Downe House School Magazine 2022-23 by Downe House School

Our Year 2022-2023

Our year

House Life 3 Academic Life 19 Creative Arts 38 Music 73 Drama & Dance 81 Sport 90 Founder’s Weekend 105 Beyond the Curriculum 119 Awards & More 146 Moving On 166 School Officers 173

Welcome from our

Head & Deputy Head Seniors

Kimberly is a butterfly. In the same way a butterfly moves with such grace and elegance, that is how Kimberly carries herself. Kim never has anything but kind words to say about everything and everyone around her. It is in Kim’s actions and personality that I see her true beauty, she is always there to lend a helping hand, always there to be a shoulder to cry on and the most gorgeous thing about her is that she does it with a smile on her face. She has a gentle approach to every situation and always manages to radiate confidence and calmness no matter what the problem might be. Kim inspires me. She inspires me to work hard for the things that matter and to always look towards the positive. Seeing Kimberly around School reminds me of seeing a butterfly on a sunny day. Both always manage to put a smile on my face! Kim happens to be one of the oldest in our year and it is a recurring joke between us that she is somewhat comparable to a grandma! However, as I have had the honour to lead with her for the past term, I have realised that instead of calling her a grandma, an older sister would be more fitting. Kim will always go out of her way to take care of and protect her loved ones, she will never be a bystander and she allows all those around her to flourish and present their most confident versions of themselves. I could not be happier or prouder to work alongside Kimberly Gan.

Shiloh is a sunflower. I have known her since Upper Fourth and ever since (despite being in different Houses), we have become inseparable. Her vibrant personality, like the golden petals, radiates warmth and joy to everyone she encounters. Shiloh always seeks out positivity in every situation, just like a sunflower turning to face the sun, she embraces optimism with open arms. Shiloh has a compassionate heart. She offers a listening ear, gentle advice and unwavering encouragement to anyone and everyone. Not to mention her incredible sense of humour, consistently bringing laughter to everyone around her. I am constantly in awe of everything she does, from her assured confidence speaking in front of crowds, to her incredible hip-hop dance skills, and not to mention leading all three House events (and winning two!). Not only does Shiloh offer uplifting support to her peers, but she is always seeking personal growth, constantly striving to improve herself. I could not think of anyone more suited to be our Head Senior. It is an honour and a privilege to be working alongside her over the next year. Kimberly Gan, Deputy Head Senior

Shiloh Akintaju, Head Senior

Downe House Magazine

Message from the Headmistress A year ago, I suspect that the vast majority of the Downe House community had not heard of CHATGPT and that, whilst we are all aware in some measure of the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithms and advancing technology on our daily lives, its real power is only now beginning to be understood by us all. Lively debates about how education might change, how the workplace will evolve and whether young people will, for example, need to learn to drive anymore, have taken place inside and outside the classroom. There is no doubt that there is much that AI can do to enhance lives and advance our world. Widening access to healthcare, improving the accuracy of diagnosis of disease, enabling the provision of education for those living in remote parts of the world, as well as providing a more tailored educational experience for neurodiverse students are just some of the benefits. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the positive changes that will be brought. However, there is also a need for caution to ensure that such advancements genuinely serve the needs of humanity and the essence of what makes us human is never lost. To that end, the education that we provide must be underpinned by the values of authenticity, honesty, integrity and service, with a strong emphasis on developing critical, analytical and independent-thinking skills. I hope that as you read the pages that follow you will see plenty of examples of the opportunities that the girls have in the Houses, in the classroom, on the stage, on the sports fields, on trips overseas and within the UK, that enable them to experience the joy of learning and living together in a compassionate, caring yet ambitious and fun community. You will see what can be achieved when girls lead initiatives, when they work together, when they build effective relationships and when they question and share ideas. Our community service programme, our global programme of school exchanges and internships, our academic enrichment and debating programmes all serve to complement what is taught in the classroom. Our close association and partnership with Radley College that you will also see covered ensures that we are asking and challenging ourselves on questions of gender equality, and healthy and respectful relationships. When I reflect on everything that has taken place in our School over this last year, I note that AI and emerging technologies will help with the provision and analysis of information and will enhance experiences but I am also reassured of the value of a boarding education where first-hand human experience lies at its core and for which there is no substitute. I thank all those involved in bringing this record of a vibrant and successful year together. Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress

Our Year 2022-23

House Life

‘I have built strong friendships and I would not be the person I am today without my House.’

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

Hill House

Before I came to Downe House, I was a little scared to board as I have never been very confident being away from home. But when I arrived, my new friends and the supportive housestaff helped me to realise that Hill is just like being at home. I learnt to love the people I shared a dorm with as it is so nice having people around to laugh with all the time! Sharing a room with three other girls seems crowded at first, but it is a very fun and supportive environment. We are never bored! We change dorms every term, so we get to know everyone in our House really well. We spend a lot of time in our dorms, so it’s nice to make it feel like home - I decorated my room with fairy lights and pictures of my family and friends. Before we go to sleep, we have something called ‘little lights’, which is when we turn out the main lights and read or write quietly by our nightlights to help us wind down. Little lights time helps me to relax and have a good night sleep. I really enjoy boarding as I feel I always have a place to go to, and lots of people I can rely on.

Gisella Perhar (Remove) The activities we have done in Hill this year were so much fun. I remember we did a music video challenge for our House charity, then we watched all the fantastic music videos with treats to eat. We raised over £100! Another memorable moment was in Michaelmas term when we had a pamper night. It was such an amazing night; we had face masks and painted our nails. We also had a house party on Halloween where we all wore costumes, played games and some people brought in beautifully carved pumpkins. We have also done lots of baking in the evenings, and arts and crafts. On 11 May 2023, we wrote thank you notes to our nurses to mark International Nurses Day, and I had so much fun writing my note. We also have lots of fun outside of House. One of my favourite trips was when we went to Aquadrome waterpark and to Pizza Express for lunch. My first year at Downe House has been the most fun and the best experience I have ever had.

YiQing (Nancy) Ke (Remove)

My first year at Downe House has been wonderful! When we started the year, I was anxious and I didn’t know anyone, but my housemistresses and teachers helped me through. I think friendships play a key role in our Downe House journey and I couldn’t have set off my first year better. As we continued throughout the year, I was introduced to new sports I have never tried before, like squash and lacrosse. The teachers were very supportive and helped me to develop. At Downe we do so many activities that it is hard to keep track, but I think my favourite from this year was the trip to Winchester Christmas market. It was a perfect opportunity to fill up on all the gifts for my friends and family. I also loved the trip to Windsor Castle. It was an unimaginable experience of seeing inside the state apartments and breathing in the royal air. The castle overall had a perfect balance of royal and historic features. As we approached the Lent term, mentions went around the School about our upcoming performances. The Lower School was about to set off on an amazing journey into the world of the creative arts. Our plays this year for Founder’s Weekend were based on the work of the brothers Grimm. Everyone was set into groups depending on their skill and it was a real team effort with musicians, artists and performers coming together to create an electric atmosphere. However, the setting this year was about to take a twist. Each group was to perform not in the theatre but outside to create an authentic theatre experience. Mr Gould, Head of Drama, decided our backdrops within the School grounds and each fairytale had its own location. It was an unforgettable event and the first to ever take place in the history of Downe House. On reflection, I don’t think there is anything I would have changed to make this a better start to my Downe House adventure.

Emma Kovalchuk (Remove) Lower Fourth is a great year as we’re at the top of the Lower School and we went to Downe House Sauveterre! Sauveterre was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I learned so much about French culture and although six weeks away from home felt daunting at first, once we were there, we hardly thought about it because we had all our friends together and were never short of something to do! There is a wide range of activities in Sauveterre and we went on many trips into Toulouse and the Pyrenees. One of my favourite trips was Carcassonne which is a medieval walled city and is absolutely beautiful. It did seem slightly strange coming back to School after six weeks away, but we soon settled back into School life. During Lower Fourth we visited our Upper School Houses throughout the year. In the Lent term we went there for break time every Monday and in the Summer term we went for some evening activities too. This year I had the privilege of being Head of Hill House, which meant going to the Lower School Council and Whole School Council meetings as well as delivering a speech to prospective parents. This year was so exciting, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Alexia Walker (LIV)

Our Year 2022-23

The Michaelmas term presented a new chapter for all of us joining Downe House, and it was one full of fun and excitement. The transition to our new School felt really relaxed and we had plenty of time to settle in and learn the routines in our new boarding house, Hermitage. Our housestaff are kind and supportive of us and on our first night we had the opportunity to create new dorm emblems alongside our peers, which also gave us the opportunity to get to know our evening staff. We settled in right away, and with the weekend fast approaching, the whole year got involved in a teambuilding day on the Sunday. The activities included circus skills, axe throwing, caving and laser shooting, all of which helped us to get to know the other Lower School girls in Darwin and Hill Houses. At the start of the Michaelmas term each Remove pupil is assigned a Lower Fourth buddy. This is someone in the year above in Hermitage who we can rely on if we have any questions or more importantly, to have fun with during House activities and relaxation time. As the term progressed, many of us took the opportunity to sign up for after-school activities, such as cookery, dance, skateboarding, yoga and much more! There were also several House competitions to get involved in, which were a great chance to meet girls in the older years. In the Michaelmas term, one of the main events is House Drama, which is a collaborative event filled with energy, enthusiasm and excitement. When we arrived back from our holidays at the start of the Lent term, we were all very excited to greet the members of the Lower Fourth, who had been at our school in France, Downe House Sauveterre, for the past term. It was great to hear of their time there and the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture, and it made us very excited for when we go next year. There is always lots going on at Downe House, and one of our favourite things are sports matches with other schools, which normally take place on a Wednesday and Saturday. Across the year, our main sports are lacrosse, netball, hockey, tennis and athletics. However, we play a number of sports all year round which include squash, football, cricket and swimming.

HOUSE LIFE

Hermitage House

Although we have busy days at Downe House, it is always balanced with exciting activities and weekend trips. The CoCurricular department (CCA) are amazing at organising the best activities for us, some of our favourites have included visiting the Coral Reef water park, going punting in Oxford and when the fun fair came onsite to Downe. Throughout the year we celebrate lots of birthdays in House which are always full of fun. In the mornings we wake up early to sing ‘happy birthday’ and give our Wacky B’s (small presents) to the birthday girl. Then, in the evening, we celebrate with a delicious treat that the birthday girl has brought in to share with everyone such as a birthday cake. Parents may of course join the evening celebrations and the housestaff take lots of photos which are shared on our Hermitage Facebook page for our parents to see. The final term is the Summer term and none of us could believe how fast the year had flown by! We started preparations for our summer examinations and were given lots of guidance and support from our academic tutors who also gave us many tips, as well as a revision toolkit. Together, as a year group, we completed our first set of exams which felt like a huge achievement! Heading towards the end of the academic year, we all looked forward to going on our Remove residential trip to Calshot, an outdoor activity centre in Southampton. When we got there, we had great fun kayaking, sailing, swimming in the sea, rock climbing and so much more! On our return to School, most of us were involved in a Grimm fairytale drama production for the School’s famous Founder’s Weekend. We eagerly prepared for our roles and for the other festivities that took place across the weekend. This was a great chance to celebrate the year and look back on all that we had achieved, as well as getting increasingly excited for the long holiday ahead!

Emmeline Anderson, Madeleine Watkins-Ball and Eulalia Camilleri (Remove)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

Darwin House

At the start of the Remove, I was very nervous to come to Darwin as I was scared that I would be left out because I was a day girl. However, this fear soon subsided because all the girls and housestaff made me feel included and welcome. I quickly settled into the daily routine and got used to everyday life in House. I made many friends inside and outside Darwin who made me feel happy and helped me navigate School life. Throughout the year, I have participated in many of the after-school activities in House as well as continuing with the clubs I do outside of School, such as my dance lessons. It is nice to know I can always stay for dinner and the after-school activities if I want but I can also go home earlier on other days. Next year, I am looking forward to going to Downe House Sauveterre as it will be interesting to experience boarding life for the first time. It will be nice to grow closer with the friends I already have and make new ones as well. Although it will be a very new experience for me, I expect it to be beneficial, help my language skills and give me lots of memories that I can share with my family.

Isabella Heveron (Remove) As you can imagine, we do lots of work here at Downe House. So, to counter that and give us a chance to rest with our friends and peers, we have our much-loved weekend and evening activities. Some favourite weekend activities of ours are our shopping trips to Windsor, trampoline and water parks, ice skating, punting in Oxford, trips to the cinema to watch movies with popcorn and tuck, and none of us will forget the escape room in Oxford. We also have evening activities that we do in House, some of our favourites are movie nights and baking with the housestaff. We all adored the dorm dance competition in the Michaelmas term, where we created a dance to a song chosen by the Lower Fourth pupils. This was such fun and we really enjoyed dressing up and supporting our friends.

Zara Sutherland (Remove)

Our Year 2022-23

My life as a full boarder is amazing! The teachers are so supportive, if we are ever homesick they cheer us up with movie nights, they are so funny; they make us laugh, cry, and connect with each other and everybody likes to get involved. The evening activities such as cooking and knitting are a great chance to try new things and the memories made are cherished by all. Many times, my dorm mates and I have comforted each other when we are sad and laughed when we are happy. When we were settling into School, my House did a dorm decorating competition and my dorm won! Boarding life is as diverse as it is fun; from dorm dance competitions with our friends to Bingo nights and jam tart making with the housestaff in the evenings. Boarding is like a journey - there are new best friends to be made along the way and memories that I will look back on fondly even after my time at Downe has finished.

Eleanor Black (Remove) Being an international boarder is great fun as I reside in the UK for my education but still get to be in the comfort of my own country on holidays. It’s sometimes hard to be away from my parents but my dorm mates are my best friends and always help me whenever I need it. I have really enjoyed learning about life in England and I’m looking forward to discovering more of this country. When I call home, I usually do so at lunch time as my family live in another time zone and it makes it easier for us to speak. I spend lots of my weekends at School and there is always something exciting to do. I really like Sunday mornings as we often have a lie in and can finish off a movie that we watched the night before or just read in bed. One of my favourite things about Darwin is that the evening activities are fun - I really enjoy the cooking and baking! I really like being in a dorm as there is always someone to talk with; we all do different things throughout the evening, so my favourite time is during Feet Off Ground (FOG), just before little lights as we are all there in the dorm and we all talk and have fun together.

Sophia Darroue (Remove)

What a year it has been for us all. Miss Brown and I can hardly believe that it is only our second year and we have so loved all the time that we have had the privilege to spend with our students: they really are a brilliant bunch! As tradition dictates, we spent the first weekend of the Michaelmas term bonding as a House. We set off for the New Forest and a day of archery, team building and scaling the heights of a treetop adventure. Some of us were not so sure about the latter part of the day’s activities, but we were certainly proud to have faced our fears. It was a lovely opportunity to reconnect after the summer holidays and to get to know new members of the House, including the wonderful Miss O’Sullivan, our Resident Tutor. The efforts put into team building early in the term paid dividends in terms of our performance in House competitions and it was a pleasure, as ever, to see Tedworthians band together and sing, dance and act their way to success.

The first competition of the year was House Drama. A gripping and moving tale of love and death directed by our very talented Hannah Hurd (LVI) saw Isabella Neill (LV) shine in the title role as she led us towards a narrowly missed victory. We nonetheless embraced the receipt of awards for Best Artistic Endeavour and Best Lower School Dance which fully reflect the hard work and enthusiasm of Tedworth students across the School. House Music saw further success and beautiful performances that were rewarded by a prize for Best Presented House. Most recently, we had the pleasure of watching our students showcase their talents in the House Gym and Dance competition. Under the direction of Anna Brooks, Melanie Ferretti, Esmee Haefner and Yuchen Liu (LV), our gymnastics team claimed first place and Violet-Rose Penney (UIV) received the incredibly well-deserved award for Best Solo Gymnast. Sharing in the success of our students has been both a pleasure and a privilege, but the real joy comes from the Ubuntu spirit in which we root ourselves as a House. The Zulu word for being better together has truly evolved beyond being a House motto and into an ethos upon which we pride ourselves. Community building has been at the centre of our work this year. We have established House families that encourage all year groups to bond, using House suppers and quiz nights to really foster collaboration, team spirit and friendships

HOUSE LIFE

Tedworth House

that breach the boundaries of age. We have welcomed exchange students from the Netherlands and South Africa, invested time in the members of the Lower Fourth who we look forward to welcoming as Upper Fourth next year, and in working with our Seniors, Prefects and Shadow Heads of House, have helped to create something special that, we hope, will outlast their time in Tedworth. Our very great thanks go to Agnes Rose, Thea Davies and Verena Whitbread (UVI) who have stood at our helm as Head and Deputy Heads of Tedworth and cannot wait to see what Hannah Knight, Ruby Dean and Anna Kurtser (LVI) have in store for us next year! We must also extend our appreciation to our brilliant matrons, Mrs Edwards and Mrs Parsons and our team of wonderful evening staff, Mrs Garfield and Mrs Stafford. We are not certain how we might improve upon our experience this year, but we know that with the wonderful people that make up the Tedworth community around us, it is sure to surpass even the highest expectations.

Miss Hannah Tomlin, Assistant Housemistress (Tedworth) What a fabulous past three years I have had in Tedworth! I may be biased when I say this, but Tedworth is most definitely the best House. My favourite part of Tedworth is the House spirit, but more specifically, the spirit of Ubuntu! Ubuntu is our trusty House motto which Miss Brown never lets us forget the meaning of - Ubuntu is a Zulu word perhaps best translated to ‘I am because we are’. It is a key foundation in shaping Tedworthians to become the best possible version of themselves! When reflecting on my time in Tedworth, I like to think back to my first day of Upper Fourth, which was probably the most nervous I have ever been. Joining a new House can be tough but with the support of the friendly housestaff and the older girls who had been through it all, it was made much easier. As an Upper Fifth, I enjoy spending time with the younger girls in the House and it has been great getting to know them and I’m sure this will carry on through the years to come. The spirit of Tedworth has helped guide me through these last three years, I have built strong friendships and I would not be the person I am today without it.

Freya Hanbury (UV)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

Holcombe

This year has been very exciting! In Holcombe, there have been numerous enjoyable activities on offer such as House supper, middle ground discussions and relaxing care packages, which is a great way to unwind and take a break from studying. The atmosphere of Holcombe is very joyful and to me feels like a home-away-from-home with our friendly staff who we can always confide in and rely on for a chat or general advice. I love the interactions amongst the mixed age year groups in House, especially with our competitive spirits during House Drama and House Music, which brings the spirit of Holcombe to life! I am so glad we have such an amazing support group by our sides, especially Miss McCann and Miss West, who helped us throughout the terms to make House life the best!

Varuni Rameshwar (Holcombe UV Shadow Head of House) House Drama was again an incredible experience. We may not have been victorious but, like always, Holcombe came out on top in spirit. Rosamund Harris (LV) won the incredibly well deserved Best Actress prize. Her sister Honor Harris (LVI), aided by Alice Farquhar (LVI) and Clementine Ridley (LVI) along with the rest of the Lower Sixth team put together, in my eyes, the best House Drama piece to take the stage.

Hermione Heseltine (Holcombe LVI Head of House) Holcombe House had a positive start to the academic year with everyone getting involved in a whole host of activities and bonding as a House. It is safe to say that we have thoroughly enjoyed getting together as a House and exercising our House spirit! We set off on our first House trip to Marwell Activity Centre in the first weekend of September 2022, where we took part in numerous activities such as archery, high ropes and challenging teamwork and problem-solving activities. This helped create all-important connections with all the girls in the House. It was a nice way to achieve our aim of improving inter-year bonding and getting to know the new Upper Fourth girls. House Drama continues to be a hugely popular event in the Downe House calendar for Holcombe. This year for House Drama the Lower Sixth created and produced their own play on the theme of 'Back to the Future'. As a house we performed the story of Henrietta VIII which was a gender swapped version of the story of Henry VIII. Holcombe was also very excited to host the first ‘At Home’ charity ball where we came together as a House to not only

Our Year 2022-23

celebrate our achievements but to raise money for our local House charity, the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust based in Newbury. We are so grateful to everyone who made the evening such a roaring success and raised over £2,500 for the trust. We were treated to some lovely entertainment from the girls after dinner from flute duets to a selection of songs sung by the famous Holcombe Singers. We thoroughly enjoyed giving out small gifts and random acts of kindness in the build-up to the end of term. This culminated in a handmade Secret Santa exchange. This year Father Christmas gifted us with a new toastie and waffle maker, which has been well used during treat nights! The House Christmas celebration was yet another huge hit and culminated in a few party games in the common room. To conclude the Michaelmas term, we went to Windsor to watch the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at the theatre. It was great to see Basil Brush in action and we managed to do a spot of last-minute shopping too. In the Lent term we enjoyed a whole host of activities and inter-House competitions. The whole House came together to rehearse the ‘House Shout’ and ‘Naughty’ from Matilda the Musical. The hard work and rehearsals paid off because we won Best House Choir! As is tradition in Lent, Holcombe had an opportunity to celebrate together as a House with House Supper with the popular theme of ‘pyjama party’ where we enjoyed supper in the main dining room, a quiz and an episode of Miranda. This was followed by a small Burns Night event in the auditorium, where we practised our reeling skills! The Lent term also saw Holcombe reign victorious in the Junior Debating competition with our amazing Upper Fourth pupils Olivia Fane, Aleksandra Cork and Alice Bevan taking home the trophy! The term finished with the 'So you think you can move' House Gym and Dance competition, where Holcombe, not afraid of hard graft and rehearsals, continued to exercise their talents and walked away with the awards for Best Dancer and overall House Dance. We all really enjoyed Founder’s Weekend and Sports Day during the Summer term. Overall, it is clear to see that Holcombe House has had a very successful year with so much to celebrate. We cannot wait to welcome everyone back in September!

Desola Omonijo (UV), Davida (Seyi) Opaleye (UV), Elisabeth Gwyn-Jones (LV), Hyunmin (Becky) Oh (LV), Honor Harris (LVI) & Hermione Heseltine (LVI)

It has been yet another busy, successful year for the entire Aisholt family and the pupils have done us all proud in everything they do. Outside of their considerable individual achievements in academics, sport, drama, creative arts and music; Aisholt pupils always have something to get stuck into in House. Choices range from our new addition, ‘dorm dinners’ with Mrs Rodgers or Mrs Rigby where all the dorms have the chance to cook a meal together from scratch, the ever-popular Monday night baking or Thursday book club with Miss Prentice, to our other new firm favourite ‘Feet-Up Friday’, where we watch a film with delicious snacks. We have also introduced new leadership opportunities such as Tuesday Night TED Talks with the Upper Fourth and Friday morning’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ where the Upper Fifth take us through some positive news stories from around the world and celebrate the achievements of Aisholt pupils. We have also been out on a wide variety of trips and socials which we all thoroughly enjoyed, including black tie events, Radley BBQs, post-exam dinners in Newbury and Reading, shopping and punting in Oxford, Halloween Day of the Dead night, House Suppers dressed as our favourite TV characters and decades, our Christmas trip to see The Nutcracker ballet at the cinema and the excellent annual fairground at Downe.

Michaelmas term was, as ever, dominated by House Drama. This year Aisholt took the classic 12 Angry Men and transported it to a contemporary setting – a boy’s school debate club. It was such an interesting artistic decision which led to the Aisholt performance being very much a serious and engaging play, demanding much from the core 12 cast to hold our attention. Intense and intriguing, the cast absolutely captivated the audience. Standout performances from Mwansa Banda (UV), Hope Black (UV), Sophie Lambourne (LV), and AJ Wood (UIV) were a highlight, and the cameo performances from Georgia Ainscough (LV), Isabelle Fernie (UV), Apple Sun (UV), and Sophia Guo (UV) provided light relief from the brilliant script. One parent commented that it was a performance we could easily have taken to Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Congratulations to Sinling Damais (LVI) and Issy Edelsten (LVI) for winning Best Technical, Sophie Scott (LVI), Minty Hervey (LVI) and Claudia Pope (LVI) for winning Best Costume and to AJ Wood (UIV) who won the Drama Seniors Award for the Most Promising Young Performer. Joined by the Remove and Lower Fourth dancers, Aisholt were anecdotally many people's favourite performance of the event, including Mr Godfrey! Lent term brought House Music, and House Gym and Dance. In House Music, Aisholt had the nerve-wracking job of going first this year as the reigning winners. There were outstanding performances from the following Aisholt representatives: our soloist Tatiana Montanari (UIV); our winning instrumental ensemble of Ziyue Yu (LVI), Georgina

HOUSE LIFE

Aisholt

Dawson (UV), Tatiana Montanari (UIV), Juliette Bale (LVI), Claudia Wu (LV) and Thalia Li (UVI); and our vocal ensemble of Sophie Lambourne (LV), Ojuolape Ayoola (UIV), Mwansa Banda (UV), Teri Adesida (UIV), Sophia Guo (UV), Helena Yuan (UV), Yasmin Aird (UV), Louise Novatin (UIV), Amelia Voûte (LV) and AJ Wood (UIV)! All Aisholt from Remove to Upper Fifth were on stage to sing our musical showstopper, "A Hard Knock Life" from Annie led by our Lower Sixth conductors Minty Hervey and Annabel Munnelly, accompanied by the fantastic Juliette Bale (LVI). All dressed in their pyjamas, Aisholt were praised for having ‘bags of energy’ and a fantastic use of solos from Linda Lu (Remove), AJ Wood (UIV) and Mwansa Banda (UV). The night was polished off by Aisholt winning the award for Best Instrumental Ensemble for the second year in a row and Juliette Bale (LVI) being awarded Best Accompanist. House Gym and Dance brought out both the competitive and celebratory nature in all of us. We were so proud of all the girls who represented us, whether it was on the mat, floor, stage or behind the scenes. We were thrilled that Aisholt’s efforts were awarded with Most Improved Gymnast to Eleanor Black (Remove), Lower Fifth Captains' Award to Ada Kurumlu, Pollyanna Reynolds, Sophie Lambourne and Kayla Vela, as well as Group Dance winners: Pollyanna Reynolds, Maria Taraban, AJ Wood, Emily Huang and Ada Kurumlu. Aisholt showed their sporting prowess on Sports Day this summer with so many pupils winning medals. It felt as though an Aisholt pupil was awarded a medal in every event - and we only went and won it! Sinling Damais (LVI) may have almost dropped the trophy on stage, but it is now safely ensconced in the Aisholt common room. Congratulations to all our medal winners and to all the cup winners too! Amelia Voûte (LV) and Lorna Meyrick's (UIV) pre-Sports Day motivational speeches clearly worked - ‘run fast, throw far, jump high!’ As we reach the end of the year, we thank our wonderful outgoing Seniors, Willow Wilkinson, Alice Crowston and Charlotte Beveridge for all the joy, enthusiasm and help they have given to us this year. Additional thanks must go to our fantastic Shadow Heads of House in the Upper Fifth who have helped with House Council and to organise treats within Aisholt this year: Daisy Vincent, Helena Yuan, Hope Black, Nampetch Bennett, Rose Rollo and Jin Vanasin. My thanks must also go to the wonderful housestaff without whom Aisholt would not be the home from home that it is for our pupils. Thank you to Miss Prentice, Mrs Rigby and Mrs Rodgers. We are sad to see Miss Anquetin leave us to return to France and wish her the best of luck with her Master's degree in Education.

Miss Becky Hillier, Housemistress (Aisholt)

‘In Aisholt there is never, and will never be, a dull moment!’ Miranda Harries (LVI), Head of House Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

AGS

It has been yet another incredible year for AGS! Our beginning of year House trip consisted of canoeing and laser tag. This was not a trip for the faint hearted, as we drenched everyone in sight, making sure that no one was left dry for the ride back. AGS truly came together during laser tag, where the competitiveness was unleashed and the House showed its spirit in working together to overcome the other teams. The AGS spirit found on this weekend was one of the key factors that contributed to the amazing performance that we put on for House Drama. The theme for House Drama was ‘Back to the Future’, and AGS performed a rendition of Wild Child. It was an amazing weekend and great relationships were forged. A special mention must go to our director, Leila Magner (LVI) and our producer, Jocelyn Yue, as well as the Upper School Dance pupils who won Best Choreography. We came to the end of the Michaelmas term faster than we would have thought, however it was bittersweet as we had to bid farewell to our wonderful afternoon matron Mrs Trigwell (Triggy), as she left AGS to persue her career in management.

In the Lent term, we were faced with House Music, which was an undeniable highlight of the year. The AGS choir and the instrumental ensemble brought smiles to the faces of many. Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV) performed a violin piece which left the audience astonished. She rightfully won the solo performance category. The House Song (SIX by Six the Musical) was extremely fun and inclusive, allowing everyone to participate no matter their musical ability. This performance helped AGS take the victory! House Gym and Dance was up next, and all the dancers gave beautiful performances throughout the evening. Another key highlight of the Lent term was the AGS At Home Charity Ball, which was held in aid of Riding for the Disabled. The evening was a black-tie ball and consisted of a formal dinner and performances from the girls showing off the spirit of AGS. It was a fun-filled evening that everyone enjoyed, the food was delicious and we are thrilled to have raised £3,600 for our House charity. The Summer term saw examinations across all three year groups, the Lower Fifth took on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and we prepared for Founder's Weekend. Amongst this we have found time to relax, with swing ball as a great addition to the garden, however the Lower Fifth have been known to be very competitive. The Upper Fifth girls had various trips with Miss Vidler and Miss Stonebridge to cafes and into Newbury during the breaks in their exams and the Upper Fourth and Lower Fifth have enjoyed tennis games and picnics. We have also enjoyed welcoming the Lower Fourth girls for Monday break, as well as for some evening activities run by our Upper Fifth. We are very excited to welcome them into AGS and we hope that they feel ready to join us in September.

Our Year 2022-23

House clubs were a highlight of everyone's year in AGS. Miss De Trense’s cookery club was popular as everyone wanted to eat the delicious food that was made. True crime club and middle ground discussions both took place each week, these were an opportunity to relax in the evening and have some fun! We would like to thank Isobel (Izzy) Peddie, Nicola Iu and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee for all their hard work as Upper Sixth Heads and Deputy Heads of AGS. We are sad to see them go but wish them the best of luck in the future. We are delighted to welcome Martha Drew (LVI), new Head of House, as well as Mimi Thistlethwayte (LVI) and Isabel Toogood (LVI), Deputy Heads. On a very sad note, Miss Vidler, AGS Housemistress, has decided to move on from Downe House and become the Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care at another school. However, we are pleased that she is remaining local, and we will always be open to visits. She will be greatly missed, and we are sure the AGS community will be welcoming of Ms Kingston in September. We would like to thank all the housestaff for an incredible year, we are looking forward to seeing all the fantastic things that they will do for the House next year. As you can see, the past year has been phenomenal. We cannot explain the joy we have felt in AGS. Although we are devastated to be leaving such a wonderful and supportive community that has truly felt like a second home for the past three years, we know that AGS has prepared us for the next step in our lives and we look forward to the challenges that Sixth Form will bring.

Gabriella Ford and Isabella Laing (UV)

AGN is a happy boarding house, in the middle of the woods. It is peaceful and tranquil, but there are always lots of fun activities and good times to have in House. A warm welcome awaits when you walk in the door, whatever time of day, from the fabulous housestaff and matrons.

We started as we meant to go on at the beginning of the year by winning the House Cup for House Drama, with a fantastic adaptation of Robin Hood. There was some tough competition, but AGN came out on top! Everyone was buzzing with excitement after the performance and the whole of AGN, including Lower School and Sixth Form, enjoyed a celebratory meal in Willis dining room, followed by some winner's cake! We have enjoyed action-packed weekend activities and have come together as a House to enjoy some lovely evening activities throughout the week, to wind down from our studies. India Hassall (UV) led the mindfulness weekly sessions from September and the pupils in the House have thoroughly enjoyed the varied activities, from leaf rubbing to star gazing, to paper flower making. India embraced her position and brought her genuine passion and enthusiasm for mindfulness every week. Other popular activities included chocolate tasting, where pupils had to guess the type of chocolate from a variety of different flavours, Bingo, and smoothie and crepe making. There have been some interesting middle ground discussions, talking about current issues, especially those affecting young people. The Lower Fifth have responded well to these discussions, actively listening to each other as well as contributing their interesting and informed ideas to the topic.

HOUSE LIFE

AGN

enjoyable experience as we were able to watch Eurovision and connect with the other year groups. AGN is less of a House and more of a community, where everyone has a chance to get closer to others. We even have mocktail making, where we have a range of sodas and fruits that we can combine to create our own unique flavours. All of these give us a chance to have a breather from our daily School life and take a break. This Easter, AGN participated in our own egg hunt, we ran around the house looking for clues and worked together as a team to find the eggs to be rewarded with delicious mini eggs! AGN has extremely kind and caring matrons who make us a delicious tower of toast every Wednesday as well as coming around in the evenings with scrumptious cheese toasties, and we get to enjoy them in the common room with a range of year groups and have an evening chat.

Sophie Bartley, Tabitha Brewer and Hedy Dong (LV)

In the Michaelmas term we thoroughly enjoyed our end of term trip to Windsor and a lovely Christmassy meal at Prezzo, topping it off with ice-skating at Windsor on Ice. The atmosphere was lovely and everyone had a go at ice-skating!

‘House Music was unforgettable. Firstly, AGN’s vocal ensemble sang “Once Upon a December” from the film Anastasia. The vocalisation and harmonisation guaranteed a win for the vocal ensemble for the second year running. The instrumental ensemble performed a rock rendition of “Colours of the Wind” from Pocahontas including violins, flutes, drums and electric guitars. Like last year, the solo performance was once again performed by Janice Lee (UV) on the marimba. For the whole House song, we sang “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman. With brilliant dance moves and enthusiastic energy, we ended AGN’s House Music with a blast.’

In House we participate in a lot of activities, one of which was a cheese and cracker night. It was an extremely

Joline Lam (LV)

‘I was one of the girls chosen to coordinate and choreograph a gymnastics group for the House Gym and Dance competition. I appreciated the opportunity to lead such an important event. Throughout, I had the whole House behind me, offering support and suggestions to develop the choreography. Ultimately, AGN won that section of the competition, something that was achieved through weeks of dedication and collaboration.’

‘AGN is in the woods, and we all find that after a long day, walking down the forest-covered path it is like returning home in the evenings. We are all like a family, and we always feel so welcomed, no matter what year you are in, you are always treated with respect. Our housestaff never fail to put us in a good mood whenever we are down. It is good to have a sense of another family in the House, especially because some girls are far away from home.’

Pearl (Ivie) Avwenagha (LV)

Oluwakoyinsola Akeju (LV)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

Willis

We have had the most amazing first year of Sixth Form in Willis! Thanks to our lovely housestaff, the transition from Upper School was seamless and we all settled into the new House dynamic very quickly. It is so special being able to live with our whole year and was lovely to welcome all the new girls.

We started the year off strong with House Drama. It was a huge success and would not have been possible without the hard work of all those involved, from the House directors to the different lighting teams. Following that, our House council worked with Reverend Platt to help organise this year’s Remembrance Service. It was a beautiful service, with harp music from Alice Boyle (LVI), a performance from the Willis choir and the laying of the wreath by Mr Brown. The Michaelmas Concert was also great to watch. There are so many talented musicians in our year and others as well who came together in a dramatic performance from the School’s samba band. This year, the Downe House Co-Curricular department (CCA) have been extremely busy putting on endless events to entertain not only Sixth Form but also the whole School. Caledonian Society has remained the most popular activity throughout the year, and we had some fun reeling socials with Radley, Harrow and Eton! Many of us also got to relax with some puppy therapy which helped reduce pre-exam stress. Many people will agree that a highlight of the Lent term was the Carnival that came to Downe! The car park and area outside the Murray Centre was transformed and the whole School enjoyed rides like dodgems and played fairground games all night. At the end of Easter, many of the girls in Willis were lucky enough to be awarded senior positions after a long application

Our Year 2022-23

process. Huge congratulations to Shiloh Akintaju and Kimberly Gan (LVI) who were awarded the roles of leading the School with the help of their senior team. Everyone has already done such a great job with their new duties! The Summer term has been busier than ever, with our mock exams, university applications and Founder’s Weekend preparation it has gone by so fast. Sadly, the Upper Sixth took part in our last ever Founder’s Weekend, starting the weekend off with Sports Day. Luckily the weather was great, and everyone enjoyed competing for their Houses. Well done to Aisholt for winning the Sports Day trophy for 2023! We watched an amazing performance of Chicago, which many of our Willis girls starred in. The music, dancing and acting was so impressive. The Founder’s Concert was a beautiful display of the musical talents of Downe House. On the last Monday of term, we all took part in the annual Willis House walk and raised money for our house charity and raised over £1,500 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Thank you to all our generous sponsors. Thanks to the beautiful weather and glorious countryside, we had a lovely day and walked ten miles. A huge thank you to the catering team for providing us with a picnic during the walk. It definitely helped keep morale high and everyone enjoyed ice cream on their return. On Tuesday we spent the day in London with a wonderful visit to the V&A museum before heading off to Westfield for lunch and a bit of shopping before returning to Willis for a whole House picnic. We couldn’t have survived this busy year without the support of our housestaff and matrons. On behalf of our whole year, thank you for making Willis such an amazing House to live in and we would not have made it this far without you all! We cannot wait for next year.

Emilie Booth, Head of Willis (LVI)

This year has been incredible for York House. It is always a special year coming to the end of our time at School and it has been wonderful to see all the achievements of the Upper Sixth, alongside revision for the A Level exams! It has been such a busy year!

At the beginning of the year, our Heads of House and Head of Choral were involved with supporting House Drama and House Music, ensuring younger pupils took part and shared in the spirit of competing for their Houses. Many congratulations to AGS and Aisholt for winning. In addition, during the Michaelmas term, lots of Upper Sixth decided on their future after Downe House, with a broad mix of UCAS applications, overseas applications, gap years and many more. Just before the Christmas break, we saw the first of the offers come through – this was exciting! We experienced many lasts too, for example our last Butterfly Lecture, the last firework display and the last Lacrosse Nationals. This is always a sad time, but it gave us the opportunity to reflect on our time at Downe, as well as giving it our all for the last time. However, it has been the Lent and Summer terms which Upper Sixth have enjoyed the most. We came to the end of our A Level courses and began the all-important revision, as well as confirming plans for the future and sitting mock exams. Throughout this time, we continued to enjoy weekly activities, Sixth Form Bar and Senior Duties, helping to give back across the School.

HOUSE LIFE

York

There was also lots of fun outside of academics, with the annual Happy Day organised by the Seniors. The Upper Sixth loved dressing up as the ‘Top Tier’ and spent the day entertaining the School (and providing lots of sweet treats!). As study leave began, Inflatable Friday was a big hit to let off some steam before the Foundation Dinner with students, parents and staff coming together to celebrate the Upper Sixth’s time at Downe House. It was a fitting way to begin the exam season. Before this, Mrs McKendrick hosted all of us for a lovely dinner in the main dining room, followed by cheese tasting – everyone was so excited to get dressed up and enjoy a wonderful evening. We were lucky enough to experience all of this before the beginning of the exam season, where we worked very hard towards our final A Levels. We were supported throughout by our housestaff with self-care, relaxing activities and good luck treats. We were also lucky enough to have many snacks to aid our revision! I believe there is nothing else to say other than: thank you to the York housestaff and Downe House! Good luck to all the Upper Sixth as they take their next steps.

Georgia Kynaston (UVI)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

Sauveterre

PASTORAL LIFE The pastoral life at Downe House Sauveterre is very special. The main boarding house is a beautiful château, set in an impressive park which contains woodland, a garden with an orchard, tennis courts and a swimming pool. The second boarding house, Les Communs, is where the academic lessons take place, but also houses the Salle d’activités, which is a perfect breakout space for pupils to use during free time to relax on beanbags, play table football or enjoy one of our many board games with friends.

We have lots of experienced and enthusiastic assistants who assist with the smooth running of the boarding houses. They help wake everyone up in French, sit and chat with the girls at breakfast and supper, and help run evening activities. French Bingo (with prizes!) is always a popular activity as pupils can showcase their knowledge of French numbers and their competitive side too. The assistants love spending time getting to know all our pupils and learning about their interests. They are one of the highlights of the Sauveterre experience. We have lots to celebrate at Sauveterre, so each week we hold an awards ceremony. This is where pupils receive a prize if they have shown excellent progress, kindness, academic efforts or have used their French outside of class. Pupils are very motivated, and it provides a lovely opportunity to reflect on the eventful week and share in each other’s successes.

Games and a dip into the pool to cool down after various sporting sessions. The girls also accomplished so much in coordinating and running their outreach projects and eco work around the park. The Downe House Sauveterre girls and staff have lived through so many great things over this year and hopefully even stretched themselves to limits they did not know themselves capable of. Together we climbed mountains, skied down slopes, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, went caving in the Arriège and one of the most memorable sorties was visiting the animals at the Ferme des Balances.

Mr Eddie Stacchini, Head of Co-Curricular Activities ACADEMICS As well as all the wonderful weekend excursions that the girls and staff went on this year, we also had the privilege of seeing the girls develop their knowledge of France and the French language. The weekend trips gave the girls the opportunity to use their developing linguistic skills in real contexts and the Thursday sorties, which are strongly linked to our curriculum, gave them the time to deepen their understanding of what they learnt in class.

Mrs Rachel Phillips-Morgan, Deputy Head Pastoral

This academic year was the first time we had the girls with us for a whole term and what a difference an extended amount of time has on their ability to converse in French! As well as personally and on their confidence being immersed in a new culture. They started communicating more and more in French with staff during the day and, as their confidence grew, in their free time too.

CO-CURRICULAR This year has been a wonderful chance for Downe House pupils to explore the sites and meet some of the people of our region. As well as visiting many of the popular local sites such as the open-air markets and local cities, which offered many varied and colourful shopping opportunities, the girls also discovered important cultural and economic aspects of the region, taking them from the world of aviation and space travel all the way back to the prehistoric world. Along the way we saw some of the crazy inventions housed in La Halle de la Machine, tasted the delicious chocolates produced in Fleurance and took a trip down the Canal du Midi to learn about its origins.

As staff, we have the benefit at Sauveterre of getting to know the pupils in all areas of School life. The same person may well have breakfast with them, teach them in the morning, share an evening activity and say goodnight at the end of the day. This means that we very quickly get to know them and can support them throughout their time with us. A comment that stayed with me from one of the girls was when she said, ‘Madame Ponchant, Sauveterre is amazing, you really do get out of it what you put in.’ I could not agree more. As much as Sauveterre and the teachers have a lasting impact on the pupils, so too do the girls on us. It has been brilliant getting to know them all and I cannot wait to see them back out at Sauveterre in the future!

The pupils return from France with many great memories of their onsite achievements, too. Some of the most popular activities include cooking with Stephanie, the Reever

Madame Lauren Ponchant, Head of Sauveterre

Our Year 2022-23

In true Downe House spirit, the end of the Lent term went out with a bang as gymnasts and dancers alike took to the stage to compete in their final pieces for ‘So you think you can move? 2023’. Led by members of the Lower Fifth and the Lower Sixth, performers were able to showcase not only their incredible talent but also demonstrate their dedication to their pieces. We were lucky enough to be joined by two incredible judges, Louise Anquetin and Mike Fellows. Louise did Gymnastics for fourteen years, and competed across all four disciplines, and was National Champion in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Louise retired due to a back injury but has been a qualified judge through the French Federation of Gymnastics since 2015, and her expertise was greatly appreciated.

Mike danced competitively for many years and has since performed in the dance industry, dancing for performers such as the Spice Girls, Ed Sheeran and at The Brit Awards. He is currently working on season three of the much-loved Netflix show, Bridgerton. It was an honour to have Mike judge our dance competition, and his knowledge and love of dance and performing was much appreciated. Up first was the gymnastics section, and led by the Lower Fifth, girls from Remove to Upper Fourth took to the floor to compete. AGS’s group performance opened the competition, whilst the AGN individual competitor, Emilia Lazenby (Remove), closed the gymnastics showcase. After much deliberation and some difficult decisions for the judges, the prize for the individual gymnastics performance went to Violet-Rose Penney (UIV) from Tedworth, for her incredible performance. The best group award was, deservedly, presented to AGN for their equally incredible performance. Whilst everybody wants to win on the day, the gymnasts’ dedication to their pieces, whether it be individual or group, was arguably the most impressive part of the entire competition, and this was recognised through the award for the most improved gymnast, which this year was awarded to Aisholt’s soloist, Eleanor Black (Remove). The final award for House Gymnastics was given to Lower Fifth captains for their dedication to the competition but also for their creative routines, and this award was presented to the captains from Aisholt. After an exhilarating time watching the gymnastics performances, all competitors and audience members moved to the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) for the House Dance section of the competition. Ziqi (Jade) Fang (UVI), Head of Dance, and Jiayi (Ariel) Cao (UVI), Deputy Head of Dance, opened the competition with an incredible trio performance with Mike Fellows, and the competitors followed shortly after. The dancers ranged from the Upper Fourth to the Upper Fifth, seeing all different genres from Afro dance to moments of classical ballet.

HOUSE LIFE

House Dance & Gymnastics

The theme this year for House Dance was ‘the seven deadly sins’, and the dance captains randomly selected five of the sins. This included pride (AGS), envy (Tedworth), wrath (Holcombe), gluttony (AGN) and greed (Aisholt). Once again, AGS opened the competition, this time with their group piece and Aisholt’s Linxin (Sophia) Guo (UV) and Hao Yin (Helena) Yuan (UV) closed the entire competition with their incredible duet. The judges were, yet again, presented with the challenging task of picking one winner from five incredible possibilities per category. After an anxious wait, the award for Best Small Group was awarded to Holcombe’s Efrosinya Nikulina (LV), Rosamund Harris (LV) and Philippa RobertsonKellie (UIV) for their well–executed and entertaining performance. The Group Award was presented to Aisholt for their wonderful performance and excellent choreography. Whilst technique and performance are essential to create such incredible performances, choreography is just as important, and this is recognised through the award for the Most Innovative Choreography, which this year was awarded to AGN. This was followed by the Dance Senior award, which was awarded to AGN’s choreographer, Shiloh Akintaju. Next up was the award for Standout Performer, which was awarded to Philippa Robertson-Kellie (UIV), Holcombe, who was remarkable in her contribution to the winning trio for Holcombe, and her display of discipline and technique during the difficult ballet section was wonderful. Finally, the overall winner of House Dance was awarded to AGN, for their incredible trio, group dance and choreography. Certainly, a welldeserved win. At the end of the night, once all the awards had been presented, there was only one left, the cup for the overall winner of ‘So you think you can move? 2023’, which this year was awarded to a well-deserving AGN. Whilst there may only be one winner, this does not detract from the incredible performances and the vast amount of work put into them from the captains, and the performers. Our special thanks go to our two remarkable judges, the Sports and Dance departments, with special thanks to Mrs Broyd, Miss Ward, Ziqi (Jade) Fang (UVI) and Jiayi (Ariel) Cao (UVI), as well as the incredible AV department who operated the music and lighting for our performers. Overall, the day presented a fantastic atmosphere, and everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves, whether as supporter or competitor.

Isabel Toogood (LVI)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

House Drama

Who knew that drama could be so competitive? The answer is.... anyone who ever went to Downe House. A formative chapter in the lives of the pupils, House Drama is the event that dominates the first half of Michaelmas term and leaves new Lower Sixth students in an exhausted heap after the big day has been and gone. This year the theme was ‘Back to the Future’ – NOT five tribute acts to the famous film, but rather an invitation to take an existing story and move it into a new era or time setting. So, the essence of the piece had to remain, but the Houses could tell the story in medieval times instead of the 20th century, or vice versa, or whatever else their imagination could conjure! All five houses worked incredibly hard for weeks, rehearsing with Lower School pupils, drafting and redrafting scripts, working on dances and group scenes, coming up with technical ideas, video, lighting, the works. It really is a team effort as well because the whole point of course is that every Lower Sixth student has a role one way or the other – so they can all really play to their skillset.

Our Year 2022-23

On the day itself, it was a thrill to have Jess Gunning come and join us as our adjudicator along with Drama Seniors Mary Hazlitt, Lauren Akinluyi and Thea Davies (UVI). Jess is soon to be starring in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer and she is most famous for playing Sian James in the hit film Pride. She was overwhelmed by the talent on show and I know she found the judging to be a stressful task. All five performances were slick, maturely realised and comprehensively produced, but in the end there could only be one overall winner... which was AGN with their futuristic take on Robin Hood, a fun, fresh and insightful satire on money, media and the digital age. Huge congratulations!

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

HOUSE LIFE

House Music

What I have always thought to be so special about House Music is the sense of House spirit, with everyone coming together to perform and celebrate music in a naturally highly competitive but immensely friendly environment. House Music 2023 undoubtedly lived up to previous years and the energy and atmosphere is something which will remain particularly memorable to me. Holcombe’s fantastic performance of ‘Revolting Children’ rightfully earned the Best House Song prize and a special mention must go to Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV) representing AGS, for her rendition of Frolov’s ‘Spanish Fantasy’, which was quite literally awe inducing for everyone, winning her the Best Solo prize. We were treated to a diverse spectrum of pieces from Aisholt’s atmospheric rendition on ‘Experience’ by Einaudi, taking the Best Instrumental prize and vastly contrasting but equally as creative was AGN’s acapella performance of ‘Once Upon a December’ from Anastasia, meriting them the Best Vocal Ensemble prize. Best Accompanist went to Juliette Bale (LVI) representing Aisholt, for her sensitive and responsive playing. In AGS we also won Best Program Design and Best Conductor. All the Houses notably deserve a massive congratulations and I would like to thank everyone in AGS for making the overall win possible! It was a joy to lead and work with people across all the different year groups and what truly made the competition so special was how clear it was that we all loved taking part amongst friends, in front of such an abundantly warm and high-spirited audience.

Camilla Hale (LVI)

Downe House Magazine

HOUSE LIFE

House Debate

We were absolutely delighted to welcome The Lord Strathclyde CH PC as judge for our first ever inter-House debating competition. As a former Leader of the House of Lords, Lord Strathclyde’s expertise and knowledge in the art of debating in parliament ensured the adjudication was as entertaining and informative as the debates that preceded it. Lord Strathclyde and the Galbraith family have strong connections with Downe House, across several generations and it was a great pleasure that the House teams were competing in two categories named in honour of this connection – the Galbraith Cup for Junior Debating and the Galbraith Cup for Senior Debating. After preliminary rounds, through to the finals of the junior competition were teams from Tedworth, AGS, Holcombe and Aisholt Houses, debating the topics: • ‘This House Believes that Oscars categories should be gender neutral.’ – Tedworth • ‘This House would ban the sale and consumption of meat.’ – Aisholt • ‘This House would replace Shakespeare with modern authors in school.’ – AGS • ‘This House Believes that Shamima Begum should have her citizenship reinstated.’ – Holcombe All teams argued with intelligence, clarity and conviction, but Holcombe were the indisputable winners, taking home the Galbraith Cup for Junior Debating. The senior competition introduced the audience to British pdebating, which is a format widely used in debating competitions. After the preliminary rounds, it was Aisholt, Tedworth, AGN, and AGS House teams that took on the motion, ‘This House would introduce a statutory requirement age for politicians.’ Again, all the pupils did a tremendous job but the Galbraith cup for Senior Debating went to AGN. The team received particular praise for their minimal use of notes, effective Points of Information and rebuttals, and their clarity of argument. Special mention went to Tacita Rhys Williams (LVI) who was awarded the prize for Best Debater.

Our Year 2022-23

DEBATING AT DOWNE HOUSE Debating has been taking place at School for many years. Lower Sixth pupils regularly take on the Oxford Schools Debating competition, and more recent initiatives have included the introduction of a Lower School debating competition. Such is the enthusiasm for debating, we have transformed debating in the School with the introduction of a range of superb new opportunities for all pupils to take part in; including workshops with a leading UK debating coach, weekly Junior Debating Club (Remove to Upper Fourth) and coaching for the Sixth Form, as well as facilitated debates with Radley College and Winchester College. The House Debating competition, masterminded by Mrs Reichardt and Mrs Isabel Michell, is a welcome addition to the inter-House competition schedule, and was a superb showcase of the incredible talent our pupils have for debating. ‘We are passionate about expanding the opportunities for all our girls to get involved in debating, and to come along to the weekly clubs and termly workshops with the external coach, and of course, to put themselves forward to take part in the next competition in Lent 2024! The importance of debating cannot be understated. Debating in schools teaches things unlearnable in other ways: not only how to construct an argument, but to listen to the counter argument in order to adapt your argument to be the most compelling. Above all, debating teaches you to think on your feet, to express yourself with clarity and to develop the confidence to speak in public. All of which is terrifying, exhilarating and utterly compelling as a reason to take up debating!’

Mrs Isabel Michell, Teacher of Classics, and Mrs Maria Reichardt, Head of Academic Scholars

Academic Life

‘We now feel more prepared for the next part of our journey.’ Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

English

ENGLISH The past academic year has seen a plethora of theatre trips, workshops and activities to enrich our English curriculum. As I look back on the last 12 months, I am delighted to say that we have taken every opportunity to experience English both inside and outside of the classroom.

In the Michaelmas term, our A Level pupils were fortunate enough to see a forward thinking production of their set text Othello at nearby theatre The Watermill. With the use of modern music and dance, the text was given a thoroughly updated treatment, helping our pupils appreciate the impact of Iago’s deceit and Othello’s jealousy. In the same month, our Upper Fifth pupils travelled to The Globe Theatre to see Much Ado About Nothing and to Guildford to watch An Inspector Calls, both set texts at GCSE. These opportunities were invaluable for students in gaining an insight into stagecraft. In February, our GCSE pupils attended ‘Poetry Live!’, a conference organised by our exam board AQA and a chance to see the country’s most notable poets such as poet laureate Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Imtiaz Dharker, Daljit Nagra and John Agard. Poets offered insights into the process of poetry writing, their published poetry and the works of others. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and gain a further understanding of the set poems at GCSE. As part of our World Book Day celebrations in March, Sara Grant, author, editor and lecturer in creative writing, gave our pupils a masterclass in how to improve their writing and make an impact. Remove pupils dressed as their favourite literary characters and teachers re-created book covers of popular texts. The English department offered their own interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! We invited Quantum Theatre into School to perform for our pupils in the auditorium. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde was presented to the Upper Fifth as part of their revision and A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a wonderful way to end the curriculum year for Remove and Lower

Fourth. Lastly, we were delighted once more to have collaborated with the Murray Centre for the Downe House Seniors Association Short Story Competition. The winners of the short story competition were: Lower School: Alexia Walker (LIV) in first place, Gabrielle Yue (LIV) in second and Eleanor Black (Remove) in third. In Upper School, first place went to Amelia Karoly (UIV), second place to Phillipa Drysdale (UIV) and joint third place to Alice Bevan (UIV) and Aleksandra Cork (UIV). In the Sixth Form, the winners were: Lilias Hoare Nairne (LVI) in first place, Mary Hazlitt (LVI) in second place and Sophie Ewen (LVI) in third place. Congratulations to these students and to all those who took part. It has been an exciting and action-packed year once more and we look forward to all that the next year brings!

Mrs Joanne West, Head of English LITERARY SENIORS As Literary Seniors this past year, Fife and I have helped to promote reading for pleasure across the School community. We have recommended books through short videos on Instagram or writing book reviews for Oliver (our library management system) that spanned across different age groups and genres. We were very lucky to be able to organise three book clubs with Radley College. Our chosen books ranged from science fiction such as Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro to postmodern short stories like ‘Girl Woman Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo and ‘All That Man Is’ by David Szalay, all of which provided opportunities for students to engage in thoughtful discussions and gain insights into different cultures and experiences. Additionally, we supported World Book Day by making reading a more interactive process by creating a fun book quiz and assisting in the book exchange event. We have really enjoyed the opportunities to engage with the behindthe-scenes requirements of School events, and we hope that we have been able to encourage more people to read more often and diversely.

Longwen (Vivi) Lei and Fife Akinkugbe (UVI)

Our Year 2022-23

This was a busy year at Downe House, mathematically. Our pupils showed great determination and skill when representing the School in a variety of National Mathematical Challenges throughout the year. These included the Mathematical Olympiad for Girls, the UK Senior Maths Challenge, the British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 and the Senior Kangaroo in Michaelmas term. There was also the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge and the UK Junior Challenge in the Lent term. Additionally, on Wednesday 8 March 2023, Remove and Lower Fourth pupils participated in Mathletics as part of World Maths Day. In the Michaelmas term, Daria Andreeva (UVI) and Sio I (Melinda) Leong (UVI) entered the National Cipher Challenge and finished in the top 20, achieving a silver medal. As a result, they were invited to the final and prize giving ceremony at Bletchley Park, accompanied by Mrs Hobbs. Also, during the Lent term Sio I (Melinda) Leong (UVI), Jocelyn Yue (LVI), Claribelle Cheng (LVI) and Sion Ovbiebo (LVI) entered the MATLAB M3 Challenge, which spotlights applied mathematics and technical computing as powerful problem-solving tools and viable, exciting professions and attracts the participation of thousands of students across the world. Participants work in small teams (Sixth Form students from the US, England and Wales), committing 14 consecutive hours on the designated challenge weekend to devise a solution to a real-world problem using mathematical modelling.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Maths

The Mathematics department were also involved in the STEM Residency in the Murray Centre during the Lent term, during which we welcomed TV personality and populariser of mathematics, Johnny Ball to Downe House to give a mathematical presentation to Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth pupils. Finally, during the Summer term, Upper Fourth pupils (sets 1 and 2) took part in ‘Around the World in 60 Minutes’, exploring how maths links to flight paths, discovering fascinating patterns in population data and finding the maths hidden in the very fabric of islands and land masses themselves. This was an interactive talk, with pupils taking part in a hands-on activity, a magic trick and an audience experiment. Maths topics covered included: spherical geometry, fractals and Benford’s Law. It was a wonderful year of discovering how maths is present and vital in everyday life and the extraordinary.

Mr Robert Barnes, Head of Mathematics

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Business and Economics

The UK economy over this academic year has provided much real-life application for Business and Economics pupils. Understanding the interrelationship between economic theories and the practical business and economic environment is crucial in today’s rapidly changing global landscape. Pupils often encounter numerous challenges that go beyond the confines of their textbook; by actively engaging with current affairs, reading news articles, reports and analysing data, they strive to break free from conventional thinking and embrace modern perspectives to effectively address the practical economic challenges faced today. As the economist John Maynard Keynes once stated, ‘the difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.’

parents. For working parents, the government are providing 30 hours free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year to be rolled out from April 2024 to support the 435,000 people in England with a child under the age of 3.

There are a number of challenges facing the UK business and economic environment. From Brexit and the uncertainty faced by businesses who import and export with the EU, the departure of 330,000 UK-employed EU citizens, followed by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of productivity combined with a generous fiscal spending program creating excess aggregate demand, inflation has been the big macroeconomic story. Cost-push inflation driven by a depreciated pound incurring higher import costs, higher wages due to labour shortages and skyrocketing energy prices have seen inflation peak at 11.1% in October 2022, a level not seen since the 1970s.

The need for employment-led immigration has led to conflict between party politics and sound economic policy. Despite the need for a large workforce to increase the UK’s economic output, those who are anti-immigration argue that migrants are taking the jobs of those who already live in the country. However, economic theorists believe that the impact of migration on the citizens of a country is negligible because immigrants tend to take jobs that some refuse to accept due to low pay, which is particularly the case for many roles in retail, hospitality and agriculture. Migration is necessary for jobs in these sectors to be filled to increase the production possibility in the UK, or investment in technology such as robots where applicable. The shortage of housing is another consideration for immigration – the latest figures show that the number of housing projects granted planning permission in England last year fell to the lowest level since 2006, when figures were first collected. Much to do, it would seem, in the Chancellor’s office.

The economist, Bill Phillips, identified the inverse relationship between the rate of unemployment and inflation, arguing that as unemployment fell, wages rose, with firms passing on the increased wage costs in the form of higher prices. UK job vacancies are at their highest level since records began and so this was a key focus in fiscal policy. This year’s Spring Budget focused on supply-side policies with the aim to increase long-term productive potential in the economy. By increasing real output, assuming that aggregate demand stays the same or decreases in the economy, price levels and inflation will fall. The Chancellor’s strategy comprised of four main priorities to improve the quantity and quality of output: Employment, Education, Enterprise and Everywhere. To increase employment, the Budget targeted those who are ‘economically inactive’ which refers to 6.7 million of the working-age population. The absence of this ‘inactive’ group from the labour force further depletes the productivity of the economy which is significantly lower in the UK compared to EU counterparts. Included in the figure are the long-term sick or disabled, those over the age of 50 who decided to retire during COVID-19 and stay-at-home

Our Year 2022-23

Compulsory maths in pupils’ education up to the age of 18 as well as ‘returnships’ to reskill the over 50s is designed to increase the knowledge and skills of the workforce. Enterprise is being encouraged by supporting Research and Development-intensive SMEs to develop innovation. ‘Everywhere’ continues the ‘levelling up’ initiative to ensure economic growth will benefit those across the country. An example is the Levelling Up Partnership which provides over £400 million investment in 20 regions across England.

This term the pupils attended a fair focused on Ethics in Business which gave them an opportunity to discuss with representatives from five companies the ethical values, practices and policies at these companies. We look forward to more educational trips and speakers next year. The pupil-led Business and Economics Society met weekly in Michaelmas and Lent terms to discuss doughnut economics and the economic cost of the Qatar World Cup. Next year will see the introduction of the Rotary Leadership and Management programme, equipping pupils with the skills required to become successful and confident future leaders.

Ziyue (Carol) Chen (LVI) and Ellen Phillips (LVI)

This year we returned with our A Level pupils to the Field Studies Council Field Centre in Slapton Sands, Devon. As part of the OCR A Level specification, pupils must choose an area of the syllabus that they find interesting and then plan, investigate and conduct a piece of research independently.

The first couple of days were spent introducing the girls to urban and physical fieldwork techniques. For our urban day, we headed down the coast to Plymouth. The aim for the day was to test methods that could test the success of different regeneration strategies. We spent a very rainy afternoon on the Hoe and looked at the beautiful waterfront regeneration of the old Plymouth dock yard. One of our pupils is heading back there in the summer to use this area for her own personal investigation. For our coastal day, we walked six miles (I told the girls this number after the walk) along the south Devon coast path from Start Point lighthouse to Slapton Sands. The weather was much better this day and the walk gave the girls an opportunity to investigate the impact of different types of coastal management strategy on the various coastal settlements that we encountered. The girls were also given tips about sampling strategies and were encouraged to think about how they might apply some of these techniques in a different location. We have five girls completing coastal investigations this summer, so we are excited to see the results of these in September 2023. On our penultimate day, the girls travelled to Totnes to discover what makes a transition town so different. It was lovely to spend the day in such an interesting location. Totnes prides itself on its sustainability credentials and this was evident in the variety of independent stores and community projects throughout the town. One of our pupils was inspired by this trip and has decided to investigate another transition town for her Non Exam Assesment (NEA). The final evening was spent writing proposal forms back at the centre. The girls are now ready to spend some of their summer collecting data for their own investigations from various locations both within the UK and overseas.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Geography

On the 25 and 26 November we headed to FSC Amersham to complete a couple of days of GCSE fieldwork studies. The girls must complete a day of physical and a day of human fieldwork to prepare them for their Paper 3. On this paper they get asked a variety of questions about the fieldwork they have completed. They are also expected to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar locations and situations. Thankfully the weather was relatively kind to us and this coupled with our Upper Fifth pupils' sense of humour made it a fun couple of days. The first day was spent completing a classic survey of the River Chess. The girls investigated how closely the river reflected Bradshaw’s model and collected data including river depth, river width and velocity. They had a lot of fun wading in the river, deploying measuring tapes and ranging poles and generally getting soaking wet! Back in the classroom they were able to see how their data could be plotted using GIS. They had recorded their data on digital devices in their field using an app called Survey 123. This was then plotted onto ArcGIS and the girls could see their individual data appear at the exact location that they had collected it. On the second day, the girls travelled to Amersham on the Hill, where they completed a piece of fieldwork that was designed to investigate the extent to which counterurbanisation had influenced the place. Here the girls got an opportunity to try out lots of human geography fieldwork techniques. They completed environmental impact assessments, pedestrian counts and did some land use mapping. They then compared this settlement with another local settlement to ascertain which settlement had been more heavily influenced by this process. Back at the field centre the girls were encouraged to discuss their findings and come to a conclusion. Here they learnt the importance of justifying their decisions using their fieldwork data. We are hoping that they have put all they learnt into practice in the Summer term exams.

Miss Kathryn Rawlinson, Head of Geography

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Science

BIOLOGY JUNIPER HALL As a part of A Level Biology, we get the opportunity to go on a field course to complete some practical work. This year we went to Juniper Hall for three days, everyone agreed that it was an extremely enjoyable trip with lots of differences to normal learning. We got involved in nature directly, allowing us to consolidate our work in relation to real life examples of sampling and succession. As well as being able to work away from the labs we also enjoyed the picturesque scenery, having lunch by the river and spending time singing and taking pictures with the Biology group.

We managed to observe many species of British wildlife, such as crayfish, slow worm and many more. One part of the weekend that I particularly loved was trying catch and release, our group managed to catch two mice and a vole! Being able to see them up close and observe the differences in their behaviour was interesting and good to see in relation to our course. Overall, this trip was a great chance to step out of our comfort zones in the labs and experience what we are learning in real life, as well as spend time with the rest of our year studying Biology.

Susannah Wood (UVI)

OLYMPIADS AND CHALLENGES Success for our Biologists came in May when some of the Lower Fifth pupils took part in the Biology Challenge. When Mrs de Chazal received the results, she was exceptionally impressed with the number of successes! Joline Lam, Yichen (Lilian) Li, Zimo (Emily) Huang, Rosamund Harris and Annabel Trew deserve particular congratulation for gaining a Gold Award – placing them in the top 5% of the country! Nine of the Lower Fifth that entered gained a Silver Award, 20 a Bronze Award and a further 23 were highly commended. Huge success all round and much deserved – it is, obviously, a very challenging competition but the Lower Fifth certainly rose to it! In March 2023 some of our pupils took part in the highly prestigious Science Olympiad in Biology, Chemistry and Physics – an online competition sat by top schools all over the country. For the third year in a row our pupils were ‘placed’ – they were all either commended or gained a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award! The Olympiad is a very academic, well-respected competition so to even get placed is a great achievement; well done to all! Finally, to round the year off in amazing fashion our Lower Sixth Biologists produced our best results to date for the Intermediate Biology Olympiad. We gained two Bronze Awards, an outstanding seven Silver Awards and three Golds! Special congratulations to Kexuan (Angela) Zou on her Gold and to Isabelle Wessely and Ziyue Yu on gaining Gold Awards by some margin – a wonderful achievement! We have had an excellent year and we are very proud of all our scientistists, well done to everyone!

Mrs Agnese Lyne, Head of Science Olympiad Results CHEMISTRY: Silver Award Ziyue Yu (LVI) Anya Gannon (UVI) Kexuan (Angela) Zou (LVI) Gold Award Sio I (Melinda) Leong (UVI) PHYSICS: Silver Award Jocelyn Yue (LVI) BIOLOGY: Silver Award Jamie Ojo (UVI) Ziyue Yu (LVI) Gold Award Jiayi (Ariel) Cao (UVI) Catherine Skipworth (UVI)

Our Year 2022-23

SCIENCE LECTURES AT RADLEY In this academic year at Downe House we embarked on a collaborative endeavour with Radley College to broaden the horizons of its Lower and Upper Sixth Science students. A group of enthusiastic girls from Downe House had the opportunity to attend a series of captivating lectures held at Radley College's Science Lecture Theatre. The lectures featured esteemed speakers, each an expert in their respective field, delivering enlightening talks on various scientific topics. The girls' participation in these lectures has not only fostered their curiosity but has also significantly enhanced their knowledge and understanding.

The first lecture, held in the Michaelmas term, welcomed Dr Adam Gammack from Pharmaron, who shared his invaluable insights on being an industrial research chemist. Dr Gammack's engaging presentation captivated the audience as he delved into the intricacies of his work and the contributions of research chemists in the industrial sphere. The Lower Sixth girls from Downe House were inspired by his experiences and gained a deeper appreciation for the real-world applications of Chemistry. Continuing the series, later that term, the Science Lecture Theatre played host to Professor David Leigh from the University of Manchester. Professor Leigh's talk, titled ‘The Magic of Molecular Machines’, left the audience spellbound. Our girls were fascinated by the remarkable advancements in molecular technology and how these machines hold immense potential for revolutionising various fields. Professor Leigh's passionate delivery and captivating visuals left a lasting impression on the aspiring young scientists, igniting their curiosity to explore this cuttingedge area further.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Science

The collaboration between Downe House and Radley College reached new heights with the third lecture, held in the Lent term, featuring Professor Tom Welton OBE from Imperial College. Professor Welton's talk, ‘Chemistry in a World of Sustainability’, shed light on the critical role of Chemistry in creating a sustainable future. His thoughtprovoking ideas and innovative approaches inspired the Downe House girls to consider the environmental impact of their future scientific endeavours. The lecture provided valuable insights into sustainable chemistry practices, empowering the girls to be conscious scientists with a global perspective. The impact of these lectures on the Downe House students cannot be overstated. The collaboration with Radley College has enabled these bright young minds to explore diverse areas of science beyond their regular curriculum. The lectures have broadened their understanding of the practical applications of Chemistry and sparked their interest in cutting-edge scientific advancements. The collaboration between Downe House and Radley College, exemplified by these enlightening lectures, underscores the importance of fostering connections between educational institutions. We are already looking forward to attending more lectures next year.

Mrs Agnese Lyne, Head of Science

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

STEM Residency

STEM CLUB STEM club has run every Thursday at teatimes. STEM club has helped me extend my knowledge of science that is not taught in lessons. It is also a fun experience to talk about STEM-related subjects with other people, in your year group and other year groups, who have an interest in the same subjects.

Ada Kurumlu (LV) STEM SHORTS Inspired and inspiring! A group of our Upper Sixth STEM students treated their fellow Sixth Formers, Scholars from across the school and members of the STEM subjects’ staff to an inspiring evening of short talks. The event was the culmination of many weeks researching and preparations for the eight students, all studying STEM subjects at A Level. The super-curricular STEM Shorts initiative, organised by our Head of STEM, Mr Charlie Littledale, is based on the successful format of TED Talks. The students were challenged to research, prepare and deliver a 5-minute talk that would be accessible to anyone on topics of personal interest – linked to the theme of ‘Modern-day problems that can be solved through inspiration from nature.’ We were also delighted to be joined at this inaugural STEM Shorts event by Dr Richard James MacCowan, who gave a fascinating talk on ‘Biomimicry and how nature can provide a wealth of solutions for the modern world’. Richard is an internationally renowned speaker on biomimicry, innovation and sustainability from cosmetics through to superyacht design, and he stayed to hear the pupils’ presentations. Katie Lam (LVI), who presented on ‘analgesic drugs’, said: ‘I really enjoyed the event and the journey to it was a fantastic opportunity for me, as I was able to research into a field I previously had scarce knowledge about. My chosen subject was painkillers, more specifically the mechanism of

Our Year 2022-23

morphine. I learnt a lot in the process, including being selective about the infinite resources on the internet, and simplifying complex information to an understandable degree. There was such a large variety of topics, from fractal dimensions to superpowers and polyculture farming, the event was exceptionally interesting and definitely inspiring for the audience about the different applications to advance scientific research.’ Clara Dutertre-Delaunay (LVI), whose STEM Short explored the possibility of using ‘Quercitin on periodontitis’, also found the process of great value: ‘This event was a great opportunity to research further a topic that I was particularly interested in from a different angle and to look for new perspectives on trying to find solutions for it. It was also a great way to improve my public speaking and communication skills, and I really enjoyed hearing from academic fields that I would normally not encounter.’ Mr Charlie Littledale explained the rationale behind the initiative. ‘My aim for the STEM Shorts initiative is that those students involved not only enjoy delving much deeper into areas of interest to them personally, but also benefit hugely from the process. The skills they have developed of researching, condensing and simplifying information, as well as presenting under the pressure of a live audience, will stand them in good stead for the rigors of university interview processes, and the world of work in the future, where speaking confidently will be essential. Furthermore, my aim is always to inspire our students to want to become further engaged with STEM – and from what those in the audience tell me, we certainly achieved this aim. I hope to see many of them presenting their own STEM Shorts in years to come.’

Mr Charles Littledale, Head of STEM

ACADEMIC LIFE

STEM Residency

STEM RESIDENCY During the Lent term, the Downe House STEM department put on a magnificent residency week! A very broad range of activities and displays filled the Murray Centre, from challenges such as 'Beat the Buzzer Wire', a binary code message to crack and an elusive animal eye quiz, to a tough elemental symbols competition, and the creation of the biggest ever elephant’s toothpaste. In the evenings, we held film screenings to highlight the work of inspirational women in STEM - there was something for everyone! Lunchtime demos became an excellent opportunity for various members of the STEM staff to wow us! Remotecontrolled balloons soared around the Murray Centre, Dr Jones entertained with his 'Epic Experiments' show and even Miss Eaves (Assistant Head, Lower School) bravely volunteered in the Van de Graaff practical.

Our thanks to the fantastic guests who joined us during the week, including the Code Show who delighted us with retro technology. A select group of budding scientists from Upper School and Sixth Form attended a workshop led by Stryker and girls had the incredible opportunity to get hands-on with the medical devices used in knee and hip replacements. The Lower School highlight of the week had to be Johnny Ball's talk on the 'Magic of Maths', which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Overall, it was a fantastic week jam-packed with exciting competitions and activities, giving everyone the opportunity to become immersed in the STEM universe beyond the classroom!

Louise Alldis-Kervella (LVI)

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

History of Art

ART HISTORY SOCIETY On Sunday 27 November the Art History Society enjoyed a visit to Oxford, to see the Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum.

The exhibition explored the range of techniques and media used by the artists, with over 100 works on show. Many of the works were light-sensitive and may not be seen on display again for quite some time. These included works of extraordinary beauty, from the portraits the Pre-Raphaelites made of each other, their studies and the development of ideas for commissions, to subjects inspired by history, literature and landscape. It was interesting to study some of the rarely exhibited works by female Pre-Raphaelites, often over-shadowed by their more famous male counterparts. ARTICULATION COMPETITION On Tuesday 17 January, the Lower Sixth took part in the ARTiculation competition. This provided them with an opportunity to deliver a short presentation about a work of art, design or architecture that inspires them. Nine Lower Sixth pupils competed, presenting a diverse range of artworks, including architecture, film, sculpture, installation and paintings. Everyone presented a carefully researched essay, and it was fascinating to learn about such a broad spectrum of creative ideas. Isabelle Ashworth and Sinling Damais were highly commended for their knowledgeable and personal presentations. Our runner up was Tacita Rhys Williams, for her confident presentation skills on Roman portraiture. Many congratulations to Aimee Wilson for her winning presentation, which analysed the political nature of Ai Weiwei’s work, remembering the deaths of 80,000 people, mostly primary school children, in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Aimee’s knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the artist’s work really shone through. Thank you to all the competitors for working hard to create such an informative and entertaining evening!

Ms Diane Slocombe, Teacher of History of Art

Our Year 2022-23

UPPER SIXTH STUDY DAY On Sunday 30 April the Upper Sixth Art Historians enjoyed an intensive day of revision, focusing on their Renaissance and Nature topics, along with lots of visual analysis practice too. They began the day at Tate Britain, analysing one of their Turner case studies in detail and practising quick-fire judgements when analysing unknown sculptures. This was vital preparation for the visual analysis section of their first exam paper. After lunch, they continued their revision at the Victoria and Albert Museum where they developed their quick-fire visual analysis skills, focusing on Raphael’s cartoons for the Sistine Chapel, and then visited the excellent Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance exhibition. ‘The most useful part of the day for me was when we were split into groups to discuss the works. It really helped to collaborate and practise visual analysis together.’ - Georgia Ashley (UVI) ‘It was a really useful day, definitely worth it for the good tips on paragraph structure, and studying Turner’s Snow Storm in detail.’ - Eliza McCullough (UVI) LOWER SIXTH REVISION TRIP On Tuesday 23 May the Lower Sixth Art Historians enjoyed an intensive day of revision at the Victoria and Albert Museum. ‘We had a fantastic day out; we got to see and revise a few of our case studies before our mock exams. We spent the morning revising David and the School of Athens with Ms Slocombe, and then switched over and practised our visual analysis skills with Miss Tomlin. We also visited the Donatello exhibition: it was amazing to further understand how his innovations, such as Rilievo Schiacciato, enriched sculpture during the Renaissance. The whole experience was really fun and we had lots of opportunities to explore and further our knowledge. It was nice to end the day learning about what we would go on to study in the Upper Sixth, and it made us even more excited to learn more about nature and identity.’

Sonya Leong, Georgina Jackson, Isabelle Ashworth, Rachel Raeburn-Ward and Aimee Wilson (LVI)

It has been another exciting year in the History and Politics department. We have now fully introduced a curriculum for the Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth which embraces equality, diversity and inclusion with units on the History of Mali in the Remove, the Qing Dynasty in China in the Lower Fourth and the British Empire in the Upper Fourth, alongside the more traditional British history which we continue to teach. Next year we will be moving to the International GCSE in the Lower Fifth – once again giving the girls a more global perspective on the events of the 20th and 21st centuries. The highlight of the year was the visit of Lord Heseltine, who gave us fascinating insights into the politics of the 1980s and 90s and some trenchant views of the state of politics today. We had another welcome visit from Steven Frank, a Holocaust survivor, who spoke to the Upper Fourth: ‘I had the honour of hearing Steven Frank speak about his experiences in the Holocaust, and it was truly life changing. Hearing Steven Frank’s first-hand experience of the Holocaust really brought this historical tragedy to life. My generation will never truly be able to understand the scale and significance of the Holocaust as we did not live through it, but being able to hear his story has put it into a new light. It turned the Holocaust from just another event that we learn about into a true experience of the realities of the Holocaust. I believe everyone who was listening to Steven Frank’s story can agree that it was extremely real, moving and touching. The Holocaust has always been a topic of interest for me as I grew up hearing my great grandparents talk of their experiences of the war, and hearing yet another account of the devastating events that occurred really made this historic event sink in. As a Jewish teenager in the 21st century, I will never truly understand what it must have been like for those going through this horrific event that killed 6 million innocent Jews, just like me, for being merely who they are. It is impossible to truly summarise Steven Frank’s story, as it is an extraordinary part of history. Hearing him speak has been extremely inspiring and moving and a once-in-alifetime opportunity and I am extremely grateful for it.’

Tabisa Iakovleva (UIV)

ACADEMIC LIFE

History and Politics

In June we undertook our first overseas trip for four years, to the battlefields of Ypres and the Somme: ‘We got up at 6am to get on the bus to Ypres. We arrived in France at 3.30pm and drove to Ypres in Belgium. We visited Sanctuary Wood and Hill 60, where our tour guide gave us a brief overview of the trenches and the kind of weapons used in the war. On the second day we went to the fields where the Battle of the Somme took place and visited the memorial of the missing. We had a meal in Ypres and then attended the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, which was really moving and we were really fortunate to experience it. On the last day we went to seven sites before we left for the UK, including Tyne Cot cemetery. This is the largest British war cemetery in the world where 11,954 soldiers are laid to rest. We went to the In Flanders Fields Museum in the city of Ypres and paid our respects to the grave of the youngest boy to give his life during the Great War. Visiting these battlefields and these memorials where history took place was a very different experience to learning in a classroom. We saw a different side of the war, where entire cities were destroyed, and had to be built again from the ground up. Attending ceremonies and memorials has left a lasting impression on us and is a trip that we will remember for a long time.’

Phillipa Drysdale (UIV) We also took the Remove to Hastings battlefield: ‘We went on a trip to see Battle Abbey and the battlefield where the Battle of Hastings took place. We did a reenactment of what happened in 1066. We had people pretend to be Harold Godwinson (that was me), Harald Hardrada and William the Conqueror, and we also learnt about some of the weapons they used. Half the room got Norman shields and the other got Saxon shields and we even learnt the war cries they used. At the end we saw the place where Harold supposedly died. After that, we had lunch then went on a tour of the battlefield. It was very interesting, and we learnt that some people think the Battle of Hastings didn’t really happen there, as no artefacts have been found, only the Abbey. The day was very fun, and I especially enjoyed the re-enactment.’

Helen Foulkes (Remove)

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Modern Languages The MFL department had an incredibly dynamic and enriching year, packed with a wide range of activities and events that brought the beauty and diversity of languages and cultures to life. We kicked off the year with the much-anticipated Murray Centre MFL Residency. This week-long event allowed pupils to embark on an adventure, experiencing live events that broadened their horizons and tested their knowledge. The Murray Centre café served delicious cakes and pastries from all around the world, from Biscoff cookies to cuor di mela biscuits. The Residency also introduced the concept of ‘Untranslatable Word’. Pupils delved into the intricacies of language, exploring words such as Age-otori (the feeling of looking worse after leaving the hairdresser’s [Japanese]) that defy direct translation. It was a fascinating exploration of linguistic diversity and cultural nuances that really challenged the community. We welcomed two visiting speakers who shared their expertise and experiences. The Language Gap talked to our linguists about the year abroad and a talk on ‘Languages and the Entrepreneurial Mindset’ proved to be particularly enlightening. These sessions provided invaluable insights into the practical applications of language skills in the professional world, encouraging pupils to consider language learning as a gateway to global opportunities and to remember that in learning a language you also learn skills such as communication, and thinking on your feet, that are invaluable in life. To foster cross-cultural understanding, we organised a webinar on Extremism in France for our Sixth Form pupils. This thought-provoking session explored the complexities of extremism, offering a platform for meaningful dialogue and challenging prevailing stereotypes. To infuse the Residency with energy and creativity, all pupils were invited to participate in a lively Latin American Rhythms dancing session. The following day pupils were invited to enjoy the tranquillity of tai chi. These activities not only exposed pupils to different forms of self-expression but also promoted well-being and cultural appreciation. Celebrating the achievements of our Sixth Form pupils, we provided a platform for them to deliver short presentations on diverse topics. From existentialist philosopher Albert Camus, to a brief history of secularism and its place in modern politics, these presentations showcased the depth of knowledge and curiosity among our linguists. The community shared their favourite foreign language expressions, and it was fabulous to hear such a range and variety. It really was a wonderful way to start the year. Another standout event was the Christmas party for the Remove. The festive gathering involved pupils and language ambassadors coming together to celebrate the holiday season. The party was filled with joy and laughter, but also served as a platform to learn about diverse cultural traditions. Through engaging quizzes, pupils discovered how different cultures celebrate Christmas, broadening their understanding and appreciation of global customs.

Our Year 2022-23

Our Lower Fourth pupils took part in their language taster days and heard from our language ambassadors about their experiences and the value of learning a language. It is always a delight to discuss with girls this age the possibilities there are for linguists in the world of work. Being a linguist opens so many doors well beyond the world of translation and interpreting, not to mention the simple cultural benefits of language learning. The MFL team were excited for the return of trips abroad. There has been a rich offering of visits to foreign climates that have brought language alive for many pupils and given purpose to their lessons. CHINESE We organised activities to engage our pupils and foster a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, such as the celebration of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Lower Fourth girls participated in an introductory workshop on the Chinese language, as well as a hands-on session on Chinese crafts. This served as an excellent initiation into Chinese culture. To mark the occasion, the Chinese learners and pupils came together for a festive Chinese meal in Newbury centre. This provided a valuable opportunity to practise our Chinese language skills, an accomplishment that was truly motivating. It was particularly significant for our Chinese girls, as the Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally a time for family reunions. The event allowed them to experience a sense of celebration within a larger, supportive community. In anticipation of the Chinese New Year, the entire School indulged in a delightful Chinese lunch and a captivating lion dancing performance. This mesmerising display garnered praise from both pupils and staff, leaving everyone in awe. To further immerse our pupils in the festivities, each Chinese learner received a small gift bag filled with Chinese goodies, including the coveted Red Envelope, a traditional item for children during the New Year period. Additionally, a captivating display showcasing Chinese New Year customs and vibrant red decorations – a colour synonymous with the celebrations – adorned areas of the School. The jubilant atmosphere of the Chinese New Year permeated the MFL department, leaving a lasting impression on all who passed through. Our commitment to providing enriching experiences for our pupils has been unwavering, and this year has been no exception. By offering diverse activities and celebrations, we have succeeded in nurturing a deeper appreciation and understanding of Chinese language and culture among our pupils. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to inspire future generations of Chinese learners. ITALIAN This year’s highlight was the Lent half term trip to Venice. Surrounded by the spectacular architecture and the canals of this city, our pupils had the opportunity to participate in cultural activities such as mask-making for Carnival, and creating their own jewellery made from Murano glass. They also visited an Italian secondary school which specialises in preparing its pupils for careers in the hospitality industry. This provided a fantastic chance for our Sixth Formers to

meet staff and pupils and to practise their conversational Italian over dinner. A further highlight of the trip was a visit to a restaurant run by refugees. The waiters at the restaurant spoke about the process of setting up the restaurant and their experiences of living in Italy. The trip was a huge success and was greatly enjoyed by all who participated. FRENCH We had a vibrant and eventful year, providing pupils with exciting opportunities to explore the rich culture, language and traditions of the Francophone world - from language immersion to culinary adventures! In the Lent term a group of enthusiastic Upper Fifth pupils embarked on a trip to Downe House Sauveterre to enhance their speaking skills and immerse themselves in an authentic French speaking environment. Pupils participated in various activities including cooking sessions, where they learnt to prepare French specialities like ‘mousse au chocolat’. They visited Toulouse, known for its rich heritage and vibrant atmosphere, and explored the city’s iconic landmarks, soaking in the local ambiance and interacting with the locals in French. Additionally, they participated in exciting Zumba and handball sessions conducted entirely in French, combining language practice with physical activity in a fun and energetic way. In the Summer term, all Remove pupils enthusiastically participated in the Festival of Culture, showcasing their talents and passion for French music and dance. With their rendition of ‘Les Champs-Élysées’ and a choreographed routine by Isabella Filo and Danielle Jibodu (Remove), they captivated the audience. Their exceptional performance earned them the well-deserved prize for the Best Group Performance. Lower Fifth pupils embarked on a memorable excursion to the enchanting city of Paris, where they visited some of the most iconic sites. From the Sacré Coeur to the château de Versailles and the historic Arc de Triomphe, the pupils were immersed in the grandeur and history of the French capital. They also enjoyed shopping on the world-famous ChampsÉlysées and indulged in delicious ice creams, savouring the culinary delights of the city. To complete their Parisian experience, the pupils enjoyed a delightful boat ride along the Seine River on a Bateau Mouche, providing breathtaking views of the city’s landmarks. GERMAN We kicked things off by taking pupils to London’s West End to see David Tennant in the excellent but harrowing play Good, which deals with the Nazi’s rise to power and their putting into action the so-called ‘final solution’. Pupils were gripped by the imaginative staging, and we had a lively discussion about the play on the journey home. We were kindly invited to join Radley’s German department for their pupils’ Christmas celebrations. Our pupils were

ACADEMIC LIFE

Modern Languages treated to traditional German Christmas food and drinks, as well as some quizzes, games and singalongs which were great fun, and provided some excellent opportunities for everyone to practise the target language outside the traditional classroom! Our pupils were so inspired that the Upper Sixth baked delicious Christmas biscuits in York House later that week! The highlight of the year was our Christmas trip to Germany. We were overwhelmed to be invited into the home of the Spies-von Büllesheim family just outside of Aachen. They welcomed us with open arms and our pupils experienced a truly unique four days in a very Christmassy Germany, including ice skating on a moat, light installations, crossing three borders in less than one hour and plenty of Christmas market shopping, of course. In the Spring, we enjoyed another Radley adventure: to watch a play performed entirely in German with some audience participation, as well as a Q&A afterwards! During the Summer term, the Upper Fourth joined Oxford University’s annual language competition by baking four lemon drizzle cakes – we will be taking part in that competition again! Our final event was the Upper Fourth performing Struwwelpeter on screen, watch this space for the next Oscar’s foreign language entry! SPANISH The Spanish department worked on some activities for our Hispanists that allowed them to explore and enjoy culture beyond the classroom: ‘In March, we went to London to watch the play La Casa de Bernarda Alba at the Cervantes Theatre. The play explores the repression of five daughters under the tyrannical reign of their mother. It was really entertaining and helped to deepen our understanding of the play and the language. Seeing the stage directions and the interpretations by the actresses inspired all of us to better remember the quotes and come up with new essay ideas which we discussed during the journey back. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would say it’s a must for any Spanish A Level pupils!’- Katie Lam (UVI) ‘I was very excited to visit Barcelona because I had never been to Spain. We stayed at a hostel and went to nearby restaurants. We visited landmarks such as the Sagrada Familia and the Gaudi Museum and took part in a flamenco workshop! On the last day, we learned the art of trencadís. I found it very interesting and beautiful.’- Chen Wang (UV)

Mrs Jane Basnett, Head of Modern Languages

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Computer Science

Enthusiasm for studying Computer Science is going from strength to strength at Downe House. NEW SPECIFICATION GCSE COURSE The Summer term saw the first Downe House cohort sit the new specification of the Edexcel GCSE examination, which includes a live Python programming component; the girls (and staff) were thrilled with their outstanding results! SUSTAINABILITY IN TECH DAY In September, Lower Fifth GCSE pupils visited the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park to participate in a ‘Sustainability in Tech Day’. Pupils were encouraged to consider the answers to some big questions, such as ‘How does tech tie to climate change?’, ‘What’s inside?’, ‘How is data stored?’, ‘What is the Circular Economy?’ and ‘Can we cut emissions?’ They got hands-on dismantling laptops to understand how the different components fit together and even had a go at some of the museum’s retro games! PEOPLE WHO HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD During the Michaelmas term, the focus for whole School assemblies was ‘People who have changed the world’. Mrs McClure shared the tragic story of Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician and World War codebreaker, who fell victim to mid-20th century attitudes towards his homosexuality. This led to some interesting class discussions about the work that took place at Bletchley Park during this period and the importance of encryption, both then and now.

Our Year 2022-23

ADA LOVELACE DAY 2022 This is an annual international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), promoting the importance of these subjects and encouraging girls to get involved. As well as creating their own ‘Ada Lovelace poetry generator’ in Scratch, pupils in Remove also created some fantastic posters to promote Ada Lovelace Day 2022! INTERNATIONAL CODE WEEK Pupils in Upper Fourth were pleased to participate in this year’s Code Week. Using a program called ‘Flowgorithm’, they were able to practise their computational thinking skills and create visual representations of algorithms! BEBRAS SUCCESS In November, all Computer Scientists from Remove through to Lower Fifth, participated in the annual Bebras National Computing Challenge. Amazingly, 30 girls across three age groups achieved scores in the top 10% nationally! These pupils received a Gold Award and invitation to the Oxford University Computing Challenge. COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION WEEK An annual event held in December, Computer Science Education week inspires pupils to both learn Computer Science and celebrate our contributions to this field. This year pupils in Remove marked the occasion by completing an ‘Hour of Code’ using Minecraft! Pupils completed an activity which teaches the importance of inclusion whilst learning how to use block-coding to solve problems!

Pupils in Upper Fourth marked this occasion by completing a Christmas coding challenge! They used the Python Turtle library to create some original, festive designs.

about the threats of cyber attacks and the future demand for digital skills in this field, whilst exploring a fun platform specifically designed for Key Stage 3 pupils.

SAFER INTERNET DAY 2023 As is tradition, all Computer Science pupils at Downe House celebrated Safer Internet Day in February, joining with organisations globally to celebrate the internet and help work together to ensure that it is a safe and stimulating place for everyone. During lessons, pupils considered the things they love about the internet and things they would like to change.

OUTREACH – DEPARTMENT ROBOT ‘OLIVE’ Our wonderful NAO robot never fails to entertain pupils when she makes an appearance in lessons and workshops, helping to bring computing and AI to life! This year she travelled with Downe House staff to visit Hurlingham Prep School in London, as well as contributing to the Computing session at this year’s New Girls’ Open Day.

Lower Fourth pupils created their own personal ‘Data Gift’ memory joggers, to prompt them to stop and think about what they are consenting to, before they give away the gift of information to websites and social media platforms! ESPORTS – JUST DANCE 2023 A first for Downe House this February, as a team of the Remove girls proudly represented England in the Europe heat of The Fuse Cup, a global Just Dance eSports competition! Linking in with Safer Internet Day, participating pupils also attended useful mini lessons on gaming addiction and cyberbullying as part of the event. CYBER FIRST Cyber security has never been more important. Lower Fourth pupils experienced a virtual cyber security session delivered by an industry trainer from the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. They learned

ACADEMIC LIFE

Computer Science

MICRO:BITS – COMPUTING UNPLUGGED Interactive programming was taken to another level this year, as the Remove girls created their very own electronic pets! Using the BBC micro:bit and Make Code website, they learnt about the software development life cycle, as they planned, designed, created, tested and finally pitched their product to their classmates. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Both Mrs Carter and I are delighted with the progress made in the Computer Science department these past 3-4 years. We have achieved our mission of ‘getting girls to code’ and hope that we have instilled a love of programming in our pupils, equipping them with future-proof digital skills. Keep coding!

Mrs Siobhán McClure, Head of Computing and ICT

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Higher Education OVERSEAS UNIVERSITY ROADSHOW There were a range of universities present, some specialising in industries like fashion and hospitality, and all positioned in different locations around the world. One university that interested me was the University of Toronto, which offers hundreds of undergraduate courses and has three different campuses in the city. We were given an insight into the application process for overseas students and the admissions representative explained more about their courses and campus life in detail. I was particularly interested in the flexibility of courses and the different combinations. Another school that was present was Polimoda, a fashion school based in Italy. They offer courses to prepare you for both the fashion design and fashion business industries. Although I am not considering a career in fashion, it was still interesting to hear about the history of the school and learn about the courses on offer. Overall, I thought the fair was very informative as I got to see and learn more about different global options, both in areas I am interested in and those I am less familiar with. All the external speakers were very enthusiastic to talk about their colleges and I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear more about various aspects of studying abroad.

Jocelyn Yue (LVI)

Our Year 2022-23

SCHOOLS’ INTERVIEW EXCHANGE EVENT We had the pleasure of welcoming students from four other local schools: St Bartholomew’s School, The Kennet School, The Downs School and Park House School, for a mock interview session. We all met in the Concert Room and were seated with students applying for similar subjects to us, this gave us the opportunity to get to know one another before the first round of interviews started. The interviews were conducted by teachers from the four local schools, as well as some of our own teachers. I found this exercise extremely helpful, as it gave me the opportunity to refine my interview skills and practise explaining my interest for certain areas within my subject. After our interviews, we returned to the Concert Room and continued to socialise with the other students. It was interesting to hear about other people’s aspirations for life after school and why they want to study at Oxbridge. By 6 pm when the event ended, I felt that I had gained a valuable experience, hopefully one which will benefit me when it comes to my Oxbridge interview. Thank you to Dr Atherton and Mrs Knight for organising this event, it was thoroughly enjoyable!

Lauren Akinluyi (UVI)

UPPER FOURTH CAREERS PATHWAYS The Upper Fourth Careers Pathways event was very useful. For each subject we were told what skills we could gain from studying it, and what potential careers it could lead to. It was useful because it is hard to choose which GCSEs to take with so many options to choose from, it also made us think about what careers we might want to do in the future and which GCSEs could help us with that. It also helped to think about what skills we want to develop through doing GCSEs and how we might use these skills in later life. For example, we were told that by doing Drama for GCSE it would help to improve our creative and public speaking skills. Overall, it was a very informative event that enabled us to narrow down what GCSEs we wanted to do and think about how these GCSEs could help us in the future.

Eliza Manson and Isabella Gharagozlou (UIV) LOWER SIXTH FUTURES EVENT The Lower Sixth and our parents attended a talk by the Futures department alongside a panel of alumnae and current Upper Sixth. We were given information from Ms Akhtar about the forthcoming internships programme, which are available across the world in a range of different fields, from finance in London to equine veterinary work in Australia. Additionally, we were given more information about the application process for universities and were given very useful tips from a panel of Downe House alumnae. We were joined by a range of alumnae, with experiences of Oxbridge, Russell Group universities and going straight into work, so we were presented with a huge range of options and pathways. For us, it was incredibly helpful to hear about personal experiences, and that choosing a certain degree isn’t definitive, you can change your mind! Also, hearing about the range of opportunities universities offer both in the UK and abroad was so thoughtprovoking, and gave us lots to consider! Thank you to the Futures team for arranging it all!

ACADEMIC LIFE

Higher Education AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OXBRIDGE PROGRAMME The Lower Sixth girls and parents had the opportunity to attend this event, which took place in the Auditorium. The talk explained not only what applying for Oxbridge entailed, but also highlighted the extensive support programme offered to applicants at Downe House, at both faculty and subject level. In addition to the Downe House Oxbridge team, led by Dr Atherton, Mrs Barnard and Mr Littledale, we received information from Leading Education, who provided an amazing insight into the process. Leading Education work with Dr Atherton and select applicants to provide practical help and support with their entrance tests, applications and interview process. As part of the event, we were also given access to a presentation by Dr Matthew Tranter, a former admissions tutor at Oxford, and it was very interesting to hear his point of view. Two successful Oxbridge applicants Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (UVI) and Longwen (Vivi) Lei (UVI), who received offers in English and Music respectively, also gave us helpful advice and tips, which will definitely be used by many in the future! It was such a beneficial event; the talks were informative for everyone who attended and we would like to thank Dr Atherton and his team for organising this for us.

Hannah Knight (LVI)

Downe House Magazine

ACADEMIC LIFE

Higher Education CAREERS COLLECTIVE As a part of National Careers Week, we were lucky enough to have Sally, Tina and Cerys from The Careers Collective present a talk entitled, ‘Off to Uni? Exploring degree alternatives.’ They presented to the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth about the structure of an apprenticeship and how useful it is as an alternative course to university. As apprenticeship applicants who are very interested in this higher education route, we hosted the lecture. The audience was invited to ask questions and soon enough everyone, even pupils who were not interested in apprenticeships, learnt about the different options that are available. It was a truly amazing evening and was a great way for everyone to understand other possibilities and for people who are interested in apprenticeships to learn more about what they entail.

Rose Wilkinson and Sonya Leong (LVI)

HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS EVENT On Wednesday 14 June, the Lower Sixth students took part in an insightful Higher Education Applications workshop, which was organised by the Futures department. The purpose of this event was to help us create the first draft of our personal statement and to set up our UCAS accounts. At the start of the morning, Mrs Llewellyn gave us an outline of what to include within our personal statement, emphasising the crucial information. After each point we were given time to formulate our initial ideas and decide how we would make it relevant to us and how it will apply to us in the future. Whilst this can be a daunting process, due to the guidance and aid of the Futures department, we felt at ease during the morning as we realised that writing our personal statement is possible and we had lots to include. After a short break, we were introduced to UCAS, and guided through a step–by–step process on how to log in and begin our applications. Those applying to overseas universities welcomed Jenna Ahn from ‘MILLIE’ who gave an intuitive talk discussing the practicalities and important steps when applying overseas. Overall, the morning was extremely informative and gave us the knowledge and guidance needed to take the first steps in our university applications. Thank you to Mrs Llewellyn, the rest of the Futures department and our tutors who helped us, we now feel more prepared for the next part of our journey.

Isabel Toogood and Izzy Vir (LVI)

Our Year 2022-23

ACADEMIC LIFE

Exam Results

“We have celebrated this year another excellent set of examination results at GCSE and A Level. I could not be more proud of these terrific young women who I know will go on to flourish as they transition to the Sixth Form and to some of the top universities and institutions in the UK and across the globe. Our girls have been supported and encouraged to turn their aspirations for the future into reality and it is always the personal triumphs and individual achievements that give most pleasure. However, the statistics provide plenty of evidence of the academic success that our girls achieve.” Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress

I/GCSE

64% A* - A overall

A*+ & A*) 8( ov 9-

ie n

ce s

tiv e Ar

9- 8 3 % 7/A *+ Cr B

95 % - B *+ A 9-6/A h Eng

lis

Where do our students go on to study? 90% +

Preferred-choice universities

72%

Russell Group universities

26%

38%

Oxbridge & Top London universities

QS World Top 50 universities

58 % EPQ

3D Design & Textiles

Drama & Theatre

Physics

Music

94%

-A

ing

9- 87% 7/A *+ -

100% A* - B

81%

9-7 (A*+ - A)

+ 9-7/A*

P e r fo r m

Further Maths

46% 3 or more A* - A

all er

A Level

10%

Oxford & Cambridge universities

Overseas universities

Popular areas of study 27%

Economics, Management, Policy and Politics

26%

STEM Courses

23%

Creative, Digital or Performing Arts

13%

Medicine and Medical Sciences

13%

International Focus Inc. Study Abroad

Downe House Magazine

Creative Arts

Our Year 2022-23

‘...we know that you will all go from strength to strength in your creative pursuits.’

CREATIVE ARTS

Creative of the Month SEPTEMBER 2022

Once a month our team of Sixth Form Seniors present the Creative Arts report in whole School assembly. These reports feature achievements, recent events, workshops and visits that have taken place, and each presentation concludes with the much-anticipated announcement of the Creative of the Month award. The award rotates through Art, Textiles, Photography and 3D Design, and is applicable to all year groups. In assembly the work of the recipient is displayed on a large screen and the speakers tell everyone about the winner’s work and why they have been selected before handing out a prize and certificate. We love to recognise the talents of our pupils, but above all, we are looking for individuals who have demonstrated outstanding progress and who regularly go above and beyond expectations. This year we would like to congratulate our winners - you have impressed us so much, and we know that you will all go from strength to strength in your creative pursuits, well done!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts OCTOBER 2022

Thea Davies (UVI)

MARCH 2023

Yichen (Lilian) Li (LV)

Qianya (Zoe) Zhou (UIV)

NOVEMBER 2022

FEBRUARY 2023

Aleksandra Cork (UIV)

Leya Bell (Remove)

APRIL 2023

Georgia Ashley (UVI)

MAY 2023

Sophie Scott (LVI) Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Remove

Lower School Art

BIANCA SQUIRE

ELIZABETH CARTER SHAW

CATHERINE YAM

ISABEL ELDER

ISABELLA RAYNSFORD

MULLINYA (AVA) MATHISARIYAPONG

ZIQUN (LINDA) LU

Our Year 2022-23

ISABELLA LLOYD GEORGE

ISABELLA WARR

TEMILOLUWA AKINKUGBE

SOPHIE SEGGER

EMMELINE ANDERSON

MADELEINE WATKINS-BALL

ZARA SUTHERLAND

MARGARET CHIU

CREATIVE ARTS

UIVG

Lower School Art

PHILIPPA ROBERTSON-KELLIE

UIV

ALICE BEVAN

ELSA GLASS

ON KIU (MINI) KU

JING (ANGELA) YANG

LAHJA HART

SASKIA ANDREWS

SOPHIE LOSSCHMIDT

ZILAN KAN

TABISA IAKOVLEVA

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

LIV

Lower School Art ELIZABETH SQUIRE

ELOISE POLAND BOWEN

EMILY MULFORD

FIONA MERCHANT

GABRIELLE YUE

GRACE BRENNAN

JESSICA GEFFEN

MARVELLOUS IDOWU-TITUS

MIA MCLENNAN

MIRABELLE EDET

NATASHA HUSSAIN

NGAIHIU (ELISA) WANG

SASHA PATERSON

TESS PRAKITRITANON

VICTORIA DA COSTA

ZOURUI (RAY) LI

Our Year 2022-23

Alice Barber

Astrid Davis

Jin Vanasin

Alice Morgan

Hang Ki Katie Lam

Octavia Hoare Nairne

CREATIVE ARTS

GCSE Art

Amelia O’Connor

Isabella Laing

Varuni Rameshwar

Ophelia Fisher Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

GCSE Art

Petchnapa (Nampetch) Bennett

Xin (Emily) Pu

Sewon (Victoria) Min

Our Year 2022-23

Yi (Wendy) Wu

Xin Yan (Annabel) Yang

Yevedzo Wasterfall

Ruihan (Apple) Sun

Yuchen (Rebecca) Gao

CREATIVE ARTS

A Level Art Gabrielle Tan

Taizya Adedeji

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Sienna Jones

A Level Art

Xiaoheng (Lucy) Li

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

A Level Art

Ruixi (Cecelia) Yuan

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Exhibitions

GENerate Exhibition On the evening of Thursday 12 January, several girls from the Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth attended the private view for the GENerate pupil exhibition at The Base arts centre in Greenham. Educational establishments within a 30-mile radius were invited to submit work for selection, and 11 pieces from Downe were chosen, which included paintings, photography and textiles. It was wonderful to see artwork from schools celebrated in a public gallery and the staff at The Base were highly impressed by the standard of the submissions. They are keen to repeat the event next year, and we are sure that it will go from strength to strength!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts Insights Exhibition The Creative Arts faculty has excellent links with The Base arts centre just outside Newbury and throughout the month of May they hosted ‘Insights’, which is the flagship exhibition for the West Berkshire and North Hampshire Open Studios. The exhibition features a piece of work by each participant in the scheme. In 2023, for the first time, Downe House was an Open Studios venue and our end of year exhibition was open to the public after Founder’s Weekend. A painting entitled ‘Blue’ by Pippa Lim (DH 2022), who went on to study at Parsons School of Design in New York, represented Downe House at the Insights exhibition. According to gallery staff Pippa’s piece attracted a great number of compliments and some of our Sixth Formers enjoyed seeing it displayed amongst the work of professional artists when they visited during one of their Art lessons.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

Our Year 2022-23

Ceramic Exhibition City Arts is the community art hub in the centre of Newbury. This year saw the second ‘September Ceramics’ event, which is an opportunity for ceramicists from the region to exhibit and sell their work. As a part of this show, up-andcoming ceramicists are invited to submit work which goes in front of a panel of selectors, and the chosen works go on display. Downe House succeeded in having a number of pieces by the Remove to Upper Fourth selected, and Harriet Cull’s (LIV) lighthouse keeper’s cottage was sold to a member of the public who thought that it had been made by an adult! Various prizes were awarded for up-and-coming ceramicists, and Harriet won first prize in the 10-14 age category, with Chada Laohapongchana (LV) winning first prize in the 14-18 age group and the exhibitor’s choice category. Huge congratulations to them!

Mrs Alison Keeling, Teacher of Art

CREATIVE ARTS

Remembrance Exhibitions

Exhibitions

Each year to mark the November Remembrance period, Art pupils in the Upper Fourth and Creative Arts Award Holders in the Remove to Upper Fourth make pieces for an exhibition in the Murray Centre, as well as in the chapel. The Creative Arts Award Holders made poppy field landscapes using ragging techniques. These were based on the work of Dublin born artist John Nolan. His work is characterised using vibrant colour. Each pupil created a personal response to Nolan’s work by selecting from a range of colours and yarns that are pulled through hessian to create the final ragging composition. Unique elements can be found in each piece, however, the group wanted to create a cohesive display of work. In Fine Art this year, UIVG looked to the expressive poppy paintings of Sheryll K Fox for inspiration before producing their own responses on canvas. Working in pairs, the girls began by layering acrylic inks to create the background, then they drew out their poppy designs and moulded tissue paper and diluted PVA glue to form areas of relief. When dry, the girls added colour with acrylic and acrylic ink, and Quink ink was applied to the backgrounds to create a contrast to the poppies. UIVD and UIVE developed figurative ink paintings based on images of men and women who either served in the armed forces or who worked for the war effort, during the first and second world wars. Both groups looked at the work of war artists, Sir Frank Brangwyn and Eric Kennington and learnt about tone and proportion. Each ink figure was cut out and mounted on to a metal and mesh frame to create a sculptural installation inspired by the work of Christian Boltanski. Pupils from UIVB and UIVC produced a series of prints to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. Their work was produced from war imagery taken during the conflict and was inspired by Linda Kitson, who was the official artist in the field during the war, and by the renowned Andy Warhol. They used Kitson’s expressive drawing style for the detail of their prints, and utilised Warhol’s playful use of colour, collage and mark-making for the background of their pieces.

Mrs Heather Lamont, Teacher of Fine Art

Prep School Collaboration

This year it has been a pleasure to offer workshops for two of our feeder schools, and this is something that we are looking to expand upon in the coming year.

The first was for the Art Scholarship group and some boarders from Brockhurst and Marlston House and this was run by Mrs Mortimer and Ms Yarwood. Students came to the Art department to learn about abstraction, and they created some beautiful mixed media compositions using card, foam, washers, spray painted shapes, wooden sticks and an array of other materials. These were placed into frames for a professional finish. After lunch it was time to use what had been learned about composition and selecting colour schemes by creating an arrangement of glass pieces that were cut to size. These were then fused in the glass kiln, placed in frames and delivered to the School. We were thoroughly impressed by the talent and imagination of the Brockhurst and Marlston House students and it was an absolute pleasure to work with them!

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Trips

3D DESIGN TRIP TO TATE MODERN On Tuesday 8 November, the GCSE and A Level 3D Design pupils travelled to Tate Modern as part of their inspiration research for the personal portfolios. The event was underpinned by our tickets to the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirror Rooms Exhibition – Filled with the Brilliance of Life and Chandelier of Grief.

Our pupils immersed themselves in the presentations and exhibitions, gaining insight into how and why Kusama and her work are regarded as a global phenomenon, and seeking to understand how she responds creatively to stimuli. Following their experience, they were challenged to respond in their own way, sketching, researching and making connections to their own project work. After lunch, our pupils were guided to explore a range of other exhibitions and displays with most being inspired by the Materials and Objects display, showing how artists have embraced new and unusual materials and methods in their work. Other pupils chose to explore Maria Bartuszová’s delicate plaster sculptures inspired by the natural world. Further independent responses followed before it was time to leave, inspired, satisfied and ready for the coach trip home.

Mrs Jennifer White, Head of 3D Design

Our Year 2022-23

TATE BRITAIN TRIP At the beginning of February, Upper Fifth GCSE Art pupils went on a trip to Tate Britain in London. The focus of the day was to gather information and make sketches of artwork that related to individual exam projects. The exam board released seven project titles to choose from, such as ‘Layers’, ‘Objects’ and ‘Flight’ and Ms Slocombe, our History of Art teacher, gave talks to two groups of girls highlighting exhibited works that linked to the titles. This really brought the artwork to life and gave everyone the chance to share their thoughts and observations. After this there was time to create sketchbook work which was submitted as part of the exam unit. It was great to see works of art in the flesh as there is no substitute for this, and our thanks go to Ms Slocombe for delivering such thoughtprovoking sessions.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

CREATIVE ARTS

BARCELONA TRIP

Trips

During the Michaelmas Exeat the Art department took a group of Creative Arts pupils to Barcelona for five days. The trip was open to pupils from across four disciplines of our faculty. The aim of this trip was to provide rich, exciting and stimulating source imagery and inspiration for the participants’ current and upcoming coursework projects. With its numerous exciting sketching opportunities, colour sources, design inspiration and abundance of interesting photography points - Barcelona was the perfect destination. Our packed itinerary ensured that pupils had the opportunity to explore the city whilst building on classroom-based learning and taking in a vast array of visual language and information to expand their knowledge. Whilst in Barcelona, we visited some of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous sites: The Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, La Pedrera - Casa Mila and Casa Batlló. The weather was glorious, so we took the opportunity to tour the city, documenting the rich and diverse sights found in The Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas, and Poble Espanyol. Our strolls were broken up with visits to some of the city’s most spectacular galleries: The MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art), The Joan Miro Foundation and the pupils’ favourite - The Moco Museum. We even managed to cram in a Street Art tour and a Graffiti Masterclass led by one of Barcelona’s most prolific street artists! As if that wasn’t enough, we also ventured out of Barcelona for a day. We journeyed north to visit the stunning town of Girona and Figueres. The morning was spent meandering through the cobbled streets of Girona, which were steeped in history, beauty and some of the best ice cream shops we have ever encountered! Followed by an afternoon visit to the spectacular Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres; which, as I am sure you can imagine, was filled with curiosities and fun. This was our first overseas trip in many years, and we think it was a great success, so watch this space in the future for the next international Creative Arts adventure!

Mrs Heather Lamont, Teacher of Fine Art

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Creative Arts Award Holders Workshop 3D DESIGN WOODCARVING

EXPRESSIVE PORTRAITS

In the Lent term, the 3D Design department offered an award holders workshop session focused on developing skills and appreciation of woodcarving. The work was inspired and informed by the style of American and Canadian native peoples of the North-West Pacific region, considering how these cultures used wood carving to communicate to others.

Upper Fourth Creative Arts Award Holders were invited to engage with materials and techniques that form the basis for an expressive portrait. Working from photographs of family or self, a variety of modern materials such as acrylic paint, marker pens, acrylic ink and gel pens were applied in layers to explore shape, colour, line and pattern in a gestural manner while retaining the structure of the face. The illustrator Natasa Kekanovic's work was discussed and examined, and informed the selection of materials and style of the final piece. Pupils were encouraged not to depict reality, but rather discover a sense of experimentation.

The session explored the design simplification of complex natural creations – such as orcas, eagles, bears and landscapes – into lines and shapes. Pupils were challenged to create their version of a Totem, using expression of their characters as inspiration for their designs. Once planned, pupils moved into the workshop to begin bringing their drawings to life in 3D. It was a demanding exercise, requiring the development of new skills and physical strength, but the results were pleasing indeed.

Mrs Jennifer White, Head of 3D Design

Our Year 2022-23

Mrs Tracey Jones, Teacher of Art Textiles

SCULPTURE WORKSHOP

On Sunday 5 February, Creative Arts Award Holders in the Remove to Upper Fourth came together for an inspiring workshop.

We are very grateful to Katrina Fleming, previously Head of Sculpture at Harrow for seventeen years, who came to Downe House to deliver a workshop for our award holders.

In groups of two or three, participants created imaginative abstract sculptures using torn, folded and twisted white paper.

During the day, Katrina gave participants a choice of three themes to work from – Habitat, Decay and Metamorphosis, and they began by brainstorming related ideas. Following this, potential designs for a sculptural piece were sketched and discussed with an emphasis on veering away from the literal and expressing the essence of a concept within the theme through abstract form.

The focus was very much on form, and the groups photographed their pieces using different lighting techniques to pick up on highlights and shadow, seeking to generate a well composed image. Finally, the sculptures were placed back on the tables and the award holders drew directly from these, selecting an interesting section to study using pen, wash, Quink ink and bleach.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts POLAROID MANIPULATION At the beginning of the Michaelmas term, our technician and incredible artist, Ms Yarwood, ran Polaroid Manipulation workshops for Upper School and Sixth Form Creative Arts pupils. These workshops were run at the weekend and were extremely popular! The sessions involved learning a series of alternative processing techniques where participants were invited to distress and distort their source imagery by using marbling techniques as well as injecting the images with bleach and lemon juice. The images were transformed into abstract works of art - the results were simply stunning.

CREATIVE ARTS

PAPER SCULPTURES

When designs had been finalised Katrina demonstrated assembly techniques using the various materials that she kindly brought in, which included withies, twine, blocks of cardboard and wet strength tissue paper. The girls had great fun working individually or in pairs to realise their designs, with a few modifications along the way to ensure an interesting outcome that worked well from all angles. The day gave everyone the chance to use their imaginations and try out something new!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

Mrs Heather Lamont, Teacher of Fine Art

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

IAN MURPHY WORKSHOP

Workshops

In the latter part of the Summer term, Lower Fifth Fine Art pupils were treated to a workshop run by practising artist, Ian Murphy. Ian is known internationally for his heavily toned, dramatically lit, industrial compositions. He frequently travels the world in pursuit of new locations to draw inspiration from – many of our pupils were delighted to recognise scenes from their respective hometowns! The day began with Ian explaining his artistic ethos and practice, as well as sharing many of his pieces of work including sketchbooks that the participants were able to handle. He then took the pupils through several different workshops using traditional drawing methods, alongside surface deconstruction and reconstruction mirroring the physical evolution of cityscapes throughout the years. Pupils were encouraged to consider their composition, and to take risks by destroying their initial work to reinvent it. At the end of the full day session, a larger piece of work was started, which is still being developed! The day provided a fantastic opportunity for pupils to work with new methods, in a fastpaced environment; and I know that everyone finished the day with a lot of work as well as pride in what they achieved.

Mrs Heather Lamont, Teacher of Art

LIFE DRAWING In the Michaelmas term Mrs Jones provided a day of life drawing for Art and Textiles A Level students, which focused on developing our recording skills. During the day we had the opportunity to work with a range of different materials and techniques and Mrs Jones enabled us to free up our way of working to produce some loose, expressive pieces. As well as this we made observational studies with an emphasis on accurately representing proportion and form. It was a really productive and enjoyable day; we learned so much and we managed to produce numerous pieces for our A Level and Art college application portfolios.

Gabrielle Tan, Deputy Head of Creative Arts (UVI) Creating a life drawing has long been an important element for the Art student since the Renaissance. Working from direct observation of the figure, traditionally nude, is one of the most challenging subjects in Art education. With instruction and guidance from Mrs Jones on 'Ways of Seeing', Upper Sixth students were taken through a range of drawing exercises such as contour, continuous line and blind drawing, that examine shape, line, mark making, tone and proportion. A wide range of drawing materials were used enabling the participants to build upon skills and hone their hand-eye coordination. These drawings form an essential component for the portfolio required for Art school applications and can be some of the most vibrant and varied drawings made from direct observation.

Mrs Tracey Jones, Teacher of Art Textiles 54

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

RADLEY COLLABORATION

Workshops

On 1 November 2022, we were delighted to welcome A Level Art students from Radley College to the Creative Arts faculty at Downe House. This was for our second collaboration, focused on introducing new skills. The workshop involved our Lower Sixth students from Art, Textiles and 3D Design, and the focus for the day was the work of Cornish artist, Anthony Frost. The session was kicked off by two of our Upper Sixth Art students who introduced the work of Frost with a PowerPoint presentation, and Mrs Mortimer brought in five small pieces of work by the artist, which the students were able to pass around. Frost begins each work of art by adhering textures to a support, which could include anything from sail cloth to fruit netting, or even a piece of shoelace. When the adhesive is dry, he begins to apply vibrant acrylic paint in a spontaneous abstract manner while responding to the music that he is listening to. He claims that musicians have inspired his work far more than fine artists and often the title of his paintings comes from the music that he is listening to during their creation. Following the introductory talk, Tara McCaldin, Sophie Scott and Freya Brown (LVI) from Textiles demonstrated the application of materials to canvas to replicate the techniques employed by Frost. The workshop participants then began to work on their own pieces while some of the music that has inspired Frost was played on speakers. This generated a productive flurry of activity, and within an hour, everyone had completed the first stage of their canvas pieces. At break time the Downe House girls and Radley boys had the opportunity to admire each other’s sketchbooks. This was a fascinating and valuable opportunity, which generated much discussion. After break Hannah Hussain and Clothylde Debray (LVI) from Art demonstrated the process of creating a second piece of work inspired by Frost; a composition made from colourful glass. We provided a broad range of glass to work with, which students were able to cut to size and arrange on a clear tile. This is then fused in the Art department glass kiln. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with this new and unfamiliar technique. After lunch, it was time to return to the canvases, and following a final demonstration, everyone set about applying acrylic paint to their textured pieces in a spontaneous manner. At the end of the day, we stood back and admired everything that had been produced and celebrated the fantastic way in which the participants had embraced the day and worked together. We would like to thank Ruth Tufnell, Tom Ryder and their wonderful students for joining us at Downe House - discussions have already begun for our next creative collaboration!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

OIL PAINTING

Workshops

Early in the Michaelmas term, I delivered an oil painting workshop for our Sixth Form Creative Arts students, where we focused on the versatility of the media. Students were encouraged to experiment with a wide range of techniques such as: dry brushing; glazing; wet on wet; layering; blending; underpainting; impasto; sgraffito and scumbling using different brushes and tools for application of paint. Throughout the workshop, the aim is to understand the properties of oil paint and painting mediums in tandem with discussions about when techniques could be used as part of a composition. Examples of contemporary artists who adopt these practices were explored, to enable students to carry out further research to enhance their knowledge and skills. Finally, students began to explore using these methods in combination to generate images of dynamism and energy.

Mrs Tracey Jones, Teacher of Art and Textiles

SCREEN PRINTING Our annual screen printing day for Upper Sixth Fine Art and Photography students took place in the Michaelmas term, and yielded some wonderful prints that were added to the A Level and Art college application portfolios. The process involves generating a positive acetate, either manually with pen and ink or by using an original photographic image. A mesh is tightly stretched over a frame and coated with UV light-sensitive emulsion, then the positive acetates are laid onto an exposure unit, which consists of a strong UV lamp and a sheet of glass. The coated screen is then placed on top of the positive and the exposure unit is turned on for a specific amount of time. The UV light reacts with the emulsion and any areas where the light can reach the emulsion will not be water soluble. The areas where the light was blocked from reaching the screen are washed out, thus creating areas of open and blocked mesh. A squeegee (a rubber blade attached to a handle) is used to push ink through the areas of open mesh on the screen according to the design that has been exposed, thus creating a stencil to print multiple images. The Sixth Formers enjoyed printing using different coloured inks, layering up imagery, as well as printing onto different pre-prepared surfaces. Nearly 200 prints were generated during the day and there were some truly exciting results during this introductory session.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts 56

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

Workshops

POTTERY AND CERAMIC WORKSHOP

During one of our Sunday workshops a selection of the Lower Fourth pupils attended a three-hour pottery session. The group made ceramic candle holders, eggcups and mugs inspired by birds and animals. They modelled their pieces and then decorated their creations with underglaze colours. All the pieces were glazed and fired ready for use. Mrs Keeling also ran a figurative clay sculpture workshop for Lower Fifth GCSE Art groups. Pupils were introduced to a range of techniques which can be developed when working in sculpture such as bas-relief, high relief and sculpture in the round. The work that the pupils developed linked with their GCSE figurative coursework and enabled them to explore their ideas in sculpture, adding a new slant to their project whilst learning a very different set of skills. Nine pupils attended the workshop and completed a wonderful collection of sculptural outcomes - well done to all.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Photography

Eloise O’Donnell

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

Photography

Georgia Ashley

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Rose Short

Our Year 2022-23

Photography

CREATIVE ARTS

Photography

Thea Davies

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Photography

Xiaoheng (Lucy) Li

Our Year 2022-23

Florence Smith Harriet Manning

CREATIVE ARTS

GCSE 3D Design

Georgina Ritchie Harriet Manning

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

GCSE 3D Design

Hermione Caithie

Hetty Hack

Kikiope Olusola

Rose Rollo

Our Year 2022-23

Elfreda Harvey

Ella Clegg

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

A Level 3D Design

CREATIVE ARTS

Lower School Textiles

REMOVE In the Remove, the pupils learn how to block print and batik organic cotton fabric. These hand decorated fabrics are then patchworked and embroidered to create a Lavender Heart that could be sold as a Fair-Trade Product.

Carmen Ren

Catherine Yam

Katherine Langworthy

Mullinya (Ava) Mathisariyapong

Temiloluwa Akinkugbe

Ziqun (Linda) Lu

LOWER FOURTH In Lower Fourth, our pupils were asked to create a hand painted fabric canvas inspired by the work of Kurt Jackson. They learnt how to mix paint to create a defined colour palette and how to blend colours. The artwork was then adorned with soldered and needle punched fabrics to add textured detailing.

Alexia Walker (Remove)

Jessica Geffen (LIV)

Lin Yi (Emily) Meng (LIV)

Mirabelle Edet (LIV)

Tess Prakiritanon (LIV)

Zourui (Ray) Li (LIV)

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

Lower School Textiles

UPPER FOURTH (EMBROIDERED BAGS) Our pupils looked at the artists, Josh Blackwell and Natasa Kekanovic, for inspiration. Josh focuses on creating abstract work using waste items as a substrate. The Upper Fourth pupils created portraits inspired by the work of Natasa Kekanovic on a disused bag. Skills include free machine embroidery, applique, and hand embroidery.

Aleksandra Cork (UIV)

Constance Hutchings (UIV)

Phillipa Drysdale

Amelia Karoly (UIV)

Emily Laing (UIV)

Jing (Angela) Yang (UIV)

Zilan Kan (UIV) Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

GCSE Textiles

Iris Owen A jacket inspired by lichen and fungi. Extensive development of ideas resulted in a highly creative outcome that incorporates a crochet rib structure, embroidered detailing, soldering, knitting and more.

India Hassall A garment made entirely by modelling on the stand, inspired by root systems and formations. The outcome includes wrapped wire, felt rope, delicate hand weaving and free machine embroidery.

Siyu (Phoebe) Wang An outstanding outcome that would not look out of place as an A Level piece of work. A ribcage created by forming fabric shapes filled with stuffing and wire. The bold crochet is inspired by sea coral.

Yasmin Aird A creative outcome inspired by butterfly detailing. The front is hand dyed using shibori dyeing, it is then embellished with soldered fabrics, couched yarn and hand embroidery. The sculptural sleeves are inspired by the cocoon as the butterfly emerges.

Georgina Dawson A beautiful outcome inspired by leaf studies; a hand knitted body is attached to sleeves that present intricate free machine embroidered leaves that are stitched onto dissolvable fabrics.

Alice Aird A creative waistcoat inspired by coastal rock studies and sea urchins. Handmade felt, digitally printed original artwork, free machine embroidery, crochet and latch hooking are combined to create this beautiful outcome.

Our Year 2022-23

Florence Smith A vibrant outcome inspired by sea coral. Crochet, knitwear and intricate beading are combined to create this bold and creative piece.

Iona Neville Naturally dyed fabrics are layered and stitched to replicate the bark surface of a tree, and adorned with intricate hand embroidered autumn leaves.

Emily Gray Seaweed and sea urchins are the inspiration behind this piece that incorporates shibori dyeing, seaweed crochet, free machine embroidery and knitting.

CREATIVE ARTS

Daisy Vincent A detailed bodice inspired by shell structure and moss on rock. The base is hand knitted, and adorned with gathered strips, felt rope, reserve applique, quilting and free machine embroidery. A superb outcome.

Davida (Seyi) Opaleye A unique outcome that is set apart from the other garments. A sculptural piece that represents lichen growing on a tree surface. The base is made from silk, wax and wire and is adorned with a multitude of techniques including crochet, soldering and free machine embroidery.

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

A Level Textiles Ruixi (Cecelia) Yuan Cecelia looked to the carbon life cycle as the inspirational theme for her Personal Investigation. The shape of her garment is informed by the build-up of gases and the pressure points created. This created a shape that has abnormal, shaped protrusions. These are adorned with hand knits that are latch hooked to mould and round. Dyed fabrics are collaged and added to with stitched mark making. Finger knitted rope is used to recreate the swirls and shapes in cycles.

Alice Hack Alice looked to natural forms and unusual surfaces when seeking inspiration for her sculpture series. She is a natural artist who works with a meditational and engaged mindset. Her strength is in the exploration and manipulation of materials, through dyeing, weaving, tearing, melting, soldering, distressing, knitting and more. Her outcomes are entirely unique, and her work is exceptional.

Alice Crowston Alice was keen to integrate the theme of ‘Memories’ into her Personal Investigation. The concept involved using past objects and physical items such as photographs as inspiration for colour, pattern, ideas and texture. Alice wanted to incorporate her own personal stories and memories to establish the use of emotion and antiquity within her outcome. Alice was a swimmer and she looked to the swimming pool as a source of inspiration. Informed by her own core memories, this led to looking at the lane ropes to inspire her hand knitted elongated sleeves. The distorted pattern in the pool tiles were used to create the denim skirt and bodice.

Our Year 2022-23

CREATIVE ARTS

Eloise O’Donnell Eloise initially researched into plastic ocean waste and that led her to question how best she could represent sustainability through her work. Looking at the work of the distinctive artist, Josh Blackwell, sparked a further interest into pursuing ‘Ocean and Water’ as a theme. She looked at storms, struggle, destruction and loss. The ocean to her represents a dark abyss that has the power to be an utterly ruthless and destructive force. In choosing ‘Water’ as her theme she hoped to achieve and develop the use of both colour and texture in conjunction without one overpowering the other, as both are central to how the ocean is perceived and understood. Her outcome is created using a high level of skills which include hand knitting, hand weaving, screen printing, marbling and reverse applique.

Hermione Heseltine Hermione set out to investigate social and political movements that had taken place in history, whether recent or decades ago, inspired by her chosen theme ‘Protest’. This propelled her to look at the Punk Movement and the expression of oneself fuelled by the discontent of the time, and in particular the artist Vivienne Westwood. She spent time looking at the origins of this movement and stuudying her techniques, for example: distressing, studding and slashing. This was the main catalyst to look further and deeper into the theme in a more conceptual way focusing on the emotions that come with and often inspire protests to happen such as anger, feeling trapped, rage and confinement. Hermione created a portrait out of crochet strips, which was combined with fabric painting to create the striking image of a woman mid-protest. A realistic hand is created using shirred fabric, free machine embroidered marks and customised clothing. This highly expressive and bold jacket is symbolic of protest imagery and incorporates a wide range of refined techniques.

Angera Brachetti Peretti Angera looked to ‘Identity’ as the theme for her Personal Investigation. She undertook source photography in the studio where she could capture emotion and feelings representative of her peers. Other styled imagery used bold colour informed by Basquiat. She also looked to landmark features from her culture in Italy. Her outcome features the Colosseum, free machine embroidered portraits symbolising emotion, a hand-woven sleeve, knitting, rag rugging and fabric crayon marks.

Downe House Magazine

CREATIVE ARTS

Textiles TEXTILES CROCHET WORKSHOP Sam Yarwood, our outstanding Art Technician, is an expert knitter and crochet maker! She was able to run a fast-paced and creative workshop to teach the GCSE pupils the basics of crochet. They made impressive progress in a short time and these skill sets feature in the GCSE Textiles work.

Mrs Tracey Jones, Teacher of Art and Textiles

Fashion Show On Friday 30 September 2022, Downe House held a fashion show consisting of four different runways. We were joined by two of our alumnae, Sophia Donald and Kezia Dubens, both founders of their own brands. Sophia Donald founded Ellen Camilla London in 2021 after graduating from UAL London College of Fashion with a BA in Bespoke Tailoring. Now her brand focuses on slow fashion and sustainability being incorporated into ready-to-wear fashion. Kezia Dubens is the co-founder of Ossatura London which is a sustainable womenswear brand focused on making beautiful pieces, handmade to order, and they focus mainly on the creation of corsets. Sophia and Kezia spoke to the audience about their creative journeys before showing a selection of their garments on the runway. In addition, we featured the GCSE and A Level pieces from the previous Upper Sixth and Upper Fifth pupils which demonstrated a vast range of skills and techniques that were so successful in showing a diverse range of the Textiles students’ talents and capabilities. Eloise O’Donnell (LVI) designed and created a catwalk collection as part of her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) project. The objective of the catwalk was to educate people on the meaning of the 1970s punk movement through a fashion show of garments that she had designed and created. The focus of her exploration into punk centred around how it has been reflected in modern day fashion.

Miss Amy Majerski, Head of Textiles

Our Year 2022-23

Music

‘I cannot wait to see the magic created by Dr Exon and the girls next year when I return as an alumna.’

Downe House Magazine

MUSIC

An Outstanding Year in Music!

What an outstanding year in music we have had! Exceptional musicians performing exceptional music! From Evensongs and concerts to competitions and Carol Services, it has been a rich and exciting journey in the Music Department. There has been a wide range of solo and chamber work, a variety of choral and orchestral experiences and excellent ABRSM results, notably including a number of excellent diplomas! The Department has been a vibrant and thriving hub of music making! I wish to thank Sara Lee and Anson Leung (Heads of Music 2022-3), Katie Lam (Deputy Head of Music 2022-3) and Lauren Akinluyi (Head of Choral 2022-3) together with all of our talented Music Award Holders for their exceptional contribution to the Music Department this year, inspiring others around them and living the music! With nearly 4000 followers, our X (formerly Twitter) channel (@DowneHouseMusic) continues to capture all our exciting news, live updates and inspiring moments from the Music Department alongside our Instagram channel (@downe_house_music). Our Music Department continues to transform musical lives and to equip girls with lifelong musical skills and understanding, encouraging all musicians to explore, discover and be inspired! Connect, communicate..........live the music!

Our Year 2022-23

This year’s Young Musician of the Year (YMOTY) competition was a huge success. The competition began with video submissions - and with nearly 100 entries it was a hard job for the panel to decide on the finalists!

‘I had an amazing experience and loved hearing all my competitors perform and was very happy to win Music Maker!’ - Elizabeth Carter Shaw (Remove)

We were very fortunate to be able to welcome world renowned composer and our Musician in Residence, Bob Chilcott, to adjudicate all the finals. He gave the finalists extremely constructive and encouraging feedback and we are very grateful to him for giving up his time to help inspire our young musicians. A huge thank you to all the Visiting Music Teachers who helped their pupils prepare for the competition and recorded personalised introduction videos for them to be played before the start of their performances. Another extremely big thank you to Mrs Susan Norman, Principal Accompanist, for accompanying for the vast majority of the nearly 100 video entries, for rehearsing with the finalists and accompanying them for the live finals.

YMOTY 2023 saw the return of the Rock ‘n’ Pop category, which was open to all abilities and all instruments. After a strong final, this category was won by Amy Wood (UIV), who sang ‘Waving Through a Window’ by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

We are so fortunate to have so many outstanding musicians at Downe House and all four live finals were great representations of the level of musicianship throughout the School. Congratulations to all the winners! Who will be crowned our Young Musicians of the Year 2024?

The finals took place on Sunday 19 March and began with the Music Maker final (Grades 1-3). This was won by Elizabeth Carter Shaw (Remove) who sang a lovely rendition of ‘Maybe’ by Charles Strouse.

‘I absolutely loved performing in YMOTY and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the other girls perform too! They were all so good that I was in complete and utter shock when I was announced as the winner and, of course, completely thrilled.’ - Amy Wood (UIV) Following the Rock ‘n’ Pop final, we had the Maestro final (Grades 4-6). This was the category that received the largest number of entries and as a result we had eight finalists. The standard was very high! The winner was Georgina Dawson (UV) with her performance of the Second Movement (Romance) from Ronald Binge’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone. ‘I had so much fun performing – it was a great experience!’ - Georgina Dawson (UV) To finish the competition, the day ended with the Virtuoso final (Grades 7+). The level of musicianship and technical ability from all the Virtuoso finalists was exceptional and it was a real treat to listen to them all. This category was eventually won by Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV), who performed ‘Estrellita’ by Manuel Ponce on the violin. ‘This was my first time participating in YMOTY at Downe House, and I had a great time performing and listening to everyone else. I’m absolutely thrilled to be named the Virtuoso winner of this year, too!’ - Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV)

MUSIC

Young Musician of the Year 2023

Miss Helen Butcher, Graduate Music Assistant BERKSHIRE YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR Taking part in the Berkshire Young Musician of the Year Competition 2023 was an amazing experience. This was my first competition in the UK – something I had really been looking forward to since I arrived at Downe House. Not only did it give me the opportunity to learn and perform challenging new repertoire on the violin, but it also helped me build my confidence playing in front of an audience. I had set myself the challenge of learning new repertoire for each round of the competition and, while this was not an easy task, it did help improve my skills as a performer. In the final, I played an arrangement of ‘Londonderry Air’ by Kreisler and ‘Introduction and Tarantella’ by Sarasate. Although the competition was tough, I was really happy to be able to hear and learn from all the other performers. I am grateful to have been given the chance to compete in the Berkshire Young Musician of the Year Competition of 2023, and to win the prize for my age category!

Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV)

Downe House Magazine

MUSIC

Minority Instrument Scheme

We had another successful year running the Minority Instrument Scheme (MIS). There are a number of instruments that are currently underrepresented on a national musical level, and here at Downe House, we are always trying to strengthen these numbers. This year, as part of the scheme, we offered free lessons on double bass, horn, trombone and bassoon, with an additional scheme working with violinists transferring to viola. We had a fantastic launch assembly with the help of our instrumental buddies (older pupils already learning these instruments). Pupils could then sign up for the initial Bronze Scheme, having lessons with an instrumental teacher, during the second half of the Lent term and the first half of the Summer term. Hopefully these Bronze Scheme pupils will then continue on to the Silver and Gold Schemes as they progress in their new instrument, inspired by their fabulous teachers and buddies.

Miss Kathy Chalmers, Head of Lower School Music Learning a new instrument can be very difficult, but when you play the violin, learning to play the viola isn’t that hard at all, which is why I chose the viola. At first, reading a new clef was tough, but later, I started to develop an ‘Alto Clef Mode’. What I really enjoyed about it was meeting the other people who were (and still are) learning the instrument via the buddy sessions. Unlike the other people who had MIS lessons on a different instrument, I had my lesson one-on-one, which meant I got more attention on developing my playing. Overall, MIS was a very enjoyable experience, and I learned so much from a new instrument.

Carmen Ren (Remove)

Our Year 2022-23

VIOLIN MASTERCLASS I had the chance to take part in a violin masterclass hosted by Professor Nicole Wilson in the Michaelmas term. The piece I played was ‘Spanish Fantasy’ by composer Igor Frolov. It was my first masterclass ever, and I found it extremely helpful. Professor Wilson helped me to improve a lot of my techniques and gave me advice on how to perform the piece in a more ‘expensive’ way. Her teaching style was unique, as she used many different everyday examples to describe how she felt about areas we should improve on, which I found extremely creative and helpful. Being in a masterclass is very different from being in a normal violin lesson. In class, it’s just you learning, and the teacher teaching, but in a masterclass, you aren’t only learning from the teacher – you also get to listen and learn from others participating in the masterclass. I am extremely grateful for being given the chance to experience a masterclass, and I hope I’ll get another opportunity like this soon!

Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV) I played the ‘Allegro Brilliante’ by Ten Have for the masterclass and I found the bowing tips that I received very useful. I also found it very interesting seeing Professor Nicole Wilson giving other violinists tips and I definitely learnt a lot from watching them. I had never been in a masterclass before, but I recommend going to one as it is an amazing opportunity and you learn so much from performing or even just watching.

Tatiana Montanari (UIV) ROYAL OPERA HOUSE TRIP Those of us who take A Level Music were privileged to go to the Royal Opera House to see Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the Michaelmas term. We were immediately immersed in an incredible atmosphere with a top-notch orchestra and cast which was particularly inspiring for us all, as extremely keen musicians. The dramatic plot enhanced by the cleverly interwoven musical passages and pieces made the performance thrilling and an evening we all look fondly back on. The trip was considerably beneficial in encouraging us to listen around the set works that we study at A Level, which includes Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and it also demonstrated that there are some absolute gems of musical pieces that we can find along the way by doing this.

MUSIC

Trips & Workshops

RADLEY ORGAN TRIP On the 27 January, Lower Fifth GCSE Music students went to Radley College to experience live organ improvisation by Jonathan Hope paired with The Phantom of the Opera silent film (1925). Personally, I really enjoyed how well the improvisation matched with what was happening on the screen as well as impressed with the acoustics of the chapel. Additionally, the lighting of the chapel created an emotive atmosphere which drew our attention to the screen. I felt that the improvisation was very well thought out and virtuosic, which helped us to understand the storyline. Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience and I look forward to something similar like this in the future.

Hedy Dong (LV) MERTON CHORAL WORKSHOP On Thursday 9 February, a couple of Lower Sixth students and I attended the Merton College Choral Workshop Day at Oxford University. We started the day with refreshments and an opportunity to chat to other attendees, and then we completed some warm-up singing exercises, which was quite hard work! We enjoyed a workshop led by Carys Lane and Giles Underwood, where we sang a variety of Psalms and Responses. After lunch in their beautiful dining room, we went to the chapel and listened to a recital by Merton College Choir. We then had a personal statement writing workshop, before rehearsing ‘Zadok the Priest’ and ‘Stanford in A’, as well as some more Psalms and Responses. We finished the day by joining Merton College Choir and performed Evensong with them, which was an amazing experience! I really enjoyed the opportunity to sing in a beautiful chapel and the chance to get to know the other people but most of all, experience Oxford University for the day! I feel like my choral technique has improved because of the variety of warm-up exercises and because we were singing with an experienced cohort of other singers. I learnt that as a Choral Scholar, you must be prepared to learn music quickly and be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to rehearsals! Overall, it was a fantastic experience and one that I would thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in pursuing a choral scholarship.

Charlotte Mackinnon (LVI)

Camilla Hale (LVI)

Downe House Magazine

MUSIC

Concerts & Carol Services

MICHAELMAS CONCERT Our annual Michaelmas Concert consisted of orchestras, choirs and even a samba band. This year, we were lucky enough to have a live audience for the first time since Covid, which certainly had a positive effect – the cheers and applause of the audience not only increased the energy level in the room, but also gave us a sense of achievement, hence fuelling our desire to perform better. There were a number of occasions where we could interact with the audience as well, such as encouraging them to clap to the rhythm during the String Virtuosos performance. It was extremely satisfying to see their smiles and to hear them ask for an encore. Nevertheless, my favourite part of the concert was when Antonia, Alex and Katie (three of our former Music Seniors) sang ‘Carry the Music’ with Prima Voce. It is always a delight to be able to perform with alumnae, and the song also emphasises how music brings people together and forms a community. Furthermore, I was surprised yet proud when parents came up after the concert to thank us for playing to them, and to say that they could feel our passion throughout. Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without all the hard work behind the scenes. From weekly rehearsals after school, to extra sessions the week before, not to mention all the planning from the Music department and Music Seniors, this amazing concert was the result of a collective effort. I would like to especially thank section leaders for their work during sectionals: it was a lot easier to bring the pieces together and thus allowed more time for focusing on details and blending our sound, helping us grow as an ensemble as a result.

Our Year 2022-23

I am still not over the fact that it was my last Michaelmas Concert at Downe House, and I am definitely going to miss it, whether it be the crazy rehearsal schedules or the friends I have made in various ensembles. I have also learnt a lot throughout the years, for instance communication is key when it comes to performing, because nobody knows exactly what others are thinking, and sometimes you might unknowingly offer a great suggestion. In addition, don’t be upset if you are unable to play a piece the first time round; it takes time, dedication and lots of practice (great for building resilience). Finally, and most importantly, enjoy yourself! What you show on stage will be reflected by the audience, therefore if you are genuinely happy and ‘living’ the music, so will they - there is nothing better than that.

Yan Lam (Emily) Lau (UVI), Head of Symphony Orchestra

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT CONCERTS We have been fortunate to experience two excellent Music Award Holders’ recitals this academic year, worthy of the Wigmore Hall stage! There was a great deal of skill, technique and virtuosity on display across all disciplines and all year groups. It has been wonderful to include two new Choral Music Award Holders in our concert series this year: Lydia Isadora Dyer (UV) and Alice Barber (UV). They both performed exquisite vocal solos of a Grade 8 standard in their performances and have brought a lot to our Music department.

The first recital took place on Friday 14 October 2022 at 12 noon to kick-start the Long Exeat break. This recital programme certainly had a pastoral theme with favourite composers such as Bach, Brahms, Vaughan Williams and Elgar. Offering something a bit different were two Music Award Holders from the Upper School: Serena Browne (UV) on trumpet with a Latin American piece, and Isabella de Arcangelis (LV) on flute with the ethereal ‘Hypnosis’ by Ian Clarke. This recital also featured two Upper Sixth musicians in their last featured performance: Chenxi (Thalia) Li and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee. They chose to perform two favourites from the British orchestral canon – ‘The Lark Ascending’ by Vaughan Williams (Thalia), and the first movement from Elgar’s Cello Concerto (Sara). It has been great to have Thalia and Sara perform in these recitals during their School career, and they have certainly given a lot to the Music department during their time here. Our recital on Sunday 26 February at 7.30pm welcomed an audience from outside the Downe House community and it was great to have such a supportive and friendly audience to perform to. This recital featured a few first performances from new Music Award Holders joining us this year: Hedy Doug (LV) on piano, Yan Qi (Angelina) Shek (LV) on violin, and Alice Boyle (LVI) on harp. Again, there was great variety on display in this recital from Scarlatti and Schumann all the way through to Stravinsky and Frolov. A special mention goes to Katie Lam (UVI) performing in her last Music Award Holders’ recital, highlighting the glorious tone of the viola in ‘Romanze’ by Max Bruch. All our Upper Sixth Music Award Holders will be sorely missed, and we wish them all the very best for their future endeavours.

MUSIC

Concerts & Carol Services

ST JOHN’S CONCERT – FAURÉ'S REQUIEM On Sunday 5 March 2023 Downe House performed the Fauré’s Requiem Concert at St John's Church in Newbury, featuring Prima Voce and Chamber Orchestra. It was a particularly special concert, with Prima Voce opening with 'A Prayer for Ukraine', by Mykola Lysenko. The piece asks for God's blessing for Ukraine, and though originally written for a children's chorus, it has become the hymn for the closing service of some Ukrainian churches. In singing this moving piece, we showed our ongoing support for Ukraine. This concert helped raise money for Christian Aid, which would then go on to help the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and the Turkey-Syria Appeal. Our pronunciation was aided by Efrosinya Nikulina (LV), to whom we are very grateful. Following 'A Prayer for Ukraine', Prima Voce sang 'Glow' by Eric Whitacre. The piece was written as a result of a collaboration between Whitacre and Disney, and so creates an uplifting, gentle atmosphere. It first premiered at Disney California Adventure Park. Next, Chamber Orchestra performed 'Meditation', by Massenet. Composed to be part of the opera Thaïs, the enchanting effect of the piece was brilliantly conveyed by Katie Lam (UVI). She displayed impressive technical control throughout the piece, maintaining an unbroken focus, and a lyrical flow through steady bow control. The orchestra were joined by professional musicians, most of whom were from the Visiting Music Team at Downe House. They gave the Downe House pupils valuable insight into what it would be like working in the music industry. Finally, Prima Voce sang Fauré's Requiem which featured intense passages such as the 'Libera Me', and moments of tranquillity, such as the 'In Paradisum'. In the middle of the requiem is the 'Pie Jesu', which I performed. It is a touching prayer written with a simplistic yet soothing melody line. I especially enjoyed the way this piece forced me to focus on the expression of the music. The requiem was written with baritone solo passages, which were performed by Alun Jones, and for sopranos, altos, tenors and bases. Tenors and bases from the Cecilia Consort helped provide a richer texture to the performance and made it all that much more exciting.

Overall, the Music Spotlight Concerts this year have been of an incredibly high quality and standard, worthy of any professional concert hall. Our Music Award Holders certainly have bright futures ahead of them, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve!

The St John's Concert was an immensely enjoyable event from the rehearsals to the performance itself. We received a very warm welcome from the Parish, who kindly prepared tea and cake for us when we arrived! The concert (and the cake) was truly unforgettable.

Mrs Susan Norman, Principal Accompanist

Lydia Isadora Dyer (UV)

Downe House Magazine

MUSIC

Concerts & Carol Services

NEWBURY FESTIVAL EVENSONG Recently, we performed at the Festival Evensong in Newbury as part of their Spring Festival. The space we used was St John's, a lovely church that we use frequently. Performing Evensong was one of my favourite musical experiences this year, and my favourite as part of Prima Voce. We sang some Haydn, which was really fun, but took a lot of hard work! It was worth it in the end, as the concert was really successful and both the audience and Prima Voce really enjoyed it! The rehearsal process was great, with members of the Cecilia Consort joining us to sing the tenor and bass parts. My favourite parts of the Evensong experience were lining up for the entrance and feeling the excitement flow in everyone, and the feeling when we finished. As we walked down the aisle to get to the front, everyone was buzzing with excitement to perform. As we processed out, the feeling of exhilaration was amazing. The Evensong was one of my favourite performances of my time at Downe, and I can't wait for the next one!

Honor McMyn (LV) PRIMA VOCE CAROL SERVICE Our Carol Services were both a visual and audible treat. Led by Prima Voce, all choirs sang and performed a range of songs such as ‘From a Distance’ which was arranged by former teacher at Downe House, Dr Alexander, as well as traditional congregations which families and friends loved to participate in. As Head of Choral it was not only an honour to hear the phenomenal blend that all the choirs have developed since the start of the year, but also to get to see this evolve in rehearsals throughout Michaelmas term. Luckily for us, we had the opportunity to perform at St Nicholas’ in Newbury and St Mary Abbot’s in London, which enabled us to experience contrasting acoustics and environments when performing, which, I’m sure, benefited us all as choristers. Leading the services was a very emotional experience for me, as I am now in my final year and have started to think about my future beyond Downe House. Leading these services was an honour and privilege and I cannot wait to see the magic created by Dr Exon and the girls next year when I return as alumna to watch the Carol Services!

Lauren Akinluyi (UVI), Head of Choral

Our Year 2022-23

Drama & Dance

‘... it will always hold a very special place in my heart.’ Downe House Magazine

DRAMA & DANCE

Year in Review

What a rewarding year this has been. My first year in post as Director of the Drama and Dance department has presented many exciting opportunities and events; it is hard to pick a specific highlight amongst so many. So here, I provide a rundown of some of the amazing events the Drama and Dance department has produced this year.

Michaelmas term began with the revered House Drama. This was an inspiring event where the whole School community came together and engaged in healthy competition by bringing their artistic endeavours to life on stage. The energy and the atmosphere of the event is not something I will forget, and it served as an indication of the talent of the student community and the energy and culture of the School; a fitting and welcoming start to my time at Downe House. Later in the Michaelmas term the Drama and Dance department took up residency in the Murray Centre where we welcomed numerous industry professionals. Our own Luke Brown’s contemporary dance company presented the endearing Walk of the Dandelion. There were also numerous opportunities for the Speech and Drama students to share their work as well as the staging of the student-produced production Dear Joan penned, directed and performed by Drama students and scholars. We were also entranced by the array of unique dance performances over the week, showcasing the talents of the dance academy and company led by Miss Olivia Ward, Head of Extra-Curricular Dance. As we came to the close of a busy term, under the direction of Miss Ward, the dance company and dance academy performed an enchanting rendition of Cinderella for this year’s dance showcase. This was a beautiful production where the audience were amazed by the variety of dance styles on show and the majestic quality of the production – a very fitting way to finish the term and enjoy the Christmas holidays. At the beginning of the Lent term, we joined director Rebecca Watson, musical director Robert Castell and choreographer Olivia Ward at the High School of Performing Arts for the Upper Sixth and Upper Fifth production of Fame Jr. It was fantastic to see the group of graduating students take to the stage in this feel-good production. I am excited to announce that this was the inaugural year of the newly established Downe House Acting Company. This is a company of Lower Sixth students who are keen to explore broader acting and performance techniques that are outside the GCSE and A Level curriculum and give them an insight into conservatoire standard actor training. The company has explored the techniques pioneered by revered practitioner Sanford Meisner as well as exploring further naturalistic acting techniques and textual analysis. The company has also welcomed visiting industry professionals who have

Our Year 2022-23

shared their experiences of their performance careers and has worked with them on such techniques as audition preparation, self-taping and acting for camera. They will be performing Marvin’s Room by Scott McPherson during the Drama and Dance residency next year. The Dance department was thrilled to welcome students from numerous local primary schools to take part in our Day of Dance. The students had a fantastic time being led by our amazing dance team, which culminated in a performance at the end of the day. Miss Ward did a superb job in organising the day and looking after the visiting students so well. We were also excited to welcome local prep schools to join us for the Downe House Day of Musical Theatre, which was fantastically run by Mr Robert Castell, our Head of Drama Enrichment and Lady Peto, in our events team. The students worked hard for the entire day with our Drama and Dance team to produce a short performance which included scenes, songs and choreography. We finished the Lent term with the students going head-tohead once more in the House Dance and Gym competition. This high-octane competition was a fitting way to finish a short yet very busy term. Summer term was again short, but incredibly busy with numerous creative endeavours occurring all over the School. The Academic Drama students continued to excel in all the examined components this year. Founder’s Weekend again proved to be a stellar experience; the annual flagship event lived up to its reputation of being a weekend filled with outstanding performances throughout the School in all departments. The Lower School were involved in a site-specific immersive theatre production of Grimms’ Fairy Tales, and the Upper School took to the stage in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) to perform Chicago. It was fantastic to witness the abundance of talent in the School come together for this incredible weekend. I could not think of a better way to finish the year. The talent, tenacity and passion of everyone who has been involved this year has been overwhelming. Thank you to the Drama and Dance team, whose dedication and love for the work they do inspires me and the students every day. To the wonderful AV team who make all our ideas and visions come to fruition, an everlasting thank you. And of course, the amazing students who work so incredibly hard to be part of these experiences. To next year!

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

What an incredibly busy year it has been for the Academic Drama department. This year saw the return of visiting external examiners for both our Upper Sixth A Level and Upper Fifth GCSE students. The atmosphere of nerves and excitement was an incredible moment to be present for and our girls certainly put on a set of performances that showcased their talent and dedication.

Upper Sixth Drama students performed their scripted exam pieces, both a monologue and trios’ adaptations of Kneehigh’s The Red Shoes. Not only did these performances showcase the girls’ aptitude to explore the theatre practitioner’s creative storytelling style, but also their masterful use of puppetry skills. The use of visual effects displayed was captivating for the audience. These performances were an excellent culmination of all the skills the girls have developed and honed throughout their drama careers at Downe House. Huge congratulations to Lauren Akinluyi, Thea Davies, Mary Hazlitt and Amelia Robinson (UVI) for their spectacular pieces of performance art. Lower Sixth Drama students performed their devised examination piece exploring the dangers of media manipulation. This playful, high energy and dark comedy performance truly encompassed the theatre practitioner Kneehigh’s high octane, didactic and multidisciplinary methodologies. Their use of satirical song, dance and stereotypical characters truly showcased their talents. Their use of audience participation, direct address, poignant juxtaposing projections of domestic and universal images guaranteed its audience left the theatre energised and contemplative, reflecting on the power of the media. Massive congratulations to Claudia Pope, Eliza Irving, Hannah Hurd, Honor Harris, Isabel Toogood and Izzy Vir (LVI) for their extravaganza performance piece.

DRAMA & DANCE

Academic Drama

Upper Fifth GCSE Drama students performed their final scripted examination pieces and we were treated to seven innovative, inventive and thoughtful group and duologue performances from Charlotte Keatley’s My Mother Said I Never Should and Amanda Whittington’s Be My Baby. The girls each performed in two separate extracts from the plays. These humbling and thought-provoking performances not only showcased the girls’ talents and hard work, but also their professionalism and amazing ability to support and champion each other. Well done and enormous congratulations to Anjola Bolodeoku, Hope Black, Emilia Lim, Muna Ubosi, Ophelia Bracken, Xin (Emily) Pu, Leilani Mataia-Ramsden, Rachael (Zion) Unachukwu and Iris Owen (UV). Over a duration of two days, Lower Fifth GCSE Drama students performed their devised examination performances. Each piece created by the girls was vibrant and enchanting, exploring a wide range of themes and issues. Not only were we treated to tremendous performances by the acting candidates, but also spoilt with brilliantly creative choices by lighting design candidates. The girls certainly displayed that the pupils of Downe House are devoted, imaginative and perceptive to the issues surrounding young people. Huge congratulations to Lina Anand, Emily Bailey, Sophie Bartley, Molly Bates, Imogen Baxter, Tabitha Brewer, Hedy Dong, Esmee Haefner, Annabel Jackaman, Alishba Mahmood, Pascale Ashley, Sophia Cork, Alice Gilchrist, Rosamund Harris, Sophie Lambourne, Vernados Lin, Isabella Neill, Niamh Planner, Pollyanna Reynolds, Dhyaana Shourie, Serena Stewart, Maria Taraban, Clotilde Tillette de ClermontTonnerre and Kayla Vela (LV).

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

Downe House Magazine

DRAMA & DANCE

Scholars

The Drama Scholars are hugely important to the department. It isn’t easy to become a scholar and we look for those students not only with the most talent and best attitude but also those with a real willingness to be ambassadors for drama in the wider School community. They have not let us down! Our philosophy is threefold – we want to celebrate their exceptional talents and give them a chance to shine, we want to help them develop and provide them with more exclusive opportunities and finally we want to treat them! In terms of talent, this was on display in the student-led production of Dear Joan, featuring an all-scholar cast led by Annabel Jackaman (LV) as Cherie Currie, which was a great success. We then had our Scholars’ dinner, an annual tradition and a great evening of entertainment for parents and staff. This year we turned the PAC into a cruise liner, with immersive characters dotted around as ‘staff’ and performances popping up from each table as the evening went on. If you haven’t dined on a cruise ship with Lady Macbeth doing a soliloquy at the next table, then frankly you’re missing out...

Our scholars are also always on hand to support events, be that by hosting events, recording spoken word or even getting involved with a forensic whodunnit roleplay with the Science department. Their enthusiasm is wondrous.

Our Year 2022-23

We have enjoyed some really good trips together this year, beginning with Whistle Down the Wind at the Watermill, which was a hugely inventive actor-musician production. We even met the star at the end of the show, which seemed to be the highlight... We also combined with the Dance Academy and went to see Newsies at the Troubadour theatre in London. Utterly outstanding dance and movement and an incredible venue as well. Our Geraldine James Scholars are a particularly special crew, because that scholarship is only available to Sixth Form A Level Drama students, so really the best of the best within the School. Geraldine herself is hugely supportive of the programme as an alumna! We found the time to meet with her on the South Bank and enjoyed tea and cake whilst hearing about her life and career. She was hugely generous with our five GJ scholars, all of whom asked fantastic questions. Miss Slaymark also took them to a performance of On Track by the excellent Red Cape theatre company. All in all, an excellent year with an excellent group of students, all with heaps of potential.

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

On Friday 3 February I took my seat in the PAC, a conversation with a cast member of Fame Jr alive in my mind. Daria Andreeva (UVI) had advised, before the production, to look out for the symbolism, and it became quickly apparent that this advice was more than simply an allusion to the GCSE Literature course we shared together. Mr Myers’ (Daria Andreeva, UVI) advice to Carmen (Anjola Bolodeoku, UV) that ‘the last thing you need is another character to hide behind’ struck a chord, not least because the entire cast seemed to take this advice (even if the character of Carmen did not). This cast of Fame Jr did not hide behind their characters: they made them their own. It was the subtleties the cast adopted which made this production unique. It wouldn’t have been the same without Mr Sheinkopf’s (Rahma Qizilbash, UVI) unwavering accent and iconic hand placement over the railings; this became a favourite motif to keep an eye out for. Indeed, Miss Sherman’s (Grace Godfrey, UVI) and Ms Bell’s (Ka Yuet (Sophia) Chan, UVI) staffroom argument was so convincing, I wondered about the source of their inspiration. I don’t wish to take sides, but I must say, as an English teacher, I enjoyed the pragmatic advice to ‘put your faith in books’ from Miss Sherman. Fame Jr tracks the progress of the class of 1980 as they undertake studies at New York’s High School of the Performing Arts. They must pass their academic subjects, while also specialising in dance, acting or music. As the cast tackled various issues, such as Mabel’s (Amy Jiang, UVI) battle with eating and Tyrone’s (Mary Hazlitt, UVI) eventual diagnosis of dyslexia, messages of self-love were tastefully explored through topical conversations and songs. The teachers most often appeared on staging above the main stage (symbolism noted!) which made for interesting dynamics when they interacted with students and one another on the lower level.

DRAMA & DANCE

Fame Jr Review

The gradual musical layering began with an instrumental opening, followed by unison singing, splitting into harmony as more voices joined the ensemble which was executed with skill. The skill of this ensemble musical delivery remained throughout, but it would be remiss not to mention the particularly well executed solo lines of Serena (Alice Barber, UV). The complementary lighting throughout culminated in a tear-jerking finale as the cast urged ‘let it shine’ as they looked to ‘bring on tomorrow’. The skill and energy of the cast was well matched by the vivacity of their costumes. The colour and style of the 80s exploded onto the stage with an exuberance which had the audience dancing in their seats. This became even more effective in the powerful finale when these costumes were covered by black gowns ahead of the characters’ graduation. Each character had taken their own path and ultimately arrived at the same end. Despite difficulties, Tyrone (Mary Hazlitt, UVI) found his way, and Joe’s (Thea Davies, UVI) comic route triumphed. Carmen (Anjola Bolodeoku, UV) broke away from the institution but enjoyed a more optimistic ending in Fame Jr than other versions. The school set with bright blue lockers was also evocative of 1980s America, or the Downe House Water Tower of days gone by. In the programme, Mrs Watson describes the process of directing Fame Jr as ‘amazing fun and a tremendous privilege’, and it is evident that the cast felt the same way under her direction. Indeed Nick’s (Lauren Akinluyi, UVI) desire was to ‘make magic’ and it is safe to say that she, and indeed the whole cast and crew, did just that.

Miss Isla McLachlan, Teacher of English, Key Stage 4 Coordinator

Downe House Magazine

DRAMA & DANCE

Speech and Drama As always, it was an absolute pleasure welcoming back new and existing Speech and Drama students for the academic year. For our Lower School and Upper Fourth pupils, getting to know their new Speech and Drama groups was the first order of the day, with lots of fun games and collaborative exercises to get those creative juices flowing. For our advanced students, it is always important to hit the ground running and start choosing exam material early on to maximise the exploration, staging and rehearsal time. The RADA Shakespeare Awards are always a highlight of the year, and I am delighted that our full cohort passed with flying colours. We are particularly proud of Ophelia Bracken (UV) who, having achieved her bronze, silver and gold awards prior to joining the School, chose to take on the challenge of working towards her platinum award this year. The platinum RADA award represents a significant step up from the previous levels, with a formal presentation on an original production concept and a written review of a classic play included alongside the usual performed monologues and sonnet. The assessor Gary Lagden, a RADA alumnus and associate director, said that Ophelia is the youngest person ever to be awarded the platinum award. He was very impressed with her commitment and creativity. We are so proud of Ophelia’s achievement. As part of the Drama and Dance Residency, the wonderful talents of the Musical Theatre, Speech and Drama students were celebrated in the first of our new revue performances. Masterminded by our Head of Speech and Drama, Thea Davies (UVI), and appropriately named ‘Thea’s Theatrical Thursdays’, it is hoped that these revues will continue on a termly or half termly basis, giving the opportunity for our students to share their fantastic work. Indeed, our talented teachers were also keen to show off their talents, with Mr Robert Castell and Miss Gabriella Rose performing a beautiful duet from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. The students also had great successes this year with their Trinity examinations. The Lent term results were simply breathtaking with almost every pupil receiving a distinction. Congratulations to Cheuk-Yi Cherie (Sage) Lau (LV) for achieving 94/100 for their Grade 5 Musical Theatre. Anjola Bolodeoku (UV) was awarded 95/100 for Grade 6 Musical Theatre. Rahma Qizilbash (UVI) gained 94/100 for her Grade 8 Solo Acting and Shiloh Akintaju (LVI) gained 94/100 for her Grade 7 Communication Skills. The Lower School and Upper Fourth also have much to celebrate with their excellent results. The highest scoring group was Ilaria Rosa, Isabel Elder, Georgiana Sokol, Mingwei (Cindy) Xu and Katherine Langworthy (Remove) who achieved 90/100 for their Grade 2 Group Devised performance based on the Roald Dahl poem, ‘Television’. Well done everyone. We are so proud of you!

We were disappointed to learn that RADA have decided to stop their examinations in the future and therefore this was the last year for the Shakespeare Award. Students wishing to gain their gold award were given one last opportunity to be assessed. Isabelle Ashworth, Izzy Vir and Eliza Irving (LVI) all decided to take on the challenge despite the awkward timing of being scheduled late in the morning on Founder’s Weekend! To make things even more exciting, Isabelle did both her silver and gold awards on the same morning, what a monumental undertaking! Congratulations to these three for ensuring that we were able to say goodbye to RADA in style. This will be my final Speech and Drama review of the year. After 15 years teaching Speech and Drama and 12 years managing the department, it is time for me to exit stage left. It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work with so many talented students and teachers over the years. The Speech and Drama department will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Mrs Rebecca Watson, Head of Extra-Curricular Drama ‘RADA exams allow the examiner and student to work on texts and explore different ways in which they can be delivered both vocally and physically. I found RADA exams enjoyable and felt they’ve taught me a lot about rehearsal techniques and different ways in which to interpret punctuation and Shakespearean texts. They are focused on students who are open-minded and willing to try new things, for example, I had to deliver duologue with my tongue stuck out. Although it was hard to say the lines, I learnt it was a technique used by actors to open their throat, improve articulation and increase the power behind their lines. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt so much!’

Izzy Vir (LVI) ‘It feels less like an exam and more like a workshop where you can work with a professional actor. The techniques you are taught in the exam are extremely useful and I have been able to show my friends and even use them in rehearsals. The examiner rarely writes anything down or looks at a script, so it really feels like they are listening to you and engaging with your performance. I have completed all three awards and it is quite sad to not be able to do something like this again. The value of the RADA award is truly like no other as you are given the opportunity to have notes taken by a professional actor and you learn how to analyse scripts in a more in-depth way and explore ways to bring the characters and atmosphere to life!’

Eliza Irving (LVI)

Our Year 2022-23

The Prep Schools’ Day of Musical Theatre is always a greatly anticipated day and provides a fantastic opportunity for younger children to enjoy the experience of taking part in musical theatre at Downe House. Our incredible team of Drama and Dance faculty professionals worked with the pupils throughout the day, honing the children’s skills as actors, singers and dancers, and encouraging them to collaborate with classmates and other schools to create something really special.

Each school took on the challenge of learning the lyrics and choreography to a different one of Alan Menken’s best-known songs, as well as joining together as one large ensemble to sing ‘Carrying the Banner’ from Newsies. It was a day jam-packed with music, singing, dance and drama – as the school groups worked on their songs before everyone gathered together to create a fantastic performance of Alan Menken songs, complete with introductions from our Downe House Drama Seniors, for the invited audience.

This year we explored the Songbook of Alan Menken, a composer and songwriter for very well-known animation, film and theatre productions, and one of the few people in history to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. Everyone involved was excited to see and hear so many classic hits from musicals and Disney films all in one showcase. Alan Menken has been creating musical masterpieces for 50 years and the children and staff took up the challenge to show off the best of the best in under an hour during their performance in the afternoon!

The children took the audience of their teachers, family and friends on a journey that went from ‘Downtown’ on Skid Row (Little Shop of Horrors) to becoming the ‘King of New York’ (Newsies), they invited them to ‘Be Our Guest’ (Beauty and the Beast) before taking ‘One Jump Ahead’ (Aladdin) to marvel at the ‘Colours of the Wind’ (Pocahontas) and concluded with ‘I’ve Got a Dream’ (Tangled). Our dream for the day was for everyone to come away feeling excited and inspired by the power of musical theatre!

‘I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful day you provided. Our girls were really put through their paces, with high expectations and pace throughout the day which they loved, and they learnt a huge amount. The quality of the Drama and Dance teaching was superb, but also very considerate – Miss Ward had choreographed their dance prior to the session, but was so kind and generous in her responses to the girls’ ideas. The parents who were able to come along were very impressed and appreciated the opportunity for a tour. From the moment we were greeted at the gate to the bag of cookies for the journey home, you gave us a truly special day. Thank you!’

Stephanie Underwood-Webb, Head of Drama – The Elms

DRAMA & DANCE

Day of Musical Theatre

Mr Robert Castell, Head of Drama Enrichment ‘The Dragon absolutely LOVED the Day of Musical Theatre at Downe House. The kids were singing the songs all the way home (even in a bit of traffic along the A34!).’

Charlie Ponder, Director of Drama, Teacher of English – Dragon School

Downe House Magazine

DRAMA & DANCE

Drama and Dance Residency Every department has the opportunity to take up residency in the Murray Centre, usually for four or five days, where they can celebrate their subject and illuminate it for the students and staff in perhaps a more interactive way. Naturally, we decided to do things differently and immediately declared that ours would be a ‘takeover’ - how very drama. Immersive theatre, promenade pieces and creative installations are all dear to our hearts, so we were hugely excited to have the chance to do all this at Downe House!

We began during Monday morning break with a launch party. Not many red-carpet events kick off at 10.20am on a Monday but we were not deterred, dressing in our finest gowns and suits, bringing in the paparazzi and handing out the popcorn. The café became a cinema bar and there was a joyous atmosphere as people were briefly transported into Berkshire’s own Broadway scene. Throughout the week we had a brilliantly eclectic programme of events and performances from visiting artists, including Luke Brown’s beautiful contemporary dancing 10ft puppet ‘Daniel’, who wandered the grounds handing out dandelions before breaking into a moving dance. Dance was a big part of the whole week and indeed we are the Drama and Dance department, so the symbiosis of the disciplines is ever-present. There were silent dances in the library with students freestyling to their own AirPods. Possibly the highlight of the week was our two Dance Seniors, Jiayi (Ariel) Cao and Ziqi (Jade) Fang (UVI) taking to the main staircase in the foyer to deliver a highly charged narrative piece which they had devised themselves. Most days, the collaboration space is a quiet working area or meeting room, but we transformed it into a cabaret lounge for two lunchtime revues – one for Musical Theatre and one for Speech and Drama. The students worked so hard on these extra-curricular activities, so it was fantastic to be able to give them an opportunity to share their work in an informal setting, rather than just ready their pieces for an examiner.

Our Year 2022-23

The Murray Centre also involves the auditorium of course, so we were able to hold several events there, beginning with an open rehearsal of Fame Jr and masterclass with Elinor Collett, an Olivier-nominated musical theatre performer who sang for us and took questions. We also had composer Darren Clark come in (whose musical of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has just finished at the Southwark Playhouse) with actor-musician Philippa Hogg, to showcase his songs and talk about composing for theatre. Darren also gave a warm critique of a student-led new musical, Dear Joan written by students Astrid Davis and Sophie Carter (UV) which kicked off the evening. A raucous celebration of punk band The Runaways was performed by some of our Drama Scholars and attended by parents and students. No takeover is complete without a secret cinema event and so that was the climax of our week, a real treat for the Lower School who arrived to find that the lower foyer of the Murray Centre had become a circus, with games, tricks and staff in costume all geared up for a big watch-along of The Greatest Showman. A fantastic way to finish.

The Murray Centre is an incredibly adaptable space and we felt very at home there – huge thanks of course go to Mrs Jenny Hill and Miss Beth Shilling for being so accommodating and flexible with our wild theatrical ambitions!

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

This much-anticipated event was the culmination of many weeks of dedication and passion from the dancers and members of the Drama and Dance faculty to create a beautiful adaptation of the much-loved story of Cinderella.

The performance of Cinderella showcased the talents of pupils across all ages of Downe House and included the auditioned Downe House Dance Company, the Dance Academies and those girls who take extra-curricular dance lessons every week. From an explosion of contemporary and street dance group numbers to intimate ballet performances and jazz acts, all set to innovative musical choices, the show also featured captivating puppetry to portray the scene of the fairy godmother preparing Cinderella for the royal ball. The diversity of performances knitted together the heartwarming traditional fairy tale of Cinderella finding her true love and escaping the confines of her evil stepsisters. Pupils from Hermitage and Beedon primary schools made their way to the Cold Ash campus on Thursday morning (15 December) for this very special performance. In the week before the performance, our Head of Extra-Curricular

DRAMA & DANCE

Cinderella

Dance, Miss Olivia Ward, was enthusiastically welcomed into the primary schools to run dance workshops based on the dances they would later see. It was a wonderful way to introduce the young girls and boys to such a contemporary portrayal of the much-loved story of Cinderella – and the pupils made the most of the time they had with Miss Ward, and thoroughly enjoyed the performance on the day. Our thanks go to the staff at Hermitage and Beedon primary schools for making it possible for the children to participate, and of course to all the pupils; it was a pleasure to have them visit the School’s campus in Cold Ash – they were excellent ambassadors for their schools and it was wonderful to see their enjoyment and to hear them talking excitedly about the scenes with the dances they themselves had worked on in their workshops.

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

Downe House Magazine

Sport

‘It has been amazing to be part of the team and to witness the team’s progress, resulting in numerous achievements.’

Our Year 2022-23

Lacrosse

This year we have had an incredible Lacrosse season across all year groups. The season started on some great highs with the firsts winning the Berkshire Schools Lacrosse and the seconds and U12s securing silver medals at the SouthWest Schools Tournament. The season continued with some spectacular wins against St Mary’s Calne, Caterham and St Paul’s Girls’, London. As we reached the end of the season, the performances given at Nationals by all the teams was outstanding. The firsts, seconds and U15s all placed in the top 16 and the U13s were the runners up for Division 1. It was an incredible end to a strong season and all the players should be very proud. Some special individual mentions go to Annabel Reeve (LV) who was selected to play for Wales, Gabriella Ford (UV) who was selected to be part of the England National Academy, Jessica Geffen (LIV) for getting a place in the Wales Dragons Academy, and Kexuan (Angela) Zou (LVI) who represented China in the Senior Lacrosse World Championships.

Jamie Ojo, Grace Godfrey and Susannah Wood (UVI)

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The Sporting Year Hockey

It has been a great year for Hockey with all the teams experiencing success through a whole range of matches and tournaments. I’ve been so honoured to lead such a committed and hard-working group of people and I’m so proud of all the Hockey players in the School for all their efforts this past year. We have had some fantastic successes this year, some of which have been historic for Downe House. The U12s were crowned Berkshire Champions! Then went on to finish fourth in the South Central tournament. The U14 team were Plate runners in their County tournament. They progressed to the Tier 2 national competition where they finished fifth. We also had some individual successes. Congratulations to Fleur Williams (LVI), Cassiana Bennett (LVI), Emilia Bushnell (UIV) and Ruby Grant (UIV) who were all selected for their respective County Hockey teams. The aim for the Senior teams this year was to become more competitive whilst maintaining the fun and supportive nature that is the foundation of success. The first and second teams were committed to achieving this with girls coming to early morning fitness on Mondays and Tuesday night training in addition to our Thursday team practice sessions. Over the season, the teams have become noticeably more united with the different year groups integrating through cheering each other on through a tough fitness session or celebrating a goal or a good play on the pitch. After five years of Downe House Hockey, I am so upset to be leaving what has been my favourite part of School life. All of us Upper Sixth players, Jessica Shakespeare, Catherine Skipworth, Georgina Williams-Bulkeley, Georgia Kynaston and Matilda (Tilly) Harris, have had so much fun and are going to miss every aspect of Downe House Hockey very much. But we will see you all at alumnae matches in the future! A big thank you to Mrs Broyd and Mr Riddle for continuing to lead such an amazing Hockey programme.

India Sparrow (UVI), 1st Hockey XI Captain

Downe House Magazine

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Netball

The Sporting Year

This season was an enjoyable and successful year for the Netball club, with participation thriving and team and individual successes both on and off the court. At the senior level, our Netball Captain, Anya Gannon (UVI), expertly led the U19A team to the quarter final stage of the Sisters in Sport National Netball Bowl competition, the furthest Downe House has ever progressed in this competition. The Junior Netball teams represented Downe House superbly, giving their all and displaying strong sportsmanship and teamwork throughout the season. It was fantastic to see so many netballers having the opportunity to represent the School in competitive fixtures, with lots of players making excellent progress throughout the season and progressing into higher teams, putting in place strong foundations upon which to build next season. The Netball captain elected Katya Longden (LVI) to take home the Senior Player of the Year Award following some accomplished performances across the season, whilst Adesola Odeyemi (UV) was awarded the Sutton Cup for the Most Improved Player of the Year, after breaking into the first team and securing several ‘player of the match’ awards. Huge congratulations to our Sports Scholar, Harriet Manning (UV), who achieved her Into Officiating Umpiring Award this year. Harriet continues to set high standards within the Netball programme and was again selected to represent performance Netball Club Woodley. Additionally, a huge well done to Isabel Elder (Remove) who won the Net-It Most Improved Player of the Year. Finally, a huge thank you to our wonderful Upper Sixth students who we sadly said goodbye to at the end of the year…Netball will miss you!

Mrs Jane Rees, Head of Netball

Our Year 2022-23

We started off the year by welcoming our new Head Coach, Mrs Rees. She immediately spotted the potential within our teams and worked with us to improve our skills by incorporating new drills and helping each team to gel well together. This year, the U19 A team entered the Sisters in Sport National Netball Shield, which meant we played teams of varying levels. After winning against Gordon’s School in the preliminary round, we encountered a loss in our first-round match to Redborne Upper School. We were feeling disappointed, however, playing against such a talented team gave us the drive to improve our skills further. We progressed into the Sisters in Sport National Netball Bowl and went on to win our next two matches against Queenswood and Farmor’s School. Both were splendid matches which showed us key areas to develop our training. Our final match was the quarter final against St Helen and St Katharine, which was incredibly tight with two goals in it. Unfortunately, we were not victorious, but it was an excellent opportunity to showcase the strategies that we had learned throughout both terms. The first team, which I had the pleasure of captaining, has developed greatly. The specialist defence and attack workshops run for the Senior teams were invaluable in focusing on key points in the game and how to better collaborate with supporting players. Out of 11 matches, we won three, drew on, and lost seven, yet our morale continued to increase as we saw improvements in our play throughout the two terms and as we better understood each player and how to work with each other. This gave us the opportunity to compete in tournaments at Bradfield College and Lord Wandsworth College, against teams that included elite super league franchise and performance players. The Senior teams all had good seasons; the second team played 12 matches and won five of them. The team experienced a few changes with girls joining and swapping positions, however, they gelled together remarkably to ensure each match was played to the best of their ability. The Senior teams were incredibly competitive during all their tournaments and their co-operation within their teams improved greatly.

Anya Gannon (UVI), Netball Club Captain

Swimming, Biathlon and Triathlon

The level of swimming throughout the past year has quite simply been exceptional. This has been reflected greatly in the results we have achieved, winning a total of 20 galas, drawing three and only losing one. As always, the year started off with the squad travelling to St George’s Ascot for the 2022 Berkshire Schools Relay Competition where both the Junior and Senior team placed second in the medley relays, and third in the freestyle relays. In November, the Biathlon team travelled to Whitgift School for the qualifying round of the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships, where the Remove team came third, the Lower Fourth team came second, and the Upper Fourth team came first. Additionally, Isabelle Regis (UV) placed third in the U16s. Seven girls then continued to the finals of the competition in Redditch, and everyone improved on their times achieved from the qualifying round. The Remove team consisting of Bianca Squire, Eulalia Camilleri, Emilia Lazenby and Emma Kovalchuk finished seventh in the country, with Bianca finishing 15th overall individually. The Upper Fourth team made up of Constance Hutchings, Alice Bevan and Olivia Fane finished third in the country. The GSA South East Central Gala at St Catherine’s Bramley takes place every year, and the standard of swimming is always excellent. Downe House finished fourth in the Juniors, second in the Intermediates, and second in the Seniors which was a very pleasing result. Additionally, in February, we held the annual Winter Swim Meet in which both the U12 team and U14 team shared the trophy with St Mary’s Calne. The success of the team continued into March, and for the first time Downe House entered the Bath Cup held at the London Aquatic Centre in the Olympic Park. The day was an incredible experience for those who went and resulted in the 4x50m freestyle team consisting of Kexuan (Angela) Zou (LVI), Charlotte Absolom (LVI), Pollyanna Reynolds (LV) and Isabelle Regis (UV) breaking the Senior School record which had originally been set in 2018.

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The Sporting Year The final gala of the Summer term was the Independent Boarding Schools Relays Gala. Nine schools took part, with Downe House gaining a bronze medal in the under 13 freestyle relay, bronze in the under 15 freestyle relay and two silver medals for the Senior team in the medley and freestyle relays. Overall Downe House finished second out of the nine schools taking part. As the year comes to an end, I want to add that it has been a pleasure for me to captain the team. The huge amount of success has been a wonderful way for not only me to finish my time here, but also for Mrs Machin, who retires after over 36 years of teaching at Downe House. I would like to say a huge thank you to both her and Mr King for all their hard work and effort throughout the year, as the results would not have been possible without them.

Amy Wright (UVI), Swimming Sports Captain In May, four girls from Remove and Lower Fourth went to Bradfield to represent Downe House in the School’s first ever Triathlon team competition. Fifty teams from around the area took part in the Year 7/8 competition. Downe House recorded the fastest swim time for 400 metres out of all 50 teams. Next came the 8000m cycling, which was a very new challenge for the girls on a winding course. In the 3000m run, Downe House were the seventh fastest team. Overall, the team finished 15th out of 50. An excellent first Triathlon.

Mrs Paula Machin

Downe House Magazine

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Squash

The Sporting Year

Downe House has had a fantastic year of Squash. Throughout the year, teams from the Remove upwards played friendly matches against different schools as well as Squash socials with Eton, which allowed the pupils to receive more 'match play' with different opponents at a non-competitive level. Furthermore, the players had the opportunity to attend Squash club throughout the week, which offered one-on-one play as well as skill sessions to provide a time for the players to improve specific areas. With these sessions being well attended, players from all levels improved their squash, which was incredibly noticeable from the great results produced in the other competitive matches throughout the year. To enter nationals, each team must qualify through round one and round two of the competition to reach the national finals in March 2023. All the teams put up an impressive performance, which led to five out of seven Downe House teams qualifying for the National School Squash Championship. All teams finished exceptionally well; in particular, the Key Stage 4 teams stood out with one team placing fifth in the country, while another came eighth. These results are no small feat and reflect the talent and hard work of all the players involved!

Mr John Payne, Teacher of PE

Our Year 2022-23

Badminton

Badminton at Downe House has seen a lot of success this year. There have been frequent matches every Wednesday and Saturday for both the Senior and Junior teams, as well as weekly team practices. The team’s hard work led them to play our first doubles tournament against Cheltenham Ladies College, which led to a strong set of results. To finish off the season, the first and U16 teams won a tournament against Bradfield College. This reflects the dedication and hard work of all the girls, resulting in a strong season.

Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (UVI), Badminton Captain

Volleyball

Downe House Volleyball teams had yet another eventful and successful year, building upon the achievements of the previous year. With exhilarating matches, exciting tournaments and the addition of new players, the team's growth and accomplishments have been commendable. The year commenced with an international match against Balmoral School from Argentina, one of our exchange schools. After a gap of a few years due to the pandemic, we were thrilled to host this match once again. Our team showcased their resilience and determination by winning the match 2-1. Special mention to Jiayi (Ariel) Cao (UVI) and Hira Kutukluoglu (UVI) for their consistent passing and serves throughout the match. This victory set the tone for a successful season. In the subsequent game against TASIS, the team displayed their skills and teamwork, securing an impressive victory of 3-0. This triumph highlighted their continuous improvement and strong performance on the court and boosted the team's confidence, ready for our first ever tournament, held by ACS International School Egham. Participation in this tournament was another notable achievement. We had a play-off in the final round to determine third place. I’m proud to share that we secured an impressive overall third place and won four out of five games at this tournament. This year, our team welcomed lots of new younger members, including pupils as young as the Remove. This influx of new talent has allowed the team to form a dedicated Junior team. Although most of the Junior team members had never played volleyball before, their rapid improvement was incredible. In the Summer term, the Junior team had an enjoyable match against Cheltenham Ladies, despite the loss. Witnessing their growing confidence and ability to sustain rallies was truly gratifying. The Senior team also played against Cheltenham Ladies, which was the last match for the Upper Sixth players. The first set proved challenging, resulting in a 21-25 loss. However, our strong team spirit and communication emerged in the second and third sets, leading to a delightful result of winning 2-1.

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The Sporting Year Lastly, special recognition goes to our new Coach, Miss Butler, for her valuable support and guidance throughout the year. I would also like to extend my gratitude to vicecaptain, Motunrayo Morinsola Adeniji (UVI), who has helped run practice sessions. Thank you, Mo. Also, to everyone who attended practices and matches, contributing to the success of the Volleyball team this year. It has been amazing to be part of the team and to witness the team’s progress, resulting in numerous achievements. Best of luck to the new captains, to continue the team's growth and success in the future.

Sayuri Shukawa (UVI), Volleyball Captain Basketball

This year the Basketball community has grown at Downe House, with more matches than before and an increased popularity in attending the after-school sessions. Something new this year has been friendly mixed matches with Eton College, and hopefully this will continue down the line. There have been games at all levels, with a Junior team of the Remove to Upper Fourth pupils playing a game against St Helen and St Katharine, as well as league matches in the English Basketball Dynamik League Competition for the U16s. The game is growing in interest and competitiveness nationally and I hope that due to the dedication of pupils, especially those who are rising in the School now, the team will continue to grow – in both success and size. Best of luck to next year’s players and the new captain Lucia PérezEscolar Moya (LVI).

Violet Whittaker (UVI), Basketball Captain

Downe House Magazine

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Cricket

The Sporting Year

It has been another great season for Cricket at Downe House. It has been fantastic to see a large increase in the number of girls participating in competitive cricket on a weekly basis, not only in lessons but in team practices, net sessions and matches. Across the board, girls are very positive about cricket and it’s evident to see how much fun they are having no matter whether they are fielding, batting, bowling or wicket keeping. We have pushed for all year groups to participate in hardball format this season to allow not only their individual skills to progress but also team performances and confidence to be at an all-time high. There has been a large increase in the number of matches over the term for each age group and this has been very well received by all taking part. The U12A and B Cricket teams have enjoyed a large amount of success against other schools including a resounding win against Queen Anne’s School and only very narrow defeats against Wycombe Abbey and St Helen and St Katharine respectively. Special mention must go to Clementine Sanford (Remove) who has had an excellent individual season with the bat but also captained the U12A team very well during matches. U13A and B teams have also enjoyed lots of success when participating in T20 hardball matches. Their notable team performance was against St Swithun’s in the opening round of the T20 Tournament hosted by LWC. Although a narrow defeat was eventually the outcome, some excellent individual performances during the season helped contribute to a stunning team performance in both the first and second innings. including Amber Hilton (LIV) with excellent bowling and Jessica Geffen (LIV) demonstrating excellent skill with both bat and ball. The U14 and U15 teams have also enjoyed many matches over the course of this term. They have both been in rich form and should be proud of all they have achieved in such a busy and actioned-packed Summer term. The U14 team performed very well against the likes of Lord Wandsworth College, Wycombe Abbey and the Oratory. Some defeats scattered through the course of the term did help encourage extra net sessions, more focus during lessons and team practices as well as more determination to come back fighting. Players who have stood out this season include Charlotte Benson (UIV), who has had a great season at the crease, playing well off both her back and front foot and using the whole field to her advantage, finding the boundary

Our Year 2022-23

on plenty of occasions. Other performances of note must go to Flora Hay (UIV) who has been excellent behind the stumps and Clementine Flynn (UIV) for her superb bowling. The U15 team faced some heavy defeats early on to Bradfield and Wycombe Abbey, however, the girls were not deterred by this and finished the season on a much more positive note. They enjoyed competing in the Schools’ Cup Tournament for the first time and were lucky enough to experience playing on the Bradfield 1st XI pitch during this match. While Bradfield proved too strong an opposition for us, the girls had some outstanding individual performances along the way. Molly Bates (LV) was brilliant with ball in hand, showing good length and making the batters think twice during shot selection. Rebecca Ang (LV) also showed resilience and grit when at the crease as well as good decision making during her innings. With so many positive team performances next season is already looking exciting with this year group helping make up the Senior XI. The team performance of the season must be handed to the Senior XI with a stunning victory against Lord Wandsworth College in the final over of the match. Katya Longden (LVI) was outstanding at the crease, notching up an impressive 24 runs as well as a brilliant performance by Ilaria Perhar (LVI) batting and fielding. She took the catch of the year while fielding at deep square that left not only both umpires speechless but also the opposition and crowd. Cecelia Stone (LVI) and Ella Snow (LVI) were also pivotal during the game, with 2 and 3 wickets respectively. Another special mention must go to Cricket Captain, Miranda Harries (LVI), who has been excellent. Not only has she improved her own bowling skills but also her confidence in the field. Her leadership skills when setting the field have also been brilliant and helped the team in so many ways. There is so much to be proud of from this Cricket season here at Downe House. While there is still a way to go from a performance perspective, the enthusiasm, hard work and determination from the girls across all year groups leaves much to be proud of and shows how far they have come in a short space of time. Next year already looks to be a very exciting Cricket season. Well done girls for all you have achieved and bring on more cricket next year!

Mrs Tash Dixon, Teacher of PE, i/c of Cricket

Football

Football has grown exponentially at Downe House this year. Every year group now has access to football through PE lessons, inter-House competitions and a weekly Football club that runs all year round. Furthermore, we fielded four teams this year (U12, U14, U15 and 1st XI), competing in their first fixtures for the School, the most ever in a season for Downe House! The biggest competitive success of the year came at the Girls’ U18 Independent Schools Football Tournament. After strong performances in the group stages, we qualified into the Cup Competition, making it to the quarter finals where we narrowly lost to Millfield B in a tense period of sudden death extra time. The day was filled with enjoyment and happiness and cemented a real love of football with the Senior players. The real success of Football at Downe House came at the recreational level. A simple, game-based Football club engages all ages and abilities, particularly the Remove, Upper Fourth and Lower Fifth pupils. With the focus on fun and participation, girls from all Houses and year groups can interact and enjoy a kickaround with no pressure or expectations. In turn, this has created a healthy, competitive spirit and provided those who do not compete in our more traditional sports the opportunity to represent the School. As Women’s Football continues to bloom nationally and internationally, we hope to replicate that at Downe House with our Football programme. We are looking to continue with and build upon our current provision, and we are now looking to create links and partnerships within our local community to help us achieve this.

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The Sporting Year Tennis

As your new Tennis captains, we have been really excited about the tennis this summer, especially with the great range of matches we played. We have had teams across the School competing in the annual LTA competition, with the Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth teams going into the semi-final County round. New to the Summer term, Mr Goodall started a Thursday evening squad, which allows pupils and staff to play with each other and get some extra practice in. On top of this, we had over 300 girls taking Tennis as their main sport during the Summer term. At the end of Summer term, we held the very first official Downe House Tennis tournament, where girls from all years got involved and it was a successful afternoon of Tennis. Huge congratulations to Elizabeth Squire (LIV) and Fiona Merchant (LIV) for winning the tournament. The first team finished the term off on a high, with a win against Marlborough College, and we also have some girls going to play in the Independent Schools Tennis Association (ISTA) tournament at Eton, which will hopefully be a good day of tennis. Overall, it has been an enjoyable Tennis season, and we have really loved being a part of it.

Emilie Booth and Ilaria Perhar (LVI), Captain and Vice Captain for Tennis

Mrs Elizabeth Broyd, Acting Joint Director of Sport

Downe House Magazine

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Athletics

The Sporting Year

The Athletics squads this year have much to celebrate; with a number of team and individual performances to be proud of. Numerous personal bests set, six new School records set, we were crowned U13, U15 and U17 West Berkshire Schools Champions, six West Berkshire Schools records were set, we had two girls placed at the Berkshire Schools Combined Events, the Junior Track and Field Track Team won the Regional B final and a record number of 28 girls qualified to represent West Berkshire at the Berkshire Schools, with Yevedzo Wasterfall (UV) going on to represent Berkshire at the U17 ESAA English Schools Championships where she finished eighth. So much has been packed into the short Athletics season: hours of training; competitions; successes and heartbreaks. It is hard to cast one’s mind back to the first Saturday of term where it all started, an outstanding Throws Masterclass with Bob Broadbridge, a very experienced coach and decorated thrower himself. It had the desired effect, and our throwers went on to have a very successful season! Between them they set two School records, two West Berkshire School records and won seven medals at the West Berkshire Schools! Nevertheless, our track athletes and jumpers were not to be outshone this season and set a number of personal bests and records themselves. The competitive season could not have got off to a much better start at Dauntsey’s, where Charlotte Absolom (LVI), School Athletics Captain, set a new School Senior Shot record and Desola Omonijo (UV) a new School Senior Long Jump record. Records can stand for many years, so to set two new records on the opening day of a season is almost unheard of! However, it was the attitude and performances of all the athletes that gave us every reason to be optimistic about the season ahead. A number of debutants were competing for the very first time with great success, including Emilia Lazenby (Remove) in the 800m, who ran against girls up to four years older than her, more than held her own and finished fourth. In the same race Constance Hutchings (UIV) clinched victory in 2m 31s, the first of many outstanding performances, which made her the very worthy recipient of the cup for Consistently Outstanding Performance throughout the season.

Our Year 2022-23

What particularly stood out this season was the girls’ dedication to training and their desire to push themselves out of their comfort zone, whilst also having fun and being overwhelmingly supportive of each other. It was hugely inspiring, and they reaped the just rewards. Numbers at Wednesday Athletics club, as well as early morning Running club were very healthy and the effort levels were commendable. We also had a number of girls who regularly attended local Athletics clubs including Lower Fifth pupils: Natalie Sideso, Emily Regis and Dominica Prentice. More are keen to do so next season which is fantastic. Two new events that were hugely successful this season were the Downe House Internal Meet and the Mixed Relays Festival held locally at St Gabriel’s. Both allowed more girls to compete in a fun and supportive environment. The internal meet, open to the Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth gave many girls an opportunity to compete for the first time as well as more experienced competitors more competition practice. All girls were assigned to one of two teams, and it was to the great dismay of Team Blue that the Green Team just pipped them to claiming the sweetie prize! The Mixed Relay Festival was fast and furious and gave our girls an opportunity to compete in a series of fun relays against the local schools. Our Remove pupils Isabella Warr (70m hurdles), Danielle Jibodu (150m relay) Bianca Squire (600m relay), Emilia Lazenby (1000m relay), Temiloluwa Akinkugbe (shot) and Emma Kovalchuck (high jump and relay) competed at the U13 Berkshire Schools Championships, representing West Berkshire. It was the first time the girls were competing at this level and they all did themselves very proud. They were competing against some exceptional athletes. Particular well done to Temiloluwa Akinkugbe who won a bronze medal with a throw of 7.91m in the shot! All the athletes have so much to be proud of, the future is bright and there is no reason why next season cannot be even more successful!

Miss Charlotte Williams, Acting Joint Director of Sport

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The Sporting Year

Cross Country

Mia Olsen (LIV) represented Berkshire in the South East Inter Counties Competition. Mia was running in the U15 category and was the second Berkshire runner home. Mia was also selected to represent Berkshire in the English Schools Cross-Country Championships at Wollaton Park, Nottingham during the Lent term. We enjoyed a number of relays with Radley College this year: one Senior (U18), two Intermediate (U16) and two Junior (U14) teams competed in the Radley Relays. The Junior A team (Mia Olsen, Emilia Bushnell, Constance Hutchings and Alice Bevan (UIV)) finished first in the category and were the second fastest girls’ team overall. The Intermediate A team (India Evans, Annabel Jackaman, Natalie Sideso and Daisy Mackinnon (LV)) finished third in their category and the Senior team missed out on a medal by only 15 seconds. All the girls performed exceptionally well, they ran a 3.14km leg and our fastest runner on the day was Mia Olsen (13:47). Our Junior B team and Intermediate B teams, which both included several runners running up an age category, finishes a commendable fifth place. Thank you to Radley for hosting such a wonderful event.

Miss Charlotte Williams, Acting Joint Director of Sport

Downe House Magazine

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Skiing

The Sporting Year

This year has been another successful year for the Ski programme here at Downe House. With well over fifty girls attending trials, selecting two teams for the British Schoolgirls’ Race would prove more challenging than first thought. However, after careful consideration, both an A and B team were chosen, and all competitors began to ready themselves for ski racing in Flaine. The two teams included the following girls: Tate Halestrap (UVI), Heidi Halestrap (UIV), Carmen Ren (Remove), Flora Hay (UIV), Katya Longden (LVI) and Elizabeth Ford (UIV). These girls flew to Flaine, France in early January to take part in the British Schoolgirls’ Ski Race Championships. The girls enjoyed two days of race training in preparation for both the Slalom and Giant Slalom competitions. This included gate practice, race technique work and feedback from their own race instructor. Special mention must go to Heidi Halestrap (UIV) who came home with a bronze medal, after securing third place in the U16 unregistered slalom – an impressive achievement for someone who still has another two years to compete in this age group. Although we did not gain the results we

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wanted in the team events, the girls can be extremely proud of their efforts. They represented the School extremely well, conducted themselves on the slopes with pride and real skiing force and came together as a team when it mattered the most. The team spirit was unrivalled, and the girls have much to be proud of. Looking ahead to the Ski programme next year, we are hoping to expand the number of skiing opportunities for the girls at Downe, including running a recreational trip during the Lent Long Exeat 2024. This will run alongside a more comprehensive ski race programme, where we will be attending the LSC Indoor Ski Races with five teams. This will help give the girls racing experience and stand them in very good stead for Flaine 2024. A final mention must go to Tate Halestrap (UVI) our Ski Captain, thank you for all you have done for the Ski team at Downe House, you will be sorely missed!

Mrs Tash Dixon, Teacher of PE, i/c of Cricket

This year has been another successful one for our Scholars with much to celebrate along the way. They have been putting in the hard work in the gym with most Scholars fitting in two strength sessions per week as well as a conditioning and recovery. This is all done together as a close-knit group, all with the collective aim of improving performance. The benefits are really starting to show, and it is great to see that the personal bests in the gym are contributing to some personal bests in competition. The Scholars have been lucky this term to gain access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise from our staff through various Elective talks that proved to be both interesting and motivating. Talks included information and guidance on energy and nutrition, high performance, leadership and psychology.

During the year, we had Scholars nominated and selected to compete out of School at either a country or national level. Lorna Meyrick (UIV) and Emilia Bushnell (UIV) were selected to train with the England Regional Pathway for Lacrosse and Gabriella Ford (UV) was successful in her quest to train with the National Academy squad and consequently represent England U20’s in the Senior Regional Women’s tournament. Louisa Burges Watson (UIV) should also be congratulated on her continuing progression with Scotland Lacrosse.

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Sports Scholars Review

Charlotte Absolom (LVI) has been quietly working incredibly hard in the gym and was recently crowned U17 English Weightlifting Champion in her weight category – incredible work! It is wonderful to see that our Alumnae Scholars are still performing at the top level with Anna Neville (2020) and Millie Hughes (2019) representing England in the European Lacrosse Sixes tournament this year. More and more of our award holders are seeking higher level competition outside of School with many of them attending training during the week and even competing at weekends or during the holidays. We believe this really broadens their horizons and opens them up to a huge sporting world that is waiting for them. We are hoping to continue to build links with different clubs to keep increasing these opportunities to train with other talented athletes. We would like to say goodbye and good luck to our Upper Sixth leaving Scholars: Jamie Ojo, India Sparrow and Susannah Wood. Thank you for everything you have given to Sport at Downe House over the years. You will be missed.

Mrs Rebecca Gaunt, Teacher of PE

Ruby Grant (Remove) and Emilia Bushnell (UIV) represented their counties in Hockey and Desola Omonijo (UV) ran in the Indoor National Championships where she placed 35th in the country.

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Summer Festival of Sports

The Summer Festival of Sports encompasses two weeks of highly competitive, yet good spirited inter-House sport competitions, involving Cricket, Tennis, Football and Volleyball. The allegiance of each competitor is easily identified, as each is dressed from head to toe in their House colour with tutus and yellow banana costumes not uncommon! Every girl from the Remove to Lower Sixth is involved, bar the Upper Fifth, so every woman counts towards the overall outcome!

Summer Festival of Sports 2023 lived up to the hype and did not disappoint; there were some very close matches, and with each event that passed the stakes grew and the cheering intensified. The House captains were exceptional, their attention to detail for their team selection was impressive, as too was their organisation, but it was their leadership, sportsmanship and enthusiasm that was most pleasing to see and inspiring. In the Junior section, Holcombe completed the clean sweep, although things were more even in the Intermediate and Senior sections, with Tedworth, Holcombe and AGS sharing the spoils. All was left to compete for at Sports Day which concluded the two weeks of inter-House competition!

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Sports Day

Sports Day is always a highlight of the sporting calendar, and this year was no exception. No-one was left on the bench, and everyone played their part. The athletes amongst the ranks rose to the occasion producing some excellent performances. Not only did they excel in their events, but they supported and mentored their friends who were out of their comfort zone, some competing in events for the first time but spurred on by doing their very best for their House. The enthusiastic support from parents, staff and girls alike was very much appreciated by all. The energy created could be felt in the air and spurred on the competitors. At the conclusion of an action-packed morning of competition the section winners were Junior – Aisholt; Intermediate – Tedworth; Senior- Aisholt and Overall – Aisholt. There were so many superb performances, however, one to note is Mirabelle Edet (LIV) who broke the Junior School long jump record with a jump of 4.60cm. Well done!

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Alumnae Matches

It was wonderful to welcome back alumnae, from as far back as 2003 leavers, for the annual Alumnae Lacrosse and Hockey matches! Downe House alumnae got in contact via our Instagram posts and word of mouth from myself to the alumnae captains. It was wonderful to hear news from all our old girls even if they couldn’t join us on the day. The Downe House Hockey community is amazing, and so warm and friendly. It was an early start for all on Sunday morning of Founder’s Weekend, but was worth it to see old friends meet up again and celebrate the sport they love. Our current pupils really enjoyed playing alumnae and their teachers, and our audience consisting of many parents commented on the competitiveness of alumnae and how it raised the game of the current girls. The game was end to end, and our current pupils but three clinical goals saw the alumnae team take the win 3-0. The Downe House Lacrosse match was great fun, it was as though everyone had played together for years, and the competitive spirit was still there as the alumnae romped to victory, 11-5! A small bench and a lack of fitness were not going to be an excuse! Many proved that lacrosse is just like riding a bike and despite the years ticking on … they still have it! There is something rather special about lacrosse, everyone came off the pitch hungry for more, already talking about next year and asking if there could be a Christmas edition too!

Mrs Elizabeth Broyd, Acting Joint Director of Sport

‘The level of game play from our alumnae inspired many girls on and off the pitch. A couple of parents mentioned to me that the girls loved seeing me play and also liked playing against me! Lots of girls, particularly in the Lower School, came up to me to say they were inspired, which was wonderful to hear!’

Miss Charlotte Williams, Acting Joint Director of Sport

‘Thank you so much for organising the match today, it was so lovely to come back and play! I’m sure I will see you all again soon!’

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Founder’s Weekend

‘This is always for me one of the most enjoyable weekends in the School year...’

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Founder’s Weekend

This is always for me one of the most enjoyable weekends in the School year as the girls showcase and share with the wider School community at least some of the work that they have completed throughout the year. The programme was as varied as ever and, whilst the girls (and staff) made the performances look effortless, I am in no doubt about all the hard work that lies behind them. They are extraordinarily talented, as our audience saw. This was also a special time for us all to come together and for families to meet informally and enjoy one another’s company, something I think we all treasure more since the pandemic. We also welcomed alumnae back to be with us and this year I was delighted that we once again had members from our local community joining us. Ensuring that we engage and play an active part in our local community was the focus of our Centenary celebrations of moving to Cold Ash in 1922 which we celebrated last year. The connections that have been and will continue to be established are highly valued. This year at Downe House we, like many, have been thinking carefully about the impact of AI on education, the workplace and our lives in general. I am in no doubt that it will be transformational and that there will be many positive things to embrace which will be life-enhancing, but we are all aware of the challenges it may bring too. There will be a continuing need to emphasise the importance of knowledge and understanding, critical and analytical thinking, creativity and our humanity. As our community spent time on campus with the girls, they saw evidence of a forward-looking education that will continue to harness the best of technological advances but one that has not lost sight of the importance and joy of creativity, one where the value of human relationships lies at the heart of all we do, and one where our commitment to developing independence of mind and strong values is uncompromising. My huge thanks to Philippa Toogood, Assistant Head (Operations) who has masterminded the programme and to all the staff who worked so hard to make the weekend a success!

Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress

‘The School belongs to you all and to each one, and there is no one who has not given something to its life. Perhaps it has given something to you, though you may not recognise this and may sometimes feel surprise when a memory or an opinion rises unbidden in your mind. You have made friends at School and though circumstances may have parted you, no one will quite take their place.’

Olive Willis, Founder of Downe House

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Accompanied by the sound of sizzling burgers, Music Alive brought Founder’s 2023 to a joyful and uplifting close. ‘It’s a mini Glastonbury!’, quipped one parent, and they weren’t wrong! Once again, the full range of musical talent at Downe House was on display – classical, pop, showtunes (both new and old), jazz, choral, and even a fantastic student-led ensemble performing the world premiere of a composition by Zimo (Emily) Huang (LV). It would be impossible to select individual highlights from such an extensive and varied programme but suffice to say there really was something for everyone, and the performers themselves should be rightly proud of what they achieved. Perhaps best of all, the event had a wonderfully supportive atmosphere, with lots of cheering and whooping from the audience. Congratulations to everyone who helped make the event such a success, and, as always, special thanks to Mrs Susan Norman, Principal Accompanist, for preparing and supporting so many of the performances.

Miss Helen Butcher, Graduate Music Assistant

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Music ALIVE

FOUNDER’S WEEKEND

Fauré’s Requiem Concert Prima Voce presented a beautiful programme of liturgical music with Haydn’s uplifting chorus ‘The Heavens Are Telling’ from his oratorio The Creation followed by Fauré’s Requiem. Over a century after its first performance, Fauré’s Requiem remains the most often played and recorded of Fauré’s works the world over. It is a Requiem of hope and assurance and has often been referred to as a ‘Mass for the living’, or as Fauré put it, ‘an aspiration, towards happiness above’. I wish to particularly thank our soloists Lydia Isadora Dyer (UV), soprano and Alun Jones, baritone. We are indebted to the tenor and bass singers from The Cecilia Consort. They have been incredibly generous with their time, skills and expertise, enabling our upper voices to experience the full rich sound of SATB work. We so appreciate their support and enthusiasm for all things choral. We have really enjoyed their partnership this year at our Newbury Carol Service, our concert at St John’s Church in March, our Evensong for the Newbury Spring Festival and, of course, the special performance at our Founder’s Weekend. Our orchestra is joined by professional musicians (most of whom are on the Visiting Music Team at Downe House) playing alongside our advanced musicians and giving them an invaluable insight into professional orchestral playing.

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Singing is so good for the soul! The one thing Prima Voce choristers always say is how much better they feel after they have had a rehearsal – and the thrill of a concert is just magical! We have been singing at Downe House for over 110 years and this strong choral tradition is an important part of the School. The positive impact of singing on both academic work and wellbeing is well documented and it is clear how much the girls value being a member of Prima Voce and how much it enriches their Downe House experience. We invited our audience on a special musical journey where we hope we gave them a glimpse of ‘happiness above’.

Dr Charlotte Exon, Director of Music

This year’s Founder’s Concert very much lived up to expectations! The concert featured close to 200 performers and was a very enjoyable experience for those watching as well as those taking part. The programme opened with ‘Selections from The Phantom of the Opera’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber (arr. Calvin Custer) performed by Founder’s Orchestra. Founder’s Orchestra is our slightly reduced Symphony Orchestra made up of players not in exam years. Despite their smaller number, the sound made by this orchestra in the opening chords was immense and really set the tone for the rest of the concert! Once Removed followed, performing ‘You are the Reason’ by Calum Scott. They were then joined by Treblemakers to perform a joint song: the folk song ‘The Water is Wide’. Treblemakers then got to perform ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder. After the Lower School choirs, Sinfonia took to the stage to play ‘A Whole New World’ by Alan Menken and ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Max Freedman and Jimmy de Knight. In Harmony sang next, performing ‘Ave Verum’ by Will Todd and ‘Lose You to Love Me’ by Selena Gomez. After In Harmony, the Scholar’s Ensemble performed a very different type of work: ‘Geographical Fugue’ by Ernst Toch. This work relies on percussive speech rather than singing. It is notoriously difficult and the Scholar’s Ensemble handled it brilliantly. Prima Voce (with Founder’s Ensemble) then performed ‘Home Fires’ by Samuel Sim, ‘A Clare Benediction’ by John Rutter, and ‘Corner of the Sky’ by Stephen Shwartz. The concert concluded with Founder’s Orchestra performing ‘Firebird’ by Stravinsky followed by a rousing encore of ‘Radetzky March’ by Strauss helped along with some enthusiastic clapping from the audience! This concert would not have been possible without a huge amount of effort from both girls and staff. It was a successful event and a fantastic way to start the musical offerings at Founder’s Weekend!

Miss Helen Butcher, Graduate Music Assistant

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Founder’s Concert

FOUNDER’S WEEKEND

Chicago

‘Quite simply, it was one of the best musical theatre performances…’

‘Everything about it was superb, the cast were amazing (the lead characters showing real talent), the entire “ensemble” were in complete harmony both in song and movement. The costumes were dazzling, the set - perfect and the lighting showcased the whole show so well.’

‘What a fantastic show, you should all be very proud of all the student performers, it clearly was a super showcase of the very varied activities that the School provides for the students.’ These are just a few snippets of the feedback received from the audience in response to the Founder's Weekend production of Chicago: Teen Edition. Directing this show was a gratifying experience from the very start. After a two-year hiatus, I was delighted to resurrect Chicago, which had been carefully planned but was postponed due to the pandemic. As an acting coach, I particularly appreciated the decision due to the numerous acting scenes that interweave with the musical numbers, providing a cohesive narrative. Chicago, originally a play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins in 1926, allowed for the full realisation of its story and characters, setting it apart from some other popular musicals. The casting process was immensely enjoyable, and I am thrilled to report that our lead actors seamlessly embodied their roles from the moment they stepped into the room. The casting allowed us to allocate specific roles and responsibilities to the many talented actors and dancers, ensuring a well-balanced blend of strengths within the company. From the outset, the creative team and I aimed to infuse the rehearsal process with a sense of joy, dedication and enthusiasm, and I believe we succeeded in doing so. Recognising the busy schedules of both students and staff, our primary goal was to create a rehearsal environment that was enjoyable, prideful, positive and above all, a space where students felt comfortable releasing stress and decompressing from the challenges of the School week. The students exhibited remarkable dedication, time investment, good humour (tolerating exaggerated

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Chicago-style American accents from their director and musical director for a solid six weeks of rehearsals), and effort throughout the process. While the entire company, including the backstage team, was truly exceptional, I feel compelled to highlight the lead actors' professionalism, skill, talent and unwavering dedication. Their commitment was truly inspiring, and I hope that our aspiring performers of the future took note and absorbed these qualities. They were a joy to collaborate with. I often emphasise that merely 10% of the work required for a successful show takes place during rehearsals with the directors; the rest happens independently, away from the studios. This group exemplified the importance of embracing this advice. They arrived prepared, lines memorised, choreography practised, and songs and harmonies fully learned. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the creative team, choreographers, musical director, AV crew, costume department, student technical crew and all the backstage support. Your unwavering dedication and hard work played a pivotal role in bringing this production to life. My gratitude also extends to the leadership team and the broader School community for their consistent support throughout. In conclusion, Chicago: Teen Edition was an undeniable success, owing to the collective effort and passion of everyone involved.

Mr Christopher Gould, Director of Drama and Dance

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Grimm Tales

The production of Grimm Tales was a success. Logistically, it was a beast to put together with the students being placed in multiple locations. This concept was new this year and allowed the audience to be taken back to what Drama used to be. There was limited use of tech, props and costume. It enabled the audience to be immersed into these ‘Grimm’ tales and feel a part of the performances. The students worked extremely hard during rehearsals, collaborating and supporting one another throughout. It was wonderful to see Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth coming together to take ownership of their pieces under the guidance of our splendid directors. The Pied Pipers mischievously guided the audience to the specific locations, AGS and AGN Houses, the Greek steps, the Founder’s Festival screen stage and the Pepper Pot. The Pied Pipers wrote their own scripts and were able to inform the audience of where the plays originated from. This started the magical adventure to ‘Ashputtel’, which was a concise narrative ensemble adaptation and performed beautifully in the woods with a rustic fireplace. Then to ‘Hansel and Gretel’ at the candy-covered Pepper Pot, which added a sense of dark comedy to the day. To round off the Saturday, we ended with the sweet physical movement piece of ‘Little Red Cap’ on the Greek steps. On the final day of Founder’s Weekend, the students were feeling excited for their performances. To start off the day we were musically led to ‘Iron Hans’, which was a beautiful physical theatre adaptation with the sun shining down on the cast. We had the pleasure of watching ‘Snow White’ on the big screen stage, which attracted many audience members, and the students were able to adapt effortlessly to this. Finally, to end Grimm Tales, the Pied Piper led the audience to the darling Pepper Pot and performed the fabulous 10-minute piece of ‘Rumpelstiltskin’. After the hard work from both the directors and the students, the most vivid part of the event was that the students had a tremendous amount of fun. From start to finish their energy never wavered, the smiles on their faces made all the hard work worth it.

Miss Kat Slaymark, Teacher of Drama i/c Drama Scholars

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Creative Arts Exhibition

Our end-of-year Creative Arts Founder’s Exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that our amazing students have achieved over the academic year.

This academic year saw our biggest exhibition to date, with the GCSE and A Level Murray Centre displays extending into the Auditorium for the first time. Visitors could also view Lower School work in the Textiles and Pottery classrooms. In the past, the Murray Centre displays were zoned according to subject, but this year, inspired by the Royal Academy Summer Show, we intermingled work by Art, Photography, Textiles and 3D Design students, which worked brilliantly. The Murray Centre also hosted a large collection of laser cut pendant lights by the Remove. These were inspired by natural forms and hung from a gantry over the stairwell. A selection of sketchbooks was on show which demonstrated the development of ideas towards final

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outcomes, which could be seen on the display screens, plinths and mannequins. As another first, we were proud to be part of the West Berkshire and North Hampshire Open Studios scheme and were excited to open our doors to the broader community from the 3-4 July. The uptake was excellent, and we hope to build on this in coming years. Our visitors could not believe the level of talent at Downe House and the positive comments came flooding in! We would like to congratulate everyone who had work in the exhibitions – they should be so proud of all their achievements!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Director of Creative Arts

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Events and Activities

Throughout the weekend our School and local community had the opportunity to enjoy a range of fun activities and events. The History Tour allowed families, staff and the local community to pick up a map at the Welcome and Information Desk and take in some of the history of the School in a self-guided walking history tour. Our Mystery Box Cookery Challenge invited pupils in the Lower Fifth and Upper Fourth to create a meal from a mystery box of ingredients. Parents were welcome to drop in to see what delights the girls were cooking up and everyone enjoyed taste testing the results! Our School Chaplain, Rev’d Anthea Platt conducted short reflective Chapel services across the weekend to give prayers of thanks. Founder’s afternoon tea was, as always, a looked after affair during Founder’s Weekend. Our Catering team provided a sumptuous selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones, served with tea, coffee and cold beverages in the marquee. On the Sunday morning, members of our School community were invited to start their day with a delicious and relaxed brunch.

Family tennis and crazy golf took place on the courts – the competition heated up amongst friends and family as they took on the challenge and tested their skills on the fun crazy golf course.

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Our Director of Digital Learning, Mrs Jane Basnett, hosted VR experiences and AI insight drop-in sessions. With the support of our Digital Ambassadors, families were able to find out more about AI and put their questions to our team about its use in schools. They also enjoyed trying out some of the academic applications of VR we use in the School – including Bodyswaps and the new Science laboratories. In the Festival tents at the heart of the School, outside the Murray Centre, the departments put on a range of workshops and activities across the weekend for our community. From Biology microscopes interactive workshop, arts and crafts and cheese tasting to a Global Partnerships drop-in session with Global Ambassadors and department staff, who discussed the School’s global initiatives including the Global Schools Exchange Programme and Global Internships.

Mrs Philippa Toogood, Assistant Head (Operations)

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Beyond the Curriculum

‘...a culture of academic endeavour where enjoyment of learning is unlimited.’

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Radley Partnership THE RESPECT PROJECT The Respect Project launched in 2021 and aims to bring students from Radley College and Downe House together on a number of mutually beneficial projects. These provide all the pupils with direct and meaningful experience of working with the opposite sex, preparing them for life beyond school while retaining the integrity and value of single-sex education. Relationships of respect are created through academic, co-curricular and social interactions. A great deal has been achieved this academic year, some of the highlights include: • The first ever collaborative STEM Symposium between the two schools, which involved pupils from the Lower Fifth and the Lower Sixth exploring topics well beyond the syllabus. • The first ever Lower Sixth and Lower Fifth Respect Conferences, which saw all students from these two year groups across both schools come together for a day of heated debate and discussion. • A Drama workshop for Lower Sixth students on Metamorphosis followed by dinner and a performance. • A book club during which students from both schools read and then discussed a novel they had chosen together. • A wide range of social activities, including in-House dinners, Caledonian Society and bowling evenings. • Our second collaborative Humanities Symposium, which saw students discussing topics relating to Religious Studies, Philosophy, English, Modern Languages and History and considering how they relate to the modern world. This year also witnessed the second joint History and Geography projects between the two schools which gave, respectively, our Lower Fifth pupils the opportunity to explore the roles of men and women in the Great War and our Upper Fourth pupils the chance to work on some collaborative fieldwork.

We are also fortunate to benefit from the involvement of Chloe Combi in the Respect Project. Chloe is a journalist, podcaster and Gen-Z expert who leads regular sessions with pupils and conducts research for both schools to help measure the impact of the project. She has also led staff training, empowering teachers to feel confident talking to teenagers about the challenges they face, many of which will be very different to those experienced by staff when they were young people. Chloe also helps to train and mentor Sixth Form ambassadors who meet regularly with their Radley counterparts to influence the development of the programme between our two schools. Most of their ideas are taken on board and the lead teachers from Radley College and Downe House meet regularly to ensure the programme evolves to meet changing needs and demands. Friendship is central to the Respect Project and social events allow our girls to relax and enjoy their own company and that of the boys. More traditional, formal events have been replaced by more regular events at the two schools as well as central locations such as restaurants and bowling alleys. The Caledonian Society remains very popular and the Radley boys have also hosted a series of dinners in their Socials (boarding houses). Meanwhile, younger pupils have enjoyed BBQs, quiz nights, joint cocoa evenings and even beagling! This year saw Downe once again host the boys at our amazing and extensive funfair which appeared on our campus and included dodgems, roller skating, rollercoasters and much more. In response to the ambassadors wishing to play sport against their friends from Radley, hockey and lacrosse fixtures have been arranged, with plans to develop this further next year.

Mr Matt Godfrey, Deputy Head

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BEYOND THE CURRICULUM

Radley Partnership HUMANITIES SYMPOSIUM This year Downe House was thrilled to host the annual Humanities Symposium in collaboration with Radley. A selection of girls and boys from the Lower Sixth and Lower Fifth were given an opportunity to participate in an academically engaging evening, centred around their studies in the humanities. It was an opportunity for the girls to explore their subjects beyond the curriculum with fellow enthusiastic peers. The evening was structured around three main themes: conflict, identity and innovation. It was particularly interesting to observe how the different subject tables approached and interpreted the themes in question. For girls in the Lower Fifth, who were given the opportunity to rotate between subject tables, it was a chance to look forward past their GCSEs towards potential A Levels; it was an excellent opportunity to converse and receive much inspiration from passionate members of the Lower Sixth in a variety of different subjects. For both the Radley and Downe students looking towards university (and even Oxbridge applications!) it was a refreshing reminder of the importance, but also enjoyment, that can be found in looking beyond the curriculum. As a student of both the sciences and the humanities, I was struck by the significance and impact these discussions held, especially in the increasingly interlinked and global society we live in. For instance, I found discussions on the History table were incredibly relevant: from the importance of studying History, to the effects of colonisation and the significance of the repercussions. On the Philosophy table a heated debate was centred around the ethics of euthanasia. Questions were raised about what the legalisation of euthanasia might mean for individuals seeking that service, or what deeper effects could occur as a result to the medical profession and medical practitioners alike. Another highlight was certainly the finger buffet which provided critical fuel for the discussions that filled the Auditorium. It was a great opportunity for the girls to engage with the Radley boys academically and it was a real display of the meaningfulness of the collaboration between the two schools. Many thanks to the Radley boys for making the journey to join us and all the staff who accompanied them. The biggest thanks to all the Downe House girls who were brilliant hosts, and to Mr Godfrey for organising the tremendously enriching evening.

Katie Beeson (LVI)

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The Murray Centre From the start of the day until late into the evening, the Murray Centre is always a hive of activity. The whole community passes through the doors most days – whether it be to pick up a drink or a treat from the coffee shop, to meet a tutor, to attend a lecture or an assembly, to study, to collect a book in the library or just to catch up with friends or colleagues. Throughout the year, the Murray Centre has hosted a range of events. The weekly Murray Music Moments every Friday lunchtime is a real treat and an opportunity for us to welcome members of the local community, as well as our own staff and pupils, to listen to a vast range of outstanding musical performances from our talented pupils. The regular Open Mornings for new and prospective parents, major events like the Academic Conference on Maximising Pupil Progress and even providing a new venue for this year’s Christmas Gift Fair means that there really is never a dull day! The Murray Centre Residency Programme has continued in style this year, kicking off when we welcomed the Modern Foreign Languages department at the end of September 2022. A packed week of activities included two external speakers, lunchtime talks from members of the Sixth Form and a plethora of linguistic challenges – tongue twisters, puzzles, quizzes and an opportunity for the community to try their hand at Chinese character writing or French handwriting. The coffee shop was transformed each day into a café from a different European country, offering delicious treats ranging from croissants to Berliner donuts. Some Latin American dancing and an opportunity to try Tai Chi rounded off a busy and memorable week. Our next residency came in November when the Drama and Dance department transformed the Collaboration Space into a cabaret theatre, providing an amazing showcase for our pupils to demonstrate their talents. The week started with a red carpet premiere and included a visit from Daniel the puppet who performed a moving dance with his puppet masters, an evening of New Musical Theatre, an open rehearsal for Fame Jr, attended by a West End professional, and rounded off with a Secret Cinema event for the Lower School where they could try out their circus skills before watching a screening of The Greatest Showman. One of the many highlights of the week were the beautiful silent dance performances in the library. In early February, to tie in with Safer Internet Day, the Murray Centre hosted a Digital Residency. This time, the Collaboration Space became a games room – an opportunity for the pupils and staff to play and experience computer games through the ages – from Pacman and

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Tetris to Donkey Kong and even some old-style text-based games. Displays about keeping safe online, how to use today’s most popular social media apps safely and polls and quizzes on the impact of technology provided some great advice for pupils and staff alike. The STEM residency in March was a collaboration between the Science, Maths and Computing departments and they provided a vibrant and engaging range of activities that caught the imagination of the whole community. From Dr Jones’ Epic Experiments to remote control balloons and Van de Graaff generator demonstrations, there was much to entertain and educate. There were great interactive quizzes, pupils worked out maths puzzles on the Murray Centre windows and the bunting was a message in binary code. On Tuesday, the Code Show moved into the Auditorium which allowed pupils to have hands on access to a timeline of home computers and gave them an opportunity to take a ride in a 1985 Sinclair C5 electric vehicle. A highlight was a visit from veteran TV presenter and mathematician, Johnny Ball, who entertained our Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth pupils with some clever maths facts. At the end of April, the Festival of Culture, organised by members of the DH Pupil Council and Global Ambassadors, moved into the Murray Centre to provide a spectacular celebration of equality, diversity and inclusion at Downe House. On each of the three days, events and displays focused on a different area in the world and there were many joyous activities to join in with including Brazilian drumming, Scottish dancing and even a henna tattooist on site. On the final day, the whole community were invited to dress in their own cultural clothes and the residency rounded off with street food from around the world and a cultural performance gala. In addition to the residencies, the Murray Centre has hosted many guest speakers in the Auditorium this year. Highlights have been a series of talks and a Medley Lecture from Lewis Dartnell, Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster and a Junior Medley Lecture from Anthony Geffen, the CEO of Atlantic Productions and one of the world’s leading documentary film makers and a pioneer in immersive storytelling. He has won over 50 awards including two BAFTAs and nine US Emmys. It was a treat indeed to listen to him sharing his experience of working with David Attenborough and to see some of the cuttingedge VR projects that he is working on today.

Mrs Jenny Hill, Murray Centre and Library Manager

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The Library

The library, in contrast to the Murray Centre as a whole, is a calm and tranquil haven on the top floor and maintains this sense throughout the year as a space to think, work and retreat to, whatever time of day it may be. This year has been no exception. However busy the library is, it never seems to lose that sense of quiet purpose.

As at the start of every School year, during the first half of the Michaelmas term, all pupils received an induction to what the library can offer them, both to enhance their academic studies and provide them with the books that will help them relax and unwind at the end of another busy day. With a collection of 10,000 non-fiction books, 3,000 fiction titles and a range of magazines, there is something for every requirement and, if it’s not here already, we will order it in. In addition to the physical stock, our library system, Oliver, offers everyone access to a wide range of high quality and carefully curated online resources that are an invaluable support to academic work. Reading for pleasure continues to be a key focus at Downe House. Its benefits, both in terms of academic success and personal wellbeing and development, are well proven and our pupils are encouraged in many ways to continue their reading journeys throughout their time here. All the Remove, Lower Fourth and Upper Fourth pupils have been coming to the library every fortnight this year – a lesson where they are allowed to curl up and just read, with library and English staff on hand to inspire their choice of books. In addition, the Remove pupils were involved in the Bookbuzz Challenge, an initiative set up by the Book Trust in which they are gifted a book from a range of new titles by wellknown authors. They take part in book group discussions and write illustrated book reviews with the best five being given book token prizes. Congratulations this year go to Eulalia Camilleri, Emma Kovalchuk, Katherine Langworthy, Isabella Lloyd George and Carmen Ren. The UIV Scholars’ Book Group have also met fortnightly this year to discuss and share good reads and to become judges in the Yoto Carnegie Book Award. The Yoto Carnegie medal is awarded to the outstanding book written in English for children and young people. This year’s Downe House Seniors’ Association (DHSA) Short Story Competition, open to all pupils, was inspired by the theme of the Downe House DNA – the qualities that we believe make a Downe House pupil. With around 120 entries, the competition was tough and the judging panel, made up mainly of alumnae, faced a difficult task in choosing the winners. The deserving winners this year were: Lower School: winner - Alexia Walker (LIV), runners up Eleanor Black (Remove) and Gabriella Yue (LIV) Upper School: winner - Amelia Karoly (UIV), runners up Phillipa Drysdale, Aleksandra Cork and Alice Bevan (UIV) Sixth Form: winner - Lilias Hoare Nairne (LVI), runners up Mary Hazlitt (UVI) and Sophie Ewen (LVI) The overall winner this year was Lilias Hoare Nairne (LVI) who won the Clare Balding Prize for Excellent Writing! All winners and runners up were treated to a creative writing workshop run by alumna, Poppy Scales (DH 2021), and joined by the judging panel for a celebration lunch. Our Lower School Reading Ambassadors have done a wonderful job of promoting a love of reading within their peer group this year and ably assisting us in the library. They are trained to check books in and out, reshelve them and write book recommendations to inspire others’ book choices.

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Huge thanks should also go to this year’s Literary Seniors, Fife Akinkugbe and Longwen (Vivi) Lei (UVI) who have done a great deal to promote a love of literacy throughout the School, not least by sharing their own favourite reads and book recommendations in short videos on the library Instagram page. We look forward to working with Sophie Li and Sophie Ewen (LVI) over the coming year. A real highlight of our year was the celebration of World Book Day in March. We were delighted to welcome the author Sara Grant for the day who delivered some inspiring workshops to Upper School pupils to help them develop their creative writing skills and then gave a talk to the Lower School in the evening. The Lower School all dressed up as book characters and the most creative costumes won prizes. At lunchtime, Mrs Boswell and Mr Owen read book extracts to Lower School pupils in the Murray Centre foyer and throughout the day, mystery wrapped books were hidden around the School for pupils to find. A literary cake competition, a scavenger hunt and a book exchange all added to the general book ‘buzz’ around the Murray Centre. In addition, the English department organised a competition for pupils and staff to recreate book covers – there were some highly creative entries – and worked with the Catering department to provide a literary lunch in the dining room with such delights as ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ salad and ‘Bruce Bogtrotter’s Chocolate Cake’. Alongside this year’s World Book Day celebrations, Jocelyn Yue (LVI) organised a book drive to collect children’s books for charity. Working with the Children’s Book Project, we were able to donate 400 books to a local primary school, St Joseph’s, in Newbury.

Mrs Philippa Toogood, Mrs Jenny Hill and Mrs Gemma Ridland, The Murray Centre Team

It’s been another fun-filled year of co-curricular activities to excite and challenge pupils across the School – as ever the calendar has been packed with weekend and evening activities. This year, the CCA department also hosted the first Young Entrepreneurs Day for our Lower School pupils, who set about creating and marketing a product under the watchful eye and guiding hands of some of our alumnae community. We’ve also seen the return of the much-loved weekend extravaganzas, the funfair with plenty of thrills and spins for everyone, and a Winter Wonderland complete with ice skating rink. Here are just some of those exciting moments captured on camera to show some of the highlights.

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Co-Curricular Activities

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award announced that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will be the charity’s new Patron. The Duke, best known as Prince Edward, takes on the patronages previously held by his father, Prince Philip, who founded the Award in 1956. He has been a passionate supporter of the DofE having achieved his own Gold Award in 1986. Recent Downe House students who had completed their Gold Award had the pleasure of attending a Gold Award presentation event at Buckingham Palace and had the honour of meeting him. DofE continues to be a non-competitive, personal challenge, giving all young people the chance to follow their passions, discover new talents and build resilience and self-belief. With the majority of Downe House girls finishing their Award, this is a fantastic achievement showing the commitment and dedication the girls have to their activities across the broad spectrum of School life. As well as the expeditions mentioned, skill courses were done and over 2,500 hours of volunteering has contributed immensely to the School and local community. All should be proud to have been involved and an incredible 91 Awards were achieved this year: Bronze 77, Silver 1, Gold 13. Congratulations to all. With most of the Lower Fifth involved in doing DofE experiences, 2023 saw our biggest number camping for their Bronze Expedition back at Rushall Farm near Bradfield. A day of training was given in the Lent term before more was undertaken over a weekend early in the Summer term. After exams and as the weather got warmer in June, the assessment expedition was done. When I say warm, it was very warm. Temperatures were in the late 20s so extra water was carried in exchange for their tents. This was certainly welcome as they carried everything else for their two-day hike through the beautiful Berkshire hills. Fortunately, there was plenty of tree cover to shade under but going through the woods is always tricky to navigate with so many extra paths created by locals. Some groups discovered this and did an extra few hours on top of the expected six hours out! A thunderstorm was forecast and fortunately this arrived two hours after the last group was in. The storm produced hail and torrential rain flooding several houses and a nearby shop. All were grateful to have been inside for this one! As always, the overall experience is a tough one but with memories for life. From cooking outdoors, carrying a heavy rucksack, to snuggly sleeping in a tent, it all makes them that little more resilient and I’m delighted to say that all who started passed the experience! Well done and congratulations to all.

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DofE expeditions are done many ways, so long as they are self-sufficient with non-motorised transport. At Gold level, a four-day journey is required and this year groups did walking and sailing expeditions with outside expedition companies. The School took on a cycling expedition to Paris. Cycle training included doing part of the government funded Bikeability course before escaping School to visit the old airstrip at Royal Air Force Greenham Common and getting soaked through cow fields. This unfortunately landed them a puncture. Training went further afield to Great Windsor Park, scootering around Eton College Dorney Lake and then headed west doing the Bath to Bristol railway trail as well as lighting up through the UK’s longest cyclable tunnel, the Combe Down tunnel near Bath. The team also committed to doing some extra valuable cycle days around beautiful Berkshire. For assessment the Lower Sixth team; Cassiana Bennett, Xinrui (Sherry) Chen, Eloise Cull, Clothylde Debray, Louise Alldis-Kervella and Ella Spry, fully loaded their bikes and powered themselves with carrots, their favourite veg. It was a dream start with a 25mph tail wind on the South Coast from Bognor Regis to Newhaven. Cycling under the beautiful iconic giant white cliffs near Brighton is always a special highlight. It is then a late-night ferry to Dieppe before a 5am start in France heading along an old railway trail-turned-cycle path called Avenue Verte. Some big hills finished day two before camping lakeside in Dangu. Day three rolled through French countryside, where after reaching the finishing point, Louise and Clothylde were loving it so much they did eight miles extra at ‘Tour de France’ speed to camp. For the final day, the hot weather was energy sapping, but spirits were high visiting the iconic landmarks of Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe, Le Louvre and the Eiffel tower. An all-you-can-eat buffet awaited them and a quirky hostel with comfy mattresses. The team’s positive attitude got them through an incredible 232km (145 miles), which was a memorable journey of epic proportions. To top it off, a day was spent navigating the Paris Metro, shops and enjoying some culture at the immersive art experience in Atelier des Lumières. It is amazing what is packed into five days, and everyone was brimming with pride to have finished it. It was all possible thanks to the support crew, Mr Webb and Mr and Mrs Rigby who were absolutely brilliant. We can’t wait for next year’s adventure!

Mr Tony Riddle, Teacher of PE / Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

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Chapel Report ‘The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore’. (Psalm 121 verse 8) Downe House School Chapel is a special place. It is a place for all seasons. We come here to rejoice, and we come here to grieve. Another year has passed, and God’s love has held us and guided us and blessed us. Very early in the School academic year we met together in a variety of services to mourn the death of her Late Majesty the Queen. We have just ended the year most joyfully as we celebrated the outgoing Upper Sixth in their Leavers Service. It has been a joy as School Chaplain to have baptised baby Flynn and members of the Lower Fifth and Upper Sixth. And it has been an honour to mark the other end of the faith journey by leading a memorial service to give thanks for the life of Jack Bayliss who served our School so richly, wisely and with humour for over 22 years. Chapel holds both beginning and endings. God who is love, God of the journey walks with us at every stage. I pray now and, in the years to come, that each one of us will become increasingly aware of that faithful, loving presence.

We have celebrated three confirmation services; two here at School and our Roman Catholic Confirmation at Radley College. It has been a privilege to have helped to prepare candidates. I have enjoyed our pre-confirmation retreats together to Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and of course all the pizza we have eaten! I am most grateful for the excellent administrative help of Mrs Law and to Maud Hurley of Radley College and Miss McCann for the specific Catholic instruction that they have offered to support our preparation process. After the warm welcome we received at St Mary Abbots, London for our Christmas Carol Service, it was then lovely to be able to invite Rev’d Emma Dinwiddy Smith back to School to speak at our Founder’s service. Her words to us on community were both inspirational and encouraging. It was fascinating to learn more about Miss Olive Willis and the influence she and Downe had on the life of Rev’s Dinwiddy Smith’s own remarkable mother, Caroline Dinwiddy (Franks) who was a pupil at Downe in the 1950s.

I am full of immense gratitude for all in our community who have helped to make Chapel the blessed place that it is. My thanks to Mrs Vallance and the Resources team for their creativity, skill and efficiency. My thanks to the House-keeping team and particularly to Vicki Langham for her welcome in the early morning and fantastic cleaning of the chapel. Somehow despite our sometimes-muddy feet, the beautiful blue carpet is always so clean! My thanks to Mrs Norman for her faithful playing in Chapel, her heart of service and unwavering support. My thanks to all those colleagues who have shared their words of wisdom and spoken with integrity about their own life of faith. Thank you to our gifted Music department, Dr Exon, Mr Lambert, Mr Hartley-Stevens and to all those pupils who played and sang, read, prayed and rang the School bell in our services.

I am immensely grateful to the Downe House Parent Prayer Group for their faithful prayers for our School community. We are blessed to have them praying for us.

Over the academic year we have explored the Psalms, the Saints, favourite Christmas carols, prayer and our faith journeys, and the theme of love. We have celebrated Black History Month, interfaith week, Chinese New Year. We have welcomed speakers from Lymington Rusmore Holidays. As a School community for our harvest festival, we donated to the West Berkshire Food Bank. Parents, guardians and staff have been so kind, and it has been fantastic to be able to continue to support the work of the Trussel Trust each term through your ongoing generosity.

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Daria Andreeva (UVI), our outgoing Chapel Senior, has been a delight to work with - thank you for being such a grace-filled companion on the journey and for your beautiful faithful service of the Chapel community, your organisational skills, inspirational ideas, wisdom and kindness. Finally, it is with both sadness and yet with excitement for her future that we say farewell to the wonderful Miss Thabet: amazing Maths teacher, preacher, intercessor and leader of Roots and supporter of Confirmation classes. Downe House Oman is most blessed to have you. Go with God!

Reverand Anthea Platt

In the tempo of School life, there is always something to keep busy with, something to do, or somewhere to be. In its calmness and quietness, Chapel is a place where the noise of the busy School life dies down, and provides a space to think, as well as meditate. The serenity of the building itself is very strong as the emotion it evokes is an unspeakable peace. The services fill it with a further calmness that allows for one to be able to reflect on the present moment, the past and the future, with any anxieties left at the door, or considered in a reassuring light. It is a soothing atmosphere where everyone makes a positive influence, with their presence. Sometimes simply standing in the service during the hymns, when everyone's voices blend together adds to this sense of life and community that Chapel has. Each service has its own unique mood that breathes an air of life into Chapel, with the many speakers that share their stories, of wisdom, hope and revelation. There is a sense of movement within Chapel across the year, as the various themes for these speeches change, with various topics being brought into light, like love, faith and kindness. With time, the chapel itself changes too. The flowers on the nave come and go, and the drapery upon the lectern changes colour. These details are not always fully realised and are something I personally never completely noticed until my time in this position. Over the past year, it has been a privilege to be able to witness such movement and be able to share these moments with the School, as well as to fully realise what Chapel means to me, and it is something I am eternally grateful for. When I joined Downe House in Lower School, I remember being awed by how such a public place is so personal to everyone in the community, and even now, as I am leaving School, it still awes me how it has maintained such a presence. Such a calm, loving and stable environment would not have been possible without Rev Platt, who brings joy into each service and the Chapel community. With the new Chapel Senior’s diligence and care, I am assured that Chapel is in good hands for the future, and that the community will continue to grow in its peace, love and vibrance!

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Chapel Report CHRISTIAN UNION "ROOTS" Roots is Downe House’s Christian Union, and it is open for girls of all faiths and none; for any who want to explore their faith and know more about the Christian faith. It has been a blessing and a privilege running Roots this year and seeing many girls’ faith grow and deepen. This academic year, Roots continued to meet on Fridays from 6:45-7:30pm for the Remove and Lower Fourth, and from 7:30-8:30pm for Upper Fourth to Upper Sixth. During the overlap between the Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form girls often play games together, with Articulate being a sure favourite. This year we focused on the basics and the big picture, starting our first Bible Study with Genesis Chapter 1, looking at God’s love and purpose for humanity, and God’s redemption plan in Jesus (Genesis Chapter 3). We went through popular Old Testament Bible stories like Joseph and touched on many themes like forgiveness and trusting in God. It has been amazing to be a part of the girls’ faith journeys; to hear their comments, insights and questions, and to see God working in their hearts and minds. I know that the girls have really enjoyed it and been blessed by it. Next year, Miss Prentice will be running Roots, and I know that it will continue to be a blessing to many girls. Roots and Miss Prentice will continue to be in my prayers.

Miss Nardin Thabet, Teacher of Mathematics

Daria Andreeva (UVI), Chapel Senior

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Wellbeing

It has been another busy academic year for our pupils and so prioritising their wellbeing and mental health is more important than ever. Finding time to look after themselves both mentally and physically, as well as experiencing and adopting a positive routine of preventative wellbeing strategies, is important for every pupil. The old adage of ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ is spot on and the pupils are all encouraged to engage in activities which actively help them manage their personal wellbeing as a continuous process to ensure they are looking after themselves and finding their own individual sources of fulfilment. Luckily, there is lots on offer for them to choose from at Downe House.

The Wellbeing Committee has had a busy year with Wellbeing Champions from all the Houses being led by our Sixth Form Wellbeing Ambassadors and meeting weekly to discuss and plan ways to help raise awareness and provide additional opportunities for everyone to focus on their own wellbeing. A variety of activities were on offer during Mental Health Awareness Week, including a very popular joke swap, which tied in well with the theme of reducing stress, as we all know laughter is the best medicine! Members of the committee have also been trialling some wellbeing apps and monitoring tools ready to make some recommendations for other pupils. They also organised for our in-house councillors to visit all the Houses in the evenings to share some of their recommendations for wellbeing and positive mental health activities that pupils could adopt.

The House teams have once again put on a huge array of wellbeing-related activities this year. From Mindful Mondays to Soulful Sundays, via Wellbeing Wednesdays, the pupils have enjoyed learning some new skills and engaging in soothing activities. The wellbeing boxes of goodies continue to be popular with relaxing sprays and balms being a firm favourite, but some newly added weighted blankets and acupressure rings have also proved popular. The key is for each pupil to find the things that they enjoy and carve out some time each day/week to engage with those activities. The Finding Balance programme for the Summer term was a roaring success again this year, designed as an additional layer of support specifically for the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth external exam year groups, but also providing lots of wellbeing opportunities for the whole School. The annual puppy therapy activity was unsurprisingly the most popular with pupils loving the opportunity for some puppy cuddles to allow the stresses of the term to melt away. Exciting new additions to the programme this year were acro yoga, woodland walks and stargazing.

Mrs Ellie Llewellyn, Director of Pupil Wellbeing

‘To help my wellbeing, I often go on walks around the School or do some guided meditation. I joined the Wellbeing Committee because I really care about the wellbeing of others, and I want to share ideas and raise awareness of the importance of taking the time to look after yourself. I recently discovered the tapping technique for stress-relief and it was so valuable in my recent exams that I am now keen to let others know about it so it can help them too.’

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FOUNDATION OFFICE EVENTS AND REUNIONS: A YEAR IN PICTURES

Amongst the many events hosted by the Foundation Office, this year has seen five-year (Classes of 2017 and 2018), ten-year (Class of 2012), twenty-year (Class of 2002) and twenty-five-year (Class of 1997) reunions in both London and at Downe House, as well as a regional reunion at Inveraray Castle hosted by DH alumna, Eleanor Argyll. A number of receptions have taken place for current parents including a ball at the Hurlingham Club in November and former Head and Deputy Head Seniors gathered with staff at the beautiful setting of the Ashmolean Museum to mark Mrs McKendrick’s 25 as Headmistress. These events give members of the Downe House community, past and present, a chance to meet up, catch up and reconnect. We are delighted to be able to share just a few memories from these wonderful occasions.

Mrs Alexandra Barlow, Director of External Relations

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A Year in Pictures

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THE ELECTIVE PROGRAMME

Enrichment

It has been an exciting year for the Elective Programme which continues to go from strength to strength. For the Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth year groups, we welcomed some new and exciting Electives to the programme, with Mr Littledale and Mr Kersley delivering exciting sessions on 'Introducing Biomimicry' and 'Medical Mysteries'. These Electives continued alongside some of the existing favourites, such as Dr Atherton's 'Grow a Poem' and Mrs Harrop's 'The Science of Happiness'.

Another fantastic addition to the Lower Fifth programme was Miss Palmer who taught a series of Psychology Electives, including 'The Power of Habits' and 'The Marketing Impulse', where pupils explored how marketing campaigns leverage psychological tricks to manipulate us to buy certain products. The pupils on this Elective presented their ideas in the Murray Centre and they had clearly enjoyed this wonderful opportunity to expand their horizons. For myself, I taught a completely new Elective this year: 'The Power of Photography', where we explored the impact photography has on the modern world, such as investigating some of the world's most famous photos as well as looking at the incredible technology in cameras and some of the latest developments such as the rapid advancement of AI art and photo generators. For the first time ever in the Lower Sixth Elective cycle, we were pleased to offer the brand new 'Elective Plus' Programme - delivered by the Keystone Elective tutoring company, this Elective was designed for those students who are keen on exploring Law at University and beyond, covering areas such as constitutional, land and criminal law. Looking ahead to the 2023-2024 Elective cycle, we are excited to introduce some new teachers to the Elective Programme and I look forward to another successful year working alongside our talented pupils and dedicated Elective teachers.

Mr Tim Breeze, Teacher of Chinese, Head of Electives

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CENTRE FOR LEARNING AND RESEARCH It has been an excellent year for Downe House’s flagship Centre for Learning and Research, with many new and exciting initiatives being introduced. Each initiative, like the work of the Centre as a whole, is dedicated to using the latest educational research to help teachers teach better so pupils learn more. The below offers just a glimpse of some of this important work: The Enquiry The Enquiry is Downe House’s very own learning and research journal, providing a space in which colleagues can share their own research or explore strategies that are helping them in their day-to-day practice. It also provides an opportunity for pupils to write about and share reflections about their own learning. Here are just some of the articles colleagues have written over this last year: • ‘Lighting the Fire: Student Motivation’ by Mr Matt Godfrey • ‘The Many Benefits of Strength and Conditioning’ by Miss Kayleigh Bonwick • ‘The Power of Feedback’ by Mrs Sandy Clarke • ‘Levering Peer Assessment Digitally’ by Mrs Jane Basnett • ‘Whoever You Are Whoever You Want to Be, Be a Downe House Teacher’ by Miss Kerry Treacy • ‘Breaking the Rumination Cycle’ by Miss Alice Startup • ‘The Do Now: A Start of Lesson Routine’ by Dr Andrew Atherton All issues of The Enquiry can be found on our ISSUU channel, just scan the code below!

One of the core beliefs of the Centre for Learning and Research is that learning is something done with and not to our pupils. As such, this year we launched our first ever Student Learning Research Council, offering pupils the opportunity to conduct their own small-scale research project. Each pupil involved selected an area of their learning they would like to know more about and set out answering a research question. Here is just one example, from Phillipa Drysdale (UIV):

I think that Physics and Maths are typically more difficult subjects to revise for and I think lots of people struggle to find an effective method to tackle this revision. I think this is a valuable project as Physics and Maths are very closely related and important subjects. I find that methods such as using flashcards and mind maps are inefficient in these subjects and past papers would be more helpful when revising for exams. By doing this I hope to determine whether past papers are effective for Physics and Maths. If not, I hope to find a more suitable alternative. Over the course of the year, I made changes to the way I revised for each end of topic test and my summer exams in both Physics and Maths. I switched from using flashcards and mind maps to past papers. Some of the websites I used to find these papers were ‘Physics and Maths tutor’, ‘save my exams’ and ‘CGE guide’. In the Michaelmas term I used past papers to revise for my end of topic test in Physics. In the Lent term I went back to using mind maps and flashcards. I found that there was a staggering 25% decrease between the first and second result as a direct result of my revision methods. Over both Maths tests I sat in the Michaelmas term I used past papers to revise and my results were consistent and strong with only a 3% difference between the two. I also found that during class when I used past papers, I understood the content better and was able to participate more.

This revision method is effective because of something called ‘deliberate practice’. Deliberate practice is purposeful and systematic. As opposed to regular practice which might involve mindlessly repeating something, deliberate practice requires you to focus and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance. In conclusion, I have found that using past papers improved my results in Physics and Maths and helped me to further understand the content. This is a method I have found that works, but I recommend taking the time to explore different revision methods and finding out what works for different subjects for you. My advice is also to try to integrate deliberate practice into your revision sessions. This makes revision more deliberate and focused and will eventually overall improve your learning. The Learning and Research Council for pupils has provided a superb outlet for students to explore their own learning in fascinating and productive ways, allowing them to reflect critically on what works for them as well as sharing this with their wider year group. There have been many other Learning and Research initiatives this year including work on design thinking and learning spaces, teaching and learning exchanges, as well as a Staff Council. We are very excited to see what lies ahead for the Centre!

Dr Andrew Atherton, Director of Learning and Research, Teacher of English

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Student Learning and Research

Enrichment

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Academic Scholars

The Scholars’ Programme aims to foster a culture of academic endeavour where enjoyment of learning is unlimited. Academic Award Holders have a wide range of choice and opportunities available to have their intellectual life enriched through stimulating and substantive academic endeavours, and they take a lead in encouraging and sharing their love of learning with their peers. This year, the Scholars have also had opportunities to bond across year groups through many informal events, including the annual Academic Award Holders’ Christmas dinner, the Scholars’ trip to Bletchley Park, and various film and pizza nights (which are always a hit!). A highlight of the Lent term was the screening of Les Choristes in the Auditorium, held in collaboration with the French Cinema Club. The ‘Battle of the Scholars’ quiz night in the Summer term brought together not only the Academic Award Holders but also Creative Arts, Drama, Music and Sports Scholars and was a hugely successful evening. Huge thanks must go to Sio I (Melinda) Leong (UVI) who took on the role of Head of Academic Scholars Senior and worked closely with Mme Reichardt to develop an even more diverse range of activities for the Academic Award Holders. In the Summer term the Upper Sixth Scholars were treated to a leavers’ tea party to mark the end of their scholarship journey at Downe House. It goes without saying that the Scholars have worked hard throughout their years in the School to achieve excellence in their academic subjects, and they went into their A Level exams with some amazing university offers waiting for them at the other side! Moreover, they have been amazing role models to the rest of the School, demonstrating a genuine love of learning, a natural motivation to explore and the ability to encourage learning in others. They have paved the way for next year’s Scholars to continue to trailblaze. The first Upper Fifth Scholars’ Research Project Exhibition was held in the Michaelmas term. Over the previous year, students worked on an independent research project that is of interest to them, drawing ideas from lessons, from the Elective Programme and from their wider reading and independent study. In the process, they challenged themselves to think beyond the curriculum, to delve deeper into an area of academic interest to them, and to think

more critically and analytically. This collection of essays and projects provides a snapshot of the wide range of academic interests amongst the Scholars community at Downe House. Thanks must also go to the teachers and tutors who inspired and mentored the girls over their journey on the Scholars’ Programme and fostered a love of learning for the joy of it. Lent term saw the Scholars’ trip to Bletchley Park. So much more than a museum, it was a day filled with puzzles to solve everywhere, starting bright and early with our workshop on codes and ciphers! The girls learned all about the German Enigma machine and got the opportunity to see it up close. They also spent time working on fun and challenging exercises on codes, replacing whole words with symbols and ciphers, replacing individual letters with other letters or symbols. This was then followed by a walking tour of the Bletchley site, visiting Alan Turing’s hut, discovering eye-witness accounts of what it was like to work at Bletchley during WWII, and finally learning about Colossus, the world's first electronic digital computer. We also learned the difference between Enigma and the British equivalent, Typex. The Typex was able to encrypt its own letters which the Enigma couldn’t, making it far more difficult to crack than the Enigma! A fascinating day out and one which inspired the girls immensely. Train of Thought is the Scholars’ magazine, produced and edited by Academic Scholars from the Downe House community. This year’s edition was put together by the Lower Sixth editorial team of Tacita Rhys Williams, Jocelyn Yue, Camilla Hale, Alice Boyle and Sophie Li. The theme of this edition was Footprints. The contributors, Academic Award Holders across the Scholars’ community interpreted the theme in many ways to explore what it means to make an impact and to leave a legacy. The second edition of the Lower Fifth research essay magazine, Footsteps, was also published in the Summer term. All the topics in this magazine were chosen by their author as an area of research that they were curious about and wanted to explore, ranging from folklore to gun control and social media to black holes. Initially written for the Lower Fifth Scholars research essay seminar, the collection of essays puts in print the ideas that were discussed in our Lower Fifth Scholars research essay through the academic year. The Lower Fifth Scholars meet once a term to discuss prevalent subjects and invite healthy discussion and lively debate.

Mrs Maria Reichardt, Head of Academic Scholars, Teacher of French

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SCHOLARS’ BOOK CLUB

We attended the Scholar’s book club event at Eton College on two occasions. The events consisted of a delicious dinner and then a discussion with boys in our year. At the first book club, we discussed Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, a nonfiction book which describes the systemic attention crisis today. In summary, this lack of focus is due to intentionally designed software from companies profiting from the ‘attention economy’. Contrasting to popular belief, our lack of focus is not laziness or personal. During the dinner, there were many thoughtful discussions considering technology’s impact including varying opinions on the book, especially when considering the amount of statistics present, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Members were attentive as well as communicative and the evening was very enjoyable. For the second book club, in advance we read the novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This book entailed a compelling account of a teenage boy’s experience at a reform school created to guide troubled boys to a more prosperous future. Based on a true story from 1960s Florida, this book focused on important topics such as prejudice, dealing with violence, deception and seeking justice after acts of misconduct. What I enjoyed most about the book was the abstract use of symbolism such as the idea of the ‘secret graveyard’ which was used to represent the cruel treatment of the boys at the school. Moreover, the book ended with an unexpected yet heartwarming plot twist which I couldn’t wait to share my thoughts on with others.

As the Head of Scholars Senior for the past academic year, I have been able to contribute various new ideas to the Scholars’ Programme, and a particular highlight was the initiation of the Twilight Lecture series. Throughout the year, we invited a teacher each month to give a talk on a topic of interest in their subject, and the Academic Award Holders could bring a friend, who does not have to be a scholar too, along to the talk. I believe this has not only given opportunities for our teachers to share their inspiring passion and for us to learn from Downe’s very own academic role models but has also made the Scholars community a more accessible source of academic enrichment where teachers, Award Holders, and the rest of the School can share in the joy of learning. I would like to thank Mme Reichardt for her admirable leadership and organisation of all the activities this year, as well as her support and encouragement which has made my time in this role an unforgettable experience.

Sio I (Melinda) Leong (UVI), Head of Scholars Senior

What we enjoyed most about the experience was the extensive level of new information we gained surrounding two contrasting subject matters. Both books and group discussions inspired us to conduct further research on how technology is impacting our behaviours and corruption of reform schools which proved to be satisfying and varied. Ultimately, the book club provided a range of perspectives and ideas which positively challenged our ways of thinking. We both hope to take part in many more opportunities such as this, offered in our extensive and dynamic Scholars’ Programme!

Liberty Spry and Maria Taraban (LV)

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Academic Scholars

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Global Schools Exchange Programme “The Global Exchange trip to Waikato Diocesan School (New Zealand) was not only an amazing opportunity, both academically and culturally, but we have also made friends for life. The Māori culture was very interesting to learn about as we do not have anything like that in England!” Annabel and Georgia (LV)

“Campus Manilla (Sweden) is not a boarding school so we both stayed with our host families and got to experience life in a typical Swedish family. We recommend everyone signs up for exchanges as it is an amazing opportunity.” Georgina and Annabel (LVI)

“I surprised myself with how easy I found it to introduce myself to people and make new acquaintances.” Ivie

“One of my favourite views I’ve seen was seeing the skyline of New York as we landed. I definitely feel more confident and independent” Tabitha

“Beaulieu College (South Africa) gave us a wonderful experience. We have both learnt many things on the exchange programme and have met great people who we will stay in contact with forever.” Tammy and Clotilde (LV)

“Our exchange visit to Westover School (USA) was such an enjoyable experience for us both. We have made memories and friends that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. We hope one day to have the pleasure of revisiting.” Ivie and Tabitha (LV)

“I definitely think that I have grown as a person from this trip and gained a different perspective on learning. Socially, I genuinely feel as if I can handle more interactions with teachers and adults as I often had to discuss the differences in culture.” Liberty

“I think that I have definitely become more understanding of social and cultural differences between countries and I now can understand how people of different nationalities interact.” Honor

“During our visit to Dr Nassau College (The Netherlands), we’ve learnt so much about the culture and history of the Netherlands as well as a little of the language and the habits of the people.” Liberty & Honor (LV)

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“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit a different country, to observe their education system in action and be welcomed so warmly by teachers and students alike. Sweden and the UK education systems are vastly different, and it was so interesting to learn how they teach and support their young people.” Sophie Appleton Wyeth

Global Academy and Visits

Downe House Global Academy Leaders at the Graduation Ceremony for DH Global Academicians 2022

Downe House Muscat Staff visit the UK Campus

Downe House Riyadh Staff and Pupils visit the UK Campus

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Global Staff Exchange with Campus Manila, Sweden 2023

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Global Internships

GLOBAL INTERNSHIPS PROGRAMME

2022 marked the launch of Downe House’s Global Internship programme, offering a unique and rewarding experience for our girls to explore an array of job areas and work cultures in different countries and sectors. In 2022-23, we were able to offer more than 25 internship opportunities spanning five continents. Here are just some of the highlights of the programme…

“It was really amazing to learn and discuss the theory behind everything Nurture Landscapes does, and then be able to see it on their live working sites. I also really enjoyed learning from so many people, and just being able to talk to them and learn things that I had never come across before.” Cassie Bennett, Nurture Landscapes

“What a delight it was have Iona with us on internship. She is a keen, bright young woman who is a credit to the school and her family. We found her to be quite mature in her attitude and she was able to interact well with other team members and clients better than most vet students! We sincerely hope that she gains a place at vet school - in our opinion she is exactly what the profession needs.” Director, Avenel Equine Hospital.

“The team really enjoyed having Deedee here. Her contribution and participation on all activities was outstanding.” HR Business Partner, Nurture Landscapes, UK

“One evening we went to an entrepreneur’s pitch. There were five people trying to get funding for their startups. I found it really interesting.” Georgie Jackson, 30ThirtyCapital

“Zara was a pleasure to have in the team. She has set a high standard for the next work placement student. My colleagues were very impressed that, even without any prior work experience, Zara could keep up with the pace of tasks assigned to her. Compliments to the school as well, because Zara brought with her a solid knowledge of MS SharePoint and PowerPoint, essential for office workers!” CFO, Allianz X GmbH, Germany

“They were both BRILLIANT. The team wanted to hire them there and then on the spot as they were both so helpful and wonderful. A total asset to Downe House and we would welcome them both back again if they ever wanted to do further work experience.” Executive Assistant, Halpern PR, UK

“I really enjoyed learning about ESG and Credit Research, meeting other interns and the lovely people who work at Orchard Global. I gained an understanding of the financial sector and have uncovered a potential career path.” Clemmie McDougall, Orchard Global Asset Management

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Festival of Culture

From 26-28 April 2023, the Murray Centre was taken over by the Festival of Culture residency, which provided a plethora of activities, talks and workshops for the Downe House community to enjoy. Each day had its own speciality; Wednesday was dedicated to Africa, The Caribbean and South America, Thursday’s focus was Europe, Australasia, and North America and Friday was all about the Far East, The Gulf and the Southeast.

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DH LINKS

Conne ct I nn o va t e On l i n e

A global network of alumnae and parents that provides invaluable careers-based knowledge, guidance and practical support to give pupils the toolkit needed for life beyond Downe House. Four events took place during the past academic year that pupils, alumnae and parents were invited to participate in. Each event was varied and offered something different to ensure our programme reflects the diverse interests and career paths of our School community. Please do get in touch if you would like to host or attend a future DH LINKS event.

Mrs Alexandra Barlow, Director of External Relations Taking Control of Your Career in a Rapidly Changing World

The Fashion Industry Careers Edit

Five keynote speakers were invited to talk to an audience of our alumnae on the evening of Wednesday 28 September at Paddington Works in London. The panel was expertly hosted by Mary Beeton (DH 1993) who is Head of Residential Sales & Residential Development at Hamptons. Fantastic advice was shared on the theme of ‘taking control of your career in a rapidly changing world’ and the evening concluded with informal networking over drinks.

The spotlight was on the fashion industry as members of the Downe House community gathered at the Hearth in London to share careers advice and guidance. Six current pupils travelled to the event from School and hopefully secured some potential work shadowing placements through the conversations they had and the connections they made.

Keynote speakers included; Daisy O’Reilly-Weinstock (DH 2000) who is Director of Big Bets at Good Innovation, Hannah Goodyear (DH 2016) who is Diversity & Inclusion Programme Associate at Natixis Investment Managers, Nellie Standbrook (DH 2018) who is a Real Assets Analyst at BlackRock, and Cat Manson (current parent) who is a Global Communications Consultant.

An Introduction to Finance Mr Matthew Neville (current parent) and Head of EMEA Client Strategy at JP Morgan, along with two colleagues, Emma and Lexa, spoke to over fifty pupils in the Lower Fifth and Upper Sixth about what a career in financial services might look like. ‘I found it very beneficial having a PowerPoint handout that we were given to read during the session and hearing from different speakers.’ - Alice Boyle (LVI)

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‘It was wonderful to be amongst DH women of all different ages and at all different stages of their career paths. It felt like a safe place to be honest about some hard truths whilst also offering encouragement and advice. It was equally interesting for me to hear the other guest speakers talk about what they had been up to. It was truly lovely to receive some nice messages from girls after the event saying how it had helped them.’ - Pom Ogilvy (DH 2013) Our guest speakers that evening included; Sophie Quy (DH 2003), Flo Palmer (DH 2017), Hannah Stacpoole (DH 2012), Pom Ogilvy (DH 2013) and Jameliah Adekunle (DH 2018).

Alumnae Achievement Awards

The Murray Centre was the perfect setting for our final DH LINKS event of the year. Our panel of guest speakers included Victoria Peckett (friend of Downe House), Partner at Clyde & Co; Lauren Brolly (DH 2017), LPC student and future trainee at Sinclair Gibson; Sarah Ford KC (current parent), Barrister at Brick Court Chambers; and Jo Henley (DH 2010), a Family Mediator and Family Law Consultant. Each managed to strike the right balance between providing clear, informative guidance for budding young legal professionals whilst highlighting the huge variety of opportunities available in the sector. Not surprisingly all were very compelling in putting their own case across! We were also fortunate to have the expertise of three current parents, all of whom work in the legal sector and enjoyed chatting to the girls in the networking part of the evening.

In April, we launched the first Downe House Alumnae Achievement Awards. These awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of our alumnae community and recognise the variety of ways they are making a real impact across our society, both in the UK and around the globe. The awards closed on Thursday 4 May and a judging panel, led by Mrs McKendrick, reviewed all nominations and the five winners were invited to receive their awards at a reception at the House of Lords on Wednesday 14 June. We were delighted that Siobhan, Sophie and Jessie were able to join us at the House of Lords to collect their award in person. Congratulations to: • Jennifer Murray (Mather DH 1956) • Dr Lucy King (DH 1995) • Siobhan Hewlett (DH 1998) • Sophie Shipton (DH 2014) • Jessie Robinson (DH 2014)

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Exploring Legal Careers

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Charity

At Downe House we are dedicated to supporting our local and overseas charities through a range of different activities across the School community throughout the academic year. Take a look at some of our highlights from this year:

CHRISTMAS Our Lower School pupils were really busy throughout the Michaelmas term! The girls all did very well designing and creating some super stalls for the Christmas Fair. We were so pleased to have raised almost £500 for the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK and a further £300 from the sales of their own individually-designed Christmas cards (which were a complete sell-out amongst our staff and parents). A huge well done and thank you to everyone for their support of this event. As well as taking part in the Christmas Fair, throughout the term the girls also participated in various charitysupporting events with the West Berkshire Foodbank and Berkshire Women’s Aid Shoebox appeal, including taking inventory of all the donations from families and staff, creating beautiful flowerpots and creating festive shoeboxes. ST JOHN’S CONCERT This year’s St John’s Concert was particularly special, as Prima Voce performed the epic choral work that is Fauré’s ‘Requiem’. The choir was accompanied by a professional orchestra which showcased the talents of our Music department staff, Visiting Music Teachers and, excitingly, a selection of our more advanced student musicians were invited to play too. Chamber Orchestra also performed, playing ‘Méditation’ from Thaïs by Massenet with the beautiful violin solo played by Katie Lam (UV). The programme also featured Eric Whitacre’s ‘Glow’ performed by Prima Voce and ‘A Prayer for Ukraine’. The concert was a sell out and raised £1,800 for Christian Aid. WAKEFIELD AWARD CHARITY CIRCUIT Our Lower School pupils started the Summer term in high spirits with a Wakefield Award Charity Circuit! Contributing to their Wakefield Award, the charity circuit took place at School and helped raise more than £1,000 for our Lower School charity, the BowelBabe Fund.

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LOWER SCHOOL COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY The end of the Summer term saw a successful first ever Lower School Community Service Day, which left a positive impact on many fronts. Winchcombe Care Home was delighted to receive 73 beautifully decorated vanilla cupcakes, providing their residents with a scrumptious sweet treat. Our crafts group first created designs and then brought them to life by painting them onto plates and bowls, destined for the Women’s Refuge. Many of our girls chose to support our Estates team by helping them clear down after Founder’s Weekend and cleaning the estates buggies whilst others chose to test themselves in the swimming pool, collectively swimming an impressive total of 732 lengths during our sponsored swim, raising funds for our Lower School charity, Bowlbabe Fund. Our girls who went offsite came back full of enthusiasm, having either supported Year 2 pupils at Marlston Prep School or volunteered at Cold Ash Community Orchard. We are delighted that the Community Orchard have invited us back to work on future projects with them. We concluded our day with a fabulous Colour Run out on the field. Our energetic girls completed a course of five different obstacles, getting covered in coloured powder at each stage (and wearing some very jazzy sunglasses!). A huge thank you goes to all the staff who helped support the event, and all the supporters of our Lower School charity!

SPORTS DAY STALLS As is now tradition on Founder’s Weekend – it is kicked off by Sports Day. In addition to the victories on the field, all the Houses line the pitches with their House stalls! Every House works very hard throughout the terms to create a variety of different items to sell during Sports Day to raise funds for their House charity. ‘Thank you to our Aisholt girls for producing and packaging all our chocolates and thank you to family and friends for purchasing the delectable treats! We raised approximately £600 for our House charity, Reality Gives.’ - Mrs Rebecca Hillier, Housemistress (Aisholt) ‘AGN got into the competitive spirit at Sports Day. Not only were they resilient and determined during their events, but they were also proud of the AGN stall. Many of the pupils came to sell mocktails and sweet bags. The mocktails included a raspberry lemonade and a very popular mockjito. Both parents and pupils commented on how lovely the mocktails were. We were very pleased that we sold out and raised a good amount of money for our charity!’ - Mrs Jane Uncles, Housemistress (AGN) ‘Fully led by the AGS pupils, we set up our crochet stall at Sports Day and had a very successful day of trade raising money for the Riding for the Disabled charity, it was amazing to see the girls’ hard work out on display! A huge thank you to Emily, Tiffany and Jemima for heading it up.’ Ms Jade Vidler, Housemistress (AGS)

‘Several of our weekly clubs were taken over with some excited baking for our charity stall at Sports Day – our stall was a sell out and helped raise important funds for our House charity, Stepping Stones Primary School in Malawi. The brownies were very popular, which the girls made using Miss Tomlin's secret recipe - utterly delicious!’ - Miss Annabel Brown, Housemistress (Tedworth) ‘It was wonderful to see our House come together over the Summer term to create our stall for Sports Day – even down to the banner! Thank you to all the pupils who helped run it and to all the families and staff for supporting our House charity!’ - Miss Rosalie McCann, Housemistress (Holcombe) WILLIS HOUSE SPONSORED WALK On the last Monday of the Summer term, the whole House took part in a 10-mile charity walk in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. The walk was a huge success despite the odd shower. The girls were incredible and probably the most positive and determined group for several years. We were very proud of their attitude to the whole event. We are very proud to announce that we raised a total of £1,200. We would like to thank all those who helped us to raise such a wonderful amount.

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Charity

Celebrating with the Class of 2023

Our year

House Life 3 Academic Life 19 Creative Arts 38

Leaver’s Day is always very special occasion. It’s a chance celebrate all that our Class of 2023 have achieved and say farewell to the girls. This year we were delighted to welcome Mary Bonsor (DH 2005) as our guest speaker, who gave a most inspiring talk to the girls after which the prizes were awarded followed by their final Chapel Service. After a delicious lunch in the marquee, it was time for the much-awaited confetti moment, which was a wonderful finale to the day. We wish the Class of 2023 the very best on their journey beyond Downe House and look forward to welcoming them back to School as alumnae in the future.

Music 73 Drama & Dance 81 Sport 90 Founder’s Weekend 105 Beyond the Curriculum 119 School Officers 147

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School Officers 2022/23 HEAD SENIOR Lola Oyegunle DEPUTY HEAD SENIOR Cléo Dutertre-Delaunay SENIORS Motunrayo Adeniji Lauren Akinluyi Georgia Ashley Elodie Davies Eliza McCullough Cordie Reeve Victoria Tiang Susie Wood Jasmine Wyles AISHOLT Willow Wilkinson (Head) Charlotte Beveridge (Deputy Head) Alice Crowston (Deputy Head) AGN Elfreda Harvey (Head) Katie Lam (Deputy Head) Sayuri Shukawa (Deputy Head) AGS Izzy Peddie (Head) Nicola Iu (Deputy Head) Saral Lee (Deputy Head) HOLCOMBE Hermione Heseltine (Head) Sienna Jones (Deputy Head) Amy Wright (Deputy Head) TEDWORTH Aggie Rose (Head) Thea Davies (Deputy Head) Verena Whitbread (Deputy Head) HEAD CHAPEL SENIOR Dasha Andreeva GAMES CAPTAINS India Sparrow (Captain) Susie Wood (Vice Captain)

HEADS OF DRAMA Lauren Akinluyi Mary Hazlitt HEADS OF DANCE Ariel Cao Jade Fang HEAD OF SPEECH AND DRAMA Thea Davies HEAD OF CREATIVE ARTS Gabrielle Tan CREATIVE ARTS PREFECTS Alice Hack Cecelia Yuan HEADS OF COMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS Angera Brachetti Peretti Amy Jiang HEAD AMBASSADORS Fara Akinkugbe Isabel Davenport AMBASSADORS Grace Godfrey Alice Hack Emily Lau Emilia Nelson Agnes Pershall Emilia Robinson Yaashna Shourie Violet Whittaker HEAD GLOBAL AMBASSADORS Taizya Adedeji Mimi Fernie GLOBAL AMBASSADORS Adeena Amir Lin Lin Chi Mena Irikefe Hira Kutukluoglu Amy Liu

HEAD OF YORK Georgia Kynaston HEADS OF LOWER SCHOOL Clara Dutertre-Delaunay Georgina Williams-Bulkeley LOWER SCHOOL SENIORS Fife Akinkugbe Tate Halestrap Tilly Harris Jessica Shakespeare Catherine Skipworth HEAD OF ACADEMIC SCHOLARS Melinda Leong HEAD OF CHORAL Lauren Akinluyi HEAD OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Sara Lee DEPUTY HEAD OF MUSIC Anson Leung LITERARY SENIORS Fife Akinkugbe Vivi Lei SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER Rose Shortt PRESIDENT OF PHOENIX SOCIETY Anya Gannon ENVIRONMENTAL SENIORS Louise Neill Rose Shortt DIGITAL AMBASSADOR Yiming Song EDI SENIOR Konstanza Haefner

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