eNewsletter Issue 115

eNewsletter

Autumn 2018 Issue 115

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

SISTER ACT Page 6

ACTIVITIES DAY Page 3

CONDOVER HALL Page 10

TECHNOLOGY Page 21

FROM THE HEAD Arts Page 5

Sport Page 10

Boarding Page 17

It has been an enormously positive start to the new academic year at St George’s and this half-term has absolutely flown by. Not only are we starting to see our impressive new indoor swimming pool starting to rise above the ground, but the start of term saw a hive of activity on the technology front. The girls excitedly received, and are already becoming ‘pros’ on, their Chromebooks, and everyone has enjoyed getting to grips with our new online system ‘Dragonfly’. Fast-forward six weeks and not only have our new girls all settled into the School community very well, but it is hard to imagine St George’s without these devices and the technology that is now very much a part of day to day life here.

It seems that each edition of eNews is fuller than the last and, as you will see in the following pages, girls across the year groups have been busy with academic adventures, sporting challenges, artistic endeavours and some outstanding performances on the stage. The highlight of the term for many of us, including the large (and now exhausted!) cast and crew, has to be the stunning spectacle of ‘Sister Act’ performed over the last three nights of the half-term. Not only was the standard of acting, singing and dancing as outstanding as we have come to expect, but the girls showed how adept they are at delivering comedy too!

Our theme for this term is one of ‘balance’ in all that we do and this has pervaded many areas of school life from our use of technology and the need for quality sleep, to each girl’s cocurricular involvement. In the final chapel service of the term Rev Watts gave an inspiring talk on the importance of resting and recharging for our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and I hope that this half-term break will provide the perfect opportunity for all the girls, and our dedicated staff, to do just that.

Liz Hewer Headmistress

IN THIS ISSUE

Academic Page 20

Charity and Community Page 23

Page 3 Activities Day

Page 14 Admissions

Page 5 Arts

Page 17 Boarding

Page 10 Sport

Page 20 Academic

Page 23 Charity and Community Page 26 Trips Page 28 Other News

ACTIVITIES DAY

ACTIVITIES DAY On Wednesday 12 September girls from across the school spent the day doing various activities in their year groups to bond and learn new skills before getting stuck into the year ahead. Read on to hear about all the goings on of the day.

FIRST YEAR MARWELL ZOO The new First Year girls went on a trip to Marwell Zoo. The weather was a little on the miserable side but the girls enjoyed seeing the tigers and leopards, as well as discovering the steaming tropical area and taking part in a workshop about conservation, which made them think of the world from an animal’s perspective. First Years Orla and Rosie said of the workshop “It made us realise that we should protect the world that we live in, not destroy it”.

SECOND YEAR MARLOW The Second Year trip to Little Marlow was a big hit. The girls took part in a series of three outdoor activities; crate stacking, kayaking and raft building. The day was full of teamwork and fun, and the girls had to learn to trust one another and keep each other safe, particularly in the sky high crate stacking.

The girls had an amazing experience and many wished they could have stayed for longer.

THIRD YEAR HENFOLD LAKES The Third Year went to Henfold Lakes for bushcraft activities and had a fabulous day. They were taught how to find shelter and put up covers to protect a fire,. They watched an interesting demonstration about how to make a fire before their team skills were put to the test as they built fires of their own on which a cake had to be baked! There were some scrumptious cakes and the winners were Alice, Charlotte, Lottie, Megan and Lily.

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

3

ACTIVITIES DAY FOURTH YEAR The Fourth Year spent Activities Day at Spy Games, a spy themed team building and problem solving venue where the instructors put you into teams and set a variety of challenges to complete in order to gain Spy Dollars. At the end of the day, the winning team would receive medals (and pride!) The girls worked exceptionally well together and showed strong communication skills. Lots of fun was had by all and the theme of the day was definitely laughter.

FIFTH YEAR The Fifth Year enjoyed lunch at Zizzi on The Strand before taking their seats in the Grand Circle of the Adelphi Theatre to see a fantastic performance of Kinky Boots.

The girls contemplated whether the red, sparkly kneehigh boots would compliment the St George’s red school uniform jumper. The show is heart-warming, at times hilarious, and an extremely fun way for the girls to catch up before the GCSE year is in full swing.

SIXTH FORM The Sixth Form girls walked down towards the pavilion, with little knowledge of what they were going to embark on. They were met by a team of enthusiastic instructors who gave them the title of the activities “A computerised scavenger hunt”. The girls had to complete tasks and earn points. In tutor groups they set off in many different directions to complete a whole range of challenges including; finding out when the racecourse was founded, taking a picture of a local celebrity and filming a group celebration. They were also tasked to bring back items, by the end of the day girls were carrying everything from an egg to stickers and a hat made from flowers. The points were tallied up and Mr Naeem’s tutor group came out on top, with Mrs Morgan and Mr Rhodes tutor group coming a very close second.

4

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

ARTS

OPEN MIC NIGHT

On Wednesday 3 October we welcomed a wonderful audience to our third Open Mic Night. The girls and staff were encouraged to get up and have a go, and we saw a range of talents on display from violin to a percussion, guitar and vocal trio, as well as lots of the school’s singers giving it their best. Congratulations to all girls who performed.

DRAMA WORKSHOP On Wednesday 19 September a drama practitioner was invited to St George’s to run a workshop for selected pupils in the school, with sessions tailored to each group. Lucy wrote of the workshop “After a few warm up exercises, in pairs we created freeze frames of dramatic opposites, for example good and wicked Witch of the West. We started to mime out our morning routines, doing it silently, commentating it, narrating it and adding sound effects for each action. We eventually created a morning routine scene in pairs with sound effects, narration and freezing when the character remembered something important in the scene like thinking it was a different day or tasting chilli flavoured mouthwash! Lastly we created funny freeze frame snapshots of family photographs and what happens ‘behind closed doors’ in the family. It was a very nice workshop which was a great start to our day.”

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

5

Another year, another outstanding whole school musical from our talented girls.

This year, fifty-three St George’s girls took to the stage to perform Sister Act, a joyous and uplifting musical based on the original screenplay. With music to make the audience go away dancing, our girls shone both vocally and in their acting, and the whole cast dance numbers provided the icing on the cake. We are incredibly proud of all the girls involved and congratulate them on the huge achievement of putting together such a successful production in just seven weeks.

6

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

ARTS

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

7

SISTER ACT

8

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

FARNHAM SCULPTURE PARK

ARTS

A group of Fourth Year Fine Artists and Lower Sixth Art and Photography pupils visited Farnham Sculpture Park on the sunny September morning of 13 September. They were instantly fascinated by the resident doves and wonderful array of sculptures on display. Girls took a variety of materials to work with and had prepared collage sheets to draw onto.

The girls worked very hard on their observational drawings, producing a number of beautiful drawings for their sketchbooks. Lower Sixth photography pupils experimented with black and white film cameras and focused on aperture and shutter speed. Lower Sixth Fine Art pupils used the trip as a starting point and inspiration for their coursework. Girls were fortunate to meet an artist from Zimbabwe on a 6 month residency at the park who was installing and working on his opal stone sculptures. They then sat and drew a number of his animal sculptures. Fourth Year girls will respond to the sculptures they saw by creating a clay sculpture back at school in the Art studio.

TEXTILES WORKSHOP On Tuesday 18 September the Fourth Year and Sixth Form Textiles pupils spent the day with the renowned artist and author Janet Edmonds. She showed them a wide range of her incredible artwork and taught them several knew techniques. This was a super kick start to their GCSE and A Level courses.

GSA NETBALL TOURNAMENT AT CONDOVER HALL U13 On the first day of the tournament the girls faced mixed opposition and worked hard to adapt their play to suit the opposition that they faced. They had many close games and worked exceptionally well in their team. By the end of day one the team were placed 7th and therefore got through to the middle section, the Cup competition. This an extremely big achievement and the girls were excited to play new teams on day 2.

Day 2 started strong with a win against Cranford school. The girls communicated and timed their movements well in order to intercept the ball. The rest of the opposition was tough but the girls never gave up. Overall the girls came 5th in the cup competition, and therefore finished 13th out of 20 schools.

10

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

SPORT

U14 The first day at Condover saw the U14s face some tough matches. The girls approached the tournament with positivity and determination which meant that the games were hard fought. There were some outstanding performances by our girls and everyone showed a high level of skill. The rain set in and provided some challenging playing conditions, but the girls didn’t let it dampen their spirits and they remained cheerful to pull out some fantastic wins to finish the day.

As a result of the Day 1 results, the team was seeded and drawn into the plate competition for Day 2. They faced some hard games in even more challenging weather conditions. The girls had to dig deep in some close games before playing some top netball and pulling away to some convincing wins! The girls were so supportive of each other on court and never gave up.

After winning all their games on the second day, the U14s were crowned winners of the plate competition!

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

11

SPORT

SCHOOL VERSATILITY NETBALL TOURNAMENT

It was a rainy afternoon of netball on Wednesday 17 October as the girls took to the courts for the school versatility netball tournament. The tournament is desgned to bring together all of the St George’s netball teams, mixing ages and abilities within each tournament team. Ten teams were put together, each with subs, and a Sixth Form netballer was given captaincy responsibilities. The teams played one another in short 5 minute games, rotating round the pitches and ensuring every team member got to play, and positions were randomly allocated for each match.

As the rain set in around half way through the tournament, the girls became more and more excitable for their teams, and there was much cheering and support from those on the sideline. The girls worked hard despite the weather, and showed real team spirit throughout. It was great to see so many girls involved and they all showed great flexibility in their ability to play out of position and adapt to whatever position they were put in. The standard of play was excellent and many of the younger girls raised their standard when playing against girls from the older year groups There were some very close matches throughout the tournament with some fantastic shooting and some great interceptions shown by the defenders. The final result went down to goal difference as two teams were on the same amount of points. The winning team was team one, followed very closely by team six.

Congratulations to all the girls involved.

12

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

GIRLS GO GOLD

SPORT

Seven of our keenest sportswoman attended the annual GSA Girls Go Gold Conference at Tudor Hall on Friday 14 September. This is a day organised by the Girls’ School Association to celebrate women’s sport and to inspire, motivate and support girls who wish to follow a career in sport.

To kick off the day, the girls were treated to an inspirational talk from James Shone, Founder of ‘I Can & I Am’, a charity set up to inspire and support children to face challenges and set goals. Coaching sessions led by international athletes provided the girls with some invaluable tips on how to improve their game and they learnt how to identify areas of personal movement strengths and weaknesses in a fundamental movement session. To finish off an amazing day, which included some fabulous food and activities when the girls were not in session, Clare Balding hosted a Q & A session with a panel of international female athletes. The girls got to hear how these athletes started their sporting journeys and what their advice would be for pursuing a career in sport. Showing how #SGAConfident our girls are, Sophie was the first to put up her hand to ask the panel a question! A fantastic day for staff and girls which provided a real boost to the start of the new sports season.

SPORTS IN IMAGES

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

13

ADMISSIONS

FUTURE GEORGIAN DAY Sixty excited Year 6 girls joined us on Friday 28 September for a jam-packed Future Georgian Day. The girls, who are registered to sit our November entrance exams for 11+ places, started their day with a lively pop lacrosse session run by Mrs Earnshaw-Punnett and some of the St George’s 1st XI. Splitting into three groups, the girls then took part in a Matilda drama workshop, rewrote the history of the gunpowder plot, and learnt about micro bits and coding with Kodu and Scratch in ICT. We were delighted by the girls’ enthusiasm and energy and look forward to seeing them back at St George’s in November for their assessment day.

14

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

ADMISSIONS

SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING There was a buzz in the Sue Cormack Hall on Thursday 20 September for our Sixth Form Open Evening, with Fifth Year girls and their families exploring the vast breadth of subjects on offer at A Level. The evening began with a talk from Mr Hoar, Mr Wright and Mr Carroll about Sixth Form life, before a busy Subjects Fair where the girls could find out more about the courses on offer from the Heads of Department.

OPEN MORNING We were delighted to welcome a large number of families to our termly open morning on Saturday 6 October.

Visitors were treated to a performance by the First Year choir, before hearing from Mrs Hewer, Isobel, Ariana and Camelia. They were then taken on tours of the school with Prefects and Senior girls, and saw exciting lessons and activities including netball, music in the Chapel and a Geography trading game.

BOARDING TASTER NIGHT Tie dye canvas bags, cupcakes and karaoke were the activities of the evening for nine girls who joined us for our first boarding taster night of the school year on Friday 12 October. The girls had a wonderful (and messy) time.

15

DIWALI EDUCATION DAY We were delighted to welcome twenty-four Year 4, 5 and 6 girls to our RS Education Day, a Diwali workshop, on Saturday 13 October. The girls spent the morning learning about the origins of Diwali, played Top Trumps and read the story of Rama and Sita with Mrs Magill, before heading to the art room to paint their very own Diva lamps. After lunch, the girls headed to the sports hall, where they were taught Indian dancing, and prepared a fantastic dance routine, which they performed for their parents at pick up. We really enjoyed meeting the girls and spending the day with them.

16

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

WINDSOR DUCK TOUR

BOARDING

On Saturday 8 September our boarders had a fantastic time in Windsor enjoying a Duck Tour, The tour began with scenic views of the town, including the Castle, but the highlight was when they splashed down into the River Thames , which had them on the edges of their seats! The girls were entertained by a live guide as they experienced the sights from the river in a unique and fun way, and they made a point of waving to everyone they saw.

The trip to Windsor would not have been complete without a visit to the shops, and there was even enough time to feed the ducks and have ice cream.

KNATCHBULL TEAM BUILDING On Tuesday 11 September, the Fifth Year team building evening was a fantastic way for the girls to get to know the Knatchbull staff better, as well as giving new and old boarders the chance to spend time together as a group. The new Fifth Years enjoyed getting very competitive whilst playing a selection of Miss Myers’ favourite board games! A brilliant night filled with popcorn, pizza and plenty of laughs, and we were delighted to welcome all the new additions to the Knatchbull House family.

PIZZA AND PAMPER NIGHT The Lower Sixth boarders in Knatchbull had a lovely evening on 18 September, filled with lots of laughs. The boarders enjoyed a special treat of Domino’s pizzas, films, cupcakes, chocolate fondue, nail painting and face masks. It was a perfect pamper night to get the girls feeling at home in Knatchbull.

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

17

BOARDING

NIGERIAN INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATIONS On Monday 1 October, St George’s boarders celebrated Nigerian Independence Day. The evening began with a Nigerian menu provided by Mrs Carrington and the catering team. The celebrations continued in Knatchbull’s Lower Sixth common room where members from other houses as well as the Fifth Year and Lower Sixth joined the fun. The common room was decorated with Nigerian flags, bunting and Nigerian themed cupcakes and it was fantastic to see boarders of all cultures getting into the spirit. A massive thank you to Erika for helping run the event and for bringing lots of homemade traditional delicacies for all to taste; they were delicious! Thank you also to Miss Johnson for organising and to Miss Stepp for running the evening and for her fabulous decorating skills.

KNATCHBULL FRIDAY CINEMA TRIPS The Knatchbull girls have been to the cinema on numerous Friday nights this term. The girls enjoy letting their hair down and immersing themselves in the world of cinema after a long week at school.

18

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

BOARDING

LIFE IN BOARDING The boarders have been very busy this half term, spending their weekends ice skating, bowling, at Chessington World of Adventures, Coral Reef and on a Duck Tour in Windsor. They must be exhausted from all the excitement!

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

19

ACADEMIC

JUNIPER HALL FIELD TRIP On Monday 10 September the Fifth Year Geographers travelled to Juniper Hall in order to carry out their second data collection trip for Paper 3 of their GCSE. The girls spent time in the classroom learning about urbanisation and regeneration before heading to Leatherhead to gather data in order to discuss the challenges and opportunities of regeneration in the area.

The girls enjoyed questioning the public on their views of Leatherhead and worked conscientiously throughout the day.

PITT RIVERS MUSEUM The First Year girls visited the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford on Tuesday 25 September and it was interesting, to say the least. As the girls arrived they were greeted by an array of grimacing masks, moose-skin Nikes and grave-faced totem poles.

The museum mainly consists of a single man’s collection, Henry Lane Fox, but in case you are confused, the museum is called ‘The Pitt Rivers’ because he changed his name. Over the years of his life, he was an eccentric collector who travelled around the world and picked up weird and wonderful objects, or he would go to auctions,. Either way, his collection grew and is now preserved by the people of Oxford. The museum is one of ‘Anthropology’, and celebrates the history of humans alone. Overall, it was an eye-opening trip that the girls thoroughly enjoyed.

NEASDEN MANDIR TEMPLE On Thursday 11 October, the Second Years went to the Neasden Mandir Temple to learn about the foundations of Hinduism. The girls were able to see the astrology area, intricate marble carvings and statues of Gods that were brightly dressed with flower garlands.

The highlight for many of the girls was the Arti ceremony (the Hindu Ceremony of Light), performed by a Hindu monk, which involved singing and clapping. The girls were in awe of the beautiful and breathtaking temple and had a wonderful time.

20

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

DEVELOPMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY There have been many exciting innovations in technology at St George’s this term. Girls in the First to Fifth Years have been issued with Chromebooks to allow them to take advantage of the advancements in technology as a tool for learning, and Sixth Form girls continue to bring in their own devices to support their studies. This innovation has enabled girls to access the Google Suite of apps to store, create and collaborate on school work.

In addition, the school has a new Virtual Learning Environment and communication system called Dragonfly.

This enables staff to share content for teaching and learning with their pupils more easily. All prep is now set via Dragonfly which means girls never need to worry that they have not taken down the correct instructions from the teacher, and the tasks and deadlines are clearly displayed. In the future, we hope to use Dragonfly as a tool to further support our communication with parents.

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

21

ACADEMIC

SCHOLARS LUNCHES ACADEMIC Mr Rhodes and Mr Hoar enjoyed having lunch with the academic scholars from the First to Fourth Year on the 26 September. Over a delicious curry, the girls discussed topics as wide ranging as Brexit, their favourite books and the latest medical innovations. The girls were certainly not short on opinions!

SPORTS AND ARTS At the sports and arts scholars lunch the conversation was flowing about many current topics. The keen performers talked about the gruelling schedule around Sister Act but were confident about the production while the sporty scholars were full of conversation about the recent tour to Condover Hall. It was interesting to talk with Mrs Simpson who herself had been to the adult netball tournament at Condover Hall only a few weeks previously. The girls talked about the high standard of netball and overcoming their fears on the high ropes course.

Art conversation centred around how a House Art competition would work, what parameters would need to be set for each house, and whether there was a need to have the same resources as a starting point to see what each house created from the chosen theme.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS On Thursday 4 October, the English Department took the Fourth and Fifth Year GCSE pupils to see “An Inspector Calls” at the New Wimbledon Theatre. This is one of the iGCSE set texts for English Literature, so the trip was an ideal opportunity for the pupils to watch the play.

The theatre was full of school pupils from all over the south of England, so there was a lively atmosphere around the auditorium. When Sheila Birling (one of the principal characters in the play) struck Gerald Croft, there was enough clapping and cheering to reach Wimbledon High Street.

The story involves the uncovering of various sorts of villainy in and around the Birling family. As the respectability of each member of the family was shown by the Inspector to be false, the Birling residence gradually collapsed into rubble on the stage. All in all, it was a striking production, very much enjoyed by all the girls.

22

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY Cookies, cakes, muffins, brownies....mouths were watering at the sight of the bake sale for Macmillan Cancer Care. So many girls brought in baked goods, and it seemed like there might be too much - but no; St George’s girls rose to the challenge! Every item was sold, and the charity reps worked really hard to make the event a success. Thanks to Gwen and Vasilisa, Miss Stepp and Mrs Magill who helped to organise the event and everyone who contributed. £120 was raised for this worthwhile cause.

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

23

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY

ASSEMBLY ON ISLAM There was a different feel in Chapel on the morning of Friday 5 October as we welcomed a guest speaker from another faith, Dr Sarah Abbas.

Dr Abbas is a Muslim, and a GP who specialises in mental health and safeguarding. She lives in High Wycombe and has 3 teenage children and she was accompanied by Miss Ifza Tindall. Dr Abbas spoke engagingly about charity which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and then opened up to questions, which came from girls in many different year groups as well as staff. Questions included ‘How do you deal with negative media?’ to ‘Why did you choose to start wearing a headscarf?’ and ‘How can you give to charity if you don’t have money?’ Both Dr Abbas and Miss Ifzal spoke personally and were able to bring what, for many, is a theoretical knowledge of Islam, to life in an engaging way. It was a helpful and challenging session.

JEANS FOR GENES DAY Jeans for Genes is a national charity event that raises money for Genetic Disorder UK. One in 25 children in the UK are born with some kind of genetic disorder - and there are over 6000 different types. All the money raised goes towards helping with medical care, supporting families and providing respite and equipment for families affected. On this year’s Jeans for Genes Day on 21 September it was great to see St George’s decked out in jeans for such a good cause, and particularly those who braved double, and even triple, denim!

HARVEST FESTIVAL This year’s Harvest appeal for the Wokingham foodbank was launched at the start of term in a Chapel service based on the Bible story of Jesus feeding the 5000. The theme of contributing something small to make a difference was really embraced and donations started appearing in chapel. By the time of the Harvest Festival on 23 September there was a wonderful collection of food, cleaning products and nappies alongside the more traditional fruit and veg.

A joyful mix of songs and readings focused the service in gratitude to God and appreciation of the beauty of this season. The convivial spirit continued at the Harvest Supper afterwards. The following Friday a group of Sixth Form girls took the donations to Wokingham Foodbank, only just fitting into the minibus with all that had been given. The Foodbank serves just under 2000 people a year in the Wokingham area. Unloading and helping to sort goods and seeing the whole set-up was a rewarding experience and those who participated came away with a renewed sense of appreciation for all that can so easily be take for granted.

24

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY

CEILIDH WITH ETON COLLEGE On Saturday 8 September the Lower Sixth enjoyed the annual tradition of the ceilidh with Eton College. Arriving at the Cormack Hall in their dresses, they were treated to a live reeling band who taught them a few of the basic dances, including the Flying Scotsman. Many of the girls had never done reeling before, but they joined in and had fun learning the dances (although it was a constant struggle to not fall over from how dizzy they were!). They enjoyed a delicious meal part way through and got a chance to talk to new people, and many were saying that they wish they could do it again next year and talking about how envious they are of next year’s Lower Sixth.

SOCIALS WITH HARROW The Fifth Year girls had a fantastic evening entertaining a group of pupils from Harrow on Saturday 15 September. The evening began with a lovely meal in the dining room, which provided a great opportunity to chat and get to know one another, followed by a disco in the Sue Cormack Hall. Mr Pearn kept the dance floor full throughout the evening responding to the many requests from the pupils.

The Fourth Year welcomed Harrow for a sit down supper and disco on Saturday 6 October. The girls had a lovely time talking to the boys over the meal and then let their hair down with lots of dancing at the disco. A great night was had by all!

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

25

TRIPS

YPRES SALIENT The sombre silhouettes of British soldiers dotting byways of the country this year are designed to remind us of the loss and absence of those who paid the ultimate price in fighting for their country in the First World War. The Armistice signed one hundred years ago gave an added poignancy to the second visit of the St George’s Lower Sixth to Ypres and a number of sites in the area around the city. An early start allowed the girls to gain an awareness of the loss incurred to all sides in the fighting. The group began in Ypres with a visit to the St George’s Memorial Church, which contains a number of plaques illustrating the appalling number of young men who died from 1914 to 1918 from some of the country’s leading schools.

Often filling the junior officer ranks who were expected to lead by example, the proportion of those killed from independent schools was extremely high. After a visit to the astonishing memorial to the missing at the Menin Gate, lunch and some free time, the group moved on to Essex Farm Cemetery and the Yorkshire Trench and dugout which gives a sense of what it might have been like in the front lines. After a visit to Langemark’s German Cemetery the day culminated with time at Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission site in the world and the resting place of nearly 12,000 men. Reading the names of those killed in the war gave the girls a fresh perspective on those nameless figures by the roadside and provided images of the lost which will remain with them.

MUN CONFERENCE On Saturday 22 September twenty-one girls set off for Reigate Grammar School’s Model United Nations one day conference. For many of the girls, ranging from Third Year to Upper Sixth, this was their first conference and they were concerned about the expectations on them and indeed what to expect from others at the conference. St George’s represented the views of four countries; Jordan, China, Mexico and Zimbabwe in many international issues. This included debates on the Iran Nuclear Deal, the issues of bio-terrorism, child labour, protection of undocumented migrants, the rights of prisoners and concerns with regard to the over exploitation of natural resources.

All of the delegates had to have a policy statement for their country to be discussed in their different committees. It is a challenging but encouraging environment and therefore all our delegates spoke in their committees at some point. Olivia and Ruth spoke at the General Assembly, which is a daunting prospect to say the least. Katie won Highly Commended delegate for her role in the committee discussing the Iran Nuclear Deal. Additionally we had a number of best delegates in various categories. Well done to Bella, Joanna and Khushboo.

26

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

TRIPS

KNITTING & STITCHING SHOW On Thursday 11 October, Fifth Year Textiles pupils visited the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace, London. The exhibition gave the girls the opportunity to meet a variety of famous textiles artists and develop their knowledge of textiles. They enjoyed seeing all the different work produced using a mixture of techniques and were able to interview the artists and gain first hand information about the designers interests and design process.

They also had the chance to meet selected graduates work and the fascinating pieces they had produced.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD QUALIFYING EXPEDITIONS This September our ever intrepid DofE Bronze and Silver cohorts successfully completed the assessment legs of their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

The Bronze groups made it their mission to camp in and navigate through the beautiful Forest of Ashdown in Sussex, fabled for the birth place of Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

En route they played Pooh Sticks from the bridge and encountered all manner of interesting wildlife and weather.

Although a little soggy towards the end, and with a few minor navigational detours, our intrepid troop finished in high spirits and are justly very proud of their achievements, as are we all.

On a similar weekend in a remote part of the country, our equally intrepid Silver groups opted to cross Pen Y Fan in the glorious National Park of the Brecon Beacons in Wales. They had stunning views and lots of fun along the way, despite the increasing onset of rain that did eventually become quite torrential. This, however, did not douse their spirits, and they finished on a high with lovely memories to both share and cherish.

Well done to all the girls who participated in another truly triumphant DofE season.

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

27

OTHER NEWS

CAREERS LUNCHES ZOE SOUTER FROM THE CONDÉ NAST COLLEGE OF FASHION & DESIGN Careers in fashion and journalism are always of interest to girls at St George’s so we were delighted to welcome Zoe Souter, the Marketing Manager from the Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design, to a Careers Lunch at the School. Ms Souter explained, to the self-selected girls from the Fourth Year and above, her own career in the famous publishing house before going on to discuss the offering provided by the College which has been a popular option as a post-18 destination for our pupils in recent years. The girls were intrigued by stories of meetings with famous designers but also given a number of practical tips for developing their knowledge of the industry and online profile which will be of great help in the future.

BP CAREERS LUNCH We were delighted to welcome Mrs Brinn-Johnson and her colleagues to lunch at school on Tuesday 16 October to talk to interested girls from the Third Year and above about opportunities within a multi-national, multisector organisation. Girls had the opportunity to ask questions of women who work within HR, engineering, communications and the Graduate programme about what it is like to work in such an environment. It was a thought-provoking afternoon and we would like to thank our visitors for giving up their precious lunch hour to speak to us.

PARENT TALK TANYA GOODIN, DIGITAL DETOX EXPERT, AUTHOR & SPEAKER We were delighted to welcome Tanya Goodin, Digital Detox expert, Author and Speaker to St George’s to speak to parents on Tuesday 2 October. Our use of technology, as young people and adults, both in school and at home, has never been so topical and Tanya gave a characteristically informative and refreshing talk with many practical tips on managing ‘teens and screens’.

28

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

OTHER NEWS

YOUNG ENTERPRISE LAUNCH

Tuesday 2 October saw the launch of the Young Enterprise Company programme 2018-2019 at Honda’s new office complex in Bracknell. A record number of St George’s Lower Sixth pupils have signed up this year for the chance to start and run their own companies. New additions to this year’s Young Enterprise competition include the opportunity to a run a Social Enterprise i.e. one where all profits are distributed to charitable causes. A new directorship role has been added to the traditional list of Leadership roles that include Finance Director, Marketing Director etc.

Girls now have the opportunity to adopt a Digital Director role which incorporates responsibility for managing the web-based side of the business including the company’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. The last new addition is the Sustainability criterion. This is one of the measures used by the Young Enterprise judges to assess each company’s approach to socially responsible business practice. The pupils are incredibly excited to get their companies started and we wish them every success as they begin their entrepreneurial journeys.

MEET THE COMPANIES KOALA @koalabags.ye

Product: Reusable bags

COSMO @cosmocases.ye

Product: Laptop cases

@kiwi.ye

Product: Phone card holders

KIWI

BELLES LUMIERES @bellelumiere_candles

Product: Scented candles

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

29

OTHER NEWS

SLYA HONOURS LIST FOR MS KENNEDY Congratulations to Ms Kennedy who was honours listed for the School Library Association’s ‘School Librarian of the Year’ Award.

Ms Kennedy was one of only four school librarians on the honour list for the national award, and did us proud at the celebratory ceremony on 9 October. Coming away with a smile on her face, as always, Ms Kennedy will now be working closely with the SLA to promote the Great School Libraries initiative, which aims to produce a national framework and secure funding for school libraries across the UK. You can find out more, and become a supporter of the campaign at: www.greatschoollibraries.edublogs.org

BERKSHIRE BOOK AWARD On Thursday 11 October the First Year girls attended the launch of the Berkshire Book Award 2019. The Berkshire Book Award is a unique book award as the children and young people of Berkshire are wholly responsible for the nominations and voting.

The launch event this year took place at LVS Ascot and featured guest author Emily Thomas. After the award was launched, Emily spoke about her book, Mud, which is based on her own life experiences. Our girls attended along with over 170 pupils from across the county. After the presentation they were able to ask any burning questions, meet the author and buy a signed copy of her book. The nominations process is now open and girls are encouraged to suggest a book that they have enjoyed in the past year.

Nominations can be submitted at: www.berkshirebookaward.org.uk/nominate or with Ms Kennedy in the Library.

30

ST GEORGE’S, ASCOT | ISSUE 115

admissions@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk | 01344 629959

OPEN MORNING FRIDAY 8 MARCH 2018, 9.00AM

ST GEORGE’S ASCOT

Independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18.

WWW.STGEORGES-ASCOT.ORG.UK

ST GEORGE’S ASCOT

#SGAConfident #SGACapable #SGAConnected @stgeorgesascot WWW.STGEORGES-ASCOT.ORG.UK