The magazine for Truro High School
Senior School The magazine for Truro High School
Highlights 2014 - 2015
Highlights 2014 - 2015
HIGHLIGHTS 2014 - 2015
www.trurohigh.co.uk
www.trurohigh.co.uk
The magazine for Truro High School
Prep School
Ways to keep in touch:
Call us on 0871 423 5656 or visit our website at www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk Visit our Truro store: 14 River Street, TR1 2SQ Tel: 01872 225368 Mon to Sat: 9:30am-5:30pm, Sun: 10am-4pm * Free delivery to UK and Ireland. See website for full details.
Truro Girls high school Sept.indd 1
01/09/2015 10:55
No.1 ARTS UNIVERSITY IN THE UK
2015 SUNDAY TIMES LEAGUE TABLE
Visit falmouth.ac.uk or come and see for yourself at an open day falmouth.ac.uk/opendays
Foreword
My first year at Truro High School has been one jampacked with excitement and challenges, and it is one which I would not have missed for anything in the world. It only takes a glance at the stories
and photos contained within the pages which follow to start to understand the huge amount which happens at the School in the course of the year and to see the enthusiasm and sense of fun with which it is achieved. The staff and pupils at Truro High demonstrate extraordinary levels of commitment to everything they do, whether it is academic work in the classroom, sporting fixtures, musical performances, charitable fundraising or the myriad of other challenges they face in the course of an academic year.
The sense of fun around the campus is best exhibited for me by the number of times over the past year I have donned, alongside other staff and pupils, a costume: from Superman for the Ice Bucket Challenge, to a pink onesie on Cancer Research Pink Day, to the Greek god Poseidon on European Languages Day, to Sven, the reindeer, in the School’s staff Christmas production. Certainly one of the great things about working at Truro High School is that no two days are the same and the variety of experiences is immense. From The Last Post tribute in November to commemorate the centenary of World War 1 to the huge array of talent on show at the Spring term concert, the school play and the recent art and textiles exhibition, I never cease to be amazed by the very high standards that everyone achieves here. From what I’ve seen and experienced during this academic year, Truro High girls enjoy life whilst also being focused, hard-working and determined. It is a huge privilege to work alongside such able and capable staff and pupils. We are justly proud of the journeys each girl makes through our School and this past summer we celebrated our Upper Sixth achieving excellent A Level results and heading off to an impressive array of universities. I am very much looking forward to the year ahead and seeing what lies around the corner. However, in the meantime please do take the opportunity to reflect on the previous year and the many, many achievements and successes of our girls.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
“ Shop-bought puff pastry is fine. But if you want a really buttery flavour, nothing beats homemade ”
“ Mr Worthing, I confess
I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just told me ”
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
“ I will not let a tent defeat me �
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Speech Day Former acting headmistress Sheila Murphy, 84, was amongst the prizewinners at this year’s Truro High School Speech Day in Truro Cathedral. Miss Murphy won the Lynn Green Memorial Cup for her service to the school as an old girl. She first joined in 1954 as a teacher and went on to become Head of Maths, Head of Careers and Deputy Head before taking on the top job. Eventually retiring in 1986, she is still a regular supporter of the many events organised by the Old Girls’ Association.
Awards were presented by Kate Wild, another old girl who is now Managing Director of her own company Wildcard, a successful consumer brand consultancy that has an office in London as well as Truro. Performances during the event proved a real testament to the girls’ skills and talent. The Senior Choir sang Don Besig’s ‘Take These Wings’, Savannah Hall, Charlotte Rutherfoord, Saskia Beechey-Newman and Lucy Mitten performed a beautiful rendition of A McBroom’s ‘The Rose’, Molly Leigh brought tears to the eyes with her violin solo ‘Meditation’ and the Chamber Choir concluded with ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’. There were also readings by Deputy Head Girls Tia Joslyn and Freya Martin and Head Girl Zahra Dalal gave the vote of thanks.
The end marks the beginning Actor and Royal Opera House Footwear Specialist Cheryl Knight was guest of honour at this year’s Truro High School Founder’s Day service in Truro Cathedral. Held on the last day of term before the Easter break, pupils, parents and staff celebrated the school’s 135th anniversary with music, readings, prayers and speeches. As an old girl, Cheryl Knight gave a highly entertaining address in which she talked about her own memories of Truro High and particularly speech and drama tutor Maggie Hutton who had inspired her choice of career. “I will always be eternally grateful to Maggie who helped me discover my passion for theatre,” said Cheryl who has performed in West End musicals, plays and TV adverts. “I learnt some lifechanging lessons as a pupil – including the importance of friendship and the fact that life is an incredible adventure. My advice is say yes to the good opportunities that come your way – you’ll be amazed by what happens.” Take a look at our Old Girls’ Section to find out more about Cheryl’s High School experience and words of wisdom for our pupils. Current pupils displayed their own talents during the service. Felicity Hood, Year 7, performed ‘Amazing Grace’ on the bagpipes, Head Girl Laura Manhire, Deputy Head Girl Ellen Rodda and Sixth Former Holly Hick did readings and Year 11 String Trio Zoe Hastings, Abigail Leigh and Molly Leigh gave a beautiful rendition of The Rose. The school’s Prep, Senior and Chamber choirs also sang during the event.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
“Founder’s Day was a wonderful way to mark the end of term. Truro High has enjoyed a long tradition of excellence since first being established by Archbishop Benson in 1880 and continues to go from strength to strength. Like Cheryl, thousands of girls have gone on to enjoy a wide range of exciting careers after completing their school years with us and it’s always a joy to welcome them back and find out what they’ve been doing.” Dr Moodie, Headmaster
Celebrating Excellence Speech Day Prize Winners FORM AND YEAR PRIZE WINNERS Year 7 Academic Prize
Sage Newby-Jelliffe
7A
Hannah Stephens
7 Alpha
Sage Newby-Jelliffe
Year 8 Academic Prize
Isabella Arthur Austin, Maya Brookes, Martha Ellemann
8A
Lara Sagin
8 Alpha
Molly Rodda
Year 9 Academic Prize
Isobel Hammock
9A
Kitty Piccin-White
9 Alpha
Emily Brewer
Year 10 Academic Prize
Bennath Halse, Gisele Parnall
10A
Jasmine Marsh
10 Alpha
Anabel Frisch
11A
Maya-Nicole Cannell
11 Alpha
Naomi Hart
11 Aleph
Lucy Johns
SUBJECT PRIZES Art
Alice Soutar/Amani Hart
Biology
Keri Joslyn/Sophie Jones
Business Studies
Iynaiya Afzal
Classical Civilisation
Ellen Rodda/Sylvie Rowland
Classics
Heather Rothney
Chemistry
Amy Purohit/Edwina Chow
English
Laura Manhire/Sophie Jones
French
Heather Rothney/Molly Leigh
Geography
Elizabeth Maunder/Isobel Hammock
German
Megan Tamblyn/Rosalind Williams
History
Laura Manhire/Eleanor Boyden
Home Economics/Food
Katie Jewell
ICT
Tamsin Knowles
Latin
Kitty Piccin-White
Mathematics
Allison Au/Cherrie Yung/Zoe Hastings
Music
Freya Martin/Molly Leigh
PE
Rachel Pearce/Hannah Barlow
Physics
Allison Au/Charlotte Andrew
Psychology
Hayley Chandler/Madeline Sibley
Religious Philosophy
Laura Manhire/Elizabeth Maunder
Spanish
Laura Ladbrooke/Lucy Thatcher
Textiles
Kitty Rowland/Lydia Lower
Theatre Studies
Megan Tamblyn/Emily Elwell-Deighton
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Speech Day Prize Winners cont/d SPECIAL PRIZES M R Scott Prize for Written English
Zahra Dalal
Jenny Richards Prize for Creative Writing
Emily Elwell-Deighton
Debating Prize
Gisele Parnall/Chloe White
Senior Drama Cup
Holly Hick
Junior Drama Cup
Georgiana Tregunna
Buckenham Cup for Speech and Drama
Naomi Hart
The Oates Art Prize
Rebecca Winn
Hutton Cup for Most Promising Junior Linguist
Sage Newby-Jelliffe
Year 9 Cup for Progress in French
Giselle Aguer Martinez
Singing Cup
Savannah Hall
Instrumental Cup
Karen Chan
Simmons Music Shield
Charlotte Rutherfoord
Simmons Music Plaque (Helpfulness in Department)
Lucy Mitten/Saskia Beechey-Newman
Joy Perry Cup (Loyalty, Achievement in Music Department
Bennath Halse
Orchestral Cup
Isabella Arther Austin
Performer’s Cup
Felicity Hood
Year 10 Home Economics Cup
Elena Salvoni
Junior Business Prize
Olivia Leather
Maclay Cup for the most promising young historian
Eugenie Nevin
Cup for Senior Games
Georgia Wildgoose
Keeler Cup for Junior Games
Amy Shaw/Nikole Fielding
Cup for Best All Round Swimming
Charlotte Drew
Cup for Swimming Achievement
Hannah Stephens
Games Captain’s Prize
Rachel Pearce
Dalvenie Boarding House Prize (Helpfulness in Junior Boarding House)
Karen Yeung
Rashleigh Boarding House Cup (Helpfulness in Senior Boarding House)
Casey Wong
Margaret Kiddle Prize (General Progress/Helpfulness)
Lucy Jewell
Monica Williams Cup for Service
Chloe White/Gisele Parnall
Corin Cup (Sustained Effort)
Matilda Redmond
Farleigh Rice Cup for Senior Geography
Hannah Barlow
Cooper Cup for Chemistry (Junior)
Amira Ellery
Gill Cup for Chemistry (6th Form)
Keri Joslyn
Andretti Engineering Award
Lexie Pan, Mary Lau, Gaby Lau
Brewer Cup for Progress in Mathematics (Junior)
Rose Hastings
THSOGA Prize for Outdoor Pursuit
Kelly Man
Headmaster’s Prize for Head Girl
Laura Manhire
Headmaster’s Prize for Deputy Head Girl
Ellen Rodda/Cherrie Yung
House Cup
Headley
Lynn Green Memorial Cup (awarded for her service to the School as an Old Girl)
Miss Sheila Murphy
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Celebrating Excellence Results Shrieks and laughter were the order of the day as our pupils scored some of the best results of recent years. 22% of all grades achieved were A*, 56% were A* or A and 83% were A* to B. 21% of candidates got straight A*s or As. In 17 of all subjects taken including maths, biology, chemistry, physics and history, 50% or more of all candidates achieved A* or A. In textiles, 100% received A* or A, 92% in Latin and 78% in history. Our modern languages department also had much to celebrate with 100% of pupils who studied more than one language – French, Spanish or German – gaining A* and As in at least 2 out of the 3 subjects. Our Art Department also fared well with pupils Amani Hart and Georgia Wildgoose achieving perfect scores of 100% in their art GCSE. With 87% of this year’s A Level students getting A* to C grades, there were also lots of smiles and tears of relief as the girls collected their results. 30% of all subjects taken were A* or A and 65% were A* to B.
“This year’s results have been better than ever and I’m extremely proud – not just of those girls who got straight A*s and As but also of the girls who had to work particularly hard to get the grades they achieved and who succeeded beyond their expectations. A good school is more than about getting excellent results – it’s about giving students the happy, productive, fun-loving environment they need to build confidence and aspiration. That’s what our parents tell us we’ve got here at Truro High and that’s why I’m even more delighted by these successes today.” Dr Moodie, Headmaster
74%
of our girls have gained places at their first choice university, including the country’s very top Russell Group universities and art colleges
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Getting to know you Our new Head Girl team Hi I’m Zahra and I’m Head Girl. I’ve had a lot of time to get to know the High School, I’ve been here since Nursery so that’s about 14 years! My time at Truro High has taught me a lot including the fact that things do not always go to
plan! However, I have learnt to think on my feet, adapt to situations and ultimately found that in order to succeed you have to take the rough with the smooth (or try and make the rough look like it was planned all along!). During my time as Head Girl, I hope to improve the school through the introduction of a range of new clubs as well as planning a big fundraiser for charity that the whole school can be involved with.
I believe that the position of Head Girl entails representing the voice of all pupils from Prep School to my peers and being someone who understands the High School ethos; representing the school to its best and working towards an even better school community – something which I hope I can achieve. Zahra Dalal, Head Girl 2015-16
My name is Freya and I am Deputy Head Girl alongside Tia and Zahra. I am a keen netball player and also play the double bass in a multitude of orchestras, as well as being an integral member of the school jazz band.
I’m Tia, and am now Deputy Head Girl of our school. I am a weekly boarder here, and have been for the last 6 years. I love a good debate, and will happily have a discussion about any topic, and all the better if we have differing opinions.
Caitlin Moran is a big role model for me. Her book, How To Be A Woman, first introduced me to feminism. I feel that feminism will always be a vital foundation for the progression of women’s rights, and is still fiercely relevant, even in the 21st century. The fact that we are an all-girls school magnifies this even more, and I think that my time at Truro High thus far has helped me to grow from a nervous Year 7 to a confident young woman who has found her own voice and identity. Now that I have been elected Deputy Head Girl, I can’t wait to channel my enthusiasm, and experience as a pupil myself, into the school and its pupils to help them be the best that they can be.
What I love about our school is the friendly atmosphere, and I want to try and ensure everybody feels completely comfortable and happy coming into school every morning. To do this, we want to try and increase the importance of the house system, create more clubs and do more charity work. Essentially, I would like to try and help all pupils to have the best experience that they possibly can. I want to thank everybody once again for allowing me to become Deputy Head Girl, and if you ever want to chat, feel free.
Freya Martin, Deputy Head Girl 2015-16
Tia Joslyn, Deputy Head Girl 2015-16
Hellos and goodbyes Staff Farewells Astrid Hanson is looking after her grandchildren Frances Ellison is buying a cottage in France
June Blakemore is spending more time with her granddaughter and hoping to become a ‘puppy socialiser’ for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf
Angela Lamble is going travelling
John Brand is taking more time to watch his favourite sport, Rugby
Andy Purchase is enjoying his new found leisure time
Kate Horam is pursuing a full-time teaching career
Kate Griffin has already been skydiving courtesy of Prep School with far more adventures to come
Freya Carzola is moving to America to study at university
Tracey Kemp is working as a TA at Archbishop Benson School with plans to become a teacher
Tracey Johns is enjoying her time away from the office (although we’re sure she’ll be back before long)
Sophie Turriff is working in a nursery in Devon & pursuing her love of horse-riding
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Out & About
High flying in the City The Business Studies Sixth Formers were very excited to join the Year 10 – 13 Art & Textiles groups on an excursion which would let us find out more about the culture and commerce of our capital city, London.
– whose MD came to the school to talk to us about setting up your own business. His staff were very welcoming and very keen to mention they had a sale on. Some of us just couldn’t resist having a look! Iynaiya Afzal, Emily Hicks, Katie Jewell & Hannah Larsen, Year 13
In the morning, we were dropped off at Sloane Square. The Business Studies group walked up to Knightsbridge Tube station and caught a train to Covent Garden. Someone suggested we try the staircase up to the exit – only 193 steps! Apart from Mr Brand, we recovered quickly and walked round the corner to the Apple Store – a Wi-Fi malfunction might have meant that our planned workshop couldn’t go ahead, but a cool and enthusiastic member of staff called Charles showed us around, let us “gadge” and answered all our questions. Before lunch we walked along to the Finisterre shop – the upmarket surf-clothing company based in Wheal Kitty, St Agnes “That was very moving” was the perhaps unexpected but frequent response from our students to the exhibition at the V&A, but this was not any fashion exhibition, this was the work of the late and very great, Alexander McQueen. The curators at the museum have illustrated magnificently the incredible creativity of McQueen’s work and the genius of his fevered imagination. We were left inspired and sometimes disturbed by his vision. 700,000 tickets have sold for this exhibition already and we booked our 30 a year ago when it was first announced! We have been on countdown for months and our experience was well worth the long train journey. After our morning at the V&A and a picnic in the Learning Centre, we dragged ourselves away from the exhibition, vowing to come back for a second look over the summer holiday. We spent Saturday afternoon “researching fashion” in the famous stores near Oxford Circus such as Liberty of London’s beautiful Arts and Crafts emporium. Thanks to Mr Brand and his Business Studies group for joining with our group to organise this trip; to Mrs Tutin who is now a fellow McQueen fan; to our students whose behaviour did Truro High School proud as always; and to parents for supporting the trip and collecting the girls late on Saturday evening. Mrs Wieringa, Textiles
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
“I think going to London to see the Alexander McQueen exhibition in the V&A has been one of the best experiences I have had. I managed to experience some of his amazing work and it has really influenced my designs for my dress that I will be making next year. On top of that, we got to roam around London and travel by the Tube! It was truly amazing!” - Jasmine Marsh, Year 10
Out & About Lost in Austen Far from being unlucky for the English Department, Friday 13 March was a great day as Year 10 enjoyed a Jane Austen trip to Bath!
The rain stopped for us to take a leisurely guided stroll round the city to discover its associations with an author we are studying for GCSE. We found out more about her life and times by visiting the Jane Austen Centre where many girls were keen to dress up in eighteenth century costume and experiment with writing with quills. We also spent time in the Costume Museum at the Assembly Rooms which entailed further dressing up! There was just time to explore the shops before returning to Truro with our souvenirs. Mrs Holland, Head of English
In search of the Bard In February, the English A Level students were able to go on a weekend long trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where we would indulge in not one, but three trips to the theatre as well as visiting the birthplace of Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway’s home, and several of Stratford’s finest restaurants. We saw Love Labour’s Lost, Love Labour’s Won and The Shoemaker’s Holiday. All plays were brilliant, but my personal favourite was Love Labour’s Won, the play we saw on the Friday evening we arrived. We all loved the plays, and everyone who went on this trip now understands much more about Shakespeare himself and his writing process. One highlight of the trip included arriving at Anne Hathaway’s home and we were also able to take part in a backstage theatre tour whilst we were there, which was really insightful and gave us insider perspective on the theatre that otherwise we would never have had. Tia Joslyn, Year 12
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Foreign Articulation The Modern Languages Spelling Bee gives you the chance to prove your language skills and eye for detail. I was so nervous and had butterflies fluttering around in my tummy. There were four other
competitors in the German class, totalling six altogether, and I was second to last in the running order. When it was my go I was extremely nervous and a little bit excited. The others had all been really good. You had to sit in a chair facing all the other people and there was a screen behind you with the English and German words on it. A man called the words out in English while I had to spell them in German. For example, he might have called ‘science’ and I had to spell ‘n-a-t-u-r-w-i-s-s-e-n-s-c-h-a-f-t-e-n’. I was relieved when it was over and we went back to where we had registered and drank hot chocolate. I was just settling down when they announced that the top four from each language would have to battle it out for first, second, third and fourth. I’d got through! I didn’t have time to think about it too much or to worry – I just went up and gave it my best shot. This time it was in front of all the other people from different languages but I didn’t feel nervous – in fact I felt kind of calm and did the best performance that I’ve ever done. I finished second after a nail-biting tie-break and was so proud, pleased and excited. I hope I have made the school and Mrs Murley proud. I think it was a great experience that will definitely help me with my German next year. Sage Newby-Jelliffe, Year 7
When in Bath . . . (see what the Romans did) The Year 9 Latin group got up bright and early to be ready to leave school in good time for the long journey to Bath. However, it was entirely worth it in order to see Mr. Tutin in his Red Nose Day outfit, in preparation for some fundraising around the city centre! When we finally arrived, we made our way through the city to the Roman Baths, which are situated in a square full of beautiful buildings, including Bath Abbey. We were told lots of very interesting facts about the spring, which was very unusual and special at the time due to its naturally warm temperature and, before the Romans invaded Britain, was already seen as home to a Celtic goddess Sulis, who was later incorporated into the Roman religion as Sulis Minerva. We also looked and tried to translate some of the inscriptions from tablets that had been found in and around Bath, some of which were quite touching. We were then shown several fascinating artefacts dating back to the Roman era, which included some beautiful glass pots, amphorae, roof and mural tiles and bathing tools such as the strigil – used for scraping sweat and dirt off the body with oil that was applied before bathing. We also learned a more disgusting fact – the waste that was scraped off by gladiators was sometimes put into little pots… which Roman ladies then used as face masks! Our audio guides gave us information about all the displays in the museum, and told us lots of useful things about everything from coins, curses and items that had been thrown in the spring
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
to information about Sulis Minerva, the contents of the spring water and how the Romans developed things such as pulleys to help them to build and maintain the baths. We also took the opportunity to take a glimpse at the Pump Room next door to the Baths and some people drank some of the water from a fountain from the spring – apparently it was fairly unpleasant. Ellie Boyden, Year 9
Out & About Leaders of Tomorrow On a sunny autumn evening, Ellen, Cherrie and I travelled to Tetbury, where we would stay for the night before attending the South West Head Girls’ Conference - “Leadership, Self-Awareness & the Importance of Networking”.
The event itself was held at Westonbirt School – a very Downton Abbey-esque building - set in gorgeous grounds next to the nationally renowned Westonbirt Arboretum. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by other Head Girl teams, where we mainly compared badges and realised that Cornwall is a far flung part of England for many! The day focused on building public speaking confidence, developing leadership skills, and the ability to learn more about the composition and effectiveness of team work. Our Guest Speaker was Danielle Waterman, full-back for the England Women’s Rugby team. It was so interesting to hear about how international sports stars – Women’s Rugby World Cup Champions 2014 – use past experiences as motivation for improvement, as well as how vital communication is in achieving success.
with the forthcoming Rugby World Cup. We brainstormed ideas, prepared a presentation and worked hard to come up with original and creative ideas. For me, perhaps the most invaluable experience was being taught how networking can help to develop your future. Our networking lunch gave us a chance to practice these new skills and we were able to receive support from various professionals to expand our business ventures! Presenting our ideas to the other delegates wasn’t as scary as I had previously thought as everyone was so friendly and I could see my deputies’ encouraging smiles! By the end of the conference we had learnt so much that was so valuable in the coming year, as well as in our careers in the future. Leaving Tetbury with lots of new friends from all over the South West, we travelled back to Cornwall, very tired but with an even more enthusiastic Head Girl Team. Laura Manhire, Head Girl | 2014-15
There were also talks by professional head-hunters, solicitors, editors of magazines and university lecturers on the importance of making the most of every opportunity and the impact of first impressions. Our task for the afternoon was to work in teams to pitch our product, an app or an event in conjunction
Lessons from Auschwitz Recently, I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit Auschwitz for a day with the Holocaust Educational Trust. The trip was incredibly enlightening and is something which everyone should do, given the chance. We began with an orientation seminar in Exeter, where we heard a Holocaust survivor speak about his experience. Our speaker was a man called Ziggi Shipper. It was incredibly interesting to hear the events spoken by a man who actually went through them, and inspiring to see how he has been able to recover from the horrific events of his past. In March, we had the opportunity to actually visit Poland. It was a day trip - we got up at about 4am, and got back at about 10pm. It was undoubtedly a long day but nonetheless so worthwhile. In the visit, we first saw a Polish town named Oświęcim, which had been a predominantly Jewish town before the war. Now, almost the entire Jewish population has been wiped out. The day largely focused on the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. In Auschwitz I, we visited several barracks – we saw registration documents of inmates, piles of hair, shoes, clothes and other items seized from the prisoners as they entered the camps which are displayed within these buildings along with a general history of the camp. This part of the trip was when we really began to understand the horrors that millions of Jews went through. We then visited Birkenau. This is the site that most people associate with the word “Auschwitz” and where the vast majority of victims were murdered. The remnants of barracks, crematoria and gas chambers are in stark contrast to Auschwitz I and seeing the place where so many were executed was not an easy experience. However, the fact that this visit was so reverent and sombre is not a bad thing – in fact, this is necessary to make visitors understand the reality of what happened in the Second World War. Ultimately, visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau is definitely is something that we all should do if given the chance, to honour and attempt to understand the experience of the victims who went through these terrible ordeals. Tia Joslyn, Year 12
www.trurohigh.co.uk
ARE YOUR INVESTMENTS GETTING 6.5%? Invest £25,000 or more and benefit from our competitive interest rate paid monthly and delivered with a smile. • 6.5% pa interest paid monthly • Secured against property • Easy In/Easy Out or Fixed terms • Friendly personal service • Zero defaults to date*
Bideford | Crediton | Falmouth | Launceston | Midsomer Norton This has been approved as a financial promotion by Folk2Folk Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority licence number 6563790. Peer to peer lending does not fall under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Lending carries a degree of risk to your capital if the borrower is unable to repay the loan. We seek to reduce this risk by taking security on every loan. Folk2Folk does not act as a lender but as an arranger of loans. *Based on the amount lost by a lender (excludes temporary delays in interest repayment).
01566 773296 www.folk2folk.com
Out & About Singing for the stars Our Chamber Choir had the privilege of being invited to perform for the installation of Falmouth University’s first Chancellor. Best known for her role in the Vicar of Dibley and work as part of comedy duo French and Saunders, comedian and novelist Dawn French was formally installed as the university’s first chancellor at King Charles the Martyr Church in Falmouth on March 26. She was then escorted by the Lizard Stallions and Coach to a private reception at Pendennis Castle, Falmouth where the festivities continued throughout the afternoon. The excited girls were given a tour of the castle before nervously waiting in the Green Room to perform to an audience of over 400 guests. They sang Don Besig’s Take These Wings and Gershwin’s Love is Here to Stay. The Choir also performed The Lord is My Shepherd, a nod to one of Ms French’s best known roles in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, which was specially arranged for the event. Our singers were in excellent company. The ceremony involved a wealth of entertainment including Falmouth University Orchestra, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winner Seth Lakeman and Falmouth based traditional Cornish singers The Oggy Men, whose line-up includes our Head of Music Mr Rob Norman. “It was a truly memorable experience. I was so excited to see Dawn. She even gave me a thumbs up when I performed my solo in The Lord is My Shepherd.” - Freya Martin, Year 12 Chamber Choir soloist “The afternoon was absolutely fantastic. We have some phenomenally talented and very hard working musicians at Truro High and this has given our girls a chance to really showcase their talent in front of some very big names. It was an honour to participate in this prestigious event, especially as we were the only school choir to perform here today.” - Mr Norman, Head of Music
Pushing Boundaries: Duke of Edinburgh You can always tell how your D of E expedition is going to go from when you first set off. Will you get lost or will all go well? My group got lost in the first few minutes of setting off. We’d already started on the strawberry laces and then we started mountain climbing, or at least that’s what it felt like. We’d taken the wrong, much, much more difficult path which set us back a good half an hour. We thought we were done for but thankfully that was the last time we were lost (we thought!). The weather was gorgeous, so the sun cream came out and jumpers, fleeces and any excess layers came off. The camp was lovely. There was a great atmosphere and given how warm it was, putting up the tents was easy. We couldn’t wait to get our walking boots off (everyone in a mile radius BEWARE!!) and put our comfy pyjamas on! It was a good night’s sleep but the weather the next morning was not promising. Walking in the rain, we found, is not a fun task. Everything, including spirits, get dampened but that was not going to stop us! We carried on like Abba, Super Troopers, singing away until we reached the end. Bags were strewn across the parking space with dead looking girls sprawled next to them. The complete exhaustion was definitely worth it! As many of my family would say, “It’s character building!” Savannah Hall, Year 10
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Empowering Young Engineers At Greenpower, we enjoy driving the car because we enjoy the achievement full in the knowledge that we created it. Designing and getting sponsorship to build the cars so we can finally race them makes it more fun. Newquay was the second race we had driven in. Our pit lanes were really fast but still managed to improve with every race. Having a little experience made the race so much more fun, you felt confident going round the track and getting up to an excellent speed. Amira Ellery and Amy Purohit, Sixth Form
• We have had visits from Team Andretti and expert advice from Terry Graves and James Robinson as well as help from James Whitton, Darius Navai, Martin Rice and Simon Combe. Penzance Bike Kitchen also gave up time to help the girls set up the wheels and brakes.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Out & About • We have grown as a team from one car and 4 students to a fleet of 5 cars and 33 girls in a short period of time. I joined the Greenpower racing team because when I was younger my dad had been an engineer in the RAF. When I saw Greenpower racing on the list of after school clubs it stood out for me as I wanted to do something a little different to the usual academic, music or art clubs. And so… I joined. Whilst we were at Goodwood I: • Was part of an amazing team • Raced around the Goodwood race track • Helped be part of the pit team • Helped when the car started letting off sparks It was a great time and I really enjoyed myself. I will certainly not regret joining the club as a little bit of a change at the start of the year. Felicity Hood, Year 7
• Our progress in the world of green-powered motorsport was marked by a glittering awards evening and auction at the Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes. On hand to add their praise and support for all the girls were sponsors Karen Ellis, CEO of Ellis Clowes, a leading independent Lloyd’s of London insurance broker that specialises in high level motorsport; Rob Arnott, A Formula 1 race engineer and team manager who is currently working with Andretti Autosport on their Formula-E project and James Robinson, a race engineer working with Le Mans Heidfield/Prost. • Year 12 Lexie Pan, battled her way to an outstanding 7th position in the London round of the international Formula E Schools Series. Competing against some tough competition from over 10 schools, we were the only school outside of London with a part to play in this race. In order to take part in this prestigious event, we gave forged a successful partnership with Harris Academy Morden. Lexie would drove supported by a pit crew of three pupils from the Harris Academy and Year 10 Chloe White.
• We have had further support and help from Cornwall College automotive department and in particular Luke Blazely and John Collins (Jester). From all of our engineers the girls have learned new skills like how to use a computer to design their car as well as gaining an insight into automotive engineering.
In my opinion, our race at RNAS Merryfield was the best race yet! Everything was laid back; there was a nice vibe of calm collectedness. We set up our cars and equipment, made some final adjustments and set off for scrutaneering. All of our cars got through and soon we were lining up for our first race. Everybody was waiting on the start line, nervous and curious to find out what the circuit had in store. The flag was waved and I was off. I was a little wobbly to start with but soon I was swerving around cars and speeding up. After four laps I came in and Dotty took over. I was relieved to take of my sweltering helmet though! On the second race our results flew higher, we managed three more miles than we did at Goodwood! I started with 10 laps and Dotty finished it. Our top speed was 20.2 mph which is quite a lot for a small car. It was such a memorable day which definitely proved that our team is improving more and more. Charlotte Brown, Year 8
Solar Flair The Solar Eclipse didn’t stop Year 9’s solar powered cars racing to the finish line for the close of National Science Week. The girls were split into teams and given
identical kits. The principles of solar energy were explained and the pupils encouraged to start building in preparation for a series of races and tests along a specially designed track. The results were extremely impressive. We are also very proud that for the second year running, our Year 9 pupils won the Solar Car Challenge held in Newquay. The girls showed excellent design and engineering skills, creating a solar powered buggy from scratch. Mr Dean, Head of Science
www.trurohigh.co.uk
11849_EC_Truro_school_advert_A4_AW.indd 1
01/07/2015 13:11
Out & About “I had wanted to become an architect before some great careers advice inspired me to do a degree in naval architecture at Southampton University instead. It was really hard work – I describe it as rocket science plus water. When I moved out of academia and into the engineering industry I did encounter sexism and sometimes still do. As a woman you have to prove yourself every step of the way.” - Dr Rachel Nicholls-Lee from Mojo Maritime – Falmouth
Engineering Futures Using five white chocolate bars to build structures capable of bearing more than fifteen kilograms of weight was just one of the activities on offer at a day-long event to mark National Women in Engineering Day. Held at the school, 122 girls from schools across the county took part in a range of interactive sessions designed to excite their interest in engineering as a career. To help them discover the many opportunities on offer, representatives from a number of different businesses and organisations were on hand to chat about their own experiences and demonstrate what their jobs involved. Dr Rachel Nicholls-Lee of Falmouth-based Mojo Maritime gave the day’s keynote speech before joining colleagues and students in one of the laboratories to build a tidal barrage. The schools taking part were Truro High, Falmouth School, Penryn College, Wadebridge, Pool Academy and Richard Lander.
“I’m originally from Nottingham but moved to Cornwall to study at Camborne School of Mines. I love what I do and think I get treated better because I’m a woman. I’m currently the only female in our team.” - Sarah Lowndes, Project Engineer with LM Handling – Camborne
“It’s been really interesting. I hadn’t realised that there were so many different things you can do in science. I like physics and loved building in chocolate. It’s amazing how much weight Milky Bars welded together can take.” - Maddie McCloud, Year 8
www.trurohigh.co.uk 13:11
On the slopes In April this year, the school held a skiing trip to Alpe d’Huez in France. When we landed, we got straight onto another coach that took us to France and up into the snow topped mountains. Soon we
were surrounded by snow, ski lifts, and huge chalets and hotels, including the hotel that would be our home for the next week. The next morning, everyone woke up ready for our first day skiing. As we got further up the rocky mountains, flashes of colour flew past our eyes, as skiers headed down the piste. As I had skied once before, it was great to be gliding down the slopes again. The first day went by so quickly that before we knew it we were putting away our skis and poles back at the hotel. During the rest of the week on the slopes, I think everyone really pushed themselves and improved their skiing loads. My skiing group managed to progress from green slopes to sections of red ones. The advanced skiers took on “The Tunnel”, the hardest black run in the resort, and the beginners were skiing down hard green slopes by the end of the week. The slopes were not the only things that occupied our time. The snow park gave us the opportunity to have some fun trying things that were completely new to us, such as jumps and tables. We also made several visits to the Canyon. This was the skiing equivalent of a half pipe in skateboarding, with bumps at the bottom. The best thing about the Canyon, in my opinion, was that everyone faced their fears. Many people, myself included, had a few falls on this slope and were slightly nervous about going down it again. That said, everyone did accept the challenge for a second time and we were all hugely relieved and excited to get to the bottom unscathed! We also were able to go ice skating as well as swimming. The pool was outdoors, and it isn’t every day that you get to say that you went swimming in a pool surrounded by snow! That is a moment that I will never forget.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
For me, the ski trip really made me push myself, and this was a great thing, as challenging myself made me improve so much as a skier. I faced my fears of steep slopes as well as the once terrifying chair lifts, and am happy to say that both fears are now non-existent! However, the main thing I, and probably everyone else, got out of the ski trip are the amazing memories, from standing at the top of a massive mountain looking over at Mont Blanc and chatting with our incredibly cool ski instructor, to the amazing wake-up playlist that came on in our room every morning to get us all of bed and ready for the day ahead. Maybe even more than that, I have left France with new friends from all across the school, the memories that I get as soon as I even see a picture of a mountain, and an awesome group photo! Isobel Hammock, Year 9
Out & About Keeping a weather eye Having applied in December 2014 for a week’s work experience at the Met Office in Exeter, I was really excited to learn in March that I was 1 of 47 Year 10-12s from all over the UK to get a placement. I was to spend a week in the Mesoscale Model Development Team looking at how they develop models all over the world based on observational data.
I arrived in the reception where we were all handed our security passes and taken to the conference room for our induction morning. My manager, Anke, gave me a short talk on what she does and what we would do during the week which was to create a forecast model over Cornwall and to compare some data sets and analyse them for any changes. We also would work together with my fellow five students to create a presentation at the end of the week to our managers, Met Office staff and other students. Our brief was ‘how can the Met Office encourage more young people into STEM professions?’ Over the week I produced forecasts for Cornwall using our created model and the UKV model and also compared the differences between the two. I also did some work on comparing models with different resolutions in two instances before presenting my findings to Anke. As part of the work experience week, we were given talks on climate science, space weather and forecasting which were fascinating. We all viewed several experiments designed to show how dynamics worked on Earth. I also learnt how to use a different computer program called Linux which proved very helpful for my work and will be useful in the future if I follow a science-based career.
Numbers Wizards Last April, we participated in the Regional Maths Challenge finals, held at Guild Hall, Plymouth. Most of the teams were a mixture of Year 8 and 9 boys and girls however our team was all Year 8 girls. The competition consisted of 4 rounds. After a short intro we were introduced to the first round, the team challenge. We were presented with ten difficult questions and 45 minutes in which to complete them. We had to choose a strategy: whether to work as one group or split off into pairs. We decided to work together and each person chose a question and started working on it. We worked through the questions and checked each other’s workings. The second round was a crossword. We split off into pairs. Both were given a copy of the same number crossword, one pair was given the clues for across and one was given the clues for down. We were only allowed to communicate via our supervisor and so had to work together even though working on different questions.
Our presentation went really well despite technical issues and we had some great feedback from the audience. It really made me think about how much STEM jobs impact on our everyday lives. All in all, I had a fabulous week; it surpassed all my expectations and has left me feeling really inspired and better focused on my future choices and career. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in a career in STEM subjects. Lowenna Penny, Year 10 When we thought we knew an answer we told our supervisor and she told both teams whether or not it was correct. When the time was up our score was added to our total. We found that this was our favourite round. After lunch, we completed a shuttle round in which we relied on each others’ answers to different questions to complete our own. This then bought us to our fourth and final round. We split off into pairs taking it in turns to answer questions. This made for an exhilarating and fun round, filled with lots of lively activity as well as mathematics. We found this a brilliant day out and feel that it was a great way to participate in some fun and friendly mathematical competition, as well as meeting lots of new people with the same interests. Dotty Squibb, Katie Rapo, Madeleine McLeod and Emerald Norris, Year 8
www.trurohigh.co.uk
before
Independent Chartered Building Surveyors We are a private and fully independent firm of chartered building surveyors, providing friendly and thoroughly professional services. Our Services: Pre-acquisition Residential Surveys and Valuations Mundic Testing Architectural Design Project Management
after Cover the whole of Cornwall Many years of experience
Architectural Design & Project Management
High levels of qualifications and professional accreditation
01872 277 230 info@cockrams-surveyors.co.uk www.cockrams-surveyors.co.uk 22 Lemon Street Truro Cornwall TR1 2LS
Residential Surveys
In School Playing the part Drama Club is open to all of Year 9 in order to help provide a more in-depth learning experience for drama and allowing theatre studies lessons to be more advanced. The sessions often focus on
planning and performing a creative play or scene that can be theatrically analysed by the rest of the group. As a class, we are typically encouraged to take on some challenging and mature topics such as the transatlantic slave trade and disabilities, which helps to bring depth and meaning to our performances, as well as educating us on important parts of life that can be left untold. We also present comical performances like a mime exercise that we recently did or a task that involved basing a scene around the starting line, “Did you open my letter?� The skills that are developed further such as analysing performances and being empathetic with the characters in order for a piece to be realistic will continue to be used during both GCSE and A level Drama. Ezgi Aldemir, Year 9
LAMDA I have been doing Public Speaking for two years now, and Speech and Drama before that. The LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) programme allows you to try and explore skills that otherwise would never be developed. When I took my Grade 7 Public Speaking exam in May, it is fair to say that I was extremely apprehensive. I have always been nervous before all of my LAMDA exams, but perhaps because this one was Grade 7, I was more nervous than ever before. In the fifteen minutes before my exam, I had to create a spontaneous speech - this year mine was about the past, and whether things were always better in time gone by. Creating a coherent speech in fifteen minutes under pressure is something anyone would be apprehensive about, and I was no different. However, when I was called to go into the examination, my nerves dispersed almost immediately when I was greeted with the friendly and chatty examiner. She was lovely, and gave me
time to prepare myself before I began my speeches. This year I did three - my spontaneous one, one on organ donation and one on the power of advertising. After I had done all three, I had a short chat with the examiner about how to create a speech and what techniques should be used to make it have the strongest effect on the audience possible. Although I am unsure as to how well it went, I do know that doing LAMDA examinations is something extremely worthwhile - it allows you to develop skills that otherwise you would never know you have as well as helping you to overcome potential fears. It is great to have LAMDA grades to put on your CV however, I value it more for the confidence it gives you. It is unlikely that you will never have to speak in front of a crowd, and thus LAMDA equips you with skills that will be crucial for your future career. Tia Joslyn, Year 12
100% of our LAMDA pupils passed their examinations again in May this year. We bid a fond farewell to Sue Bradbury, who has taught LAMDA at the school for the past 15 years, who retired at the end of the school year. The Drama Department will be taking over the teaching of the LAMDA grades, offering examinations from introductory sessions to Grade 8 in Speaking Verse and Prose, Reading for Performance, Speaking in Public, Acting, Devising Drama, Miming, Group Recital and Choral Speaking. Mr Tutin, Head of Drama and Theatre Studies
61% of pupils were awarded distinctions and 35% were awarded merits. www.trurohigh.co.uk
Women & Children 0 -12 years 8 Nalders Court, Pydar Street TRURO TR1 2XH (01872) 274731 email: chunter2907@yahoo.co.uk
In School Creative and Poetry Writing Café Poetry Cafe meets every Friday giving our girls the opportunity to read, write and discuss words which inspire them. The club transforms in the Summer term into a Creative Writing Café. With hot chocolate & great advice, our girls can raid their imaginations in comfort. “Could Olivia really be in love with Viola?” - A poem inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night I fear I am not content with my choices, for I lust after Viola in an unnerving way, Perhaps I was wed in haste; Overwhelmed in my joy at discovering a cure to my woes, A fit suitor with the same likeness as the one I love. But now I crave the bountiful wit of my husband’s twin, And when I am awoken upon sunrise, It is Viola that crosses my mind, not the man I swore my hand to. It is only deception I see in my eyes when I view my reflection in the mirror, And I do not know how much longer I can go on like this for;
Every day committing sin – lust and lies. Should I proceed? Should I annihilate my God-witnessed binding, For it is not what lies in my heart. I maintain a perfectly composed and happy façade, But inside there are boiling volcanoes of passion and unlawful desire, Burning and ready to rip my mask to shreds. I am not concluded on which direction at this crossroads is the right one, But I know I cannot go on this way. Ellie Sneesby, Year 9
The Woman in Black – Ghost Stories by Candlelight There was a chill in the air up at Kensey when Year 10 English gave their lesson with Mr Crump an atmospheric feel that would send a shiver down your spine. Reading ghost stories by flickering candlelight seemed the perfect way to heighten their readings of The Woman in Black. “Doubtless, in such a place as this, with its eerie marshes, sudden fogs, moaning winds… any poor old woman might be looked at askance; once upon a time, after all, she would have been branded as a witch…”
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Catch of the Day The fish demonstration we had from Annie Sibert was really informative and inspired us to use fish as a key ingredient more in our cooking. We learnt how to select, prepare and cook lots of local produce including haddock, lemon sole, mackerel and gurnard. It certainly gave us lots of ideas for our upcoming coursework and many of us were able to use fish in our practical lessons. Annie showed us that there are lots more healthy ways to cook fish that don’t involve battering. She also demonstrated a wide range of techniques including filleting, identifying the roe and soft roe and knife skills. It was a hands-on demonstration so some of us were even lucky enough to help in the process.
Annie Sibert, owner of My Fish Kitchen in Mawnan Smith, hosted a morning of practical skills sessions in fish preparation and cookery in March to inspire our young chefs to work with high quality, locally sourced produce. “Working as a Fishmonger for nearly 20 years, I am keen to pass on my knowledge of fish and fish cookery, which is the reason why I started My Fish Kitchen. I’ve found that so many people I meet love eating Cornish fish but have no idea how to cook it. My aim is to take the confusion away and give people the confidence to enjoy some of the finest fish in the world – which are here on their doorstep in Cornwall!” - Annie Sibert
The morning finished with a tasting session so that we could try the results for ourselves. Safe to say, it was delicious. It was a brilliantly, innovative way to spend a morning and we can’t wait for get stuck in with more demonstrations in the future.
“It was a really interesting morning, it is so important for our girls to know where their ingredients come from. Living in Cornwall what could be more important than learning how to prepare fish? Annie was incredibly passionate about the subject and really informative. Preparing fish is a high level practical skill and this session provided the girls with an opportunity to see these skills in action.”
Calypso Sqibb, Year 10
- Mrs van der Lem, Head of Food & Nutrition
Icing on the cake The Food Department decided to celebrate Easter this year with a Novelty Cake competition. There were some phenomenal entries and 1st prize went to Year 7 Lucy
Mitten. It was a hard task for our judges to pick a winner, but they were really impressed with Lucy’s fabulous raspberry & white chocolate cake with almond flowers.
Rose Pringle was awarded 3rd place for her rose infused cupcakes and Katie Humphreys 2nd for her rainbow mini egg cake. Delicious. Mrs van der Lem, Head of Food and Nutrition
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
In School Locally grown talent The Rotary Young Chef Competition was an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. When I first entered I had no idea how much work, or how much fun it would be. I managed to reach the regional finals which took place in West Somerset College in March. I’d adapted the dishes that I’d cooked from the previous round at Richard Lander School in January.
I had to cook a three course meal for two in two hours; for my starter I made butternut squash arancini with aioli which I’d been taught to do during my work experience at Fifteen Cornwall after the second round. For my main course I cooked monkfish in Parma ham with potato puree, samphire and tomato beurre blanc, and for dessert a chocolate frangipane tartlet with chocolate pastry and a port-poached pear and port reduction. Starter B u tt ernut squas I aimed to use Cornish ingredients h arancini w ith aioli in all of my food, as well as M ai n incorporating traditional Monkfish in Italian cooking methods. The Parma ham potato pure with e, samphire competition taught me to take risks and tomato beurre blan and encouraged me to attempt c making food I never thought Dessert I could. I have learnt so much Chocolate fr angipane ta from the experience, but most rtlet with chocolate p as tr y, port-poac importantly it has made me hed pear and port red uction realise my love of cooking, and how one day I may wish to do it professionally. Nell Salvoni, Year 10
Baking for a good cause The Food Department decided to help Prep School raise money for ‘School in a Bag’ following the devastating earthquakes in Nepal with a Staff Bake Off.
1st
This is a charity which helps poor, orphan, vulnerable and disaster affected children throughout the world. There were some impressive & delicious entries and it was a tough decision for Mrs van der Lem & her fellow judges. With £72 raised by our Staff Bake Off, that’s 8 bags! 1st Mrs D’s Orange and Poppy seed cake 2nd Mrs Cox’s Raspberry and White Chocolate cake 3rd Mrs Kingdon’s Maltesers cake 4th Mrs Wood’s Spiced Rhubarb cake 5th Mrs John’s Zesty Citrus cake 6th Mrs Tutin’s Teddy Bears’ Picnic cake
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Talent on show The scholars’ concert was a great opportunity to showcase our musical talents to our friends, family and teachers. Each scholar was allowed to choose their own piece and instrument they wished to play, which brought an individual and personal touch to the concert. Recently I have been enjoying singing and playing duets. I wanted to make sure that music did not become a chore and that I could still perform and play for fun. Over the last year I have been concentrating on singing and playing piano duets together with my close friend Emma Radford. We started off simply with a well-known song from the musical Mary Poppins ‘Feed the Birds’ and as we developed our skills we progressed to harder pieces such as ‘The Prayer’ from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. This is the piece we sang in the concert. Everyone made a big effort and everyone did brilliantly. Charlotte Rutherfoord, Year 8
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
The department presented its full school concert in January where the talents of a huge range of pupils were showcased in front of a sell-out audience. The evening included performances from the Senior Choir, Chamber Choir, Senior Orchestra, Year 10 and 11 GCSE ensembles, Jazz Band, Flute Choir, String Ensemble, Prep Choir and String Trio. Mrs Courtney’s and Mrs Hanley’s pupils performed concerts in the Piran Theatre showcasing their talents and musical flair. Once again the school took part in the Cornwall Music Festival in March with many successes in a wide variety of classes. The festival continues to be a huge success giving performers the opportunity to showcase repertoire that has been prepared with many hours of practice and dedication on the individual’s instrument. In May, the department presented its annual Scholarship Recital over the course of two evenings. The recitals took place in the Piran Theatre, with a warm and appreciative crowd in attendance. Repertoire included works by Paganini, Faurè, Mozart and Chopin. The department also presented its annual Grade 7 and 8 Recital.
In School
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome European Day of Languages is a chance for us all to unleash our continental side. The
whole school is given the opportunity to dress up in an outfit inspired by their favourite European country for the day. At break time the costumes are judged and the winner is picked by the languages teachers. Costumes ranged from the Mona Lisa to the coliseum. We decided to dress as ABBA, and experience what it was like to be a Swedish pop sensation and to wear immensely high platform boots. At lunch time the staff also put on a European Café including lots of continental food, games and puzzles. What a fantastic day! Alice Wilson, Alice Barry, Nell Salvoni and Savannah Hall, Year 10
Thinking outside the box: Why Psychology? When I first decided to study A-level psychology I wasn’t aware of just how much went into it. The depth
and range of what we learn is incredible: there is everything from memory to phobias and social influence to gender development and we use real scientific methods and case studies to support what we learn. The things that we study aren’t just limited to Psychology – some principles of behaviourism appear in P.E. and other aspects are studied in Business Studies with reference to pricing. This is an amazing subject which helps to bring out the best in a student by refining skills such as evaluation of a theory, revision techniques through memory and methods of research. I am glad to have taken Psychology as my eyes have now been opened to the links that Psychology provides to all aspects of everyday life. Anna Simmonds, Year 12
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Life is all about changes Coodes have been helping clients deal with them for generations. Whatever changes you are facing give us a call to see how we can help. ■ Family
■ Agriculture
■ Property
■ Business
■ Disputes
■ Wills & Estates
Call freephone now for a free consultation
08000 322 622 Truro
|
St Austell
|
Newquay
|
Falmouth
|
Liskeard
|
coodes.co.uk
Launceston
|
Penzance
info@coodes.co.uk
|
St Ives
|
Holsworthy
In School Nature by numbers In February Dr. Stuart Townley, a Professor of Mathematics from the University of Exeter, visited the school in order to give numerous talks to several different classes as a novel and engaging interlude to our routine maths lessons. These workshops certainly did not explore the more conventional side of mathematics commonplace to our usual maths classes. Instead, they focused on an array of diverse, and perhaps a little peculiar, new studies that we perhaps may not have previously perceived could even be associated with the subject. For example, the workshop presented to the Year 10 pupils was on snails. Now you may ask, as we did: what does this have to do with maths at all? Yet, as we discovered through Professor Townley’s brilliant presentation, mathematics has played a fundamental role in discovering the reasons behind why it is necessary that the evolution of the shells of land and sea snails varies. Sea snails and land snails differ in how their shell is structured. This is because their habitats require them to have very different centres of gravity; for a sea snail the avoidance of movement by the waves is important, whereas a land snail must be able to remain in an upside-down position on a branch without falling off. After our talk we put the theory into action using our own constructions of either land or sea snails from plasticine. Various and, on some tables, peculiar models of the differing snail shells were produced from all members of the class with an suddenly eager sentiment towards the subject of maths through the appearance of the still much-loved plasticine. Although our creations displayed a collection of slightly unorthodox depictions of sea and land snails, it appeared that the theory had been proven correct and our wider mathematical knowledge galvanized in the process. We emerged having experienced a thoroughly enjoyable, if a little unusual, maths lesson. Eugenie Nevin, Year 10
“Issues at the heart of modern living”: Truro High hosts South West wide Religious Philosophy Conference “It was fantastic to have so many visiting schools on campus for the day. The day was capped off with a lively, interactive debate in which students took the floor to discuss the moral and legal implications of euthanasia.” - Mr Peter Mothersole, Head of Religious Philosophy
For the 3rd consecutive year, Dr Peter Vardy and his wife Charlotte held their annual South West Religious Philosophy conference at Truro High School. The conference was filled with over 250 GCSE and
A Level students from all over the South West. This included students and teachers from: Plymstock, Saltash, Wadebridge, Budehaven, Camborne, Helston, the Roseland as well as many of my fellow Truro High students. This was the second time I had attended a talk by Dr Vardy as I had previously listened to a philosophy talk as part of the scholars’ programme. This time, Dr Vardy covered topics such as medical ethics (which includes euthanasia, abortion and IVF), war, equality and poverty. I found Dr Vardy’s talk very enlightening and his radical thinking encouraged us to become more open-minded and look at different perspectives. Controversial debates erupted throughout the conference and it was invigorating to hear such a fusion of ideas from the pupils and staff. Overall it was an incredibly worthwhile, educational and enjoyable experience and we are all looking forward to Dr Vardy’s next visit. Giselle Parnall, Year 10
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Moon Rocks While trips to the moon may be something most of us can only dream of, we were lucky enough to have the chance to have parts of the satellite come to us instead. An exhibition featuring real Moon Rocks was held at the school this year in a partnership project with Roseland Observatory, courtesy of NASA. Exhibits included moon and meteorite samples which the students were able to handle as well as explore under the microscope. There were also displays with topics ranging from how meteorites killed the dinosaurs to where moon landings took place. Pupils from Kea and Cusgarne Primary Schools, Bosvigo Primary School, Tregolls Primary School and Archbishop Benson School all came to see the exhibition before taking part in a series of hands-on experiments led by our Science Department. “It was really cool to think that now when I look up at the moon, I have seen what is actually up there. I didn’t realise there were so many different colours of rock. When you see the moon you just think of white and grey, but today we saw such a large range of colour. There’s a lot more to it than what you see up in the sky.” - Sage Newby-Jelliffe, Year 7
Flash! Bang! Wallop! This year, Prep 6 and Year 7 were asked if they would be interested in having a construction and engineering club. We all thought it
was a great idea! We made contraptions with the help of some expert Sixth Form physicists which, when you turned a handle, pushed a marble down a tube and then hit a truck which rolled down a ramp to light a firework. The results were pretty spectacular. Lily Peake, Prep 6
Measuring the Sun On the Summer Solstice, our budding astronomers tried a 2000-year-old experiment this year with incredibly accurate results. Recreating Eratosthenes
Experiment the girls used the shadow angle of the sun and some basic trigonometry to estimate the circumference of the earth before linking up with students in Egypt to compare results. Mr J Dean, Head of Science
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
In School “It’s been a very special occasion – something that I think everyone involved will remember for the rest of their lives. We’ve all learnt a lot just by being here and witnessing this remarkable spectacle.” - Dr Moodie, Headmaster
“Seeing the sun smile” Eclipse excitement with the Roseland Observatory “It couldn’t have gone better. Conditions were ideal and the sense of expectation and real excitement was palpable. One of the seven year olds who had come out to watch described the whole experience as seeing the sun smile which I thought was a wonderful way of summing up the effect of the moon partially eclipsing the sun. As a demonstration of how the solar system works it’s been absolutely brilliant – the weather has certainly been on our side.” - Brian Sheen, Director of the Roseland Observatory
Astronomers from The Roseland Observatory joined our pupils to watch the partial solar eclipse.
Thanks to clear blue skies, the spectacular event was clearly seen through an array of special eclipse glasses, sophisticated telescopes, laptop screens and some very effective pin hole devices, improvised by the students, that reflected what was happening with the sun without damaging vulnerable eyes. Director of the Roseland Observatory, Brian Sheen, and his team of dedicated enthusiasts and experts, set up their equipment the night before. Mr Sheen teaches astronomy as a GCSE subject at the school and his pupils were on hand to watch what was happening. Pupils, teachers and astronomers were joined by broadcast media from both ITV and BBC.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
At D3 Architects we take our clients dreams and turn them into reality. Call us to start your dream build.
DESIGN | DELIGHT | DELIVER
D3 Architects
2 St Aubyns Vean Truro TR1 2DX T 01872 260421 E info@d3architects.co.uk Find out more onine at www.d3architects.co.uk
In School
“A beautiful concoction of earthly invention” Enterprising Ideas At the beginning of the school year, two groups of Year 10 pupils were given the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial side by becoming registered companies as part of the Young Enterprise scheme. ‘Silvah’ and ‘o’Cal’ were able to work well as teams
creating high-quality products which we then sold at the Christmas Fayre, Young Enterprise Trade stands and, with a little persuasion on our part, even outside Sainsbury’s in Truro. Looking to our local environment and with an eye on being ecofriendly we created products such as high-end cork trivets, cork keyrings, candles, Cornish Christmas cards and scented surf waxes. Silvah even made it through to the regional Innovation Awards. We believe that the Young Enterprise scheme was such a success at Truro High because pupils were able to interact with the public on so many occasions, and most importantly learn more about the business world from both experts and handson experience. Both companies thoroughly enjoyed the experience and opportunities Young Enterprise gave them and would highly recommend it to future Year 10 pupils. Team Silvah and o’Cal, Year 10
Both our Year 10 Young Enterprise companies have had a very successful year. Members of both o’Cal and Silvah have shown enthusiasm mixed in with some real business acumen. Good teamwork has also
been a main feature. Advisors Mrs Katie Wild – from the local Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Gill Hall and Mr Geoff Winwood – both from Oxford Innovations – all say how impressed they have been with the progress the companies have made. Several participants attended a Young Enterprise Masterclass in marketing their company and products, including preparing for a trade fair. Stalls were reserved for both companies for Truro High’s Christmas Fayre and then two days later, the Young Enterprise Christmas Fair on Lemon Quay, Truro. Several girls from each company were able to attend, along with representatives of 16 others, from most schools and colleges in our area. There were prizes on offer - Silvah won Best Trade Stand and came 2nd in Best Customer Service. Mr Brand, Business Studies
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Athletics At the Mount Kelly Trophy at Tavistock Athletics Club we had a successful day with wins in the Girls Open competition by Nikole Fielding in 200m and 75m hurdles, Evelyn Robertson in High jump, Dotty Squibb in Javelin and lots of second places in all events. The open team finished 2nd overall.
Year 7: Evie Roberts threw 7m71 in the shot, a little off her best, to finish 9th. In the Discus she threw 17m66 again a little off her best throw but she still finished 12th. Evelyn Robertson ran the 800m and finished 17th in a very competitive race with a time of 2min54 sec, her best time this year and in the High Jump she cleared 1m33 a little under her best height but still finished in 5th place.
Izzie Leigh 2nd 800m, 9th Long Jump, 1st Shot putt Katie Day 5th 70m Hurdles, 6th High Jump, 11th Long Jump. Amy Shaw 4th 100m, 6th Long Jump, 3rd Javelin Emily Williams 1st High Jump, 4th Long Jump.
Year 8: Nikole Fielding in the 75m Hurdles was 11th in a time of 13.33 sec. she was then 11th in the 200m in a time of 29.10sec. Nikole achieved her best time in both events. Dotty Squibb in the High Jump finished 13th with a clearance of 1m30 and then came 18th in the Javelin with a best throw of 19m54, 18th. Dotty was close to her personal best height and distance in both her events.
On Wednesday 24 June several girls travelled to Birmingham to compete in the National Preparatory School’s Athletics Championships and the results were as follows:
In the County Schools Championships we had exceptional several athletes with three who won their event to become County Champions.
Prep 6: Lucy Day 800m finished 20th in a very fast race with a time of 2min55 sec which was her best time for the year and in the Javelin she finished 14th with a throw of 13m29. Izzie Leigh in the 1500m finished 19th with a new personal best time of 5min58 sec.
Yoyo Barnsley was the winner of the 1500m.
Cornwall County Championships top performers included:
Emily Williams was the winner in the High Jump with a new Personal Best of 1m55. Layla Stuart won the Javelin with a new County Record of over 37m. Further results included: Javelin: Amy Shaw 3rd 21.86. Discus: Thea Watkins 3rd 18.19. These were excellent results and Layla and Yoyo also qualified to the Regional Finals and eventually to the National Finals! Fantastic performances girls! And finally for athletics we competed in the Year 7 & 8 County Schools Athletics Competition at Par. Out of 26 schools taking place we had several other girls finishing in the top ten positions. The Year 7 team finished 5th and Year 8 finished 6th.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Sporting highlights Netball Truro High School’s netball teams had a brilliant year. In particular the Year 7 team achieved a fabulous Partnership League win in their debut season. The first game pitched them against
rivals Truro School and in a closely contested game they kept their nerve to win 15-14. This paved the way for one of the most dominant seasons that we have seen with a team in the league, especially one which contains such quality teams. Year 7 finished the league with a 100% record having scored 169 goals and conceded just 55! The Year 8 team pretty much followed suit where their season was concerned. The girls were only beaten by one team all season, the formidable Richard Lander side that beat every team in the county with a 100% win record in all competitions. When the two sides did meet it was a very close encounter, with both teams matching each other goal for goal until the game finished 16-14 to Richard Lander. Year 9 enjoyed their netball this season and had some very good results. Their shooting has vastly improved this year and the players are starting to settle into their positions and understand their roles better. They only lost two matches in the league this year to secure 3rd place and played a strong tournament in November to finish in the top 5 in the county. Year 11 chalked up a win against Truro School in the opening game of the season. They went into their tournament in very good form and we were confident of a high place. Sadly it wasn’t to be as Truro School and Penryn inflicted narrow defeats and left our girls in 5th place U18 netball has been supplemented by the U16 team at times this year. They played some good games against Truro School, Camborne, Wadebridge and Penwith College. The girls decided that they wanted to play netball recreationally rather than try and contest big games and tournaments and, as such, we didn’t enter them into the county tournament. The girls enjoyed their season and used their netball as some valuable down-time from the pressures of sixth form studies.
Hockey The U18 team – consisting of Ellie Angove and the U16 squad – kicked off the season with a match against Truro School. The final score of an extremely high
quality game was Truro High 6 – 0 Truro School. Again the U16 squad stepped in to support Ellie, Amy Purohit and Antonia Zimmermann from the Sixth Form to take on the county’s best in the tournament where we finished up third in the group. When the U12 team started their PSP season against Newquay they certainly showed they were a force to be reckoned with running out victors by 12-0. This form continued throughout the season and when the county tournament came around in March we knew that the team had potential to finish in a high position. They scored a huge 36 goals in the preliminary round and conceded 1 to set up a final against the equally fearsome Truro School. Unfortunately nerves got the better of our girls and Truro stepped up the pressure to eventually win 5-0. The U15 team don’t have a tournament and instead play a knockout cup. With the game at 2-2 with 2 minutes to go a short corner strike flashed in to win the game 3-2 and take the title of U15 county champions.
Cross Country First up was a trip to Pool School. This was a friendly match prior to the English Schools County Cross Country event on the 6 October. The girls ran exceptionally well so early in the term. At the county championships held in January at Truro School the results were as follows: Senior • Yoyo Barnsley – 1st • Eliza Hole – 13th Year 7 • Evelyn Robertson– 9th • Felicity Hood– 17th Junior • Emily Williams – 16th • Giselle Martinez – 41st • Victoria Bradshaw– 43rd Special congratulations went to Yoyo (who also won the county clubs event) and Eliza who were both picked to compete at the Regional Finals.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Our location is perfect with the frontage situated right on the picturesque harbour of St Mawes.
“
Serving good, honest, traditional, delicious food daily, using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.
Wanting to stay a little longer? Why not book one of our lovely recently reburbished rooms......bliss!
�
With views of the Roseland Peninsula beyond you can hardly fail to appreciate the stunning beauty of this particular part of Cornwall.
The Rising sun T: 0 1 3 2 6 2 7 0 2 3 3
sT MaWes
TRuRo
CoRnWall
e : info@risingsunstmawes.co.uk
TR2 5DJ
www.risingsunstmawes.co.uk
Sporting highlights Swimming In the Penzance Club League Hannah Stephens won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and achieved 3 Personal Best times. Charlotte Drew also competed and won 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal. Charlotte also achieved several Person Best times at
the gala. They both achieved qualifying times to compete for the County squad. Well done girls, excellent achievement.
Year 11 Yoyo Barnsley has been a leading performer in county and regional cross country competitions this year. She followed her success
as U17 County Cross Country Champion – a title she has won three years in a row – by becoming U17 Intercounties SW Regional Champion. In the Cornwall Schools’ Cross Country, she not only won the Intermediate Girls but also set an impressive new course county record of 14 minutes 17 seconds. She also won the race last year. Year 10 Alanah Wickett continues to move up the performance ladder in the world of competitive cycling. She proved herself to be the best young female cyclist in the South West coming third in a regional series event and has been selected for the National Sainsbury’s School Games in Manchester this September. Year 9 Amy Shaw’s hard work and intensive training has paid off with her selection to train in the Under 16 Junior Regional Performance Centre for hockey. She now trains at state-ofthe-art facilities on the Exeter University campus as part of the Exeter Leopards team. If Amy impresses at the training camp, she has the opportunity to be selected for the Tier 1 national and regional tournaments in September. Prep 6 Daisy Chapman is proving to be a star on the rise in competitive tennis. Take a look at the Prep Sporting Highlights section to find out more about this talented young tennis player.
Tennis In the Year 7 & 8 Aegon championships we played Cape Cornwall at 4 single matches and 2 double matches winning all of them! Doubles Matches: Dotty & Martha won 6-2; Rose & Katie won 6-0.
Sports Days We had three amazing sports days in the last week of term in fabulous weather. Take a look at
the Prep Sporting Highlights section to find out more about their afternoons of fun and games in the sun. Senior Sports day, with slightly cooler weather, was a huge success with the highest number of competitors from each year taking part. We had some great results in all age groups who really showed their competitive spirit and sporting prowess.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Art Gallery
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Art Gallery Creative Expression “Beautiful art is boring” said French artist Lou Ros, and this was the impression our guest artist Tony Minnion gave us. The day commenced with drawing emotions. Although this would immediately seem daunting and not to mention ambiguous, the idea transpired to be expressing feeling through line and tone; the way you innately react to an emotion and showing that on paper. Any recognisable shapes were strictly forbidden. The results were unadulterated marks without confinement by what we felt might look “good” – anger was strong and jagged lines; fluid, delicate and wandering markings symbolised calm while boredom was more subjective and varied wildly in each person’s interpretation. Armed with the notion that anything we created that day could be as free, unburdened and expressive as we liked, we searched our sketchbooks for inspiration. It was quite an open ended task – we had half an hour to experiment and create a monochrome piece that we would later disassemble. Then the “painting with scissors” began, taking them along any and as many lines as we felt like creating a very abstract jigsaw. Out came the screens for which we had been waiting, and through a process I will not even attempt to explain, we each made a piece using the bold screen inks and the jigsaw pieces we prepared earlier. The next stage in our paintings’ journeys was to play around with photographs of them on the computer. As we had been capturing our artwork at various stages in its gestation, we blended these images and finally came up with several highly unique and personal creations. I’m sure we could all write reams on each of our pieces – so I suppose a picture really does paint a thousand words! Rosalind Williams, Year 10
Tony Minnion, a local Cornish artist, inspired over 40 students from the Truro area alongside Truro High pupils to explore the possibilities of mixing old and new techniques to create incredible pieces of original art. The girls’ work was displayed as part of the Truro Schools Combined Arts Project in the Lander Gallery, Truro before moving to the CreatEd Exhibition at Falmouth University. “It’s always refreshing to see how students react to my processes and make them their own. Students responded well to new ideas and produced some lovely work. The most exciting aspect is that these workshops will leave a legacy within Truro High Art Department far beyond these few days. Staff really understood the potential of these new processes – both textile and ICT – and equipment is now in place to expand the offer to other year groups in the future.” Tony Minnion
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Summer Exhibition From the simple pleasures of watching colour explode in water to Indonesian culture and Americana our artists and designers created a showcase of stunning work this year. Themes included nautical, the seven deadly sins and vanitas and the many different ways in which these topics were explored and interpreted resulting in a fascinating exhibition that clearly demonstrates an extraordinary wealth of talent.
“I’ve collected lots of photos of Dad because portraiture really interests me and our topic was ‘time’. I’ve used the face fade technique found in the Time Traveller’s Wife because it gives a sense of him being there whilst not being there. The portrait that hangs next to his is a copy of a Franco Clun drawing – he’s one of my favourite artists.” - Year 11, Amani Hart
“Creativity is at the heart of everything we do at Truro High from Art and Textiles to Business and Science. It’s really important that the public have the opportunity to see just how hard the girls are working and how very creative they are. They can try their hand at any media, including video and I never ceased to be amazed at some of the ideas they come up with. It really is impressive.” - Head of Art, Judith Tutin
Success at CreatEd Competing against students from over 20 schools and colleges from across the county, Truro High’s pupils scooped two awards and an honorary commendation at Falmouth University’s CreatEd Exhibition. Year 11 Amani Hart received the ‘Fine Art’ award for her portraits of artist Franco Clun and her late father Paul. Year 13 Kitty Rowland received a commendation in the ‘Textiles’ category for her costume designs including a piece based on Dickens’ Miss Havisham. Kitty has been offered a place at the prestigious London College of Fashion for September. Truro High’s Year 10 Young Enterprise Team Silvah Upcycle have added to their growing number of awards this year. Earlier this year the team won both ‘Corporate Sustainability’ award and runner-up in ‘Best Presentation’ at the Young Enterprise Innovation Awards. Their success continued at CreatEd as they scooped the ‘Business and Young Enterprise’ award for their ethically sourced and eco-friendly range of handmade products made from bottle corks and jam jars.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Art Gallery Project Catwalk Greeted by rounds of applause from an audience of students, staff and some parents, girls from across the school modelled an innovative and vibrant collection of outstanding work alongside the designers themselves. Taking to Truro High’s catwalk were pieces inspired by West Side Story, Indonesian culture and Americana, Tristram and Isolde, Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, 60s inspired outfits which could be sold at a music festival and a collection of costumes which formed the main cast wardrobe for the school production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. GCSE Textiles requires each student to design and create one piece whilst ‘A’ level students produce a collection of five garments and one interior piece. The work is supported by research and experimentation to demonstrate a learning journey. As a result of their portfolios, Year 13 students Kitty Rowland and Alice Soutar have both been accepted on courses at two of the country’s top fashion colleges: London College of Fashion and Manchester School of Art.
“The fashion show represents the culmination of a year’s work for our students and, in standing back and looking at it on the catwalk, I’m always tremendously proud of the talent we have at the school. I’m absolutely amazed at how professional the girls’ work looks.” - Mrs Wieringa, Textiles
On the Highstreet “I am overjoyed at the fact that my skirt got chosen to be displayed in ‘Plum Boutique’.” - Jasmine Marsh, Year 10 Owner of Plum Boutique and High School parent, Sam Salvoni, was so impressed by the Year 10 pieces that she has decided to display a selection of them in her shop window in the centre of Truro. Sam reported a lot of interest in the window display.... several people came into the store asking to buy them! Pictured from left to right work by Jasmine Marsh and Alice Wilson.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
■ ■ ■ ■
Farm & Industrial Buildings Loose Boxes Field Shelters Treated Timber Garages
■ ■ ■ ■
Bolted Construction Barns Stables Industrial Buildings
Heyworth Farm Buildings Goonbell St Agnes TR5 0PQ
Tel: 01872 552586 or 01872 553547
Remembering The Fallen Remembering the fallen: The Last Post Project In November this year, the school commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War by participating in ‘The Last Post Project’. This was part of a nationwide initiative involving over 235 communities across the UK backed by the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Imperial War Museum. The History Department worked in collaboration with the departments of Music, English and Theatre Studies to present an evening of performances that offered glimpses into the experiences of those involved in the First World World War. Included amongst the readings chosen by the History Department were an extract from With the Guns by DH Lawrence read by Naomi Hart, Year 11. Not only did it describe the parting of soldiers and their sweethearts immediately after the declaration of war as he witnessed it, but the piece includes his presentiments regarding the nature of the war to come. Lawrence feared the prospect of war with Germany having witnessed the German army on exercises in the Bavarian Alps the year before and dreaded the prospect of mechanised warfare. Lawrence’s thoughts carry poignancy as he and his German wife sought liberation from the strains of war by moving to Cornwall
and living in Zennor where Lawrence described life as ‘like being at the window and looking out of England to the beyond’. The second reading, a letter from the Dardanelles, was brought to school as part of our First World War Centenary Timeline Project where pupils and staff are invited to research their family’s war history. The letter, written by Eric Halse – the greatgrandfather of Bennath Halse, Year 10 – gave us vivid insight into the anger and bitter disillusionment of a junior officer who witnessed first hand the failures of leadership that led to the calamity of the Gallipoli campaign. The final reading was an extract from Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, read by myself. It offers her reflections on the war at the time of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and articulates the feelings of the ‘lost generation’. Although numbed by her experiences as a nurse behind the front lines and the loss of so many loved ones, she expresses hope that the world will have learnt from the ordeal of the Great War. It is tempting to view her optimism as tragic as we know that the next generation would be plunged into an even more destructive conflict. However, it is possible to see that the sacrifices borne by her and her contemporaries were, nevertheless, to contribute overall to the building of the Europe we inhabit today, based on democratic values and respect for liberty. Holly Hick, Year 12
The first I knew anything about The Last Post concert was when Mr Norman asked if I could play a certain piece of music on my bagpipes. He gave me the music and I was more than willing to ‘have a go’ and practice, not quite appreciating the importance of the concert as whole and that my piece was a solo. I had only attended Truro High School since September 2014 and had been concentrating on getting to the right lessons, in the correct location, at the correct time and with the relevant books. I practised and did not find the piece too difficult. I kept practising and we talked about the world wars, certain events and memories that others share, at home. The dress rehearsal made me realise the enormity of the task I had so readily said “yes” to. With lots of encouragement and guidance from Mr Norman the concert was an amazing success. I was incredibly nervous before my slot but it went well and I felt so proud that I was able to stand up in front of the audience, alone, and play the bagpipes. It was the first time I had played solo without the support of my normal bagpipe band. It was a truly enjoyable and thought provoking experience. Felicity Hood, Year 7 “It’s important that young people have an opportunity to examine the many faces of the conflict and to understand that heroism, innovation and brilliance went side by side with carnage, incompetence and savagery.” - Mr Ford, Head of History
www.trurohigh.co.uk
A Wilde Night Out The hypocrisies of Victorian high society were lampooned in witty style as Truro High’s talented actresses took to the stage in a theatrical performance that combined three of Oscar Wilde’s most famous plays. The show in March included sterling performances from several of the girls. These included first-time performer Georgiana Tregunna as Lady Bracknell and new girl Kitty Piccin-White as Gwendolyn.
With incredible period costumes and handmade set pieces, we were whisked away to a world of (not so) polite society. Backstage, pupils and staff worked tirelessly on artistic creations to perfectly dress the characters and the on-stage Victorian drawing room. Year 10, Olivia Leather created an amazing costume that incorporated some genuine vintage pieces, and Year 12 Holly Hick (who played Cannon Chasuble) created a beautiful dress for Cecily, based on the work of Aubrey Beardsley. Beardsley’s black and white, floral motifs were also included in the storybook set. The set drew inspiration from Art Nouveau and the Aesthetic movement. Mr Tutin, Head of Drama and Director
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
A Wilde Night Out ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ was one of my most memorable highlights of the year. Being part of the school play offers you opportunities you would never imagine and you also make some great friends in older years. The chorus is one of the key factors in making the show look its best. Without it, it wouldn’t really be a ‘production’. The chorus added depth and variety to the stage visually and supported the storyline adding further interest for the audience. Even if you don’t get picked for a main part, you still have to work equally as hard. It’s actually very good fun to be a part of the chorus and offers such variety and is not a worthless part as many may think. I really enjoyed the costumes, make-up and playing out the etiquette of the era. Mr Tutin is a very talented director and performer, I really couldn’t ask for a better teacher. He put up with us talking and moaning about how tired we are but managed somehow to really bring out the best in everyone’s abilities to present a first class production. Next year, if you’re thinking of auditioning for the school production then I would advise you to go for it and enjoy it – and believe me, it’ll be one of the best times of your life. Victoria Bradshaw, Year 8
Lady Bracknell; arrogant, domineering, control freak... I’m really beginning to hope I wasn’t typecast. Despite this, I was thrilled to have been chosen to play this part, and it was a really fun experience overall. In particular, I found “The Importance of Being Earnest” to be a brilliant opportunity to get to know pupils from other years, who, without the play as a link, I wouldn’t have had much of a cause to work alongside. Being of a reasonably shy temperament myself (again, yes, I know what you’re thinking; Lady Bracknell?) it has been really helpful for me to make these connections, and from the many after school rehearsals, a multitude of inexplicably intricate “in jokes” have been born. Yes Savvy, I’m looking at you. And the ghost of Oscar Wilde if he’s there with you. I’ve picked up a lot of helpful acting points through the play, that I’m sure will stand me in good stead for GSCE Drama next year. I don’t think it would be right for the wonderful creative efforts of both the Textiles and Art departments to go unmentioned in this, as I’m sure the play would have been a lot less of a success had we been performing without the contributions from Mrs Weiringa and Mrs Tutin. Also, a big thank you to the GSCE textiles students and everyone who used their lunchtimes to help out at Art club. While on the subject of set design, I must remember to give a big shout out to all of the backstage crew, whose tireless efforts behind the scenes helped the show to run as smoothly as it possibly could. I’m sure it would have been a lot more difficult for Zahra to eat those muffins at speed had someone not had the foresight to toast and butter them first! And, last but by no means least, thank you to Mr Tutin, for dedicating so much of his time to helping us produce this play. Lady Bracknell definitely couldn’t have had such control over her nephews had she been attempting to do so in a mouse-like squeak while nervously rocking side to side (who knew I did that?) however your help with voice projection and nerve control helped me to portray her as the imposing sociopath we all know and love. Georgiana Tregunna, Year 9
www.trurohigh.co.uk
HARRIS BEGLEY FINANCIAL PLANNING
TrusT • knowledge • experience
wealTh creaTion & financial soluTions across cornwall
delivering The personal Touch... Because Your needs are uniQue
MATT
MD matt.begley@harrisbegley.co.uk
MARTIN
PENZANCE martin.eddy@harrisbegley.co.uk
IAN
CEO ian.harris@harrisbegley.co.uk
JUSTIN
TRURO justin.stringer@harrisbegley.co.uk
LOUISE
PARAPLANNER louise.meacham@harrisbegley.co.uk
ANDY
HELSTON andy.hughes@harrisbegley.co.uk
LORNA
ADMINISTRATOR lorna.cutts@harrisbegley.co.uk
OLIVIA
PENZANCE olivia.bruce@harrisbegley.co.uk
YOU CAN CONTACT US ACROSS CORNWALL ON
TOM
EAST CORNWALL tom.barwell@harrisbegley.co.uk
STEVE
HAYLE steve.rusga@harrisbegley.co.uk
penzance Truro helsTon haYle easT cornwall
01736 366550 01872 879016 01326 559018 01736 750009 01579 329008
contact us today for professional advice from a fully qualified adviser www.harrisbegley.co.uk Truro high school resize.indd 1
15/09/2015 14:36
Boarding Report
A stand-up day out
A home from home
What is more beautiful than a beach, the sea, and a board?
Being a new boarder at Truro High was definitely a challenge for me, but thanks to the support I receive from my “family”, I have settled down very quickly and appreciate the joy of studying at this wonderful school.
Well, that’s why we joined boarding’s beach-trip one summer weekend. A fifteen-minute ride took us to Looe beach, where we had hired six stand-up paddle boards and six kayaks. After the instructor had told us what to do and we had squeezed ourselves into the wetsuits, we walked down to the water, which was actually the hardest thing to do without hurting our bare feet, as the beach was very pebbly. The actual boarding was so much fun. Firstly we just kneeled on the boards, trying to keep the balance while the people in kayaks paddled circles around us; but when we got the hang of it we started to shove each other and tried to make some group photos which caused one or more collisions. Other people like me just laid down and started sunbathing as soon as they were a bit further off. When we returned an hour had passed and the others were already waiting for us; and that was the end of our beautiful trip. I really wish I could stay another year and do it again. Anabel Frisch and Anna Radeck, Year 10 Boarders
In fact, studying at a boarding school is a new experience for me. Many may think being away from your family and friends might seem frightening and that boarding might be a lonely and depressing experience. However, here at Truro High, all you have to do is just say “hi”, begin a conversation and everything will change. It is hard not to notice how welcoming everyone is - not just boarders and day girls but staff members too. Being able to get to know each other and join in with lots of activities together builds up unique friendships that you are just unable to obtain elsewhere. For instance, there are different kinds of activities each weekend like surfing, shopping, a day trip to the beaches and various trips for everyone to explore Cornwall. There are also baking workshops, dancing sessions and even Wii time for everybody to get involved and de-stress after a busy week of lessons and school. To me, there is so much to learn by simply being a boarder here, there is just so much for you to do besides locking yourself in the room and working. Boarding is not just about keeping you inside the school but rather, it is also about making friends and loving school as a whole. Casey Wong, Year 12 Boarder
www.trurohigh.co.uk 14:36
Fundraising & PTA Taking a soaking The brave teaching staff put on their raincoats and other creative, if less protective, attire to brave the chilly perils of a soaking for the Ice Bucket Challenge this September in support of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and WaterAid. Dr Moodie, the Senior Leadership Team and other fearless members of staff came dressed for the occasion in fantastic costumes ranging from wetsuits and banana suits to rugby kit and playing cards. Revealing his secret identity under the mortarboard as Superman, Dr Moodie joined other members of staff for an all-important warm up before a swift and icy cool down. The lucky girls, having been randomly selected to issue the dousing, took their places, buckets in hand, as the rest of the school looked on, cameras at the ready. We would like to extend a massive thank you to all the girls, parents and staff who came along. We raised an incredible £159.17 for WaterAid and £168.36 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Sharing the joy of Christmas Operation Christmas Child (OCC), or The Shoebox Appeal as it is also called, is a charity run by Samaritans in which shoeboxes filled with gifts are sent across the world at Christmas time to children in need. 10,440,333 shoeboxes were donated
for Operation Christmas Child in 2014, Truro High School having donated 172 boxes. Each shoebox is an unconditional gift, given to a child with nothing asked for, from a child expecting nothing in return. Operation Christmas Child is an operation worth getting involved with because it is a selfless act which helps children who would otherwise get nothing for Christmas, giving them not only presents but also hope and happiness. Maddie Sibley, Year 12
Make your face funny for money We had some very peculiar characters roaming our halls (& on trips) this Red Nose Day! Amazing efforts for Comic Relief Make Your Face Funny for Money. Prep Choir sung their hearts out at Cornish Mutual’s call centre, take a look at the Prep Fundraising section to find out more.
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
Fundraising & PTA Making a difference: Truro High PTA After the AGM in April, we – Mary Hodgson Year 7 & 11 and Amanda Mack Prep 4 and Year 7 – took up the reigns of the PTA, supported by the stalwart team of PTA regulars and Development Officer, Mrs Fiona Osman. We’d love to see more parents get involved, which can mean simply offering to help at a fundraising or school event on a one off basis, attending meetings or becoming/assisting a class rep, or getting involved with a specific event that interests you. We’d even like to move towards year groups or joint year groups taking a lead on specific events in order to make sure we harness new ideas and represent all age groups. Take a look in the Prep Section to see all the fun that was had at this year’s very successful PTA hosted Quiznic. We have also supported the Art & Textiles Departments in hosting their Summer Exhibition, have a look at their fantastic work in the Art Gallery.
We would like to emphasise that we appreciate every contribution, whether you donate goods and produce to sell, come to meetings, buy our calendars, or just pay for a glass of wine at an event. Your contributions of time and money allow us to do worthwhile things. We have recently agreed to fund: - 12 sets of overalls for Mr Dean’s ever expanding Greenpower project at a cost of £600 - Jewellery making tools so that Mrs Tutin can extend her workshop activities for the senior girls - A major funding goal last year was the Learnpads which have now arrived in Prep
“Learnpads arrived in the Prep School, generously funded by the PTA, during the summer term. They are tablets with a difference because they are specially set up for use in a primary classroom. They have given us access to thousands of bespoke lessons and activities which we can adapt for our own use. Next year they will be timetabled so that every class has the opportunity to use the Learnpads on a regular basis and the intention is that they will quickly become an integral part of the teaching and learning in the Prep School. Mrs Miller, Head of Prep
Local healthcare, international quality At Duchy Hospital you will find expert specialists, state-of-theart equipment and excellent clinical outcomes, close to home, whenever you need it. We offer a wide range of treatments, surgery and specialist clinics at affordable prices, with many on a fixed cost basis. 0% finance is also available.* Get better sooner with Duchy Hospital, Truro.
For more information call:
0800 917 0022 w w w. d u c h y h o s p i t a l . c o . u k
P e n v e n t i n n i e
L a n e ,
*terms and conditions apply.
Tr u r o
T R 1
3 U P
Old Girls Association Actor and Royal Opera House Footwear Specialist Cheryl Knight was guest of honour at this year’s Founder’s Day service in Truro Cathedral. As an Old Girl Cheryl gave a highly entertaining address in which she talked about her own memories of Truro High and particularly speech and drama tutor Maggie Hutton who had inspired her choice of career. We were lucky enough to have the chance to ask Cheryl a few more questions about her time as a High School girl. What did you like about school? I liked the fact that I felt safe there, which might sound a strange thing to say. I didn’t have to be on my guard or pretend to be anyone. I distinctly remember one of my first days at the High School when I had to confess to a teacher that I had forgotten a text book and had left it in another classroom. Bracing myself for the inevitable telling off, she just calmly told me to go and get it and come back to the class. The overwhelming relief of that moment, and the sense of being treated with respect and intelligence has never been forgotten. The teachers had a natural authority without a need to be heavy handed, and I flourished under that guidance. There was a freedom to be myself, to learn and make mistakes, enjoy friendships, and be introduced to new opportunities and experiences. I blossomed. Who was your favourite teacher? I spoke quite a bit about Maggie Hutton, the drama teacher, in my Founder’s Day speech earlier this year. Her generosity and encouragement led me to choose a life in the theatre. If you could go back to school and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? Enjoy it, throw yourself in to it, don’t hold yourself back, grab every opportunity, do as much extracurricular stuff as you can, remember that school isn’t an end in itself - think of the bigger picture. This place is preparing you for life - not just the grades that will help you reach your academic and career goals, but your social and emotional responses to situations and people.
A trip down memory lane Some of our Old Girls didn’t get enough the first time around and came back to school to see what had changed. After meeting over coffee, the Old Girls joined
present pupils for regular classes in which they got a chance to brush up on their Languages, Drama, Psychology, Art, and Religious Philosophy. After their lessons they gathered in the dining hall for a school lunch, a meal quite different from – and a huge improvement on – those many were describing from their own experiences.
“It was such a fun day and I would urge others to come along next year!” Marianne Inskip
Highlights issue 2014 - 2015
What would your ideal school look like? A place where academic achievement, sporting prowess, artistic endeavour, practical skills, social and community engagement are all deeply nurtured and equally praised. That nobody slips through the net. A place where everyone feels appreciated for what they do. After all, a school is a community, a microcosm of the world beyond, and it takes all sorts to make the world go round... Ha ha, I can’t believe it, but as I’m writing this, the opening lines of the old school song have bubbled up in my mind, ‘This privilege is granted us to live in a community, composed of caring souls...’ Well, I guess that just about sums it up!
Old Girls Association Where can a language really take you?
In the summer of 2012, after finishing my GCSEs at the High School, I decided to pick up ab-initio Spanish. This consisted of learning 7 years of normal ‘school’ Spanish in two years,
quite the challenge! But it was definitely the best way I could have learnt the language. I had learnt German and French for 5 years previously so was already well-equipped, I just had to apply the skills to a different tongue. My language skills flourished; so excuse me if I do throw in a Spanish word or two (I haven’t written anything in my native language for about a year!). After completing my A-levels and gaining a place at St Andrews to read German and Spanish, I decided that I needed something outside of the classroom and decided to go to Latin America for a gap year. My first week there was a hard-core induction. Latin culture, Colombian food and SPANISH! I thought I knew Spanish before going, but a week in, I was absolutely exhausted. Group conversations were like watching tennis matches and by the time I’d understood something, worked out what I wanted to say and translated it, the moment had most definitely passed. Step by step, however, I improved. You can never really learn a language until you live it. You can study the grammar as much as possible but until you get on that plane and start talking, you will never become fluent. So, leave your comfort zone, but above all: don’t just learn a language, live it! A new language won’t only enhance your holiday experience or perhaps increase your salary, it opens up the doors to a whole new culture and way of life. I’m now proud to call it my ‘segunda patria’ (second homeland) and without Spanish I definitely wouldn’t be able to say that. My gap year was the best decision I could have made and I now look forward to going to university with a head start! (Unfortunately I can’t say the same for German...) Danielle Butler
Our Old Girls’ Class of ‘55 to ‘65 had a fantastic time on Saturday catching up with friends & enjoying the delicious feast on offer. Many happy memories from school days were shared with old friends.
www.trurohigh.co.uk
We recognise every family business is different. Let us understand yours and help you make the most of it. At Robinson Reed Layton we: • Provide a top quality service throughout Cornwall • Give expert advice in a friendly manner • Promise personal meetings with your designated Partner • Travel to meet our clients • Offer a free initial discussion with no obligation
Please call Nick Skerratt for further information
01872 276116 www.rrlcornwall.co.uk
Old Girls Association Take a risk and “misbehave” Professor Anne Carlisle inspires The Amy Key Lecture was an extremely pleasant evening - tasty food, socialising with friends and the chance to be truly inspired. Vice-Chancellor of Falmouth University, Professor Anne Carlisle, gave an inspirational and entertaining talk to Old Girls, current sixth form students, parents, staff and Governors. Her talk focused on the need to take risks in life - she inspired her audience to follow their passions and embrace opportunity which often means a little ‘misbehaving’. Professor Carlisle talked about life growing up in Ireland, her work as an artist which gave her the chance to travel the world and her subsequent move into university management. The Amy Key lecture was first established by the Old Girls’ Association (OGA) four years ago and takes its name from the school’s first headmistress. It is intended to inspire the students who are leaving and welcome them into the OGA. Each of the leavers are presented with a badge by the speaker. Tia Joslyn, Year 12 The event was kindly sponsored by local estate agency Lewis Haughton Wills. Special thanks also go to First Great Western, Mannings Restaurant Truro, Coodes Solicitors, Salt Kitchen Bar Truro, the Headland Hotel, the Old Quay Inn Devoran, the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Waymarker Restaurant Falmouth and the Hall for Cornwall for their kind support of this event.
“There still remains a glass ceiling for many women in my profession. Despite the fact that female academics are slightly in the majority in UK Universities, it is hard for them to achieve the rank of their male colleagues. Currently there are around 12,000 Professors in the UK, but less than a third are female with only 23 acting as Vice-Chancellors.” - Professor Anne Carlisle, Vice-Chancellor of Falmouth University “Professor Carlisle was excellent. Everyone enjoyed her talk and left feeling truly inspired. This may have been our best lecture yet.” - Sue Dowding, Chair of the OGA
“This school was the making of me” With former pupils travelling from as far as Dundee and Dubai, Truro High pupils who left the school
between 1976 and 1980 had the rare opportunity to catch up with old friends, rekindle fond memories and see how much had changed at their 35th Anniversary Reunion. 45 Old Girls and 4 retired members of staff assembled in the school’s foyer before taking the opportunity to look around their old classrooms and enjoy an anniversary lunch in the dining room. The reunion was organised by Marianne Inskip (nee Petersen), Secretary of Truro High Old Girls’ Association and the school’s Development Officer Fiona Osman. “I truly believe that the school was the making of me. I was a very shy, quiet little girl when I started at 8 years old. Music teacher, Joy Perry was a big influence on our lives; she was the one who encouraged me to start singing.” - Naomi Harvey, Opera Singer “The school gave me tremendous confidence because it helped me foster a deep love of music. In a lot of ways, Truro High helped me to form my identity.” - Rachel Hallawell, Opera Singer The Joy Perry Cup is awarded annually to pupils for their loyalty and achievement in the Music Department, in recognition of this incredible teacher’s work. “These reunions are so important for keeping our close-knit school community in touch. We love hearing the exciting stories about our past pupils achievements and sharing in the memories of times that have perhaps been pushed to the back of our minds.” - Helen Corrigan, Vice Chair of Truro High School Old Girls’ Association
www.trurohigh.co.uk
Do you really know what’s on your own doorstep?
wearecornwall.com The place to find out more We are Cornwall @We_are_Cornwall We are Cornwall 190 X 127mm.indd 1
16/07/2015 15:53
Penryn PenrynCampus Campus
BS BSccBUSINESS BUSINESS
£1,500 £1,500 SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE AVAILABLE
A Russell A Russell Group Group University University
2015BS054
www.exeter.ac.uk
2015BS054
* Terms * Terms andand conditions conditions apply. apply. Please Please seesee www.exeter.ac.uk/business-school www.exeter.ac.uk/business-school for for details details
Drawing on years of experience to find the perfect homes
Please call us if you are considering selling or buying 01872 273473 Landrian House • 59-60 Lemon Street • Truro TR1 2PE www.waterfrontandcountryhomes.com email: sales@lillicrapchilcott.com
Falmouth Road, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2HU T. +44 (0)1872 242978 E. admin@trurohigh.co.uk trurohigh.co.uk