the cloisters, has continued over the years.

In the late 1970s, a house system was introduced, and the House names were chosen to reflect aspects of the School’s history. Darwin house was of course named after Charles Darwin, Hill house after Red Shute Hill and Hermitage house after the village in which the School now resides. Miss Willis had a small cottage in the Quantock Hills named Holcombe, and that cottage sits on the edge of the village of Aisholt. Ancren Gate took the name from the original Cloisters Estate, The School of Silence, a religious order founded in the early 1900s by Adela Curtis and Lily Davison Cancellor. ‘Ancren’ coming from the term Anchorite or Anchoress, is one who withdraws from the world for a solitary life of prayer. Ancren Gate was built in 1914 as part of the School of Silence, when Downe House moved to Cold Ash, the building was used for staff accommodation and after a time it became a boarding house for the older pupils. As the School enrolment increased, in 1992 Ancren Gate was split into two houses, Ancren Gate North (AGN) and Ancren Gate South (AGS). Tedworth house takes its name from Tedworth Square in London, where Miss Willis spent the last part of her life and York house, one of our Sixth Form houses, was named after York Terrace, near Regent’s Park, where Olive made her first London home. The other Sixth Form house, Willis, was of course named in honour of the School’s Founder, Olive Willis.

The Cold Ash site has developed over the years, but Miss Willis’ founding principles remain, Downe House is a strong community where each member is respected and valued for their individuality, and where the needs of girls and young women are at the heart of education. Despite considerable changes throughout the years and development of the site, returning alumnae and former staff find the same DNA and core principles remain the same to this day.

100Years in Cold Ash

1922–2022

What an eventful year! From Winter Wonderland to a trip to Bournemouth, so much has gone on during this academic year and we cannot believe it is already the end of the Summer term. There have been so many activities and trips that we will never forget. In December, a Winter Wonderland came to Downe, and we were able to try ice skating and bumper cars and enjoyed crepes and doughnuts. The outdoor cinema was also really spectacular, with a massive cinema screen, comfortable blankets, delicious food and little bags of sweets. Our trip to Bournemouth was our favourite event this year! With the sun shining it was just the right weather for a day at the seaside. We dipped our toes in the sea, ate at Harry Ramsdens and had the best fish and chips. Afterwards, we went on a zip line over the sea, which was just so much fun. We ate Mr. Whippy’s in the sunshine before we went to do some rock climbing. The walls were so high and we felt so accomplished when we finally got to the top. After all of that we were all shattered but it really was an amazing day at the seaside.

Aleksandra Cork and Margaret Tam (LIV)

One of the best things when I arrived was that everyone was new together and so we were able to support each other. When I first arrived at Downe House, I was quite nervous because I came from a very small primary school where everyone knew everyone else, and I had never had the experience of moving to a new place and having to learn my way around and make new friends. Also, the Housestaff were there for us through everything and if we were ever feeling homesick then they would help. At night if we can’t get to sleep then we can ring on their doorbells and they can give us iPods to listen to stories on or will sit with us and do some mindfulness colouring to help us calm down. It was quite easy to make friends as everyone was so welcoming and nice but it took me longer to remember where all my classrooms were! The dorms are warm and cosy and you can decorate your section of the dorm. There are three other girls in the dorm so you form close bonds very quickly. At the beginning, the prospect of a new school was daunting, but Downe has become a second home to me.

Alexia Walker (Remove)

The Lower School production this year was The Lion King. The auditions were fun because for most of us it was our first time doing a proper audition.

Everyone was quite nervous, but the teachers were very supportive and helped us to prepare and made sure that everyone who auditioned got a part. I thought this was nice because it encouraged us all to take part in drama and learn more about the process of putting on a production. If you don’t want to go on stage but still want to be involved then you can volunteer to work backstage, where you help to make the props and scenery. There were a lot of rehearsals as we had to learn and practice acting, singing and dancing, and as we got closer to the final performance, we had some very long rehearsal days! These long rehearsals were a good chance to see the whole play from start to finish and the time in between scenes you can be trying on costumes or practising a different part of the play in another room. At Founder’s Weekend, we performed the play in the Performing Arts Centre and was an amazing success!

Amelie Perceval (Remove)

In Hill House, we do lots of different activities. For example, on one Saturday when we did not have any fixtures, we had the great opportunity of making resin jewellery. We went into the woods and picked beautiful spring flowers to place inside the resin. We also sometimes enjoyed tie-dye outside and created great t-shirts. One of my other favourite activities has been cooking with Mrs Usmar, who sometimes came to Hill and helped us to make some amazing meals! We often make chicken chow mein or egg fried rice; they are so much fun to make! All the activities we do are always a great experience and really stretch my creativity.

Mia

My time in Lower School has been so much fun, even though there have been some challenges like joining the School in the middle of a global pandemic and preparing for our first ever set of exams. But being surrounded by other girls all going through the same thing has been great and only made our friendships stronger! I am excited to move on from the Lower School, but I will miss the trust between the Housestaff, my friends, the Remove girls, House Seniors and evening staff. Spending two years with the same people means you get to learn a lot about each other and grow strong bonds. It has helped to build my communication skills, and that is definitely something that I feel has prepared me for Upper School. Apart from anything else, the thing I’m going to miss the most of all is the ‘Hillians’ all being together.

Louisa Burges Watson (LIV)

In September, at the start of the Michaelmas term, we were all a bit nervous and unsure of what lay ahead, particularly after a long summer holiday and many of us having not boarded before. This was soon to change as on arrival to Hermitage House we were greeted by our Housestaff Mrs Collingwood, Miss Davies and Miss Daddy. They were so friendly and made sure we were all occupied and having fun! Throughout the first week we got to meet all our lovely evening staff, who together helped make Hermitage as warm and cosy as possible, so we all felt welcome and able to have the best time with all our new friends. Each Remove is given a Lower Fourth buddy, someone who has been in the same boat as us, which meant they could answer any questions we had and act as a big sister figure. Within the first week of term, we had already baked cupcakes, decorated heart trinket pots and had a fun movie night in the common room. It immediately felt like a home-awayfrom-home.

In House, there are so many fun activities on each night across the week. On Tuesdays, we often do crafts or a wellbeing activity, such as yoga or decorating lots of fun things such as flowerpots, postcards, pillows and piggy banks. On Wednesdays, we have ‘Movie and Tuck Night’ which everybody enjoys! Personally, Fridays are one of the best evenings because we get to cook with Mrs Hamisi (who is one of our evening Housestaff). We made cupcakes, cinnamon swirls, cookies, cheese sticks, milkshakes, chicken noodle soup and loads more delicious things.

At Downe House it is really easy to get involved within the wider School community. Firstly, as part of our allocated Upper School House we get the chance to join in with whole school competitions such as House Drama, Dance, Sport, Music and Gymnastics. These are a great way to meet the older girls and engage in some friendly competition. In the evenings we can also sign up to co-curricular activities, this year many of us have enjoyed silver jewellery club, ballet and cookery club which were all really good fun. Many of us took part in the production of The Lion King that was performed at Founder’s Weekend. We also had a great time at our end of year residential trip to the Calshot Activity Centre near Southampton, which was a lovely way to round off our first year at Downe together.

Furthermore, at the weekends there are so many fun trips to keep us all entertained. For example, we went to Harry Potter World at the start of the Summer term where we looked behind the scenes and at all the amazing props, sets and costumes that were used which was a magical experience. One weekend, we went pottery painting and shopping in Newbury which was very relaxing, and we are so lucky to have Newbury as our closest town. On the first weekend back from our Michaelmas Long Exeat, we had an especially good time with a trip to Coral Reef Water World followed bybonfire night in the evening, which was such a treat as we were able to toast marshmallows around a fire pit with our friends from the other Lower School houses.

There have been so many occasions that have made our first year at Downe House memorable. As we move into Lower Fourth, we can’t wait to share our experiences with the new Remove girls and to make their first year as welcoming as ours was. The Remove year has been more than we expected, and we look forward to September with the new adventures and challenges that lie ahead.

Mia Olsen, Anna Dawson Paul & Araminta Winkworth (Remove)

When we first arrived at Downe House, we were a little nervous about what lay ahead - everyone was new! On our first night in Darwin, we were all chatting in our dorms before ‘lights out’ and before we knew it our first night passed and it wasn’t as overwhelming as we thought it would be.

During the start of the term some of our House felt homesick, some more than others, but no matter what, the Housestaff went out of their way to make us feel welcome and at homeand being around our new friends was also a big help.

As we got further into the term, we felt more relaxed and became familiar with our routine. In Remove, there is something called FOG (feet off ground) where we can stay in our dorm and play a board game or maybe write a letter to our parents. Just after FOG is silent reading for Remove and LIV, which is a nice time to relax before ‘lights out’.

Some elements of life at Downe were affected because of the ongoing pandemic, however our teachers and Housestaff were always there to reassure us and make us laugh.

Weekends have often been quite busy, from sports matches all the way to pizza and film nights! Usually, we have a match on a Saturday, whether it’s a lax match or a cricket match; there is always something to keep you busy. There is some time to relax, see your friends from other Houses and go out and enjoy the fresh air. However, our Housestaff always make sure that we have a good rest at the end of the day, which sometimes includes a fun treat like pamper night! We then normally have a trip either on or off-site on Sundays. Some of our favourite places were Cadbury World, the Harry Potter Studios, shopping trips, escape rooms and so much more.

There are a lot of House activities during the week, such as something crafty or arty and during the warm weather we love to play Swing ball!

We also had some fun House events like Dorm Dance and Dorm Drama, where each dorm had to prepare a dance routine or drama performance and perform it to the rest of the House. We loved watching them all and it was really fun and entertaining for everyone. Other activities we enjoyed this year were our charity events, such as charity film night and charity house bingo.

In the Summer term, both the Remove and LIV went on a residential trip. The Remove went to Calshot and we loved the activities there - including climbing, kayaking, sailing, aero track, ringos, velodrome and many more. It was a great experience and a fun way to end the year!

March 2022 marked the first time that Downe House pupils were able to spend time at the Château de Sauveterre. Not only have the pupils had the opportunity to travel again, but they experienced life in the wonderful Gers region of France. Rich in many cultural delights, including foie gras, duck, local markets and many Gascon traditions, but most importantly, the Gers is known for its relaxed pace of life and its proximity to the beautiful Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea and the ocean. At School, we strike the perfect balance between ensuring academic rigour and reaping the benefit of our surroundings. The proximity to such fantastic locations means that the pupils can experience the very best excursions, no matter the term they spend here. In addition to all the wonderful excursions the girls go on, we are very fortunate to have a 9-hectare site which provides many activities right on our doorstep.

Since first welcoming girls to the Château in March, they have helped our eco initiative by rejuvenating our orchard and aiding the construction of our permacultures. Through their efforts, we have already enjoyed home grown salads in the comforting knowledge that we are working hard to become more sustainable. The next step in our journey is to establish a garden kitchen from September, to make fruit tarts and jams using produce from the garden.

The highlight for many of the girls has been our trips to the mountains: we were delighted to catch the end of the skiing season with our first group of LIV pupils and as such made the most of a day trip to Peyragudes. We split into three groups and spent the afternoon exploring the slopes and resort. With the second group, we were equally pleased to spend time looking at the snow-capped mountains from the comfort of a relaxing spa at the foot of the mountains. It was difficult to decide which baths were the best, but the Japanese baths were certainly a real hit as they were 35, 38 and 40 degrees with gorgeous panoramic views.

Our excursions, however, were not limited to trips to the glorious mountains; we also visited Toulouse and Auch, our two closest cities, where the girls were able to find out about the local culture and to speak to the locals about their likes, dislikes, and frankly, everything in between. The questionnaires the girls produced were anything but ordinary and made for some interesting conversations.

Being so close to Toulouse, we visited the Cité de L’espace which certainly tested our understanding of astronomy, but it was fun and educational, which must be the best combination! Our excursions also took us to museums and local markets, with arguably the best game being the search for Mr Stacchini’s ‘wow item’. Markets in this region remain traditional and there is a real focus on local, organic produce, which compliments our efforts in the Château garden perfectly.

In addition to our immersive lessons which include designated culture lessons, alongside French Language, History, Geography, Maths, English and Journal lessons, the pupils loved our weekend Art and Photography workshops. They were able to explore new techniques and produced beautiful results. They relished the freedom they had to learn new techniques, to work with their friends and to use the Château buildings and grounds to create beautiful images. What we do here and what makes Downe House Sauveterre so unique is that we integrate the skills needed to succeed in the Downe House curriculum, with the language required to successfully take part in the excursions on offer here and beyond, with an immersive, culturally enriching and exciting French experience. We do this because we all love watching the difference it makes to a pupil, the joy it brings and memories they make as a result. It has been wonderful being able to welcome the girls to the château, to watch them grow and to be able to share this experience with them. A big thank you to them for making our first year such a memorable and successful one.

Madame Ponchant, Directrice de Sauveterre

It has been a wonderful year for Tedworth, full of change, excitement, challenges and successes. It was a delight to welcome everybody back to House as everything returned to normal. The support of our Seniors, Georgia Biggs, Airlie Fleming and Eleanor Gibbs (UVI) was invaluable in rallying House spirit and making a success of our inter-House competition entries. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Miss Brown as the new Housemistress of Tedworth: she has taken the helm with enthusiasm and compassion, guiding us seamlessly through the year!

The Michaelmas term began with an action-packed House bonding trip to Beaulieu for some outdoor activities. Everyone had a great time canoeing and paint-balling and the time spent getting to know one another really stood us in excellent stead for the year to come.

Our first school-wide event of the year was the annual House Drama competition. Everybody participated with gusto and produced a brilliant performance based around the music of Amy Winehouse. Amabel Baring missed out on the Best Actress award for her role as Valerie, but we were honoured that our very own Hannah Hurd received the prize for Best Supporting Actress and we walked away with awards for House Spirit and Best Script courtesy of Konstanza Haefner, who worked incredibly hard to create a piece that was both moving and hilariously entertaining.

The House Gymnastics and House Dance competitions were combined this year and our Tedworthians continued to do us proud. The level of competition was very high indeed and all our dancers and gymnasts held their own beautifully. Tedworth’s group dance, Events that Changed the World, was based on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Agnes Rose and Verena Whitbread (LVI) did a fabulous job with the choreography to showcase the talents of Tedworth’s many fabulous dancers. However, the small ensemble piece really stole the show - Agnes Rose and Yuwen Ge’s duet was intensely moving and beautifully done.

House Music was equally fabulous. Under the direction of our incoming Seniors, Agnes Rose, Thea Davies and Verena Whitbread, and the skilful musical direction of Anson Leung, we were awarded Best-Presented House and Best Musical Director. Original music choices, including a beautiful choral arrangement of Radiohead’s Creep, set our entries apart and made it a memorable event indeed!

All the house events really gave our pupils the performance bug and their efforts across the year are almost too many to mention, from carol services and School concerts to productions of ABBA: The Party and dance showcases. They have made us so proud. This culminated in the amazing events of Founder’s Weekend. Our UIV pupils stole the show in the production of The Lion King, with Tomi Olunuga, Violet Barker, Isabella Neill, Dhyaana Shourie,

Esmeé Haefner and Niamh Planner all taking featured roles. It was a planning feat to see it all! Lord of the Flies, the Moving Memories dance showcase, the beautiful art exhibitions and Bring the House Downe really highlighted the sheer talent of our pupils and we can’t wait to see where it takes us next year.

Tedworth’s house motto is the Zulu saying Ubuntu – ‘I am because we are.’ Community spirit, working together and supporting each other are incredibly important to us. Sports Day highlighted these attributes in our pupils: watching them cheer one another on regardless of success was a true delight to see. But it is day to day that we really see the Ubuntu spirit manifest within Tedworth. Our pupils may be incredibly talented young people, but they are also kind, thoughtful, sociable and in possession of the very best sense of fun. It is a real pleasure to spend time with them in the evenings and weekends as they throw themselves into activities from yoga to baking to the ever-popular Glitter Club. They represent themselves and the School beautifully at social events and always put their all into everything they do. We could not possibly ask for better.

It really has been the most fantastic year for Tedworth and we could not have done it without the support of our team, including our inimitable matrons Mrs Edwards and Mrs Parsons. A huge thank-you is also owed to our outgoing Seniors, Georgia, Airlie and Eleanor whilst we eagerly look forward to the endeavours of Agnes, Thea and Verena as they take on the roles. Here’s to next year and even more fun, achievement and Ubuntu spirit!

We started off the year in an enthusiastic way by being united as a House post-Covid and ready to take on the academic year.

To bond as a House, we set off on our first House trip to Aston Clinton in September, where we took part in numerous activities such as the leap of faith, blind-folded obstacle courses and rock-climbing in House families, which consists of girls from each year group; this helped create connections with the older girls. Miss McCann showed a great example by stepping out of her comfort zone and ventured up a great height but swiftly regretted her decision!

Showing Holcombe’s ever competitive side, we took the win for Winter Sports Day! Our successes continued with our House Drama 2021 victory, crowning us as the ‘Killer Queens’. At Christmas, Holcombe was gifted a football table – which has become a very popular way for everyone in House to relax and relieve stress together! Holcombe also participated in Advent Angels, like Secret Santa but with homemade gifts and multiple acts of kindness across the festive season, including making toast and hot chocolate for your Advent Angel. It was finished off with the whole House Christmas party, where main gifts were given and Advent Angels revealed - it was an extremely fun evening! To conclude the Michaelmas term, we went on a House trip to Reading where we had a delicious lunch at Pizza Express and enjoyed some shopping.

“After being online for much of UIV and not being in Holcombe for most of LV, it was great to finally be back this year. We had a range of activities put on in House including baking and recipe club, bingo, Wii dance, knitting club, smoothie making and the middle ground discussion group. Many of these activities were put on by members of UV and LVI which allowed the younger girls to interact with the older years in the House. I think the middle ground group was a great addition to the House and allows people to talk about current issues in the world and discuss different opinions.”

Emily Sideso (Holcombe UV Shadow Head of House)

Pupils taking their exams were offered the opportunity to take part in ‘puppy therapy’, where puppies were brought in to help pupils relax and have fun. Currently, this is only for A Level and GCSE pupils, however, since it was so successful, they are looking to expanding this to the whole of the Downe House community. While the Lent term is always busy, Holcombe still managed to retain our excellent House spirit, gaining us the title of Overall Winners of House Gymnastics and Dance. An excellent way to end the Lent term!

On 4 May, we got into the Star Wars spirit by getting together with Tedworth for an UIV House social. We started off by playing a Kahoot! on all the Star Wars films and the lovely Housestaff made bubble tea for us. This was a great evening, which allowed us to bond together and enjoy the much-loved films.

Holcombe has a real family feel to it, with our Cub Families and Housestaff. There are many opportunities to bond with the girls from all year groups and staff; from a range of activities to just a cup of hot chocolate in the common room. Birthdays are always special in Holcombe with pizza and cake, and friends from other Houses coming to celebrate. Our amazing and hardworking Housestaff plan evening activities such as tie dye bags, pom pom making, mindfulness, puzzle making and Lego competitions, to name a few! Many of us have found it to be extremely relaxing and useful to help us unwind.

“It was so great to finally be back in Holcombe with the other year groups and some normalcy. This term I have done many House activities varying from House supper to WII dance competitions, we have done it all. In House this term the atmosphere has been homely and supportive; especially as the years can start to bond again. The thing I found particularly challenging this term is the academic jump from LV to UV. However, Miss McCann, Miss Pickford and the whole Holcombe team really helped our year to wind down in the evenings. It is so nice to feel like a House again!”

Clementine Ridley (Holcombe UV Shadow Head of House)

At Founder’s Weekend this year, each House made homemade items to raise money for their House charity. Each girl from Holcombe made pom poms and tie dye bags to sell during Founder’s Weekend and Sports Day, all the proceeds went to the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust based in Thatcham.

Overall, it is safe to say that Holcombe House had a fantastic year with much to be celebrated. We are really looking forward to welcoming in the new UIV in 2022-23!

Rhea Gupta & Lucinda Boucher UIV

Aisholt had another wonderful year! Despite the challenges boarding through Covid brought, Aisholt rose to the challenge and proved how resilient and amazing the girls are. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term in such a fabulous and successful House and cannot wait to see what next year brings!

Aisholt have shown their creative talents in so many ways this year starting with the ever competitive and hotly contested House Drama in Michaelmas term. Aisholt performed Love, Mrs Houston written, directed, produced and choreographed by our amazing Lower Sixth pupils. It was an intensely suspenseful drama about a girl who learns about the true cause of her mother’s death, by reading her journal. Alas, in doing so, she meets a similar end! The Aisholt girls always show their true colours when it comes to competitions; supporting and encouraging one another to the fullest and brimming with enthusiasm! Our Aisholt pupils brought the amazing writing to life, and we were thrilled to walk away with awards for Best Technical Team and Best Choreography.

House Music in Summer term was a highlight with Aisholt winning five awards including the overall House Music Trophy. Lauren Akinluyi (LVI) led the girls wonderfully, ably assisted by our new Head of House Willow Wilkinson (LVI). The evenings spent rehearsing paid off and we received special mention from the adjudicator about our energy in singing Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off with fantastic choreography and surprise rapping of

Araminta Hervey, Claudia Pope and Sophie Scott (UV). Seeing all the girls up on stage, laughing and having such fun was infectious and the Housestaff and Upper Fifth happily joined in from the audience. Our vocal ensemble sang a beautiful a cappella rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Valerie which really showed off the talents of our singers. Chenxi (Thalia) Li (LVI) led the instrumental ensemble to victory and Thalia herself won the award for Best Performer, dressed in her fabulous red robes. It was Aisholt’s night to shine and there were definitely a few repeat performances in the Common Room to celebrate afterwards!

Aisholt showed their sporting prowess on Sports Day this year with so many pupils winning medals. Watching the House cheer their friends on, decked out in Aisholt red, was a lovely sight. Well done to all the girls who won medals and a particular congratulations to Pollyanna Reynolds (UIV) for winning the Hurdles Cup. We finished in second place overall, so watch this space for next year.

Outside of all the excitement of preparing for these House events (as well as lessons and learning), Aisholt were busy with weekly clubs including the ever-popular Monday night baking with Mrs Rodgers and the new Thursday night Book Club, which has been a hugely welcome addition to our evenings. We went on a wide variety of trips and socials, which we all thoroughly enjoyed including black tie events, BBQs, sightseeing, shopping, paddleboarding, ziplining, trips to the cinema and the bright lights of Newbury. We have also continued to support our House charities, particularly through selling chocolate stirrers and strawberries on Sports Day. To demonstrate how Aisholt girls are such fantastic and successful allrounders, we have won the House Cup for the second time this year.

We want to wish the best of luck to our Leavers and hope that they keep in touch. We thank our wonderful outgoing Seniors, Lara Harries, Ashley Iguh and Emma Woodworth (UVI) for all they have done for us and welcome in our new Seniors, Willow Wilkinson, Alice Crowston and Charlotte Beveridge (LVI). My thanks must also go to the wonderful Housestaff, without whom Aisholt could not be the wonderful place it is. Thank you to Miss Prentice, Mrs Rigby and Mrs Rodgers. We are sad to say farewell to Miss Donnelly and wish her the very best of luck.

Miss Becky Hillier, Housemistress (Aisholt)

To start the year off, AGS headed to an Activity Centre where we did a range of activities, including kayaking and climbing. It was a chance to build our teamwork skills, spend time together as a House and have some fun! We all enjoyed getting to know each other better after a few terms away from AGS, and it was a great way to welcome our new Housestaff!

This year’s House Drama was extremely exciting as the theme was ‘Musical Jukebox’, directed by Isabel Davenport (LVI). The whole House worked extra hard this year with the short amount of time they had to rehearse. A special mention must go to Melissa Hulse (UV) and Sophie Carter (LV) who received individual awards for their brilliant acting!

In between House Drama rehearsals, there were lots of events being hosted throughout the Michaelmas term. We had our first House supper of the year and in typical AGS fashion we got our costumes out and dancing shoes on! For Halloween, all the girls (and staff!) dressed up and went round the Housestaff accommodation for some ‘trick or treating’. The Michaelmas term ended with our AGS Christmas party, where there were lots of games and music with everyone participating in their House families to compete for prizes. Secret Santa consisted of homemade gifts, which is always the highlight of the year and brought lots of smiles across the House.

During the Lent term, there were many competitions including the House Competition: ‘So you think you can move’, which combined House Dance and Gymnastics. Ophelia Bracken, Hetty Hack, Iona Neville and Alice Aird (LV) produced an excellent House

Gymnastics routine with the Lower School, and Isabella Withey (UIV) won the individual gym routine for AGS! Then the Lower Sixth organised a wonderful set of dances, a group dance based on the theme of Covid-19 and Cheuk-Yi Cherie (Sage) Lau as our individual dancer - we were crowned the overall winners of the Dance section! AGS celebrated National Book Day by decorating our dorm doors in the theme of our favourite books. There were a huge variety of books chosen from 1984 by George Orwell to The Hungry Caterpillar, everyone was so inventive and creative. Mrs McKendrick then had the hard task of judging all the doors!

The Summer term flew by, with examinations for every year group, DofE expeditions as well as preparations for the infamous Founder’s Weekend. We can’t forget House Music with the theme ‘Female Icons’ and our group performance was It’s All Coming Back to Me Now by Celine Dion, which was so much fun to perform. Everyone had a great time which would not have been possible without the help of all the LVI involved, and well done to Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI) who won Best Soloist, and Camilla Hale (UV) was awarded Best Accompanist.

Throughout the term lots of activities have been put on to help reduce stress, including night-time yoga with Miss Archer, which help us all relax, especially when some of us had exams the next day! We had a Hawaiian-themed barbeque in Miss Vidler’s garden, where there was a delicious range of food and drinks, which went down well with everyone. We couldn’t write about the Summer term without mentioning Swing Ball! The whole House has thoroughly enjoyed playing Swing Ball when the weather has been nice; this has however, resulted in a few balls being lost to the roof of AGS!

There are always a variety of clubs during the week including Book Club run by Miss Crompton, Cookery with Mrs Trigwell, and Middle Ground with Miss Stonebridge where we discuss recent and relevant news which not only is fun, but also enriches our worldly knowledge. These clubs bring all the years together and allows us to feel more at home.

Lastly, we would like to say a huge thank you to our UVI seniors, Madeleine (Maddi) Hales, Isabella Pemberton and Ceara Bastin, for all their hard work for AGS and we wish them good luck for this exciting time in their lives. Well done to Isobel (Izzy) Peddie, Nicola Iu, and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI) for taking over their roles - we know you will all do an amazing job. Thank you so much to all the Housestaff this year for always going above and beyond the call of duty – your work does not go unrecognised, and we are all very grateful for your incredible support this year! We are all very sad to be saying goodbye to the amazing Miss Crompton, but we wish her the best of luck for the next stage in her life and thank her for everything that she has done - it has been lovely getting to know you!

Martha Drew & Jemima Thistlethwayte (UV)