ACADEMIC

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS

Our teachers instil a love of learning in our students through subject passion and academic challenge. Although the 2019-20 academic year was unprecedented due to Covid-19, we are proud of the achievements within academic departments to inspire our students.

MATHEMATICS

Our mathematicians from Years 8 and 9 competed in the regional final of the UK Maths Trust Team Challenge. The girls worked brilliantly, securing an impressive 3rd place overall in the competition. Students from Years 11 to 13 participated in the Mathematical Olympiad for Girls alongside more than 1800 others, and they performed impressively well; seven students were awarded distinction and one earned a prize (scoring full marks) and was invited to take part in the British Mathematical Olympiad.

GEOGRAPHY

Students from Years 10 and 11 visited Iceland to explore one of its largest glaciers, experience the world’s only lava show and to battle the fierce winds on the east coast. The highlight of the trip was witnessing a stunning Northern Lights display.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Year 7 took part in ‘Python-for-Science’ a computer coding workshop, delivered by an educational technology company focussed on ensuring technological literacy in secondary school students by using innovative teaching and learning methods. Students continued to practice and build on these skills within science lessons by coding a food web and using agglomerative clustering to divide living organisms into the five Kingdoms. Following this, students in Year 7 to 9 learnt how to use Python code to programme Minecraft Pi and also wrote a Python code to use a Sensechat attached to a Raspberry Pi on the International Space Station (ISS). Two students entered the Astro Pi competition, which saw their coded messaged being displayed on the ISS.

STEAM

We held our first ever Technology and Engineering Symposium, organised entirely by the students. Speakers presented their experiences in an interdisciplinary field, ranging from applications in biomedical sciences and the development of prosthetics to the development of cryptocurrencies. Science Café continued with speakers working in cross-curricular scientific fields, ranging from Biochemical Engineering to Computational Chemistry. Five teams of Upper School and Sixth Form students have worked with the School to help us reach our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 by analysing our data, proposing solutions, and creatively suggesting achievable ways in which we could make improvements to our energy use.

Two teams entered the ‘F1 in Schools’ challenge and were selected to take part in the regional final, competing with a model car, which the teams had independently designed using computer aided design (CAD) and manufactured using CNC routers and 3D printers. Both teams thoroughly impressed the judges with team spirit, verbal presentations and Engineering and Enterprise portfolio’s highly commended. Team “IQ” won first place in the regional finals and entered the national finals remotely at the end of July.

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Year 13 students participated in a Spanish Debating Competition alongside fourteen schools including Harrow, Eton, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’, Westminster and Wycombe Abbey. The students were excellent ambassadors of the School, and their performance was highly commended by the adjudicators. Year 12 French students took part in the annual French Drama Festival at King Alfred School performing a revamped version of Francis Veber’s Le Dîner de Cons. The students received rave reviews and one student was awarded Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

ECONOMICS

Under lockdown and with so much economics in the news, Year 13 economists delivered an outstanding and highly accomplished virtual COVID-19 conference to students and staff addressing questions designed to help them to understand and process the economic (and wider) implications of the pandemic. Each student chose one question and prepared a 10-15 minute talk that was recorded and collated online in a TED-style presentation.

Iceland trip

“Pupils are highly successful collaborative and independent learners, both inside and outside of the classroom”. ISI Inspection Report

Mathematical Olympiad

ACADEMIC

HIGHLIGHTS

Spanish Film Festival

‘FI in Schools’ challenge NICHOLSON LECTURES

First started in 2012, our Nicholson Lectures – named after former Physics teacher Dr Kay Nicholson – have continued to flourish and prove ever popular with the girls and staff alike. Each week, the Library promotes upcoming Nicholson lectures by creating a selection of books and material relating to that topic.

Talks this year have included:

How to write a letter

The use of performance-enhancing drugs in Sport The Two Dostoevskys Thalassa, Thalassa: the sea, the sea! Eleanor of Aquitaine Sophie – A Tribute to Dr Sophie Bryant

SENIOR SOCIETIES SPEAKER PROGRAMME

Our annual lecture series organised by the student leaders of each society, aims to enrich the students’ academic learning and develop their subject curiosity and passion.

Our Keynote address, opening our year of talks, was delivered by Conrad Wolfram, of Wolfram Research, who gave a fascinating talking about AI, computing and maths education, and challenged students to consider the importance of tech and machine learning in modern education to assist with deeper student learning of their subjects.

Other speakers this year included:

Afro-Caribbean Society – Dr Abel Gwaindepi; a research fellow at Lund University in Sweden, and visiting researcher at Oxford University’s Centre for the study of African economies, Dr

Gwaindepi discussed the continent’s production and technological advances since AD1000.

History Society – Professor Colin Jones; having held various prestigious research positions at

Princeton, College de France and Columbia University, Prof Jones gave fascinating insights into the turbulent period of the French revolution, a time of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies beginning in 1789.

Maths Society – Maarten Speekenbrink; as Associate Professor of Mathematical Psychology at UCL, Maarten’s research specialises in human learning and decision making, and his lecture gave an introduction to the field of mathematical psychology and how humans learn to make better decisions.

Jewish Society – Dr Noemi Lopian & Derek Niemann; to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2020, Dr Lopian and Mr Niemann shared the spotlight to talk from two contrasting perspectives on the importance of remembering the Holocaust and to encourage our students to consider the relevance of these events today.

Human Rights Society – Zehrah Hasan; a human rights campaigner based in London, Zehrah outlined the experiences of migrant and BAME women who are survivors of gender-based violence and the relevant legal frameworks that should protect them in the UK.

Pure Sciences Society – Professor Gary Lye; Prof Lye is Head of the Department of

Biochemical Engineering at UCL focused on the different uses of biotech, from the production of medicines (such as therapeutic antibodies and microalgae vaccines) to the use of agricultural feedstocks to manufacture biodegradable plastics.