Dates for the Diary 2023

Remarkable Women Lecture

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY

7PM – 9PM

Great Big Bursary Ball presents Hanbury’s Speakeasy

FRIDAY 30 JUNE

7PM TIL LATE

In this engaging talk, the well-known curator, writer, and broadcaster Kate Bryan will reveal what it takes to work in the art world and why studying art can have a lifelong impact, even for those in seemingly unrelated fields.

TICKETS COST £15

ALL PROCEEDS GOING TO THE BURSARY FUND

STOP PRESS We’ve just confirmed that Head Mistress Heather Hanbury will give the final Remarkable Women Lecture of the year on TUESDAY 25TH APRIL. Just before she retires Mrs Hanbury will look back at her LEH legacy after nine years at the helm.

Alumnae Reunion

SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER

11AM – 3PM

ALUMNAE REUNION 2023

Catch up with former classmates and contemporaries over lunch. Plus a talk from the new Head Mistress, student performances and tours of the school.

TICKETS £20

With a pitch side reception, three course dinner and live band, we’re putting the fun into fundraising. All proceeds go the Bursary Fund.

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE LAST TIME WAS A SELL-OUT SMASH, SO GET IN QUICK WWW.LEHS.ORG.UK/BURSARY-BALL-2023

Class of 2020 Reunion

FRIDAY 23 JUNE

5PM – 7PM

Drum roll please! We are delighted to announce that at long last we can welcome back the Class of 2020 for their first much-anticipated reunion. COVID and successive lockdowns mean that we haven’t been able to give these former pupils the LEH send-off they so richly deserve, so this is sure to be a special event.

CLASS OF 2020, PLEASE RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

Messing About on the River

The sun shone and the Pimm’s flowed at the inaugural Holles Boat Club event at Henley Regatta in July, which was hosted by LEH alumna and Head of Rowing Abby Johnston.

The sell-out event, held jointly with Hampton School, proved to be a popular addition to the alumnae calendar with guests declaring that they’d love to return again next year. The Hampton chef made a delicious chicken and chorizo paella, with a vegan version for non-meat eaters.

Abby, Class of 2007, who holds the world record for the fastest trio of women ever to cross the Atlantic after taking part in the Talisker Whisky Challenge earlier this year, raised a toast to the new Holles Boat Club which was set up in 2020 just before lockdown put a hold on all events.

“We hope this will be the first of many alumnae rowing events,” she told the guests, many of them proudly wearing their distinctive red and white striped LEHBC blazers. “LEH has an impressive track record for achieving at the highest levels in the Junior competitions and are proud to have held the National School Regatta title on several occasions. We look forward to our alumnae of all ages getting back out on the water!”

If you are interested in joining the Holles Boat Club, please sign up on the Clubs page of Holles Connect.

We Did Meet Again!

There was a wonderful buzz at the Alumnae Reunion at the start of the school year, as four generations, ranging from Boomers to Gen Z, came together to re-live their LEH hey days for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The Class of 1982, celebrating their 40th anniversary of leaving the school, who described themselves as “the naughty ones” turned out in force and were clearly delighted to see each other again.

But there was good representation across the board, especially from the Class of 1987 (marking their 35th anniversary), the Class of 1997 (who left 25 years ago) and the Class of 2012, attending their first get-together after 10 years.

“It was wonderful to walk the old corridors again and share so many memories with old classmates,” said Clare O’Kane from the Class of 1987.

Jean Wynd, from the Class of 1957, was one of a few celebrating 65 years since leaving the school. She said: “What a lovely time we had at the Reunion. Thank you so much to everyone who worked so hard to give us a memorable time. I feel very proud to have been part of LEHS.”

The wonderful photos were taken by Emma, one of our Sixth Form Creative Directors. Please log in to your Holles Connect account online to see the fully gallery of images.

How Our Alumnae #BreakTheBias

Four of our amazing alumnae returned to LEH to take part in a special panel to mark International Women’s Day in March, attended by all pupils in the L5.

Each of them works in traditionally male-dominated fields and, in a lively and engaging session, they told students about their experience of discrimination in the workplace and what they’ve done to challenge it. They were lawyer and judge Sunaina Srai-Chohan, Class of 1998, investment strategist Meena Santhosh, Class of 2006, professional boxer Amy Andrew, Class of 2004, and civil engineer Claudia Caravello, Class of 2014.

Sunaina, who is a Director at Lexis Nexis UK and sits as a part-time Crown Court Judge, gave pupils three pieces of advice to help them succeed: “Challenge any bias that you might see – if we all do it, it makes it a lot less acceptable. Lift each other up – it’s important to support each other and bring other women with you. And finally, have confidence in yourself – if you don’t try, you’ll never know what you might have achieved.”

Meena, who is a Portfolio

Manager at Robeco Asset Management, said: “I have a huge passion to get more young women to pursue careers in investing. We have a lot of unique traits to celebrate as women! It’s up to us and the next generation to call out and address the biases we experience.”

Claudia, who is a Project Manager at Turner & Townsend, said “One of my favourite quotes is ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’. A great reminder why it is so important we celebrate women’s achievements, showcase role models in the industry and work together to overcome bias, not just on International Women’s Day, but every day.”

Amy is UK Head of Boxing for Virgin as well as English National Champion. She told pupils: “It can be really liberating as a woman to step out from expectations. Boxing has given me so much more confidence and has really helped me in all areas of my life. I’d recommend it to everyone.”

Our Remarkable RecordBreaking Alumnae

The team gave a gripping inside account about becoming the fastest female trio ever to row across the Atlantic in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge last year.

Head of Rowing Abby Johnston, from the Class of 2007, encouraged the audience to try something new and really push themselves: “All of us can achieve far more than we believe,” she said. “You don’t know how extraordinary you can be until you try.”

Fellow alumna Charlotte Irving, from the Class of 2008, talked about the importance of a positive mindset and how they kept themselves focused and motivated by breaking things down into small achievable milestones.

STOP PRESS!

We’ve just heard that they’ve hit their goal of raising £100,000 for cancer charities, but it’s not too late to donate – www.weareextraoardinary.com/donate

All Fine at The Refinery Drinks!

The Season of Joy Gets Underway

With music to lift the heart and traditional readings to nourish the soul, the much-cherished Alumnae Carol Service at St Giles’ Church, Cripplegate, kicked the festive season off in style.

This year we were treated to a range of advent readings and Christmas poems given by key members of the LEH community, including Chair of Governors, David King, Head Mistress, Heather Hanbury, Deputy Head, Pastoral, Amanda Poyner, our Head Girl team, and past pupils and teachers.

Our alumnae readers were (from left to right) Yutong Zhang, Class of 2016, Diana Gollop, Class of 1996, Dr Annabel Jenkins, Class of 1973, Kirstie Jenkins (Newson), class of 1989, and former teacher Jacqueline Khan (Rutherfurd). Annabel said: “What a lovely start to the Christmas season. It was such a pleasure to attend the carol service and to catch up with a few friends. There is something so lovely about happy reminiscing! The singing was particularly impressive and I enjoyed it enormously. I always think about my Huguenot ancestors when at St Giles’, and that adds to the occasion.”

Spirits were running high as people greeted each other warmly, after a two-year pandemic induced hiatus. There was a real buzz of excitement and a great turnout of former pupils from both LEH and Hampton Schools.

Head Mistress Heather Hanbury and Head Master Kevin Knibbs were in attendance, chatting happily to their former pupils. It was standing room only, as the many guests made the most of the plentiful food and drink.

The service was conducted for the first time by newlyappointed Reverend Canon Jack Noble, who has been in post for seven months. The Alumnae Carol Service was his first festive celebration at St Giles’ and he was impressed by the calibre of singing and reading. He said afterwards: “What a wonderful occasion. It was a genuine pleasure to be a part of the LEH service this evening. Thank you for getting our Advent underway with such warmth and joy.”

With Heart, and Hands and Voices

There were joyful hearts all round when Holles Singers past and present took to the stage (December 2022) for a triumphant celebration of LEH Music in the Holles Forever! concert.

Raising the roof and proving once and for all that LEH Music Lives On, the massed ranks of alumnae and pupils sang for all they were worth, and the audience responded in kind for this special performance to benefit the Bursary Fund.

The triumphs just kept coming –including hits from Abba and Queen, and all-time favourite medleys from Chicago to Cabaret, and from Britmashe to Sassitude.

“This was the most extraordinary concert – it was like rehearsing and conducting a fantasy choir!” said Director of Music Miranda Ashe. “To look round and see so many generations of top LEH musicians, many of whom went on to study music, retaking their places in the Holles Singers, and feeling the years melt away, blew us all away. The shining eyes, expression and quality of sound were astonishing! Holles Forever indeed.”

The reunion get-together was arranged to celebrate her and Mr Ashe’s 14 years – and counting – of being at LEH. Previous members of Holles Singers jumped at the opportunity to take part, with performers representing the original crew from 2008, right through to the newbies who joined in September 2022.

£5,500 was raised for the Bursary Fund from the proceeds of this event and the spectacular Musical Auction of Promises that preceded it.

But you couldn’t put a price on the enthusiasm and energy generated by re-living their LEH best life and their love for Mrs Ashe. Here’s just a small selection of alumnae responses: -

“What a fantastic day! Music was the highlight to my time at school. Thank you so much for letting me re-immerse myself today!” Ellie Thomas, Class of 2016.

“If I could just be in Holles Singers forever, that would be great please! Thank you for making music so exciting,” Alice Walton, Class of 2011.

“Thank you so much for a wonderful day and bringing back all the memories from music at LEH. I couldn’t have made it through to do music now if not for all the training here,” Yutong Zhang, Class of 2016.

“My fondest memories of LEH all revolve around your fabulous music department. I’m truly eternally grateful,” Amy Norman, Class of 2021.

“I feel so privileged to have been a part of the Holles Singers and have never met anyone – musical director or others – as fantastic as you. I hope there is another Holles Forever, because it really is a forever choir.” Lucy Bradley, Class of 2016.

“Your love for music is inspirational. I have you to thank you for where I am today,” Becca Madden, Class of 2012.

“Nothing I can say would do it justice. I am so grateful for all my memories of music at the school,” Sophie Camilleri,

Class of 2019.

We are excited to reveal that plans are afoot to make professionally remastered downloads of the concert available later this year – with all proceeds going to the Bursary Fund as well. Watch this space for more news.

#LEHMusicLivesOn