Fhs newsletter jun 2015

Francis Holland School Newsletter June 2015 FHS General Election 2015

From the Headmistress Dear Parents, My deepest thanks to all of you who sent emails and messages following news via the Chair of Governors, Mrs Marie Winckler, that I shall be retiring from teaching in December 2015. It has been an absolute privilege to lead this school since 2004 and I shall miss everyone who makes FHS/RP such a distinctive and happy place in which to work. The Governors are currently in the process of appointing my successor and there has been a high level of interest in this post.

During the Easter holidays, work continued to progress well on the building of the new swimming pool and changing rooms; this project is due to be completed towards the end of the autumn term. Also during the recent holidays, Mrs Montgomery (Head of History of Art) and Mr Gridelli (Head of Modern Languages) led a most successful Sixth Form History of Art trip to Rome.

The Upper Sixth excelled last week in their final leavers’ assembly, prior to study leave. Many congratulations to Helena McBurney in the Lower Fifth, who was presented with the “persona grata” cup by the Head Girl’s team at the beginning of the leavers’ assembly.

This cup is awarded annually to a pupil who in the opinion of the Head Girl’s team best epitomises the qualities of a future “polished corner”. We all wish the Upper Sixth the very best of luck in their A level examinations and thank them for the exceptionally strong contribution they have made to school life during their seven years at FHS. Particular thanks to Danah Cred (Head F r a n c i s

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Georgia and Hilary cast their votes

Girl), who has led this year’s wonderful Head Girl’s team: Saskia de Borchgrave Niblett; Sarah Kehoe; Estella Macchi de Cellere; Stella Moore; Alisha Mukherjee; Reem Satti; Olivia Turner.

giving evening, which this year will be in the Cadogan Hall, just off Sloane Square: Wednesday 14th October.

Invitations will be sent to you towards the end of this term.

Huge thanks to Mrs Laurel Rafter and all members of the Parents’ Association Committee for organising such a highly enjoyable Supper Quiz evening at the beginning of term. Many thanks also to those of you who donated prizes for the raffle and the silent auction.

Thanks to the generosity of all who attended the evening, the Supper Quiz raised in the region of £5,000, which will go to the three charities designated for support this year by the committee of the Parents’ Association.

I look forward to seeing you at any of the plethora of extra-curricular events in the second half of this term, especially Skellig, this term’s Junior Play; the GCSE Lower Fifth concert and Sports Day in Regent’s Park on 3rd July. Full details of extra-curricular events are in the school calendar at www.francisholland.org.uk

Please save the date of the 2015 Prize-

Mrs V M Durham

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Staff News Summer Term 2015

Miss Binny Shah

Congratulations to Miss Binny Shah on her appointment as the new Help Fund Co-ordinator from September 2015. Miss Shah succeeds Mrs Jodie Farthing in this role.

Ms Maria Merrigan

We extend a warm welcome to Ms Maria Merrigan, who has joined the PE Department while Ms Bain is on sabbatical leave.

Miss Victoria Greenhalgh

We also welcome Miss Victoria Greenhalgh, who has joined the Classics Department and will be teaching Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation while Mrs Wood is on maternity leave.

Form Captains Games Captains Tara Murray IIIJ Charlotte Hassenforder Mya Andrews IIIM Trudie Brady Stella Jones IIIS Annie Harrison Cleo Coleman LIVJ Hope Jones Charlotte McBurney LIVM Eva Perez Caterina Auboeck LIVS Tizzy Ritblat Alice Bartholomew UIVJ Nula Kenzie Andrea Salguero Ramsohoye UIVM Sophia Chitty Laura Otis UIVS Saga Kjallgren Georgia Michaels LVC Maxine Freeman Peyton Sarrail LVF Aisling Sheehan Marita Andrew LVT Dani Dunkley

London Health Week We enjoyed supporting London Health Week (20th–24th April) by organising activities focused upon Happiness and Well-Being. The week aimed to inspire everyone to be positive and to promote the message that happy students are flourishing students. Students were encouraged to practise gratitude every day by thinking of at least three things they were grateful for. Wednesday was "Random Act of Kindness" Day, when students were encouraged to be especially considerate of others, for example, paying someone a genuine compliment or simply smiling more. The week ended in "Dance Your Way Into The Day", a 7:45–8:15am disco in the gym—a brilliant way to get the endorphins going!

Miss Angharad Langley FRANCIS HOLLAND PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION Head of Psychology Department

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FRANCIS HOLLAND PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR SECOND ANNUAL PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION FRANCIS HOLLAND

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PARENT / DAUGHTER INVITES YOUHOLLAND TO ATTEND OUR SECOND ANNUAL FRANCIS HOLLAND PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION FRANCIS PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION PARENT / DAUGHTER INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR SECOND ANNUAL INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR SECOND ANNUAL PARENT / DAUGHTER

INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR SECOND ANNUAL PARENT / DAUGHTER

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Mrs Francisco and Theo

Congratulations to Mrs Alex Francisco and her husband Vincent on the birth of their first son Theo, who was born on Wednesday 29th April 2015.

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£10 per person inc. BBQ, Racquet hire & balls

Rsvp and payment by FHSCGPACT Registered Charity No 1160087 £10 per person inc.

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In aid of: by Swiss Cottage School, St Amedeus PA@fhs-nw1.org.uk Monday, 1st June

£10 per person inc. BBQ, Racquet hire & balls FHSCGPACT Registered Charity 1160087 £10 perNoperson inc. BBQ, Racquet hire & balls

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In aid of: Swiss Cottage School, St Amedeus School, FHS Summer Camp

FHSCGPACT Registered Charity No 1160087

In aid of: Swiss Cottage School, St Amedeus School, FHS Summer Camp

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FHS General Election: 7th May 2015 FHS MOCK GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 2015 These charts show the actual number of votes cast for each of the 5 parties in each form.

The colour indicates the party which won in that form.

The asterisk [*] indicates the largest number of votes per form.

Votes were tied in 4 forms: LIVM; VING; VIEW; VIAM. As would happen in the real General Election, a coin was flipped to decide the winning candidate/party.

VI Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

HP 2 1 1 1 0

RP 0 1 3 1 0

NG 0 0 2 2 0

KH 4 3 3 1 0

EW 0 3 3 1 1

RLR 2 3 0 2 0

AM 3 2 3 0 2

KO 2 1 1 3 0

III Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

J 5 1 1 1 0

M 10 0 0 4 0

S 11 1 8 0 0

VI Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

LIV Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

J 8 3 2 6 0

M 5 5 0 1 2

S 4 5 2 1 4

Staff Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

UIV Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

J 8 2 4 6 0

M 11 3 2 0 2

S 10 0 3 1 0

LV Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

C 14 3 1 1 0

F 8 1 5 4 1

T 9 1 3 3 0

UV Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

B 8 7 4 1 0

H 5 4 7 1 0

P 6 7 4 2 0

8 5 7 7 0

__________________________________________________________________ RESULTS

Conservative Green Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP

Total FHS Seats

14 5 3 2 0 24

Total FHS Votes

135 59 69 50 12 325

% of FHS vote

42% 18% 21% 15% 4% 100

FINAL FHS RESULT

CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY OF 4 FORMS

As in 2005 and 2010, FHS Regent's Park held its own mock General Election on 7th May. This was a great opportunity for the History and Politics Department to open up the workings of our political system to all the girls at FHS, and to highlight the fact that the health of our democracy depends upon their active participation in the future.

In order to reflect the reality of UK Parliamentary elections, the staff and each of the school’s 23 forms represented a different "school constituency" and, mirroring real electoral practices, all students and staff who wanted to vote were required to register beforehand. In addition, the parties’ manifestos were made available in the library and two noticeboards provided plenty of election-related information.

The main school hall was transformed into our very own Polling Station and the girls were able to cast their votes throughout the lunch break. As in 2010, the final school results proved to be very similar to the national outcome, with the Conservatives winning a slender majority.

My thanks go to all of the Lower Sixth candidates who participated in the mock election with such enthusiasm, to the other members of the History and Politics Department for their help in running the election and to all the girls and staff who voted. The experience of the Mock Election was incredibly worthwhile and has undoubtedly increased the level of political engagement and understanding in the school.

Mr Mark Chiverton History and Politics Department F r a n c i s

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Getting into election day spirit!

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Science Week Lecture by Professor Dame Julia Higgins As part of Science Week 2015, on Thursday 19th March we were lucky enough to be given a lecture

by Professor Dame Julia Higgins. She is one of the most prominent female scientists in the UK, with a career spanning many years and many disciplines relating to Chemistry, Physics and Engineering.

It was truly inspiring to hear about the achievements she had made in her various fields, and about the different places she had worked in.

The Francis Holland girls had many questions to ask at the end of the lecture, not only about her career, but also about her various scientific areas of expertise.

It was great to see so many students of all age groups attending this lecture, proof that there are many budding scientists among them!

Professor Dame Julia Higgins

Miss Kay Hotchkiss Head of Chemistry Department

Upper Sixth Chemistry Workshop On Wednesday 25th March, the Upper Sixth chemists took part in a workshop to enhance their understanding of different spectroscopic techniques.

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase is a workshop run by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and allows students in schools to use machines which are studied in the A Level course. The workshop was run by two students from Imperial College, London, and all students got involved in preparing samples and running spectra to help elucidate the structures of unknown organic compounds. Spectra were run using H NMR spectroscopy and Infra-Red spectroscopy, and together with mass spectrometry data, the girls had to work out what a range of compounds were. It was interesting to see what the equipment actually looked like as opposed to simply reading the spectra as we normally do in class, and the FHS girls worked extremely well together towards solving the various chemical puzzles.

Miss Kay Hotchkiss Head of Chemistry Department

Learning about different spectroscopic techniques

Salters Chemistry Festival Four Lower Fourth girls took part in the Salters' Festival of Chemistry at the University College London on Wednesday 22nd April to compete against 30 other schools in a range of chemical challenges.

The first challenge was a competitive "CSI forensic type" practical and the second involved a trial and error approach to work out specific concentrations of reagents to ensure a reaction happened in exactly 60 seconds. The day ended with an array of practical demonstrations led by Professor Andrea Sella where he made delicious ice-cream made from liquid nitrogen.

Many congratulations to Cecilia Rafter, Hannah Unwin, Alia Azman and Ruby May Frederikse who won second prize in the challenge of the day. They were complimented on their teamwork skills and their scientific thinking skills.

Collecting samples 4

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Young Enterprise Company of the Year Awards 2015 Congratulations to Hydrate, Native and Wanderlust who did exceptionally well at the Company of the Year Awards on Tuesday 23rd March 2015. Their business pitches were fantastic and they all produced excellent, eyecatching trade stands.

At present, Wanderlust’s net profit after tax is £351.52 and they continue to sell their uniquely designed iPhone cases inspired by their company name.

“We chose this name for our company because of its connotations of freedom and self-discovery. We saw this theme as a recurring trend on many social media platforms such as Tumblr and Pinterest, and we felt using something current and up to date would attract more young customers, which was our intended target market.”

Hydrate have certainly fulfilled their Mission Statement “(t)o sell quality, affordable, eye-catching products”. Having almost sold all of their bright and cheerful thermal cups they are pleased to report a current gross profit of £253.94 and a £148.45 profit after tax.

Native’s sales were strong and their canvas bags, with a beautiful drawing of the school by Ms Gardner were attractive, practical and extremely popular. Their trousers exploited a niche in the market and along with sales of canvas bags helped to generate profits in excess of £500.

Wanderlust were awarded First Runnerup and made it through to the next round of the competition, the Central London Finals, which were held at the International Law Firm Berwin Leighton Paisner.

We wish them continued success and hope they make it all the way to the European Finals in Iceland!

Miss Ann-Marie Conway Head of Economics Department

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Easter Trip to Black Ven Farm

A collection of girls from across the year groups of the school were lucky enough to begin their summer term with a "baang" at Black Ven Farm, near Nutley in Sussex. Accompanied by Mrs Lockwood, Ms Wynne and blazing sunshine, the girls leapt at the opportunity to cuddle day-old lambs, and were thrilled to help with bottle feeding of the newest arrivals.

After a gambol around the farmyard and fields to meet the older residents of the farm, we enjoyed lunch in the sunshine before exploring the beautiful bluebell woods.

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This wonderful visit was hosted by Francis Holland Governor and Polished Corner, Miss Elizabeth Buchanan and her family, who were amazing sources of information and fun. We cannot thank them enough for offering this kind opportunity and looking after us during a spectacular day.

Mrs Magda Lockwood Head of Biology Department

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Lower Fifth Geography Trip to the Lake District

Practising their physical geogra phy skills Recording their

The Lower Fifth Geographers enjoyed four beautiful, sunny days in the Lake District at the start of the summer term.

They undertook field work skills in preparation for their IGCSE "Alternative to Coursework" examination. One day was spent on the shores of Lake Windermere in Bowness where they studied the sphere of influence of this tourist town. Another day was spent doing physical geography skills in a river and on the sand dunes by the coast. My thanks to all the girls for their excellent behaviour and to Mrs Freeley and Mrs Lombard for accompanying the trip.

Ms Sarah Hack Head of Geography Department F r a n c i s

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Upper Sixth A Level Theatre Studies production of Lookoncemore

Lorena in Lookoncemore

This intriguing one-word title was the name chosen by the Upper Sixth Theatre Studies group for their devised piece.

This project began life at the start of the year inside a big pink box: wrapped up in tissue paper, its contents—a television monologue, three poems, a piece of music by Vaughan Williams, a baby identity wristband and a pair of child’s first shoes—were the stimulus for a piece of theatre that moved a very long way from its origins. Each performer created a character, suggested in some tenuous way by items in the box; all lived in the same apartment building, but none had ever met each other before, all living anonymous lives in the same box building.

These tender stories come tantalisingly close to interweaving and creating imaginary happy endings, only to finish with a twist, when a fire officer announces they can all return to their apartments, and loneliness resumes, only with a whiff of what might have been still in the air.

Congratulations to Danah, Flo, Lorena, Rim and Nancy for creating a piece of theatre that was both beautiful and haunting.

Mrs Kate Oakley English and Drama Department

Flo, Danah, Lorena, Rim and Nancy 8

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Summer Concert in St Cyprian’s Church On Thursday 30th April, the school's instrumental ensembles gathered in St Cyprian's Church for the Summer Concert. With groups ranging from trios and quartets to the 40+ strong 1st Orchestra, there was a wide variety of music heard. The Upper Sixth leavers concluded the concert with two poignant and heart-felt performances.

Mr Robert Patterson Director of Music

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Upper Fourth Battlefields Trip 2015

Reflecting on stories from the First World War Battlefields

The History Department took the entire Upper Fourth to visit the First World War battlefields for three days at the end of March. The girls had studied the First World War in the Autumn Term, so this gave them a chance to put into context what they had learned.

Over the three days we visited a range of fascinating sites, beginning with a visit to Lijssenthoek Cemetery and a Geman trench system on the first afternoon. We also attended the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, and laid a wreath from the school. During these centenary years, a different soldier’s story is being recounted each night at the gate. It was this, as well as other individual stories told to the group by our fantastic guides, that really brought home the reality of the war to the girls.

On the second day we travelled to the Ypres Salient where we re-enacted going "over the top" at the Serre and Sheffield Memorial Park, and learnt about the contribution of Irish and Newfoundland Soldiers at the Ulster Tower and Newfoundland Park. Our final day was spent comparing Commonwealth and German cemeteries, before some light relief scurrying around the reconstructed bunker and trenches at the Passchendaele Museum and in the chocolate shops of Ypres!

Paying respects

The trip was a great success and I would like to thank my colleagues who accompanied the trip and kept everything running smoothly and cheerfully throughout: Mr Clayton; Miss Lewis; Miss Laytham; Miss Wynne, and Miss Hallett. Thank you also to the Upper Fourth for their enthusiasm, interest, and good behaviour throughout.

Ms Flora Barton History Department 1 0

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Italian and History of Art Trip to Rome

Over Easter, Mr Gridelli, fourteen Lower Sixth Art Historians and Italian linguists and I spent four inspiring days in Rome with Art History Abroad. Having arrived in Rome on Tuesday, we set off and stumbled across the Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon. The first evening was spent in a local trattoria, sampling the seasonal fava beans, chicory and very Roman pasta. Wednesday morning saw the group setting off early for a day at the heart of ancient Rome, in the Forum.

Thursday was the Roman visitor’s dream, with the morning spent at St Peter’s Basilica. Bernini’s Baldacchino and Michelangelo’s Pietà were just a couple of the many highlights

inside the church. Lunch in the Piazza, beneath the vast columns of Bernini’s colonnades, was a well-earned break before we headed off to the Vatican Museums to see Raphael’s stanze, and Michelangelo’s decoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The final morning was spent at Bramante’s Tempietto while the linguists went to meet Irene Pansadora to discuss Italian life.

A huge thank you to Mr Gridelli and Alex Fielding for making the trip run so smoothly, and to all the girls whose enthusiasm and energy seemed to know no bounds!

Mrs Alice Montgomery Head of History of Art Department

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Classics Society Lecture The Classics Department were delighted to welcome an eminent Classicist, Dr Rosanna Omitowoju from Kings College, Cambridge, to give an enrichment lecture after school on Tuesday 28th April entitled I’ll make a man out of you: men, women and gender roles in Classical Athens. The talk aimed to supplement the GCSE and A level Classical Civilisation course, and was suitable for any pupil studying or intending to study a Classical subject at these levels. A large number of pupils from the Upper Fourth and above attended the lecture, as well as pupils from Westminster School and Redbourne, and they were all fascinated by the insight Dr. Omitowoju offered into

daily life for both men and women in Ancient Greece, from which she drew striking comparisons with the modern world, where gender roles still remain an important issue.

Dr Omitowoju brought the lecture to a close by explaining how the real gender issues that affected Greek society were represented in Greek Tragedy, drawing (as an example) on Sophocles’ Antigone which is a key set text at GCSE and A-level.

Mrs Hana Packford Head of Classics Department

Mrs Pack and Miss Greenhalgh with some of the budding Classicists

Dr Rosanna Omitowoju

Inter-form Debating Competition

The final of the Inter-form Debating Competition took place on the last day of the Spring Term. There had been some fantastic debates in the rounds, with motions on topics ranging from gender equality to negotiating with terrorists!

In the final, Ruby MacGregor and Georgie Miller from UVP took on Lower Sixth pupils Ella Nickerson and Issy Shirley, debating the motion This house would remove free speech from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All four girls spoke brilliantly and coped extremely well with the daunting task of speaking in front of the whole school.

It was close, but on account of their greater range of arguments and examples, the debate was given to Ruby and Georgie, who 1 2

had opposed the motion. Georgie was named as best speaker.

Many members of the school from the Thirds upwards also enjoyed taking part in the floor debate.

We were very grateful to Francesca Fletcher-Williams, an award winning debater, who came to judge the debate. Thanks also go to Emily Maguire and Lizzie Quacquarelli who chaired the debate, and Tilly Ruback and Lucy Streeten who have helped me to run the whole competition. Congratulations to all girls who took part; and Georgie and Ruby in particular!

Ms Flora Barton History Department

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2015 School Photograph in Regent's Park

As part of the celebrations for the 100th year anniversary of the school's relocation to the Ivor Place site, a whole school photograph was taken in Regent's Park during the afternoon of Monday 27th April 2015. ool Photograph

Smiles before the Sch

Parents’ Association News The Parents’ Association Spring Quiz Evening and Silent Auction was held on 29th April. Simon O’Hagan, assistant editor of The Independent, and Hugh Pym, health editor at the BBC, once again presided over an extremely competitive and lively evening. With questions like "could Sienna Miller ever have met Henry Miller?", knowledge was truly tested!

The evening raised just over £8,000 for our supported charities: The Swiss Cottage School, FHS Summer Camp, St Amedeus School in Tanzania, and the FHS wish list. My thanks go to all the parents and teachers who attended and donated fabulous prizes, to Steve King for a delicious meal, to the committee for all their organisation.

FHS parents enjoying a wonderful evening at the Supper Quiz

Our next event is the Hit and Giggle Tennis Bash and BBQ on 5th June from 4pm to 8pm at the Regent's Park Tennis Centre. No tennis necessary! Come along with the whole family for a fun evening and great food to kick start summer.

We say Good Bye and Thank You this term to Committee Members Fran Whitehead and Sally Cowan. We wish their daughters the very best at university.

Mrs Laurel Rafter Chair of Parents’ Association Committee

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Duke of Edinburgh News Gold Good luck to Lara Shiels, Natasha Rhodes, Georgina Miller, Zinnia Silver, Willow Hellier Watts, Caitlin Isaacs, Lucy Morris and Poppy Menzies Walker, who will participate in both the practice and assessment expeditions over the summer holidays for their Gold award. Both of these expeditions are for five days and four nights with the practice expedition in the Peak District and the assessment expedition taking place in North Wales. We wish them the best of luck.

Silver The eleven girls involved in the Silver award this year completed their three-day assessment expedition during the May half term break. The girls enjoyed a fantastic weekend and had the opportunity to take in some fresh air and soak up the beautiful surroundings after completing their summer examinations. The expedition leaders from Mountainwise were very impressed with the skills and enthusiasm of all involved—well done girls! Don’t forget to log in on the online system to your "e D of E" account and complete the expedition section of your award.

Summer Term Sports Report Summer fixtures have started and supporters are needed!

This also goes for Sports Day on the last Friday of term— entertainment provided, just BYO picnic! A reminder to all girls that Rounders Club is open to all on Friday lunchtime; sign up on the noticeboard in advance.

Last term ended in a blaze of glory with the Inter-form Netball tournament. Well done to all the girls—we had almost 100% participation! Commiserations to the Sixth Form, who were taken to task by the Staff in the inaugural Staff vs Sixth Form match …

The school Second Hand Uniform Sale is on again this term. Come along on 23rd June for any additional uniform requirements. You can order your PE kit from www. schoolblazer.com; all new orders should be placed by midJuly, to allow time for returns, if necessary.

Miss Jane Tucker Head of Physical Education Department Important Summer PE dates to note: Tuesday ongoing Fixtures in Regent’s Park Thursday 23rd June, Second Hand Uniform Sale 3pm in the Gym Tuesday 3rd July, Sports Day 11am start in the Regent’s Park Hub

Bronze The last of the expedition training sessions will take place on Saturday 12th September involving the Bronze participants. They will then be off on their expeditions to put their skills to the test. A reminder that these will take place on 26th – 27th September in Harlow for the practice expedition, and 10th – 11th October in Chelmsford for the assessment expedition. Good luck to all participants!

Mrs Kirsty Lombard Duke of Edinburgh Award Co-ordinator

Middlesex Netball Success

On Saturday 29th April 2015, students enjoyed the Netball Superleague Grand Final at the Olympic Park

Well done to Alicia!

Congratulations to Maya Thomas and Maia Von Malaise in the Lower Fourth who have been selected to train with the Under 14 Middlesex Development Squad. The girls attended the trial on Sunday 3rd May and were selected as part of this squad out of over 100 girls from all over the Middlesex County. From September they will attend intensive training sessions with a variety of coaches and we look forward to seeing their skills in use at FHS matches next season.

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On 2nd May, 2015 Alicia ran to her personal best times in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay competing for her London club team Enfield and Haringey.

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2015 Inter-form Netball Tournament

Get ready ...

As another Spring Term drew to a close the students of FHS were more excited about the annual Inter-form netball Tournament than the thought of the copious amounts of chocolate eggs they would soon devour! The tournament took place in Regent’s Park on Monday 30th March in Regent’s Park. Flashes of red, white and grey could be seen huddled around the netball courts and cheers were heard from both students and teachers. Every form in the school took part in energetic and very competitive matches.

Like all great battles the most difficult was left to last. The Staff versus Students Netball match is always an exciting game and

this year was not going to be any different. After the Sixth Form won the Rounders Tournament last summer the Staff had been training hard.

The game demonstrated the brilliant netball skills of the Sixth Form, but unfortunately the Teachers' superior game play saw them victorious, and therefore they took the trophy by just one point! Nevertheless, it was a fantastic opportunity to see some amazing netball and the entire tournament was a great success.

Miss Julie Laytham Physical Education Department

Staff and students share a round of smiles after a hard-fought match

Congratulations to the following winning forms and to the respective students who won Best and Fairest.

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Best and Fairest Thirds – Imani Good Lower Fourth – Hannah Unwin Upper Fourth – Rosie Holt Lower Fifth – Julia Casanova Upper Fifth – Lily Rutterford Sixth Form – Rosie Minderides Staff v Sixth Form – Miss Hotchkiss S c h o o l

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Take Your Daughter to Work Day 2015 On Thursday 7th May 2015 our Upper Fourth were let loose into the workplace. This is an annual event, and a vital first taste of the adult world of work beyond school and university.

Our girls were lucky enough to sample a huge range of exciting careers, from financial services to jewellery-making, from architecture to fashionbuying, surveying to the pharmaceutical industry.

We are enormously grateful to Francis Holland parents for providing opportunities for the girls to discover just what motivates adults to get up in the morning. It provides perspective on what we do here in school and we hope will inspire successful women of the future!

Skellig: Junior Play 25th and 26th June Twenty-two girls from the Thirds and Lower Fourths are rehearsing David Almond’s play Skellig, adapted from Almond’s novel of the same name. Skellig is a beautiful story of healing and understanding difference, and centres around a ten-year-old boy called Michael whose world is dislocated when his family move into a big old house in need of renovation, on the other side of town, and his mum has a premature baby.

There will be two performances, on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th June 2015, each beginning at 6pm and lasting just over an hour.

Tickets are free and are available from 22nd May from the school office. The play is suitable for all ages, so younger siblings are welcome.

The girls are now writing projects for a special Careers competition, presenting what they learned on their day in the workplace, and Miss Hallett and I very much look forward to judging these when they are handed in just after half term.

If you would like tickets, please contact the school office at admin@fhs-nw1.org.uk, stating which performance you would like to see and how many tickets your family would like.

Mrs Kate Oakley Head of Careers

Mrs Kate Oakley English and Drama Department

Pupils participate at the London Mini Marathon

Parents’ Prayer Group Meeting Friday 5th June in the Gloucester Room from 9-10am.

All are very welcome to attend.

Well done to Sarah Bithell (IIIM), Amelia Carney (LIVJ), Alice Emlyn Jones (UIVJ) and Ruby Lowsley-Williams (LVF) who all ran in the London Mini Marathon on Sunday, 26th April. What an amazing experience; congratulations girls!

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Any queries please email Ms Clare MacDonnell at clare.macdonnell@fhs-nw1.org.uk

Future Dates for your Diary Wed 3rd Jun Chamber Choir performance at the Royal Albert Hall .................. 7:30pm Sat 6th Jun

Oxbridge Preparation Day ................................................... 9:30am–4:30pm

Tue 16th Jun GCSE Lower Fifth solo concert in the Hall ...................................... 6:30pm Sun 21st Jun Upper Fourth Knapp House trip departs ............................................ noon

(returns Fri 26th June at 5:30pm approx.)

Mon 22nd Jun A Level Exhibition in the Art Studios ............................................ 5:30-7pm Mon 29th Jun Nightingales Concert in the Hall

3pm Tuesday 23rd June School Gymnasium

Donations are greatly appreciated

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(preceded by drinks in the Library) .................................................. 6:30pm

Tue 30th Jun Upper Sixth Prize Giving and Leavers’ Evening in the Hall 6 for 6:30pm

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Sports Day in Regent's Park .................................................................... 11am ·

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