Script THE
nov. 13
www.sherborne.com
A Growing Success Story: Best Ever Exam Results
In 2010 we began our ‘Growing for the Future’ strategy to enhance the
IB Student in Top 1% Worldwide
teaching and learning, both in terms of facilities and also the ethos of intellectual enquiry. Additions such as the wonderful new Science Centre and the Junior Diploma are really beginning to bear fruit. The fantastic
Over 127,000 students worldwide received their IB Diploma Programme results this summer with Sherborne Girls achieving excellent results. Alexandra Suter achieved an outstanding 44 out of 45 points, putting her in the top 1% of those entering the exams across the world. Other high achievers were Amelie Jannoe with 41 points, putting her in the top 4% of achievers worldwide, and Pip Williams, who goes on to study Veterinary Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College.
results achieved this summer reflect the resounding confidence with which the girls approach their studies.
Record number of A* passes at GCSE
25% of A Level papers graded A*
In an outstanding set of results 48% of all the GCSE grades awarded were at A*, while 77% of all papers achieved an A* or A grade and 93% of papers were marked at A*, A or B grades.
This year also saw the best ever A level results, with 25% of exams passed at A*, compared to the national average of 7.6%.
Four girls achieved an outstanding 11 A* grades each: Polly Pentreath, Rachel Bucklow, Amelia Rogers and Maja Vlahovic. Another three girls achieved 10 A* grades each: Isabella Elwes, Charlotte McNair Scott and Jemima Middle. An impressive 24 girls achieved 7 A* grades or more and the total number of A* grades achieved by the whole year group was 367.
COMMEMORATION CELEBRATIONS TRAVEL AND COMMUNITY
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NEWS ROUNDUP ARTS NEWS
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Twins Rosalind and Julia Booth achieved 7 A*s and 1 A grade between them. Ros is now at Oxford, reading Chemistry and Julia is reading Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial. Katie Morse, Jemima Folkes and Emily Redman also achieved an outstanding 3 A* grades each. Our congratulations go to everyone and we wish our leavers every success in the future.
MEET THE STAFF SPORTS NEWS
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From the Headmistress
Looking outwards I am writing this after the weekend when Sherborne was transported into the mid-nineteenth century as a film set for Far From the Madding Crowd, with apparent ease! The Abbey Green was covered in gravel, shops were repainted and turned into haberdashers, and adverts for Fayres and Boxing Exhibitions appeared on the bill boards. We are really lucky to live and work in such a beautiful olde worlde town that could be from the 1850s, but we must always be aware of the world outside Sherborne and the fact we are actually preparing girls for the 2050s and beyond. Some of our girls lead cosmopolitan lives and think nothing of travelling around the world unaccompanied. For others it is important that we create opportunities for engaging with different communities, whether they are local, national or international. Having had the privilege of spending time visiting schools in other countries over the last few months in order to try to develop more links for the school, I came back this term and challenged all the girls to ‘Look Outwards’ and there are many examples here of girls doing just that.
A new look newsletter -
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Our Junior Diploma encourages contribution to the community, the IB values include global awareness and our many exchanges and trips abroad encourage different year groups to engage with different cultures. Our speaker programme this term has encouraged stimulating debate on a wide range of subjects. But looking outwards is not just about travelling to different places or meeting new people. It is a state of mind, a curiosity about life and living and, as guest speaker Anthony Grayling would have said, a way to enrich our own and others’ lives. I wish you all a pleasant and enjoyable run up to Christmas. Jenny Dwyer, Headmistress
21st Century Learning In September, the History and Religious Studies Departments moved into new classrooms within the Beddington Building, as part of the continual refurbishment and upgrade of our teaching spaces. The bright new rooms are being enjoyed by pupils and staff alike. The Modern Languages Department also received a complete facelift and each classroom has been equipped with the latest technology to enhance the learning process. We are also delighted that new changing rooms are being installed at the Oxley Sports Centre and these should be opened in the next few weeks.
Our thanks go to everyone who participated in our reader survey earlier this term. You will notice a few changes as a result of your feedback, including a new size, more articles from the girls and a move to termly issues. We will also be using digital formats so you can view the newsletter online. Thanks to Melissa Townshend (U6) for helping coordinate our reader survey and also to Lily Sebag-Montefiore (U4) who won the competition to decide on a name for the newsletter... We very much hope you enjoy the read!
Feature
Commemoration Celebrations Kids Company founder and director Camila Batmanghelidjh was guest of honour at this year’s Commemoration. She was also invited to open the brand new Aldhelmsted West, the boarding house which is home to the 11 to 13-year-old girls. Speaking at the event, Iranianborn Camila spoke about the legacy of her time at Sherborne Girls, which she attended from the age of 12. “Sherborne Girls finds a young person’s talents and allows them to flourish.” She encouraged the girls to make the most of all the opportunities available and try as many new activities as possible. We also welcomed, as our guest preacher, the Reverend Andrew Wingfield Digby, currently the vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Oxford, and one of the chaplains to the Olympics in London 2012. He too has a close association with the School, having been educated at Sherborne School and is brother to our Chair of Governors.
In June, over 50 girls and staff ran the Race for Life for Cancer Research UK at Sherborne Castle, with Mary Butler (M5) and Diana Sewry (U6) finishing in the top ten with very fast times.
Later that week, the School was visited by the FAB1 Million pink Rolls Royce Ghost. Maths Teacher Jeanette Davidson won a full day’s loan of the car in a national competition, and so decided to treat the
Other exciting events which took place around the time of Commemoration included the Art and Design Technology exhibition, the Commemoration Concert in the Abbey, Parents’ and Daughters’ Tennis Match, the Chamber Music Concert, as well as lunches, picnics and teas!
Charity events
girls to a ride in the car. The girls in Kenelm have since decided that Breast Cancer Care will be their Charity of the Year.
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Travel & Community
A life changing expedition...
…was how many of the girls described their trip to Nepal this summer. The group of 16 U5 and L6 girls, many of whom had not travelled outside Europe before, spent 18 months fundraising in order to support their trip of a lifetime to the Himalayas.
“Arriving in colourful Kathmandu was quite a culture shock compared to sleepy Sherborne and we had to quickly adapt to the hustle, bustle and heat of Nepal. We met our guides there, who put us swiftly on a course that was to be nonstop adventure until our departure. First up was five days trekking in the Annapurna range, home to the world’s eighth highest mountain and where the scenery ranged from sub-tropical lowlands to bamboo forests and desert plateaus. The humidity was high and often monsoon-like, so thankfully the tea houses that we stayed in were dry and clean. Our sherpas looked after us wonderfully and many a fun evening was spent eating well and making music with them! The next stage of the trip was spent working in an orphanage and teaching
in a school in Pokhara. When we weren’t working on the landscape laying new steps, constructing fences or repairing the roof, we were teaching 7 to 16 years olds in Music, Games, English and Science. Retail therapy and haggling proved to be a popular part of the evenings during that week! We then moved onto the Chitwan jungle and National Park where we were exceptionally fortunate to see the Indian rhino when we were on an elephant safari. It was an unforgettable trip with so many wonderful memories and friendships made. For some of us, this trip was made instead of taking a gap year and it certainly fulfilled, if not exceeded, our expectations.” Ellen West (U6)
Adventure under sail “I was lucky enough to be selected alongside Zoe Haswell and Antonia Blanchard to join the Tall Ship Pelican this summer, with young people from other schools in the South West, for a 48 hour sailing challenge from Weymouth to Granville in Normandy. I’m not sure we were fully prepared for life on board a 148 foot ship with 28 people we had never met - the discipline of the four hour watch system, the thrill of being on deck throughout the night and the sheer terror of being up the mast! Yet the experience of being thrown together with people from very different backgrounds, quickly learning to work as a team and the chance to drink tea with new friends while watching the sun rise, are memories which will stay with me forever. This trip gave me a level of confidence in myself that I did not have before. I would recommend it to everybody.” Olivia van Grutten (L6)
Coffee morning raises £270 First year International Baccalaureate students organised a fundraising event as part of Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. With cupcakes baked by the Cookery Club and U5 cookery group, over £270 was raised to support the work of Macmillan, who later tweeted the response: “Wonderful! We can’t thank you enough for your amazing support.”
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News Round-up
Caution: Extreme Reading Our Librarians are on a mission to find out who reads in the most unlikely and unusual places! Staff and girls are encouraged to submit their photographs to the Library to be in with a chance of winning a fantastic prize. Here are a few early entries:
Inspiring Speakers Best-selling author and ‘Old Girl’ Santa Montefiore was a popular choice for this year’s Sherborne Literary Festival and Headmistress Jenny Dwyer was delighted to be asked to introduce her. Santa regaled the audience with many humorous stories from her school days, even daring to share a secret about a comedic character in one of her books whom she had based on one of her favourite teachers! Santa hopes to inspire young writers at Sherborne Girls by supporting a new Junior Creative Writing Prize.
As part of our theme of ‘looking outwards’ we were delighted to welcome Professor Anthony Grayling from The New College of the Humanities to speak to our senior students. He gave a challenging and thought-provoking lecture on ‘The importance of the Humanities & why they should be studied’ and left us all with more questions to investigate. This lecture was made possible by those who have kindly supported our Annual Fund, and we hope to be able to bring other impressive speakers to Sherborne in the future.
They Cracked the Code! 120 Gifted and Talented Year 7 children from 12 schools visited Sherborne Girls and Sherborne School for the third annual ‘Cracking the Code’ event. The pupils had the opportunity to use facilities at both campuses and incorporated Science, Mathematics, History, Modern Languages and Geography skills to Crack the Code.
“We also hosted the celebrated feminist author, activist and advocate for women’s rights, Germaine Greer. Greeted with immense applause, she discussed topics ranging from ageism to abortion. Her strong views challenged us to examine our own opinions and provoked some fascinating questions. After the talk, some of us were lucky enough to talk further to her about her beliefs, ambitions and passions in life, including her love for wildlife. Germaine Greer certainly left an impression, encouraging us to not be afraid to voice our own views and making us aware of the plight of hundreds of thousands of women across the planet.” Ellie Gratton (U6)
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Arts News
Soprano Emma Kirkby returns to school
Something wicked this way comes... Macbeth is a treasure trove of quotations that have become a part of present-day culture. So it was an inspired move by new Head of Drama Lizzie Nurse to stage the play using the original prose, but a modern day setting.
arts dates
27 – 30 November Into the Woods at Sherborne School 28 – 30 November Macbeth at Sherborne Girls
7 February Harriet Tory Master class with Emma Kirkby
23 March Sherborne Schools Symphony Orchestra at St George’s, Bristol
M CBETH
The cast and crew are currently putting the finishing r ’13 28, 29, 30 novembe30pm touches to the production 7. ase contact To book tickets ple m .co rne which is set in the London riots rbo dramatickets@she of 2011, and some last minute nerves are starting to surface! Tilly Taylor (L6) is playing Macbeth and admits that her biggest worry is getting the monologues right. “Macbeth’s speeches are so famous, that everyone will know if I get a word wrong! But I really hope I make the audience feel like they are hearing the speeches from me for the first time.” Lizzie Nurse added, “I think the audience will really enjoy the twist of ‘classic meets modern’, in what is still a very intricate story full of complex characters. The girls have worked very hard on this exciting interpretation, and we are delighted to be showcasing their talents (as well as those of Sherborne School!) in this production.”
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Dame Emma Kirkby DBE will be returning to school in February to deliver the annual Harriet Tory master class. The event, which is in its sixth year, enables girls to benefit from expert tuition and the chance to perform in public. Emma attended Sherborne Girls in the 1960s and went on to read classics at Somerville College, Oxford. She is now one of the world’s most renowned early music specialists and was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2011, in recognition of her influence on the musical life of the nation. This event is supported by the Harriet Tory Music Fund.
Seascapes & landscapes The U5 artists escaped to the beautiful north Devon coast earlier this term for some autumnal motivation for their final year of GCSE Art. Based at the Pinkery Centre in the Exmoor National Park, the girls’ inspirational itinerary included the sculptures of Broomhill, the coastline at Woolacombe and the wooded river valleys of Heddon’s Mouth. Head of Art Jenny Newman said, “The girls returned with their confidence bolstered and their sketchbooks full of fresh ideas.”
Meet the Staff
Mrs Harriet Bajorat joined Sherborne Girls in 2011 as a Religious Studies teacher and resident tutor for girls in Mulliner. In September 2013 she became the new Housemistress for Wingfield Digby, supported by husband Dan, one year old twins Eva and Joel, and dog Duke!
What did you do before joining Sherborne Girls? I studied Social Anthropology and Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester. My first teaching job was at Steyning Grammar School.
Why did you decide to become a Housemistress?
Quite simply – I love being around young people! I was also very keen to make a greater commitment to School life and the role of Housemistress came along at the perfect time. I boarded myself from the ages of 7 through to 18.
Which part of the job do you enjoy most?
meet the staff • Miss Elizabeth (Lizzie) Nurse
• Miss catrin morgan
There is never a dull moment living with 73 teenagers, that’s for sure. Every day is different, which I particularly enjoy. But it’s their energy and enthusiasm for everything they do that inspires me.
• dr jonathan gammon
• Mrs kate scorer
Head of Drama
Head of strings
chemistry teacher
history teacher
Lizzie has a Bachelor of Arts from Manchester and a PGCE from Warwick. She joins us from New Hall School, Boreham where she has been Head of Department for two years.
Catrin has a Bachelor of Music from Manchester and she is relocating from London where she has been teaching at Hurlingham School. She regularly performs with the Brodowski String Quartet.
Jonnie has a PhD from York and has been teaching at Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester for the last year. Before taking up a career in teaching he was Publishing Editor for The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Kate has a BA and MA from Oxford and is a previous Head of History at Bruton School for Girls. She joins her husband in Sherborne who is a member of staff at Sherborne School.
We also welcome Miss Raquel Standish to the EAL department, Mr Duncan Honeybourne as Acting Head of Keyboard covering Miss Ana Manero’s maternity leave, Mr Dan Bajorat as a German Language Assistant, Ms Caroline Morin as a resident French Language Assistant and Mrs Gail Kemp to the Sports Department as netball coach. We have three graduate assistants who have joined us; Miss Bethan Jones, Miss Emily Steel and Miss Lucy Warwick.
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Congratulations to TC Mackean (L6) and Amelia Fortescue (L5) who are one step away from being selected for England National Hockey squads. TC has been selected to represent Wessex Leopards U18 team at the Futures Cup Competition, where the best players will go forward to the England U18 squad. Amelia has been selected to attend the England Hockey High Performance camp for U15s, despite being U14. The camp is for the best 72 players in the country and should be excellent preparation for trialling for England U16s next year.
sports dates 12 January U15 Counties Tournament: Lacrosse 1 February U15 & U14 South West Rally: Lacrosse 13 February U15 North Dorset Tournament: Netball 14 February Aldhelmsted West Parents’ Hockey & Netball Clinic 25 February U13 & U12 North Dorset Tournament: Netball 28 February/1 March 1st XII Lacrosse Nationals, Surrey Sports Park 3 March U14 Nationals: Lacrosse 4 March U15 Nationals: Lacrosse
Into the SW lacrosse team
Dorset Champions! In the county championships, our U14 hockey team chalked up wins over Leweston (7-0) St Mary’s (5-0) and Gillingham (4-0). In the semi-finals they faced Canford, recording an impressive 2-1 win. The final opposition was Bryanston, winners of the other pool, and with each member of the team giving their all, a tense 1-0 win over Bryanston was the final result. The U18s also qualified for the regional finals.
Congratulations to Phoebe Parker (L6) on her selection to the U19 South West lacrosse development team. A place in the SW team means she will now have the opportunity to trial for England. This is much deserved and we wish Phoebe the very best of luck with her training. The individual strength of our lacrosse players has been rewarded with eight girls selected to play for Dorset & Wiltshire at U15 and U19 level. Congratulations to Katie Hillan, Phoebe Parker, Olivia Gilmour, Alex Hillan, Emily Pope and Libby Rowe. Special congratulations go to Tammy Miller and Sophie Hall who have been selected for the U15 county team while still only U14.
Through to County finals
victory at stonar Emily Williams (L5), Charlotte Radford (U4), Georgie Lane (U5) and Rosanna Miller (M5) rode to a magnificent victory at the 26th Stonar Inter-Schools One Day event. The team’s winning total of 89.9 put them two points ahead of Millfield School. The event was contested by 31 schools, with some sections having over 30 girls in them, and is therefore an even greater achievement.
Sherborne Girls, Bradford Road, Sherborne, Dorset T. 01935 818224 E. enquiry@sherborne.com
In the North Dorset tournament, our U14 team won their section in the pool games against St.Mary’s, Blandford and The Gryphon, then defeated Bryanston in a very tight semi-final with a score of 8-7. A last minute loss 3-4 in the final against Clayesmore still qualifies the team for the County finals later in the term.
Next edition of the script is due out
13 February 2014
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Sports News
Selection Success