Beech Tree Magazine 2018-19

Beech Tree MAGAZINE

2018-19

+44 (0)1747 852416 www.stmshaftesbury.uk

Welcome This year it was a great pleasure to welcome a new Beech Tree editorial team, made up of a group of girls from across the year groups. Francesca Ramage Mangles, Saskia Lyne, Madeleine Humphreys and Scarlett Carrell all volunteered to help work on this magazine celebrating a year at St Mary’s. They have been involved in the planning stages of deciding what to include editorially and in writing about various areas of the school that they personally wanted to herald. They have supported us with the design, layout and final production. With only a few weeks to put it together, juggling school exams and the odd swift lunchtime editorial meeting, they have added something special and personal to this year’s edition, which we believe beautifully sums up a year in the life of St Mary’s. Above all, I have been struck by their sense of profound pride in the school and their enthusiasm to portray as many aspects of it as possible.

Thank you to this superb team and congratulations on your first publication! You did it justice and it has been a great pleasure working with you.

Sophie Pender-Cudlip Marketing and Communications

Francesca Ramage Mangles

Madeleine Humphreys

Saskia Lyne

Scarlett Carrell

current UVI

current UVI

current LV

current UIV

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From the Head I am both delighted and proud to share with you this edition of the Beech Tree Magazine. It has been a very encouraging year for the school in so many areas, and the outstanding academic achievements of the girls were recognised in this summer’s superb set of public examination results. I warmly congratulate and applaud the efforts and successes of every single girl and member of staff.

Bucking the national trend, our boarding figures are holding up very well, and this year has seen the bedding down of some significant changes in the boarding community, especially with regard to the redevelopment and rehousing of Hewarth, now very happily established above the main entrance to the school. Our pastoral care is always referred to as a huge strength of the school. We have reviewed the house system this year, and have come up with a new model that mixes day and boarding girls, incorporating them into school houses which are separate from the boarding house system. We believe that this will strengthen the pastoral and academic care, and will also enhance our tutor system.

Creativity has been very much at the forefront of school life this year, as ever. This magazine gives a good taste of the excellent work in Art, Photography, Music, Drama, Dance and Writing that we have all been able to enjoy this year. St Mary’s girls have also been at large in the community, volunteering nearby at “Little Giants” in Shaftesbury and further afield in Rwanda to work with victims of the 1990s genocide. It has been a most successful year on the sports pitches, with a heady mixture of talent, determination and commitment carrying our teams to considerable success. I am pleased that we will be benefitting from some new goals on the Astro in the autumn term and there are exciting plans for developing football and also the Ten Tors for the coming year.

We have been academically ambitious for our girls this year, laying down some new foundations for a robust and confident future. Our academic results have been down to the girls’ outstanding efforts and achievement, the sustained commitment of their teachers and support staff, the dedication and industry of the governors and the loyalty of our parents, for all of which we are most grateful. Our aim is to demonstrate that single-sex education for girls is still an extraordinarily rich and vibrant option, and that we offer every girl the opportunity to be her authentic best in an unparalleled way. We have ambitious plans for the future, as we aim to be the very best we can be.

Maria Young, Headmistress

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Parents’ Day 2019 The sun shone on a perfect summer’s day and the beautifully manicured lawns of St Mary’s and its 50 acre estate was the perfect backdrop for Parents’ Day 2019. The Chapel was packed with families and staff, for a Mass that marked the end of a sensational year and the end of school for the UVI leavers.

The uplifting service, led by Father Andrew (his last Mass at St Mary’s), was ably assisted by Sixth Formers and accompanied by the sensational voice of the Chapel Choir.

This year’s prizegiving guest speaker was alumna, Gina Melotte, a voiceover artist, who addressed the girls in particular, telling them to have faith in themselves and ... breathe! Mrs Young addressed the audience, giving a summary of the year as did the Chair of Governors, Victoria Younghusband, both of whom thanked staff and parents for their support, wished departing staff well and looked to the future and the school’s exciting outlook for 2020 and beyond.

After prizegiving, families enjoyed picnics together in the grounds, before heading off for their summer breaks.

“Parents’ Day is the necessary lap of honour before you go out into the world for the summer, and into your other lives. Those of you now leaving the school, today is especially your lap of honour, and we gather here to celebrate your achievements, to thank you for your commitment, and to thank your teachers, support staff, parents and friends for all that they have done to support you along the way.”

Maria Young

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Highlights

Highlights Rite of Welcome 2019 The annual Rite of Welcome, traditionaly held at the start of the academic year, welcomes all new girls into the community of St Mary’s and is a beautiful way of showing newcomers the amity and spirit within the school. Guardian angels welcomed girls and teachers with a rose and prayer book whilst the Chapel Choir sang hymns of worship to symbolise the spiritual foundations of the community.

First impressions of the school were shared in the service, including that of new Head of Modern Languages, Hugo Gardner, who said that, “joining St Mary’s was like coming home… you all made me feel so welcome.” The Rite of Welcome is considered one of the many highlights of the year within St Mary’s and each time it never fails to reflect the warm, as well as friendly, atmosphere which makes the school so unique and well … St Mary’s! We were so excited to welcome all new students and teachers alike this year and, of course, look forward to the many, just as wonderful, services to come.

Madeleine Humphreys

Pupils’ Plastic Protest Never afraid to voice their opinion, a group of St Mary’s girls held a demonstration against the use of plastic outside Tesco in Shaftesbury. Girls from LV and UV handed out flyers on how to help de-plastify your life and find suitable alternatives, in addition to brown paper bags for customers to use, rather than plastic ones, for their fruit and vegetables. Members of the public were invited to sign a petition promoting plastic-free supermarkets, which are currently a hub for single-use plastics. The petition, which collected over 430 signatures, was sent to the CEO of Tesco.

“We wanted Tesco to take a proactive role in tackling the plastic crisis by phasing out single-use plastic and instead invest in reusable packaging and new delivery systems. We hope we can encourage people to make simple

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changes to their lifestyles, which can make a big difference to the planet. As young people, we believe it is our mission to create a better future for everyone,” said Lily Marshall.

Highlights

Let’s Get Digital The Digital Ambassadors are a newly formed group of girls who promote coding and computer science within school. They meet weekly to discuss different ideas and upcoming plans for the next year. They have reintroduced the electronic 24 hour boards, set up and run a Minecraft club and hold a weekly drop in session. One of their objectives is to promote women in the coding industry.

Mary Ward Day St Mary’s has its roots in the life of its founder, Mary Ward, a Catholic nun (1585-1645). Mary Ward Day has been a long-standing tradition at St Mary’s dating back to the nuns. The day fosters a sense of community about which Mary Ward was very passionate.

St Mary’s Digital Ambassadors

Prefects 2019-20 After a rigorous interview process, a new senior prefect team were appointed to lead the younger years and work for the benefit of the school. Cassia Thackray was appointed Head Girl along with Deputies, Mima Baring (Academic) and Olivia Annett (Pastoral). They are joined by Senior Prefects: Agnes Perry-Robinson (Harewell), Valeria Canedo Leal (Newby), Anastasia Compton (York), Saskia Lyne (Junior Girls), Ella Potts and Olivia Wright (Sports) and Pia Regensburger (Chaplaincy and Charity).

There has always been a tradition of inviting one of the nuns to come and speak to the girls and this year we were fortunate enough to welcome Sister Ann who travelled down from the Bar Convent in Yorkshire. Sister Ann, who is a St Mary’s alumna from 1964, and returned to work alongside Sister Jane in 1982, attended Mass and spoke to pupils. In the afternoon, all pupils dressed up as ‘Inspirational Women’ from across the centuries. Memories formed on Mary Ward Day remain with St Mary’s girls throughout the years and long after they leave the school. It is a day of reflection, laughter and joy that brings the whole school community together.

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Highlights

Wessex Amazing Book Awards Win St Mary’s had a triumph in the Wessex Amazing Book Award (WABA), when the book put forward by our book clubs, ‘The Call’ by Peadar O’Guilin, won against titles put forward by other schools across Wessex. The girls spoke passionately at the prize ceremony at Bryanston and we were thrilled to carry home the trophy.

Oh Yes She Did...

The long-awaited (and top secret!) school pantomime entertained the whole school community with its impressive staff cast. Written by the talented Chris Sykes, Head of Drama, we were treated to a humorous tale of Aladdin (Mrs Dixon) and his/her quest to marry the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Mrs Cheadle). A tale of love, high drama, magic and many accents (well done Mrs Blanco and Mr Gardner!), wonderful costumes, make-up and music, the pantomime generated shrieks of laughter, rounds of applause and all the traditional “It’s behind you,” and “oh yes he did,” amongst the pupil audience.

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Annual Fun Dog Show The sun shone on the 70 dogs and their owners who attended the annual Fun Dog Show at the start of the autumn term. The dogs entered classes ranging from the Headmistress’ Favourite to the Golden Oldie.The girls baked cakes, dog biscuits and made crafts which were sold on their house stalls to raise money for the school charities which include Ataxia UK and Salisbury District Hospital’s Stars Appeal. More than £1000 was raised.

Highlights

Born to Write This year’s Born to Write Competition, in association with the Blackmore Vale Magazine, involved 230 entries from 17 schools across three counties. Judged by BBC presenter and Wellcome Book Prize judge, Razia Iqbal, the overall winning story on the theme of Space was won by our very own LIV pupil, Scarlett Carrell.

Scarlett wrote the following story which was inspired by a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam last summer.

She said, “This is a story that I felt needed to be heard.”

Winning Story from Born to Write 2019 SPACE Sometimes a space is just a space… but once in a lifetime, a space can be the difference between life and death…

It was the summer of 1943, I had been working for the past 2 years at the nursery on Plantage Middenlaan, in the centre of Amsterdam, where children have been deposited without their parents. I have seen so many changes in my beloved City recently, each one more dark and sinister than the last.

I paced back and forth, tiny Levi sobbing hard in my arms. I shushed him tenderly, trying to soothe him but I knew I was a poor substitute for his mother. She had been gone for weeks now and I knew he would never see her again. I pushed my white nurse’s cap back across my sweating forehead, fear in pin prick droplets across my skin.

They would be here soon for their weekly inspection and if my plan was to work, I had to find a strength and courage within myself that I didn’t yet know if I possessed.

Capture by the Nazis would mean certain death.

I cast a glance around the ordered room, an ordinary space, a nursery, cribs like rows of tulips and reels of neatly made beds, inhabited by a sleeping baby or a restless toddler. It was a Jewish nursery for the children of parents being deported to Westerbork concentration camp. The space inside this building wasn’t just a daycare centre, it was a place where I could save the lives of Jewish children.

The college next door had a garden and I knew that if the children could play there and take their afternoon nap in one of the classrooms, this would mean I could push them through a gap in the hedge, where my friends from The Resistance would be waiting.

Levi was in my arms, calmer now - his mother had given me the permission I needed the last time I had seen her, frantically shouting to me as the Nazis pushed her into a truck. “Save him, do whatever it takes,” she had pleaded – hollow desperation, stark in her skeletal face.

I heard the baritone clanging of the nursery doorbell, the sound of German boots crunching on the gravel – it was time.

I grabbed Levi and walked briskly to the garden, the sound of harsh German syllables ringing in my ears. I kissed the top of his dark little head, and murmured my goodbyes – his eyes were endless pools of history and future.

“Don’t worry,” I said to him and myself.

“You will be free.”

Levi was gently pulled from my grasp, I choked back tears, straightened my apron and returned to the classroom. The soldiers were flirting with the nurses. Unaware of what had just taken place. I wiped the nose of a little girl and began to sing a Dutch folksong.

Safe in the knowledge that this space had a purpose and a place in history which was as yet, unknown…

By Scarlett Carrell

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ACADEMIC

ACADEMIC

Academic Dr Chris Enos, Deputy Head (Academic) When I meet prospective parents, they invariably ask about the academic success of the school. Our exam results continue to be excellent, as demonstrated by the recent outstanding A Level and GCSE results We are incredibly proud of all the UVI girls, no more so than this year when the girls achieved the best A Level results in four years. 22% of girls achieved three or more A*/A grades and 43% of all grades awarded were A* or A. The most commonly awarded grade was an A. 14% of the girls were in receipt of Oxbridge offers and all have achieved or exceeded their grade requirements. In GCSEs also, we saw some fantastic results both in 2018 and 2019, with this year’s cohort achieving some of the best grades in years. Almost a third of grades awarded were 8/9 (A*), more than half the grades were Grade 9-7 (A*-A), three quarters of grades were 9-6 (A*-B) and four girls gained straight 9/8/7 (A*/A) grades. Girls achieved 100% A* in French and Spanish, bucking the national statistics for a decline in uptake and standards for French. Physics, Chemistry, Drama, Art and Photography also gained a clean sweep of top grades.

Of particular note for me is the Valued Added achieved at both GCSE and A Level, which is a central focus here at St Mary’s.

Regardless of academic ability, we ensured that every girl fulfilled or exceeded her potential.

Our objective at St Mary’s is to inspire girls to learn and develop a passion for something. We focus on characteristics and skills such as self-confidence and determination, encouraging all of them to aim high. We are academically successful because the girls are not afraid to give something a go, even if there is a risk of failure. This challenges them to be more resilient and successful long after their GCSE and A Level exams and onwards in their chosen path.

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ACADEMIC

Classics & Latin Michael Forrester, Classics & RE & Harriet Blanco, Classics We have made the most of the Salisbury Classical Association this year, attending three events, starting with a scholarly lecture on the Aeneid

by Dr Llewellyn Morgan at Bishops Wordsworth in November.

This was followed by our prize-winning outing to the Association’s Fifty-Fifth Annual Reading Competition, which took place at Godolphin School in March. LIII broke the ice describing the harrowing first note from Odysseus’ bow before he slaughters all his wife’s suitors. UIII went up next to perform a hilarious short play involving a debtor, a corrupt witness, and a very patient judge. Our two multitalented groups won the heartiest laughs, winning 1st and 3rd place. Next up was UIV, reciting Ovid’s account of the ill-fated Echo and Narcissus. Scarlett scooped 1st place and Sofia received specific mention for her perfect accuracy. Finally, Pia and Georgiana of LVI gave us a glimpse of the delicious irony and with fabulous readings of Pliny’s pompous and hypocritical critique of hosts that serve up cheap wine to their guests; thus balancing the strangeness of spoken Latin with the familiarity of every day experience! They very sweetly, but assuredly, took 1st and 2nd place respectively.

Dr Adrian Kelly’s excellent lecture on Epic Heroes in April was pitched brilliantly to his audience and (by a novel technique of picking on a girl in the initially reluctant audience!) elicited more questions than I have witnessed at any lecture.

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In February Classicists headed off to London to the UCL Greek Play, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, which was a thought-provoking production; the protagonist’s apparent speech impediment did nothing to add gravitas to the character of Oedipus and we all felt Creon and the comic old messenger stole the stage. This was followed by a visit to the British Museum before supper in an Italian restaurant, and then back to our trusty minibus.

The Homerathon followed in the summer term. The brainchild of Mr Forrester and the LVI Classical Civilisation class, the reading of the

Last but not least the four day trip to Rome was full of joy and beauty, and possibly a few sore feet as we sped at break neck speed around la città eterna, cramming in all we could, from the Vatican to the Colosseum, from the Pantheon to Bramante’s Tempietto, from gilded galleries to the damp dark Catacombs, with brilliant blue skies and warm sun on the San Pietrini throughout, and delicious food in small restaurants in

entirety of Homer’s Iliad was a brilliant feat – 19 hours worth! Notwithstanding the very unco-operative British June weather, which did its best to put a dampener on the occasion, volunteers of all ages, including MP Simon Hoare, braved the wind and the rain to stand near the fire pit and keep the reading going until 2.38 am. Homer lives on, and the pupils of St Mary’s at least will know to associate the name with Achilles not Bart and Marge. Let’s hope this will inspire more girls to take up Greek, which has been making a modest comeback, with Tallulah Collis taking AS this summer and Georgiana Forrester doing the same next year.

the evening, the odd ice cream, and lots of espresso to fuel us. Time to plan the next trip ….

Rosslyn Brand, Head of English The English Department has had another busy year beginning with our UIV literary celebrations in which girls chose extracts from favourite authors to share across the year group. This enthusiasm is encouraged through weekly book clubs (run by Miss Edmonds) and writing groups (led by Saskia Lyne and Ms Brand). We also marked National Poetry Day by learning poems by heart, and senior girls took part in some external poetry competitions. An especially joyous way of celebrating this oral tradition is our summer Poetry Picnic.

We were particularly proud that Megan Feltham received an offer to read English Literature at Oxford University. She has continued to take advantage of the various extension and enrichment opportunities offered by the department, such as our Sixth Form study days in London.

All year groups experience Shakespeare, but perhaps my favourite is when in LIV the girls take on the challenge of editing, re-scripting and performing Shakespeare for an audience of UIII. This task, which this year was ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, is a great demonstration of Independent Learning. Shakespeare continues to be our focal point for the prep school workshop with the participation of the UIII; this year all things nautical for ‘Shipwrecked by Shakespeare’ and we were delighted that Hanford pupils were able to join us. The UIII pupils also have their public speaking competition in the summer in which each speaks informatively and persuasively on a subject of their choice.

The school year ended with our annual trip to Bath for the ‘LV Jane Austen Trail’, where the girls are treated to a workshop and lecture at No 1, The Crescent. They learn about being a lady in the early 19th century, and tour the Museum of Costume.

Meanwhile in the younger years, LIII studied a variety of novels this year including ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio. They explored a number of themes which was their stimulus for a creative writing project.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute and thanks to Mrs Key on her retirement for all that she has done over the years to make the English Department so vibrant; from her inspirational teaching and colourful displays to her co-curricular activities such as the Sixth Form magazine. I shall greatly miss this warm, funny and talented lady.

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ACADEMIC

English

ACADEMIC

Geography Daisy Phillips, Head of Geography

The Geography Department started the 2018 year with hugely successful exam results. Girls at A Level achieved 100% A*-B and at GCSE 71% scored a Level 6 or higher and 21% scored Level 8 and 9.

In September the UVI and Mrs Lilley went to Nettlecombe Court in North Somerset to complete their A Level fieldwork data collection. This was closely followed by the UV trip to villages around Shaftesbury to collect data for their fieldwork. UIII went to Shaftesbury, LIV to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, UIV to Bath and LV and LVI to Studland and Swanage. Sadly the sun did not shine on us for all the trips, but the girls carried on in true St Mary’s spirit and embraced the opportunities. Girls in LVI attended a conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London, finding out more about studying Geography at degree level.

LIII began the academic year looking at map co-ordinates and symbols, moving on to Antarctica and the human and geographical features of this frozen world. The final topic looked at South East Asia, in particular Singapore and Malaysia. Later in the year they visited Tatihou in France.

The department rain gauge and equipment was inspected by the Met Office and Environment Agency in June and we passed with flying colours. The LVI Geographers take responsibility for recording the rainfall figures each morning and this is passed on via the Environment Agency to the Met Office who use it for their forecasting and modelling. St Mary’s is one of the few schools who do this and we are lucky to be trusted with such an important task.

Academically all the pupils have worked very hard for their end of year exams and excellent results have been achieved. The Young Geographer of the Year Competition has been launched in school and we hope to have a range of entries from Key Stage 3 up to Key Stage 5.

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ACADEMIC

History Tim Goodwin, Head of History

The year started off with some solid A Level results. Then came some even better GCSE results, the first year of the significantly more demanding examinations, which now cover 1300 years of history rather than about 60 years. The girls did outstandingly well with just under 30% of pupils achieving a grade 8 or 9 – equivalent to an A* or – in two cases – an A**, while 59% achieved a grade 7, 8 or 9 – equivalent to an A grade or higher. Two foreign language pupils, in less than one year, achieved a grade 4, pass which is a tremendous achievement. Two History A Level students went on to do university courses closely linked to History: Kirstie Stage went to Queen Mary University to study History and Politics and Bella Donovan went to Bournemouth University to study Law, a subject tightly linked to History.

29 pupils from UV, LV, and UIV went on a tour of the First World War battlefields, a visit that came close to coinciding with the centenary of the end of the war. They visited the Somme battlefields (including La Grande Mine, Thiepval Monument and the Newfoundland Park); the tunnels under Vimy Ridge that were used to launch a highly successful attack in 1917; and Ypres, including Hill 62 with its craters and museum; the German cemetery at Langemarck and the Tyne Cot cemetery.

The culmination of the History teaching of UIII and LIV was the involvement in the SAVED archaeological project to excavate the remains of Shaftesbury Abbey run by a team of historians, professional archaeologists and volunteers. The project brings to life a major topic covered during the last two years: Henry VIII’s break with Rome and his subsequent dissolution of the monasteries. The direct relationship of the project to the topics outlined in the schemes of work is made even more relevant by the rare opportunity to not only learn, but get involved in the shaping of local history.

LIII fully immersed themselves in the Ancient Egyptians followed by the Romans.

Whilst working on WW2 one of the girls’ grandparents, an evacuee during the war, gave an inspirational talk to pupils.

Towards the end of term, St Mary’s sponsored Charlie Higson’s talk on Young Churchill at the Chalke Valley History Festival. Head Girl, Cassia Thackray and History Prefect, Francesca Ramage Mangles, introduced Mr Higson (who had five nieces at St Mary’s) to an audience of 750.

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ACADEMIC

History of Art Olha Karamenova, History of Art UVI Art Historians were the pioneers of the Cambridge Pre-U in school, sitting their first examination in this qualification in June 2019.

Beside the rigorous academic work that St Mary’s Art Historians enjoy in the classroom, they expand their knowledge through visiting galleries and museums.

Tremendously successful 2018 London and 2019 Rome trips, alongside Latin and Classics students, allowed Art Historians to evaluate works they study ‘in situ’, returning from these grand tours as more experienced and knowledgeable connoisseurs. With a great stroke of fortune, we were also able to get inside Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome, a timeless monument to the Catholic art and faith, an opportunity cherished and missed by many Art Historians in the world that we can now boast. Saskia Lyne said, “The conflicting atmosphere of having the Tempietto in a square courtyard made it a surprise, as well as the colours inside that contrasted with the simplicity of the exterior. It brought to life the study of the Classical and the Renaissance periods.”

The ARTiculation competition that tests the art of public speaking and the knowledge of art continues to attract pupils. This year Olivia Willis, Elfrieda Stovin and Helen Cheng took part in a series judged by Prof Michael Liversidge, FSA, FRSA (Emeritus Dean, University of Bristol). Helen was selected as the winner with her presentation on Ren Hang’s My Mum (2014). All students were praised by the esteemed former Head of History of Art at Bristol University, for their readiness to move on to the undergraduate level with assured ability to research, present and engage in a discussion. Helen went off to fly the flag for St Mary’s at the regional heat held at the Roche Educational Court in Salisbury.

We congratulate Olivia Willis and Elfrieda Stovin on receiving offers to study History of Art at university, joining last year’s alumnae who chose to continue their Art History pathways - Daisy Moors (History of Art, Edinburgh University) and Giorgia Gaggero (History of Art and Italian, Edinburgh University). All our Sixth Form Art Historians who, with the completion of their History of Art qualification at St Mary’s, have now officially engaged in the life-long appreciation of art and culture and we wish them well for the future.

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ACADEMIC

Maths Louise Phillips, Head of Maths Heidi He, this year’s UVI Maths prizewinner

Highlights of the year include successes in the UK Maths Challenge, a national competition open to all schools. As usual we gained a range of Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.

Three girls performed extremely well on these tests and were invited to take part in the (Kangaroo) next stage of the challenge. In order to prepare for the unusual, thought provoking questions on the papers girls were invited to attend a regular weekly activity hosted by our A level Mathematicians.

For the second year running we entered half of our Year 11 (UV) cohort for their IGCSE Mathematics Examination in January and were delighted with their results. It has allowed some students to make a choice between continuing with the course, perhaps being entered for the higher tier in

the summer or allowing them to leave Mathematics and concentrate on other subject areas.

We appointed Mrs Berrimann to the department in January, as two of our team retired. Mrs Berrimann is an excellent Mathematician and, as an expert in the use of graphic calculators, has already made her mark within the department. From September 2019 she will be the Head of Department. Additionally Mr Ian Day joins us from September 2019. Mr Day is already known to some of the girls as he came to run a revision session for UV in his capacity as an IGCSE examiner. We are particularly delighted to have made these appointments given the current national shortage of Mathematics teachers.

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ACADEMIC

Modern Languages Hugo Gardner, Head of Modern Languages French, Spanish, German, Italian and many other languages.

They attended lectures, seminars, experienced the joys of a modern language laboratory and left inspired by the opportunities that exist for language graduates in the modern working world. In the spring term A level linguists went to Bournemouth and, inspired by Issy Evans’ passion for dance, watched a French language film on ballet.

There has been an Hispanic flavour to our cross-curricular events at St Mary’s this year; a theme that taps into the numerous Hispanic students who call the school home. These events have allowed all our students to integrate.

This year the Languages Department has seen our enthusiastic and talented St Mary’s students get involved with languages on so many fronts. Uptake for both French and Spanish at GCSE next year is superb, with a healthy balance of choice between the two core languages, alongside a handful of dual linguists. At the time of writing we await exam results that will see three of our A level linguists head to university to further their study of languages, one of whom has an offer to study French at Cambridge.

Our vision is to provide inspirational academic and extracurricular provision across two core languages, French and Spanish, whilst widening our offer of possible linguistic study.

This year we have been delighted to see German return to the curriculum under Frau Bauer and Italian A level under Mrs Findlay-Wilson. We hope to further extend this next year.

Mrs Rowland has outdone herself yet again by running no fewer than three residential visits to France. LIII visited the idyllic Ile de Tatihou, immersing themselves in French culture and visiting some of Normandy’s most beautiful and inspirational attractions. UVI French and Art pupils visited Paris, enjoying a huge range of educational experiences that enriched their A Level knowledge, from the Musée de l’Immigration to the Musée d’Orsay, with a spot of sightseeing (shopping!) on the Champs Elysées. There was also a Paris mini-break for LV, to give them a taste of Parisian culture and French language experience.

Closer to home, all of our A Level linguists went to Southampton University to experience taster sessions in

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Mrs Orue-Green and her UIII and LIV classes were inspired by learning about el Día de los Muertes, the famous Mexican festival and its customs. They mastered much of the key vocabulary and language culminating in a day-long celebration of its more visual elements, donning masks and traditional disguises! In the summer term St Mary’s truly developed an Hispanic flavour with a tapas cooking day run

by Mrs Orue-Green and her LIV and UIV Spanish classes.

They researched, cooked and (of course!) tasted a range of authentic dishes from both Spain and Latin America, inspired

by Mrs Orue-Green’s Paraguayan roots. A range of UIV and UV Spanish students visited St Mary’s from our San Sebastián partner school. They attended lessons and participated in an intercultural exchange with our girls.We look forward to building on all of these initiatives and experiences next year and beyond.

Jacintha Bowe, Director of Mission & Ethos and Head of RE The General RE programme continued to expose pupils to a captivating array of over 13 speakers including Simon Hoare MP’s talk on Faith and Politics, the Just War theory and Faith and the Media. Powerful presentations from three former students, provided an insight into the world beyond university, giving our programme a contemporary edge as well as a more personal feel.

Trips, university visits, lectures and talks have formed part of our extension activities not only exposing pupils to the academic rigour required for university courses, but also building their confidence by providing a personal contact with an academic department, which is always useful for university admissions. The Peter Vardy lectures covered topics pertinent to their A Level such as the ontological arguments and applied ethical theory to business and sexual ethics, whereas the visits to Oxford and Exeter universities gave students an exclusive insight into the admissions process and interview procedures, and surprisingly a mock interview at Oxford, in which they excelled. In addition, our first GCSE conference, to which other schools were invited, was an

overwhelming success which we will be repeating next year.

The Faith Trail is always a highlight and this year proved to be no exception. The UVI visited a synagogue and a mosque in Bournemouth where the hosts were so hospitable in giving us a first-hand encounter into their faith life and practice.

We are looking forward to the visit of the Buddhist monks in November who, judging by previous years, will provide a lively and visual insight into their belief.

From performing in the Nativity, to attending the 50th Christingle Service at Salisbury Cathedral, the younger LIII girls have had a busy year. They learnt a Bible rap and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the stories of David. To end the year, they enjoyed studying Judaism.

It is difficult to delineate between the work of the Chaplaincy and the RE Department. A new exciting sustainability project bringing the two even closer together is the planned renaming of the Walled Garden, ‘Laudato Si’ a sustainable garden inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical.

ACADEMIC

Philosophy & Theology

ACADEMIC

Science Martin Lawrence, Head of Science It has been a busy year in Science with trips, visits, national science competitions, weekend activities and a superb Science Week of events.

We started the year with a trip to our local Blandford Military Camp where the armed forces ran a cyber-challenge day for schools across Dorset. Despite competing against schools who run programming courses, the St Mary’s team won the event – a superb achievement.

We attended a series of lectures in London aimed at Sixth Form students. The guest lecturers included the famous Jim Al-Kahili amongst many others who inspired pupils by presenting science beyond the A Level and at the cutting edge of our current understanding.

Our science teachers love to stretch and challenge the most able students. One way to achieve this is by entering them into National Competitions. Dr Caunt offered students the opportunity to enter both the GCSE Challenge and A Level Olympiad. Alice James was our highest achiever at GCSE achieving a Silver award and Mary Lawrence achieved a Bronze in the Olympiad. Mrs Fearnley in Chemistry ran the Olympiad and Hannah Langton was awarded a Silver and Tina Xu a Bronze. In Physics with Mr Lawrence, all students were awarded commendations in both the GCSE and A Level competitions. These are superb results with only the most talented students across the country taking part.

Ms Flower has provided several opportunities in A Level Biology for learning outside the classroom. First was the field trip to Studland, where students investigated this rare and important habitat, guided by a local expert, allowing them to complete assessed work in the classroom at a later point. Later in the year, students visited Bristol University to take part in a DNA day. Being able to use very expensive and state-of-the-art equipment was a highlight, giving them a glimpse into studying Science at university. The highlight of the year was a very special trip to Ms Flower’s local farm where pupils saw ewes about to give birth and newborn lambs. This real-life and hands on experience of Biology in action really brought to life (quite literally!) all of the theory studied in lessons.

During Science Week the Department worked together to put on a range of activities suitable for all ages and abilities. Highlights included a visit from an alumna who is studying Physics at university, who showed pupils the range of opportunities available to them at university and emphasised the importance of attracting more women into STEM subjects. Mrs Le Poidevin arranged a speaker from Young People’s Trust for the Environment to talk about the current issues we face. Also during the week, Mrs Le Poidevin and Dr Caunt ran the British Science Association poster competition. Students were tasked with creating a scientific poster based upon the themes of ‘Journeys’. We had a superb range of entries and sent our school winners off to the National Competition. Finally, Ms Flower ran

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a very popular Dissection Club – a strong stomach was required, but those interested in dissection had a fascinating time, experiencing handson the anatomy of different creatures.

We put on a programme of events at weekends throughout the year including the science of chocolate making, circuits in lighthouse models, engineering challenges, building nest boxes and a wild flower afternoon.

Another highlight was the visit by the Wessex Astronomical Society.

As part of St Mary’s ‘Partnership with Primaries’, Ms Flower led a superb outreach project with local primary and prep schools. She offered a variety of whole-morning sessions from rocket launching, chemical identification and flame tests, to pond dipping and acid, alkalis and indicators. It has been great to see a constant flow of boys and girls into St Mary’s, having much fun in these sessions and at the same time using equipment and learning beyond their normal syllabus. It has also given the St Mary’s students studying Science at A Level a great opportunity to act as teaching assistants and role models, providing a helping hand when necessary and showing these younger students how thoughtful, helpful and intelligent St Mary’s girls are.

These very passionate and learned amateur astronomers joined us to run a series of lectures followed by an evening of guided stargazing. The Army also visited to run a session on the British Bloodhound 1000mph challenge. Pupils were introduced to the physics and engineering that goes into superfast cars and planes and then tasked with building their own rocket car.

The year ended with a LV trip to the Bristol Science Museum called ‘We are the Curious’. The students enjoyed the hands-on nature of the museum and were thrilled with the talk in the Planetarium. Also included was a workshop where students could extend their knowledge beyond the curriculum.

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ACADEMIC

Library Min Edmonds, Librarian

Despite the stereotypes, school libraries are busy and vibrant places – far too much to pack into one short page!

In the autumn term we welcomed author and UK Patron of Reading Joffre White, to St Mary’s. He spoke to all girls in LIII – UIV as well as guests from three local schools to promote the power of reading to change your life. In the afternoon he delivered an inspiring creative writing workshop to girls in LIV. We also celebrated National Children’s Book Week, with our seventh House Book Quiz. This was a fiercely fought event and I was delighted when Harewell triumphed for the first time.

The spring term is always a highlight in the Library with the excitement of World Book Day, when all girls were given a free £1 booktoken and the opportunity to dress up as book characters. At lunchtime the Library was packed with unrecognisable girls and staff competing in a special book quiz in which their literary knowledge was put to the test. We also had our triumph in the Wessex Amazing Book Award (WABA), when the book put forward by our book clubs, ‘The Call’ by Peadar O’Guilin, won against titles put forward by other schools across Wessex. The girls spoke passionately at the prize ceremony at Bryanston and we were thrilled to carry home the trophy.

Our third year of running the Born to Write creative writing competition was a real triumph, with over 200 entries from 17 schools. The shortlisted stories on the theme of Space were all read, anonymously, by our guest judge, BBC special correspondent and Wellcome Book Prize judge Razia Iqbal. We were all delighted when she chose our own Scarlett Carrell as the overall winner with her powerful story.

In addition to the various events mentioned here, the Library has also run weekly book clubs, held Buffet Talks when staff have spoken about their passions outside the classroom, enjoyed the company of wonderful Sixth Form Library prefects and Duke of Edinburgh Award helpers, been a home to many girls revising for exams, held book fairs, produced a termly newsletter to advertise all the Library has to offer and, of course, continued to promote the sheer pleasure of reading a good book!

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Sixth Form Dominic Simmons, Head of VI Form & Careers

This has been another busy year for the Sixth Form, with the first term spent polishing UCAS applications, compiling portfolios, and practising interview techniques. We were delighted that three of our UVI girls secured offers from Oxford or Cambridge, covering English Literature, Philosophy, and Modern & Medieval Languages. This is a success that many larger schools would envy – and their successes have inspired the LVI, with eight girls currently considering an application for Oxbridge entry in 2020.

The 2018 UVI had a wealth of successes in their applications to other universities as well, with places for Architecture, Neuroscience, History, Psychology, Economics and Physics (among others) at universities including Edinburgh, King’s College London, UCL, Exeter, Warwick and Durham. Creative

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subjects continue to be a real strength for St Mary’s, with girls also securing places to study Photography, Visual Arts, Fine Art and Graphic Design.

Encouraging aspiration is extremely important at St Mary’s, and we were pleased to be able to invite researchers from Bath University to deliver three talks about their work.

Dr Momna Hejmadi spoke about her pioneering work in developing new cancer treatments (synthesised from the dye in blue jeans!), Dr Sophie Parsons spoke about her work in mechanical engineering and recovering waste from our oceans, and Monika Halika and Meike Scheller spoke about their PhD theses in the treatment of chronic pain and in brain development of blind children.

In November we welcomed Matt Stait from the charity Stand Against Violence, who delivered some excellent and practical workshops on self-defence which were specifically designed for young women, showing them how to use an assailant’s strength and size against them. Moving from a physical confrontation to a mental one, we took a group of Sixth Form girls to a “Debating Matters” competition at Sherborne Girls. A passionate team argued their case on topics including universal basic income and monuments to controversial historical figures.

ACADEMIC

Careers

EPQ

At St Mary’s we build our careers plans around the “Gatsby” benchmarks which are acknowledged by the government as the best practice for supporting young people in making the right decisions about their next steps. As such, our girls receive regular individual mentoring from LV onwards. From September 2019, this will begin even earlier at UIV. Early careers guidance does not aim to identify a specific career that a student might want to follow; instead we concentrate on their broad interests and skills, opening up ideas that may not have been previously considered.

Alongside their A Level study, Sixth Form girls are encouraged to take on additional enrichment activity to help them stand apart from the crowd at university entry and beyond. Many of our girls choose to study for the Extended Project Qualification (“EPQ”), a self-managed research project which is very similar to an undergraduate dissertation. As well as being worth half an A Level in UCAS points, an EPQ is an excellent way of demonstrating intellectual curiosity. Research suggests that students who complete an EPQ are more likely to be successful in their first year at university, and are more likely to graduate with a first class degree.

As girls move up through the school, careers advice becomes more tailored and we begin to bring in a wide range of real employers and other outside speakers from different professions – highlights this year included Fiona Harall who spoke about her career in international hotel management, and Lt Jason Prosser who spoke about opportunities as a Royal Navy Officer. From the Sixth Form, girls are encouraged to visit universities, as well as being taken to a UCAS exhibition. I am also very grateful to the many colleagues who arrange university visits for their A Level teaching groups.

The end of the summer term for LV brings their first glimpse of A Level teaching, with a day of trial lessons in subjects of their choice. A similar day will be repeated in the autumn term for UV, ensuring that girls are able to choose their A Levels with confidence.

Students have free choice of their research projects when completing the EPQ, and two of the projects completed this year serve to show just how flexible and exciting an EPQ can be. Hannah Langton in U VI presented her EPQ in February, having investigated the use of “Crispr Cas-9”, a pioneering DNA editing technique, and its application to treating HIV and other conditions. Her research allowed her to write a superb university application, securing a place at Cardiff to read Biomedical Science.

More recently, Pia Regensburger presented her musical EPQ on the pipe organ, investigating whether the “king of instruments” could survive another century. As part of her research, Pia performed “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the school’s organ, surveying the staff and students’ reaction to the piece. Many other EPQs are ongoing, and we look forward to projects on creative writing, social history, neutrinos and many others.

Finally, I am very pleased to be preparing for a slight change to my role. From September, Mrs Cochrane-Dyet, who is returning to St Mary’s as a teacher of English, will also be taking on the role of Head of Sixth Form; in this role she will manage the tutors and look after every aspect of the girls’ day-to-day academic and pastoral needs in conjunction with Mrs Roberts. My role will be Director of Careers and Higher Education – allowing me to fully focus on ensuring that St Mary’s girls are making ambitious, well-informed choices at every stage of their education.

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Creative Arts

Shortlisted by the Royal Academy

Gayle Hadaway, Head of Creative Arts Our vision in the creative Arts Hub is that everyone has the potential to be creative, or at least gain pleasure from the Arts. We have had a very productive and exciting year from sketchbook trips and London galleries for GCSE exam research, to the LV Stourhead photography trip. UV visited Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum and enjoyed seeing an eclectic mix of treasures from around the world. LVI visited Arts University Bournemouth to see the Degree Shows representing all the creative industries whilst UIII visited the sculpture at Roche Court.

Our aim when visiting museums and exhibitions is to provide all students with a greater understanding and enjoyment of the culture of our age and to think about the visual world, raising their aspirations and increasing their knowledge.

Our GCSE pupils produced a wonderful showcase of work this year.

The Private View demonstrated our girls’ creativity and impressed both parents and the public. The A Level work displayed at Parents’ Day showed their adaptability and refinement of skills. We are all looking forward to delivering the new A level Textile course starting in September 2019.

I have had a super start at St Mary’s, thanks to the support from my colleagues, Mr Taylor, Ms Banneel and Mrs Hodge, along with all the students.

The girls have such talent and I look forward to continuing to teach and inspire them to explore their creativity further.

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Olivia Willis UVI

Helen Cheng UVI

Rosanna Webb UV

“Two of our talented A Level students, Ella Potts and Georgiana Forrester, were shortlisted for the Royal Academy’s summer art show which was a fantastic achievement”

CREATIVE ARTS

Iris Zhang UVI

Heidi He UVI

Georgia Freely UVI

Louisa Harman UVI

Louisa Harman UVI

Theodora Compton UV

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Textiles Julie Hodge, Textiles

In September GCSE Textiles students travelled to London to see the wonderful ‘Fashioned by Nature’ exhibition at the V&A Museum, followed by some inspirational primary reference gathering at the Natural History Museum. The trip was a valuable resource in their portfolio research and gave many ideas and starting points for coursework.

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LV students, in collaboration with photography students, exhibited their work at the local Shaftesbury Arts Centre, showcasing an array of felted and embroidered vessels and Nuno felted scarves that complemented the autumnal theme.

Textiles Club continues to be popular and is attended by a variety of enthusiastic lower school students. In the autumn term they helped to produce a wonderful display of 100 felted poppies for the Chapel to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice and some wonderful felted baubles to sell at the charity Christmas sale, wonderful recycled patchwork cushions in the spring and they are currently finishing their

colourful 50s inspired circle skirts made from old bed linen.

June saw the culmination of the UV textile students’ individual, experimental and inspirational work with an exhibition of coursework, set task outcomes and sketchbooks.

We are excited to be offering A Level Textiles from September, allowing students to continue developing their skills, knowledge and understanding of the subject to a higher level. We are looking forward to introducing and developing new resources and techniques, to allow students to develop their own individual style and portfolio of work in preparation for higher education.

Gayle Hadaway, Head of Creative Arts

Shutterbabes

Odilila von Bayern UV

Linda Lin UV

We have had some wonderfully talented photographers pass through the department this year. Photography trips included Laycock for refining coursework independent projects, Stourhead for its beauty, colour and inspiration and London to gain a library of images towards the students set A Level exam tasks. LV photography GCSE pupils put on a wonderful week long exhibition called ‘A Portrait of Autumn’ at Shaftesbury Arts Centre.

Munashe Ingram, LV

It has been an action packed year for Shutterbabes, the School Photography Enterprise Group, which raises money for charity. The start of term saw the Annual Dog Show take place and we were thrilled to see some of our pictures published in the local Blackmore Vale Magazine. In addition, we have done some Pet Commissions, including the winner of the Dog Show and Private Commissions. During the year, we have photographed live performances in school including ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’, the Staff Pantomime, World Book Day, the House Shout, Hewarth Annual Concert & Musical, Dorset Winter Games, Born to Write competition and Inter-house events.

This year we presented a cheque for £1000 to our chosen charity, Julia’s House. Funds were raised from the sale of calendars and cards featuring our photographs. Recently we also covered the exhibition of impressive end of year GCSE and A Level Art and Photography.

Shutterbabes Enterprise Group

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Photography

CREATIVE ARTS

Drama Chris Sykes, Head of Drama

Where is Love? Hewarth Production In the autumn term, pupils from UIII and LIV took part in the wonderful show ‘Where is Love?’ under the direction of Mrs Cheadle. The girls performed a variety of songs from the well-known musicals, Annie, Matilda and Oliver. They worked incredibly hard throughout rehearsals and were totally dedicated to making it a spectacular show. Every part had some memorable moments and many highlights – from ‘I’d Do Anything’, sung by the Oliver cast, to ‘Little Girls’, sung by the scary Miss Hannigan. How could we forget the chocolate cake scene with Miss Trunchbull, and when Amanda Thripp was thrown by her pigtails? All of the ensemble pieces were performed with elegance and flair, especially the finalé song of ‘This is Me’. The girls were a pleasure to direct, and I was extremely proud of each and every one of them.

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CREATIVE ARTS

Drama

Little Shop of Horrors Senior Production This year’s Senior School production was The Little Shop of Horrors, a musical fantasy in the style of 1960’s ‘B’ movie science fiction. With a fabulous score of rock/pop/soul and R&B-styled songs, many of which were sung by the Greekstyle chorus of girl-singers (Anastasia Compton, Theodora Compton, Paula Liebelt and Cecilia Prescott). The chorus was led by Chiffon (Fleur Harvey), Crystal (Cassia Thackray), and Ronette (Alexa Gibb), who commented on the action and interacted with the story’s characters.

The stage design used the breadth of the Hall, enveloping the audience and delivering seamless transitions from the failing florist to the demonic dentist. The combination of a talented cast, fantastic choreography and sensational singing made this a stand-out and truly memorable Senior School performance.

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Pony Club Middle School Production With only three weeks to rehearse, the 35-strong cast of ‘Pony Club’ worked hard to ensure that lines were learned and costumes were ready. Set during a Summer Pony Club Camp, ‘Pony Club’ tells the story of Mary, a new girl who struggles to fit in with the ‘cool’ gang of the horrendous Cassandra, whose snobby attitudes are encouraged by her vile mother, Mrs Cadwallader. There were a host of clear character types that would be familiar to anyone who has read a girl’s pony-themed book, in addition to the girls’ ponies, who were represented as characters themselves.

From Lightning the Donkey, Maduff, the Shetland, the mares, Honey and Cupcake to Odin, Thor and Vulcan the crude stallions, led by the dangerous Beelzebub. The script was written by Drama and English teacher, Chris Sykes with the help of our LAMDA teacher, Sue Holman, and brought to life by the girls’ hard work and wonderful character acting.

It was a fun production to perform with a humorous script.

Everyone from directors to those who helped with hair and make-up, positively contributed to the show and created two nights of summer laughter for the delighted audience of parents and friends.

Madeleine Humphreys

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Sarah Watton, Director of Music The Music Department has presented a wide array of performing opportunities for our musicians this academic year. Regular informal performances at lunchtime concerts and in assembly have seen many girls give their first performances and at the other end of the scale, we have enjoyed formal recitals by our most senior instrumentalists and singers.

We started the musical calendar by hosting a community charity concert arranged by past parent, Mrs Jupp, to raise funds for St Edward’s Church.

The Chapel Choir took part as did several soloists and the whole event was a huge success, raising over £2,000, attracting a large audience.

The Christmas Concert was a suitably festive affair in the Hall, with performances from Viva Voce, the Flute Group and the orchestra being particular highlights as well as plenty of seasonal solos including the everpopular showstopper presented by the House Staff!

In the spring term we enjoyed the Hewarth Concert with admirably assured performances from soloists, the Hewarth Choir and Hewarth Ensemble. They really impressed with their evident enjoyment of music and performing.

We enjoyed a piano recital by Heidi He and Tina Xu, in preparation for their ARSM Diplomas, which they were awarded later in the term. This represents a huge achievement with many months of preparation with their teacher, Mrs Angela Caunce, leading up to the presentation of a 30 minute recital of Grade 8 plus standard repertoire to a visiting examiner.

The May Concert this year was a delightful programme including items from the Chapel Choir, Percussion Groups alongside polished solos from Lucy Blyth, Tallulah Collis, Olivia Tolmie-Thomson, Anastasia Compton, Valeria Canedo Leal and a particularly memorable performance of ‘Georgia’ by the UVI Band. The Chapel Choir were in fine voice as they brought the evening to a close with Rutter’s The Lord Bless You.

House Shout

The Music School was jammed with groups of girls vying for rehearsal space in the spring term as they prepared for the hotly contested House Shout. The whole school gathered in the Hall, abuzz with anticipation. Each house presented two solo items, an instrumental ensemble and a house song.

Local composer, Karen Wimhurst, was our adjudicator this year.

The houses presented their chosen programmes in turn and the performances ranged from a Chopin Mazurka to ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Disney was the theme for the house song: Newby chose ‘Breaking Free’, York sang ‘Just Can’t Wait to be King’ and Harewell presented perhaps the most apposite choice, ‘We’re All in This Together’. Every performance was brimming with energy, commitment and the sense of enjoyment in performing together was palpable.

York were announced as the overall winners.

Congratulations to the house prefect teams for creating a great afternoon of entertainment and all of the performers for such a show of musical camaraderie.

Our final concert of the academic year was a teatime treat! Soloists from UIII to LVI presented music from prep test level to Grade 8, all giving assured performances. Hewarth Choir sang Remember Me from ‘Coco’ bringing the concert to a close. It was a lovely summer celebration of musical achievement and enjoyment, rounded off with a delicious tea on the lawn on a beautiful summer’s evening. What a perfect way to end the musical year.

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Music

CREATIVE ARTS

Dance Showcase Megan Bale, Dance Prefect Dance is a big part of my life – it is a cathartic release, an opportunity to learn discipline and control and the primary focus of my hard work over the past few years. For most dancers, it is a way to express ourselves when words are insufficient, and is a medium through which we can show the world who we truly are.

Many of the girls here train at TLW Dance (Shaftesbury) alongside their St Mary’s education, and in doing something they love outside an academic environment, it creates a healthy, balanced mindset.

Working towards my A Levels as well as training around 20 hours a week at TLW Dance and in London to become a professional dancer, St Mary’s has always been understanding towards my needs.

My tutor and teachers always make sure I am on track and balancing my schoolwork.

My life pretty much centres around dance, so having the opportunity to come to St Mary’s as an Elite Dance Scholar is something that I will never take for granted.

TLW Dance encourages both those who already have danced and those who are new to dance. Dancing in the evenings is the perfect way to release the creative energy that can sometimes build up throughout the school day. Whether it is with the aim of a future career in dance in mind or just as a recreational hobby, the TLW / St Mary’s partnership gives dancers the opportunity to perform and train in a friendly environment whilst balancing an education at St Mary’s.

“One of the reasons why I love dance is that if I have had a bad day, I can go to dance knowing that I will walk out of the studio feeling like I have conquered the world. TLW is a studio that always feels like home, and everyone there feels like my family. The friendships that I’ve found through St Mary’s really helps with my dance life, and my teachers understand why I love it so much.’

Frankie Hayward “I love dancing because it’s a stress reliever and helps me gain more confidence through pushing myself more than I normally would. Dancing at TLW is great because it’s a supportive and caring environment and everyone there wants you to do your best. My biggest achievement in dance so far is being able to have a go at anything new thrown at me and no longer being as afraid, which I’ve learned to carry through to my school work too.”

Maddie Richardson “I love dance because it allows me to express myself and forget about any worries I might have. The best thing about being able to dance at TLW are the opportunities we are given with our end of year productions, which are always fun.

St Mary’s has really helped me balance my dance and school life and excel in both areas.”

Lily Marshall

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“It’s hard to express in words how much I love to dance. TLW Dance has been my second home now for 8 years, somewhere that has allowed me to be my true self. The second to none training has taught me how to be disciplined, motivated, and realise what hard work truly means. As an elite dancer, St Mary’s has always understood the importance of balancing time with the packed schedule required for an aspiring professional dancer and they have supported all my extra commitments outside school such as attending the English National Ballet as a youth company member every Friday while still giving me the opportunity to gain my academic qualifications. This has allowed me to train 16-22 hours a week. I’ve just come to the end of my time at St Marys and thanks to the outstanding training and support of TLW, I shall be starting my next chapter in New York City at my dream dance school, Alvin Ailey.”

Isabelle Evans

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sport

Sport Nathalie Boyer-Castle, Director of Sport

Hockey We were delighted with the uptake for the pre-season hockey weekend last autumn, especially with the number of new pupils choosing to hone their skills and bond as a team before the season started. The weekend was a great success with girls from UIV to UVI putting their all in to the weekend and, importantly getting to practise some of their skills and tactics before the first games of the season. Congratulations were also in order for Olivia Willis who was appointed Senior XI Captain, with Cicely, Willow and Georgia ably supporting her in their Vice-Captain roles.

The Minis (LIII) made a great amount of progress during the term, with the majority of these girls playing hockey for the first time. The Junior A and B teams displayed some excellent stick skills and an improved tactical awareness. Both teams had some fantastic matches. The Inter Bs and Senior XI Team had a difficult term with relatively young sides making up the two teams. There are plenty of positives for the future and the opportunity to build on the progress made.

Netball A jam packed season of netball fixtures, 84 matches were played by teams from U11-1st team. The U11s brought all of their different experiences together and developed their play by competing in the High 5 Tournament and moving into the 7-a-side format with energy and enthusiasm.

The U12 & U13 teams also made huge progress culminating in some strong wins by the teams by the end of term.

From U14s – 1st team, the teams have played their equivalent teams from some big schools and the determination, skill level and excellent tactics proves that as a small school we punch well above our weight!

Well done to the U15a team who were second at North Dorset and qualified for County. The team is so cohesive, slick and determined that they represented the school with the true spirit of a St Mary’s girl. The team was fortunate to watch a Superleague Match at Bath University ‘Team Bath v Manchester Thunder’ as a celebration of their achievement to inspire them to the next level.

Final special mention to the U15b team who had the best winning statistic with an 80% winning ratio.

The Inter A team was a highlight of the hockey season, playing extremely well this year. They not only displayed great teamwork on the pitch, but great friendship off the pitch. The team finished the season winning 7 and drawing 1 of their 11 games.

We look forward to seeing all the girls making more progress next year, with many more fixtures scheduled and more time to focus on our younger hockey players.

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Cross Country

Swimming

This year St Mary’s hosted the annual Inter-schools’ relays when over 100 runners took to the beautiful course around our grounds, competing for the Golden Boot. The Inters set a great example to the younger Juniors and Minors running teams at the Leweston Relays, with their exemplary attitude throughout the races.

There is a strong core group of girls that commit to swimming training each week and the benefits they have seen have been some superb ‘Personal Best’ times and some year group records being broken. There have been early morning sessions and two additional squad sessions.

Alice in UIV was selected to compete for Dorset at the National Cross Country Championships in Leeds and finished an impressive 6th out of 44 counties.

The U11 team have been superb, winning in their gala against Hanford and competing successfully at the Year 5 & 6 North Dorset Gala in the spring term.

At the North Dorset Year 7-10 Gala at the end of the summer term - the U14 team swam their hearts out and came a very commendable 3rd in a field of strong teams from across North Dorset. There were several Personal Best times achieved by Evie in the Individual Medley, Isabel in the 25m & 50m Backstroke and Ines in 25m Breaststroke. Sofia managed to break two 10 year old school records in both the 25m & 50m Butterfly races.

Basketball This year a number of girls have been honing their Basketball skills in training on Monday lunchtimes. These training sessions have prepared our U13 and U15 Basketball teams to play matches with each team playing a couple of games.

The U15s put their netball skills to good effect with a victory against Sherborne International. Alice and Penny were pivotal in the win, scoring plenty of points and adapting to the rules superbly. The U13s won both their matches with Maria and Paula putting in outstanding performances.

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Tennis

Our success in tennis is primarily down to the hard work and dedication of Ian Griffin and his team of coaches, Graham and Lauren, who come in to coach the girls throughout the winter months. The girls who have tennis coaching really do reap the benefits when it comes to the summer term, so well done to all those who have shown commitment to their weekly tennis sessions.

The Seniors were able to compete in a strong fixture list and played extremely competitive matches, under the leadership of Ella as Captain of the 1stVI. Superb play from Ella, Georgia, Bella, Ollie, Maddy and Cassia, as well as other girls stepping in from time to time when needed. We had 2nds and 3rds out against some schools and there was always joy on the courts as the girls really embrace the Wimbledon feel of the summer term.

Many of the U12B players enjoyed their first ever tennis matches this year. The U12A team played some excellent tennis, winning matches against Wells and Leweston. Special mention must go to Poppy and Emily.

The U13A and B teams showed a great amount of progress over the year culminating in a number of impressive wins and an impressive performance at the North Dorset Tournament. The U12Bs won half of their games, with excellent victories against Wells and Godolphin. The U12As notched a clean sweep against Leweston (9-0) and followed this up with a 3rd place, bronze medal finish at the North Dorset tournament.

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Athletics This year saw 31 girls take part in a variety of events in the summer term. There were fantastic performances and lots of personal bests. Munashe and Charlotte both qualified for the Dorset Track and Field Championships, winning Discus and Shot Putt competitions respectively at the North Dorset Athletics Competition.

The U14 and U15 athletics teams competed at the North Dorset athletics event at Bryanston School. We had individual success with Sofia who finished 1st in Discus, Rosie 2nd in High Jump, Evie 1st in Shot Putt, InĂŠs 2nd in Javelin, Isabella 2nd in 100m and Olivia 3rd in Hurdles: resulting in an overall team 3rd in North Dorset. The U15 team saw Munashe 1st in Discus, Charlotte 2nd in Shot Putt, Alice 3rd in the 200m and Agatha 3rd in the Hurdles; resulting in a respectable 4th place finish in North Dorset.

Following the inter-house Athletics Competition, a number of school records were broken and some new records set.

Badminton St Mary’s was privileged to welcome Julie Bradbury, Common Wealth Gold medallist, to school in November.

The girls were presented with an exhibition of games at top level Badminton, one of which was played against our own Badminton County champion Penny. The girls were shown some top serving tips and tactics for doubles games to help them improve.

sport

Cricket

Archery

It has been a pleasure to see so many of the girls playing cricket with such enthusiasm at St Mary’s this year. With the creation of the ‘Chicken Coop’ and the ‘Hilltop’ cricket pitches, we have had plenty of girls coming along to Cricket Club on Wednesday and Thursday lunchtimes to hone their batting, bowling and fielding skills.

This year Miss Rees, a GB International Archer and one of our PE teachers, set up an evening Archery Club, coaching alongside her father, Andrew Rees, Level 3 County Coach and GB International Archer. This is a sport for everyone individuals or teams - teaching girls body awareness, focus and discipline. Many girls have been shooting regularly at the Wednesday evening club. During the spring term, St Mary’s hosted its first ever Archery Competition against Gillingham School, securing the ‘team event’ win.

We have fielded an impressive three teams in our first year of cricket. In our first ever match, the U15s played against QE in a close game in which we narrowly lost by 11 runs.

The highlight was a fantastic Player of the Match performance

by Evie who bowled a three wicket over in the final over of the game and scored 14 runs. We are looking forward to more cricket fixtures next year as the game continues to grow in popularity.

The U13s and U12s played seven matches between them, the highlight being two home wins against Knighton House in a fantastic display of attacking, batting and accurate bowling.

All the girls progressed well and we look forward to seeing them at year-round lunchtime training.

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sport

Sports Trips

Wimbledon Trip A group of U15 tennis team players went to Wimbledon to enjoy some exciting Court 2 matches. The girls were inspired watching players such as Sharapova and Isner.

U14 Netball Tour – Condover Hall Eight UIV and two LIV enjoyed a weekend jam-packed with netball at the annual GSA Condover Hall Netball Tournament weekend in September. This is a challenging, yet essential part of the girls’ preparation for the U14 North Dorset Netball Tournament.

Academic PE trip to Bath A group of girls from UIV and LV enjoyed a PE trip to Bath University, in which they carried out various physical tests to assess their sporting strengths. They explored sporting technology and listened to interesting lectures on sports career paths and what is involved in a Sports Science Degree. The trip gave them a useful insight into the GCSE course.

Individual Successes Dorset County Hockey: U17 Fleur H & Charlotte B, U15 Evie L-G Wiltshire County Hockey: U17 Katie L Badminton: Penny B - Wiltshire Restricted Badminton tournament in U18 Women’s Singles, U18 Women’s Doubles and U18 Mixed Doubles. Penny has also been awarded a place on the Team Bath Futures’ Badminton programme at Badminton England’s High Performance Centre; Bath University. Equestrian: Abby M – came 7th at the Horse of the Year Show in the Mountain & Moorland Ridden Connemara Pony of the Year class. Martial Arts: Zoya G - competed in the WKU Martial Arts World Championship winning a gold medal in Korean style martial arts and a bronze medal in the sparring U13 category for England. Zoya has a place in the national team at the World Championship in Austria in October.

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sport

Sports Leadership

Leadership courses move from strength to strength at St Mary’s as we offer the Sports Leaders Level 2 qualification and are currently planning to begin the Level 3 in September 2019, NPLQ qualifications, Netball umpiring qualifications and the opportunity to apply to join the Dorset Coaching Academy. We are delighted that seven of our girls have successfully been accepted and are now attending workshops throughout the year with elite athlete mentors and GB coaching staff to enable them to follow coaching and leading pathways in their specific sports.

Sports Leaders’ Ambassador Day St Mary’s welcomed 26 Primary schools (108 Year 5 and 6 pupils) to the Bronze Ambassador Day – the first step on the ladder to leadership training.

Workshops run by our 23 UV Sports leaders centred around teamwork, problem solving, organisational skills and communication skills to prepare pupils for leading, back in their own playgrounds. Thinus Delport, Springbok rugby player and Coaching Mentor for the Youth Sport Trust, was the special guest who inspired everyone to believe in themselves and their abilities and to never give up chasing their dreams.

Dorset Winter Games St Mary’s hosted the Dorset Winter Games with over 60 girls involved in leading, organising and presenting at the event. We hope that the experience will help them build on their fantastic potential to be great leaders.

Dorset Leadership Academy A number of girls were nominated and selected to represent St Marys at the annual Dorset Leadership Conference at Bryanston School in December.

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Co-Curricular

Trips

RWANDA 2019 Rwanda was an amazing experience. It was an incredible honour to meet and work alongside people who make such a difference in their community, helping others to recover from the horrific and tragic 1994 genocide. We visited a range of projects which the charity, Amakuru Trust, supports including schools, sports and craft projects, a widows’ association and colleges. As well as immersing ourselves in the local culture, we also visited lakes and

went on safari, where we managed to see three of the Big Five. Every single member of our group came back with life-changing memories and we hope to inspire more people to undertake such a worthwhile and moving trip in the future. Mike Hayes, Economics & Business Studies Teacher and Founder of the Amakuru Trust, said: “It was a joy and privilege to spend time with the St Mary’s group. Whether they were talking with genocide survivors or teaching eager children, they acted with the greatest

SKI TRIP This year’s trip was to Austria where we improved our ski skills on the slopes and forged new friendships. We visited the Salzburg Christmas Market, tried some Austrian bowling, enjoyed a karaoke night, watched plenty of Christmas movies, enjoyed a trip to a local pizzeria and sampled plenty of delicious Austrian food. Despite some impressive falls at times, all of us made fantastic progress and most importantly, we had smiles on our faces all week – even after nearly skiing off the side of a slope!

Lily Marshall and Olivia Tolmie-Thomson

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integrity - displaying sensitivity on the one hand and much enthusiasm on the other! Their primary school teaching went brilliantly and the Rwandan students listened intently, did some wonderful practical work, and definitely learned from the group’s lessons. They were wonderful ambassadors for the school and a credit to themselves and their families. I hope that they will also now be ambassadors for the Amakuru Trust and the work that it does with the vulnerable of Rwanda.”

Tabitha Elwell

Co-Curricular

Duke of Edinburgh Rod Wiltshire, DofE This is my last St Mary’s DofE report as I will be retiring from the post of DofE Manager at the end of August. My replacement is Jane Fox, who I have had the pleasure of working with on a number of our Silver DofE expeditions and who many of the girls already know well. Jane is an experienced DofE Manager and Expeditions/Mountain leader. I know that she will continue to build the DofE presence in the school.

During this year the school has had 71 girls actively completing DofE Awards and I have had the pleasure to sign off on 50 of their DofE awards which breaks down into 7 golds, 19 silvers and 24 bronze.

This year three UVI students complete their gold award, Cicely Willis, Olivia Willis, and Lucy Blyth, and a fourth, Georgia Brand, will complete hers in the summer after she does her four day residential.

A company called A to Z ran the expeditions and 31 girls completed their expedition section this summer (ably supported by my dog Max who just loves joining them along with Catherine Kelleher, Micaila Vivier, Emily James, Calvin and Gina Bent and Dave Evans). Using the DofE awards team figures, a total of 1079 hours volunteering time was completed by the girls (which equates to a social value of raising £4369), 1170 hours of physical activity and 1274 hours of learning a new skill. A tremendous achievement.

We also have had a number of successful DofE award completions for past St Mary’s girls who have stayed in contact to complete their awards. These include Felicity White (Gold), Anna Baxter (Gold), Hetta Long (Silver), Gabriella Baglietto (Silver) and Olivia Potts (Silver). We have also supported two external candidates this year: Daisy Barnard for Bronze and Sasha Howarth-Jones for Gold.

For a school as small as St Mary’s this has been a very successful year for DofE and I am proud to have had the opportunity to manage this award.

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Chaplaincy & Charity

Chaplaincy Nonie Connolly, RE This year has seen the school Chaplaincy team continue to grow, with the introduction of a new group for UIII and LIV, the B-Attitudes, alongside the Mini Vinnie’s group in LIII and the Chaplaincy Team (UIV-UVI). All these groups have been proactive in their efforts throughout the year, setting up a Bake Sale and making solidarity bracelets for Red Wednesday in November to raise awareness for persecuted Christians throughout the world, and organising a very successful Sponge the Teacher event to raise money for CAFOD during Lent. Thanks to all the teachers who braved the cold and allowed their students to vent their frustrations in such a fun, if sometimes, scarily energetic, way!

The Chaplaincy team has marked the Feasts and Festivals of the Church in various ways; celebrating the Feast of the Guardian Angels by handing out origami hearts and chocolates to Boarders along with a prayer to their Guardian Angels, whilst Mini Vinnies spread the love on St Valentine’s Day with handmade boxes of chocolates! We also celebrated the month of May with a service in praise of Our Lady in the Chapel, for which Isabella Penny, Anna Findlay-Wilson, Sophia Forrester and Violet Norton provided beautiful choral accompaniment.

The Cookie Fairy has surprised students with visits throughout the year. This initiative was dreamt up by the Chaplaincy team, who meet twice termly to bake cookies and hand them out to as a random act of kindness, thereby spreading a little happiness and joy at unexpected moments!

A real highlight of the year was the visit of Bishop Declan in May, who came to St Mary’s to initiate 10 students into the sacrament of the Eucharist and 19 students into Confirmation. Bishop Declan officiated a beautiful Mass that was a moving conclusion to the months of preparation by the girls.

The school’s vibrant retreat programme has continued, with every year group having the opportunity for a day of prayer, reflection and rest away from the busyness of normal school life. LIII took part in a retreat on ‘Belonging and Beginnings’.

UIII enjoyed four days away in York, learning about the history of our patron Mary Ward, and visiting the Bar Convent. LIV focused on the value of friendship, whilst UIV examined the themes of Vocation and Forgiveness. LV contemplated the idea of the masks we wear, and the value of personal integrity, whilst UV and LVI considered Discipleship and the Call to Service, respectively. UVI enjoyed a beautiful Leavers’ retreat on the last day before their exams, which finished with mass in the Chapel and an evening of entertainment and food in Mary Ward House.

The values of our founder, Mary Ward, lie at the heart of school life and the chaplaincy team helps brings these to the fore in the St Mary’s community throughout the year.

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Pia Regensburger, Chaplaincy & Charities Prefect The charity chosen by the Sixth Form for the Leavers‘ Mass was “Save the Children”, which is campaigning for children’s rights such as a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protect from harm.

Charity Ball

Charity and service is an important part of life at St Mary’s.

As charities prefect, my role is to help plan the charitable events throughout the year, to come up with fundraising ideas, whilst having lots of fun.

This year, we have raised funds through many charitable events and activities. The most notable are the Charity Lunches on Tuesdays, collections such as after the Carol Service, Parents’ Day Mass and the Sixth Form Leavers’ Mass, and of course the annual Charity Ball.

The charities chosen by the outgoing Charity Prefect, Lucy Blyth, and her team, were Ataxia UK, and the international project of supporting the building of a Mary Ward School in Zimbabwe. Ataxia UK has a special meaning to the school, as one of our alumnae has Friedrick’s Ataxia, a genetic disease that causes difficulty with walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs and impaired speech that worsens over time.

The Mary Ward school in Zimbabwe is still being built, but nearly finished, thanks to our donation. Our contact there is Sister Mercy, and we aim to strengthen our links with them when the school is finished.

The local charity, chosen by the Mini Vinnies, B-Attitudes and the Chaplaincy Team was Home Start. This is an organisation providing help for families in need. For our national charity CAFOD, we have raised money by throwing wet sponges at the teachers!

Two major charities we focused on were “L’Arche” and “Alabare”. L’Arche works for the creation and growth of homes, programmes, and support networks with people who have intellectual disabilities. We were introduced to the charity by one of our ex-Head Girls, Laura MartinPrud’homme, who works for the charity and visited us to give an inspirational talk to the Sixth Form. Furthermore, we made a donation to Alabare, a homeless centre in Salisbury, reinforcing our objective to support the poor.

On Red Wednesday, the whole school community supported persecuted Christians and others persecuted for their religious beliefs by wearing Red. Another big achievement money raised for Little Giants, a local charity for children with disabilities, at which some of our girls volunteer.

Money Raised this year Home Start £800, CAFOD £200, L’Arche £500, Alabare £632 Red Wednesday £238, Little Giants £551 Other Charitable Donations: Amnesty International, Ataxia UK, Children’s Society, Mary Ward School Zimbabwe, Pax Christi, Poppy Appeal Save The Children & Stars Appeal.

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Chaplaincy & Charity

Charity

PASTORAL & BOARDING

Pastoral & Boarding Susannah Hill, Deputy Head (Pastoral) St Mary’s is a school which understands that a student’s wellbeing and happiness lies at the heart of her success. This remains true however you choose to measure that success - but what a joy to be able to celebrate such fantastic GCSE and A Level with the girls this year. Knowing how much hard work went into achieving these grades makes it all the more cause for celebration.

I am very grateful to the wonderful teams at St Mary’s who work together to get to know every girl in order to meet their individual needs and ensure there is a high standard of care. The House staff, Nursing team, our GAP students, tutors and teachers all have this shared goal and I value their work immensely, as do the girls themselves. In fact, all staff are either directly or indirectly involved with students’ pastoral care and it is this wraparound approach that allows them all to flourish.

The house system is a longstanding tradition which allows girls to develop a family within the community of St Mary’s and we are looking forward to the new structure that will integrate day girls and boarders within the main school houses as well as allow boarders to live together in year groups. The vertical nature of the main school houses offers the opportunity to get to know older and younger girls in the school, develop a house identity and a sense of belonging as well as take on leadership roles and positions of responsibility outside the classroom. The cosy and well-defined boarding areas allow friendships within year groups to deepen and creates a secure and age-appropriate space to live, work and play together.

This year we welcomed a new Senior Nurse, Mrs Jacqui Sims, who is supported by Mrs Felicity Whyte and Mrs Heather Sanger. Between them, they provide high-quality healthcare within the welcoming environment of the Health Centre. We were also delighted that Mrs Jane Pyrgos joined St Mary’s as our School Counsellor. We are introducing an excellent series of Parent Talks in the autumn term, covering various aspects of adolescent mental health and wellbeing.

It has been widely agreed that food at St Mary’s has greatly improved this year, and we are delighted that our talented chef, Taher, has now taken over the management of catering within the school. Some exciting news is that over the summer, we have developed a new coffee-shop area within the Ref, in response to a growing demand for this facility. With distinctive décor that shows the usual St Mary’s flair, this will be a welcome space for senior girls to enjoy during the day and for boarders to use in the evening, providing both a range of refreshments and a space to socialize or work, as wished.

I am immensely proud of the work we do at St Mary’s to support the girls both inside and outside of the classroom but I am also struck by the way in which they treat each other. Often it is their examples of supportive friendships, small or great acts of generosity of spirit or simply the open and kind approach they demonstrate to others that inspires me.

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Pastoral & boarding

Enrichment

The Saturday morning Enrichment Programme has gone from strength to strength over the past year, with very positive feedback from all involved. The boarders in LIII to LVI (UV take part in the autumn term only) enjoy a range of one-hour activity sessions on a Saturday morning, some of which are delivered by members of the LVI. This opportunity to share a skill or passion has been a wonderful addition to the programme and allowed girls in the Sixth Form to develop confidence, leadership and presentation skills. This year’s programme has included a plethora of activities ranging from learning to lifeguarding, animal husbandry, bread-making, Chinese character drawing and singing to badminton.

We have also been fortunate to get involved with some community outreach programmes, with girls volunteering at a local support group for families with children who have complex needs.

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PASTORAL & BOARDING

Boarding Susannah Hill Boarding at St Mary’s continues to be one of our great strengths. Weekends are full, busy and vibrant whilst also allowing time to relax and reflect.

We are surrounded by beauty here in the grounds and it is a pleasure to see the girls take advantage of the 50 acre estate to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

This year Hewarth settled into their lovely new surroundings in the Main School, with a wonderfully homely common room and a dedicated arts & crafts room, full of exciting materials.

With a new team to look after them, the Hewarth girls have had an extremely busy and successful year in all areas of school life. Harewell began the year with a beautifully stylish new common room, which has proved to be a popular place to sit and socialize.

The Harewell bedrooms enjoyed a face lift with a fresh coat of paint and some colourful new notice boards at Easter, and over the summer the staff have been working to prepare the remodelled boarding areas for their new inhabitants.

Weekend trips have remained a popular highlight of the boarding week, with visits to Bristol’s Winter Wonderland, Dorset Water Park, walking the North Dorset Trailway, the International Food Fair, shopping in Bath, the Bubblerush, our very own Party on the Lawn and a wild day of trampolining and freejumping being just a few of the activities on offer. Our boarders are busy and having fun, and we are looking forward to another successful year.

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Pastoral & boarding

House News

Hewarth Scarlett Carrell Inter-house sport has been very competitive and great fun! The girls were divided into their main houses, York, Newby and Harewell, and either took part in the sport or cheered on the competitors.

There have been so many highlights this year it is hard to pick just a few.

LIII went on some wonderful trips, including to Tatihou in France and a fun day out at Mill-on-the-Brue. UIII enjoyed the traditional annual trip to

This year life in Hewarth has been jam-packed! From boarders to day girls, we have enjoyed a huge range of fun activities and clubs. For example, weekend activities such as cooking and visiting the Harry Potter studios along with clubs like book club, drama club, creative writing, sports, etc. have helped to improve the girls’ wellbeing. We have all developed strong bonds with each other and our teachers.

House meetings always prove to be a good time of the week. A time to praise the incredible achievements, to be informed of the week ahead and the all-important birthday celebrations.

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York and a trip to the beach after their exams. LIV went on an incredible trip to Normandy in France, visiting the Bayeux tapestry, going to an apple farm, meeting pupils in a French school and enjoying time playing on the beach. All these trips were thoroughly appreciated by each year group.

It has been a wonderful year in Hewarth. It is now time for some girls to move on and into the next phase of the school but the memories we have all formed together will remain with us forever.

Hewarth’s House Captains this year were Matilda Martin and Frankie Hayward. Matilda was boarding House

Captain with help from Deputy, Maria Portuondo Lacave. Frankie was day House Captain with help from her Deputy, Devon Batho. In these roles, they directed house meetings, organised inter-house activities for everyone to enjoy and were there when the other students needed them.

This year’s Hewarth Sports Captain and Deputy were Willa Madel and Bella Kace. They helped to create and organise teams for inter-house sport, answer any sport related question and remind the house of the different matches and who would be taking part in them.

House News

Harewell Louisa Harman, House Captain This has been a successful year for Harewell both as a house and for individual girls. Georgia Brand led the house team to victory in the House Book Quiz. Although we did not win the inter-house debate, our speakers were able to show what excellent debaters they were, not only their ability to argue passionately but also the way they were able to think on their feet. Never ones to be put down, we bounced back winning best song in the House Shout and we were just pipped at the post in the interhouse Cross Country.

Harewell is undoubtedly a house of hidden talents, evidenced when Elena Wang won Boarders Got Talent with her stunning and complex Chinese

dance while our amazing runner, Alice de Pelet, represented Dorset Schools in Cross Country Nationals held at Leeds.

We have always had a reputation for our participation in the performing and creative arts and Fleur Harvey, Sophia McMullen, Talia Li, Paula Liebelt, Bea Chetwode, Ella Norton and Olivia Tolmie-Thomson are continuing this tradition as members of the Chapel choir and Fleur, Sophia, Paula, Talia and Helena Lee-Boaler in the cast of the fantastic school production of Little Shop of Horrors. Harewell girls are certainly determined and those who took part in the PADI diving course should be congratulated for braving the icy waters at Vobster Quay to gain their

qualification.

Our Head Girl, Cicely Willis, gained her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and has already been to the Palace to receive it, meeting several members of the Royal Family on the day.

As our house team changes we welcome Aggie Perry-Robinson as our Head of House and we are delighted that Mima Baring has been appointed Deputy Head Girl. Congratulations to both of them. We know that they will bring much to the house and to the school community.

Above all we send our thanks and appreciation to Mrs Whyte and her house team who look after us all.

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House News

Newby Millie Atkins, House Captain After a wonderful summer, the Newby girls were welcomed back to school with open arms by Housemistress, Mrs Rowland. The whole house kicked off the year by excelling in the infamous inter-house Cross Country, when girls from all years entered into the day with great spirit, resulting in a fantastic win for Newby.

camaraderie, with special thanks to the senior girls for being such inspiring leaders, when organising our performance and to our splendid individual performers.

Throughout the year we have continued to raise money for a variety of different charities such as Little

Newby continued to participate in various inter-house competitions and events, always with a sense of fun and loyalty to the house and highlighting the amazing array of talent we have within the three main houses, whether that be in music, sport, the arts or academic. In

Giants and Lubasi Home in Zambia, somewhere very close to our hearts as we have supported this charity for many years and share a very special bond with the children. Our Newby sweetie stall at the Annual Dog Show proved popular and inspired us to create sweet treats and small gifts to sell at the Christmas Fair, once again in aid of Lubasi Home.

true Newby style the girls supported the inter-house hockey to the end and despite the blizzard, and even some snow, the flag flew proudly for our house with rousing music provided by LV. How proud we were too to watch some of our Newby girls in leading roles in this year’s senior production of ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’. It really was an amazing show!

Everyone enjoyed taking part in the House Shout competition, at which Newby showcased its talent and

We would like to thank the wonderful Mrs Sanger and Mrs Bent for organising and leading fun happy hours and treat

nights throughout the year. We have enjoyed everything from pamper evenings to ‘make-your-own’ pizza night, resulting in all girls from other houses flocking to our Common Room, proving there really is only one place to be on a Friday night – Newby! Mr and Mrs Rowland hosted an international dinner party which saw LV girls cook something traditional from their country, as well as many other evenings when we enjoyed hot chocolate, takeaways and other treats. No one loves hot chocolate more than UIV! Day girls’ tea is also a highlight after school on a Monday, when tempting additions to the usual school tea are much appreciated. Mrs Rowland supports us all; her flat has become a haven of fun, laughter and the occasional tear, but there is always a warm welcome, listening ear and, if needed, a little practical advice.

The LVI team lead by Nuria RobertMontaner have supported the house throughout the year and Newby would like to thank them all for their efforts and dedication.

It is always sad to have to say goodbye to some girls and our love goes with our one-year students who return to their home countries, as well as to those moving on to pastures new for their final years in education. We hope they will never forget that ‘Once a Newby girl, always a Newby girl’ and we look forward to them coming back to visit.

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Lawrence Dalton, Housemaster What a year it has been for York House; a new housemaster, a new common room, the emergence of the #GreenArmy, Yorkies a-plenty in house meetings, York girls showcasing their talents in so many different ways and a House Shield victory!

The girls were welcomed with a brand new common room (complete with study area, snug and fruit bar) and all have enjoyed using the space throughout the year. Grace Cartlidge was particularly fond of the succulents and Cecilia Prescott was amazed by how ‘cute’ the room was – cute wasn’t really what I was going for with the décor but I’ll certainly take it. It has been fantastic to see the girls making the most of the space during house meetings and free time.

House meetings have been an absolute joy with House Captains in the form of Cassia Thackray, Ollie Annett and Anastasia Compton leading them with the utmost assurance and confidence.

A special thank you to Tallulah Collis

for some beautiful prayers and to Emma Cooper and Francesca Ramage Mangles for their weekend weather bulletins – usually rain, rain and more rain. We have introduced Yorkie of the Week this year, with the winner receiving . . . a Yorkie – it’s important to stay on brand! This has been enjoyed by many, except Poppy Marshall who was devastated that there were no Curly Wurlys. After weeks of letting me know how inferior a Yorkie was to a Curly Wurly, Poppy was eventually given a Curly Wurly . . . everyone rejoiced!

I have been so impressed with the girls’ wide-ranging skills and talents, as demonstrated throughout various competitions this year. Their efforts certainly paid off at the end of year assembly when York House were crowned House Shield champions.

There were so many victories in inter-house competitions; Photography, Junior Hockey, Senior Hockey, Senior Netball, House Shout, Tennis, Athletics, Swimming, Summer Gold Tickets. This

being all the more impressive when you compare the size of York House to the other two houses – a true underdog story if ever there was one, something to rival Leicester’s Premier League win in 2016 maybe.

This success has been solely down to the outstanding effort shown by the girls throughout the year. Whether it was taking some awe-inspiring photos, transposing a truly brilliant arrangement of ‘I just can’t wait to be King’ from the Lion King (Ollie Annett & Megan Feltham), or running with all their energy to gain crucial points at Sports Day,York girls have consistently put 100% in to everything they do and I couldn’t be prouder of them.

A particular highlight for me was watching ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. I marvelled at the York girls’ singing and acting talents and was in awe of the hours of practice that must have gone in to such a slick performance. This truly was one of those moments when you realise why you work with young people. Well done Tabitha Elwell, Alexa Gibb, Theodora Compton, Anastasia Compton, Cecilia Oliver and Cassia Thackray and of course to York’s very own, Mr Sykes, for all the hard work you put in to creating such a fantastic show.

It is now time to look forward to the future, with Anastasia Compton taking over as Head of House. I look forward to working with her in supporting our House Captains next year and cannot wait to see what other amazing things York students achieve.

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House News

York

House News

Mary Ward Willow Pemberton-Pigott & Olivia Willis, Mary Ward House Captains Our last year at St Mary’s has been particularly memorable, with our transition into Mary Ward, along with the LVI, allowing us to have our independence from the main school as we prepared for our exams.

Some long-lasting memories will be Wednesday night cake night, with Mrs Boote’s famous banana and chocolate cake and Mrs Richard’s delicious chocolate marble cake, which we devoured whilst playing the Wii and watching Love Island! Not forgetting birthday celebrations of champagne, pizza and dancing as we turn 18 in style.

We have carried on the enjoyable tradition of ‘Come Dine with Me’ when one corridor cooks for another. This helped improve our cooking skills and it was a nice break from the stresses of studying.

Another highlight of our UVI year was the Leavers’ Retreat when we spent time reflecting upon our time at St Mary’s and sharing our best memories. We returned to school and gathered again for our special Mass which was attended by our families and staff followed by a buffet supper in our lovely refurbished Mary Ward Common Room to celebrate our time at St Mary’s.

During the summer term, our last at St Mary’s, every ray of sunshine has brought a rush to the Mary Ward balcony, where we listened to music and enjoyed each other’s company whilst we revised. Before half term the whole of Mary Ward enjoyed an evening of fun and dancing at Mrs Robert’s farm which was a lovely way to celebrate the past year.

A massive thank you to Mrs Roberts for being an amazing housemistress during our time in Mary Ward. Also, to Mrs Boote and Mrs Richards who are always on hand to help and comfort us and offer us an unlimited supply of ‘Ms Molly’s’ chocolate digestives during our A Level year.

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House News

House News

Leavers 2019 Millie Atkins, Lucy Blyth, Georgia Brand, Helen Cheng, Isabelle Evans, Megan Feltham, Georgia Freely, Louisa Harman, Heidi He, Hannah Langton, Mary Lawrence, Helena Lee-Boaler, Clemmy Lussiana, Maddalena Manca, Willow Pemberton-Pigott, Mimi Preston, Elfrieda Stovin, Cicely Willis, Olivia Willis, Tina Xu, Iris Zhang, Coco Zhu

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House News

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Alumnae

Alumnae Dee Webb, Head of Alumnae

Dates for Your Diary We are about to embark on our 75th anniversary year and will be holding the following events during the year: Saturday 28th September Mass and lunch at St Mary’s.

Sunday 20th October Golf Day at Rushmore Golf Club open to all alumnae and their parents.

Sunday 17th November Hockey match vs 1st Team.

Saturday 14th December Carol Service at St Mary’s.

Monday 20th January 2020 Alumnae Mass, London February 2020 Regional reunions (please get in touch if you would be happy to be a reunion rep).

Weekend 20th March 2020 Mass at St Mary’s. (day tbc).

May/June 2020 Tennis match for Alumnae vs School 1st Tennis Team.

Sunday 5th July 2020 Picnic at St Mary’s, attended by Sr Jane.

SOGA News Over the past 12 months, we have organised a number of events for alumnae, including a lunch at St Mary’s in December for the first pupils to attend the school and a wonderful Mass in London in January.

You are always welcome to visit the school, for Mass at the weekend, or just to have a look around. Please ring Reception on 01747 852416 or email reception@stmshaftesbury.uk to let us know you are coming. If there are other events you would like to help organise, please email me on alumnae@ stmshaftesbury.uk We love hearing your news and we hope that you enjoy reading about the life of some of our former pupils. We would love to feature 10 year, 20 year leavers etc. The first girls to be featured will be those who left in 2010, 2000, 1990, 1980, 1970, 1960 so if you in one of those year groups, we will be in touch in the Autumn.

On behalf of Mrs Young I would like to thank you for your continued support of St Mary’s, whether it is visiting the school to speak to pupils about your experiences or through financial gifting. If you would like to support us, either by mentoring and helping our Sixth Form pupils or through a donation to our fundraising campaign for the school, please visit www.stmshaftesbury.uk/support-us

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Alumnae

of sanctions. My clients are doing things the right way, so it is hugely satisfying to know that by enhancing their reputations at an international level we are supporting their ongoing sustainability and success.

Alumnae News Emily Dillon, 2006 leaver I write this on my flight back from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, following a trip to a client’s aluminium smelter and its dam across the river Yenisei – a hydropower plant which feeds the smelter to produce “low carbon” aluminium (my client’s USP). Perhaps more interestingly, I have just discovered that through precisely regulating water outflow to maintain the region’s river levels through the rainy and dry seasons, the dam actually

ensures food security (shipping of supplies) for the 200,000 workers and their families living downstream in the remote industrial city of Norilsk, blighted by permafrost. A pleasant surprise to discover that the “social impact” of said client extends significantly beyond supporting native sturgeon populations.

I work in PR for a number of Russian industrial companies seeking international investors and trade partners. I work from London and sometimes from our Moscow office – speaking to journalists, script-writing, planning news strategies and more – all with a view to portraying the significant potential of these businesses and helping them stand out from the geopolitical “noise”. This is challenging given historic corruption, recent Salisbury events and multiple rounds

Adrienne Brown (née Drought), 1954 leaver It has been quite an eventful year for my family. First my Labrador died in April of old age and then my husband, Ron, died in October. It was expected and all our children were here with us.

I am now adjusting very well to life alone after 56 years. Fortunately I have Maggie, my Springer Spaniel who is such a good companion. I have lots to keep me busy. I have been a Rotarian for 23 years and I volunteer at a wildlife hospital each week. www.sandypineswildlife.org. It is an interesting place and many of the Interns are from England, training to become Veterinarians or Vet Technicians. I am also working hard to convince our City to ban plastic bags in the supermarkets and shops.

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Alumnae

Alumnae News Alice Taylor, 2010 leaver I have spent the last 3 years working in a mental health support service in London supporting vulnerable people into meaningful activities including education, training and employment.

Prior to this, I completed 2 British Council teaching posts - at a University in Chile & in a secondary school in India. I have a degree in Spanish and English Literature & a postgraduate certificate in Humanistic and Psychodynamic Counselling. I’m also a qualified practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) & an experienced motivational coach. I am passionate about helping people achieve their goals and keenly interested in education and international development. I have recently started working as Programme Manager at Ethiopia Education Foundation, a small charity based in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. http://www.ethio-ed.org/.

I am responsible for managing the programme which provides excellent schooling for severely under privileged yet motivated, academically promising students in Ethiopia, empowering them

with the skills that will enable them to transform Ethiopia’s future. Through donations and sponsorship, the programme enables children to achieve the ultimate goal of attending university.

I am thrilled to be working in Ethiopia with children to change their futures.

To shake things up, nine months ago

Not put off by any wet D of E expeditions (!), I am a keen hiker and mountaineer. I have spent the last 8 years with her St Mary’s peers trying to perfect the unparalleled school birthday chocolate biscuit cake recipe but to no avail!

Charlotte Wheatley, 2007 leaver Charlotte left St Mary’s after many very happy years surrounded by friends who are still, to this day, like family. After an eventful and cultural gap year spent in Florence, Paris and India, she went to Bristol University and graduated with a 2:1 in Theology. From there, she ventured into the fantastic world of advertising, an industry she has been in ever since. Charlotte spent nearly six years in London working as an Account

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handler, producing adverts in all shapes and sizes for brands such as Cadbury, Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire, Kenco and Lloyds Bank.

she moved to Amsterdam to work for a British ad agency which is huge fun.

She spends her days cycling around the canals and enjoying many a stroopwafel!

Charlotte also continues to sing at weddings, parties and events in the both the UK and the Netherlands.

Alumnae

Arabella Napier (née Sheppard) 1976 leaver George (Napier) and I got married in Henley in 1984, lived in London and then Virginia Water. We moved to Lake Forest, Illinois in 1989, then we moved to Greenwich, CT in 1992 and finally to northern California in 1998. We have three boys, Alex born 1987 at St Thomas’ in London, Oliver 1989, and Max in 1991, both born in Lake Forest.

We currently live in Menlo Park, forty miles south of San Francisco. I have worked at Stanford University for the past 10 years in the Department of Residential Education.

Alexandra Beedle, 2006 leaver Since completing my ‘God’s Unfinished Masterpiece’ project at St Mary’s, I have always been conscious that I wanted to have a career in which I could help people, but in what area, I was never quite sure.

As a registered nutritionist, next week I am moving to South Sudan where I’ll be working as a nutrition consultant for the World Food Programme. After school I went to Newcastle University to study Spanish and Portuguese. On my year abroad, I developed a deep love for Latin America and have since been back many times. I spent time working and travelling in Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. After graduating a year later I got an internship at Action Against Hunger, where my interest was first piqued in the humanitarian sector and nutrition. I soon became

inspired by a few very special people to get into this kind of work, although they kept mentioning it wouldn’t be without its challenges. After 9 months of working alongside the nutritionist I travelled to Kenya with the hope of voluntarily shadowing a nutritionist to see if this was the path I wanted to follow. I was told to go back to London, do a master’s first and then return.

In 2016 I applied to do a master’s at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It was the hardest year of my life but definitely worth it.

Since graduating I have been working on various consultancies for the World Health Organisation and the World Food Programme on malnutrition, and have also managed to keep up my languages working as a freelance translator on a range of projects.

Elizabeth Cuffe (née Shields) 2005 leaver This is a photo of my new daughter,

Philomena Nolan, 2005 staff leaver I have many fond memories of my years at St Mary’s and now I love following old girls and colleagues on Facebook and Instagram. It is lovely to see how their lives are developing, new families being created etc.

The biggest change in my life is that I got married to George Colfer in 2011 and with that I inherited a lovely large family. Since then my life has been blessed with 11 gorgeous grandchildren, ranging in age from eight years down to six months and, as I write, we are awaiting the arrival of our 12th (great scope for a study of child development). I thoroughly enjoy them and love having them to visit.

Being a ‘granny’ is wonderful. We bake, we knit and generally have great fun.

We all live within a ten mile radius so I see them often. We live on the Hook Head Peninsula in south Co Wexford, a glorious place. My motto is ‘Life is full of surprises’ and ‘It’s never too late to love’. My love now to all of you reading this who remember me. It would be lovely to hear from you too. My email is philomenamnolan@gmail.com.

Beatrice, alongside the daughter of Lisa Gatehouse (née Perkins, 1998 leaver), another St Mary’s old girl.

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Alumnae

Notices Dee Webb, Head of Alumnae

ObituarY Elfrida (Joan) Heath 19392019 (at St Mary’s 1951-57) This year we should have been celebrating together a Major Birthday in the company of our beloved friend, Elfrida.

Weddings Milly Graham Watson (above) - 8th September 2018 Phoebe Higson - 15th June 2019 Augusta Higson (below) - 10th August 2019

Engagements Hersey Underwood Laura Martin-Prudhomme Charlotte Lewis Emily Lewis Molly Fletcher

Births Twins Grace and Luke born July 2018 to Stephanie Kalber (née Gibbons) and Tom. Rafe William Jerome, a brother to Alice (née Carter) and Thomas, born October 2018 to Lizzy (née Church) and John O’Connell.

Mateo born September 2018 to Alejandra Gomez Gallardo and Mark Klein.

Fabian Christopher born June 2019 to Alice and Patrick Long.

Please send your news and pictures to Dee Webb, alumnae@stmshaftesbury.uk 64

Now veritable ‘Oldies’, we all first met at St. Mary’s at the age of 12, where she quickly showed her spirit of leadership. Confident, clever and sporty, amusing and forthright, a truly loyal friend to us and many until her sudden death this February, she continued to impress us with her hard work and dedication in setting up her successful Language School in Cambridge, to her colleagues and students, and, above all, to her family and multifarious friends throughout the world. And let us not forget her devotion to her dogs and chickens!

Elfrida was the lynch pin who continued to gather us all together, and to entertain us spontaneously and generously. We miss her greatly.

May She Rest in Peace.

By Mary Clinch

Clare Young, Chair The Friends of St Mary’s welcomed new and current families before the school year began back in September and it was wonderful to see the excited and nervous faces being welcomed by current pupils. It has been wonderful to see those same girls blossom over the following months and to see new parents relax into the magic of St Mary’s.

We also had the pleasure of welcoming many families to the Firework Festival in November. St Mary’s is the most beautiful setting for such an event and the fireworks never disappoint. This year, we plan to open this up to some of our local primary schools, such as Wardour, to allow more families to enjoy the evening. Save the date for Saturday 9th November 2019!

We also hosted a ‘Curry Night’ in the autumn term and then a very well-attended Cream Tea in the summer term. Not only are these events an opportunity for the school community to connect with one another, but they also allow us to raise money for the school.

This year we were delighted to purchase 15 full length, waterproof, branded, duvet coats for the girls to use at sports fixtures. They not only keep our girls cosy and warm, but they look incredibly smart too. On behalf of the team of volunteers, I would like to thank all those who have supported and attended the Friends events this year and

by doing so, contributed to this wonderful purchase.

Keep an eye out for future events and please do come along…not only is it sociable and fun, but we are starting to make a difference.

Friends of St Mary’s

Friends of St Mary’s

Farewell & Welcome

Farewell Hilary Key Mrs Key joined St Mary’s in 1999 as Head of the Juniors when this part of the school was housed in what was affectionately known as ‘The Cubies’. Visiting old girls have enormously fond memories of their time under her care, and reunions often start with reminiscences over her trips out (most notably the residential in York visiting Mary Ward locations). She also produced several ‘Play in a Day’ and junior shows during this time; her creativity and drive have been truly inspirational.

As the school developed, Hilary moved into the English Department and took on the role of Sixth Form tutor. Her highly successful transition from LIII to UVI is testimony to her versatility and talent. Pupils throughout the school have thrived under her tutelage, where lessons are a genuine pleasure and treat (not least when sweets are handed out). In this second phase of her teaching career, Hilary created further opportunities for the seniors through her ‘Theatre Club’ and ‘Crossroads’ magazines. One of the most striking aspects of all this is her willingness to take on new

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challenges. Her Sixth Form tutees in particular have benefited from countless hours of her guidance and reassurance. My own experience of her takes note of her dedication, loyalty and sustained hard work.

It has always been immediately obvious to visitors that hers was a classroom that reflected a vibrant practitioner. Personally, I would add that her sense of humour (deliciously naughty at times) has been a ballast in our working relationship, which I will much miss.

Nathalie Boyer-Castle Nathalie arrived here as a young sports teacher, fifteen years ago, and leaves us as a highly successful and committed Director of Sport, to embark on a job in Dubai which will be an adventure for her

by Rosslyn Brand, colleague and friend

Tim Goodwin Tim has inspired generations of history graduates at St Marys. He is a real Renaissance man who can hold a challenging conversation on almost anything. Although he has that valuable ability to make his lessons so much fun that people cannot help learning, there is a great gravity and depth to his work, and his ability to stretch all his pupils by just the right amount is very noticeable, both in his results and in the enduring popularity of History as an option. Definitely one of those teachers who receives the ultimate pupils seal of approval - ‘he’s such a legend’. Mr Goodwin, you have done the most phenomenal job with our girls, and I want you to know that your work as a tutor is the best I have ever been fortunate enough to see. As you retire, you will leave giant boots to fill, but your inspiration will linger long in our hearts.

whole family. She has given hours – years – of her life to the pursuit of excellence in Sport at St Mary’s, particularly on the netball courts, where her teams have reached the national finals, and she has encouraged everyone, whatever their innate ability level, to find a sporting activity to enjoy.

Rod Wiltshire Mr Wiltshire is switching off his school calculator and moving on to retirement, having joined St Mary’s in 2014. Apart from his caring and dedicated work in the Maths Department, in which he has spent a lot of time teaching A Level and, in particular, the Further Maths course, Rod has also been an outstandingly committed Director of DofE Manager. He has prepared

Nonie Connolly Nonie arrived at St Mary’s with strong family connections. Armed with degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge, she has been an astoundingly inspiring Philosophy teacher and she has also been a key figure in the Chaplaincy, as Faith Development Officer. She has brought the Catholic faith alive to a cohort of young women, making it fun and relevant, life-giving in the fullest sense, and she has shown our girls what it means to live life prayerfully, joyfully and for others.

Miss Connolly goes on to King’s London, to embark on her chosen career in Midwifery, and we know she will be an enormous success.

Ian Phillips Mr Phillips is retiring – it is his third attempt! We are deeply grateful that he arrived to assist the Maths Department three years ago and then found himself so inspired by, and committed to, his GCSE Maths set, that he wanted to see

them through to A Level. Our girls have always found in Mr Phillips a deep reserve of patience and that uncanny ability to explain the more arcane aspects of Maths in a completely accessible way. He will be much missed, but we wish him well in his retirement.

Martin Lawrence Martin has been a transformational Head of Science. In addition to the plethora of Science Department activities and outreach he has organised – and the Science Department certainly puts on the best Christmas social – he has passed on the girls his love for Astronomy, as a passionate advocate for observing the night skies. In fact, give Mr Lawrence a sky of any sort: as a former weather forecaster he has been St Mary’s guru of weather warnings. I think you should all be aware that it is not unheard of for him to drive to Brighton at midnight in pursuit of an impressive hailstorm!

Father Andrew It is also time to say a very fond farewell to our priest, Father Andrew, who is retiring to concentrate on his parish in Bournemouth. Father Andrew has served our community faithfully for 13 years, and, almost uniquely, not only celebrated Mass for us but also created the music for the Mass setting we sing weekly. His warmth and approachability, and his ability to make faith relevant and accessible have been great gifts to generations of girls and he will be much missed.

Sarah Watton Sarah is leaving us for the second time, having done a fine job in holding the reins of the Music Department this year, for which we are most grateful. She has done excellent work with our visiting music staff, kept music exams running like clockwork and organised a series of impressive concerts. She goes on to Downe House, and we wish her every success in her new role there.

“A huge thank you to all these teachers for the very great gifts they have given our girls.”

Mrs Maria Young, Headmistress

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Farewell & Welcome

several generations of girls for expeditions on the Purbecks, in the mountains of Abergavenny or, indeed, in Europe. The results achieved here at St Mary’s have been fantastic with 180 girls having been certificated with an incredible 32 achieving the Gold Award, the presentation of which is made by a member of the Royal Family at St James’ Palace. For a school of this size Rod should be very proud of this achievement and we wish him a long and happy retirement.

Farewell & Welcome

Welcome Mrs Susie Cochrane-Dyet English & Head of Sixth Form With a first-class degree from Durham and currently the Deputy Head Pastoral at Baobab College, Lusaka, Zambia, we are delighted to welcome Mrs Cochrane-Dyet back to St Mary’s in her new role. She has enjoyed a broad and distinguished career in education, with a particular focus on international issues, raising standards of teaching and learning in the classroom, and promoting excellence in boarding.

Prior to working at St Mary’s, she taught English at Sherborne, where she was also an Assistant Housemistress.

Mrs Emma Richter Head of History Mrs Richter read History and German at Exeter University, followed by an MA at UCL, has taught at Bishop Wordsworth and Wyvern St Edmunds, and is an Assistant Principal Examiner with Edexcel. She has developed a strong association with the Chalke Valley History Festival and has also been involved with volunteering and DofE activities.

Mr Adam Hartley RE Mr Freeman read Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, and worked in retail management - including a period at Ralph Lauren - before seeing the light and training as a teacher.

He has been teaching at Wyedean

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School in Gloucestershire and is delighted to be coming to St Mary’s, where he will take over some Chaplaincy work in addition to his RE teaching.

Miss Brianna Thorpe Head of Science Miss Thorpe read Physics at Bath University and has taught all the sciences in her career. Having taught at Moira House and All Hallows, Farnham, she comes to us as Head of Science. She has a strong experience of leading Teaching and Learning, has been involved in a wide range of school expeditions and she impressed us with her vision for the Science Department.

She is a keen astronomer, and is looking forward to continuing our established interest in astronomy.

Dr Andrew Passmore Director of Music Dr Passmore studied Music at York University, remaining there to complete his MA and then his Doctorate. As a keyboard specialist, he has performed with the Northern Sinfonia, the London Concertante and the Gabrieli consort. Dr Passmore is especially interested in arranging music for choral groups, and we look forward to hearing the fruits of his work with our choirs.

Mrs Emma Dalton Head of Academic PE & School Housemistress Mrs Dalton joins us in a dual role, as Housemistress of Harewell House

and as Head of Academic PE. She read Sport, Coaching and Physical Education at Oxford Brookes, and was previously Head of Year 7 and PE teacher at the Mountbatten School. She brings to us a great deal of experience in a variety of games, notably netball, swimming, tennis and gymnastics, and her football teams have achieved considerable successes at county level.

Mrs Elizabeth Berriman Head of Maths & School Housemistress Mrs Berriman has been working part-time in the Maths Department this year, to smooth her transition into the role of Head of Maths.

She joins us from Yeovil College, where she lectured in Maths within the Engineering Department. She has had an active wider role as a teacher trainer for Casio’s Graphics Calculators, now being enjoyed by our girls. Mrs Berriman will also be School Housemistress of Newby House.

Mr Ian Day Maths Mr Day joins us from Sexey’s.

School He has had a distinguished career as an examiner and now Team Leader for Edexcel. He has been involved in a range of initiatives to raise standards in Mathematics attainment. He has also devised a programme of general examination technique classes for Year 11.

Beech Tree MAGAZINE

2018-19

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