DIARY DATES 2020* SEPTEMBER Thu 3
First Day of Term
Sun 27
Foundation Day Celebration 14:00-17:00 A celebration of the founding of the school with Chapel service, guest speaker and afternoon tea.
Wed 30
St Catherine’s Presents…Voces8 19.30 – 22.00 All welcome, tickets via BPT**
OCTOBER Sat 17
Year of 2010 - 10 Year Reunion 13.30 – 17.30 Alex Crouch and Emily Revess are coordinating their Year of 2010 10 Year reunion at school. Please contact association@stcatherines.info if you wish to come.
NOVEMBER Thu 12
The London Network – Property Host CBRE 18.30 - 21.30 All Welcome but spaces must be booked via Association Office. This event replaces the Property Event in March which had to be postponed.
Fri 27
St Catherine’s Day 19.30 – 22.00 Including House Lacrosse and the Gala Concert. Remember and Celebrate #mystcatsday and send in your photos.
DECEMBER Thu 10
End of Term
Mon 14
Association Carols by Candlelight 18.30 - 20.00 Chapel, All Welcome
**BPT – tickets for St Catherine’s events are managed at www.brownpapertickets.com
PROSPECTIVE PARENTS EVENTS 2020* SENIOR SCHOOL Friday 19th June Tuesday 22nd September Sixth Form Open Evening Friday 25th September Thursday 15th October Thursday 19th November
Senior School Registrar - Clare Woodgates 01483 899 609 clare.woodgates@stcatherines.info
PREP SCHOOL Friday 12th June - geared to Reception entry 4+ Wednesday 23rd September Wednesday 14th October Friday 13th November
Prep School Registrar - Sally Manhire 01483 899 665 sally.manhire@stcatherines.info
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This edition of Non Nobis goes to press slightly later than usual, affected, as with almost everything else in life, by the global pandemic crisis. As school leaders, we were alert to the imminent threat early on, with some of our boarding community watching anxiously as things unfolded back home. They then faced down the inevitable cancellation of their February Half Term break in China or Hong Kong, digging deep to stay here with guardians to keep themselves and all of us safe. We all empathised and admired their acceptance that this had to be. When the virus then spread into Europe – Italy in particular – things moved much closer to home very quickly, and from that point the spread was fast and unrelenting. As school leaders we could sense the shifts in public feeling and the inevitable loss of confidence that hallmarked March, culminating in our decision to close School on the 19th of March, just ahead of the national school closure, then lock down and social distancing during any necessary outings from home. In both Schools, the way in which girls and staff approached this period was exemplary and as you will see from the Head Girls’ article, the U6 salvaged an extraordinary demonstration of unity and bonding in adversity from the sudden reality that their final days at School would not be Leavers’ Communion, Photograph, Picnic, final Chapel service, Study Leave, A Level exams and then a glorious summer Speech Day, lunch on the lawn, Leavers’ Ball and Muck Up and so on. Readers who know these rites of passage well will also know what that means and why the class of 2020’s response was so impressive and we should all salute them. After a five-minute broadcast from the Prime Minister on the 18th of March we were calmly emptying the school and ensuring all our remaining boarders and GAP students got to their respective countries if possible. We set up and staffed a special school/holiday club facility for the children of our parents who were designated key workers, and convened our management teams, supplemented with experts from IT Support and Digital Learning departments, to spend almost all of April in an extensive planning phase for the Online Learning School that launched fully on 22nd April and is running now. Our aim was to create and maintain, as best we could, the ethos and style of the St Catherine’s School Community while its members operated on their own, at home, across the local area and the world. Pupil wellbeing was the stated priority, followed by maintaining high standards of learning, but alongside a clear recognition that for all St Cat’s families – those of pupils and their parents, and for our staff – a wide variety of challenges were being addressed in all the different homes and this must be handled with awareness and sensitivity. At the time of writing we are both enormously proud of the girls – as we anticipated we would be – for the way in which they have adapted and are simply putting the LUGO into LUGO! Girls whose parents are working in vital roles within the NHS or other work classifying them as ‘keyworkers’ have been coming in to school each day whilst others work remotely at home. And so, in the indomitable spirit of the VE Day veterans whose contribution we celebrated recently at the 75th anniversary of the end of that world conflict, we can only follow their example and stay positive, look forward with hope and look out for one another as best we can, until we can meet again in School. At that point, we can say with certainty, we will all be stronger, more adaptable, significantly more skilled in IT – the way of the future – but also very ready to be together once again. Nothing replaces community and we all miss each other very much at present. At this difficult time, therefore, the messages of support and solidarity from our alumnae have been invaluable: thank you very much.
Alice Phillips and Naomi Bartholomew - Headmistresses *All dates are correct at the time of publication but will be subject to confirmation depending on how the Covid 19 Coronavirus Pandemic situation develops in the UK during 2020. Please see the website www.stcatherines.info/calendar for updates.
YEAR OF 2020 SHOW ST CAT’S GRIT AND RESILIENCE Head Girls Alice Chapman and Larissa Gaunt write: None of the U6 expected that the 19th March would be our last day at St Cat’s, and although we knew it was not truly the end (they can’t get rid of us that easily...) we knew we had to make it as special as possible. We came in, in true St Cat’s style, wearing our school uniform that had been hidden away in wardrobes for the past two and a bit years. Boarders, or those who couldn’t find their uniform, were inundated with offers from the rest of the year, so on the final Thursday those of us still in the country could celebrate as a united year! We belted out High School Musical in the upstairs of the Sixth Form Library, all holding hands because ‘we’re all in this together’ and then tried to fit in as many of the St Cat’s Leavers traditions throughout the day as possible (in between final lessons, of course). We sang ‘Non Nobis’ on the lawn; we had a picnic in the Anniversary Halls and at the end of the day, we had a “Short Parli” where we managed to read the traditional Dr Seuss poem, ‘Oh the places you’ll go’ (without crying) and Mrs Philips read the Gaelic Blessing. Of course, a final day at school would not be complete without processing out of the Auditorium and we chose to do this to the Backstreet Boys and ABBA, supported by our incredible teachers. We could not have asked for a more special end to our school career and are incredibly proud
of how our peers banded together to make it so memorable. That final day made up for the lost moments that would have taken place later, and we felt the year bond closer as never before. We miss everyone already and cannot wait to come back one last time for our ‘final hurrah’ as the leaving U6. We are so grateful to all of the teachers who helped make the day as memorable as possible for us. Mr Gladwell, Mrs Kelsall and Mrs Phillips were handing out order marks which were worn as a badge of honour and much sought throughout the day and the teachers who stayed with us until the end of the day to sit through “Short Parli” were greatly appreciated. (We would have been awkwardly processing through a completely empty Auditorium without you, which might not have had quite the same impact). Thank you all for an incredible journey and don’t you forget about us. We’ll be back … you haven’t got out of Muck Up Day 2020 just yet!
True to their word they were back … after the Easter holiday our lovely Head Girls and Head Boarder, Oge Elumelu, rose to the challenge of creating a weekly community podcast for us St Cats on the lockdown with The QuaranQueen’s and if you would like to listen to their broadcasts click HERE.
END OF TERM LECTURE The Autumn term ended on 12th December, the same day as the UK’s General Election. We were therefore really delighted to welcome Ellie de la Bedoyere (2011) who works as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Cabinet Office. She began her talk on the importance of voting and how this has changed for women over the last 100 years by making everyone who is eligible to vote now stand up and then went back in time, as the law was changed, stating who was eligible to vote and asking each time for people to sit down if they were no longer eligible. By the end there were only 3 male teachers left standing out of a room of over 600. She also stressed that you can still make a difference even if you are not old enough to vote using the example of Greta Thunberg. She then gave a fascinating and very personal insight into her career in the Civil Service, the various roles she has undertaken from negotiating with the Prison Officers’ Association, dealing with local government and her current role working as Senior Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, The Rt Hon Michael Gove. A lively Q&A session followed with many interesting questions including how it feels to not know who you will be working for in the morning if a different party wins the election and is it difficult to carry out policy that you may not agree with? An election day that will certainly be remembered by all the girls.
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It was a majestic performance of Messiah at the annual Association Concert in March at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford. Conducted by St Catherine’s Director of Music, Matthew Greenfield, the Association Choir, together with Senior Choir and Middle Chamber Choir, gave a very moving and stirring rendition of the piece. When the audience stood, as tradition demands whilst the Hallelujah Chorus is sung, it was the highlight of the evening. With four professional soloists, including alumna and soprano, Fleur de Bray (2002), and our elite string orchestra, Camerata, who rose to the occasion magnificently, we gave the audience a very memorable evening. Our charity this year was Music for All. Run by just three volunteers, who believe that making music changes lives, this nation-wide charity has supported beneficiaries from the profoundly disabled, who could only move one finger to work a music app, to a students struggling to raise funds for places at music college. Our retiring collection raised almost £1,000. The CEO, Paul McManus, who spoke at the concert, was delighted and amazed at the amount. He sent a short note saying, ‘What a pleasure it was to be at such a wonderful event!’
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‘The orchestra was exceptional with their persistence in maintaining their high standards of playing, and are to be praised, as was Matthew’s warm and encouraging conducting. I enjoyed myself immensely and I’d be absolutely delighted to sing with you all again. Everyone was so welcoming and kind and made the day very special for me!’ (Soloist)
‘What a wonderful experience to be able to participate, and witness, the majesty of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at the concert on Saturday.’ (Current Parent)
‘This was my first experience in singing the marvellous work - The Messiah which was thoroughly enjoyable and deeply moving in parts.’ (Current Pupil)
From the Director of Development: Association Director, Dawn Pilkington, has asked me to update you all on the programme at St Catherine’s to Create the Future. Well … the past few months have seen us all very much living in the present, trying to deal with the coronavirus global health crisis. St Catherine’s decided to press ‘pause’ on the Create the Future campaign, recognising that our families and alumnae were rightly focused on health, home and keeping safe and well. We also know that the crisis will be bringing significant business and other challenges to many and it was not appropriate to continue fundraising for now. If at any stage you would like to find out more about the new facilities The 6 – for our Sixth Form, The Art & MakerSpace and The CATalyst, and the likely opening dates, do look under the Development section of the website where updates can be found.
1. The 6 build begins – 11th July
3. Demolition is on track!
It remains for me to say a huge thank you to all of those who have given generously to the Campaign to date. We will Create the Future, these dark days will pass, and the Campaign will restart when the time is right. ‘Let us go on …. ‘ In the meantime, I thought I’d share with you a visual record of the progress made on the build of The 6 to date. This is a project to which we are committed and although work stopped on site at the end of March with the lock down, work is resuming in May with appropriate social distancing. The girls have been following the build since September with great interest, especially those who are considering quantity surveying, estate management and architecture as possible careers. Alumna, Helen Whateley (2006) at IID Architects is leading The 6 build and keeping a close eye on the construction. We have a plan that she will speak to the girls about the build as soon as that is possible to arrange.
2. A Glimpse of The Warren and Barbara Platt Building to be replaced
4. Diggers clear the way
5. Pipes and Cables are laid 6. School is out and The 6 is taking shape
7. The frame appears 8. The first floor is in!
Pippa Carte Development Director 01483 899756 pippa.carte@stcatherines.info
9. A close up look at The 6 10. A bird’s eye view
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St Catherine’s alumnae and parents met in October for another very successful careers networking evening, courtesy of Robert Glover, current parent and Managing Director of UniCredit, who provided a venue with spectacular views over the City. The theme of ‘Managing Teams’ had relevance across career sectors and views were shared on Leadership, Qualities of a Manager, Expectations of the Workplace, and How to get the best out of Teams. The panel of diverse experience comprised:
Katie Creighton (2006) Business Director and Head of Training and Development at Now Advertising
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Jess Burgess (2011) Strategy Consultant at Accenture, with a range of experience from coaching school leavers to upwardly managing senior management within financial services technology operations.
Fay Lomas (2009) Freelance Theatre Director and winner of inaugural Peter Hall Emerging Artist Fellowship at the Rose Theatre, Kingston With a number of representatives from UniCredit also joining the evening, useful career connections were made during the networking sessions for both our alumnae and the sixth formers. Thank you to all our alumnae and parents who took part.
We were delighted so many of you from around the world sent pictures of you with other alumnae, or on your own or a throwback photo helping us to compile a global snapshot for St Cat’s Day 2019 and all its festivities via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and email. We would like to grow this annual activity and hope many of you will take up the challenge and either send a photo of you on your own on the day or organise a get together and send your photo to join in the St Cat’s Day Celebrations in November 2020.
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We were privileged to receive a visit from alumna, Professor Beverley McKeon (1992) – Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology, who addressed girls from U2 to U6 in two lectures. Her talk was wide ranging, describing her experiences at school, including her love of lacrosse, her undergraduate degree at Cambridge where she captained the lacrosse team, and how a ‘pure chance’ glance at a poster in a careers room led to a doctorate in the USA. She is a world expert on mechanical and aerospace engineering. Professor McKeon explores new ways to manipulate or control the boundary layer - the thin layer between a
material and flowing air - to improve flow characteristics, such as a reduction of drag, noise, and structural loading or expansion of vehicle performance envelopes during travel. One area of her current work addresses issues around reducing fuel consumption in air travel to provide environmental benefits, which is an area close to the hearts of many of the girls. At the end of her talk there was a lively Q&A session with many excellent questions and at the end Professor McKeon said she would be happy to engage in further conversations with any current pupils or alumnae who may be interested to discover more about the opportunities in her field of work.
‘I would like to thank you on behalf of my school for the wonderful lecture you gave us on the 21st January. I personally found it very interesting and it gave me inspiration as to what I would like to do as my future career. My favourite part was you highlighting the point that barn owls don’t seem to make a sound when they fly. I’ve never thought about this but once I started, I couldn’t stop. I assume it is to do with the wing shape and the way that the feathers fall on top of each other. Thank you again, I’m sure your lecture inspired many girls in the senior school to follow in your footsteps and become just as successful as you.’ (L5 pupil)
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‘I really enjoyed the lecture and she inspired me to carry on with maths and physics, two subjects that I love.’ (U2 pupil)
‘Professor Beverly McKeon’s work sounds fascinating and now I want to find out more about fluid mechanics and women in science.’ (L3 pupil)
ST CATHERINE’S
Presents...
Association Prefect, Tilly Black (U6) and History Mentor, Olivia Blythe (U6), write: In November, we were delighted to welcome Lucinda Hawksley who is the great-great-great granddaughter of, and world expert on, the renowned British novelist, Charles Dickens. She is also Patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London and gave a lively and interesting talk about Dickens’s life and influences on his literature to a packed Auditorium. After his father was imprisoned for debt, Dickens, from the age of twelve, became the sole provider for his family. He worked alongside working-class men and boys, living separately from his mother and siblings so that he could commit to the long working days that the factories demanded. This hardship is one of the most significant aspects of Dickens’s early life and is what shaped his harsh view of the world that is so often portrayed in his novels. As a young man, Dickens was a passionate socialist reformer and much of his early work, under his pen-name, Boz, conveyed socialist ideas. Lucinda talked about the autobiographical elements of his writing, particularly in David Copperfield, which alludes to elements of his own difficult childhood. Copperfield’s experience working in a wine warehouse mirrors Dickens’ time at a blacking factory. This experience also inspired his concern with child poverty which is prevalent in novels such as A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist. He used fiction to make comments on Victorian society, particularly through the use of satire. Dickens often created caricatures in order to convey his political message, using interesting names such as Murdstone and Gradgrind. Most of his novels were serialised, as he released instalments weekly or monthly in newspapers, and although he was a very successful author in the UK there were no international copyright laws at the time so he did not earn a penny from any of this writings published abroad He was also influenced by significant events such as the Staplehurst rail crash on the 8th June 1865. Dickens was on the train when it derailed and did all he could to help rescue the trapped and tend to the wounded. Many of the victims died while he was with them and Dickens’s son claimed that his father was never the same again after this tragic event. Following the talk and Q&A session Lucinda signed her latest books on Dickens, Dickens and Christmas and Dickens’s Artistic Daughter Katey: Her Life, Loves & Impact. Lucinda Hawksley also kindly led a group of former staff and parents on a tour of Dickens’ homes and haunts in London in early October 2019. Exploring unfamiliar parts of the city, Lucinda talked of Dickens’ upbringing, his work in the blacking factory and then as a clerk, his journalism and the serialisation of his stories. She gave fascinating insights into Dickens’ family, his profligate father, and the relationships with the women in his life. The tour ended outside Dickens’ home from 1837 to 1839, now The Charles Dickens Museum, of which Lucinda is a Patron.
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For two days at the end of January two members of the Association Office, Dawn Pilkington and Fiona Haywood, headed South West stopping in Bristol and Exeter. During the day they visited some of our alumnae in their own homes, and, in the evening, hosted a drinks reception in each city for members of the Association Community currently at university. It was a privilege meeting both alumnae and former staff, updating them on what is happening at school, sharing our digital archive and hearing all their news and memories of St Catherine’s.
The “What can I do with a degree in..........?” series of Careers Seminars continue to be popular with the 5th and 6th formers. These after school events see alumnae return to tell current pupils (and several from visiting local schools), about how they chose their degree and university, what work experience they did and how they have ended up taking their chosen career path. Everyone is always so interested to hear the great variety of roles you can go into from many degrees, and that picking a particular degree does not pigeonhole you to a certain career. In the Autumn term we hosted “What can I do with a degree in History?” The alumnae who attended were Ellie de la Bedoyere (2011) Cabinet Office Senior Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; Megan Crane (2016) Graduate Leadership Programme at Mars; Natalie Sharpin (2013) Paralegal at Clyde & Co, and studying to qualify as a Solicitor.
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St Catherine’s feels privileged to welcome girls from Hong Kong and it is always an honour to visit and share news of the School with the Hong Kong community. In October we welcomed over 75 of the St Catherine’s community to a Reception in Kowloon at the Sheraton Hotel. It was a really special evening with a mix of past, current and prospective parents, as well as many alumnae, hosted by Mrs Alice Phillips, Headmistress, Gillian David, Marketing Director and Fiona Haywood, Association Office.
‘It was just great to see all the familiar faces again – a really special evening.’ (Alumna 2017)
‘I was so glad to see so many past, present and future parents and students came to the Reception. I am sure that they learned a lot from Mrs Phillips and were reassured that they had made the right decision to send their daughters to St. Catherine’s. ’ Ms Andrea Chan Former parent & our Hong Kong Ambassador
In the Spring Term, we welcomed back the following alumnae to speak at “What can I do with a degree in Chemistry and/or Biology?”: Tumi Erikitola (2014) Financial Analyst at HSBC; Remi Looi-Somoye (2013) PhD Student at UCL Great Ormond Street Hospital working in oncology research; Philippa Goff (2011) Wildlife Documentary Researcher; Emma Hobkinson (2012) Association Lawyer at CMS and Ellie Hinde (2012) Evaluation Consultant for the charity, Farm Africa. Each gave a lively account of her journey into her current career area, again illustrating that things don’t always turn out in quite the way they were first planned, and being ready to seize opportunities and follow your interests is an essential part of finding the right path for you. We are as always, extremely grateful to all the alumnae who give up their time to come back to School to talk to our pupils. If you are able to help give careers advice or offer invaluable work experience, do please get in touch at association@stcatherines.info
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Non Nobis Domine! Not unto us, O Lord, The praise or glory be... The opening of the school hymn
RUDYARD KIPLING
N A N B R O W N G R A D U AT E S
Sarah Woodall, her daughter writes: Today she finally got to wear academic dress!! You may not be aware but throughout her time at St Cat’s my mother could never wear academic dress to Speech Day as her teaching certificate, which she gained in 1946 at the age of 19 did not carry degree status. Winchester University today (March 2020) gave out degrees to all their Alumni who were in this situation
(having taken over the teacher training college that used to be in Salisbury). The ceremony was in the Cathedral and she got to share the day with her son (my brother) and her granddaughter (my daughter). She was so thrilled, and we were all very proud. Nan Brown (Former staff 1977-1992) taught English and was Sixth Form Housemistress.
AUSTRALIA EXCHANGE
In March, before they headed home, the three St Cat’s girls on the Australian Exchange met up with members of the St Cat’s community, Fiona Thomas and Ailsa Logue, over lunch. Asked what they had enjoyed most during their term at St Catherine’s Melbourne, rowing was mentioned first. Then Australia Day was entertaining as all the exchange families had come together for a BBQ, swim etc. Each said how much they liked the company of their exchange friend and a good match had been made for each of them. Sadly, since their return to the UK in late March, just as the UK and Australia were closing down into lock down, any hopes for their summer term hosting their ‘sisters’ in return have faded though we aim to find a way to reciprocate at some stage during next academic year. Photo – Fiona Thomas (former Staff and our Australian Ambassador) Ailsa Logue (Former Staff) and our three girls on the Australian Exchange
D U K E O F E D I N B U R G H ’ S G O L D AWA R D WA L L
To mark a special birthday for Mrs Jean Arrick, who runs the St Catherine’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (as well as being Head of the Psychology Department and Coordinator of the Charities and Philanthropy Boards), a brand new Gold Award Wall was unveiled. It features the names of all those girls who have worked hard to complete their final award of the Scheme since the Millennium. All those girls will also have been invited to Buckingham Palace or St James’s Palace to receive their award from a member of the Royal Family. Joanna Hunter Smart (2004) and Vicky Green (2005) were the first St Cats girls to complete their Gold Awards - one for each year group, compared to our c.20 girls a year now! If you were awarded your gold and want to make sure your name is on the wall, please email association@stcatherines.info
N I K K I H E N D E R S O N G I V E S G R E TA T H U N B E R G A L I F T
In November Greta Thunberg and her father needed a crew to bring her back from Virginia to Europe for the COP25 in Madrid. That’s where professional sailor Nikki Henderson (2011) stepped in. ‘I helped because I wanted to see what Greta was really like, get to know her and be able to educate myself about what she represents.’ They spent 19 days crossing the Atlantic, landing in Lisbon, Portugal. Nikki describes Greta as “friendly, quiet and kind” and says the experience has taught her why she is so “captivating.” ‘She is so genuinely and authentically true to her message in every way.’ Regular readers will have read about Nikki Henderson in Issue 32 when she gave the Association Day Lecture. BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR DATA AND OUR FUNDRAISING PROMISE We take your personal privacy seriously. We have a Confidentiality and Data Privacy Policy that is available on the St Catherine’s School website under ‘School Policies’. Communications we send might include publications, surveys, appeals and event marketing and may be sent by post, telephone or email. We will never release your details to any third parties for their use for marketing purposes. We are committed to high standards of fundraising, being open and honest, respectful of you and accountable for the support you give us. We adhere to the Institute of Fundraising Codes of Best Practice and as a charity are registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Our Fundraising Promise and Vulnerable Adults commitments are on the Development section of the website. If at any time you would like to change your preferences, please call Dawn Pilkington on 01483 899692 or email association@stcatherines.info Thank you.
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