School Magazine 2021-22

The School Magazine

Welcome

Welcome to our School Magazine 2021-22. Although the phrase ‘back to normal’ seemed a bit of a stretch at times, even a glance through the pages ahead shows that there was much reclamation of school life, whose richness had been sorely missed during the two previous years. Shaking off the constraints of year-group bubbles, our extra-curricular programme returned to full strength. Sports fixtures were back with a vengeance and our squads and individual athletes seemed to pick up exactly where they had left off eighteen months before. The practice rooms in the Rudland Music Centre were once again filled with melody and the girls were bursting with enthusiasm to make music together; and our Drama department juggled the challenges of Covidrelated illness to put on some quite superb shows. We were delighted to welcome Godolphin families and the wider community back into school for a whole host of events and activities, and we all relished the renewed sense of belonging which came with this cheerful interaction. Such occasions included the marvellous Art and Design exhibitions, and a selection of our students’ work can be found on pages 32- 47.

Their Covid experiences have super-charged our students’ desire to be articulate and persuasive advocates for change in the world, and the stories and photographs in these pages bear testament to a range of meaningful initiatives and much thoughtful social engagement. The dreadful refugee crisis caused by the war in Ukraine occupied our hearts and minds and galvanised everyone to organise collections of essential supplies and to fundraise for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

We can look back with pride on everything that was achieved this last year, and the fact that there were some white-knuckle moments along the way was all part of the learning. I look forward with great optimism to seeing where the collective energy of our school community will take us next.

With all good wishes

Dr Frances Ramsey, Head

Evolution of a DolphinGreen

Y7

The kinetic energy spent running to the tuck shop could power a wind farm. Not to mention the backpacks, literally double their size. It’s like a gym workout on a daily basis for these kids.

Y10

Thrifting with friends in Camden Town to stay on top of the latest fashion trends. Spare time is spent perfecting the winged eyeliner and recycling old clothes on Depop.

ttiti

Y8

Relieved to no longer be the youngest in the school but unhappy about later lunches. The Ecosia Search Engine and 2048 cupcakes are sneakily saved on their iPad Home Screen. Catch the ‘Scoot club’ every morning, in a conscious effort to travel speedily, and travel green.

LVI

Having to buy a whole new wardrobe. When your friends decide to go out for lunch for the 3rd time this week and you don’t have money. In the short period of British summer time, they embrace solar energy by forcing their teachers to have their lessons outside

UVI

Conserve energy without realising, mostly by the sudden prioritisation of sleep. The pressure is on. You miss one day of school and you spend the next week catching up. Nearly half the year is either vegan, veggie or pescatarian.

Y9

Growing out of the teeny tiny Year 7 uniform. What could we do without these guys for the second hand sale. More complaints about the school’s scratchy recycled paper in the physics department.

Y11

Give them space, silence, a desk and they’ll be content.

Highly reliant on coffee mugs and Starbucks reusables to get them thru exam szn.

A Message from the Head Girl

What is Godolphin and Latymer to you? Does the building, bright red sports kit or ‘Francha Leale Toge’ come to mind? Although these are important aspects of Godolphin, at the end of the day it boils down to one thing: the people. Take the people out of the building and you can no longer call it a school. However, scatter the individuals and the community still stands. This was proved to be the case during the Covid-19 pandemic, and I believe we emerged stronger and with greater resilience than before.

This year has felt like a new beginning, with the worst of the disruption behind us. Dolphins should be proud of everything we have achieved over the last twelve months. A personal highlight was the school’s Ukraine appeal. Each individual was able to contribute in some way: through the house ergo competition, colouring or donating. Our combined efforts had such an extraordinary effect and it was moving to see so many of us uniting under one cause.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. From start to finish, my six years so far at Godolphin have flown by at a rollercoaster pace. It’s not often that we trace our steps right back to where it started, and remind ourselves of who we were and how far we have come. I am always hit with that traumatic memory of a Year 7 manhandling a bag twice her size and the oversized uniform. Or the late night study grinds with a bowl of cereal, surviving the 1500m at sports day, and the tuck shop queues making me question my existence. The past six years have brought with them so many lifelong friendships, valuable lessons and unforgettable memories. Together there have been times we have laughed until our sides hurt, jumped for joy at the end of exams, and stood as one in times of opposition and challenge. Together, is what has made this year possible.

As I head into my final year at Godolphin, I am looking forward to a year full of discovery and celebration. My aim is to ‘treasure the individual’. I believe that our community derives its strength from the diversity and uniqueness of the members that are a part of it. Each girl or teacher has their unique story, and is here for a specific purpose. Like the left eye cannot say to the right eye - ‘I don’t need you anymore’ - the G&L community is not the same without all our differences.

The Head Girls Team are hoping to promote and celebrate the testimonies of girls and staff. We challenge you to bring more of the best of YOU to Godolphin this academic year. Are you ready? Bring on 2022-23!

Awards and Accolades

At the beginning of the year we celebrated with the news that our 2021 IB results positioned Godolphin and Latymer at the top of the UK league table and second in the world rankings (behind a school in Hong Kong). This replicated our position in the 2019 IB league tables, pre-pandemic.

Winner Independent Schools of the Year 2021 for Outstanding Response to Covid-19

In October we were absolutely delighted to be awarded the Independent Schools of the Year 2021 Special Award for Outstanding Response to Covid-19. The judges paid tribute to Godolphin’s ‘inspiring community outreach activities – including the sector-leading Bridge programme – which provided an astonishing level of digital learning support to state primary and senior school partners during the depths of lockdown’.

And to finish off the academic year we were delighted to be shortlisted for the 2022 awards in the Student Careers Programme category for our G&L Futures programme and In-house Internships.

Top 20 Girls Schools For Cricket

For the second year running Godolphin and Latymer was featured as one of the UK’s top 20 all-girls schools for cricket in The Cricketer’s Schools Guide 2022. The guide features the top 100 senior, the top 50 prep/ junior and – for the last two years – the top 20 all-girls schools. All entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, which included a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

Harvard Science Research Conference’s Innovation Challenge

Upper Sixth student Roxanna was named the winner of the Harvard Science Research Conference’s Innovation Challenge for her conceptual software and smartwatch for people with schizophrenia.

Arkwright Engineering Scholarship

Congratulations were due to Lower Sixth student Sara who, after a rigorous selection process, was awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship for her prototype small-scale wind turbine. Arkwright Engineering Scholarships are amongst the most prestigious student awards in the UK designed to inspire students to become future leaders in the field of engineering.

Polar Star Prize

Year 9 cellist Inez became the youngest student to be selected for the semi-finals of the prestigious Polar Star Prize for young musicians from Sweden aged 14-18.

Cambridge University Inventors Challenge

Godolphin Year 10 students, Freya, Nina and Chloe received special commendations for their entry into the Davidson Inventors Challenge, a collaboration between the University of Cambridge Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology departments and the Association of Science Technology and Innovation.

British Girls National Sailing Champion

There were congratulations to Tabitha, Year 9, who over the summer competed in a number of international sailing competitions including the European Championships and British National Championships for Optimists where she finished as the British Girls National Champion.

Korean Literature Review Contest

Sixth Form student Isabell was awarded second place in the 2021 Korean Literature Review Contest which is a public contest hosted by the International Institute for Korean Studies at the University of Central Lancashire.

England Hockey

Congratulations were due to Emmie who started the season playing for the England U16 hockey squad and by the end of the season was selected to ‘play up’ for the U18s against France, Belgium and Holland.

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

Three of our musicians were selected for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the world’s leading orchestra for teenage musicians: congratulations were due to Isabell, Lower Sixth, violin; Josie, Year 11, oboe; and Inez, Year 9, cello.

Physics Olympiad

Lower Sixth students completed the Senior Physics Challenge online at the end of

German Olympiad

Congratulations to Lila, Year 8, who was a winner in the Oxford German Oympiad.

Social Impact Prize

The Social Impact prize sets out to inspire students to explore the power that social enterprise has to change the world for the better. This year the judging panel was overwhelmed by the outstanding standard of entries and the winners were:

Junior Social Impact Prize: Lola Gabay and Isabelle Spira for their project which supports West London Welcome.

Senior Social Impact Prize: Flo Wilkes and Tiffany You and their Music Outreach project.

Tudor Talk Time

Lower Sixth History students Lara, Phoebe and Katie launched their Tudor Talk Time podcast on Apple and Spotify and we were delighted to run the series in the Weekly Dolphin.

Lower Sixth Further Maths Competition

Our Lower Sixth mathematicians submitted entries of outstanding quality judged by Dr Vangelis Evangelou, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Bath.

Congratulations to our winners:

The Fast Fourier TransformLillian Auld [First place]

The Travelling Salesman Problem - Indigo WolfGarraway [Second place]

Beam Deflection - Sara Galal [Third place]

Community, Partnerships and Outreach

Ukraine Humanitarian Support

We received an overwhelming response from our community to our appeal for emergency items for refugees and had to organise additional deliveries of essential supplies. To highlight the plight of the victims of the disaster, parents, staff and students rowed 50 miles in relay and wrote messages in a montage of SUPPORT and raised over £7,300 for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Just before the Easter holidays, Lower Sixth student Isabell, was one of the organisers of a charity concert at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden and performed with other Godolphin students to raise an incredible £3,788 for the Red Cross in Ukraine.

Bridge Programme

At the beginning of December our 2021 cohort of 72 children from 24 primary schools took part in their graduation ceremony to celebrate everything they had achieved over the last twelve months. They had attended 40 hours of Saturday lessons, 30 hours of tutorials with Keystone Tutors, and collectively spent 2,255 hours on the Atom learning platform. This was particularly commendable as this year’s programme began during the second national lockdown. As a result of the programme, most of the students applied for places and bursaries at independent secondary schools in London and three joined Godolphin and Latymer in September 2022, following in the footsteps of the three now in Year 8. Over 80 students have joined us for the 2022 programme.

DofE

Students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh awards programme contributed 3,250 hours of volunteering with a social value of £15,015 over the last year. It was fantastic to see so many of them challenging themselves and working as a team on their expeditions to the Chilterns, New Forest and Purbeck Hills.

Primary School Sports Partnership

Every Monday morning thirty Years 4 and 5 boys and girls and PE teachers from West London Free School Primary took part in netball training, wall climbing, trampolining and karate in our Sports Hall. The children received specialist instruction and it was always inspiring to see how keen, enthusiastic and competitive they all were.

Old Dolphins’ Day

We were delighted to welcome back Old Dolphins, teachers and former members of staff for Old Dolphins’ Day in September. With over 30 different year groups and more than 200 Old Dolphins in attendance, the day consisted of three events: a luncheon in the school hall for the Classes of 1930-1961; a garden party for the Classes of 1962-2014; and a champagne reception for the Classes of 2015 and 2016 to celebrate their fiveyear reunions.

Ancient World Breakfast Club

After a gap of 19 months it was fantastic to welcome our wider community back into Godolphin to enjoy their yoghurt, muesli and croissants before hearing from eminent experts in Greek, Latin and the Classical World. The year’s visiting speakers included Dr Peter Jones who was the Club’s very first external speaker back in the autumn of 2005, in its previous incarnation as the Greek Breakfast Club. His 2022 lecture ‘Death in the Roman World’ was peppered with classical examples read by Upper Sixth students Aoife and Morwenna and, as always, his lecture prompted a range of probing questions from members of his audience, both young and not so young!

Social Impact Committee

This year our committee, which consists of 20 students from the Sixth Form, mainly focused on the plight of refugees and the girls have worked with Thoughtbox, Rights for Refugees, the Refugee Community Kitchen as well as fundraising and collecting items for Ukraine.

Around the School

Bonding Days

After navigating every corner of the school with their special orientation Treasure Hunt our Year 7 students joined forces with their new form groups to tackle a number of challenges, to make new friends and have a lot of fun! The following week the Year 7 met up with their Year 8 buddies to share advice and to hear about all the fantastic opportunities on offer at Godolphin.

Sixth Form Enrichment Programme

Our Sixth Formers launched straight into their enrichment programme which this year was themed around ‘Imagination and Identity’ with lectures that included: The Power of the Pack; How Maps Shape our World; Section 28 and its impact on LGBT+ people; Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Britain’s First Human; Current Culture Wars; Survival in Extreme Environments; Gladstone and Disraeli; Billionaires and OuterSpace; and Identity, Authenticity and the Unconscious.

Buddy day

COP26

While world leaders from across the world gathered in Glasgow for COP26, Godolphin and Latymer students organised a fortnight of events on climate change and sustainability to highlight why the summit was so important for the future of our planet.

In the school’s daily student newsletter the girls reported on the pledges set out by world leaders and all the highlights from the conference. Using a special CO2 calculator, the catering staff at Godolphin included the carbon footprint of each main meal on the menu helping the school community to make more sustainable, low carbon footprint, dietary choices.

Students ran a COP26 Film Festival and lunchtime clubs and societies focused on issues surrounding climate change and sustainability with talks on environmental law and policy and the impact of climate change on financial stability, immigration, the aviation industry, and greenhouse gases.

To close the two-week programme of events the school welcomed Emily Tulloh, the Climate Emergency Community Outreach Coordinator from Hammersmith and Fulham Council, who talked about how our local area is being affected by pollution and the measures the council is taking. Our students offered their own thoughtful and practical ideas for improving our local environment and air quality.

In-house Internships

This year we launched our In-house Internships as part of our G&L Futures programme. The internships enabled students in Years 7-10 and the Lower Sixth to gain invaluable experience working with organisations and business leaders to develop evidence-based ideas and solutions to real-life problems. The projects managed to wrap in approaches to a host of interesting and complex matters including entrepreneurship, inclusivity, big data, imposter syndrome, small business development, and sustainability. They included the Year 7 Urban Pantry project where students helped a small business develop ideas to increase mid-week revenues; the Lower Sixth project where students helped a music streaming platform to increase its market share; and a project that encouraged our Year 8 students to investigate how Godolphin and Latymer can achieve Net Zero emissions. The students’ final presentations demonstrated just how far they had developed their thinking and their problem-solving, collaboration and research skills. A group of students also presented their ‘Big Data’ research on how the Covid-19 lockdowns affected levels of air pollution in London at the annual IRIS Conference.

Student Magazines

House Competitions

There have been a myriad of House competitions this year from House Quoits, House music festivals, sports competitions including netball and diamond cricket, debating, lip sync battles – to name a few – all hotly contested by Bassi, Lovelace, Maathai, Naidu, Quinn Brown and Sheppard. Our inaugural House Musicals competition brought us fabulous performances from Matilda, Grease, Hairspray, Oliver, Annie and Les Miserables in the Bishop Centre. Congratulations to Maathai, winners of the Singing and Creative Concept categories with an original interpretation of ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ from Les Miserables, and to Bassi, whose rendition of ‘Greased Lightning’ saw them take home the award for Best Choreography.

Later in the year, Lovelace and Quinn Brown then went head-to-head at our House University Challenge. Congratulations to Lovelace whose victory saw them take-on and beat the team of Godolphin and Latymer staff, including Miss Reid who had herself competed in the TV series when she was at university.

Debating

This year’s vocal sparring commenced with a British parliamentary debate against Westminster School with Godolphin proposing that ‘This house would make all schools coeducational’! Later in the Autumn Term our team of Tiffany, Malika, Ingrid and Nicole competed in the regional Debating for Everyone Competition and then Sanaya, Imogen and Simran represented the school in the English Speaking Union’s National Debating Competition.

Model United Nations

Before Christmas our Middle School students took part in their first ever online MUN conference hosted by King’s College London. Representing the countries of Burundi and El Salvador, they discussed topics such as medical misinformation in the digital age and eco-friendly innovation and development in South America. Dia was awarded Most Improved Delegate.

Fifteen students took part in the first in-person conference since the pandemic at the London Oratory

School in Fulham. Representing Niger, Cuba and Israel, they took part in discussions on topics as diverse as internet censorship, the Taiwan crisis and the death penalty. Ines was awarded Best Delegate; Izzy and Saona were awarded Highly Commended Delegates; and Siena was awarded Commended Delegate.

Later in the year our MUN Society took part in the West London MUN Conference at the American School on the themes of truth and democracy. It was the first

conference for a number of the Year 10 students and first-timer Noor was awarded Best Speaker in the Security Council. Ella and Dia (Year 11) and Katie (Lower Sixth) were also awarded Best Speaker for their committees.

We were very grateful to Ailbhe Holt and Grace Martineau (Class of 2020), currently at Durham and Oxford Universities respectively, who returned to share their MUN experience and expertise with the girls ahead of the final conference at St Paul’s School.

Sixth Form Celebration Evening

At the Upper Sixth Celebration Evening we paid tribute to the year-group’s many and varied achievements and particularly their completion of a superb array of personal research projects – both the IB Extended Essay, and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), completed by A Level students. The students spoke with remarkable eloquence and authority on an array of topics, from linguistics to gender and politics, biomimicry and aviation, Japanese Art, and Spanish literature (in Spanish!).

Languages Week

Highlights of Languages

Week included Spanish and South American flamenco and salsa, an Arabic taster session, Mandarin karaoke and tai chi, a French ‘escape room’ and immersive theatre, a German Oktoberfest, Italian pizza-making; and a host of assemblies, conversation clubs, workshops, films, quizzes and (with particular thanks to the catering team) delicious food from around the world. As well as improving their language skills, girls discovered more about the different cultures and traditions, dress, food, music and dance of different regions around the globe.

Christmas Festivities

Thanks to our brilliant PTFA the school was transformed into a winter wonderland for the end of term ‘Festive Friday’. House teams went head to head in the Christmas karaoke while in the Sports Hall students bounced and crawled through the Christmasthemed giant inflatable assault course. There was gingerbread and bauble decorating and Scandinavian crafts, a Santa’s Grotto photobooth, and a Christmas chill-out zone with a film screening of Elf. The aroma of popcorn, cakes, hot chocolate and spiced apple juice tempted visitors to the inner courtyard where pupils were entertained at ‘buskers’ corner’, and to add (furry) Christmas magic to the proceedings there was a visit from two reindeer on the astro.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Hans Woyda

Our Hans Woyda Mathletes, competing alongside 60 London schools in this prestigious maths competition, concluded a successful Autumn Term by securing victory against Southbank International School.

Literature Week

The theme of this year’s Literature Week was ‘Read Yourself Smarter’ promoting the benefits of reading non-fiction titles and books written by authors from diverse backgrounds. Activities included our regular ‘Spotted’; a Lower School World Book Day Character Show; House Literature Quiz; and talks and workshops by Kat Francois, Manjeet Mann and Tim Marshall. Well done to Sheppard who were the winners of our House Literature Quiz!

British Sign Language Club

Our British Sign Language club continued to promote diversity and inclusion by sharing their weekly ‘words’ in the students’ Daily Dolphin and by running a number of assemblies and workshops.

Around the School

STEM Week

STEM Week in March focused on problem-solving and featured carousels of activities in the Bishop Centre, including mathematical Dingbats, GCHQ-style challenges and an intriguing STEM-related Emoji quiz. Other highlights included the Lower Sixth Science-themed ‘Pub’ Quiz, the STEM House Family Challenge and a special session run by our aspiring Sixth Form medics for Year 10 students to diagnose Accident and Emergency real-life scenarios.

Our Lower Sixth mathematicians attended a Maths Inspiration lecture hosted by stand-up comedian and mathematician Matt Parker at The Phoenix Theatre with lectures by Zoe Griffiths, Tom Crawford and Ben Sparks. We also shone a spotlight on the fantastic range of science-related clubs and societies that take place every lunchtime.

The STEM Computing Challenge, was won by Lower Sixth students Lillian and Annika.

News and Journalism Project

After the summer half-term Year 10 students took part in news and journalism workshops and were joined by Old Dolphin Emma Irving (Class of 2013) who is the Newsletter Editor at The Economist. Emma spoke to the students about her own career journey and shared important insights, examples and techniques for writing copy and articles before our students embarked on their own news projects.

Farewell Upper Sixth

Our Upper Sixth enjoyed a special farewell lunch in April before they went on study leave and then came back together after exams for a joyous celebration at their Leavers’ Reception. It was a special occasion where we thanked this remarkable year-group for the many contributions they had made to school life over the last seven years, and wished them every success as they became our youngest Old Dolphins!

Around the School

CYL Activities

From Yoga, a Dancing Doctor, selfdefence, sustainability pledges, MUN taster sessions, and debating to learning British Sign Language, students enjoyed a pot-pourri of activities to challenge their limits and create a better tomorrow, including a visit from much-loved pigs, Snout and Crackling and goats, Palaver and Rigmarole.

Challenge Your Limits

As always Challenge Your Limits week was one of the highlights of the school calendar and this year we focused on the many aspects of wellbeing and the principle of striving to create a better tomorrow. We enjoyed a full programme of events was thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of our student committee and the support of the PTFA.

CYL Talks

Picking up the theme of ‘creating a better tomorrow’ we welcomed Sir Jim Smith, former Director of Science at the Wellcome Trust and visiting Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute, who spoke to us about his group’s research into using stem cells for restorative medicine. Our packed audience also included students from West London Free School, Kensington Aldridge Academy, and St Paul’s. Our roster of inspirational speakers also featured Alessandra Galloni, editor-in-chief of Reuters, a panel of entrepreneurs from LSE Generate, teenage health experts The Well, Dick Moore with ‘Learning to dance in the rain’, and our very popular maths teacher, Mr Corish, talking about his adventures walking across France and Ireland.

Culinary Challenge

Under the expert guidance of our food influencers, Mrs Martin and Mrs Main, parents, students and staff challenged their limits and made a Saint Honoré cake filled with Chantilly cream and topped with spun sugar.

Around

School

Trashion Show

With a focus on recycling to create a better tomorrow, our Trashion Show was one of the highlights of Challenge Your Limits week. Wonderful costumes made from recycled rubbish such as coke tins, newspapers, crisp packets and bubble wrap were modelled by Lower School students on our Trashion Show catwalk, clapped and cheered by an enthusiastic audience. We were very grateful to our organiser and head judge, Ms Irina Behar, who had set up the Hall beautifully for the event. Congratulations to all the girls who put together and showed off their designs and to our winner, Bethel in Year 7.

Godolphin and Latymer Fête and Birthday

The School Birthday celebrations were a very fitting way to end this joyful week with everything you’d expect from a summer fête including a coconut shy, tug-of-war, and egg and spoon races, all accompanied by live music and ice cream.

WATCH HERE

Art Lower School

Art and Design Show

The Bishop Centre was joyfully crowded for the Lower School Art and Design Exhibition.

VIDEO

In June the Art and Design department was delighted to present the GCSE Exhibition and the A Level and IB Exhibition.

The works of the GCSE students, including acrylic and oil paintings, relief and intaglio printmaking, ceramics and glass work, were all shown alongside the rich and varied sketchbooks that the students have completed. The work was inventive and the level of skill demonstrated was of an exceptionally high standard.

The students’ experience of using a combination of digital and traditional darkroom photographic work was also celebrated in the show.

The diversity of the themes investigated by our A Level and IB students characterised their exhibition and included: sustainability in fashion, childhood, medical science, threats to environments, cultural diversity, and the wonder of the natural world.

The sketchbooks charted how themes had motivated the students to research and explore ideas with committed, perceptive enquiry and an open mind to experiment with different techniques and processes.

Here is a selection of their work.

GCSE

Allegra Kusi Beatrice Mills

Constance Fouracre

Isobel Fisher

Josephine Russell

Martha Siva

Martha Siva

Victoria Lehndorff

A-Level

Amber Kingdon-Dawkins

Diane Comon

Elya Renom

Fran Fospero

Iman Kohler

Isabella Chen

Juliette Desbiez

Molly Glenn

Nina Citlucanin

Olivia Griffin-Roach

Ruby Foster

Olivia Maddox

Olivia Wilmot

Sara Alinson Agharokh

Zara Ford

Drama

Senior Production: Our Country’s Good

Held over two nights in the Bishop Centre, the studentled Senior Production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good showcased the outstanding technical skill and theatricality of our Drama students. Led creatively by our Theatre Captain Daisy and her two assistant directors Lyla and Alexandra, the cast consisted of students in Year 11 and the Sixth Form, with superb performances from the strong cast of young performers. The technical side of the production was led by the diligent and passionate Tech Captains, Adrian, Ruby and Alexander.

The Belles of the Ball

Despite the challenges of Covid-19, parents, students and staff were treated to a fantastic production of The Belles of the Ball. Georgia, understudy to the lead part, stepped up brilliantly for the first two nights before leading lady Honor was able to return to school. Like the remarkable munition women whose stories they told, against all odds the entire cast and crew displayed incredible courage, commitment and total professionalism in what were three fantastic performances.

Second Person Narrative

Our Year 10 cast and crew members presented two sold-out performances of Second Person Narrative by Jemma Kennedy. This lively ensemble production transformed the Bishop Centre into a party venue with the audience seated as if part of one of the central character’s celebrations.

Tempest Island

This Year 7 production was an original adaptation of The Tempest specially devised by the Drama department with speaking roles for every student in the year-group. The performance itself was smooth, high quality and thoroughly entertaining; no mean feat when bringing together a whole yeargroup with limited time to rehearse together on stage.

Music Autumn Scholars’ Concert

Our October Scholars’ Concert was a landmark event: our first live music event in almost two years! Our fourteen music scholars showcased enormous technical sophistication, musical maturity and stage presence playing pieces which ranged from Bach to Copland and from the familiar to the avant-garde.

Musical Masterclasses

In the Autumn Term we were delighted to welcome violin supremo Paola Delucchi to our String Masterclass and later in the year Viven Munday for a masterclass on Communicating Through Song.

Choral Evensong at St Albans Cathedral

In November our combined Junior and Senior Chamber Choirs sang at Choral Evensong at St Albans Cathedral with a programme that included works by our composer in residence, Kerensa Briggs.

Winter Jam

The Music department kicked off December with its inaugural Winter Jam when bands, duos and solo performers came together to perform a plethora of songs from a number of iconic artists – from Etta James to Bob Dylan – in a variety of styles and genres.

Carol Service

The Carol Service featured some wonderful performances from our Choirs and Brass Ensemble with Upper Sixth students Isha and Diane on violin and Tiffany on organ and a beautiful ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ solo from Sofia, Year 9. Beginning with a candle-lit procession the service included a selection of seasonal readings, carols and choral music by Britten, Elgar, Joubert, Adam, Rutter and Leontovych.

Autumn Concert

Around 200 students took part in our Autumn Concert which featured performances from many of our ensembles ranging from small chamber groups to full symphony orchestras as well as our student-led Concert Band (conducted by Chelsea in the Upper Sixth) and a cappella group The Octaves.

Senior House Music Festival

Three performances from each category were selected to proceed to the evening’s Grand Final when we were joined by Mr Tony Henwood, Director of Music at Latymer Upper School. As well as adjudicating, Mr Henwood provided students with valuable advice and feedback on their performances.

Around the School

Spring Jam

Students performed a plethora of songs and styles at our Spring Jam, including popular classics by Madonna, as well as original songs written by the students themselves.

Jesus College, Cambridge

At the beginning of May the Chamber Choir travelled to Jesus College, Cambridge, to sing choral evensong in the atmospheric candle-lit chapel, joining the SATB choir of Jesus College, with music which included Brewer’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis and Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine. Many Godolphin parents, as well as a number of Old Dolphins, were able to attend.

Spring Concert

The concert opened with an energetic and enthusiastic number from the Percussion Ensemble followed by beautiful singing from The Octaves. The Senior Chamber Orchestra performed the second movement of Bruch’s Violin Concerto with a dazzling virtuoso performance from soloist Alison Roberts. There were choral works by Sondheim, Sells and Horner and Howard Goodhall and there were numbers from our Junior Chamber Orchestra and String Ensemble before a crowd-pleasing blast of ‘Let it Go’ by the Concert Band. The centrepiece of the evening was a well-polished and moving performance by our Senior Chamber Orchestra and choirs of Faure’s Requiem.

Jazz Night

The Bishop Centre was transformed into a sultry club setting for our first live Jazz Night in three years organised jointly by the PTFA and the Music department. As well as music from professional jazz pianist Dominic Doutney, there were performances from eighteen talented student musicians with favourites such as ‘Feeling Good’, ‘L-O-V-E’, ‘What a Wonderful World’ and ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.

Chamber Concert

Our annual May Chamber Concert featured performances from piano trios, string quartets, flute ensembles and many other combinations of talented student musicians.

Junior House Music Festival

This year’s Junior House Music Festival featured a number of fantastic performances that showcased the outstanding musicianship of students in Years 7-9. Categories included keyboard and percussion, strings, instrumental and vocal ensembles, musical theatre, jazz and pop singing and classical singing. The standard of performance was excellent, and our external adjudicator, Rachael Chambers, Head of Music at Notting Hill Prep, had the unenviable task of deciding a winner.

Friday Lunchtime Recital Series

The Music department’s regular Friday Lunchtime Recitals can be found on Soundcloud:

Sport & PE Hockey

After the interruptions of the last two years, it was fantastic to see so many pupils playing hockey and students of all abilities competing in fixtures. For many incoming Year 7s hockey is a new sport and it was wonderful to witness players starting in the E team and working their way up to represent the A team. This was reflected in our steadily improving U12 results with the A team finishing fifth at the London Hockey tournament and the Bs placing well in the end of year Ibstock tournament.

U13s also played in their first hockey fixtures for Godolphin and made huge strides narrowly losing in the second round of the U13 Independent Schools Hockey Cup (ISHC). Having won the preliminary rounds of the London Hockey tournament, they ended up finishing sixth overall in London having lost only two matches on the day.

U14 players moved up from seven-aside to eleven-a-side hockey, training hard to get to grips with the full pitch, and the progress they made was reflected in their results. They reached the final four of the London Cup and lost out in the semi-finals to the team that went on to win the National tournament. The B team showed great resilience playing against many other schools’ A teams and as the Spring Term progressed they started to turn good performances into wins.

Having had no fixtures the previous season, U15s were also playing eleven-a-side hockey for the first time. Their hard work paid off and the A team beat top competition, Surbiton High, for the first time and

followed this up as runners-up in the London Cup. For the B team it was refreshing to see so many players continue to play hockey when they had other clubs and societies they were involved in. U16s did a fantastic job of balancing their training with their GCSEs and made it through to the third round of the ISHC. This year also saw the U16s play Indoor hockey for the first time and they qualified for the regional rounds and ended up finishing fifth.

In the Sixth Form our 2nd team focuses on participation and enjoyment playing friendly fixtures against local schools while our 1st team players compete at the very top level: the England Hockey Tier 1 championship and the U19 ISHC. Both these competitions see the team play against the best schools in the country including many Junior International players. This year our 1st XI had a very successful year finishing fourth in the England Hockey East region and making it to the quarter finals of the ISHC. The girls also became the first ever Godolphin team to make it to the Indoor National Finals after easing through the regional rounds conceding just one goal and scoring fourteen. Hosted by Repton School, after a very tough tournament the team finished fourth in the country, narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals. Their success, grit and determination will be a great inspiration to future generations of Godolphin hockey players.

Around

School

Netball

What a season it was for all our netballers. From our U12 teams finding their feet and playing with new teammates, through to our senior players having their last set of victories after a long year of no competition.

Our U12s had a great season, especially the A team making it to round four of the Sisters n Sport (SnS) National Cup competition which is a great achievement for their first year as a squad. All the U12 squads had their first taste of representing their school in a number of fixtures. As a result Covid-19 this was also the first year of fixtures for the U13s. They achieved a great deal this year with a highlight being their victory at Middlesex Schools and the accolade of best in the county. Our U15s had a great season making it all the way to the quarter-finals of the SnS National Cup competition and only missing out on the semi-finals by one goal in a nail-biting match which they should be commended for.

All three of our National Schools age groups (U14s, U16s and U19s) made it through to the regional round showing the strength and teamwork of our squads. This was the U14s first National competition so well done to them for this accomplishment.

As well as reaching the regional round of National Schools, our U16s made it to round four of the SnS National Cup competition. This was a great target to achieve as the competition in the U16 category was immense this season. They also made it to the Middlesex County Finals, where they were runners-up.

This was the last season for some of our Upper Sixth players and they put up a great fight against every competition they faced. They made it to the quarter-finals of the SnS National Cup competition where they gave a well-fought performance against Barking Abbey. They also maintained their winning streak at the Middlesex Finals as the only team achieving first place for seven years in a row. Well done girls!

A number of teams took part in masterclass sessions with England International netball superstar and founder of Solo Sessions, Sasha Corbin. These included games to help with teamwork and coordination as well as key game tactics and skills. These sessions helped gel the teams together and gave them a new perspective and focus on the way they play their game which will stand them in good stead for seasons to come.

Rowing

The Rowing season got off to a great start with success for our J16 four winning the Kingston Small Boats Head in November which they followed up by winning the Teddington Head the next weekend. Our senior eight had a great row to finish fourth against strong rowing schools. The Quintin and Hampton Heads saw some promising performances from all our crews; the Schools’ Head saw the J15, J16 and J18 crews mixing it with top tier competition; and at the Scullery - our J14s’ first race of the season - they had a commendable fourteenth place in the country in the octos. There followed an A final for the J18 championship four at Wallingford. Our J18 pair also showed their mettle in making the final against senior women in the elite pairs event.

Henley Women’s Regatta

Henley Women’s Regatta is a highlight of the season and we had great performances from our J16 four and J18 eight. The J18s qualified from the time trial for the first round, and despite narrowly losing to Wimbledon High, this race performance was enough for our crew to prequalify for Henley Royal Regatta’s (HRR) Prince Philip Trophy! This was the first time we had qualified in an eight, and only the second time we had qualified at all for HRR. The eight was drawn against one of the favourites, Henley RC, and despite a valiant performance, went down by three and a half lengths.

Ball Cup Regatta

Our J14 and J15 rowers enjoyed glorious May sunshine for the Ball Cup Regatta South on the Olympic rowing course at Eton Dorney Lake and our brilliant J15s won the Ball Cup for Girls, against Sixth Form opposition!

National Schools’ Regatta

The National Schools’ Regatta is one of the pinnacles of the season and our crews performed really well: three A-finals for the J15 four; J18 championships four and pair; and a B-final for the Championship eight and J14 B-octo, with the J14s putting in a fantastic row to finish second. However, the stand out result was from our J16 four who finished third in their semi-final and then raced fantastically well in the A-final to gain a bronze medal.

Particular mention should go to Alex, Orla and Allegra who entered the GB trials and to Orla who over the summer was selected for the GB19 Women’s Quad for the European Championships where they won two bronze medals.

Cricket

We were delighted to be named as one of the top 20 girls’ schools for cricket by The Cricketer magazine this year, testament to the success of our cricketing programme. We have nine teams across all age groups who played a host of fixtures and tournaments.

Our U12s were runners up at the London Schools’ tournament in January, just being pipped to gold medal position by two runs. Lessons were learnt and the squad progressed over the year showing some brilliant performances and the A team finished the season by being crowned champions at the final tournament. Our U13s won the Lady Taverner’s county finals and went onto the regional finals where they played some tough opposition but demonstrated some excellent bowling and batting skills.

Our U15 team entered both the Lady Taverner and School Sport magazine T20 hard ball competitions: every Wednesday in the Summer Term, a rotation of sixteen girls had been hard ball training and this is an area we are really looking to develop. Several girls already play hard ball cricket outside school and it is the obvious step for girls who are looking to develop their cricketing career. Thanks must of course go to Mark, Buddy and Ian, who make this all possible and we look forward to more girls joining the cricketing programme next year.

Cross Country and Athletics

It was wonderful to have our cross country and athletics squads back to a full competitive programme this season. We entered three teams into the National Cross Country Cup competition: our Intermediate and Senior teams both qualified for the regional final showing grit and determination against impressive competition (and a lot of mud!). We also fielded squads at the Main London Schools Cross Country Championships with some incredible individual performances; particular congratulations to senior athlete, Kate Price, who was selected for the London team to compete at nationals! A large proportion of the Hammersmith and Fulham Cross Country team was made up of Godolphin girls, which is testament to the depth of talent and the hard working approach of our junior squad.

In the Summer Term we turned our attention to track and field. We attended several friendly fixtures with a focus on participation and giving everyone a go! Our competitive focus was on the Track and Field Cup, the Main London School Athletics Championships, and Year 7 and 8 London Borough competitions. As ever, there were many individual and team achievements to celebrate. Four junior girls represented Hammersmith and Fulham in a range of track and field events, and we picked up two individual medals at the Main London School Championships: Millie Seaton took bronze in the 300m and Maya Sutaria silver in the 800m. Maya was also selected to represent London at a national competition in July which is an outstanding achievement. Our junior team qualified for the regional B final and came an impressive fourth place!

It was an excellent season all round and we are looking forward to developing our strengths further next year.

ExtraCurricular Clubs

Students enjoyed a huge array of extra-curricular sporting activities from athletics through to yoga including new clubs such as badminton and student-led ballet. Badminton proved extremely popular and we introduced some inter-school fixtures alongside the trampolining competitions. Fencing continued to be popular and congratulations were in order to Victoria, Year 10, and Ines, Year 8, who gained medals at both the British Youth Fencing Championships and England Youth Championships.

Football was run by Fulham Football Club and nearly 70 pupils benefited from their coaching over the autumn and spring terms. We were lucky enough to field three teams in the Fulham FC six-a-side competition which we won in great style. We had a good number of fixtures for our younger year-groups, in particular, all the way through to our senior teams.

Basketball Club went from strength to strength thanks to coach, Marek, who runs twice weekly sessions for the juniors and seniors. The Hammersmith and Fulham Borough competition finally launched this year with five schools competing in the league. Sacred Heart finished top but we were an impressive second; a great start and hopefully the league will grow in numbers year on year.

Sports

WATCH OUR SPORTS DAY VIDEO

Lectures and Guest Speakers

Bradley Busch, Inner Drive

In November we welcomed Bradley Busch, psychologist and director at Inner Drive to talk to our Sixth Formers on ‘delivering your best when it matters most’. Specialising in realising the potential behind growth mindset, metacognition and stress management strategies, Bradley shared the seven key habits for success with students.

Turn of Phrase

In the Autumn Term Year 10 students participated in an interactive workshop run by communications and theatre company Turn of Phrase which focused on topics such as the shifting definitions of gender, gender stereotypes, the influence of social media and key movements such as MeToo and Everyone’s Invited.

Greek and Roman Mythology Talk

Our budding Year 9 classicists were very pleased to welcome back author Athina Monk-Mitropoulos to her old stomping ground. A former teacher at Godolphin, Athina covered some of the most compelling aspects of Greek and Roman mythology – from heroes to gods and monsters – and explored modern retellings of myths from recent works such as Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls to her own book Once Upon a Myth.

It Happens

As part of our PSHE programme, we welcomed Dr Eleanor Draeger from It Happens to speak to our Lower Sixth students and to run a webinar for parents. The age-appropriate workshops covered topics such as pornography, sexting, and consent. Over 100 parents joined Dr Draeger for the evening webinar.

Peter Hall

As part of our PSHE programme our Upper Sixth students welcomed Peter Hall to the school. Peter visits schools, hospitals and other institutions across the country, using his own personal experiences to stimulate awareness and discussion around drug and alcohol addiction.

Tim Marshall

Geopolitical author, journalist and foreign affairs expert, Tim Marshall, made a timely visit to Godolphin and Latymer as part of our Literature Week 2022. Longstanding Foreign Affairs Editor and Diplomatic Editor for Sky News, Tim is the author of a number of bestselling books including Prisoners of Geography. His assembly for the Middle School and lectures to the Sixth Form of course touched on the evolving situation in Ukraine.

Hibo Wardere and Satveer Nijjar

In the Spring Term we invited prominent campaigner and educator for #nofgm, Hibo Wardere, to speak

to our Sixth Formers about her campaign to make the world a better place for women. In the same week, Satveer Nijjar delivered sessions to Year 10 students about mental health and wellbeing and then spoke to staff about issues relating to self-harm.

Izzy Hughes (Class of 2016)

We were delighted to welcome back Old Dolphin, Izzy Hughes (Class of 2016), founder of The Refugee Rights Project, to talk to our Year 9 students about the plight of refugees and to challenge some of the common stereotypes, misinformation and misunderstandings. Izzy took time out from studying for her MSc in International Migration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to inspire and share her knowledge with us.

Mr Ben Merrick, CMG

Mr Ben Merrick, CMG, Disability Champion for the UK Government’s National Security Community, was invited by the Diversity Committee to talk about his amazing career in public service. Visually impaired, until July 2021 Ben was the Director of Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and his current role involves working closely with organisations such as MI5, MI6, GCHQ, the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Treasury. Ben talked about his career, the challenges and opportunities he has embraced, and the importance of problem solving and taking calculated risks.

Captain Humphrey Madden

Among our prolific guest speakers was former British Army officer, Captain Humphrey Madden, who as a commissioned officer in The Rifles had previously served as part of NATO’s deployment in the Baltic States. His insightful and enlightening talk covered many aspects of the current Ukrainian conflict, emphasising throughout the value of diplomacy over violence.

Edward Paice: Youthquake

In May our Geography department invited Edward Paice to talk about his recently published book, Youthquake, and why African demography should matter to the world. Edward Paice is Director of the Africa Research Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and author of many travel and natural history guides for Kenya and newly independent Eritrea.

Professor Peter Childs

As part of our STEM Week celebrations, Professor Peter Childs, the Professorial Lead in Design Engineering at Imperial College London, came in to talk to Year 8 students about creative thinking in engineering. We were also delighted to welcome Kirstie Taylor, a fourth year Design Engineering student at Imperial College, who gave the girls some fascinating insight into her degree.

James Darley

James Darley from Transform Society joined us to talk to our Lower Sixth students about what it’s like to find a job as a graduate. With fascinating insights into the graduate job market and lots of useful advice about how to develop the transferable skills that employers find attractive, James also explored the range of openings for graduates to enter front-line public service roles.

Out and About

Art and Design Trip to Worthing

One of the highlights of the Autumn Term was the Sixth Form Art and Design trip to the south coast for a day of sketching, printmaking and photography in the seaside town of Worthing. The trip was an opportunity for students to enrich their sketchbooks and explore a range of media, including Tetrapak printing and SLR photography. The spectacular seascape and sunny weather provided wonderful inspiration and fish and chips and ice cream rounded off the day nicely.

Sixth Form Trip to Royal Academy

In October the Sixth Form Art and Design students viewed over 1,300 works of contemporary art and architecture – including a piece by Art Teacher Miss Ockenden – when they visited the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. The theme of the exhibition was ‘Reclaiming Magic’ and it covered a broad range of media, from statues to tapestries to 3D paintings.

Burnham Beeches

In October our Year 8 geographers soaked up some Autumn sunshine and studied the workings of a deciduous woodland ecosystem when they visited Burnham Beeches.

Classics Symposium

Sixth Form Classics students attended the Classics Symposium held at Francis Holland School, Regent’s Park, with sessions from Professor Robin Osborne of King’s College, Cambridge, on ‘Theatre and Democracy in Classical Athens’ and Professor Caroline Vout of Christ’s College, Cambridge, on ‘Seeing God in Greece and Rome’.

Fishbourne Roman Palace

The Classics department was delighted to take Year 8 to Fishbourne Roman Palace which they have been studying in their Latin lessons.

They took part in a very engaging Roman artefact handling session where they were able to hold and examine various pieces of pottery, bone and masonry and to try to deduce what they were and what they revealed to us about the Britons and Romans who lived there.

Students studied the elaborate mosaics of the remains of the floor north wing of the palace as well as the museum cases containing further artefacts found at the site.

Euripides’ Electra

Just before February half-term, Classics, Greek, Latin and Ancient History students in Years 10 – Upper Sixth attended University College London’s production of Euripides’ Electra at the Bloomsbury Theatre. The production was particularly powerful and offered students an insight into student drama at degree level, while also providing the opportunity for them to enrich their appreciation of Greek theatre and ancient literature as studied in school.

British Museum

In February Year 11 classicists visited the British Museum’s fantastic Parthenon galleries and the frieze of the Temple of Apollo at Bassae. These monuments are key artefacts in the Myth and Religion paper of the GCSE course and it was wonderful for students to be able to see the actual sculptures with the reopening of the galleries. Later in the year our Year 10 classicists also paid a visit to the exhibition.

Spitalfields

Stratford Olympic Park

On a lovely sunny June day, Year 7 students visited the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford as part of their Geography studies and evaluated the sustainability of its urban regeneration.

Summer Field Trips

Year 10 geographers took part in two summer field trips over two days: one urban investigation based on the area from Hammersmith Broadway to Chiswick, and a rivers investigation at the River Tillingbourne in Surrey.

Blencathra Field Studies Centre

Lower Sixth Geography students experienced a mixed bag of May weather when they visited the boggy moors of Blencathra for the first time since 2019. Armed with ranging poles and clinometers, students spent the weekend investigating the physical geography of the lakes in order to piece together the direction and extent of ice flow in the northern Lake District.

Flatford Mill Field Centre

In May our Lower Sixth IB biologists visited the National Trust Field Centre in Flatford Mill, Suffolk. It proved to be an excellent setting for students to complete their ecological investigations and all produced thought-provoking individual projects, whilst enjoying the beautiful surrounding countryside.

London Zoo

This trip enabled our Year 8 biologists to examine the role of animal parks in conservation and gain a wider appreciation of biodiversity as they explored the many enclosures, including the Reptile House and Rainforest Area. In group workshops they considered the plight of animals, such as the Amur leopard and the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and the range of international in-situ conservation campaigns supported by the zoo.

Amersham Field Studies Centre

Upper Sixth Biology students visited the Amersham Field Studies Centre to study biodiversity, how human activity is threatening species, and the conservation methods used within the woodland’s habitats.

London Wetlands Centre

Year 7 biologists soaked up some sunshine and explored the wildlife at Barnes’ Wetland Centre spending time discovering the role of the Centre in conservation. The nature reserve is home to over 180 bird species and pupils observed a range of bird species to inform their biological drawings. In addition, the pond dipping activities provided students with an opportunity to evaluate the water quality based on the type and abundance of species identified in their samples.

Bon Voyage en France

128 Year 8 girls and fifteen members of staff set off across the channel for our first international trip since the pandemic. They stayed at the wonderful Château d’Ebblinghem near St Omer in Northern France set in beautiful French countryside. There were many highlights and all the visitors were mesmerized by the city of Lille, the capital of the Hauts-de-France near the border with Belgium and they even got to practise a bit of French! Many of them are already planning their return visit.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Chinatown

Just before February half-term, Year 8 students had a fabulous day exploring Chinatown on a treasure hunt and practising their Mandarin food vocabulary in the supermarkets and at a traditional Chinese restaurant.

National Gallery

Year 8 students enjoyed a day devoted to Spanish, getting warmed up with chocolate con churros for breakfast before heading to the National Gallery for a guided tour in Spanish of Golden Age masterpieces. Led by the fantastic Spanish language and History of Art teacher María Carmona from Spanish House London, there was a particular focus on the works of Diego Velázquez.

Hayward Gallery and the Tate Modern

In June Year 8 German students went on a trip to see several German works of art in the Hayward Gallery and the Tate Modern. The students explored Klaus Weber’s stunning bronze statues that worked with water from a fountain to create the effect of a beautiful peacock. Afterwards they visited the Tate Modern, looking first at several different German expressionist paintings and then using German vocabulary and structures to describe some paintings by the visual artist Gerhard Richter.

Higher Education and Careers

Art of Academic Conversation

Launched last year, the Art of Academic Conversation evening provided Sixth Formers with the opportunity to speak to professionals from a number of different fields – from engineers to cell biologists – and topics ranged from heterogeneity to polar exploration, bilingualism to biosecurity. The speakers included professors from leading universities, including Oxford and Imperial College London, as well as a number of successful Old Dolphins.

G&L Futures Working Lunches

The G&L Futures series of Working Lunches began with Old Dolphin Imogen Francis (Class of 2018), who is studying Civil Engineering at Warwick University and spending a year in industry as part of her degree. After February half-term we were joined by current parent and investment banker Gabe Lucano who has over 20 years of experience in advisory, general management, operational turnaround, investment banking and corporate finance. Old Dolphin Lexi Berg (Class of 2010) talked to students about her career in music. Palika Bhasin (Class of 2009) spoke about her fascinating career in diplomacy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office (FCDO) and her experiences of working in Iraq and Beirut. Godolphin parent and management consultant Gizem Weggemans, who leads Egon Zehnder’s HR Officers Practice globally, joined us to speak about her educational and career journey which began as a Research Analyst with the Overseas Development Council before she later worked as a consultant with the World Bank in Washington DC. She had inspirational advice for students on the four pillars of leadership: curiosity, insight, engagement and determination.

Dr Finn Burns Talk for Aspiring Medics

Dr Burns, a Senior Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, spoke to aspiring medics about her training to become a consultant and her experiences as a junior foundation doctor and a medical student.

Life After University

We welcomed Old Dolphins Lottie Leigh and Alice ElDarwish (Class of 2016) to speak at this annual event. Lottie talked about her decision to study for a Masters after her gap year travel plans were disrupted by Covid, allowing her to secure an internship at the UN’s World Food Programme. Lottie moved into a permanent position with the organisation in May. Alice has been a freelance creative since leaving university, working with companies on copywriting and branding. She continues to freelance whilst also working full-time for a start-up company. Her advice on how to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate your value to clients resonated with our Sixth Form audience.

Renaissance Dining Event

Lower Sixth students were joined by students from partner schools Kensington Aldridge Academy and Greenford High for our inaugural Renaissance Dining event. This gave students an opportunity to discuss academic topics with fellow students and a host of guests from backgrounds which included finance, law and entrepreneurship.

Higher Education Preparation Programme (HEPP)

Careers Discovery Event 2022

Years 10 – Upper Sixth students heard from an array of guest speakers at the Careers Discovery Event. Old Dolphins and parents represented a range of careers including medicine and dentistry, charity, architecture, corporate and social responsibility, finance, technology, law, the civil service, film and TV, songwriting, music production and game development.

The Lower Sixth HEPP programme included a visit from the University of Sheffield, who gave a presentation on applying to the Russell Group universities, and who led a session on academic writing in preparation for an undergraduate degree. In addition, Trinity College Dublin joined us to explain the Irish application process. Those interested in Medicine and Veterinary Science were hard at work preparing for the UCAT and BMAT tests and benefitted from a session by several Old Dolphins on the realities of university life for Medics and Vets. US applicants engaged with sessions on the common application, personal essay and supplementary essay and there were sessions on making applications to Canada. Those interested in Law began their preparation for the LNAT and there were a broad variety of university preparation sessions delivered by a whole host of Godolphin staff. Pupils were able to gain insight into honing their public speaking confidence in sessions with Laughology which they will put to good use when developing their EE vivas and their EPQ presentations.

US Applications

We were delighted that many of our students received early acceptances from a range of top US institutions and along with the regular admissions students received offers from the following institutions (in alphabetical order):

Columbia University (2)

Cornell University

Dartmouth College

Dual BA between Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin

Georgetown University (3)

Harvard University

New York University

Princeton University

University of California, Berkeley (2) University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania (2) University of Southern California –Trustee Scholarship

Yale University

US College Sport Applications

In the Autumn Term, Old Dolphin Aurelia Elliott (Class of 2021), shared her experience of the athletic recruitment process at highly selective US colleges with our prospective US applicants. A competitive rower who has a place at Harvard in 2022, Aurelia offered insights about how to research for sports programmes and when to contact coaches.

University of British Columbia, Canada

Lower Sixth students enjoyed an online meeting with the European Representative at The University of British Columbia, Mr Thomas Whittaker. Mr Whittaker highlighted the flexible academic curriculum and the holistic student experience offered at Canadian universities, as well as the wide range of opportunities available to students to enhance their academic success and employability through co-operative education. Canada is a popular destination amongst our overseas applicants.

Bocconi University, Italy

Lower Sixth students enjoyed an online meeting with the Regional Admissions Representative at Bocconi University, Ms. Elisa Raveglia. Ms. Raveglia highlighted the diversity on campus, the access to internships and the student exchange opportunities with partner universities while also sharing helpful information about the wide range of undergraduate programmes offered to international students, including the newly added Bachelor in Global Law. The students also found out about the application timeline and requirements, the elements of evaluation, the scholarship process as well as tips about preparing a strong application.

NYU Essay Workshop and Harvard University Talks

Lower Sixth students planning to apply to US universities attended an Essay Writing Workshop hosted by the Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at New York University, Ms Lisa Mortini. They also benefited from a virtual lunchtime meeting with the Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Recruitment at Harvard University. Ms De Luca explained the liberal arts and sciences philosophy as well as the vast range of learning and research opportunities offered to undergraduates both on and off campus.

At the end of the academic year we were joined by Jessie Pitsillides (Class of 2021) who recently completed her first year of studies at Harvard University where she is focusing on Applied Maths and Economics and who spoke about the highlights of her freshman year.

Class of 2022

Leavers’ Destinations

Noor Abassi

Liberal Arts

Ruby Alexander Geography

Sara Allinson Agharok Architecture

Scarlett Amini Classics

Aurore Ashe-Taylor French and Spanish

Nadia Baghai Chemistry with Research Abroad

University of Pennsylvania IB

Durham University AL

Cardiff University AL

University of Bristol (2023) AL

Jesus College, Oxford AL

Imperial AL

Lauren Baines History University of Exeter (2023) AL

Nancy Barbour Social Anthropology

Defne Basak Business and Economics

Iona Bensley Philosophy and Politics

Anais Berns International Social and Political Studies

Mary Bingham English Literature and History

SOAS AL

University of Edinburgh (2023) AL

University of Bristol AL

UCL IB

University of Manchester IB

Anna Briggs History Christ’s College, Cambridge IB

Jacqueline Byun Liberal Arts

University of California, San Diego IB

Lola Carver-Broome English Literature University of Edinburgh IB

Amy Cheale French and German University of Edinburgh AL

Isabella Chen Politics and International Relations with Study Abroad University of Bristol (2023) AL

Nina Citlucanin Philosophy University of Manchester AL

Cecilia Colao Liberal Arts

Yale University IB

Diane Comon Foundation Diploma in Art and Design City & Guilds AL

Anya Couffon Politics and Economics LSE AL

Isabella Davidson Health & Human Sciences

Durham University AL

Natalie Davis Psychology City, University of London AL

Hebe Dennison Geography University of Exeter AL

Juliette Desbiez Medical Biosciences

Imperial AL

Millie Dodd International Relations University of Exeter IB Alicia Doran English UCL AL

Devshi Dubey Medicine University of Edinburgh IB

Olivia Dyson Psychology Lancaster University AL

Xanthe Edmonson History University of Birmingham AL

Aurelia Elliott Liberal Arts

Ines Elliott Granger Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Harvard University IB

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge AL

Roxanna Fahid Liberal Arts University of Chicago IB

Ferielle Fenichell Liberal Arts

Zara Ford Geography

Dartmouth College AL

University of Manchester (2023) AL

Francesca Fospero Economics and Management University of Bristol AL

Ruby Foster Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Camberwell College of Arts AL Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Birmingham (2023)

Caroline Gay Veterinary Science University of Bristol AL

Catherine Gay Geography

Durham University AL

Clara Gilardi Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) University of Edinburgh IB

Jessica Gilbert Chemistry

Lily Glenn English Literature

Molly Glenn History

Gaia Goulandris

Durham University IB

UEA AL

Durham University AL

Liberal Arts Georgetown University AL

Olivia Griffin-Roach Geography

Durham University AL

Alice Grossman Chemistry University of St Andrews IB

Freya Gubbay Biomedical Sciences University of Bristol AL

Alexander Hamilton-Lane Linguistics University of Manchester AL

Amy Harris Modern Languages and Cultures with a year abroad Durham University AL

Amelia Harris Management University of St Andrews (2023) AL

Chelsea Ho Liberal Arts

Cornell University AL

Jade Hoberman Liberal Arts Georgetown University AL

Amelia Hodgson English Literature

University of Edinburgh AL

Freja Hogsander Engineering University of Warwick IB

Josephine Howell International Development with Economics

Georgia Hudson Geography

Tabitha Iliffe Biological Sciences (Biochemistry)

University of Bath AL

Durham University AL

University of Edinburgh IB

Sophia Jawanda History University of Sheffield AL

Lula Johnson Politics and International Relations University of Bath (2023) IB

Weronika Kaczer Law

Melissa Kalhor Biomedical Sciences

LSE IB

King’s College London AL

Ava Kean Neuroscience University of Manchester AL

Kyra Khlat

Liberal Arts

Angelina Kim Medicine

Sara Kirwan Management

Aya Kodmani

Liberal Arts

Georgetown University IB

Queen Mary, University of London AL

LSE AL

Columbia University AL

Iman Kohler English with Creative Writing University of Aberdeen AL

Sassy Kishon Classics University of Glasgow AL

Hope Lindsay Philosophy

UCL AL

Arrchana Lingarajah Theological Studies in Philosophy and Ethics University of Manchester AL

Katerina Long History and Modern Languages

Robinson College, Cambridge IB

Olivia Maddox Natural Sciences (with year abroad) University of Bath AL

Ava Martin Veterinary Medicine

Girton College, Cambridge AL

Tatiana Maydannik Law Durham University IB

Anneliese Mayer Veterinary Medicine and Science University of Surrey AL Elizabeth McDonald Natural Sciences (Maths and Philosophy)

Isabella McKean Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

Carmen McKenna English Language and Literature

Durham University IB

Trinity College, Dublin IB

Hertford College, Oxford AL

Adrian McLean Art HIstory University of Edinburgh AL

Eadie Molema Architecture University of Manchester AL

Nicole Monaghan Medicine University of Liverpool AL

Holly Moody Modern Languages

St Hugh’s College, Oxford AL

Exeter College, Oxford IB Georgina Morrow Modern Languages and Linguistics

Atalanta Mowat Chemistry University of Bath AL

Aoife Murphy Modern Languages University of Bristol AL India O’Donohoe Liberal Arts

Dual BA between Columbia University & Trinity College, Dublin IB

Lauren Pohlman Law University of Exeter IB

Carla Pongracz Geography University of Exeter AL

Hannah Quinn Liberal Arts Columbia University IB

Elya Renom Liberal Arts McGill University AL

Morwenna Richards Classical Studies

Durham University AL Alison Roberts Biological Sciences Durham University AL

Mathilda Serero History

University of Exeter (2023) AL

Gemma Seymour Economics with Placement Year Durham University AL Rocky Shah-Evans Geography Newcastle University IB

Zara Sharif Classical Studies University of Bristol AL

Iona Slimmon East Asian Studies and History of Art

SOAS (2023) AL

Gwen Standring Medicine and Surgery

Trinity College, Oxford AL

Newcastle University IB Daisy Studd Politics and International Relations University of Bristol (2023) IB Dilia Thovez Law

Esther Tregear French and Italian University of Edinburgh AL

Eliza Turner Psychology University of Edinburgh AL

Martha Vine English Queens’ College, Cambridge AL

Isabel Warren Zoology University of Southampton AL

Delara Weeks Medicine and Surgery

Newcastle University IB Olivia Wilmot Foundation Diploma in Art and Design City & Guilds AL Economics

University of Warwick (2023)

Delilah Wilson Philosophy and Psychology University of Edinburgh AL

Aimee Wong Rogers Medicine University of Edinburgh AL

Isha Yerramilli-Rao Liberal Arts

Rojin Zahaki Medicine

Princeton University AL

UCL AL

Art

Leavers’ Prizes

Winterstoke Scholarships

Florence Brooke

Jessica Gilbert

Adrian McLean

Martha Vine

Rojin Zahaki

Gertrude Clement Books

Ruby Alexander

Nadia Baghai

Hebe Dennison

Isabella (Ella) McKean

Georgina Morrow

Esther Tregear

Olivia Wilmot

Marshall Hays Prizes

Aurore Ashe-Taylor

Amy Cheal

Clara Gilardi

Elizabeth (Libby) McDonald Holly Moody Morwenna Richards Eliza Turner

Isha Yerramilli-Rao

Dean Prize Alice Grossman

Iona Bensley

The Dawe Prize for Achievement

Catherine Benson

White Prize for Sixth Form Service Millie Dodd

Caroline Gay

Stratta Prize for Service to the School Daisy Studd

Head Girl’s Prize

Spong Modern Language Travel Scholarship

LVI Chaplin French Prize

LVI Wilson History Prize

Harvard Book Prize

Art and Design Prize Eadie Molema

Creativity - Reiss Prize Diane Comon

Biology Ennis Prize Charlotte Arculus

Chemistry Winifred Watkins Isabel Warren

Classics

Downer Jolliffe Prize Zara Sharif

Drama Drama Leavers’ Prize Daisy Studd

Sophie Middlemiss Prize for Drama Honor Wiggins

Economics Mason Prize Anya Couffon

English Titmuss Prize Amelia Hodgson

French Dixon Spoken Prize Isabella Davidson

Homan Prize Aoife Murphy

Geography Hobbs Prize Olivia Griffin-Roach

German Prynne Prize Anneliese Mayer

History Claire Eccles Prize Mathilda Serero

Gilliland Prize Dilia Thovez

History of Art Charlton Prize Scarlett Amini

Italian Sandra Williams Prize Lauren Baines

Mathematics Bell Prize Ava Martin

Selsky Pure Prize Gemma Seymour

MFL

Jessi Stafford Prize Katerina Long

Music McTavish Prize Alison Roberts

Sarah Illingworth Memorial Choral Prize Ruby Alexander

Philosophy Bellew Prize Victoria Kozieja

Politics Politics Prize Devshi Dubey

Physical Education Walsh Award Jessica Gilbert Millie Dodd

Sport - Cox Prize Ava Kean

Science Bearman Medicine Prize Aimee Wong Rogers Richards Prize Roxanna Fahid

Spanish Frost Prize Amy Harris

Speech and Drama Mantle Prize Georgia Hudson

Lola Carver-Broome

Sophie Rennie

Isabelle Davies

Rose Farman-Farma

Katherine Price

Jefferson Book Prize Rose Farman-Farma

Vellutini Prize (for Year 11 English) Rose Bingham

PTFA Prizes for Service

Anais Berns

Juliette Desbiez

Ruby Foster

Alexander Hamilton Lane Melissa Kalhor

Angelina Kim

India O’Donohoe

Nicole Monaghan

PTFA Prizes for Good Work

Isabella Chen

Zara Ford Catherine Gay

Lily Glenn

Freya Gubbay

Aya Kodmani

Tanya Maydannik

Carla Pongracz

Tabitha Iliffe

Delara Weeks

Staff Leavers

The end of the school year is always bittersweet as we see staff members leave for pastures new.

Dr Jenny Stevens joined Godolphin in 1986 and has inspired hundreds of Godolphin girls with a life-long love of literature and was an outstanding and influential Head of Sixth Form in the 1990s, followed by a period as Head of English. Her teaching - more recently on a parttime basis - has been both scholarly and warm, and her reputation as an educator, lecturer and author stands high well beyond Godolphin. She now ‘retires’ but it seems like a wildly inappropriate verb to use anywhere near Jenny! Mrs Uschi Fenton who joined in 1988 has promoted German language and culture to successive generations of Delfine. She has taken numerous trips to Germany, undertook a fascinating study of schools in Namibia during a sabbatical term, and has been a tireless organiser of our long-standing exchange with the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg. This has fostered many friendships between our pupils and German students of their own age to their enormous mutual benefit. Like Jenny and Uschi, Mrs Chris Lee who joined in 1993 has also served the school in varied and imaginative ways. Employed originally as a Geography teacher, she branched out to teach both PSHE and mindfulness, and to assist with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme and the work of the Individual Learning Needs department. Chris made it her mission to help through their more difficult moments all those around her, young or old, and her kindness and compassion will be long remembered by us all. We are also saying farewell with sadness to Mrs Susi Sutherland, Miss Tara Dean, Dr Ben Snook, Dr Mary Hill, Mrs Manuella Kanter-Webber and Ms Kate Frayling, all of whom have long and committed associations with the school. Susi joined Godolphin in 2007 and has been a passionate Geography teacher, well known for her enjoyment of field work and her highly interactive teaching style. In recent years, she has taken on the role of Deputy Head of Sixth Form and has been a wonderfully sympathetic presence for many of our older students. Tara joined in 2010 and as Head of Biology has overseen one of our most successful departments with great dedication and humanity and now moves closer to home to run the department at Sir William Perkins’s School in Chertsey. Ben is also off to run a department elsewhere (in his case at Dulwich College) having served here to great acclaim as joint Head of History and Politics. Ben took and taught a seriously academic approach to his subjects, but always with great humour and warmth, qualities which were also apparent in his work as a popular sixth form tutor. Mary will be remembered by many students as having seen them over what she sometimes refers to as the ‘speed-bumps’ along their way. As one of our school counsellors, she has calmly stood alongside pupils in all

kinds of different situations and has offered unparalleled support and discerning guidance. Manuella arrived here in 2015, as a trainee teacher straight from Oxford. She is a very fine mathematician, and a gifted teacher who can challenge the most able while managing also to encourage the faint-hearted. She and her family are moving to the south coast, and we wish her well for her new position at Ardingly College. Kate meanwhile travels further afield with a family relocation to Germany, and she will be taking up a teaching post at St George’s International School in Munich. An Old Dolphin herself, she has been an energetic member of our Physics department for the past seven years. She has thrown herself into a multitude of school activities, especially in her role as House Leader for Bassi.

Although they have been with us for a shorter time, Miss Chloe Reid, Mr Laurence Higgins, Ms Beth Lane and Mrs Mandy Hope have all made their mark in distinctive and memorable ways. Chloe arrived in 2017 as Assistant Director of Music and has been an outstanding teacher, devoted to encouraging music-making in all its forms. She has been behind many musical productions and concerts ensuring that the music is truly remarkable. Laurence meanwhile has led the Philosophy and Religion department with similar dynamism for the past four years, managing simultaneously to act as Oxbridge Co-ordinator, to lead debating, and to run the Staffroom Committee; he leaves us to take up a senior position as Director of Sixth Form at St Mary’s School, Ascot. Beth first came to Godolphin as a Coding Champion and over time has taken on a more mainstream teaching role while continuing to study for her PhD. With her studies now ending she is leaving teaching to launch a career in artificial intelligence. Mandy’s time with us has coincided almost exactly with the impact of the pandemic. She arrived in March 2020 and got to know her classes remotely before having the opportunity to meet them in person. She has been a superb Drama teacher and has contributed very generously to the extracurricular programme, perhaps most notably as Director in Residence of our wonderful production of Belles of the Ball.

We also say farewell with thanks to those who have been with us for a briefer period, covering other colleagues’ maternity leave or undergoing teacher training. All have proved supportive and committed teachers over the past year or two. These are Miss Sarah Berwick (Geography), Mrs Anna Golding (Classics) and Mr Philip Liebman (Biology). Our very best wishes go with all of them for happy and successful futures.

Our thanks and good wishes too to Mr Ant Hurren, our photographer and video producer whose wonderful work features in this School Magazine; we wish him well in his new life with his family on the south coast.

The School Magazine is printed on a Recycled Silk paper, manufactured in accordance with ISO-certified standards for environmental, quality and energy management. Biodegradable vegetable-based inks and biodegradable laminate are also used in the sustainable manufacturing process.