School Magazine 2018-2019

Meet the Magazine Team

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Sophie Buhler, Isabel Langham, Maia Davies, Kira Nygren, Miss Longmore : Sarah Harty, Ella Manoff, Charlotte Grimwade, Martha Price, Josephine Flade Eshana Sarkar, Sally Dolphin, Sakithya Sothinathan, Sapna Joshi, Hana Moattar, Kiani Shah

From left to right:

Sapna Joshi and Sakithya Sothinathan Kiani Shah and Sally Dolphin

Miss Longmore, Miss Morgan, Miss Holmes and all the girls who contributed to the articles

An Introduction to the Year

I hope you enjoy diving into this magazine, packed with reflections on such a vibrant year. Whether sporting triumphs (across different areas), a dazzling Romeo and Juliet or the Erasmus scheme across Europe, there should be something to entertain and inspire. In new volunteering schemes, musical performances and a wealth of clubs, the girls have lit up the school community in their endeavours.

The school’s 150th birthday is four years away, making us a more established institution than Brentford Football Club, Ealing Town Hall and even the completion of the House of Commons! Yet we have not always celebrated the school’s history as a restlessly ambitious school for girls’ education. This year we held our first Move to Ealing Day in February, to mark the moment when the school moved from Norland Square in Notting Hill to its current site; at the time Notting Hill was thought to be a rather grotty area (times have changed!) and Ealing was felt to offer a better site, with more room for the school’s ambitions. The ceremony we held celebrated the school’s earliest heads, and I reflected on the life of Ms McCaig, who led the school through the move to Ealing, and on through the Second World War; the short play which followed showed the full esprit de corps of the girls in their portrayal of their educational forerunners.

The school’s emblem has shifted around over the last hundred years, without a real sense of clear identity, something reflected back to me by conversations with students and staff. The new emblem aims to pick up on uniform designs from across the last century, and also to capture the supportive and connected nature of the school. Reading of all that has taken place in the last year, there is so much for the girls to take satisfaction from, and it has reinforced to me the power of ambition in this forward-looking school with a proud history.

I hope that you enjoy delving into this record of a busy and vibrant year!

Mr Matthew Shoults Headmaster

A Word from the Head Girl

As Head Girl 2018/19, I have had the pleasure of organising lots of fun events around school (like the talent show, muck up day and Year 13’s ‘Mission Impossible’ assembly takeover), doing many assemblies and representing the school in many different ways. Although tough at times, I have thoroughly enjoyed being Head Girl and miss NHEHS so much already - I can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things the new Head Girls Team and the school get up to in the coming year, and wish you all luck for the future. I know you’ll do me proud!

Getting to know lots of girls from many different year groups that I wouldn’t otherwise know - for example everyone in school council and those who took part in the talent show. Also, getting free croissants every Monday morning in my meetings with Mr Shoults...

Michelle Obama (does she count as a celebrity?) because she would be so interesting to talk to, and I could maybe also meet her dogs who are really cute.

Its got to be roast chicken with potatoes and gravy - you can’t go wrong. My favourite dessert is definitely either banoffee pie or Rice Krispie cakes.

When we were trying to take the whole school photo this year and the man from the photography company was getting soo stressed and started shouting at Mr Shoults when he was taking pictures of Year 13 at the end - I honestly thought he was going to pass out because he was so worked up.

Frankie Wilson Head Girl 2018-2019

Staff News

It has been another wonderful year at NHEHS, full of energy, enthusiasm and a passion for learning. We were delighted to welcome some new staff at the start of the year. Mrs Watkins joined us as Head of Economics, Mrs Fisher-Black as Head of Art, Mrs Zhou as Second in Maths, Miss Le Brun as Music teacher and Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Spencer as French teacher, Mr Muma and Mrs Holliday as Spanish teachers, Miss Longmore and Mr Stocker as History teachers, Miss Stannard as Geography teacher, Dr Pearce as Biology teacher, Mrs Barnard and Ms Eastwood as English teachers, Mrs Arthur as Maths teacher, Mr Lam as Economics teacher, Miss Marshall as Director of Drama, Ms Chang as Chinese teacher and Mr Khan as Computer science school consultant teacher.

We also welcomed Miss Blenkinsop as Chemistry technician, Mrs Ratchford as Data manager, Mrs Copeland as Finance assistant, Mrs Watkins as Administrative support to the Deputy Heads and Miss Gill as HR officer.

There have been some lovely additions to staff’s families this year. We sent our congratulations to Mr Smith on the birth of his son, and to Mr Livings, Mrs Barbosa and Mrs Holliday who have also all had sons. We wish them all health and happiness.

We have also been delighted to send our best wishes to Miss Gill and Mr Pepper on their marriages.

A few members of staff left over the course of the year and at the end of term. Mrs Zhong and Miss Marshall moved on, as did Mrs Ratchford and Miss Miyama. Miss Yuteri completed her year as a German Languages Assistant, as did our Scientist in residence, Miss Bryant. Miss Yuteri also helped with some superb drama performances, with the Erasmus trip and enthralled staff with some Zumba classes. Miss Bryant captivated groups of girls with her lunchtime experiments, further embedding scientific curiosity.

Miss Prendergast joined us two years ago and is moving to lead the Psychology department at a school closer to home. Her guidance of the girls in Psychology lessons instilled a deep fascination with the subject and we are also extremely grateful for her work in leading the charity and volunteering programmes across the school.

Mr Ives came in 2017 and has led the Physics and Science departments with energy and creativity. He produced some memorable Science weeks for the girls and gave some captivating assemblies to further embed a love of subject. He is taking up a senior leadership post at another school in central London.

In 2015, Miss Morgan joined us, leading the History of Art department and then teaching English. We are grateful for her passion in her teaching and in ensuring History of Art remains a strong subject in schools. She also led the school magazine committee, producing this lovely school magazine. She leaves to take up a promoted post in a Fine Arts college.

Ms Eells has worked with us for six years. Her teaching was vibrant and students were inspired by her genuine love of subject. She also led numerous MUN weekends and debating in school, building girls’ confidence to challenge ideas and speak out. She stays within the GDST family as a teacher, but being able to work closer to home.

Miss Nicoll has worked here for five years, developing a love of Classics in girls and teaching utterly engaging and stimulating lessons. She also led the Lower school with aplomb, supporting girls, organising events, delivering inspiring assemblies and ensuring they made the transition to Senior school successfully. Her commitment to the girls on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and school trips is also characteristic of her dedication to the school. She leaves to take up a senior leadership position.

Mr Smith joined us in 2011 as Head of Classics. He rapidly inspired girls with his teaching and launching initiatives such as the Minimus and Erasmus projects. Mr Smith helped on numerous Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and worked tirelessly to give girls opportunities to travel on school trips and access a broad curriculum. He gave innovative assemblies, imparting wise messages with wit and integrity. As Deputy Head Academic, he led the school with sincerity and dynamism, ensuring continued excellence in teaching and learning, and smooth running of the school. He is moving to another school out of London to take up position as Deputy Head, to be closer to family.

Ms Langham joined us thirteen years ago and retired from her post as Languages Assistant. She was an integral part of building confidence in girls’ability to speak Spanish and immerse themselves in another culture.

Mrs Frederick, our Head chef, retired after a wonderful nineteen years at NHEHS. She has worked with self-deprecating commitment to ensure we have delicious, nutritious food which keeps everyone happy.

We wish all our leaving staff well and the best of luck for their next endeavours.

Move to Ealing

Earlier this year, Notting Hill and Ealing High School celebrated its first Moving to Ealing Day. Everyone was eagerly anticipating what this day would entail and we weren’t disappointed. After a selection of students walked from the old school site to the current school to mark the occasion, we all settled down for an assembly to celebrate the history of the school. Listening to extracts from the school archives about different pupils’ experiences of the move was fascinating and we all felt considerably more informed about the history of our school by the end of the day.

An extract from Mr Shoults’ speech:

Miss McCaig arrived at a pivotal and complex time for the school. It was a time of considerable political change. The great depression had taken its effect across America and Europe. There was unrest across Europe. There were stirrings of nationalism in the British Empire, particularly in India, which Winston Churchill, out of power, but not without influence, was fiercely opposing. George V was fretting about the suitability of his son Edward as a future king. And the school was facing its own challenges. Quite simply, there was a need for greater space, coupled with the fact that more girls lived to the west of the school; and, something you may find strange now, Notting Hill had rather declined as a neighbourhood – some areas were described as the worst in London.

It had been determined by the GDST that a move west was the right response. There was space to the west, and many of the girls lived west of the school; a move in that direction would not be problematic. There were other schools in the Ealing area. But St Helena’s was not really an academic school; and the private schools in the area refused to admit girls whose parents worked in “trade”; class division at work!

But the head of the time, Miss Oakden, did not feel up to the challenge of the move, and asked to step down. And so Miss McCaig accepted the challenge.

And it was not just a logistical challenge. The girls were unconvinced of the move. As one student said: “She came at a time when we had just been told of the great change that was about to take place, the transfer of the school to Ealing. It seemed the end of the world at the time.”

Another former student said: “I remember well how we at first rebelled against the idea of a move—we refused to believe that we were to leave our beautiful panelled hall and all the traditions built up since 1873.”

But immediately Miss McCaig calmed the nerves. As another old girl said:

“The Headmistress listened to our outbursts but steered our enthusiasms towards the new venture, enlisting our aid in the practical details of such an enormous “house-moving” so that we were made to feel privileged to be the ones to help in the great pioneering movement.”

Olwen Liddell, a young pupil at the time remembers “Although I was young, my main recollections of the move were that it must have been a smooth one as there was a general air of calm that reigned whatever hiatus was going on in the staff room.”

Notting Hill’s new home was Girton House which, like the original home in Norland Square, had once been a school. Although the buildings were in better condition than those in Norland Square, there was, nonetheless, lots of building work to do and this was not finished when the school re-opened in January 1931. The setting must have been almost rural at the time. Ealing was pretty much a village; and there are references from the time to the Watermeadows of Perivale. But the district and central lines were in place. And at that time it was the 65 bus which made its way up from the station to Cleveland Road.

The packing was quite occupying as one former student recalled: “library books, science apparatus, acting costumes, pens and pencils, all in brown paper parcels neatly labelled. All chairs and desks had to be labelled too, so as to get to the right room in the new school.” Term broke up with the carol service on 19th December. Girls and staff departed the buildings, and the belongings started their move. The clocks in the old building were stopped one day at a quarter past four.

Art

Introduction to Art at NHEHS

Art at NHEHS is renowned for allowing students to express themselves in an individual and unrestricted way. Many students would agree that this is what helps the artistic environment at Notting Hill to stand out from other schools.

An Interview with Ms Cagnino

Which artist has inspired you the most?

I think the abstract impressionists have influenced my work the most in terms of painting, but I do love a shed. So probably Simon Starling’s ‘Shed Boat Shed’, because it showed me that you can make art from anything.

What do you love about teaching Art here?

I love that everyone’s work is original and their own. I love the discussions that happen in our Art lessons, how we can go from talking about our paintings to something seemingly unrelated to the topic. I also love how we are able to take lots of risks and how we’re not afriad of making mistakes - hence why I love the work we make.

What has been your favourite point in your working career?

When girls who have gone to Art School come back and tell us how much they love their course and what excting things they have been doing, and how much they loved Art at this school.

What exhibitions have you enjoyed recently?

I have just cancelled my Tate modern membership, because everything I have seen there has been a little bit rubbish. I was so excited about seeing the Bonnard exhibition at the Tate because he is one of my favourite people, but they always set it out in a disappointing way.

Sally Dolphin, Year 12 I

GCSE Coursework Pieces

Fatima Akhtar, Year 11

Alice Bollarn, Year 11

Bella Bacon, Year 11

Ruby Barrett. Year 11

Simran Chawla, Year 11

Sian Chiles, Year 11

Cleopatra Deitsch, Year 11

Florence Yost, Year 11

Olvia Dickins, Year 11

Art IGCSE coursework

CharlotteFoukles-Hannam, Year 11

Honor Hill-Norton, Year 11

MadeleineGibbard, Year 11

Maya Johnson, Year 11

Sian Kalsi, Year 11

Zoe Millionis, Year 11

Grace Murphy, Year 11

Marine Roca, Year 11

Art IGCSE exam pieces

Tayla Sun, Year 11

AgneseTremonti, Year 11

Izzy Verity, Year 11

Anna Whittock, Year 11

Essma Zitoun, Year 11

Fatima Akhtar, Year 11

Ruby Barrett, Year 11

Art IGCSE Exam Pieces

Alice Bollard, Year 11

Madeleine Gibbard, Year 11

Cleopatra Deisch, Year 11

Honor Hill-Norton, Year 11

Maya Johnson, Year 11

ZoeMilionis, Year 11

Grace Murphy, Year 11

Marine Roca, Year 11

Art A Level Exam Pieces

Georgia Baker, Year 13

Sophie Mockridge, Year 13

Uma Shah, Year 13

Nathalie Wicks, Year 13

Deluxshana Premakumar, Year 13

Charities

The Swimathon

What was the Swimathon? The Swimathon was an opportunity for amazing girls and teachers to swim and support Cancer Research and The Glass Door Homeless Charity. Was it easy to organise the Swimathon? Of course, it was not simple, but with the guidance and support from our wise teachers – especially Mr Shoults and Miss Prendergast - the Swimathon came to life. But of course, it was all about girls: inspiring girls, supportive girls and team-spirited girls. The girls played a large role in supporting the Swimathon and myself. During some of the most challenging times, for example when I gave my presentation in front of the whole school, I was more than a little nervous, but I knew that all my friends were there for me and were not judging me.

Now when I am writing this article, I look back to when the idea first came to my head. At that time, I never thought that we would be able to raise £2000. The initial idea sparked from the Ealing Marathon that took place earlier last year, in which our very own teachers participated. I mapped it onto the interests of fellow students, and I was sure that they would join me in supporting those who go through tremendous pain in fighting cancer and those who lack food and shelter. This year, we chose to support Cancer Research and The Glass Door Homeless Charity. Yet, we also had fun in doing so. We boosted our energy levels, did some sport and built new friendships. Surprise, surprise, it follows the moto – Feel Good, Stay Healthy! The Swimathon was great fun and full of new experiences for everybody. The thing that I loved most about the Swimathon was the fact that everybody could be part of it: from swimmers to their supporters! It was a big commitment, but worth it all in the end.

Daria Gal, Year 7

The Mango Tree

Since it was founded in Kenya, The Mango Tree has supported over 4,000 orphans living in Homabay County to access some form of education or training. In addition to school fee bursaries, uniforms and materials for children and young people to stay in school, they also provide holiday tuition, health and wellbeing support and sustainable livelihoods for guardian families. The HIV rates in Homa Bay County, where the organisation is situated, remains the highest in Kenya, and with high poverty rates and food insecurity, families living in these communities continue to struggle to meet their basic needs.

In 2020 we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for current Year 11 students, as will be sending out a team of girls to lead on a two-week holiday programme for the girls in Kenya, at their new school, which is currently under construction.

In building a girl’s boarding school, The Mango Tree will be able to provide a high standard of education in a nurturing environment for 320 girls a year. The school will aim to produce well-rounded, well-educated, independent young women.

Notting Hill and Ealing has always been a leader in education for girls with students who are proud of their school and value kindness and laughter, fun and friendship, much like the girls I had the opportunity to meet in Kenya. That is why I think that this is such a great partnership and I look forward to updating you on this new and exciting venture.

Miss Watkins, Head of Economics

Mencap Committee Dance Masterclass

In order to raise money for the local charity Ealing MENCAP, the year 10 volunteering leaders, as well as volunteers from years 7-9, helped to organise a dynamic Friday event. The planning that went into this event consisted of several Tuesday lunch time meeting, where we thought of exciting fundraising ideas (with the help of Miss Prendergast). We eventually decided on a dance master class and a bake sale. Our aim was to raise as much money as possible so we could put on an event later on in the year for the adults living with difficulties who are helped by Ealing MENCAP. On the day, I ran the cake sale and the various cookies, brownies and cupcakes (that were donated by the volunteers, and other girls) went down a storm. By the end we were all but sold out! The dancing itself was fantastic (not least to watch by the side-lines) and the year 10s Carmel Webb, Amber Bonner-Moris and Alice Rowlands lead some great choreography to Billie Eilish’s ‘Ocean Eyes’. The vibe and morale was high as more and more girls joined in (by the end there were about thirty dancing) and it was sad to see it end at the bell.

The money raised added up to about £40, which will go towards creating a greatly beneficial community event later in the year.

Lauren Beale, Year 10

More work with Ealing Mencap

I am currently working on creating a communication-aid app for the local charity Ealing Mencap. The charity work toward transforming society’s attitudes to learning disabilities and improving the quality of life of people with a learning disability and their families in West London. They campaign for people’s rights, create opportunities, showcase their customers’ talents and skills and break down barriers to overcome isolation and change lives. I plan to create an application that will aid and solve some of the problems faced by the charity and their customers. The charity works with people who have a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities, for example household tasks, socialising or managing money, which will affect them for their whole life. They tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people. The app will be a communication aid where a child user can press an icon with a picture and it will communicate to the staff whether they need something, such as going to the toilet. It will also involve a feedback system where at the end of the day the user can press another icon indicating whether they had a “good” or “bad day”. Additionally, this data will be stored in a database and reports will be automatically generated and sent to parents to notify them of what their child has done and how their day went. The app will provide a communication pathway between the users, the carers, the charity and the parents which the charity specified they are in need of and they would love the opportunity to be introduced into the technology world.

Issey Blackwell, Year 12

Volunteering at Age UK

Year 12 have had the opportunity this year to volunteer at Age UK in their Day Centre in Greenford. Age UK is a charity that combines the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern and Help the Aged to form the UK’s largest charity for older people. The application process consisted of filling in an application form, attending an interview and a tester day to see if you were suitable for the role. I was the first person to start volunteering and I started alone therefore I found the first week quite daunting because I couldn’t ask anyone about the experience and how I should act; however, after I got there and introduced myself they made sure I felt comfortable. Most of the volunteers from our school attend at different times that match their free periods so we do different activities with the elderly people. I volunteer at their lunch time of 12.30 so I help serve lunch and then help tidy up afterwards. When they have finished lunch, I usually run a game of bingo or if it is close to an event such as Easter or Valentine’s Day, we do arts and crafts to stick around the centre. Initially I was nervous that I wouldn’t like spending a free period every week volunteering, but I really enjoy the experience and I look forward to it every week. It is a great opportunity to give back to the community and I would recommend it to anyone thinking about volunteering not only with Age UK but other organisations as well.

Volunteering at Age UK

A highlight of my year in Sixth Form has been participating in the Drayton Green reading programme and volunteering at Age UK, where I was fortunate enough to take time off my hectic school life to give back to our community. I work with one kid at a time, where they pick out a book according to their reading level and read to me whilst we work on challenging words and comprehension questions. It has been very fulfilling to see my kids improve their reading throughout the year and grow in confidence. To see their determination and passion for books every week on a Friday afternoon is not only refreshing, but the best way to end an eventful and tiring week. Some of them busily read away to Biff, Chip & Kipper books, which were also my favourite growing up; others eagerly run up to the door as I come in to show me their new drawings with a huge grin plastered on their face. In the course of a year, I have developed close bonds with my students in year 3 and I always look forward to hearing their anecdotes from the week and watching their interests develop. My personal favourite moment was seeing a boy in my class light up when we were reading an adventure book about travelling to sea as he was very passionate about aquatic life and he even taught me fun facts about how whales eat! Another time during their Christmas Assembly, the teachers let us into the back to watch and it was incredibly sweet and joyous to see them singing to Christmas songs, reminding me of my own happy days during primary school. During my Monday free periods, I also volunteer at Age UK where I serve lunch to the elderly and then help out with their favourite activity– Bird Bingo. Working with the elderly requires me to be alert, compassionate and fast-moving but it is all worth it, in particular when it was one of the attendee’s birthdays and she stood up to give a heart-warming speech about how grateful she was to be here every week to see her friends for lunch. I thoroughly enjoy my time at Age UK, even if it means wearing a hair net for an hour a week!

Vanessa Teh, Year 12

Classics

RomeTrip

Onthe21stOctober2018somebraveNHEHSClassicsstudents, andfourevenbraverteachers,gotonanearly4amflighttoRome toseetheColosseumandtotraveltoPompeiiandseeCaecilius’s house.WhenwearrivedinRomewewentonawalkingtourof thecityandstoppedoffatthePantheon.Wewereveryimpressed bytheengineeringofthecurvedfloorwhichwasdesignedsothat whentheraincamethroughtheoculusintheroofitdrainedaway. AfterseeingthismonumentwegotsomedeliciousItalianfoodat thelocalrestaurants.

Thenextday,theeagergrouptookaguidedtouroftheawe inspiringColosseumandlearntsomeveryinterestingfacts.Did youknowtheColosseumstandsat48meterstallandittook10 yearstobuild?Orthatitattracts4.2millionvisitorsayear?After thelongtourwewalkedaroundthePalatineHillwhereaccordingtolegend,RomulusfoundedRome,andhasmanyofthecity’s mostancientbuildingsnearby.WealsosawtheCircusMaximus, fromBen Hur, and the Trevi Fountain. We threw coins into the fountains and made wishes - so according to legend this will guarantee us a return to the Eternal City. Did you know that in 2016, €1.2 million was thrown in, and it was donated to the needy through Caritas? We also brought some delicious Italian gelato. I tried un cono con una pallina fragola (a cone of strawberry ice cream!) and at dinner we had a pizza party!

On the last day, we went to Pompeii. We were astounded, as it was so big and detailed. In the boathouses you could see the preserved skulls of Ancient Romans who tried to escape by boat as Vesuvius erupted. We also enjoyed crossing the ‘vias’ as the Romans had installed stepping stones to walk across the dirty road. Another thing we enjoyed was the Temple of Jupiter as it was such an influential monument in Ancient Rome but now has been reduced to just a few columns. We were excited to find Caecilius’s house, but as it happened it was closed for repairs, so we could not see the location of most of the stories of our Cambridge Latin Course 1. The trip was over far too quickly, and we are excited for what the Greek trip has in store for us next October!

Imogen Day, Year 9

On the 23rd October we went on a coach to Vesuvius. We were very excited to climb the mountain but due to the path being unsafe we ended up going to the Villa Poppaea instead. It is believed to be the residence of Emperor Nero’s wife, Poppea Sabina. It was a huge house and had its own bath house, swimming pool and many luxury frescos. It was amazing to see how rich Romans lived as a London house could have easily fitted inside just the atrium. Afterwards, we had a myth competition in our hotel, featuring a very funny re-telling of Cupid and Psyche.

Elgin Marbles: why should you care?

Today, if you want to see a little piece of Classical Athens, any one of us can take a trip down to the British Museum and feast our eyes on the Elgin Marbles, the controversial collection of stone sculptures and inscriptions taken by Lord Elgin and brought back to Britain in the beginning of the 19th century. In recent years the antique stones have become a source of controversy, with disagreement as to whether the marbles belong in the British Museum.

The historic row began when Greece demanded the marbles be returned on the grounds that they were taken illegally under Turkish control in Greece, some suggesting that the Elgin bribed officials to gain the rights to the sculptures. The issue has apparently been raised with every British ambassador in Greece since. However, the British Museum maintains that the sculpture were obtained with the permission of the ottoman authorities who controlled Greece at the time and that returning the marbles would set a troubling precedent for other museums housing artefacts obtained under similar circumstances (as arguably many works in the British Museum are).

Greece claims that the marbles are a part of Greek history and belong in the Acroplis Museum along with another 30% of the marbles (65% of the original marbles are housed around the world – London and Athens both hold around 30% each) as a symbol of Greek antiquity and culture. Britain maintains that the marbles give the ‘maximum public benefit’ from London where they currently live, claiming that they are more representative of a lost Athenian civilisation in which much of western art and culture finds its roots, rather than a modern Greece and therefore the stones have the widest cultural reach from the British Museum.

FOR THE RETURN:

- Ancient cultural treasures belong in their country of origin.

- Other European museums have acknowledged Greek claims and returned taken items to the Acropolis.

- Athens have been committing to restoring the Aropolis and would display them as they would have originally appeared, doing the history of the artefacts the most justice.

- The marbles have been irreparably damaged in London as a result of pollution and the British Museums attempts to clean them

- The circumstances under which Lord Elgin obtained the Marbles is dubious at best.

AGAINST THE RETURN:

- If all museums met such claims, many great museums would lose trademark artefacts and exhibits.

- Their place in the British museum allows them to be compared in an ‘international context’ to other cultures.

- Many of the sculprures are lost forever anyway – the set will never be complete.

- The marbles were protected from damage during the Greek war of independence where the Parthenon faced significant Ottoman attack.

- Elgin received permission from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

- The Legal charter of the British Museum prohibits the return of items in its collection under the British Museum Act (1963).

Well you’ve heard the arguments for and against, why not have your say on one of Classics oldest ongoing debates? Do you think the Elgin Marbles should be returned or stay where they are?

Ella Campbell, Year 12

Minimus

Over the spring term, NHEHS Classics students have been teaching the Minimus course to pupils at North Ealing Primary and at the Junior School, with the aim of giving them an insight into the Latin language and classical mythology. The course is centred around Minimus – a mouse living in Roman Britain around 2000 years ago, who narrates his life with a Roman family and the adventures they have together. Along with stories in Latin, the course includes sections about ancient history and life in the Roman Empire, which proved very exciting for girls at the Junior School as they had recently been learning about this in class. It was incredibly rewarding to help the girls progress from knowing no words at all to being able to translate full stories by themselves, and share in their excitement at being able to write birthday cards to their parents in Latin. The term culminated in the Minimus play competition, in which the students have to translate, memorise, and perform a play completely in Latin, which is then entered into a national competition. Our students rose to the challenge brilliantly, quickly translating the version of ‘Midas and the Golden Touch’which we had painstakingly written for them, and then set about rehearsing and acting it out with impressive dramatic flair. Having won the competition several times before, we were keen to ensure that the title was re-gained this year, so lavish costumes and impressively realistic props were all employed to make sure this happened. The plays were a fantastic end to what had proved to be a rewarding few weeks for everyone involved, and it is safe to say that all of us from year twelve at NHEHS will be returning to teach Minimus again next year!

Computer Science

The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

The possible invention of Artificial General Intelligence (the intelligence of a machine that could successfully perform any intellectual task that a human being could) has been described by Stephen Hawking as something that could be “the best or worst thing to happen to humanity”. This is due to the fact that powerful AI could both solve some of the biggest problems our world faces, or create even bigger ones.

While highly intelligent AI does come with its threats, it could also bring about a lot of positive changes to our world. If intelligence was created that could evolve to surpass the human races level of intellect, it would have the ability to solve problems that we couldn’t. It could invent powerful new technologies that humans would never have the ability to create, and technology invented by this superintelligence would give humans the ability to do this never before thought to be possible. For example, many speculate that in the future humans will have the ability to upload our minds into computers, or to increase our lifespan indefinitely using cyborg technologies to resist disease and the normal process of aging. While the idea of ‘immortality’ in this way does sound like something pulled from a science fiction novel, there are a small number of people around the world who take this idea seriously and are already going through steps to try and ensure that they achieve it. There are those planning to try and preserve their brains and/or bodies after death, hoping that they can be revived once technology has advanced to provide this kind of immortality. 286 people in June 2014 were being stored in liquid nitrogen, which freezes a person’s tissue immediately after death to preserve their body and ensure that ice crystals do not form within brain cells and damage them.

However, as is often the case when AI is presented in the media, there is always the chance that any superintelligence created could end up disliking the human race, making a catastrophic mistake with devastating consequences, or even just end up in the hands of a human with bad intentions.

Moreover, Artificial Intelligence that was actually conscious would be able to form its own ideas and opinions. While this in many ways could be beneficial, with AI being able to solve problems in ways humans wouldn’t think to solve them, it could also lead to problems. An AI that we created could dislike humans and our actions, or it could have wants and goals that don’t align with ours. After all, unless an AI was specifically designed to do so, it would have no specific reason to want to help humanity achieve its goals.

Powerful artificial intelligence would have the ability to do incredible things, but if these abilities were turned against the human race it could possibly lead to our extinction, for how can we hope to win a fight against a far superior being whose intelligence would be constantly evolving far beyond the extent of ours? AI could have the ability to predict humans actions before they have even thought about doing them, by analysing the information of billions of people’s lives and decisions. If humans were forced to try and fight against AI, they would be fighting against an intelligence that could predict their every move. A superintelligence would have the ability to create machines and programs far beyond anything a human could create, and far beyond anything a human would be able to fight against. This type of technology turning against humans, or this type of technology being used in warfare would have a devastating impact on the human race and the planet as a whole.

There is still a lot of debate over whether Artificial General Intelligence will actually have more good results or bad results, and there are many leading scientists with very differing opinions on the topic. As of yet no one has been able to create AI with superintelligence and consciousness, and many believe it is a lot further away than many people believe. Some even wonder if it can be achieved at all.

Miranda Simmons, Year 12

Computer Science Reading Recommendations

The Glass Cage: Automation and Us

By Nicholas Carr

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

by Yuval Noah Harari

Design Technology

DT Club

This year in DT club, led by Mr Futter, students have been making small wooden boxes. They have been using finger joints to connect the sides of the pine wood. This teaches them the skills of using the jig saw, sanding machine and learning how to correctly mark out wood. Once all the pieces of pine had been cut out, they then had to glue them together with PVA. To finish off the boxes, the girls sanded down the pine to get a smooth finish before waxing them with beeswax.

London Design Festival 2018

Some thoughts of the Year 7s that attend.

“I come to DT club because I really enjoy the subject and want to learn new skills. I also like to go to as many clubs as possible and DT is really different to the other ones that I do.”

Jemima Hughes-Javis, Year 10

“I like making stuff. Coming to DT lets me be creative.” Anjali Karia, Year 10

2I haven’t been able to do much DT before, so I came to DT club to try something new.”

Ellie Colbourne, Year 10

“I just really like making stuff.” Clemmie

“DT club is really fun. We are a making a box. I enjoy it a lot!” Agnes Hall, Year 10

We started the day at the 100% design exhibition in Olympia which was such an amazing place to start as it showed us the variety of designs we would be seeing for the rest of the day. Some of the best products were the lights as each designer had come up with so many creative and innovative designs that really made me look at materials and processes in a different way.

We then went to some other design exhibitions such as the design museum on Southbank where there was loads of small businesses, again showcasing their products. One thing that particularly stood out to me was an area that had velvet sofas and multi-coloured lights and various unique pieces of furniture. It really inspired me to think about how lighting can influence the way you look at designs. Overall, this day way so useful as I have gained so much inspiration from so many different designers and products that I hope to take forward and use for my A Level.

Caitlin Grosvenor, Year 12

GCSE coursework 2019

As you can see in the picture below, this clock by Amelia Hall will only allow you to access your key between 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock in the moring and evening. This mechanical time lock ensures that the keys are safe and secure as they are only accessible at the times known to the user.

Recommendations

To get more from the DT department try out BBC ‘The Big Life Fix’which gives an excellent representation of iterative design. Also check out ‘Design for life’ which is similar to The Apprentice for designers.

Year 13 Coursework

Design Technology

include

1. a reminder to eat – the fan that switches on and wafts scent towards user at the times 6am, 12am and 6pm.

2. a buzzer after an hour of inactivity to remind user to stand up and move around.

3. a foot warmer that is activated by the foot pressure switch

4. LDR lights that turn on when there are low light levels for user safety to prevent any trip hazards

Cassia Fillingham designed a product to help dementia.The electronics used in the product

Sophia Maroo designed a dog bed.

The ‘Heart’ Shelf by Felicity Rylattm Year 11

Storage Unit by Thushika Ravichandran, Year 11

Hermione Morris designed a study desk with a laptop platform, which can be folded into a book shelf, perfect for university students.

Drama

Romeo and Juliet

The school production is a highly anticipated part of the school year. This year NHEHS took on the world renowned play, Romeo and Juliet, which left audiences mesmerised at the standard of acting that was displayed. Pupils from Year 9 to 13 dedicated their first 3 months of the academic year to rigorous rehearsals and learning a lot of lines. The result was fantastic and the show sold out 3 nights in a row. The drama department have continued to set the bar extremely high for the school productions and this has made us all very excited about the next school production.

A few words from the cast and crew:

This was my fourth year of stage managing at NHEHS, and what a great show to end on! As Stage Manager, it gets pretty chaotic trying to organise both the actors and the techs, but there’s no job I’d rather do. It’s an excuse to make a good spreadsheet (necessary when ordering 35 pizzas) at the same time as being part of the creative process of a show. And despite having approximately no artistic talent myself, it’s been great to support those who do. Being part of the tech team means sometimes not having your contributions made visible, but it’s satisfying to be able to know that the show couldn’t have happened without you

Stage Manager, Elizabeth Down, Year 13

All of the girls, no matter what year, have completely submerged themselves into this world of Romeo and Juliet. Whether it be in set, props, lighting, stage management and all the other departments, this show really would not be the same without the dedication of all. I am so incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to play Romeo. With it being Ms Whitmarsh’s last play, I hope that I did her proud in my final performance.

Romeo, Sascha Ootam Year 13

This year I took on the daunting, but nonetheless incredibly enjoyable, role of Head of Props. Having participated in the play for two years already, I was very excited to take on a more challenging position. Even though it has not been the easiest role to take up, I have experienced a feeling of satisfaction when all tasks, no matter how long they may take, have been completed. Our greatest challenge was presented when we made around forty masks, each with individual designs, and after many hours of decorating , we were very pleased with the outcome. I absolutely loved working on this production of Romeo and Juliet, and this show would not be able to function without the rest of the team. It has been incredibly fun, as the school show always is, and we are all so proud of the end result.

Head of Props, Miranda Simmons, Year 12

Minerva

In Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils are invited to join their very own theatre company, which meets each week to explore Drama through games and development of techniques. The highlight of the year is the final summer performance, in which each company puts on a show for visitors in our specialist Drama Studio. In 2019, pupils performed three plays: The Snow Queen, His Dark Materials and The Woman in Black.

Minerva 7: The Snow Queen

The Year 7 company, Minerva 7, showcased The Snow Queen. The tale, adapted from Hans Christian Anderson’s famous fairytale, explores Gerda’s quest to save her childhood friend Kai from the Snow Queen, who has turned his heart to ice. This story of good and evil was set to a backdrop of a Danish Winter Wondeland.

Minerva 8: His Dark Materials

Minerva 8, the Year 8 Drama Company, presented an adaption of Philip Pullman’s classic fantasy triology, His Dark Materials. In this epic tale, the young and adventerous Lyra fights to save her childhood friend after he his kidnapped by The Gobblers. Embarking on an fantastic journey, she meets armoured bears, magical instruments and faces up to grand questions of truth, religion and morality.

Minerva 9: The Woman in Black

Year 9 company Minerva 9 presented a chilling version of Susan Hill’s Woman in Black, in which a young solicitor seeks to find the truth behind the haunting of the remote and eerie Eel Marsh House

The Woman in Black

In Year 9, we participated in the highly popular drama club, ‘Minerva 9’. This enhanced our skills in drama and was a great way socialise. At the beginning of the year, we did numerous activities which were able to prepare us for our final show which we were to perform in the summer term. The play we performed was ‘The Woman in Black’. This is quite a haunting play and we were excited to work on it over the year.

The show was very tough and challenging however, knowing we were going to perform it in front of an audience motivated us to keep going and create an amazing show that we were proud to perform. After all the rehearsals we finally got to present our performance in front of an audience including teachers, students and our parents. This was a great experience and the show went well on the night.

Minerva 9 was an amazing opportunity as we learnt many new acting techniques and we had a chance to showcase our skills. Most importantly we had lots of fun and it has made us keen to get involved in more drama productions in school. We would definitely recommend anybody who enjoys acting and working as part of a close team to get involved in Minerva!

Campbell and Aditi Aryal, Year 9

A Level Drama

An important part of the A Level Drama course is the creation of a devised piece of Drama created by the pupils. This year, Y13 Drama students took inspiration from the theme of protest, using an extract from Jim Cartwright’s Road. The piece, which adopted the style of Joan Littlewood, aimed tto highlight issues women face in the workplace.

The role of Claire Peter was played by Lola Barack, Laura Shaun by Ava Johnston and the character of Molly Michael by Sascha Ootam.

Melissa

Economics

Interview with Miss Watkins

Irrational behaviour for consumers is when consumers do not act to maximise their utility and instead will act quickly and without thinking due to 3 main reasons: bounded rationality, social norms and habitual behaviour.

Bounded rationality is the idea that a consumer is limited by one or numerous factors, preventing them from having a sufficient amount of information in order to be able to make a rational decision. It can however also be caused by any sort of pressure such as time that forces the consumer to act quickly and without being able to fully acknowledge what they have signed themselves up to. An example of this being if a consumer wanted to buy a second-hand car and was not told that after certain mileage the car can rust or break down. This would be a case of assymetric information, in other words not being informed fully of the condition of the car. This case could have been prevented had the right questions been asked of course. However, if time pressure was another factor involved, it’s impossible to say that the same decision would not be reached under the same circumstances. Therefore, adding to the example, you are now being told that this vehicle is in superb condition and that this type of vehicle is in short supply, you are also running extremely late for your work and know that if you don’t make up your mind about the vehicle now you may face disciplinary issues at work! Would you stay to find out more information about this vehicle before its purchase or would you take your chances and buy it on the spur of the moment?

Habitual behaviour is when people follow the same routines, repeating them on a regular basis. Habitual behaviour plays an important role in almost everyone’s day as it a common characteristic all humans have. This is due to the fact that be it work or school, almost every human will have a place they go to 5 days a week, following the same travel route and possibly the same coffee/breakfast routine. The issue with this is that if a firm were to increase the price of their latte from £2.50 to £3.10 in order to maximise their profit, many consumers would not realise this change in price due to such a strong habit of simply tapping their contactless credit card onto the reader without thinking and ensuring the price they are paying is appropriate and acceptable.

In terms of social norms, Tommy X GIGI have been in collaboration for a while now, and many consumers would see an item of clothing in Tommy Hilfiger, decide they do not like it however the moment it becomes apparent to them that actually Gigi Hadid is seen in a photo wearing it, the item suddenly is lovely and a must-buy. This is a similar situation with FENTY beauty by Rihanna and many more.

So if we know the factors that tempt us to act irrationally, why do we still do it? The answer to this question is simple, because at the end of the day, we are mere humans and can act irrationally from time to time.

I studied Business Management at The University of Nottingham for my undergraduate degree. I then studied for my PGCE and MA at UCL.

Definitely! Economics affects our daily lives in both obvious ways and more subtle ways. From an individual perspective, economics frames many choices we have to make about work, leisure, consumption and how much to save. Our lives are also influenced by broader economic trends, such as inflation, interest rates and economic growth. We can apply Economics to pretty much everything we do and every decision we make!

I have had several jobs before teaching, working for a company specialising in corporate recognition products, and providing social media marketing for a confectionary company. Both enabled me to earn money to put towards my passion, travelling. I have volunteered and travelled in South America, along with spending two summers as a camp counsellor in America where I was then able to travel for a month between New York and LA. I have also spent six months living and teaching in Thailand. My favourite film would have to be ‘The Big Short’ and I think the BBC Radio 4 podcast ‘Economics with Subtitles’ is great too. Currently, my favourite Econmics book is ‘Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist’

Why do we behave irrationally and in a way that does not benefit us as consumers?

English

Chaucer Day

Congregating at eight in the morning at King’s Cross station may not be everyone’s ideal start to a Wednesday morning. Tempering the early beginning with the promise of a day of lectures, you may just make the experience sound even less exciting. However, we were yet to discover the joys that a day packed full of all things Geoffrey Chaucer had to offer us. Armed with our copies of The Merchant’s Tale, Year Twelve English literature students headed to Oxford for a day of learning all about the Canterbury Tales amongst the picturesque Oxford streets ranging from a tour of the Ashmolean, two seminars at the Bodleian and lectures from world-renowned professors.

Arriving early at our first lecture, our group was very punctual to the first stop of the day and managed to secure front row seats. One of the difficulties many of us had found in studying Chaucer was how far removed his life was from our own and it had meant that many allusions he made were allowed to fall through the cracks as we simply did not understand them. The first two lectures gave us great insight into both the historical and literary context from which Chaucer drew. Something we learnt that surprised me was Chaucer’s access to the outside world, as his father’s job as a vintner (wine merchant) would have exposed him to goods from around the world. We learnt the meaning behind many of his more subtle choices for example, in The Merchant’s Tale, Chaucer sets the lecherous man’s home in Lombardy, a town which was then associated with tyranny, brothels and banks. Whilst the lectures were very interesting, the most incredible part of the day was the opportunity to touch a manuscript dating back to around 1450. We learnt about how to date manuscripts and estimate which strata of society would have owned it. Forexample, this manuscript was on parchment and decorated decadently with gold and blue illustrations (blue was a mark of luxury as it was the most expensive colour due to it being incredibly rare) and had large margins for notes to be made around the text. These luxuries marked it out as something owned by the highest of nobility (which was already probable as mostly aristocratic males were able to read during Chaucer’s lifetime).

After a brief lunch, we were hurried away to our final stop of the day – a tour of the famous Ashmolean museum. We were shown many objects pertinent to our text, such as memorabilia depicting St Thomas Becket which would have been worn by those who had completed the Canterbury pilgrimage being undertaken by the Merchant in our text. Finally, we were allowed some much-needed time to wander around

picturesque Oxford before catching our train back to London, eventually meeting at a Waterstones when we were finished The day was very eventful as we spent it being hurried between workshops and bombarded with information. However, it was the perfect blend of enjoyable and useful, with everyone learning interesting and important information with which to improve our understanding of The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale. Although, upon reflection, it is probably best to mention that, whilst everyone feels much more confident with handling Middle English, nobody is prepared to speak it with the accent!

Sapna Joshi, Year 12

Q &A with Hannah Sullivan

Earlier this year NHEHS students from years 11-13 were extremely lucky to host Dr Hannah Sullivan for an insightful Q&A session about her career and studying English Literature. Dr Sullivan is currently a lecturer at New College in Oxford University, who recently won the T.S Elliot prize for her debut collection ‘Three Poems.’ She is one of only three poets to ever receive the prize for a debut work, which has wowed critics with its refreshing perspective on established themes such as sex, mortality and gender.

Dr Sullivan gave us not only a useful insight into what studying English Literature is like at the top universities, but also gave honest advice about the admissions process for universities like Oxford and Cambridge. With regards to her poetry collection, Dr Sullivan was very open about her experiences in New York and how that inspired her poem ‘You, Very Young in New York’ where she explores feelings of disillusionment from being in such a large city. She also told a story about the time she was paired up with Natalie Portman at a poetry seminar, which is definitely a surreal moment looking back now. Dr Sullivan was extremely genuine in her responses during the Q&A session and it was extremely refreshing to hear about her stories and experiences in the academic community. She is a true inspiration to all NHEHS students as she has managed to excel in a mostly masculine environment and we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to share some time with her.

World Book Day

The Year 12 English reps were asked to organise an event for the first day of World Book Week. Given that the theme was children books, we figured “what would be better than organising a Where’s Wally English themed hunt?” To get people excited and ready for the day we put posters around the school and went around making announcements. We made up questions relevant to World Book Day which were all linked to the author Roald Dahl. Once the students solved a question they were given a clue which led them to a different place in the school where there was another question for them to find and so on. As the students ran around the school answering questions, they also had to collect letters. These letters spelled out the name of Roald Dahl. To find the final letter they then had to track down the girl dressed at Wally and race back. Once the girls had found all the letters they came back to the starting point where they were given a chocolate.

There was a range of years of students that took part in the hunt from Year 7 to Year 11. Some girls went in groups to cover more ground and many got very excited about the competition. It was a greater success than we could have ever hoped for, with students crammed into the classroom!

For those that did not want to take part in the hunt there were book-themed word searches for people to fill in. These were also enjoyed by pupils, who not only filled them in during the lunch break, but some also took them home to do later. Once the Where’s Wally search was complete and everyone returned to the classroom, many still maintained their competitive spirit willing to take part in the numerous Kahoot quizzes that we had prepared beforehand on iPads that were borrowed from the library. We had a classroom full of bubbly and happy girls expressing their knowledge of literature; determined to win the gold medal.

Overall the day was thoroughly enjoyable, with many girls expressing their wish that they could do World Book Day, every week. I look forward to the next World Book Day!

Sophie Buhler, Year 12

Poetry Conference 2019

On 26th March 2019, NHEHS hosted its inaugral GCSE Poetry Conference. We were lucky enough to be visited by renowned poet Daljit Nagra and UCL Professor of English Mark Ford, who shared their love of poetry with GCSE students from our school, as well as pupils from Brentside High School and Ealing Park High School.

Li-An Tan and Isabel Hepburne-Smith asked Daljit why he chose to write poetry:

“I have also written novels in the past, but there is so much more going on in poetry. It’s exciting, quick, compressed. In a sense I think that poetry needs comment far more than fiction because poetry is harder to make sense of. The need for analysis therefore, is far greater.”

History

Russia Trip 2018

We arrived at Heathrow Airport at 6:30 AM and got through security without problems. After boarding at 8:15, our flight was delayed by an hour, but we all filled the time by watching films on the plane screens. When we got off the plane in Moscow, it was already getting dark and we immediately boarded the coach to get to the suburbs of Moscow. There, we visited the house where Lenin died. On the tour, we learnt lots of interesting facts about Lenin (such as that he spoke 7 languages) and also got to see his Rolls Royce which was adapted for snowy Moscow winters by having skis attached to the tank-like wheels.

The following day we got the metro from our hotel in the suburbs to the Red Square. Although similar to the London tubes, Moscow is much prouder of its infrastructure so the stations and platforms are spacious and ornately decorated, putting the grotty London Underground to shame. After a brief tour of Moscow, we queued in the rain for over an hour to see the embalmed body of Lenin. Seeing the body was a surreal experience, not least because of the guards on all four corners of the room and the red glow highlighting Lenin’s waxy appearance. We were quickly ushered out and took the opportunity to take pictures in front of the iconic St Basil’s Cathedral.

Later that day, we visited the Cosmonaut museum, and it was interesting to have an insight into the Soviet perspective of the Space Race, in comparison to the usual American view. The next day, we visited the Flea Market in Moscow. The market itself was full of Russian dolls, music boxes and FIFA World Cup merchandise and we haggled with the merchants for better prices (some more successfully than others).

We dropped off our bags at our hotel and ate a delicious breakfast before setting off in our coach to have a quick tour of the city. After this, we had a guided tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress, visiting the prison and seeing the cathedral where the last Tsar, his wife and children (except Alexei and Maria) had been laid to rest.

After an exciting final day in Moscow, we ended the evening by eating in the Hard Rock Café and then traveling to the train station where we caught the overnight train to St Petersburg. Travelling on the overnight train was an interesting experience; we did not get much sleep but generally enjoyed the journey. We arrived in St Petersburg at 8:00 AM the next morning and met our new guide, Victoria.

We had a lovely lunch at the Marketplace and then went to visit the amazing Yusapov Palace which, whilst also being incredibly beautiful, was where the murder of Rasputin was plotted. After a good night’s rest, the next day we visited both Catherine’s Summer Palace and the Winter Palace, which also included the Hermitage Gallery. In the afternoon we were given some free time to wander around the gallery, giving us the chance to gain some knowledge about Russian culture. That evening we were fortunate enough to be able to attend an evening of traditional Russian folk dancing and singing at the Nikolaevsky Palace. It was a wonderful evening as we were in awe of the amazing skills displayed by the dancers and singers. The next day was our final morning in St Petersburg. We started the day with a final brisk walk down the Nevsky Prospect and found the original shop where the Russian dolls for the Nutcracker were made. As well as this, we were given the opportunity to buy some more souvenirs before we got back on the coach to return to the airport. We landed back to greet the warmth of London at around 5:00 PM, tired but having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We would like to say a big thank you to Mr Pepper and Ms Critcher for making this trip happen. We all had a wonderful time.

Bethan Davies-Asmar, Charlotte Grimwade and Sapna Joshi, Year 12

History Masterclass

History Masterclass has been so much fun to attend this year! Whether it’s been hearing about 18th century fashion or Lincoln’s role in the American Civil War, all of the talks delivered have been extremely interesting. This year, I have also had the opportunity to present two masterclasses myself. It was really beneficial to talk about two historical topics that fascinate me: the Spanish Civil War and the Mexican Revolution. Overall, History Masterclass is great if you want to learn more about unusual periods of history, have interesting historical discussions and talk about topics that fascinate you!

Charlotte Grimwade, Year 12

Horrible Histories Club!

If I tell you to think of Horrible Histories, what do you think of? I think that Horrible Histories gives you a completely new perspective on an aspect of history that you had previously thought of differently.

Throughout our various sessions, we have explored many different periods of history by means of fun activities and crafts! One of my favourite sessions was when we ‘celtified’ Barbie dolls. For the famous woad-blue paint that they put on themselves to look intimidating when running into battle, we covered our Celtic dolls in blue felt-tip pens. There was a competition for the most elaborate and extreme woad designs. We also cut and plaited the Barbie dolls’hair to make them look more menacing. When we had a 1980s themed session, we played a Horrible Histories Club version of Tetris. Charlotte and Ella (the amazing History Reps) had cut out lots of Tetris shapes and we each had a grid on which to move them across. It was a two-player game with somebody sliding the shapes over to you. However, this did turn into throwing if someone was doing particularly well! During our session about the Egyptians, mummifying Charlotte and Ella proved to be really fun. We had to wrap them in as much toilet roll as we could for the duration of the Horrible Histories Cleopatra song. We have also built the Parthenon out of paper, made Suffragette rosettes and Georgian wigs, all accompanied by the infamous Horrible Histories soundtrack.

If any of that sounds fun to you (insert enthusiastic nodding here) then please come to Room 10 on a Wednesday lunchtime to see what the History Reps have cooked up for each new session. I’ll see you there!

Charlotte

Coningsby,

Year 7

Getting to know Miss Longmore

Very busy, everyone is very welcoming and friendly. The school lunches are also really nice!

I love history and wanted to do something that involved history every day.

I used to want to be a dentist but changed my mind at 17. If I wasn’t a teacher, I might have wanted to be a book publisher (but I think that would be too quiet!) or do a job that involves reading.

I am particularly interested in 19th century women’s history, so much so that I wrote my university dissertation on it. I also find Stalin particularly interesting, I really enjoyed studying him at A-Level.

Quite a few actually including noisy eating, people talking with their mouth full and slow walking.

A very good book (I’m not sure which one), maybe Jeeves and Wooster, and (even though it’s a bit pretentious) a record player.

Stephen Fry, Bear Grylls (he might be able to fix the lift!) and Lucy Worsley.

Geography

Getting to know Miss Stannard

I loved Geography all throughout school and university, especially physical geography! After working for few years in a normal office job, I missed interacting with geography every day, as it’s such an interesting and dynamic subject. I therefore knew I wanted to teach geography to get back in touch with the subject I am passionate about.

nti-Idling Campaign

The week of 13th May at NHEHS and across the country was Anti-Idling week. One of the biggest problems currently facing us all is the poor air quality caused by car exhaust fumes. As the most vulnerable to the poor air quality are children and young people, it makes it ever more important to switch off our engines, particularly around schools. Despite many cars now having stop-start systems, cars still sit with engines idling, releasing tiny particles into the air which are then inhaled. Around the world, air pollution is the fourth largest killer, causing over 6.5 million deaths annually.

As some of you will know, I used to live and work on a super yacht, and I also spent some time traveling around Australia and parts of Asia when I finished University. My favourite place however has to be Mallorca. The main town Palma has amazing historical architecture and cool tapas bars, and the island itself has beautiful hidden beaches and cute small towns that you can spend days discovering and exploring.

The week consisted of raising awareness for the need to switch off our engines, making people aware of the effects that idling in a car can have. To start the week, we held a poster competition, and put the winner’s poster up near the school, to help raise awareness of this issue. Congratulations to our winners Eleanor Ritchie and Olivia Harris both in Year 10. We also held an assembly to educate everyone in school about this issue, and to promote our anti-idling campaign. We hope everyone will join in and help to improve Ealing’s air quality, and please remember, turn off your engines!

I once spent a few months skiing in New Zealand and stayed in Queenstown on the South Island. This area of new Zealand is so incredibly beautiful, with crystal clear lakes that reflect the surrounding mountains, cool ski slopes and also a world renowned burger restaurant, Fergburger!

Sophie Levison, Year 11

I would love to go to India and spend some time as a yoga retreat. I think the most pressing issue we face as a global community is climate change. One of the first things you can do to help is make sure you understand what is going on; keep up with what is going on in the news and learn as much as you can. Other than that you can make small changes such as riding your bike to school instead of driving or having ‘meat free Mondays’ with your family to help cut back on your meat consumption, as this is one of the leading contributions towards greenhouse gas emissions.

Martha Price, Year 12

Geography

rexit Lecture

The Geography department were so lucky earlier this year to welcome Professor Danny Dorling from Oxford University to come and speak to years 10,11,12 and 13 about Brexit prior to the expected date of Britain’s exit from the EU in March. He currently is the Halford Mackinder Professor in Geography at the University of Oxford. He was previously a professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield, and before then a professor at the University of Leeds. Dorling has written many books most recently including in 2018 and in collaboration with Sally Tomlinson explaining how and why different parts of Britain voted to leave or remain in the EU.

Dorling’s lecture was on Brexit and what type of Brexit could occur - hard, soft, or even a last minute cancellation and staying in the European Union. He spoke about the long-term effects on the public, and the questions that especially those in today’s university and school students (who had no vote) are going to be asking about why this has happened and what it means for many years to come.

He also argued how Britain’s geographical status would be affected and whether the UK leaving the EU will damage the image of Britain in the eyes of the rest of the world, or if the British will learn a great deal about themselves as a result of having voted to ‘Leave’. Not least that Britain, and even Brexit, has its roots in the British Empire. He spoke about how Brexit may well be the point at which the English, in particular, finally learn about the importance of geography. Geography is central to Brexit from the Irish border through to the modern day priorities of India. Dorling ended by suggesting that living with the highest rate of income inequality in Europe was our real problem, not being in the EU. The source of our woes was not immigrants or some perceived lack of sovereignty, but of our own making; however many other views are also available and some are even plausible.

The response to the lecture from the students was very positive as Danny Dorling explained the arguments for and against Brexit helping our students to understand the both opinions. Fortunately Brexit has been pushed back to October 31st 2019 allowing the government to come up with a better deal for Britain before our departure from the EU.

Martha Price, Year 12

Tectonics Conference

On Friday 30 November, the Year 12 geographers embarked to Euston Square. We visited Friends House for a day full of lectures orientated around our first A Level physical geography topic, tectonics. From the viewpoint of a geographer, learning about earthquakes, volcanoes and their associated hazards plays a vital role in understanding the reason why countries with varying levels of development deal with disasters in different ways.

Our day began with Iain Stewart, Professor of Geoscience Communications at Plymouth University and specialist presenter with BBC Science. Having travelled the world, Stewart shared his first hand experiences of several natural disasters. These included the Bam earthquake in Iran, during Christmas 2003, and an earthquake in Istanbul, Turkey. As well as explaining the causes of the events, he also expressed how the lack of development in Bam affected their methods of aid and response to the damage caused, in comparison to Istanbul which had slightly better earthquake protection.

Having studied Martin Degg’s (the Head of Department of Geography and International Development at the University of Chester) model as a part of our syllabus, we were excited to see what he would say about it in real life.

To our surprise, he only mentioned it once (what a humble man), but he did explain the role of megacities and how growing numbers of these are built in areas of high seismic risk, potentially causing a larger impact to the growing population.

Following lunch, despite starting to become quite tired from sitting for 3 hours, we received a talk from Dr Thorbjorg Agustdottir, an Icelandic Earth Scientist and Senior Geophysicist at Iceland GeoSurvey. She explored the geology of Iceland and volcanic monitoring whilst referring to 3 recent events, Eyjafjallajökull (or E15 for short), 2010, Grímsvötn, 2011, and Bárðarbunga-Holuhraun, 2014-2015.

Following a short break, we had our last lecture of the day conducted by Sue Warn, another Former Chief Examiner; experienced teacher and author. She examined the impacts of more recent earthquakes, like that in Christchurch, New Zealand, addressing concerns about New Zealand’s future, especially their economy. Having studied this during lessons, we found that it helped further our understanding of the event and allowed us to gain greater knowledge of the impact caused.

All in all, it was a very insightful day and my thanks to Miss Stannard for the millionaire’s shortbread, as well as Martin Degg for that questionable group photo.

Immi Sandhu, Year 12

History of Art

ARTiculation

Last November, one of our History of Art studetnts, Lucia Hodgkinson, competed in and won the ARTiculation prize held at the Royal Academy. This is an excert her speech:

“Ai Weiwei, the artist, is a Chinese contemporary artist who has been heralded internationally for his challenges against the Chinese authorities, as well as activism against establishment worldwide. He is known as a “dissident artist” following his 2011 arrest and exile from China as well as moving his family to Berlin. He is also internationally renowned, despite being censored out of Chinese society with many public figures refusing to acknowledge his existence. In 2008 the artist filled London’s Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds (2008) filled the vast industrial space with 100 million hand-painted porcelain seeds. The Chinese artist’s intention was for members of the public to “walk across,sit down, roll in and even play” with the seeds, meaning Ai Weiwei invites the viewer to have a multi-sensory experience, where visitors can touch and walk on the seeds, and listen as they shift underfoot, making art which is not limited to visuals. He offers an experience. Ai Weiwei’s work is not only effective as a social commentary on historical China, it also serves to comment on China’s political situation today. But more importantly, its power lies in the strength of its aesthetic simplicity, as you are able to appreciate a sense of mass vs single seed, and density vs detail, without knowledge of context. This is what makes it so successful.

Ai Weiwei’s intention for interaction reveals a paradox; conceptually, to walk on the sunflower seeds places the viewer in a position of physical power or dominance over the seeds below them, yet simultaneously the viewer is at one with the artwork as they move through the work, and the status of the exclusively “viewing viewer” is questioned. Unfortunately, only ten days after the exhibition opened, the Tate closed direct access to the seeds as the dust generated by the friction between the porcelain had posed as a risk of respiratory problems for viewers. Interfering with how Ai Weiwei’s work was experienced transformed the interactive installation into an object to be observed from a boundary line. This is where the transition from installation to sculpture begins, and one could suggest that this viewing position becomes a metaphor for the West viewing China from a removed and restricted standpoint. This act of mini-rebellion is something that one can imagine Ai Weiwei enjoying. Ai Weiwei grew up during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, otherwise known as The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976, experiencing his father’s displacement to rural China to carry out hard labour.”

Hodgkinson, Year 12

A fabulous book for those interested in History of Art

The Goldfinch’ is a 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Donna Tartt, which chronicles the life of an adolescent boy whose life descends into chaos when his mother dies in a terrorist attack. The eponymous ‘Goldfinch’is a 1654 painting by Carel Fabritius, which the protagonist takes with him as a reminder of his mother, and symbolically carries with him throughout his ensuing teen and young adult years.

Tartt takes a unique perspective on the power of art in our every-day lives and its ability to transcend language and centuries to make its mark. Fabritius was an important artist of the Dutch Golden Age, who trained in an art studio with Remembrandt in Amsterdam. He famously died at the age of in a tragic explosion at a gunpowder warehouse; this tragic context may have influenced one of the novel’s most iconic quotes: “Caring too much for objects can destroy you. Onlyif you care for a thing enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it? And isn’t the whole point of things—beautiful things that they connect you to some larger beauty?”

Lucia

Languages

At the same time in the Main Hall, the Year 9s were also performing, using their dramatic and creative skills, they were challenged to perform four minute original plays using at least two languages. There were many impressive plays that utilised languages in an original and creative way. However, the NHEHS Year 9 Mandarin group were declared the winners for their play about being lost in the centre of London.

After lunch, NHEHS Alumna Anna Allatt (Duty Editor, BBC3) led a Career workshop for the Year 10 and 12 students together with Mrs Eberlin (Acting Head of German at NHEHS).

At the final session, all the linguists came back together to find out how the Year 10 and 12s had taken up the challenge set by the Year 12 Language Reps: “Create news stories videos on Ipads showing how languages can come to the rescue in an apocalypse!”

‘Languages to the Rescue’ was the theme of the annual GDST Languages Festival hosted by NHEHS in February with an astounding number of students and teachers participating from fellow GDST schools Brighton and Hove High, Putney High School and Sutton High School.

Mr Piesse and the MFL Languages department had organised a busy day of activities highlighting the importance of languages in today’s world.

Kicking off the morning was an inspiring talk from Wimbledon High Alumna Amy Harland from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This was particularly useful for the sixth form students who were able to see how languages are utilised in the world of work.

The first activity for Years 8 and 9 was the “Learn/Teach a Language” challenge where the keen linguists from each school adopted teaching roles. They were judged on how interesting they made the lesson, their use of resources, and most importantly teamwork. The real challenge was that each school had to teach a brand new language, including Swedish, Dutch and Farsi, and had to deliver the lesson without using any technology!

In the meantime, Year 7s from all four schools demonstrated very impressive levels of concentration and focus at the Spelling Bee, as they had to translate and spell in French, German, Spanish and Mandarin under timed conditions.

After break, we enjoyed the much anticipated Eurovision ‘Sing Off’ in the Recital Hall as the multi-talented Year 7 and 8 linguists performed singing and dance routines in the four languages before the judges. After the judges’deliberation, Brighton were judged the winners with their medley of French pop songs which had the whole audience clapping along in time!

Having spent their morning brainstorming ideas, the girls demonstrated great GDST spirit by working together to produce an amazing variety of dramatic news stories, which they filmed all over the Senior School. The Year 12 Language reps got involved too and, overall, the videos were a triumph.

At the Prize Giving the audience were treated to the winning performances from the NHEHS Year 9 Mandarin Play and the Eurovision winners, Brighton, while certificates were awarded to the winners of all the other activities.

Many thanks to Mr. Piesse and the NHEHS MFL department for all their hard work putting together such varied and fun activities to inspire our language learning!

Chinese

Chinese Exchange Students

In October 2018, NHEHS had a visit from a group of students from China. The girls who came were from Beijing School No.80 and were assigned to be paired up with two NHEHS girls. My friend from China was called Jane, who I shared with my friend Lily for two weeks.

In our Chinese lessons we were given the opportunity to exchange knowledge about Chinese and English culture differences. Me and the rest of my class were truly fascinated by this. We were also very impressed with all of their English ability!

With our help, they indulged on many of our Notting Hill experiences such as our cafeteria, charity events on Fridays and extra- curricular clubs. The Chinese students were amazed at the small size of our school in comparison to their densely-populated school in China. They agreed that our lunch queue lines were definitely a lot shorter and that our dining room was more efficient than theirs

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this visit. Not only did it benefit my Chinese speaking, but I was able to learn about Chinese culture and now have new friends from around the world. It is an eyeopening experience that I would encourage anyone in Year 10 to go for.

Kose, Year 10

Year 10 and 11 Trip to China

Getting to know Ms Zheng

It’s lovely! Everyone is friendly and helpful. I feel welcomed from all angles. .

In my final year at university, I was one of the twenty winners of the Business Enterprise competition. I was awarded with £3000 to kick-start my proposed business idea- City nails. There was a huge feature done about me for the school newspapers entitled ‘ Dare to dream, and you will achieve’ which was rather embarrassing. I was also doing acrobatics.

Probably not but I can still do a handstand.

Gosh, I don’t know. Maybe start that nail shop! Or become an acrobatic teacher and combine my acrobat skills and teaching! But I honestly can’t see myself ever getting bored of teaching Mandarin.

Ella

Manoff,

Year 12

When 40 Notting Hill girls and five teachers left Heathrow one sunny morning in late October of 2018, we never realised that our flight would be taking us not just into the Chinese capital of Beijing, but into the very throat of a wild beast: a rooster. Yet one of the first things Jenny, our tour guide in Xian, told us is that “China is like a rooster – Beijing is in the throat, and Shanghai is on the chest.” After we landed in Beijing, we left our bags at our hotel and headed off to explore Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is the world’s largest imperial palace and truly is a city in its own right; it comprises 980 buildings and several courtyards and according to urban legend has exactly 9,999.5 rooms, although we never found that pesky half a room when we were there… On our penultimate day in the capital, we went to Beijing High School Number 80 to participate in lessons and a Beijing opera workshop. After four action packed days in Beijing, the overnight soft sleeper train sped us to Xian. While there, we got to see the excavated pit of several thousand terracotta warriors. After catching another overnight train, the final stop in China was Shanghai – aka “the chest of the rooster”. In Shanghai we got to walk along the Bund (the embankment of the Huangpu river, which runs through Shanghai) and take a night-time river cruise. On the final night we had a delicious dinner at the very top of the Pearl TV Tower opposite the Bund. Every day of the trip was honestly incredible and on that note we’d like to thank every teacher (especially Ms Cheng) who helped make it possible.

Fiona Coutts, Year 11

Juliet

French

Getting to know Ms Spencer

When I first came to NHEHS for interview I was impressed how close the girls and staff were. I saw a lot of students speaking with teachers on one to one basis. I was wondering how I would have time to have moments like this but it does take place and I enjoy this kind of working atmosphere. The teachers and the girls are caring, helpful and ambitious.

What is the French view of Brexit?

When in France I studied English and American language, Civilisation and Literature at MA level. I did my first dissertation on Dombey and Son and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Once in England, I decided to broaden my studies and did an MA in Comparative Literature at King’s College London, where I compared mostly French, Spanish and English literature. I did a dissertation on comparing by Elizabeth Gaskell and by Zola.

I am not sure I can choose one! Recently I saw in Paris with my kids. It’s a cartoon by the makers of . I thought it was really clever and well done. My favourite thriller is . I love , which we teach in Year 12, and which is hilarious. I really liked watching on Netflix recently.

Evidently, France is a country of primary importance to Britain, for numerous reasons, one of which being the fact that migration between both countries is huge, as seen through the fact that there are roughly around 190,000 Brits now migrated and living in France, and in turn there are an estimated 200,000 French living in Britain. Due to many other mediating factors influencing the strength of our relationship with France, much controversy has arisen from the possibility of Britain becoming a “third country” for France. There could be certain disastrous consequences as a result of this, including large block roads and traffic between borders as well as many applications having to be filled in order to remain in the country.

I first got a job near Oxford as a French assistant in a boys’ boarding school. I needed the experience and wanted to spend my year abroad in the UK. Then I met my husband and followed him to London. I was supposed to stay one year, then thought maybe another year. This was 13 years ago! And I do not want to live anywhere else! It is uncanny how I quickly adapted to living in London, and yet I would not consider living in Paris at all!

However, if this is so, why is it that when a majority of European countries were asked whether or not their preferred choice would be for Britain to remain or leave the EU, almost all were strongly opinionated that Britain should remain in the EU? All but one, France had 38% of the public preferred Britain to remain, whilst 34% preferred Britain to leave. The proximity in percentages shows that in fact, France may evidently believe that Brexit may be in France’s favour and not only Britain’s. However, many factors of course must be taken into consideration as France and every other EU country could be biased.

During Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, the French have been working very closely with Germany, the EU’s strongest voice. The rivalry between France and Britain competing for the “deputy role within the EU” proves that in fact, France could perceive the idea of Britain leaving the EU as an easy way to achieve this role without a diplomacy war. Therefore, in short, they would benefit from this due no longer having an ongoing competition.

Many economic impacts would also be taken due to trade and how crucial a trading partner we are to France, the biggest hit being wine and cheese amongst others, as France is of course well known for these goods. Therefore the question is, how would this impact Britain’s demand for these goods and could it possibly result in a future recession due to substantially high prices on these imports?

Izzy Langham, Year 12

French Trips

Montpelier 2019

Overall, I really enjoyed the Montpellier school trip, especially because when I went back to my French lessons after the holidays, I found that I had definitely improved. Some highlights were; having a lot of independence and exploring the town, the shops and the culture of it all (also, the ice cream shops were great). The lessons were useful and interesting, as well as learning to sing “La Vie en Rose” and constantly filling up on coffee, teas and sweet milk using the machine next door. Furthermore, the lady we stayed with, Colette, was an amazing host and cook, with a very cute cat called ‘Emiko’. My favourite meal was the chicken, buttery potatoes and green beans with dressed salad for a starter. As well as all this, the activities were great, such as overhearing peoples conversations in the Polygon mall. It was a really enjoyable trip!

Vita Morris, Year 10

Erasmus Trip

The ERASMUS+ project is a project about gender equality and gender in the media. On the 5th May, 13 girls from my year group (Year 9); accompanied by Ms Swift, Mr Smith and Ms Yuteri, set off to St Pancreas International to travel to Strasbourg for the ERASMUS+ trip. We were all eager to be part of the project and meet likeminded students from schools all around Europe, including, France, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.

Everyone stayed at the European Youth Centre where we had to participate in either film or graphics workshops, based on gender equality or gender in the media. We were divided into mixed groups and had to work towards presenting our final product in a week’s time. It was so interesting to work with students who were so different yet so similar! Apart from working for our workshops, we took time out to visit many other places in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a beautiful city. Much of it could be covered on foot and we enjoyed a lot of walking as we toured the city. It was absolutely fantastic to visit the European Parliament (which was conveniently very close to the European Youth Centre). ‘La Cathédrale de Strasbourg’ was magnificent too! We also went to a restaurant called ‘Au Wacken’ where we enjoyed the delicious - tarte flambée! On the 10th May, all the schools visited the ‘College International Vauban’ where we presented our final project and had a visit from Mr Shoults.

This trip has definitely been one of my favourites. It was so insightful and I enjoyed being able to communicate with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

It just goes to show how even though we all come from different places, we all share the same belief on the topic of gender equality. I’ve met people that I will honestly never forget and made some lifetime friendships. It was a wonderful experience and I would love to do again!

Rhea Johri, Year 9

German

Vienna trip 2019

Last summer (the summer of 2019), 6 Year 8 and 2 Year 9 German students went on an excursion to Vienna, the capital city of Austria. The trip lasted four days, from Wednesday to Saturday.After a plane journey and an enjoyable train ride, we arrived at our Viennese Hotel (Meininger Hotel). For the rest of the day we explored the city centre, visiting sights such as the famous Stephansdom and the Rathaus, and ended up in a nice restaurant where we dined on traditional Viennese dishes.

The next morning we headed to Kärrtnerstrasse, a large street in the city centre, to do some shopping. Then we went to the Haus der MUsik and spent a wonderful morning doing interesting activities- all to do with playing, composing or conducting music. In the afternoon we had lunch in the Burggarten Park, surrounded by beautiful greenery, which was lovely to experience on such a warm sunny day! Later on we had a splendid time at a dance school learning the Viennese waltz (We even danced to the HARRY POTTER theme song!) Afterwards, we went to the Prater Park and had a thrilling time on the terrifying rides.

On Friday, we went to the Belvedere Gallery to explore the wonderful art the gallery had to offer. We focused mainly on Gustav KLimt’s unique artwork, for example his most famous work ‘Der Kuss’ or ‘The Kiss’ in English. We also looked at works by other Austrian artists such as Schiele and Kokoschka. For lunch, we ate a picnic in the beautiful gardens of the gallery. Fordinner we took part in aViennese cooking course, where we went shopping in the market and made delicious goulash, spätzle and apple strudel.

Unfortunately our last day came. We went to the Schönbrunn Palast and learnt a lot about the history of the Viennese monarchy. We also explored the very extensive gardens and mazes (where we all manage to get lost in). We had a beautiful lunch in the scenic gardens and then headed off to the airport.

We had an extraordinary time in Vienna and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Although I loved all of the trip, my favourite part was the Prater Park and the Cooking Course.

Year 9

Podcasts:

Coffee Break German is not a simple series of “listen and repeat” audio programmes: in each lesson Thomas explains how the language works, helping Mark - and you - to manipulate the language and use it in practical situations. As a speaker of several other languages and an experienced teacher himself, Mark asks questions all the time, so your own questions will be answered as you learn more.

This podcast does exactly what it says on the tin. Annik Rubens, a journalist from Munich, has casual conversations entirely in German about different themes. The language is authentic and everything is spoken in a slow and clear voice. Vocabulary lists can be found on the website, along with a catalogue of episodes and streaming services.

Film: (in German with English Subtitles)

Year 9 very much enjoyed watching this film. The film is about the earliest days in the childhood of Lara who had a difficult but important task. Both her parents are deaf-mute and Lara has to translate from sign-language to the spoken word and vice versa when her parents want to communicate with other people. It’s really interesting and definitely worth a watch.

The German Department recommends...

Isabella Stumpfle and Nancy Saville Sneath,

Spanish

The perks of Year 8 Spanish

For myself, one the most beneficial and enjoyable subjects I currently learn at school is my modern foreign language, Spanish. With now 530 million Spanish speakers across the globe, NHEHS is doing what they can to make this advancing language enjoyable to learn about throughout the school. This has been achieved by opening up the chance to watch Spanish films, offering trips to different cities in Spain, using fun games to learn new vocabulary and much more. Learning a subject like this in a fun environment opens up many doors for the future!

As I am currently in Year 8, I have an upcoming trip to Don Diego Bilbao in Spain where my friends and I look forward to learning about the culture and picking up more everyday Spanish which we can use in daytoday conversations. Using what I have been learning in a real-life situation is something I look forward to as it will show that my hard work has paid off and it will be a great chance to practise my Spanish. A range of activities are being carried out when I am there, which I am really looking forward to taking part in.

During our weekly Spanish lessons with Ms Barbosa, we are taught in a productive way, using games which make remembering words a lot more fun than just writing them out again and again. A personal favourite of our class is ‘Slap the Board’ or simply just ‘Splat’, where a word is read out and you must slap the correct picture on the board relating to the word faster than the other person. However, I must confess this game has had to be stopped a couple of times due to competitiveness forcing the activity to take a rather violent turn! Occasionally, classes get to enjoy a Spanish movie or typical Spanish television show with basic language and we can then have a go at interpreting it.

Moreover, embracing the modern day aspect of things, the school has found numerous websites that make learning the subject easier, such as Quizlet, online audio courses (available on the school’s Firefly page) and of course, Kahoot. With access to all these different resources, learning Spanish has never been so easy.

In conclusion, NHEHS has made such a fantastic effort to welcome different cultures and languages in the school, from hosting international food days, to showing impeccable hospitality towards exchange students. I look forward to continuing my Spanish journey, which wouldn’t be possible without the help from the Modern Foreign Languages department.

Josephine Carter, Year 8

Getting to know Mrs Arthur

Mathematics

Michael Gove (who was Secretary for Education at the time) came for a tour of my old school and spent some time observing a lesson on solving equations I was teaching to a year 8 class. During the lesson I wrote on the board 10 – 6 = 10, and had to have my mistake pointed out by a student.

Maths Primary Afternoon

On 26th June 2019, NHEHS Maths Representatives hosted a series of exciting activities for Year 5 pupils from three local primary schools: St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, North Ealing Primary School and Selbourne Primary School.

Erin Malinowski and Amira Nuseibeh challenged the budding mathematicians to build the tallest, sturdiest towers of spaghetti and marshmallows that they could (which were highly successful despite the number of marshmallows secretly eaten!).

A student wrote an email begging to have a detention rescheduled because it was Valentine’s day and he absolutely needed to go to the hairdressers before his date.

Avani Sethi and Immi Sandhu set the pupils off on a mathematical trail around the school, during which they were practising their counting, estimating and shape-spotting skills.

Chaoyi Jing and Samar Al-Haddad also provided inspiration to potential new GCHQ recruits in their code-breaking session, using Caesar wheels to decode secret messages.

Great, everybody was very welcoming

My interview day, it was a little strange as my daughter was 11 weeks old at the time and it was the first time I’d been away from her.

The Year 5 pupils thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other and honing their mathematical skills during this action-packed afternoon.

Maths Representatives, Year12

I can lick my elbow.

My amazing physics teacher when I was at school.

People trying to use the constant acceleration equations when the acceleration’s not constant.

Hana Moattar, Year 12

Mathematics

Pi Day

On the 14th March 2019, Notting Hill and Ealing High School held its annual Pi Day. The Maths representatives created a treasure hunt for students and staff to compete in, in order to get the winning key word. The students had until lunch time to complete it. There was a race to complete the hunt and bring the key word to the Maths department first. The hunt was comprised of some uestions relating to pi and it was an enjoyable, as well as challenging experience for the students to guess the pi-related answer.

At lunch time, we hosted the pi recital, where students had a chance to sign up and try to recite as many digits of pi as they could in one go. It was a huge success and many students got involved. The highest number of digits recited was 160 digits, which was very impressive!

Our next event for the day was hosting the celery throwing event, where in the ground atrium we set up some white tape for lines, and students and staff had the opportunity to throw celery, and counting how many landed on the lines and how many didn’t. We then used this to calculate a value for pi. We calculated a value of 3.1724 for pi which was impressively close to the real pi value of 3.14.

Overall, for students, staff, Pi Day was a monumental success with students being able to learn more about the topic of pi and develop a greater apreciation for Maths.

Davitika Sharma, Year 12

Calculator Club

The introduction of new graphic calculators for the Additional Maths pupils prompted NHEHS students to launch a brand-new and unexpectedly popular club this year: Calculator Club.

Each week, keen Year 11s got together to explore the new, exciting capabilities of their CG50s, entertaining themselves with the seemingly endless possibilities of the new machines, including plotting graphs, finding equations of tangents and normal and calculating the area under a curve.

Maths Representatives, Year 12

Music

Generation XX

Generation XX is NHEHS’s first rock band launched in 2018! It’s made up of six talented members including a drummer, guitarist, base player, pianist and two singers. The rock band’s name started off as Generation X but we soon realised that wasn’t our generation but our mums/dads generation. So we added another X making it instead the female chromosome.

We’ve played in many school concerts and even opened a local festival called Party In The Park. We are a rock band but we sing other genres as well, including songs such as Rolling in the Deep by Adele and Get lucky by Pharrel WIlliams. The band started off with only three people but no drummer or singers. Then at the beginning of 2019 a drummer was added and about half way through myself and my friend joined as singers. We practise every Monday lunchtime with the help of Mr. Edge and try to perform as much as possible.

Iris Cumming, Year 7

NHEHS Musician of the Year

Along with several other girls from Years 7 to 12, I competed in the school's second ever Musician of the Year competition on Wednesday the 13th of February.

It had two categories; one for Years 7 to 9 and one from Years 10 to 13. It was judged by an external adjudicator, Patrick Martin, Director of Music at St. Helen’s School, Northwood. It was incredibly enjoyable to hear so many talented musicians perform and we all had a lot of fun together. Everyone played extremely well and it was nice to see such a variety of instruments being played, including the violin, flute, guitar, voice and saxophone.

I was delighted to be declared the winner of the senior category, with Shreya in Year 9 being awarded the winner of the Junior award.

Miranda Simmons, Year 12

Getting to know Miss Le Brun

I really like it, the girls are friendly and hardworking. There is never a dull moment!

I like children and I like music! I used to work in film music but found it a bit lonely; I really like the sense of community that you get from working in a school.

I love teaching young people music because no one ever reacts in the same way; there are always different answers and responses. I find meaning in music (it is my favourite art form) and like to see others enjoy it.

I’m currently training to be a yoga teacher so I can do lots of pretzel-like poses!

I love early 20th century music in particular. My top three favourite composers are Stravinsky, Debussy and Bach. I’d describe Stravinsky as a “musical chameleon” because he changed a lot over the course of his career and developed throughout history. I like his clever composition and attention to detail. I love Debussy because of his harmonies and more philosophical approach to sound where not everything has to sound “correct”.

My phone, a piano and a friend.

I would choose my mum as she always knows what to do in stressful situations and Ghandi as he would probably be very calm and inspiring. For my third person I should probably choose someone musical! Maybe Louis Armstrong because I think he would be quite fun and entertaining.

Extra – Curricular

In the music department, we have had a range of events. Firstly, many brave soloists competed in the NHEHS Young Musician of the Year Competition. An external adjudicator came to judge the performances and after many superb performances and some refreshments, a decision was made. Well done to Miranda Simmons and Shreya Grover for being the first ever winners of the competition. A special thank you to Mr Janik for accompanying the students and the external adjudicator for judging the competition.

In March, we had a visit to the primary school, Kew College, with our Jazz Band and Chamber Choir. We introduced the enthusiastic students to a range of genres and had them listen to a few pieces from choral music, jazz music to 20th-century music as well as interactively introducing them to different instruments.

Finally, we had the Spring concert where we had two talented concerto musicians, Miranda Simmons who played ‘Nigun’ by Bloch and Emilia Rayner who performed the ‘Chaminade Flute Concertino’. We also had a variety of performances from Senior Choir, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra including pieces such as the classic, Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’, and Strauss’, ‘Radetzky March’, where the audience clapped along to the music.

Overall, it has been a busy year for the extra-curricular side of music and we are privileged to have had so many opportunities to perform and enjoy music at NHEHS thanks to the wonderful Music Department.

Grace Pang, Year 12

My Musical Interest: Clara Schuman

Clara Schumann (nee. Clara Wieck) was born in 1819, daughter of Friedrich Wieck, a well-known musician of the time. She was a bit of a child prodigy, performing her own compositions from age 11, and composing her first piano concerto at age 16. She married Robert Schumann, a former pupil of her father’s in 1840 and together they had 8 children born over the course of 10 years. During this time, Clara and Robert toured Russia, Germany and other parts of Europe. In 1854, Robert was committed to a mental asylum, having attempted suicide following years struggling with mental illness. He died 2 years later and Clara had to singlehandedly afford the upkeep of an 8 child household, so composition took a backseat and she focussed on being a concert pianist. Brahms was a good friend to both Robert and Clara, and the three shared ideas and critiqued each other’s compositions. Clara’s piano trio in G minor was the only piece of chamber music she wrote and it was finished in 1846. Clara’s influences include Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Bach. Bach’s influence is especially prominent in this trio, Clara having studied counterpoint and fugue throughout the 1840s.

Bethan Davies-Asmar, Year 12

A Night at the Musicals

Singing in ‘A Night at the Musicals’ was one of the highlights of my first year at Notting Hill. I was asked to sing a duet with my older sister of the song ‘A Million Dreams’ and it was a dream come true.

Our weeks of hard-work paid off, and on the 10th of July a large portion of the school took part in ‘A Night at the Musicals’. It was a massive production consisting of well-loved songs from many musicals such as ‘The Greatest Showman’, ‘Les Miserables’, Matilda’ and ‘Hairspray’ taken and recreated by an incredible team of dancers, singers, front of house and the extremely talented, backstage team.

The whole school came together and bonded over the eventful night. The hall was filled with excited students in the afternoon and eager parents in the evening. Overall, it was a big success and this is just the beginning of an amazing NHEHS tradition and I very much look forward to what ‘A Night at the Musicals’ will bring next.

Salem Yosief, Year 7

Dancing the solo of My Fair Lady, “I Could Have Danced All Night”, was an amazing experience. I enjoyed all of the music from each musical, be it dramatic or light and airy; that’s why it was so fun to dance to.

I thought that the theme of showcase was a great choice, because it meant that the audience could experience the recreation of such amazing classics.

Although the dancing itself was fun, I also enjoyed bonding further with the rest of the dance squad, the singers themselves, and all of the helpful tech people backstage.

One of my favourite things was watching all of the decorations, props and set go up, it made the performance feel even more real.

Finally, I think the band did an amazing job of playing all of the songs, because a dance without music isn’t very interesting.

Maia Roman, Year 7

Politics

Getting to know Dr Stocker

Teaching allows me to talk about and be involved in a subject that I really enjoy. I like learning about Russian and British History, and only through teaching can you do all that. So it was for the love of the subject.

The Ultimate Politics Quiz

1. What date has Theresa May schedueled for Britain to be leaving the EU on?

2. Who is the current Vice President of the United States?

3. Which political party did the Conservatives make a deal with after the 2017 snap election?

4. Which MP spent more than 20,000 to fly to Afghanistan to avoid the Commons Vote?

5. Which MP got the Nationality of his wife wrong?

I got interested in politics when I was at University when there was a lot of debates about far right politics. At the time, the British National Party was doing very well in elections and I became interested in why people would support the far right as I find them terrible.

6. Is it true that John Bercow called Andrea Leadsom ‘a stupid woman’?

7. What food could there be a shortage of after Brexit?

8. Who approved the Baby Blimp to be flown in London in 2018 when the Trump visited the UK?

It was an experience! I was on it to talk about Donald Trump and his influence on the far right. I had to wake up at 04:30 and I was quite nervous about being on a live TV. Random people I knew came up to me to say they’d seen me. I hadn’t told anybody so I didn’t expect that when I came into school, everyone would know.

I really dislike like lateness. That makes me sound like I’m not fun but I really hate it.

Year 12 Trip to Parliament

On the 14th January, our Year 12 Politics class went on a much-anticipated trip to visit the Houses of Parliament. When we first arrived at Westminster, we met our guide, who gave us a brief tour of the building. We had arrived on the day of a crucial vote in the House of Commosn on Theresa May’s deal; on the street outside, we saw several Brexit campaigners with signs, who looked as if they had been there since the arly hours of the morning. The atmosphere was definitely politically charged. After our short tour, we met Rupa Huq, the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton who took us to an exclusive MP only room and gave us each a copy of the Hansard, which had the written report of everything said in the House of Commons the day before. She gave us the inside scoop about her life as an MP and the recent problems the Labour party had faced whilst trying to sort out Brexit. She then took us to watch a debate in the House of Commons in which the Defence Minister was questioned. Our next tour consisted of going into the House of Commons, where we saw seats which MPs had actually sat in. It felt surreal to be standing in a room where MPs met so regularly, which we had only ever before seen onscreen! We had to hand in our phones and bags before lining up to enter. Whilst lining up, we saw our icon Mr Speaker (John Bercow) walk in and he smiled at us! When I sat down, the speaker announced that the Malaysian government were with us in the House of Commons, and to my surprise, they were sitting right next to me. It was a slightly odd moment. We watched MPs debate over the drone situation in Gatwick airport and combatting international terrorism. It was definitely an unforgettable trip; I will definitely be visiting the Houses of Parliament again!

Rania Al-Ali, Year 12

PRE

Candle Conference

Peter Vardy’s annual conferences are certainly ones not to miss – having been the previous year, the Year 13 PRE class knew what to expect; a day of Vardy’s interesting, yet eccentric talks on topics studied in relation to the OCR PRE A level course. The conference took place in Bloomsbury Baptist Church where, despite the pews being extremely uncomfortable, the lectures make the experience enjoyable. Peter Vardy is internationally known as a leader in the fields of Religious Studies, as well as being the author to fifteen books including “The Puzzle of God” and “Ethics Matters”. Having also studied many of Vardy’s own opinions within the A level course, we knew what to expect.

This year, the talk dived into the year 2 material on the A Level course, addressing topics such as the religious discourse and the nature of God. The first talk of the day by Peter Vardy was on the true nature of God and whether God’s omniscience is compatible with human free will or whether the two are simply inherently incompatible. He also engaged the audience into understanding whether an omniscience God is, or should be, responsible for the suffering in the world. The day later went on to address the topic of Religious Language in which Vardy discussed the ways in which God should be spoken about without anthropomorphising or reducing his innately supreme essence. However, Vardy also addressed many criticisms within religious language – one of them being the idea that arguably talk of God can essentially be rendered meaningless on the grounds it cannot be verified or falsified adequately.

Overall, the talks by Peter Vardy allowed us to engage in deeper discussions and understandings of topics taught on the syllabus, widening our depth of criticism for scholarly understandings. The day ended with Peter Vardy opening up the floor to the audience, taking on questions, participating in debate. The day was a success where we got an even deeper understanding of many critical appreciations of scholars we have discussed in class, as well as having the opportunity to participate in discussions with many other OCR PRE A level candidates.

Hannah Ashraf,

Year 13

Year 11 Synagogue Trip

Just before February half term, all of the Year 11 PRE students took time out from lessons to visit St. Stephens’s church, a staggering five minutes from school. Once we arrived, Reverend Steve and his colleague Sam welcomed us and showed us around the church. Once we had explored the church, Reverend Steve began to explain the role of the church, including its services and ways in which they help the local community. Along with some of Sam’s stunning modelling, we were able to see what they would wear usually whilst performing a service as well as how weekly services are performed.

After Reverend Steve had given a brief overview on the church, the floor was open and Steve and Sam had the huge task of answering all of our questions about day-to-day life in the church as well as the two main Christian celebrations: Christmas and Easter. They answered these with ease and we learnt a lot about the influence of church donations across the globe.

Overall the experience was very beneficial for all of us as we not only learnt more about Christian practices, but it was also a great opportunity for us to ask all of our burning questions.

Pygram, Year 11

Kate

Psychology

Psychology at Science Week

This year’s theme for science week was animals. To begin the week, we were visited by an expert in animal psychology, who gave a masterclass in the psychology behind animal behaviour.

On Thursday morning it was the science representatives’ assembly. The psychology representatives spoke on how animals can be studied to further our understanding of human behaviour and how animals can be used to assist us with psychological therapy. We presented on how bees were being taught to play football and how this furthered psychologists understanding of the social learning theory. Additionally, “Hans” the horse demonstrated that social cues play an important role in addiction. Finally, we discussed how animal assisted therapy resulted in lower pain levels for cancer patients and reduced the anxiety, irritability and loneliness of dementia patients.

On Thursday lunch time the animal theme continued during Psychology club. We watched the Ted Talk ‘Depressed dog, cats with OCDwhat animal madness means for us humans.’

In this talk Laurel Braitman explains that animals can experience mental health issues in the same way that humans do. Then we read an article about Twiglet the dog, who was offered to students at Cambridge university to help de-stress students during exam times. However, Twiglet began to show signs of stress himself and his service was eventually removed to prevent any unnecessary distress. This article presented the negatives of animal assisted therapy and demonstrated the potential effects on the animals used.

Hannah Leathem, Year 12

The Mind-Body Illusion

The heavily disputed philosophical Mind-Body debate originates from Descartes telling us that our mind and body are separate which is supported by recent psychological research. The phenomenon hypnosis experiment illustrates that the mind controls the body’s action. In this experiment, participants were asked to hold their palm open, which then the experimenter says “I’m going to put a very hot coin in your palm, and I want you to hold it for as long as you can”. The participants were placed in a hypnotic trance and repeatedly told this, and when the ‘hot coin’ made contact with their skin, participants in a deep hypnotic trance experienced extreme blisters on their skin. However, the ‘hot coin’ was in fact actually at room temperature. This is a clear example illustrating how the mind has the power to control the body’s reaction, thus supporting dualism which is the view that the mind and body function as separate entities.

On the other hand, there is the concept of Monism – the belief that ultimately the mind and body are the same ‘thing’. Behaviourist Psychologists believe that they should only be concerned with actions that are observable, therefore a distinct stimulus-response reaction. For example, thinking which is a daily mental process triggers your muscles to move, resulting in your physical mobility. Therefore, this suggests because thought processes in the mind cannot be scientifically and subjectively studied, we have to exclude this. Therefore this supports the idea of materialistic monism which disregards the belief that nothing exists apart from the material world as the reality is what we can see, touch and feel.

There are so many different approaches to understanding this debate, and if you are interested to know more there are a few links below to Psychological research that has been done that provide you with an insight into both sides of this debate.

Sakithya Sothinathan, Year 12

TEDx talk Guardian article

Public Speaking

ESU School’s Mace

Despite having no previous experience of debate competitions, Anouska and I decided to set ourselves the challenge of signing up to the 2018 annual ESU School’s Mace. The competition, which consists of three rounds, requires participants from each school to form a team of two, in which they either debate in favour of or against the debate’s proposed motion. In our round, one team out of six would be able to move onto round 2. For the first round, our motion was ‘This House would build homes on the Green Belt’, for which we were arguing the opposition. (The Green Belt is a policy in British town planning for controlling urban growth, by designating a ring of countryside surrounding a major urban area ofwhich urban development is prohibited). We had a week to research the topic together and formulate our arguments. Being the first speaker for the team, my job was to introduce the main arguments that we would be putting forward against the motion, while Anouska had the job of rebutting points made by the opposition in response to my speech. We decided to focus on the psychological benefits of having access to the countryside, the potential environmental issues that could be created by building on the Green Belt, and the reasons why it would not be an adequate solution to the urban housing crisis. We also researched the benefits of building on the Green Belt and the most popular arguments made in favour of the motion, so that we could try to anticipate the points that our competition would make, in order to rebut them more effectively. We were both permitted 7 minutes to speak, including an introduction and conclusion, which gave us a chance to fully evaluate our side. We felt reasonably confident that our research had given us a solid understanding of the topic at hand, and we showed up after October half term with a genuine shared passionate belief against urban development on the Green Belt.

We arrived at Featherstone School in Southall, ready to give the competition our best shot. While we were both quite anxious to debate for the first time in front of an audience but we gave the competition our best shot. After a long and intense evening of fruitful debate from all participating schools, and too many desserts, we waited to learn the results. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we had sadly not managed to make it through to the second round, after impressive competition.

Overall, it was a hugely enjoyable learning experience which gave us the opportunity to improve our debating skills for extra-curricular opportunities in the future and allowed us to meet a variety of students from different schools across London. We would wold encourage any future Year 12s with an interest in debate to consider taking part this year.

Ella Manoff, Year 12

Year 10s enjoying the challenges of MUN

Biology

A word from the Biology Representatives

As Biology Representatives, we kicked off science week with our very own Octopus dissection. Sourcing such an abnormal animal for dissection proved a challenge but with the help of the wonderful Ms. Richardson (our Biology technician) we managed to find the appropriate resources. With this type of a dissection, practise is key which is why we had been able to practice it a week before using two differently sized octopi to allow us to have a better understanding and appreciation for the organism. With keen help from the younger years during the event, we managed to successfully identify the different organs of the large octopus, describing in detail features like the hard, solid beak and the abnormal three existing hearts.

By placing the video of the dissection onto the school firefly, we allowed those who couldn’t make it to experience the event to be able to see it online and benefit from the experience.

Overall, we believe the event was not only exciting and interesting but it also allowed some of the younger years to have the opportunity to experience a more niche and peculiar science week activity which helped them to learn more about these wonderful creatures and therefore to understand the adaptations that help the organism to survive.

Biology Olympiad Winners

Ramzy Yakoub Summayah Beg Amira Nuseibeh Hannah Coxhead

Naresh

Iva Grujic

Science Week: Amazing Animals

We launched Science Week with a story about the Bone Wars; a story of bitter fued and the failure of scientific inquiry. Then we had a fascinating talk with an animal phsycologist. A visit from the Nartural History Museum gave us the chance to explore many topics including mass extinxtion, octopuses and some very well preserved shark specimens. To the delight of many of the Year 7 students, Dr Emma King came in from the Royal Institute to explode various foods in order to highlight the links between food and energy in animals.

In honour of our theme, an assortment of animals visited NHEHS including the wonderful world of creepy crawlies with the giant millipedes, trantulas and scorpions and the cheeky spider monkey and cool bearded dragon

It was a fascinating week adn students throughout the school enjoyed getting involved in the range of activities that were on offer!

Biology Representatives

Biology Representatives

Karen

Rinda

Biology

Nesting Hill Duckings:

During the last couple of weeks of the summer term, Notting Hill and Ealing students were waiting in great anticipation for the arrival of our cute, fluffy guests.

The ducklings began hatching the week of 6th with the first of them named Dereck. Archie soon followed, whose name was inspired by the new royal baby. Frankie and Shelly hatched a few days after with Shelly having his characteristic shell stuck to his back for his first day in this new world.

At the end of the summer half term they would find a new home at a local farm to live out the rest fo their days with their family as ducks do.

Getting to know Dr Pearce

I don’t tend to get embarrassed. Whatever that has happened was either funny or led to an emotion closer to the type of hot shame that can keep me awake at night.

However, my closest answer would be when I was demonstrating static electricity using the Van der Graaf generator to some Year 8s and nothing was happening. Suddenly a large and visible spark jumped between the baseplate and the metal zip on my flies accompanied by a loud crack. The entire class descended into hysterics as I exclaimed ‘oh!’

We can’t wait to see what next year holds for the Nesting hills

The Duckling Mums

This is a difficult one. Many are either not repeatable or mawkish. Probably the best was the child who, when in the changing room, tried a yoga stretch involving putting their legs behind their arms. As they tried to disengage the pose, they found they could not. They were eventually discovered when their plaintive cries of ‘Help me! I’m stuck’ were heard coming from the changing room.

My first day was lovely as there were many smiles and warm greetings.

My wife is an NHEHS old girl and we met at Bristol University. I’ve spent years learning to decipher the NHEHS girls use of language and Ealing accent.

So I could spend more time with people closer to my mental age. My first proper job was in academic research, problem solving on a daily basis. No two days were the same. I missed that when I worked in industry. Teaching is much more like my first job – each day could be different, each with its little challenges and rewards.

It is literally a peeve about my pet. So basically, I have this dog, and I walk him and feed him and I’m totally his main carer. So basically, whenever I’m sat next to my wife on the sofa, he totally blanks me and sits on her lap. So basically, I feel used.

In addition, when people start a sentence with ‘so basically’, it makes my soul die a little.

Hana Moattar, Year 12

Chemistry

Exploring Science Club

This year is the year of the Periodic Table as it marks 150 years since Dmitri Mendeleev created it. Therefore, the Chemistry Representatives celebrated it in Exploring Science Club this year. We kicked it off with slime and continued with homemade bath bombs which both ended up being a huge hit with Year 7 and 8s. The girls learnt about the chemistry behind these products before being able to make them and take them home. This was a great experience for the girls to explore science with items that they enjoy using and can also make at home.

During ‘Amazing Animals’Science Week, we made elephant toothpaste. This attracted a range of different years who got to make a mini reaction of their own before watching the big example that ended up even shocking the reps as it reached the ceiling. The mark on the ceiling in C1 might be our fault but we left our mark of a great year of chemistry!

Hana Moattar, Year 12

Chemistry Olympiad Results

Getting to know our Scientist in Residence: Dr Bryant

Well done to the Year 13s that took part!

Being able to make compounds that no one in the world has made before really appealed to me. I’m particularly interested in organic chemistry as all life on earth is made up of carbon which is the main element associated with this branch of chemistry. Chemistry also spans across multiple industries such as pharmaceutical, agrochemical, fuel, food, cosmetics therefore has lots of real-world applications.

I would be a paramedic or doctor as I really enjoy helping people.

The best part of my PhD was being able to direct my own research and successfully make compounds which I had designed. The worst part of a PhD is the sheer amount of experiments that don’t work as it can be quite disheartening.

Sarah harty, Year 12

Chemistry Club

Chemistry Club have been playing with thixotropic substances and slime. This has allowed the younger years to not only learn about these interesting and mind boggling processes and chemicals, but also to allow their artistic and creative sides shine as they personalised their own slimes in glitter, paint and other fun add-ins to make it their own.

Shalini Chohan, Sahruka Ravichandran

Hannah Coxhead, Rebecca Everett, Iva Grujic Rinda Naresh, Anna Tomlinson Elena Tybulewicz

Karen Ramzy Yacoub

Physics

Science week

As physics representatives, we had the role of filling the Wednesday lunchtime of Science Week with a physics, and animal, related events . This proved quite the challenge as the theme of the week was very difficult to link to physics

After some discussion, we finally chose to set up a UV event in the drama studio, mimicing how bees see ultra-violet patterns on flowers. We spent the week before painting with UV paints on large white sheets, so we could hang them up all over the room. Along with music and body paint (which was also UV), we turned off the main lights, turned on the UV lights and the event began. With a little music and some much appreciated participants the event turned to be a huge success.

Physics recommendations include...

(this is based on the book by Andy Weir, which we also recommend)

Olympiad winners:

Anne-Marie Harding

Erin Malinowski Jess Luxmore

Dhruti Vijay Immi Sandhu Samar Al-Hadad Lizzie Williams Hana Moattar Grace Pang Chaoyi Jing

Libby Warren Avani Sethi

Year 10 Science trip:

On the 15th of January, Year 10 went on an exciting trip to the Science Museum. Firstly, they went to an exhibit about different types of materials. The exhibit included of what materials they use for things like bone replacements, clothes and other pieces of equipment and why. For example: astronauts have to wear a material that will keep heat in. Then we went to an exhibit about the sun, where they learnt about the benefits of it, solar panels and what will happen when the sun explodes.

Finally, we went to the ‘wonderlab’. This was full of different types of experiments. One experiment that we could take part in was trying out three different types of slides made from different materials: polished wood, plastic and grass. We compared how the materials affected friction, and which material would make the best slide. Overall, we learnt a lot and had a great time whilst doing it.

Sofia Stidham, Year 10

Physics representatives

(this has tenuous links to quantum physics)

Physics

Education Engineering Scheme

The Team:

As a team of six engineering enthusiasts, we have been working with Arcadis to design a bridge as a partof the E39 project spanning across the Sognefjord. The Norwegian government have proposed this project to various engineering firms around the world and we are lucky to be working on this challenging and inspiring project. The budget is said to be around $40 billion and this gave us so much to work with, allowing us to be innovative and creative to come up with a new and exciting solution.

Background and Brief:

The E39 is a new coastal road that will run through Norway, crossing many fjords along the way. Currently, the journey across Norway is slow and cumbersome but the E39 will be built with the intention of being continuous, with bridges replacing ferries. However, due to the challenging nature of the fjords, this is proving to be difficult. The problem with the Sognefjord is its sheer size. It is 3700m across and 1300m at its deepest. A traditional bridge would just not work. To remedy this, the Norwegian Government has sent out the project internationally to Engineering firms, including Arcadis, to find a solution which fits the constraints and needs of the project.

Workshop:

To build the model, we needed access to professional equipment. Hence, we had to travel to the department of Physics at UCL during Christmas, spending 2 days building our model with the help of the professionals. During our time there, we also met the other teams who were working on separate projects; this aspect was the best. We could see all the engineering minds come together to build advanced projects.

Samar Al-Hadad,

Year 12

Science Live

On the 21st September 2018, everyone who did Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Psychology in Year 12 went to the Excel Centre to attend the exciting New Science Live Event. On the day, we got to explore a giant hall which was filled with companies presenting their new ideas. These included a full size model of the Bloodhound and a planetarium! We also got to periodically attend lectures, which included a range of topics, from Einstein and how to survive the end of the universe, to exoplanets and what lies at the bottom of the ocean. The day was extremely thought-provoking, and allowed us to explore new topics in science that we hadn’t considered before.

Lizzie

Williams, Year 12

Sports

A Word from the outgoing Games Captain

This year it has been an honour taking the role of the first ever Games Captain at Notting Hill. We have had such a successful year in sport and seeing all the achievements come through each week has really made me realise how much sport everyone participates in at Notting Hill.

Some of the highlights from this year include the U13 and U15 Waterpolo teams both reaching the National Waterpolo finals. The U12 cricket team being crowned Middlesex Indoor Champions at Lords cricket ground. All age groups participated in the netball county tournaments this year placing 5th position or above, with the U12 team winning and becoming county champions! The U18 hockey team also became Middlesex county champions in their last ever year playing together as a team, and the Cross-Country team won the Ealing Cross Country for the 6th year in a row, as well as the Ealing Schools Cross-country relays.

I will miss playing sport at Notting Hill so I really hope you all make the most of your time now and cherish every moment in your sports teams for as long as possible!

Cameron Thomas, Games Captian (2018-2019), Year 13

A Word from the Director of Sport

As Cameron has already said, it has been another successful year again in sport, with success at County, Regional and National Levels. For those of you who attended the Sports Awards and heard my opening speech, you would have heard me echo the quote that was used by England Netball, “If not now, when? If not us, who?” This quote is now being re-used for the World Cup this summer being “It’s Us, It’s Now”. I love this, as it highlights just what I want pupils to think about their sport - why can’t it be you? Why can’t you try a new sport, take your sport to elite level, or even be the best in the world? This also applies to school level sport, why can’t NHEHS be County Champions, Regional champions or make the National Finals.

As Cameron has highlighted, the ‘Why not us?’ is rubbing off on NHEHS girls, with so many fantastic achievements this year. I want to say a huge thank you and well done to every single pupil who has thought ‘why not me?’ and attended a sports club and I hope everyone is inspired for next September!

Sports Awards

This year at the Sports Awards we were honoured to be able to hear from both Dame Katherine Grainger and Councillor Eartha Pond. Dame Katherine Grainger told us about how to be the best version of ourselves and her inspiring Olympic journey. Her message was both relevant to our sporting careers and personal lives. We then heard from Councillor Eartha Pond. She also spoke meaningfully about the impact the Grenfell Tower fire had on her local community and the work she did raising money through charity football matches. We greatly appreciated both of these inspirational women giving up their time to speak to us.

After our lovely BBQ dinner, it was time to start the awards. We began by recognising the Junior and Senior Players of the Year and Rising Stars in each sport - huge congratulations to all those who were either nominated or won an award. After the individual sport awards had been announced, the big awards started. The first of these awards was Team of the Year which went to the U18 County Champion Hockey Team. This was particularly special as it was the team’s last year together. The next award was Outstanding Contribution to Sport which went to Jojo (Year 12) and Maddie (Year 8) for their high standards of commitment and volunteering. The Unsung Hero Awards went to Keerit (Year 9) and Eleanor (Year 10). Finally, the Sports Personalities of the Year were awarded to Jasmine (Year 9) and Hannah (Year 12) for their outstanding year in sport.

We would like to say a big thank you to the Sports Department, in particular Miss Adams who made this evening possible, and all who have supported us all season.

By Kira Nygren (Sports Representative) and Jojo Loxton (Games Captain 2019-2020)

Netball

Junior Netball

This season the junior netball teams have had some fantastic achievements, whether that is in training, matches or tournaments. The U12A team have done extremely well this year, accomplishing 3rd place at the annual Ibstock and Harrodian netball tournaments and becoming Middlesex County Champions! U13A team has also performed at a high level with winning the Cup at the GSA Tournament weekend at Condover Hall, becoming bronze medallists at the Harrodian Tournament and placing 5th out of 16 teams in the Middlesex County Tournament.

The U14s started the season by playing in the GSA Tournament at Condover Hall, placing 7th out of 24 teams, which showed the team exactly what we needed to be worked on this season. The team then had the Middlesex Prelims Tournament where they managed to win four out of the five matches, beating Godolphin and Latymer, South Hampstead, LEH and Drayton Mannor, placing 2nd overall and gaining a place at the County finals! At the Middlesex County Finals, the team finished 4th overall, a great result as there were 18 schools that entered at the start of the year.

Overall, the junior netball teams have had an incredible season, with U12 having A-F teams, U13 A-F teams and U14 A-D teams. All teams have shown commitment and dedication throughout the season to both training twice a week and matches! Well done to everyone who has played for a junior netball team this year!

Jasmine Saha (U14 Netball Captain), Year 9

Senior Netball

Last year was a good year for the first netball team as we were able to win ten out of fifteen matches. This allowed us to qualify for the Middlesex Country Finals for the fourth year in a row. To be on the first team, members are expected to maintain a high standard of performance by attending Monday lunch and Thursday morning netball trainings. This ensures fitness is improved and new strategies are constructed. As a team, we are very close due to having preserved our places on the A team since Year 7. This has allowed our team to build a strong bond and therefore we are able to understand each other’s strengths and anticipate players next moves. It is important for a team to be able to pick themselves up after a bad match, reflect on mistakes from their performance and correct them, so that they improve to become stronger as a team and not repeat mistakes. Our team was able to prove this last year, by playing our biggest competitors, St Paul’s Girls School, where we lost our first game. However we were able to go over our weaknesses and turn them into strengths so that when it came to our rematch, we were able to create a clear win.

Cup matches are the hardest games we play each year. They last sixty minutes so they really push our fitness levels. Through this competition we compete against the best schools at netball in the south-east of England. Last year, after unfortunately losing our first match we were able to win three matches consecutively and reach the plate quarter finals. This year we are hoping to improve on this and make it to the finals. As a team we have already started hard training sessions in order to tighten up as a new unit, after the previous Year 13s have now left, and the new Year 12s have now entered. Let’s hope this year’s netball season is even more successful than the last as it will be many of our members’ final year playing as a team.

Alex Michelmore, Senior Netball Captain, Year 12

U12 Netball County Champions

U18 in their last netball match

Hockey

Junior Hockey

Leah Mentesh’s (U14 Hockey Captain) memories of this season….

This season of hockey has not only been about the sport but about bonding as a team. At the beginning of the season, the team was just getting to know each other as players, but after a lovely weekend in Bath we got closer as a team and as friends. Playing 11-a side hockey has its advantages as it means more people are a part of the team and have the opportunity to play the sport we love. Our actual hockey playing improved drastically as the season went on, one of many examples of this was coming 2nd in the Middlesex tournament this year. Overall, it has been a fantastic season, we really came together as a team and have made many new friends.

Miss Greenslade’s Comments on U14 Hockey

It is an exciting time as a player when you make the progression from playing 7-a-side hockey to 11-a-side hockey. The team had a bit of a shaky start at the beginning of the season, trying to get use to playing on a much bigger pitch, and getting to use the space more efficiently. But after a trip to the GDST Hockey Tournament held in Bath over a long weekend, this team game back a different team. Not only did they come back as better friends with lots of stories to tell, they really got to grips with how to play 11-a-side hockey. I didn’t expect after the first day there of playing the group stages for us to be seeded in the Top 6 of the U14 Hockey Teams in the GDST. However, we finished bottom of this group, and I just do not think it was our day, as we were a little bit unlucky in some of the games, losing to one school we should not have for example. However, we had a great weekend, and it was an achievement in itself just to finish in the top group. The team had also had the opportunity to meet a famous player, Helen RichardsonWalsh. When we returned from this tournament, I really felt this squad had come together as a really special and good team. They finished the season winning quite a few of their friendly matches, and reaching the final in the fun end of term tournament that Ibstock Place host. Quite a few of these girls have also been asked to step up during this season, and play for the team above because they are solid players that you would want to be a part of your team. I think it’s been a great season, I’m so pleased with the progress you have made this year, and I hope you are all looking forwards to next season!

Senior Hockey

It is fair to say that the U18 Hockey Team has had their most successful season in recent history. We started the season strong with the majority of the team already partaking in club, county or regional level hockey before September.We kicked off the season with a match against Godolphin and Latymer which was tight, but we unfortunately took the loss (2-1). Training hard every Friday before school, the Middlesex County Tournament quickly approached us in October.

First, we beat Mill Hill 1-0, building the confidence of the team for the beginning of the day. We then faced St Benedict’s, taking a big win 4-1 despite conceding a goal early on. With two wins behind us, we stepped onto the pitch totake on Godolphin and Latymer – who we had previously lost to early on in the season. Working hard as a team and under great leadership from our Captains Nathalie W and Philippa J, we came out of the match with a 0-0 draw. Going into our last match we tookon a strong team from Latymer Upper School. By half time, we were still in the game as it was a tie. During the half time break, our coach Ms Nicholas informed us that we needed to win or draw to take the title of County Champions and progress to Regionals.However, a loss would put us in third place and we would fail to qualify for the next round. In the final half of the match, we played safe, knowing a strong defensive line was our priority. After an intense second half, the final whistle blew and we knew we had become County Champions!

Regionals were the next challenge our team faced. To prepare for this we scheduled a training session in our half term. We arrived at Bradfield College, in our long sub jackets to keep us warm, ready for thetournament ahead. Despite some excellent play, we unfortunately lost all three of our matches against Bradfield College, King Edward’s Southampton and St Georges. The team pulled together despite some difficult matches and really bonded well.

We would like to say goodbye and thank you to the Year 13s for their commitment and dedication to the team, in particular our two captains Nathalie W and Philippa J who have shown great leadership all season.We would also like to thank Miss Nicholas who has coached us through this year and lead our team to some great victories. We are looking forward to a great season ahead!

Kira Nygren and Jojo Loxton, Year 12

U14 Hockey at the GDST Tournament

SwimmingWaterpolo

For the past few years, waterpolo has been a growing sport in the NHEHS community - with sessions over five times a week, across the year groups. Mr Bent is keen to spread the love of waterpolo further within our school and is always looking for ways the teams can train more frequently as well as having some more accessible sessions. Sessions regularly take place on Mondays after school for Years 9 and 10 and Thursdays after school for Years 7 and 8 as well as a few lunchtime clubs.

Water polo is a sport effectively described by a fellow player as “fun, engaging and rough”. It bears resemblance to the majority of the team sports played in this school (such as netball and hockey), yet also introduces many positive aspects such as the fact that it “brings years together” whilst playing the game, which helps it become such a brilliant pastime. This sport is worth anyone’s time, no matter their ability or age and I would thoroughly recommendit.

There is also a competitive edge to this sport in the school and every year, across the three age categories (U13, U15 and U18), we compete in regional tournaments, in addition to other matches throughout the year. Last year, this placed our school as one of the best teams in the country. This a fantastic achievement, which we are currently training to get again this year.

I hope this sport will grow in size throughout the coming year and that our numbers of regular attendees will increase.

Genevieve Pearce, Year 8

This year, NHEHS swimming department has endeavoured to create as many opportunities for us as possible. Whether that is in water polo - where we have had the chance to compete nationally - or in swimming, with galas held frequently. In swimming, we train competitively. Training is available to an abundnce of eager swimmers in Years 7 - 13 and it competitions we often achieve to high standards.

Waterpolo has risen in popularity over the past few years. We have competed in two age categories in the ESSA National water polo finals, both teams playing with impressive talent.

This year has been success after success, with us winning all of our fixtures for swimming but also due to in waterpolo gaining so many new members - well done!

Genevieve Pearce, Year 8

Athletics

Senior Athlectics

We have had an extremely busy and successful athletics season this year with many fixtures against a variety of different schools including St Benedicts, St Augustine’s and Godolphin and Latymer. We have again managed to win all our friendly fixtures, using these sessions to develop our confidence in competing.

Junior Athletics

Overall, the Athletics at NHEHS has been an incredible experience for me. I have achieved my personal best and everyone who has done Athletics should be very proud of themselves for working so hard.

At the fixture against Latymer, Godolphin, St Augustine’s and St Benedicts, a lot of Year 7s found it ‘challenging, but fun’and many said that they ‘wanted to do something like that again’. One also stated, ‘I am glad that I had a chance to perform in something like that’.

Many who went to the Track and Field Cup, (the County Round) worked extremely well and Ella Milner from Year 7 even managed to achieve her personal best of 1m 23 in her first ever time of doing high jump in a competition.Michelle Nogai also did very well in 100m including Sephera Forrester in the hurdles. It was very hot in the morning, however, it soon started to rain after midday. It was a long and tiring competition, however many achieved their goals and the team won 293 points, which made them through to the Regional Round.

Moving on to the Regional Round, the team performed outstandingly, earning 323 points and coming 2nd out of 24 schools. The team worked so hard and actually ended up, winning nearly all their events throughout the day. Maddy Halliday was outstanding in her first ever time of competing in the 300m and Sephera Forrester got a new personal of 22m in Discus, and also won her hurdles race. Wow!

Now, let’s not forget the Bath GDST rally! Nicola Hewitt found the Rally, ‘challenging but achievable’and said that she ‘did her best in 1500m and couldn’t have done any better’. I found it very nerve-racking but mostly exciting because the rally was very competitive and there were many brilliant 800m runners in the competition. The rain sadly came after a few hours, forcing my mood to darken, however, in my head, I was still celebrating the effort I had made. Sixth out of all the GDST schools is an amazing achievement and I think everyone should congratulate themselves on how well they did at this GDST rally.

Rosie Hewitt, Junior Athletics Captain, Year 7

Both the Junior and Intermediate Teams did fantastically in the first round of the Track and Field Cup. The Intermediate Team scored an impressive 307 points, which lead us through from the County (Middlesex) to the Regional Round (South East of England) of this competition. Impressive runs by Isabella Holmes in the 100m (13.2 seconds), Natasha Jones in the 300m (47.0 seconds), Jasmine Palmer in the 1500m (4 minutes 53) and Grace Kenyon in the Javelin (25m02) all scored the team big points.

The Regional Round fell the day after DofE – so there were some tired legs! A personal best in the Javelin from Grace Kenyon (27.23m) and strong performances from Natasha Jones in the 300m, Sophie Claxton in the Shot Put and Jasmine Palmer in the 1500m all got some impressive points, but the Inters couldn’t match their first round score.

The GDST athletics rally was again a great challenge, with the team hoping to equal or beat their 6th position placing out of all 24 schools. The day was very successful and many who took part made the school proud with their placing- the team again gained 6th place, meaning all went home pleased!

Finally, Isobel Thornton (long jump), Ellie Ritchie (Javelin), Isobel Holmes (100m), Keerit Dhillon (Hurdles) and Jasmine Palmer (1500m) all got selected to represent Ealing at the Middlesex Athletics Championships in June. Jasmine Palmer won the 1500m and with a time of 4 minutes 42 seconds has made it through to the English Schools Championships!

Overall athletics has been great this year and we cannot wait to see what happens next season.

Jasmine Palmer, Inter Girls Captain, Year 10

Cross CountryFootball

Junior Football

This year the cross country has grown in numbers and the performances have massively improved with huge successes through the year. The season started on the 4th October with the Ealing Borough Championships where we won the whole championships. Some of the highlights were Eadi SolankiJackson who came 7th in the Year 7/8 race. Rosie and Nicola Hewitt also performed extremely well coming in 10th and 12th in the Year 7 /8 race. Jasmine Palmer won gold in the Year 9/10 race and we got a full house in the Year 11/12 race with Anna Mackenzie clinching the gold, Martha Price taking silver and Amira Nuseibeh achieving a bronze medal.

The next stage was the Middlesex Cross Country championships where a record 18 girls were selected to represent Ealing. Jasmine in Year 10 placed 2nd resulting in her being selected to represent Middlesex at the English Schools Cross Country Championships later in the year. Cameron in Year 13, Anna in Year 12 and Eadie and Nicola in Year 7 all placed in the top 16.

On the 26th February Year 7s headed to the U13 OTI Cross Country, where overall the team finished 2nd out of 10 schools. Nicola Hewitt also got the fastest stage run and all the girls finished in the top half of the race meaning collectively the age group finished 7 out of 20 schools.

We ended the season on a high in March where we took 4 teams to the Ealing Schools Cross Country Relays. Our A team consisting of Nicola Hewitt, Rosie Hewitt, Eva-Marie Weintraub, Jasmine Palmer and Cameron Thomas came in 1st place, regaining out title as Ealing Schools Relay Champions! Our other three teams came in 4th, 5th and 6th of 10 teams who were against other schools A teams! Nicola, Jasmine and Cameron also go the fastest times for their age category. A huge well done to the whole cross-country team who have done incredibly well this season.

Cameron Thomas, Year 13 and Jasmine Palmer, Year 10

Junior Football at Notting Hill consists of a group of enthusiastic, talented footballers, eager to build their skills, develop their abilities and encourage their team mates to create a seemingly unstoppable team. It contains girls from Year 7 to 10, all of which come together to train on the astro on a Friday lunch. The girls are divided into 3 main teams: an U12 team with more than 10 members, and an U14 team with many solid players, (some of which playing at a professional level) and an U15 team.

The U12 team began the 2018/2019 season with 3 players who werefamiliar with football and excited to play with a new school team. To their disappointment, they soon realised there were not enough players to create a team, but their bad luck didn’t stop them. Since the training sessions on Friday were not exclusive, they managed to convince their friends to come along. In only a few weeks, the amount of Year 7s attending football club had skyrocketed. Girls who had never even kicked a ball before, were now playing confidently with their peers. In a few weeks they had their first match. It was against Godolphin and Latymer, and with the help of the U14 team, they won it 2 nil. This only encouraged them to continue, and they played more and more matches, some withthe older years, and some alone.

Whilst the Year 7s were developing their team, the U14 squad was thriving. Playing, winning, losing and gaining from more and more matches. This eventually lead to them playing in the U15 Football Round Cup. This was an exciting game for the year 9s and 10s as they set off to play Headington High School. The game was long and harsh, and the lack of experience in this fairly new teamlead to a defeat, but they left with their heads held high.

Lewhat Yosief, Year 8

Senior Football

The Year 13 football team has done really well this year. Everyone brings so much enthusiasm to the after-school training sessions at Trailfinders and, with the help of Mr Futter and Dr Stocker, we have improved massively. We took on the challenge of entering the schools cup, and whilst losing against some tough opponents at the start of the season, we worked harder and managed to secure a few wins (one being 7-0 against UCS).

Our last match was a nail-biting draw where everyone showed off their skills that we’d perfected throughout the year. Overall, we have had a fun year, bonded as a team and will miss it so much when we leave!

Isobel Stronge,

Year 13

The Cross Country team at the Ealing Schools Cross Country Relay

The lunch time Badminton Club has been popular this year. It is one of the more recreational PE Department activities, and has proved to be a fun and active way to spend lunchtime with your friends. The sessions, led by Mrs Scott & Mr Smith were a mixture of skills, fitness and game play. It was lovely to see so many pupils from all year groups taking part and mixing together to improve their level of play. To accommodate the more competitive members, there were several fixtures against other schools, and various Inter-House events for different age groups.

The final club session was a space themed event – inspired by a news item Mrs Scott saw the previous evening. Nasa’s InSight Lander had successfully touched down on Mars, after an epic 300 million mile journey from earth, taking almost seven months. With just a lunch time in which to celebrate, Badminton Club members were informed that their mission (should they choose to accept it) would include four games, for which points were awarded according to the success of each mission.

Tennis is increasing in popularity at NHEHS. This year we entered the prestigious ‘Road to Wimbledon’Tennis Competition. This is a national 14 and under challenge event, open to all schools in the UK.

The keenest players in Year 7, 8 and 9 elected to take part, and for a couple of hours a fiercely contested singles tournament took place. The prize for the winner is to go through to the county round, and the winners from each county then have the opportunity to play at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, where the famous annual championships take place.

The joint runners up were Jo Carter and Amrit Mander. Congratulations to our winner, Lydia Minko, who won all of her matches. Certificates were also awarded to the following:Emma Levison, Genevieve Pearce, Ava van Straten, Caitlin Thompson, Iva Ristic, Sylvie Reay, Alice Jenkins, Pooja Pillai, Vysali Sivakumar and Neve Grosvenor.

Miss Scott

Tennis Trust Rally

This prestigious competition took place in the sumptuous grounds of Queenswood School in Hertfordshire. Our team of six had been working hard all term to prepare for the event. Their games took place on the astro courts, with each pair playing 7 games against the opposing pair. The team came 4th in their group, and qualified for the plate competition, where they finished a respectable 6th place. Good team work is essential in a successful doubles pair, and there was some promising play against some tough opponents. Congratulations to the team of Amelia Morgan & Lily Sideso, Esmée Huet and Josie Lloyd, Amelia Samtani and Sophie Claxton.

Team Tennis Schools Competition

Keen tennis players took part in the Team Tennis Schools Competition. Both teams won their Local Middlesex League Group stage.

Lydia Minko

Emily Ames

Jo Carter

Caitlin Thompson

Pooja Pillai

Neve Grosvenor

Alice Jenkins

Sylvie Reay

Amelia Morgan

Esmee Huet

Sophie Claxton

Amelia Samtani

The Badminton Team in a relaxed mood after a friendly match against St Augustine’s.

Road to Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Results.

U14 Road To Wimbledon Tournament

RoundersDance

Junior Rounders

This year, U12 rounders was a great experience for me and everyone in our Year 7 squads. We had four teams, A-D and all girls who came got to play a match for the school. We lost a few close games, but we ended our season on a high note, winning comfortably against West London Free School with 4 1/2 rounders to 8 1/2 rounders! In total there were 6 exciting matches altogether for the A-D teams. My most memorable experience was when we won against St Augustine’s with 21 1/2 rounders to 7 1/2 rounders, as that was the first game we won.

We have many talented players in our teams, and to beat the teams that we lost against this year will definitely be our aim for next season. I can’t wait to play rounders again next year, to improve more on our rounders skills and tactics!

Thank you to Miss Dunkley and Miss Munro-Hall for their immense support and the coaching throughout!

Kato, U12 Rounders Captain, Year 7

Dance this year at NHEHS has been extremely exciting having already gone to 3 competitions and we now have 6 squads across the school. We started the year with the Year 8 and Year 11 teams going to the Dance National Finals in Blackpool. Being in Blackpool was an amazing experience, it is the home of ballroom dancing and it was incredible to be able to dance in the finals. After a long day in Blackpool we were very happy as the Year 11 squad got 6th place in their category and the Year 8 squad came 14th in their category.

This year we also took part in The Great Big Dance Off where the Year 7 squad competed for the first time, the Year 9 and 10 squad also competed with their new routine and the Year 8s performed their national final routine. It was so nice to see how we came together as a team and supported every group competing from our school and although we didn’t come away with a trophy it was a good experience seeing what different dance competitions are like.

Most recently, the Year 7 squad and the Year 9 and 10 squad got the opportunity to represent Ealing at the London Youth Games. Both teams performed really well, and both got praised for their good technique and performance skills.

Overall dance at NHEHS is a fun and inclusive sport; hopefully in the next few years to come we will be able to add more dance trophies to the cabinet.

Jessica Low, Year 11

Senior Rounders

The recent rounders season went well for NHEHS as it brought numerous wins for the U14 and U15 teams. The U15A and U14B teams each won two out of three of their matches while the U14A team won three out of four matches against schools such as St. Paul’s Girls’ School and St. Augustine’s Priory. The players also attended regular training sessions and showed great levels of enthusiasm and dedication, which was reflected in the match results. Overall it has been a good season in rounders and we look forwards to the next one in 2020.

Kikuko

Alice Szlachetko, U15 Rounders Captain, Year 10

Junior Dance Team at competition

Senior Dance Team at competition

U15A and U14A&B Rounders playing against Godolphin & Latymer

Leavers’Destinations2019

nhehs.gdst.net