Sherborne Girls October 14 News

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OCT. 14

Celebrating academic success at Sherborne

We are delighted to announce another year of excellent exam results for the School. Our congratulations go to everyone, not forgetting the parents and families of our students who have supported the girls through their studies, and to our staff, whose dedication helps ensure the girls achieve their full potential.

high scores for IB

Over half of A level passes at A* or A

There were some excellent performances among the IB Diploma students this year.

Hattie Smith (above), achieved a score of 42 out of a possible 45 points and is applying to read Classics at Oxford in 2015; Catriona May (below) achieved 40 points and is reading Psychology at Durham; and Fenella Houlton scored 39 points and is reading History at York. These results have helped secure the School’s 12th place in the recent league tables for ‘small cohort IB schools’.

In an outstanding set of results, a total of 40 A* grades and 70 A grades were achieved by the U6, with a record 97% of extended projects achieving an A*, A or B. Among the top achievers were Isabel Norris who achieved A*/A*/A*/A and is reading Medicine at UCL, Julia Morris who also achieved A*/A*/A*/A and is reading Medicine at Glasgow, Ella Mountbatten who achieved A*/A*/A* and is at Bristol reading Anthropology, Eleanor Gratton who received A*/A*/A and is reading French and German at King’s College London and Alexandra Pevzner who, with A*/A*/A, is studying Mechanical Engineering at UCL.

Best GCSE results in STEM subjects

A remarkable 42% of the U5 achieved 8 or more A*/A grades this year, with 34% achieving 9 or more A*/A grades in total. Performances in STEM subjects were particularly strong, with 75% of girls achieving A*/A in these subjects, and results were also exceptional in modern languages, with 65% of grades at A*/A. Special mention goes to Julia Routledge who achieved 12 A* grades, scoring full marks in a number of her subjects including all three sciences. She was followed closely by Nicola Savage with 10 A* grades, and Allegra Lindblom, Harriet Comer-Calder and Grace Longman - all with 9 A* grades each.

FROM THE HEADMISTRESS TRAVEL & COMMUNITY

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MUSIC & ART NEWS ROUND-UP

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MEET THE STAFF SPORTS NEWS

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From the Headmistress

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”

Colin Powell

raising

the bar

or higher team, but how are they going to do anything different to change any outcomes?

Our theme this year is ‘raising the bar’. I challenged girls and staff to think about what they do and to ensure that they push themselves just that little bit further and aim to be the best they can. It sounds quite easy in theory. Our older girls can aim for even higher public examination results, our younger girls to get into a different set

Science Symposium

I have been talking to the girls about the research done by Dr Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, into different mindsets. Dr Dweck’s theory is that if we can help students to develop a growth mindset, where the girls feel it is more important to learn than to get top grades, then ultimately they do not restrict their progress. She argues that every time you work hard and stretch yourself and learn something new, your brain forms new connections and over time you actually become smarter. The key to the greatest

A small group of U6 students were lucky enough to be invited to participate in the ‘Women in Science Symposium’ held at Murray Edwards College in Cambridge (formerly New Hall) this September as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations. The day focused on topics such as why women choose to study science initially, and presented some startling figures about the drop-off in involvement postschool. There were fascinating debates on how more women could be both encouraged and supported to continue in this field, and the girls were privileged to hear a number of eminent speakers such as Dame Athene Donald, who has just become Master of Churchill College, and Dame Barbara Stocking, President of Murray Edwards College.

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success is capitalising on mistakes and confronting deficiencies and we need to constantly remind girls that failure is just part of the learning process.

Our Sherborne Girls’ Diploma, taken by students in the first three years, helps our girls to reflect on how they learn. Tutors encourage the girls to try different techniques if they are not finding the task easy. It is by having a realistic understanding of our own way of learning we can build confidence and help the girls to cope with failure. We believe that focusing on effort, choosing difficult tasks and reflecting on different strategies will allow all of us to raise the bar in whatever we do.

Jenny Dwyer, Headmistress

Impressive U6 pass rates

The combined pass rates for this year’s U6 are confirmed as: 53.6% at A*/A (or the IB equivalent) and 82% at A*/A/B (or the IB equivalent). The average UCAS points per student is therefore 427. These excellent results have helped ensure girls progress to some of the top institutions, which this year have included Durham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Edinburgh, Bath, University College London, Manchester and York to study degrees which have included Medicine, Dentistry, Mechanical Engineering, Economics, Criminology, Anthropology and Computer Science.

Feature

l a v i t s Fe

Our very first Arts Festival, held during Commemoration week, provided an exhilarating finale to a busy year. Among the highlights for the girls was the chance to learn the art of Brazilian Capoeira with carnival expert Felix Gibbons, as well as trapeze and tightrope tricks with Tip of the Iceberg’s Fantastiko Circus. Other exciting activities included a One Day Film School, Bright Green Enterprise Challenge and workshops with professional photographer, Katy McDonnell.

The girls were joined by friends and family for a powerful production of The Trials of Galileo by Icarus Theatre Collective with former RSC actor, Tim Hardy. Also popular with friends and family was the carousel of creative activity showcasing the talents of girls of all ages, an evening concert of flute and piano by music scholar Natalie Tam and the annual Commemoration concert in beautiful Sherborne Abbey.

Headmistress Jenny Dwyer said, “The Arts Festival was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the end of term and provide the local community with an insight into the wealth of talent at our school. The girls welcomed the activities with great energy and enthusiasm, demonstrating their creative curiosity and courage. Congratulations to everyone who took part, to those staff who worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success and to all our visitors and guests who came along – we very much hope you enjoyed it.”

A special plaque was unveiled during Commem to celebrate the refurbishment of Kenelm. The guest of honour was historian The Reverend Professor Judith Brown FRHistS, a Kenelm girl herself from 1957 until 1961 who went on to study at Girton College, Cambridge and is now an Oxford Professor. One of our School Governors, she has remained very involved with the school since her studies. Revealing the plaque, Judith commended the boarding house with the words “Floreat domus!” explaining that “The classicists among you will know what that means – may this house flourish.”

Floreat domus

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Travel & Community

Adelaide

Adventures

U5 student Nicola Harris (pictured second left) travelled to Adelaide in Australia in the holidays for a new exchange project with St Peter’s Girls’ School. She spent two weeks living with a host family and attending school, and was then lucky enough to enjoy a week in Sydney. Three girls from St Peter’s – Olivia, Maddie and Krystina – visited Sherborne this September, living in Kenelm and attending lessons with the L6. Commenting on our Indian summer, they said, “We were surprised to find that the weather here is so much better than Adelaide!”

Toronto tourists

Five lucky L5 girls visited our ‘partner’ school, Branksome Hall, in snowy Toronto earlier this year, living with host families and attending school for four weeks. Their exchange partners then visited Sherborne in the summer months. The girls all felt that the experience was life-changing: Amelia Fortescue said, “It was the highlight of my year in L5. Because I had the chance to push myself out of my comfort zone, I found out more about myself and my confidence improved. It made me stronger.” Flora Ramsden added, “I came back a different person, with new friends and memories. I have seen a difference in my school work, selfconfidence and resilience.” Tamsin Miller summed up, “The experience was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We had the time of our lives and would encourage other girls to apply for the exchange if they get the chance.”

Tasmanian travels

Five girls from M5 packed their bags for Tasmania this summer, marking the fifth exchange project with Launceston Church Grammar School. Lizzy Gunton shared her thoughts on the trip: “This was an amazing trip and one I will never forget. Going to Launceston School was honestly one of the highlights. Everyone was so nice and so welcoming and I really enjoyed all my lessons. The teachers were all very helpful and I learnt a lot of new material. On the weekends my host family took me to some very interesting places, including Hobart, Wine Glass Bay, Melbourne and Devonport.

Back home now, I miss my exchange partner Lauren and her family, the school and Tasmania so much that if I could, I would go back today!”

Update from the Green Club

Over £700 was raised by The Green Club last year with the Bag2School scheme, which encourages staff and pupils to donate unwanted textiles, bags, shoes and belts at the end of each term. Other projects The Green Club is involved with include programmes to reduce the amount of food waste in boarding houses and also the amount of wasted energy throughout the School. They are also responsible for the twice termly litter pick in the neighbouring area.

Italy

Music & Art

Madrigal Tour

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MADRIGAL

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enjoyed a tour to the Abruzzo region of central Italy at the beginning of the summer holiday. The first concert was in Castiglione Messer Raimondo, the girls singing their characteristic programme of sacred and secular music to a full church and an appreciative audience. They then moved on to the mountainous town of Atri and its magnificent 13th century cathedral, where, at

the last moment, the Madrigals were asked if they would sing at a funeral in addition to the planned evening Mass. Armed with Fauré’s Messe Basse, a selection of Latin motets and Sir John Tavener’s A Song for Athene, the girls sang to their largest audience ever of over 500 people, at a very emotional service. The modern church of Santa Maria Assunta in the coastal resort of Silvi was the venue for the final concert, where the girls performed to a

Sketches on the shoreline…

crowd of nearly one hundred, warmly grateful in their applause and their comments.

Director of Music John Jenkins said, “Our trip was another in an enjoyable and hugely satisfying tradition of overseas excursions by Sherborne Girls musicians. The fifteen girls were superb throughout, performing with the professionalism and dedication for which they are justly renowned.”

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Madrigal Societ y and String Orchestra conc ert with Bournemouth Sinfonietta Cho ir at Blandford Foru m Parish Churc h

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With the sea sparkling and the sun shining, it was wonderful timing for the annual ‘Inspiration Day’ in Lyme Regis in September. L5 girls enjoyed four activities to gather ideas for this term’s art, design and textiles projects: Miss Newman’s group sketched from an aerial perspective, looking down on the harbour from Langmoor Gardens, capturing interesting details such as the fossil shaped lampposts. Miss Bugg and Miss Smith’s group were by the harbour, looking at the different textures, surfaces and patterns to be found there. Mr McCarthy and Mr Dibble’s groups were on the beach by the Cobb, designing mirrors and building sculptures. The day was rounded off nicely with an ice-cream on the beach!

Little Shop of Horrors at Sherborne G irls The Duchess of Malfi at Sherborne Sc hool

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Senior Choir C arols at Waterloo Stat ion

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News Round-up

Extraordinary exploits

Adventurer, marathon runner, personal trainer and author Sally Kettle visited Sherborne Girls to share some of her extraordinary exploits with the girls. The first woman to row the Atlantic Ocean twice from East to West, her adventures have raised over £500,000 for charity.

invisible materials Sherborne Girls recently hosted the Institute of Physics South West Regional Lecture, with Claire Woollacott, theoretical physicist and researcher from the University of Exeter. Claire’s talk - ‘Magic Materials and the Science of Invisibility’ - was based on her research inspired by the wonder material that is graphene, when combined with metamaterial physics in order to investigate efficient propagation of radiation in modern opto-electronic devices. The audience included the Fifth Form with Sixth Form students of Physics and Chemistry, as well as

Year 11 and Sixth Form visitors from Wadham School in Crewkerne. Katy Smith, Head of Physics, said “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to see how the Physics they are learning is linked to cutting edge research. Claire started off with a recap of the familiar concepts of material properties and waves, and then showed us how researchers are using these ideas to develop new materials. The girls were fascinated by the idea of invisible materials!”

Claire pictured with Sacha Nokes (left) and Harriet Wright (right).

Pushing the Boundaries

With numbers stronger than ever, our Duke of Edinburgh teams covered large areas of the South West and the UK this year. The Bronze Award girls took on the Dorset coastline and then the picturesque countryside of Cranborne Chase. Our John Muir Award girls embarked on environmental work with the Welsh Wildlife Centre before paddling the River Teifi. Silver Awards trained on the Quantocks before crossing Exmoor from West to East. Gold was split between paddlers and walkers: the walkers were treated to amazing weather for their final expedition in the Yorkshire Dales, where they tackled some of the larger mountains including Pen-y-Ghent. The paddlers took on the Great Glen, an incredible journey across Scotland from Fort William to Inverness. They faced tough weather conditions and an ambitious two days on Loch Ness. Well done to all participants for pushing themselves through these adventures.

Izzy Stone (U6) was just one of the girls captivated by her fascinating story: “When Sally embarked on her first Atlantic voyage with her mother in 2004, neither of them had any previous rowing experience; now they hold a Guinness World Record as the first mother and daughter team to row across the Atlantic Ocean. A few years later she started the process again, this time with three friends.

With her delightful humour, Sally’s animated depiction of 40ft waves, a shark attack and the loss of a crew member shows what can be achieved through perseverance and a belief in your abilities.

Her inspirational story is founded on family, friendship and a determination to pull through adversity. Sally’s talk will no doubt motivate many Sherborne Girls in the years to come to push their boundaries and ‘raise the bar’.”

Sally pictured with Heads of School, Alice Storrie (left) and Flora Ritchie (right).

Running for Cancer

The annual Race for Life attracted over 2,000 people running, jogging or walking the track at Sherborne Castle. Our team of over 100 was in excellent spirits, despite the fact that nearly all of them had been involved in a very warm Sports Day the afternoon before. Several staff turned out to run with the girls, including the Headmistress, who finished ahead of many of her pupils! Congratulations to Araminta Stubbs who finished in fourth place with an outstanding time of 22mins and 47secs. The team raised a fantastic £3,076.50 for Cancer Research UK.

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Antonio Angelosanto HEAD OF CHEMISTRY Antonio has a BSc from York and a PGCE from Newcastle. He joins us from Millfield where, since 2003, he has been a Chemistry Teacher, Senior Tutor and Non-Resident House Tutor. He says he is “hoping to build upon all of the excellent work of my predecessor!”

Gema Carvia Ruiz HEAD OF SPANISH Gema has a degree in English with French from the Universidad de Cadiz and a PGCE from Madrid. She joins us from Millfield Prep where she was Head of Modern Foreign Languages for four years.

She says, “I am delighted to be joining a very organised department with excellent facilities and students who are eager to learn!”

Matthew Dibble TEACHER OF 3D ART Matthew has a BA Hons from Carmarthen and a PGCE from the University of Wales.

He joins us from Aiglon College, Switzerland (an international boarding school) where he was Teacher of Art and sculpture specialist, as well as a Deputy Housemaster, for the last eight years.

Claire Morgan TEACHER OF GEOGRAPHY Claire has a BSc from the University of Wales and a PGCE from Bath. She joins us from a temporary post at Sherborne School, previously she was a Teacher of Geography at the Godolphin School and Head of Geography at Lychett Minster School.

She says, “I am hoping to set up a Geography Association with the boys’ school to widen the breadth of subject for our Sixth Formers.”

We also welcome Mark Rawle as our resident Elite Swimming Squad Coach and Charlotte Pitts who is the resident Swimming Assistant and mentor to the girls in the elite swimming squad. Joining the Modern and Foreign Languages Department are Maélle Jeanniard du Dot (pictured left) as the resident French Language Assistant and Isabel Lorenzo Garcia (pictured right) as the resident Spanish Language Assistant.

Annemarie Lees and Rachael Holland join the Music Department as visiting Singing Teachers and Kelly Dollard, who has been a Ward Sister at the Yeatman Hospital, takes up a nursing post in the Health Centre.

Diane Kirby

Head of Maths

Diane joins Sherborne Girls from the Stephen Perse Foundation in Cambridge where she was Head of Maths, and more recently, Assistant Head (Social Responsibility).

What did you do before joining Sherborne Girls?

Inspired by my Maths A level teacher, I studied Maths at Leicester with the aim of becoming a teacher. My plans changed after graduation and I joined Grant Thornton to train as a chartered accountant. Within months of qualifying, I flew out to Australia to work for Price Waterhouse as an auditor. Upon my return to the UK, I worked for several large companies as a senior accountant. Then about 15 years ago I decided I did want to teach after all, and I have loved every minute!

Why did you decide to move to Sherborne Girls?

My husband and I decided to move somewhere in England that was new to both of us, and I was determined to find a school with a caring approach and a real sense of community.

What are your first impressions of the school?

This is an amazing school with dedicated and enthusiastic staff. From my very first day I have found everyone to be very friendly and helpful. I like the fact that each teacher has a small tutor group – this means I can hopefully get to know the girls really well.

What do you hope to achieve here?

My main aspiration in my role as Head of Maths is to help our girls to become confident in their mathematical ability and to achieve their full potential. It would be wonderful if, as a department, we could inspire more girls to go on to read maths at university and perhaps even go on to teach maths!

meet the staff

Welcome to…

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Sports News Hockey selections

Congratulations to Amelia Fortescue and Anna Perkins who were selected to represent their Hockey Regional Performance Centres in the Tier 1 competition matches over two weekends in September. Amelia (M5) and Anna (L5) are hoping for the opportunity to travel further along the road to possible National selection, but the girls have done extremely well to reach this stage and could be selected to attend the England Hockey High Performance Assessment Camp (HiPAC) in October. Well done and good luck girls!

on Tour Biathle success

Congratulations to Georgie Lane for coming fifth at the Biathle World Tour Event held in Germany in the summer. The event consisted of a 1,000 metre run, followed immediately by a 200 metre open water swim, followed immediately by another 1,000 metre run. Georgie (L6) also secured fourth place in the National Pony Club Intermediate Tetrathlon Championships, a challenging event requiring sound practical horsemanship as well as athletic ability in running, swimming and shooting.

Swimming talent

Harriet Watts has been selected to attend the South West Regional Talent Programme. This year the programme will be run regionally where the top 36 girls and boys from that region will be attending two training and educational camps in December and January.

Harriet (U4) has earned her selection by excellent performances at National Age Group Championships and gaining third place in the BAGCATS at the SW Regional Age Group Championships.

Next edition of the script is due out

12 february 2015

Sports Dates 4 Nov 6 Nov 29 Nov 29 Nov

U19 County Netball Tournament U14 County Netball Tournament U16 Indoor Hockey West Final Tournament U18 Indoor Hockey West Final Tournament

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The senior hockey team enjoyed a highly successful tour to South Africa over the summer. Seventeen girls and three members of staff spent two weeks visiting Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and White River. They played seven matches against schools and clubs, winning five and losing just two.

The girls played some excellent hockey along the way but also learnt much about the country, visiting Langa township, as well as gaining an insight into the history of South Africa at the Apartheid Museum. They had trips to Cape Point and Hermanus to see whales off shore. The tour finished with three nights’ safari in the world famous Kruger National Park.

Coach James Brooker said, “The team has really gelled as a squad and learnt so much more than simply how to play better hockey.”