Beyond THE MANOR December 2023 — Issue 8
Welcome to the Autumn 2023 edition of Manor House School’s Alumnae newsletter. The Autumn Term was launched in glorious sunshine and the addition of smart new livery on our School buses, announcing Manor House School as part of the Effingham Schools Trust. Prize Giving was soon upon us in October with this year’s guest speaker Anna Hemmings MBE, two times Olympian and six times World Champion Kayaker. We were thrilled once again to host our MacMillan Big breakfast at Manor House School with a great turn out of parents, staff and pupils contributing to one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. In this edition, we bring you interviews with two Manor House School alumnae Penny Gilbert, née Broadhurst, MHOG 2001 and current Physics teacher at Manor House School and Terece Glascock, MHOG 1972, known professionally as Dr Jan West, who spoke to us about her company’s pioneering work in the US, setting new operational and qualitative standards in employee and market research. We hope you enjoy this edition of Beyond the Manor and we wish you a joyful and restorative Christmas and New Year.
All news and contributions should be sent to Katie McSweeney at kmcsweeney@manorhouseschool.org.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MHOG Community Wall Jean Harrison Teacher of Geography 1980-98 Jean taught Geography for many years, at Manor House School from 1980-1998 and has stayed in touch since her retirement, visiting most recently during our 2023 Heritage Day in September, on one of the hottest days of the year! “After I retired I joined the U3A (University of the Third Age) and very soon found myself teaching the walking group, and a few other members who were interested, how to map read. For many years I have been a member of the Local Studies Group studying and researching the geography, history and sociology of our local area.”
Emily Gover, MHOG 2003
Abbie Byrne
Emily was in touch with us earlier this year during a trip to the UK to visit family and friends and dropped in for a quick tour of the main house and grounds.
MHOG 2018 “Since leaving Manor House I have received my gold DofE and recently graduated from the University of York with a BA in History, having written my dissertation on crossdressing and shape shifting in Medieval Icelandic literature.
“I moved to the States in 1996 around age 10 after my parents split up (my mom was an American, my dad is English). While I still have lots of family in the U.K. and visit often, I rooted myself in the US after finishing college and started working in New York City. I am now based in Seattle.
Since then I decided to stay in academia and have started an MA in Medieval Studies, with a focus on medieval Islamic culture and a bit of Old Norse thrown in just for fun!”
“I was not at Manor House during GCSEs but I believe my cohort year would have been 2003. I am actually meeting up with an old Manor House friend, Francesca. I only attended for three short years but it left a meaningful impact on my life. “
Emily with friends on a British Museum trip, mid 1990s.
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BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MANOR HOUSE News
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BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MANOR HOUSE News PRIZE GIVING 2023 Elizabeth Green Hall (EGH) saw the coming together of our School community for the annual Prize Giving in October. We welcomed our guest speaker Anna Hemmings MBE, who also handed out prizes to those Seniors receiving awards this year. Unfortunately, Ms Fantham was unwell for the prize giving so Mr Hillier gallantly stepped in to deliver her speech. Congratulations to all.
QUEEN MOTHER’S
CLOTHING GUILD 2023
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BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MANOR HOUSE News October Open Day Saturday 7 October 2023 The October Open Day offers the opportunity every year to showcase many of the activities and facilities that make up a Manor House School day. As blue skies stood firm, visiting families were able to fully enjoy the grounds with demonstrations in Netball, swimming and Judo as well as visit many of our classrooms and see experiments in our Science labs.
MacMillan Big Breakfast Friday 29th September 2023 Our first MacMillan Big Breakfast, open to parents, pupils and staff, returned after a three year break raising a fantastic £2,156.58!
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BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MANOR HOUSE News Autumn Term 2023 An Italian Odyssey Classics & Latin GCSE Trip to Rome & Naples — October 2023 Peering into the crater of an active volcano would normally be the highlight of any trip, except when your five day School tour of Italy also includes Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples and Rome! Dr Duffy, Head of Humanities at Manor House School, set off from Heathrow airport for Rome in late October 2023 with a number of his Classics and Latin GCSE pupils, excited for the opportunity to bring their studies alive. Until their arrival in Italy, the study of GCSE Classics had been mostly classroom based, but stepping into Villa Oplontis immediately turned 2D into 3D. A lesser known casualty of the Mount Vesuvius eruption of AD79, the large residence lies below the modern day surburb of Naples of Torre Annunziata, a few minutes train ride away from Pompeii. The villa is believed to have been the home of Emperor Nero’s second wife, Augusta Sabina Poppaea - before she met her early death in 65 A.D. at the Emperor’s hand. Many of its ornate and brightly coloured frescoes are still visible thanks to their preservation under volcanic ash until the villa’s gradual discovery over the last four centuries. With only two days in Rome, difficult choices needed to be made. Landmarks on the group’s schedule included the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum, whilst others were fortuitous finds, including roman tenement blocks spotted from the side of the road as the group was making its way to the Capitoline Museum. Peering down from the edge of the dual carriageway, narrow alleyways were revealed between tightly packed ancient apartment buildings up to six storeys high, with little or no daylight reaching ground level. Likely inhabited until around 400AD, these “insula” were home to the real people of Rome. It is easy to think of this ancient city with its low-lying opulent villas and grand monuments but here the pupils were given a window into how ordinary Romans lived. Back in the classroom, there has been a palpable shift, with pupils engaging more actively with materials during classes. Dr Duffy has also noted a tangible increase in their retention of information. “When you’re reading about someone’s life 2000 years ago from a book, it doesn’t feel real, but if you’ve been inside their house, seen where they ate and where they slept, you can relate better”. 6
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
BUSINESS INSIGHT
Dr Jan West (Terece Glascock) MHOG 1972 Jan (also known as Terece) arrived at Manor House School in 1968 after relocating with her family from Hawaii. She went on to spend 4 years here as a day girl before she and her family returned to their family roots in Texas. One of a number of US based alumnae in touch with us during 2023, Jan travelled to England and visited Manor House School in June, having recently retired and sold her business earlier in the year. Jan’s time at Manor House School had a formative impact on her. It was followed by an early entry to University at the age of 15 to study Experimental Psychology, followed by a doctorate and the launch of her highly successful company NBRI which broke new ground in the field of Employee and Market Research. When did you join and leave Manor House? What is your Cohort year? I attended Manor House in 1964 –1968 and turned 16 in 1972.
Where did you spend your further education / University years?
Jan and her husband Ken at Manor House n June 2023
I graduated from W. T. White High School in Dallas, Texas in 1972, and started Southern Methodist University in Dallas the same year, while I was still age 15. I received my Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate degrees from SMU over the next 20 years, paying for all of them myself.
What was the path to setting up your own firm? What role did family and friends, if any, play in your early plans? My Bachelor and Master degrees are in Experimental Psychology, so I was well-trained in conducting psychological research. While working on my Master degree, I surveyed the Fortune 500 Companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (there are 25 today) with regard to their use of psychologists, so I could gain insight into how I might use my education. I found many used Clinical Psychologists for employee disputes but none had heard yet of the burgeoning field of Organizational Psychology, and none conducted widespread employee surveys in order to understand the culture and issues facing their employees. They also did not survey their customers to understand their thinking. 7
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We put on ‘As You Like It’ and I was given a very minor role so that my American accent wouldn’t destroy the play for everyone!
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
BUSINESS INSIGHT
Dr Jan West (Terece Glascock) MHOG 1972 It was an epiphany that if I could provide the C-Suite with a clear understanding of the thinking of their employees and customers and help them make improvements in both areas, that I would be providing a highly valuable service that would directly contribute to profitability by reducing turnover and increasing customer loyalty and spend. No other company existed at the time that provided this service. I reached out to VPs of Human Resources initially to pitch my idea and I got some takers: EDS, Blockbuster Entertainment, CompUSA, and Texas Utilities. Texas Utilities alone was 14,000 employees which I surveyed entirely with paper surveys. My first clients asked me what I would ask their employees and I didn’t have a clue, so per the standards of true scientific discovery, I conducted 1-1 telephone interviews of stratified random samples of employees from the janitor to the CEO to ask them what they thought the company should ask about on the upcoming survey. Across organizations, this enabled me to discover the finite universe of organizational dynamics at work in all organizations, which today, we simply call ‘topics.’ I was able to write the survey questions to assess these topics, and these questions – which are the research instruments themselves, not the surveys - became the foundation of the survey research industry which is now a multi-billion dollar industry. As for family, my father and brother told me I would fail. Only my mother thought I could do it. But on his deathbed in 1998, my father conceded that I had become successful and said, ‘I knew if anyone could do it, you could!’ That meant the world to me. What are some of the biggest challenges you or your business faced during your working career? I had always known that, in psychology, a doctorate is practically mandatory to have credibility in the field. My company really took off once I had a doctorate, I was not surprised that business improved exponentially once I could call myself ‘Dr. West.’ I began NBRI when TV, radio and print were the mediums of the day for getting the word out that we existed and what we could do for companies. This transitioned to Google after the advent of the internet. At first, few companies had websites, and eventually, of course, a website was mandatory. It was a great leveller of the playing field, as no one could really tell how big or small one might be from their website, provided it was done well. Both the earlier and latter forms of advertising were very expensive, so for the first decade or more, every spare penny was put back into the company for marketing. 8
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I would be providing a highly valuable service that would directly contribute to profitability by reducing turnover and increasing customer loyalty and spend. No other company existed at the time that provided this service.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
BUSINESS INSIGHT
Dr Jan West (Terece Glascock) MHOG 1972 We primarily obtained new clients by word of mouth, which is very slow and beyond our immediate control. How have you spent your time since retiring in January? Retirement has been such a blessing. It is like a permanent vacation from all stress. It was stressful managing hundreds of clients, twenty-five employees, systems and technology, finances, marketing, and more. I finally get to do what I want to do, and I don’t have to be ‘the tiger lady’ anymore. I can relax, read a book, go for a walk, daydream, and decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. For now, having travelled and lived all over the world, I mostly want to spend time in my beloved England and Hawaii, while based near family in Texas.
What memories stand out from your Manor House School days? The pool at Manor House School had just been built and I had just moved to England from Hawaii. In Hawaii, we were at the beach or in the pool a lot, so I was a good swimmer. I entered every event in the big Swimming Day Contest to inaugurate the pool, and I won the trophy as best overall swimmer. I loved field hockey, and it was usually very muddy. We would track a lot of mud back into the cloak room. My piano teacher thought I was very much a beginner in my piano abilities, and it is true that I still have difficulty reading music and must pick out the notes, but I was determined to play something more advanced for the recital than she had selected for me. So, I taught myself ‘Fur Elise’ at home, and finally, when I knew it well, I played it for my teacher. She was flabbergasted and really bragged on me at the recital in which I played it for Miss White. We put on ‘As You Like It’ and I was given a very minor role so that my American accent wouldn’t destroy the play for everyone! I understood and agreed with the decision, although being a bit of a ‘ham,’ I’d wanted a bigger part. Looking back on your time here and in England, what aspects proved most formative and useful with hindsight? I credit the Manor House with my ability to succeed. Certainly, my parents’ role modelling played a part, but the Manor House gave me the tools to fulfil the dreams engendered by the roles modelled for me. Public school in Hawaii before England, and in Dallas after England was far inferior and I have sung the praises of the Manor House my entire life. 9
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
BUSINESS INSIGHT
Dr Jan West (Terece Glascock) MHOG 1972 The aspects I appreciated most included short terms with frequent breaks (roughly, in session for three months, on vacation for 1 month, three times per year), as compared with a nine month session and three month summer vacation in America. So much learning is lost over such a lengthy summer break. I also loved the variety of subjects I was able to take, including French, Latin and German. When we returned to the States, I had to wait two years before any foreign language was offered, and then it was only Spanish. Are you still in touch with any friends from your Manor House School days?
When we returned to the States, I had to wait two years before any foreign language was offered, and then it was only Spanish.
Yes, but only just recently. I reconnected with Anne Grant this year when we were there, and we are corresponding regularly now. She was so kind to travel from York to London to meet for a few hours, so we had tea at Fortnum. Hearing from her is a terrific treat! And coincidentally, she has her Master’s in Psychology! And lastly… what would your superpower be if you could choose one?
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I also loved the variety of subjects, including French, Latin and German.
Jan, top left, “A s You Like It”
Fun question! Teleportation! I love to travel and would like to do more of it, without the headache of packing, airports, long flights and hotels. I could pop over to a new place and explore it until I grew tired, and pop home for a good night’s sleep in my own bed, returning to the exotic destination again in the morning, if desired. It would save enormous amounts of time and money, and eliminate all of the trouble and headaches of conventional travel. And I could pop over to the Manor House at a moment’s notice to cheer swimmers or pianists or public speakers, and I could mentor some of the beautiful girls who are so fortunately at the Manor House today. 10
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MHOG Q&A
Penny Gilbert, née Broadhurst 2001 Penny Gilbert, (Mrs Gilbert to her pupils) attended Manor House School from Nursery through to Year 11, and returned recently in 2001 as Head of Physics. She is also a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Coming from a long line of teachers, Penny shares her thoughts on why she chose to also follow a career in teaching and reflects on what aspects of school life are still very familiar. When did you join and leave Manor House School? I joined the Spinney when I was two so some time in 1986. Where did you spend your Sixth Form and University years? What did you study? I went to St John’s, Leatherhead for Sixth Form where I studied Physics, Psychology, Geography and Maths. I went to Durham University for my undergraduate degree, studying Natural Sciences. I actually matriculated to read Geology and Geophysics but there was a bit too much time spent looking at rocks in the rain and there wasn’t enough Physics in the course so I switched after year one. I did my PGCE in Physics at Kings College London the year after I left Durham and went into teaching straight after this. I took a year to do a Diploma in Science and Education at Bristol University after teaching for four years. What was your path to the work you’re doing now? I initially planned to work in the City and earn my millions before becoming a teacher. I went straight from University to having interviews for Financial PR thinking "this is what everyone does, I should do this", with every intention of training to be a teacher a few years later but found the interviews themselves so dull and uninspiring that I decided to ditch it 11
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I went to Durham University. I matriculated to read Geology and Geophysics but there was a bit too much time spent looking at rocks in the rain and there wasn’t enough Physics in the course so I switched after year one.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MHOG Q&A
Penny Gilbert, née Broadhurst 2001 and go straight to teaching instead. Just being sat at a desk for hours was soul destroying. They would give scenarios and ask me what I'd do or say and I just knew it wasn't for me. I knew I needed more interaction and to be on my feet. It just shows that it's important to follow your heart. You spend most of your life at work so you need to have a job that excites you and makes you want to get up in the morning. I knew I wanted to be a teacher so why was I putting it off? I love teaching and have (almost) never looked back or thought about a different career. I also have a lot of teachers in my family (my mum, three grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) so I've had a lot of experience of what it means to be a teacher, including seeing how well it worked for family life. I always wanted to have children and knew that it was a career that was really compatible with that. My parents would joke that I would be a teacher pretty much all my life. As a young child I would set up a classroom at home for my little brothers. I had a white board and pens and I would teach them, set them work to do, and mark it. The love of teaching may have stuck with me but I have to say the marking hasn't! What advice would you give to someone thinking about training to be a teacher? My biggest advice when considering careers is to do as much work experience as you can in as many different fields as you can. The reality of a job day-to-day is often so different from what we think it might be. Try to spend some time in schools, Primary and Secondary, shadowing teachers. This gives the best insight into teaching which is a career that is rarely portrayed honestly on TV and that we think we all know about simply from going through school ourselves. Talk to teachers about the reality of being a teacher. Consider which subject you want to teach. 12
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Try to spend some time in schools, Primary and Secondary, shadowing teachers. This gives the best insight into teaching which is a career that is rarely portrayed honestly on TV.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MHOG Q&A
Penny Gilbert, née Broadhurst 2001 If you don’t think your qualifications are sufficient there are a lot of subject refreshers out there that you can do before starting your teacher training. You’ve returned to Manor House School as a teacher. Do you have flashbacks to when you were a pupil here? Absolutely, although less so now that I’m in my third year. It was particularly strange seeing Mrs Williams and when she comes back to visit Mrs Buck, as they both taught me. The first few chords of the school song always get me too. And events like the Christmas Fayre, House Arts and Founders’ Day with the iced buns. It’s surprisingly comforting knowing that some things never change. What other memories stand out from your time at Manor House School? Mrs Elkes was a phenomenal teacher and made a lasting impression on me. She instilled a real love of Geography and I still try to emulate her calm, organised approach to teaching in my lessons. The PGL holidays were all great and I have so many brilliant memories from them: raft building, muddy assault courses, ridiculous camp fire songs that don’t make any sense (The Princess Pat, Everywhere We Go, etc) Mrs Morris doing backflips between bunkbeds when she brought round the sweety bags at lights out. In Year 10 my friend Ella Barden and I decided to put on a charity dance competition and raised money for Chase. Looking back at it, this was a huge undertaking and a big responsibility that probably used up a lot more of our teacher’s time than we realised. We sold tickets to a lot of parents and girls and used the sound system, lighting rig, the works. It was successful but I don’t imagine there are many schools that would allow students the freedom and independence to try to organise something like this, especially at that age. 13
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In Year 10, my friend Ella Barden and I decided to put on a charity dance competition and raised money for Chase. It was successful but I don’t imagine many schools would allow students that kind of freedom and independence.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
MHOG Q&A
Penny Gilbert, née Broadhurst 2001 Looking back on your time at here, what aspects have been the most useful to take with you into the adult world? Mrs Mendes had a sign on the wall outside her office saying “a smile costs nothing but gives everything”. That really stuck with me and I’ve made a conscious effort to always smile at people, regardless of how I’m feeling. Smiles are infectious and can make a real difference to someone’s mood whilst costing nothing (apart from the excessive laughter lines on my face I suppose). Manor House School was and still is a genuinely happy environment where people care about each other and are always willing to help each other out. The warm friendly vibe made the school feel like one big family and is part of the reason I was keen to sign my children up for the nursery as soon as they turned two. I’m so glad that the atmosphere is still as positive all these years later. Are you still in touch with MHS friends? Do you get a chance to get together? I am although the extent of that fluctuates with time and is harder as people move further away or abroad. Ella Barden, Camilla Alexandra Watson and I all went into teaching eventually, so we try to make the most of seeing each other in school holidays, when we have more free time. I’ve even had the pleasure of working in schools alongside Ella and Hannah Betteridge, which was great fun.
What travelling have you done? I took a cliched gap year before Uni and travelled around Australia and New Zealand for 3 months which, whilst predictable, was also an incredible experience. I’ve done a lot of scuba diving around Egypt, and the 2 weeks I spent in Tanzania were amazing. Since having children (and a mortgage!) I’ve mainly just done city breaks and European holidays. I’m also travelling with work on school trips, including Paris, Brussels, Iceland and Rome. Fingers crossed we can introduce World Challenge and get over to Costa Rica! 14
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Mrs Mendes had a sign on the wall outside her office saying “a smile costs nothing but gives everything”. That really stuck with me.
BEYOND THE MANOR
December 2023 — Issue 8
From the Archives
Manor House School Magazine 1985
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BEYOND THE MANOR
Artwork by Maia C, Year 9
December 2023 — Issue 8
Merry Christmas from all at Manor house School Manor House School, Manor House Lane, Little Bookham, Surrey KT23 4En I I Tel: 01372 457 077 admissions:@manorhouseschool.org
A SELECTIVE INDEPENDENT DAY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 2-16 AND BOYS 2-7 www.manorhouseschool.org