Snapdragon 2014

SNAPDRAGON 2014

The Newsletter of GALA The Georgian Alumnae Association St George’s School, Ascot

CONTENTS 3 4-5 6-7 8 9-11 12-15 16 17 18-23 24-40 40-44 45-47 47-48 49

Le er from the Headmistress News of the School Today Building Projects at St George's Meet the Head of Maths, Mr Wilson Ms Lo house and the PE Department Normandy Trips over the Years Headmistress's Lecture - Jo Berry A Georgian at Stanford University, USA Life in the Junior School Your News News of Former Staff In Memoriam - Mrs Deborah Shaw In Memoriam - Other Georgians Archive Photos

HOW TO CONTACT US post GALA St George's School Wells Lane Ascot SL5 7DZ phone 01344 629900 (recep on) email

office@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk OR alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk Visit our Facebook page George Ascot (!)

Follow us on Twitter @stgeorgesascot WEBSITE www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk (For the password to the alumnae sec on, either phone the school or email alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk)

SAVE THE DATE

FRIDAY 20TH MARCH 2015, 6.30 - 8.30 pm Please join us for a London Drinks Recep on in St Wilfrid's Hall, Brompton Oratory. Tickets cost just £10 per person.

Details on how to book your cket are in the a ached le er. Alterna vely, just contact Sue van der Veen on alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk or telephone the school office on 01344 629900.

Smartphone or Tablet

Scan the QR codes below for direct access to the school website and alumnae email

School Website

Email Alumnae

FIRST YEAR CHOIR AT THE CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

THE HEADMISTRESS, MRS RACHEL OWENS Dear Georgians This has been another excellent year here at St George’s, and we have some very exciting new development plans for next year which you can read about on pages 6 and 7 of the magazine and in the enclosed brochure.

I know you always like to hear of the success of your old school. Academically, the girls have excelled, with some outstanding A-Level and GCSE results. At A-Level 72% of papers were graded A*-B and 10% gained the coveted A* grade. At GCSE 51% of all exams were graded A* and A, and an impressive 96% gained A*-C grades.

After a moving Valedictory Service for the Upper Sixth leavers, Charlotte Vere, the Director of the Girls’ School Association, joined us for Prize Giving and gave the girls some great advice for the future. We also welcomed Olympic Silver Medallist and Badminton World Champion, Gail Emms MBE, as Guest of Honour at the second Sports Awards Evening, where colours were awarded for each sport as well as for the titles of Most Improved Player and Player of the Season.

But it’s not just the academics and the sport that have been thriving. Our lively Drama department has been really busy; the Sue Cormack Hall has provided a wonderful setting for the year’s Drama highlights which have included a colourful Bugsy Malone, the Second Year performance of The Mobile Phone Show by Jim Cartwright and an amusing take on Cinderella by the First Years. It’s good to see so many year groups having a chance to perform. Dance now features more prominently, and the Dance and Jazz evening showcased exquisite ballet and pointe work as well as modern dance choreographed by the girls themselves, with the jazz band setting the tone for a fun and lively evening. On a more traditional note, members of the Chapel Choir were invited to sing at The Prince Philip Trust Race day at Ascot in April where they met HRH the Earl of Wessex, and they also sang Evensong at St Paul’s. The GCSE Art and Textiles exhibition was a real highlight of our artistic calendar, with some stunning drawing and textiles creations.

As always, house activities have been lively and fun. Becket romped to victory in the House General Knowledge Quiz and Darwin triumphed at Sports Day. Becket won House Music for the third consecutive year, Darwin took the House Debating title and Alexander came first in the House Drama. Many of you will remember House Declamation; the competition was held in the autumn term, and this also culminated in a victory for Darwin House, who seem to be on a high at present!

Internationally, the girls have been on two French and History trips, on a netball tour to Disneyland, skiing in France, to a MUN (Model United Nations) conference in Edinburgh, and on a tour of American universities. Two of our Third Years jetted off Down Under on the second Australian exchange. Social highlights for the girls have included an Indian workshop, an owl flying session and the Eton ceilidh, as well as many boarding activities, ranging from climbing to tie-dying. What wonderful opportunities school pupils have these days!

I do hope you are able to join us for the London Drinks Reception on Friday 20 March 2015 at the Brompton Oratory. It promises to be another lively occasion for former pupils and staff.

With very best wishes

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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NEWS OF THE SCHOOL TODAY

MEDICAL DAY In September a consultant from Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals Trust, Mr Alok Misra, hosted a medical deba ng compe on at St George’s for thirteen local schools, both state and independent. The event was also a ended by our local MP, Adam Afriyie.

The aim was to encourage discussion of challenging current issues among Sixth Formers who might be thinking of going on to study Medicine or related courses at university. Mr Misra hoped that students who had had this opportunity to debate controversial medical topics in front of an audience would then feel more confident when it came to university interviews.

Mrs Owens, the Headmistress, emphasised that Medicine is a tough degree: students need to excel academically, but they also need excellent communica on skills and work experience – all hard to achieve when you are only eighteen years of age.

OWL WORKSHOP AND INDIAN COOKING WHOLE SCHOOL OUTINGS DAY New this school year, ‘Whole School Ou ngs Day’ on 7th September was the day on which pupils from all year groups launched forth on various ou ngs – an excellent way for girls to get to know each other and far less disrup ve to the metable than having ou ngs on several different days. It made for a very posi ve start to the academic year.

Yes, an Owl Workshop! The presenter brought four owls with her; what the owls thought of St George’s we shall never know, but certainly the Second Year (who were joined by the boys of St John’s Beaumont Prep School) were fascinated by all they learned: owls are able to turn their heads 180 degrees because they can’t turn their eyes; there are 220 types of owl in the world, but only five in Britain; owls are not only nocturnal – they can be diurnal and crepuscular, too. The other ac vity on offer was an Indian curry workshop which finished with the pupils ea ng their curry – and second helpings!

CHAPEL CHOIR The St George’s Chapel Choir o en goes on a European tour during the summer holidays, and this year they went to Andalucia, giving concerts in Seville, Cordoba, Carmona and Jerez de la Frontera. In the autumn term they performed in a cathedral closer to home, singing Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral.

They were also invited to sing in front of the Earl of Wessex at a charity event at Ascot Race Course.

USA AND AUSTRALIA This year, as in recent years, a group of Sixth Form girls were privileged enough to go on a visit to Virginia, USA. As usual, they a ended lectures and seminars at the University of William and Mary and made use of the University library. This gives them a wonderful opportunity to find out what it is like to do research in a top university library. They also had me to take in some of the tradi onal tourist sites in Washington DC. Another interna onal opportunity is the exchange with a school in Australia. This year, two of our Third Year girls went to St Catherine’s School in Melbourne and two girls from there were welcomed to St George’s.

CELEBRATIONS AT THE END OF THE SUMMER TERM The end of the summer term is marked each year with several events including a moving Valedictory Service for the Upper Sixth leavers – accompanied by their teachers and families – and Prize Giving, which is now held in the Sports Hall (a huge marquee is cleverly hoisted inside and provides enough room for the whole school and their parents). Being able to celebrate everyone's achievements in a whole-school ceremony is a great improvement on recent years when separate prize givings had to be held for Seniors and Juniors.

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

OLIVER! A stunning set built by Russell Pearn in the Sue Cormack Hall was the backdrop for the very successful performances of Oliver! in October. It was inspiring to see all years from First to Upper Sixth pulling together like this in a joint produc on by the Drama and Music departments. There were some great dance rou nes, some excellent characterisa on, moving solos and spectacular chorus numbers. More photos can be seen on our Facebook page (George Ascot!).

WINDSOR ARTS FESTIVAL Many of our Sixth Form pupils exhibited work at the recent Windsor Arts Fes val and several were highly commended.

Especial congratulaons, though, go to Christabel Turner, who won First Prize in the Tex les category for her tex le sculpture called Elements of Decay - Waistcoat.

ARMY DAY In September the whole of the Lower Sixth were put through their paces by the Army. The projects and team work ac vi es were designed to develop their leadership and endurance skills.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZZES OLD AND NEW AND THE GALLOPING HEADMISTRESS! Many of you will remember the annual House General Knowledge compe ons. The tradi on con nues. This year, despite a final push by Alexander House, Becket managed to win. Congratula ons to their three team members, Laura Beaumont, Kate Gibb and Darcy Winter, seen here with their Head of House, Mrs Jones.

Perhaps a new tradi on has now been established, though – Staff Mastermind. This brainchild of the Deputy Head, Mr Kato Harris, came as a total surprise to the school immediately a er the formality of Christmas Awards. With its spine-chilling introductory theme tune, the spotlight on the black leather chair and the scores clicking up on a screen, it was no less in mida ng an experience than the real TV version for the intrepid staff par cipants, Mr Andy Carroll, Miss Polly May, Mr Trevor Sharkey and Mr Anand Verma. (Did they really volunteer, or did arms have to be twisted?) A er the first round (chosen specialist topics) Mr Verma was in the lead, but then Mr Sharkey swept to overall victory in the General Knowledge sec on.

What incredibly good sports we have amongst the teachers! The photo of the staff on Christmas Jumper Day (page 46) is evidence of this, too, as is most definitely the photo on the right below, which shows the Headmistress taking part in the Georgian Gallop on St George's Day. (You can read more about that in the ar cle about the PE Department.)

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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new library block

In July 2014, the old terrapin building on the South Lawn breathed its last. Although it served its purpose for many years, housing Spanish and Learning Skills, aesthe cally it will certainly not be mourned! It has made way for the magnificent new library and languages block which is to take its place on South Lawn, and for which architects’ drawings may be seen here.

Progress has been rapid and building is now well under way, with the roof star ng to go on, as you can see from the photos opposite.

Below are the designs for a new indoor swimming pool, to be built down the hill next to the Sports Hall. Once it is in use, it will be a huge improvement on the old pool across Wells Lane, with its Spartan condi ons.

planned swimming pool

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

The En Th End o off tth hee Ter h erra erra rap piin

developments at st george's You can find more informa on about our exci ng plans for the future in the brochure being sent out with this magazine.

If you would like to support either project, and are able to do so - on whatever scale - the brochure also tells you how you can do this. We should be very grateful.

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MR PETER WILSON with members of his department

THE MATHS DEPARTMENT

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r Peter Wilson has been Head of Maths at St George’s since September 2012. His degree from No ngham University is in fact in Mechanical Engineering, which is presumably one of the reasons that he thinks it is so important for his pupils to be aware of where Maths can lead – what they can use it for in the future. Before university he had started to study accountancy, but at a careers fair at university he visited the teaching stand and the infec ous enthusiasm of one of the teachers manning the stand – Peter describes him as having been almost ‘jumping up and down with his enthusiasm for teaching’ – made Peter think for the first me about teaching as a career. So he remained at No ngham to do his teacher training. And here he is…..!

Peter has three other teachers in his department: Mrs Lilley and Mr Naeem (who will be known to many alumnae) and Mr Cameron – the most recent arrival. Of course, all the girls have Maths as a compulsory subject from the First Year up to GCSE in the Fi h, and for their five periods in the week they are set according to mathema cal ability. His lessons typically begin with him se ng his pupils a puzzle to engage them (and, I suppose, to warm up their brains).

Then he talks – for a maximum of ten minutes, he says; for the rest of the lesson they put their knowledge into prac ce.

The layout in his classroom is not the tradi onal one; his pupils sit in groups and are encouraged to communicate with each other, to ‘chat about Maths’. Each of the Maths classrooms has a state-of-the-art interac ve whiteboard; many of the resources are online, and for the first me one of his year groups is using a completely online textbook.

One huge advantage of online materials is that it is easy to differen ate – to set the Gi ed and Talented (G&T in the jargon!) more challenging exercises; there are ‘loads of levels of inves ga on’, par cularly on the wackily-named ‘Nrich’ website.

St George’s School, Ascot

Left to Right: Mr Wilson, Mr Cameron, Mrs Lilley, Mr Naeem

At present all the girls at St George’s sit the Interna onal GCSE (IGCSE) exams because up ll now these have offered a much be er basis for A-level. For example, the normal GCSE syllabus did not cover any advanced algebra, differen a on, calculus, or advanced probability, though the syllabus is being overhauled at present and this dis nc on may no longer be so striking.

How many go on to A-level? Well, the first challenge is to convince girls that they are capable of taking the subject beyond GCSE, to give them more confidence in themselves.

He has clearly been successful in doing this, because at present he has two sets studying Maths in the Lower Sixth – 24 girls in all. Of these quite a few study Further Maths as well, and he is keen to increase this number, since leading universi es rate it highly as a qualifica on. Maths A-Level results at St George’s have been considerably higher than the na onal average, so Peter is very encouraged by that.

His students frequently a end a series of lectures called ‘Maths in Ac on’, where five top Maths lecturers describe how they are using Maths in their lives; a recurring theme in my conversa on with Peter was the fact that Maths is a tool, not just an abstract subject.

I’m always sad to see the bad press that Maths gets as a subject, and I ask Peter how he counteracts that. He says he believes that ‘giving the pupils success’ is the key to keeping them mo vated, so it’s vital to have the right level of work for any group. Then you can achieve what he referred to as the ‘ping moment’, when a girl suddenly understands the work she’s doing, feels she has achieved something and wants to do more. He says you need to ‘catch them early enough’, so that they associate a feeling of success with their Maths lessons. It must be said that a er talking to him I think I would really like to have been taught Maths by him!

SvdV

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

ms Kym Lofthouse Director of Sport lthough I remember clearly the day when she was appointed by Mrs Griggs, Kym Lo house is now an ins tu on at St George’s. She started teaching at the school in February 1996, having only two days earlier le the Army, where she had served for over ten years. She told me that she had always wanted to teach – it had ‘always been [her] dream’ – but she wasn’t keen on going to university, which was a problem; instead, though, the Army provided an alterna ve route into teaching because they trained her as a Physical Training Instructor. However, her Army career began with a period as a driver of HGVs, buses, even tanks. (Tank driving is not a skill that she has used much at St George’s, it must be said!) When she was at school, she said, her own PE teacher had always been encouraging her to go into teaching; the day she was offered the post at St George’s Kym wrote to her and her erstwhile teacher was ‘over the moon’. She is s ll in touch with that former teacher.

Kym says that – for a rela vely small school – we are very fortunate with our sports facili es. She came to St George’s just a few years a er the splendid sports hall was opened. As Old Georgians will remember, before then gym lessons had to take place in what is now the Dining Room; in those days – with ropes hanging from the ceiling, badminton court markings on the lino floor, wall bars opposite the window and, later, a stage at one end – it served as Concert Hall and theatre as well as gym. Indeed, that’s how it was when I first came to the school.

Now we also have eight floodlit tennis / netball courts and a proper sports pavilion; the one used beforehand was originally a cowshed and had a leaky roof! The playing fields have been properly drained and there is room for three lax pitches and for a 400m track. But of course the real excitement is that we now have planning permission for a covered swimming pool to be built down the hill past the sports hall. No more swimming in freezing cold outdoor pools (as described in the ar cle on Mrs Shaw).

Compe ve games are alive and kicking at St George’s.

The regular sports are what you would expect – lax, netball, gymnas cs, tennis, swimming, rounders and athle cs. At present there are seven lax county players amongst the pupils, and three for netball. St George’s surprisingly large number of teams regularly play other schools of a similar size; I like the thought that nowadays there are tournaments even for C and D teams. Coaches are available for many sports, including two Resident Tutors – US lax coaches who also have du es in the boarding houses.

I must confess that I myself was no sportswoman, so I was keen to know how St George’s PE department encourages those with no spor ng talent to enjoy sport and – hopefully – to keep fit in later life. The answer seems to lie in the wide range of sports on offer – with any luck, something for everyone. In the Fourth and Fi h Years girls follow a PE rota on which allows them every six weeks to choose a different sport from a huge list which includes – apart from the tradi onal school sports – yoga, volleyball, squash, fitness training, Tae Kwon Do, to men on but a few. Those who wish can also take PE as a GCSE

St George’s School, Ascot

subject, and Kym hopes that in the future the subject might be offered at A-level. In addi on, there are numerous PE clubs and extras, including polo, golf, rowing (at Eton Dorney), zumba, tennis and squash coaching (with professional coaches), ballet, Pilates, pointe and condi oning, and morning fitness. If Kym sees a new pupil who is clearly not keen on sport, probably having been put off in her previous school, Kym says to herself, ‘She will become my challenge!’ It is hoped that, with all these sports on offer, each girl will iden fy something that, in Kym’s words ‘floats her boat’!

There con nue to be House compe ons in the main sports, and Sports Day is held near the end of the summer term. These days parents are encouraged to come along with a picnic and make an occasion of it. The weather doesn’t always play ball, of course, even on the reserve date, but not many have had to be cancelled completely. What is really a rac ve about the way that it is run is that all girls have to take part in something, and just by compe ng they can earn points for their House, even if they come last in a race (as I always used to!).

Sports Day is not just about top performances – though they are celebrated, too, of course – but about fun. A new sports feature is the wonderfully-named ‘Georgian Gallop’ which happens each year on St George’s Day, come rain, come shine. Again, it is a House event, and relay teams of runners run / stagger round a circuit which takes them up the hill, round the school, down the hill and back again. The Sports Department teams up with the Music department once a year for the Jazz and Dance Evening – dance is gaining a much higher profile in the school now.

The sports year is rounded off with the Sports Awards Evening which has now become a regular fixture. Our own Old Georgian and Sky Sports Presenter, Kirsty Gallacher (daughter of golfer Bernard Gallacher) presented prizes at the first one.

One final thing that I should men on: evidently the PE department currently offers a 5-day sports tour to Disneyland Paris – yes, Disneyland! – where the 4th and 5th year netball squads play other teams from all over the world in a tournament. This year we came 6th and 10th out of the 66 teams from all over the world and St George’s was one of only two schools to see both of their teams achieve top ten posi ons. We are especially proud of the fact that at the presenta on evening St George’s School was awarded the ‘Spirit of the Games’ award which was given to the school that played in the correct fashion whilst respec ng both their opposi on and the umpires – as Kym says, this was ‘a true reflec on of how we teach our girls’.

THE PE DEPARTMENT

A

As one would expect, Kym is a keen sportswoman herself.

Her sport used to be football; she played in the women’s premier league (for Southampton and Wimbledon) and also for the Army and for the Combined Services teams. Now her sport is golf – when she has the me!

SvdV

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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THE PE DEPARTMENT CONTD

SPORTS DAY IN THE 1990s

NORMANDY LANDINGS - Third Year Normandy Trips 1991-2014

T

hey were there for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day

where they were heading, where this long sea crossing in the

landings; they were there for the 60th. This year of course

uncomfortable landing cra was taking them.

sees the 70th anniversary. Every year since the early 1990s,

THIRD YEAR NORMANDY TRIPS

Normandy has seen the Third Year of St George’s disembark en

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masse for their annual History and French trip. Mrs Moyles was the first organiser of the 4-day visit. She explains that she felt it was really important that pupils should learn about the Second World War; many did not yet know anything about it, and for those who were not con nuing with History to GCSE, the Third Year was the last chance to make sure that they did. Almost invariably the whole of the year group would join in, although it wasn’t absolutely compulsory. Between 35 and 50 girls were accompanied by 4-6 members of staff.

The Normandy visit o en spanned the actual anniversary of the D-Day Landings – 6th June. For Mrs Moyles and Mrs Po er, who spent some me with me reminiscing about all the Normandy excursions that they have accompanied over the last 23 years, there is nothing be er than learning about History on the site where the History was made. In Normandy there would be ‘Vivent les Libérateurs!’ banners everywhere; Georgians were able to meet and talk to the veterans; they saw what remains of the Mulberry Harbour; they gazed at the thousands of graves in Bri sh, American and German war cemeteries; they were made to think for themselves. What problems were the US soldiers facing at Omaha Beach? How could a port be built under fire in Arromanches? How could the huge caissons that formed the Mulberry Harbour be brought over from Britain – some all the way from Scotland? How could you keep your troops supplied?

Mrs Po er took over the organisa on of the Normandy visit in 1997. I would o en go to hear her briefing the Third Year parents and their daughters beforehand. ‘Remember, this is not a holiday,’ she would always say. And certainly tht's true - it was no holiday, either for girls or staff. It was ac on-packed, but then ‘idle hands….’! When they weren’t visi ng historic sites they would be having French or History lessons, even a er supper, on the coach, on the ferry. Not a minute was wasted, as you will see from the summary of the programme (on the opposite page).

For the staff accompanying the St George’s group, the days were very long, from 7 am un l midnight, since they could o en be seen si ng huddled in warm jackets and cradling a cup of hot chocolate outside the girls’ accommoda on un l they were sure these lively girls were se led for the night. I’m told that in one hotel a young kitchen-hand (male) who lived in separate accommoda on at the back of the hotel aroused suspicion by creeping into the area near the girls’ rooms late at night. When accosted by the ever-vigilant St G’s staff (on this occasion Mrs Dyer and Mrs Parry) he explained that there were no bathroom facili es in his building; his regular trips were totally innocent, it would appear. One me it was the staff keeping the girls awake; they would share stories to stave off the boredom, and on this occasion a girl complained that there was so much loud laughter that she was unable to sleep!

Inevitably, as well as work there was a huge amount of fun, too,

Above all, how could the Germans be duped into thinking that

including some unscheduled amusing incidents. Like the me

the invasion would take place much further north, near Calais?

when – having checked that all the girls had their passports, a

What was it like for the soldiers as they crossed to Normandy?

member of staff ’s passport was le at home and the teacher had

The Georgians, too, had deliberately been brought to France

to catch a later ferry! Or when the girls’ supper money was le in

via the longer route – Portsmouth-Le Havre or Portsmouth-

the coach on the ferry – inaccessible during the voyage of course.

Caen – so that they could mirror the experience of the young

No names, no pack drill! Or – surely one of the most hilarious

soldiers involved in the D-Day landings – soldiers who didn’t know

stories – when a mackerel fell out of a tree onto the head of a girl

St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

who had been told to stand under the tree because she had been

red-le ered words ‘Nous voici de nouveau!’ (‘Here we are again!’ in

misbehaving. (I have to ask whether it was the ‘naughty tree’!)

case your French is rusty.) Wasn’t it awfully repe

The explana on for what sounds like a very, very, very tall story

Mrs Moyles replied, ‘Every me we went we learned something new.’

is that apparently a passing seagull had dropped its lunch, having

And did all the girls get something out of it? ‘Absolutely – even the

been startled by the massed schoolgirls nearby. (Mrs P can be

most reluctant par cipants.’ For example, Mrs Moyles and Mrs Po er

seen holding the offending fish in the photos on p16.) And many

both remember the effect of some of the ba lefield visits on their

girls will remember that the trip o en spanned the date of Mrs

charges. A er me spent relaxing on the beach the group might then

ve for the staff?

Dyer’s birthday; one year the other staff ordered ice creams for

be taken to visit one of the enormous cemeteries. The girls would

the whole group from a vendor on the beach, asking for special

immediately capture the mood of the scene in front of them, many

treatment for the birthday girl. A mountainous ice cream was

moved to tears by the stories of the young men whose lives were so

presented to Mrs Dyer along with a series of exuberant kisses

cruelly cut short.

from the vendor – deligh ng the watching pupils but greatly embarrassing the recipient.

The St George’s team became well known in the area, par cularly in one of the cafés; every year they would sit outside this café so

Over the course of the decades a variety of staff accompanied the

that the girls prac sing their French in the town knew where to find

35-50 girls. The core of regulars included Mrs Dyer, Mrs Forbes,

them. On Mrs Po er’s last visit the proprietor presented her with a

Mrs Parry, Ms Lo house, and of course Mrs Moyles and ‘Po y

gi – and a hug and a kiss. That says it all!

Vicka’ (as Mrs Forbes used – most irreverently! – to call Mrs Vicky Po er, the leader of the group for many years). As many readers will remember, Mrs Po er’s regular way of a rac ng the girls’ a en on during the trip, for example over the microphone in the coach, was the famous words, ‘Bing-bong, Po er calling!’ . The staff would sport their navy blue fleeces emblazoned with the

Mrs Moyles summed up the flavour of the Normandy trip in these words: ‘It had purpose and poignancy, but we had fun.’ I’m sure that genera ons of Georgians look back on these trips with great fondness and immense gra tude to all the members of staff who have shown such dedica on and given their me so generously.

Sue van der Veen

PROGRAMME - absolutely not a holiday!

Day 1

Leave St George’s in the very small hours. On the ferry the work started – History lessons about the background to WWII, the economic crisis of the 1930s, the rise of Hitler, infla on, the need for secrecy about the landings.

Day 2

Arromanches and the Mulberry Harbour, gun emplacements at Longues-sur-Mer, the US cemetery at Coleville, la Pointe du Hoc, la Cambe (the German cemetery).

Day 3

Bayeux (tapestry and town) including some me to shop and, armed with their ques onnaire, to prac se French on unsuspec ng locals; the Memorial Museum in Caen; rounders on the beach

Day 4

Leave the hotel, visit the market (more prac ce of French), return to the port (via Pegasus Bridge if possible). Start wri ng up the Normandy project. Return to St George’s at about 11 pm.

And, in every spare minute, lessons, lessons, lessons...........

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Third Year Normandy Trips 1991-2014 Lots of work, but also lots of fun! Photos from a variety of years

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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being warned that she might be at risk if people heard her English accent. She was invited to meet someone high up in Sinn Fein and she spoke about the circuitous route she had to take to meet him in his secret loca on, the car changes, the hotel room. However, when she met him she was touched by the love he showed his own son and by the way he apologised for the death of her father.

Now the mother of three small daughters, she had not yet told them why they had no grandfather.

For many years she did not return to Northern Ireland. However, as a result of the Peace Agreement reached on Good Friday in 1998, all poli cal prisoners were released from prison and Jo saw footage of Patrick Magee, the one man who had been found

HEADMISTRESS'S LECTURE - JO BERRY

guilty of plan ng the bomb that killed her father, emerging from prison. She wondered whether he felt any remorse; a er all, her father would ‘never be free’.

T

he Headmistress’ Lecture on 4th March 2014 was a first;

Friends offered to introduce her to the bomber, and eventually

we have not had a former Georgian back to give the lecture

a mee ng was arranged. Asking herself whether he would

before. Rachel Owens, the Headmistress, introducing Jo, told

actually turn up and how she would feel when she met him, she

the audience that this was Jo’s first visit to the school since she

took the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. It’s impossible for us

le in the early 1970s. It was most appropriate that Jo should

to imagine how she must have felt when Patrick Magee walked

speak at St George’s in 2014, as it was 30 years since an IRA

through the door. She talks of his first few – remarkably civil and

bomb exploded in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, killing five people

polite – words to her, about her three-hour conversa on alone

who were a ending the Conserva ve Party Conference there,

with him, of the way he shared his reasons for joining the IRA, of

including Jo’s father, Sir Anthony Berry MP. That day - 12th

the ques ons she asked herself, in par cular: Was she betraying

October 1984 – changed Jo’s life for ever.

her father by speaking to this terrorist? However, she felt that ‘a

Jo spoke first of her rather inauspicious early years. Her memories

journey had started for [Patrick Magee]’. He said, ‘I’m really sorry

of St George’s are not happy. She says that her dorm, known

I killed your father.’

as the ‘Ice Box’, lived up to its name, and she remembers ‘real

Before she saw Magee again, she told her daughters. One of

hardship and misery’. She found many of the school rules

them sent a message for Magee; her mother was to tell him that

unnecessary (for example not being able to speak to girls in other

it had been ‘a very bad thing to do’. The message clearly touched

forms, being fined if your hair was not ed back) and so she broke

Magee, Jo says. The next me her daughter said her mother was

the rules that she did not agree with. As a result, when she was

to ask him whether he was ‘really sorry’ and, if he was, then could

14½ she was summoned to the Headmistress’ study; Miss Horne

her granddad come back, please? The answer from Magee was

phoned Jo’s mother and told her, ‘We have agreed that it’s best

that when he planted the bomb he did not see her grandfather in

that she leaves.’

the hotel – ‘I didn’t see any human being in that hotel. …. I now

A er that Jo went to live in London and, she admits, ‘went a bit

know that I killed a wonderful human being.’

wild’. She took a Music degree and spent a while in India. She

In 2002 the BBC produced a documentary about these mee ngs.

had just bought a one-way cket to Kenya when the bomb went

How, wondered, Jo, would the other vic ms’ families react?

off in the Grand Hotel. In her sister’s flat in London they heard

Indeed, how would her own family react? Not everyone, of

about the blast and waited for news. They heard that the family

course, would be in favour. However, Jo says she has had a great

dogs had been found, and then came the news that their step-

deal of support. Now she is invited to speak about peace and

mother had been injured and their father killed. Jo had already

reconcilia on in many different countries and all round the

been interested in non-violence and in the teachings of Mahatma

UK, and she has o en appeared on pla orms alongside Patrick

Gandhi, and her reac on was – amazingly – not to seek revenge

Magee. Her hope is that she will be able to persuade more

but to ‘try to bring meaning’ to what had happened.

warring fac ons to speak to each other, to listen to the story of

A chance mee ng in London with a total stranger whose brother

the other side.

had been a member of the IRA and had been killed by a Bri sh

‘Everyone has their own journey, their own perspec ve,’ Jo

soldier made her determined to a empt to ‘build bridges’ and

concludes. ‘Violence hasn’t worked.’ She is ‘hoping for a world

work for a ‘world where peace was possible’. She recalls the

where we can find other ways to resolve conflicts’. Above all, she

totally different atmosphere that greeted her on her first visit

does not want people to go through what she’s been through.

to Northern Ireland in 1985, being frisked by soldiers on arrival,

16

St George’s School, Ascot

SvdV

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

K

iki Bagger has always lived life to the full; this was very clear during her me at St George’s, when she was already

combining a great deal of ac ng with her A-level studies in English, Classical Civilisa on, Drama and History. As well as taking part in our own school performances, Georgians o en perform in Eton College drama produc ons, both at College and House level. Kiki took on many roles in Eton’s Farrer Theatre, in such produc ons as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Assassins. She also took part in a Famous Five impressions show on BBC 1.

When she le St George’s in 2011 (having achieved three A*s and an A in her A-level exams) Kiki decided to apply for one of the coveted places at Stanford University. She describes herself as ‘extremely lucky’ because Stanford’s acceptance rate is under

KIRSTI BAGGER - A Georgian at Stanford

6%. In 2013 Stanford received nearly 39,000 applica ons and accepted under 2,300. The selec on process involved having to write three essays in addi on to your main personal statement, and on top of this you have to answer shorter ques ons, such

friends and who cares about you as a person’. Now Kiki appears to

as ‘What is the greatest challenge that society faces today?’ or

be well established on the theatre scene at Stanford, with several

‘What historical moment do you wish you could have witnessed?’

major roles to her credit, including Ilse in Spring Awakening and

Kiki chose to major in English Literature. She told me that in

sorori es at Stanford and about ‘rushing’, which evidently means

America you aren’t required to specialise un l you declare your

the process of applying for the different sorori es. Her conclusion

major; you then have to complete the ‘Core Requirements’ for

is that sorority life is ‘a bit too much for me really’; however, ‘it

your major and also the ‘General Educa on Requirements’ to

makes for an incredibly interes ng experience - also AMAZING

achieve your degree. It sounds as if Kiki thinks this structure has

fodder for poten al fic on novels!’

Sheila in An Inspector Calls. Kiki writes very amusingly about

great advantages, because it allows you to take classes in all sorts of disciplines. The course would normally take four years,

What about her plans for the near future? A er gradua ng from

but Kiki decided to graduate in three, which clearly increased

Stanford she plans to return to England to audi on for one-year

the pressure on her. At present, in order to fulfil her Natural

MA theatre programmes at drama schools in London, and she will

Science requirement, she is taking a class called ‘Art, Chemistry

then begin pursuing an ac ng career in the West End. We wish

and Madness’ which focuses on the chemical make-up of the art

her con nuing success in her endeavours.

pale es in different historical eras.

And how has she found life at Stanford? Kiki describes adap ng to the American way of life at Stanford as ‘a li le rocky’. She says that the freshman year was fantas c ‘because everything was new and exci ng’, but the next year – the sophomore year – was not all plain sailing, as it’s then that you ‘find out who are good

Photos Top: Kiki (right) at a football game at Stanford Bo om (le to right): Kiki performing in Spring Awakening, An Inspector Calls and A empts on her Life.

The Red House

The 'Children's Playroom' in The Red House

"The two years I spent at The Red House I can honestly say were some of the happiest of my school days."

"Queen's Hill was an oasis of peace and safety, and the stories and poetry readings remain with me."

LIFE IN the junior school

"I made lifelong friends there and am s ll in touch with a number of people."

18

F

irstly, I need to point out that the contribu ons that I’ve received from alumnae span two decades of life in the Junior School; they refer to two separate junior houses – The Red House and Queen’s Hill – and to several headmistresses. As a result, memories vary greatly; some are very happy, some just the reverse.

These photos of The Red House illustrate well the imposing building that former pupils remember: the large house surrounded by fields, tennis courts and a wood.

It was, writes one Old Girl, ‘a rather grand house, very spacious, with large rooms, high ceilings and a large garden with lovely trees’. She remembers the chestnut trees, a large see-saw which they spent hours on and ‘a big field between the senior and junior schools in which Miss Housden kept three ponies’. One girl remembers being allowed to look a er a pony when she was older and speaks of a small cart being pulled by a pony; another remembers Miss Loveday riding side-saddle up the drive.

Miss Housden, the Headmistress of the Junior School, was – according to one correspondent – ‘tall and thin, a gentle and kind lady, but who stood no nonsense’. When she went to wish new girls good night individually, she would tell them they could go and see her if they had ‘any worries at any me’. Another describes her as ‘a greatly respected and lovely lady’. And yet another says that Miss Housden would even take overseas boarders up to her own house in the Lake District some mes, when they were unable to go home for the holidays.

‘I remember what a lot of fun we had in those days,’ says another. She thinks back to Halloween, which was ‘always celebrated with great gusto’. This was a rare occasion when girls were allowed into the kitchens. There were the tradi onal toffee apples hanging from a string (‘so toffee was scrummy’) and dipping for apples (‘kneeling over a n bath full of water with apples bobbing in it’) and a ‘beauty clinic’ run by Miss Housden in a candle-lit room.

New girls were told to copy Miss Housden as she rubbed

St George’s School, Ascot

her finger on her plate and then wiped the wrinkles off her face; however, the new girls’ plates had been covered with soot from the candles! Sadly, the beloved Miss Housden became ill in 1943 and passed away not long a er. In Miss Housden’s obituary, Miss Loveday spoke in fulsome tones: ‘As Head of the Junior School, her love for li le children was shewn to the full. Wherever she was, in the house, gardens, or stables, she was always surrounded by a happy, busy throng. When old girls revisited the school, they knew it was a real pleasure to her to entertain them and many of them came to her for help and advice. The le ers I have received prove that it is not only by the present school that she is mourned, but by all who came under her influence.’

Miss Loveday was in overall charge of Senior and Junior Schools. One Old Georgian conjures up a wonderful picture of her: ‘I remember seeing this “old” lady with her long skirt, cardigan and hat, tending her roses in the garden at the back of the house, below the terrace and grass tennis court.’

Miss Vinycombe – headmistress of the Junior School from the mid-1940s, is described as ‘a kind, firm lady’. She used to read out the marks in Greek at the weekly ‘Mark Reading’ in assembly – Alpha, Beta, etc – ‘It took me a long me,’ writes one ‘to understand what it was all about’. Miss Vinycombe was a Maths teacher, and another girl recalls how she was not strong in the subject and ‘suffered her ruler on [her] knuckles for her incompetence’. Memories of other staff through the years are more hazy – people have men oned ‘a feisty French teacher – I can s ll recite bits from “La Plume de ma Tante”’, Miss Gibson (Assistant Matron?), Miss Donkin. One writes of Miss Brown ‘of the lovely red MG’, who was ‘considered very dashing’ and ‘was probably also much younger than most of the teaching staff ’. And then there was Nurse’s deputy – ‘a ny woman, bustling about the place’.

And what of the other buildings? One Old Girl appears to have a very clear vision s ll of what the approach to the later Junior School building, Queen’s Hill, was like: ‘A long

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

A Classroom in The Red House

The Dining Room in The Red House

low building barely visible from the main road, the drive sweeping up to the front of the house, the two wooden classrooms at right-angles to the main building’. Quite a few have men oned the wooden huts which were used as classrooms when the Junior School was at Queen’s Hill; when they became too hot in the warm summer months, desks and chairs would be moved out into the playground area. Former Red House pupils speak of a large building outside that was divided by folding doors; ‘if it was wet or cold we wore red cloaks and snowshoes or galoshes over our house shoes to reach it.’

Dormitories in both The Red House and Queen’s Hill varied in size, with the largest being for ten pupils. ‘Poles for non-existent curtains stretched around the beds, and these were some mes used for gymnas cs.’ One girl writes evoca vely of the owls that used to hoot and screech outside in the woods. Others remember ini a on rituals in the 10-bed dorm when new girls were ‘made to strip and to traverse the room without stepping on the floor…this meant leaping from the dressing table to the bed, the next bed to the dressing table etc.’ ‘Another escapade,’ she writes ‘was the descent of the fire escape….We had to clamber out of the window and climb down the iron steps and bring back a blade a grass—to prove that we’d got to the foot of the stairs!’ Evidently one bed in the 10-bed dorm was par cularly unpopular because ‘it could always be seen by matron at the end of the passage’; for this reason, my informant tells me, it was known as ‘the policeman’s bed’!

A Dormitory in The Red House

The se ng of the school, with woods and fields around, proved to be an idyllic playground for the girls who also for some of the me had li le gardens that they enjoyed tending – even if they are described by one person as ‘small dusty plots of earth’. The Red House had ‘a large garden with lovely trees’. The see-saw was popular, as were the ponies kept by Miss Housden in the big field between The Red House and the Senior School. ‘Being mad on riding I soon found myself looking a er them, and felt very privileged when I was invited to take one of them home for the summer holidays,’ writes one girl. Another writes with evident delight of the me when they ‘witnessed Nurse Gales …being chased across the field by Brighty the smallest and rather wicked li le grey pony’. So, free me was mostly outdoors, playing or climbing ‘a wonderful lime tree which smelt heavenly and bees got drunk in the summer’. ‘No health and safety then,’ this Old Georgian comments, wis ully.’ The lime trees also figure large Very many thanks to Susan Adams (née Lambert), who gave us this wonderful series of photos of The Red House for our archives - all in pristine condition!

The Driveway to The Red House

Queen's Hill

20

CONTINUED

LIFE IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

From Fr om SSus usan an FFre rew w (né néee Le Lear armo mond nd))

The other side of Queen's Hill

Juni Ju nior or SSch choo ooll Ro Roun unde ders rs TTea eam m 19 1951 51

in the memories of another Old Georgian: ‘There were two classrooms in a wooden extension overlooking the tennis court behind which were huge and very beau ful lime trees with a rope swing and that was where we used to play and make camps.’ The swimming pool – uncovered and unheated – is not always spoken of fondly.

sandals’ whose straps le white stripes on tanned feet in the summer; outdoor shoes were stored in numbered pigeonholes in the boot room (the number tacked to the bo om of your shoes); and we mustn’t forget the red cloaks which on new girls virtually touched the ground but ended up eight years later as ‘more of a cape than a cloak’.

Idyllic as these descrip ons of the grounds are, we must remember that we’re talking of war me and of the ‘austerity days’ in the late 40s and early 50s. In the days of clothes ra oning it was hard for parents to acquire all the items on the ‘long and complicated’ uniform list: ‘navy-blue gym slip, white Viyella blouses, red wool pullover, navy-blue blazer with the school badge, hairy grey winter coat with grey pudding-basin hat (panama for summer) and scratchy serge for Sundays…..’ This Old Georgian con nues, ‘My mother was not amused, seeing I had two older brothers already at boarding school who also needed to be clothed.’

The same lady thinks back to the red-check summer dresses which ‘came back from the laundry … starched rigid, ironed flat and [having] to be prised apart’. Several have men oned the ‘terrible pink smocks’ that they had to wear over their normal uniform in the Junior School to keep it clean. ‘Why on earth we had to have uniform, Heaven knows!’ said one. The uniform supplier was Gorringes near Victoria Sta on; one scene has stuck in an Old Georgian’s memory – standing in a cubicle to be measured, ‘the measurements plus the words “allowing for growth” being shouted to someone standing outside’. Shoes were the ‘famous Clarks

In other respects, too, the immediate post-war years were not easy. One of our alumnae remembers that her parents just managed to save enough petrol coupons to drive her from Cheshire to Ascot when she started boarding, aged nine. She says that in general, owing to food ra oning, ‘the food was pre y ordinary’. Someone else writes: ‘I do remember being fed either sago or Bird's custard every other day, both of which I loathed and I was always kept back at the end of every lunch me and subsequently force-fed....I've never touched either ever since.’ ‘Ra ons were strict,’ says another. However, during one period if you had a birthday in term me you could choose pudding for the whole school at lunch me. ‘I always chose jam tarts!’

Sweets had to be ‘registered’ with Matron and were then doled out by her a er the post-lunch rest on their beds.

However, daily food supplements in the form of Radio Malt or – ‘even worse’ – Cod Liver Oil were designed to counteract the poor diet.

St George’s School, Ascot

This, as many of us will remember, was a period when childhood illnesses, as well as flu epidemics, were rife.

You can see why, at one stage anyway, Nanny took the

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Miss Mi ss LLow owee (? (?)) in ffro ront nt o off Qu Quee een' n'ss Hi Hillll

From Fr om U Una na R Rob ober erts tson on ((né néee Sp Spea eari ring ng)) - a cl clas assr sroo oom m

Two Tw o gi girl rls. s. M Mis isss Vi Viny nyco comb mbee in b bac ackg kgro roun und d

Two Tw o Yo Youn ung g Ge Geor orgi gian anss in u uni nifo form rm

girls’ temperatures every evening – yes, every single evening, I’m told! One Old Georgian wrote ‘It will seem that all my recollec ons are of illnesses at the school,’ and this is something that many have echoed. Measles, chickenpox, German measles and influenza punctuated their me at school in a way which will surprise the younger pupils who have been fortunate enough to grow up in an age when many childhood ailments are, thankfully, under control and largely preventable, owing to modern inocula ons.

One new girl who developed Scarlet Fever just three weeks into term ‘was immediately isolated with a disinfectant sheet covering the door!’ Worse was to come. She was sent home to recover, but when she came back to school the girls pointed at her and said ‘Don't go near her.' ‘It was not a happy start to boarding school life!’ What an understatement! An outbreak of measles led to ‘darkened rooms and bed-rest’ for those who succumbed, followed by a disinfectant bath once one was deemed cured. It sounds rather like a leper colony!

However, there were some mes advantages to being confined to the ‘san’. ‘We had a lovely me playing board games, and my mother kept popping over with cakes and Lucozade.’ Of course, some mes being ill at school was miserable. One girl was unlucky enough to have two doses of Asian Flu; the first dose at home delayed her return to school (‘Oh bliss, oh joy!’) but the second bout came at school and involved having foul-tas ng medicine administered, which made her vomit; no sympathy came from Matron, who made her clear

St George’s School, Ascot

Fro FFr om U o Una na R - ? SSus usan an B Bun un ng iin n re regu gula la on ssan anda dalls l

From Fr om U Una na R - M Mis isss Bi Bish shop op

it up herself. The Asian Flu epidemic affected large numbers, but it had its flip side for those lucky enough to escape. ‘Slowly but surely the pupils and staff all went down and in the end there were only three of us who did not succumb…. We had a marvellous me. Of course, we could not be sent home because of the infec on and so, as the staff were depleted, we were le more or less to our own devices.’ One girl fondly remembers ‘curling up in the library reading’ during this period. She writes, ‘I think that I devoured prac cally the whole library that term and it certainly ins lled a love of books which I have never lost.’

I get the impression that, encouragingly, reading was an important part of school life. Another wrote: ‘They fostered my love of books and reading.’ One girl thinks back to the way that, in The Red House, a er lunch they ‘lay on the carpet in the big common room while [they] were read to’. Another speaks fondly of being able to read in bed ll 10 pm because of ‘double summer me’, or having Pilgrim’s Progress read to them aged ten. Sadly, though, the regime must have changed, because another writes that books were not allowed in bedrooms; ‘this made for total penance once a year on the Sunday the clocks went back.’ A slightly more unusual memory was of Sunday evenings when the older girls were invited to Miss Vinycombe’s bedroom to read to her (The Flames Trees of Thika, she thinks) while the Junior School Headmistress darned her underwear!

‘She was a lovely lady,’ wrote another, ‘and read to us each Sunday evening. She introduced me to Middle-earth and Hobbiton and Bilbo Baggins and Frodo and Sam Gamgee… She

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

21

continued

LIFE IN the junior school 22

also read us Tarka the O er.’ No doubt this list of books and characters will awaken many memories amongst Georgians.

Interes ngly, reading ma er was carefully controlled. ‘I s ll have some of my children’s books ini alled by her (Miss V) to show they were acceptable material.’ No doubt all this reading was wonderful for the children’s imagina on, and I’ve been told about the frequent plays staged by the pupils, using a sliding door between two rooms as stage curtains.

Contact with parents was strictly regulated. Girls had to write le ers home (in weekly or twice-weekly sessions in the classroom), but if they were unhappy – and some certainly were, as they remember very clearly to this day – they had no chance to pour their hearts out because le ers were openly read and ve ed by staff. ‘With no phone calls allowed, of course, the weekly le er from home was all one had to look forward to.’ Boarders, that is the majority of girls, were allowed out on only two weekends a term, apart from half term. The short periods away from school (12.30 – 5 pm on a Saturday or Sunday) were ‘a double-edged sword’, one girl reminisces. ‘I couldn’t wait to see my parents again, but I loathed the thought of returning to the prison which was school.’ There was me only for lunch somewhere, perhaps a picnic or a visit to Wisley or to go and watch the polo in Windsor Great Park.

We have heard before of the daily rou ne at St George’s in previous decades, but there were aspects peculiar to the Junior School. A er all, staff were in loco paren s for these li le girls. The discussion might have become pre y basic here, as this is a subject men oned by many. But a er considering for a bit I’ve decided to spare everyone’s sensi vi es and gloss over the morning ques ons about the state of the young charges’ insides, the punishments for visi ng the loo in the night and the infrequency of laundry-washing. A er all, those who a ended the Junior School will know what it was like and the others can perhaps use their imagina on …. Nanny brushed the girls’ hair every night. Hair was washed once a week and rinsed with chamomile flowers or rosemary (others remember vinegar, which doesn’t sound so pleasant) then dried in front of an open fire. ‘Curlers and rags were forbidden’, one of the alumnae tells us. In the morning before going to breakfast, beds had to be stripped and bedding folded, then they had to be remade – with correct hospital corners – before classes.

Weekends were not par cularly jolly in general, it would appear. On Sundays, special Sunday dresses had to be donned. Some write of walking to church in Sunninghill in a crocodile ‘come rain, come shine’; they changed a er Chapel and then went for a walk (also in the inevitable crocodile) round Ascot or onto the golf course in the middle of the race course. A big event in the year, however, was Royal Ascot. ‘We went to the Golden Gates near South Ascot to watch the Royal Party drive up the course in their horse-drawn carriages,’ says one girl. They would be walked there in a crocodile (of course). Another says that ‘Queen Mary ….liked to see us there and gave us a special wave.’

During the reign of King George VI, the Queen (later Queen

St George’s School, Ascot

Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) would ‘always get the driver to slow down, as she knew [they] would be there’. One former Day Girl remembers that during Ascot races there were certain areas of the school grounds that were out of bounds ‘because of the fear that somebody unsuitable might be hiding in the bushes’!

In all this I have not specifically men oned day girls; they were, as everyone will know, few and far between. One did write in, reminiscing about ‘long, dark evenings wai ng for the bus’ to return to her home in Windsor. She says that being a day girl was a ‘fundamentally different experience’, though she remembers, she thinks, that there was s ll school on Saturdays. Not surprising, she comments, since for many adults the working week s ll included all or part of Saturday.

Thank you to all who contributed to this ar cle.

Everything you have told me will also provide material for an assembly I shall be taking in school in April. I think it will be very good for today’s Georgians to hear something of what school was like for the young ones sixty years ago. I think they should hear how one of our alumnae summed it up: ‘Reading SnapDragon and comparing the school as I knew it with what it is today (a habit more prevalent with age!) I realise what a paradise it now is in contrast to what I experienced!’ But for so many there were happy memories, too, as we have seen.

There is a moving piece about the Junior School wri en in The Dragon by Miss Loveday in February 1943: ‘The school has been full to overflowing this last year. The Junior School is now quite a baby-house, so much so that the elderly people of 11 and 12 have come over to school for lessons to leave space for the li le shrimps of five and six.’ These days it's hard to imagine such li le people at St George's.

SvdV

The following alumnae, amongst others, contributed to this ar cle:

Nicola Bolton (née Booth) Margaret Brain (née Rhys) Liz Brown (née Melville) Virginia Carver Priscilla Coley (née Hedley) Anne Davies (née Strathern) Judy Delafield (née Fraser) Susanna de Vries (née Guthrie Adamson) Jean Eaton (née Temple) Jane Edwardes (née Dixon)

Susan Frew (née Learmond) Rosemary Graham (née Grant) Sister Eileen Grant Trish Hodgson Caroline Perry (née Everi ) Margie Riley (née Vaughan) Una Robertson (née Spearing) Caroline Wakefield (née Ingilby)

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Photo given to us by Judy Delafield (nĂŠe Fraser)

Photo given to us by Diana Reynette-James (nĂŠe Clark) Junior School girls on the seesaw (L to R): Ann Birtwistle, Una Spearing, Susan Steel, Sue Maclean, Val Barbor, Jill Addison, Diana Clark, Sara Pain, Susan Douglas and, standing: Marjorie King, Jenny Gosling

My thanks, as always, to all you Georgians - former pupils and former staff - who have wri en in

Your News

during the last few months. Whilst many have sent in their news, others have contributed to the ar cles, and to them I am equally grateful. What always strikes me is how friendships forged at St George's last a life me. This is very obvious from everything people have wri en below.

Sue van der Veen

Pamela Marcia Mason 1941

Sister Eileen Grant 1952

I was never at the Junior School, but used to play the organ for their Chapel Service. I am lucky to have my sister-in-law so near, and I also see a lot of my nine great-nephews and great-nieces at Shrewsbury, St Margaret’s York, Moreton Hall, Ampleforth and Ludgrove. I am 91 now and have happy memories of St George’s in war me.

I have now been in East Sussex for just over ten months and am enjoying my re rement in such a beau ful and peaceful part of the country. Royal Tunbridge Wells is a 25-minute drive away and I'm gradually finding my way around. I visited Rosemary (Ballina, Tipperary) in May and we had two lovely weeks together with fine weather. I miss my mee ngs with Valissa Gordon (née Casdagli) in Woking, Surrey, but we keep in contact via email and the phone.

Sadly Gabrielle Robertson (Maynard) died last year. We had kept in touch for over 50 years, wri ng every Christmas!

Margaret Brain (née Rhys) 1950 Nothing very startling. S ll farming but now our elder son is gradually taking over and has moved back locally which is great.

We also have a new great-granddaughter. I s ll exhibit sheep at local shows and also judge - I am doing the Royal Welsh in 2015, so if any OGs a end do come and find me. The only one I've seen lately is my cousin, Rosanna Muirsmith (Evere ). Just might get to an event next year.

Gillian Belfrage (née Pra ) 1952 Nothing new; always welcome bed and breakfast guests - would be nice to have some Old Girls!

Website: www.londonbedbreakfast.co.uk

Susanna de Vries (née Guthrie Adamson) 1952 Am s ll enjoying life in Australia. I have been wri ng books for 30 years and have got a large number of readers, so write a book each year. This year it’s Royal Love Triangle – Charles, Diana, Camilla the Story Reassessed, out on Amazon as book and e-book. Several friends from St George's and from Eton connected with the royal family provided new info and my first husband was a doctor to the royal family so there are some new insights.

Wendy Liebetrau (née Purser) 1952 My eldest sister, Judy Hann, has se led well in her new home next to Howard College in Durban. She is kept very busy supervising the building of two extensions to the property owned by her daughter and a friend. She has a beau ful great-grand-daughter called Savannah Rose who visited her from England in May. I had two great-grandchildren born this October – a li le girl called Ezra Dee and a lovely boy born in Australia called Will. My swimming pool water is s ll rather chilly but I have ventured in a few mes. Our rains came very late, but my garden is a real picture. If only the troops of monkeys didn’t bite the new shoots on the rose bushes!

So far I have sprayed with curry powder, cayenne pepper and Lifebuoy soap – I think they enjoy it!

Diana (Sally) Smyly (née Purser) 1952 This has been a wonderful year for me, star ng with an interes ng cruise to Madagascar and the joy of seeing the beau ful lemurs playing in the trees. In May I was having eye trouble so went to an occulist who sent me to a specialist – who then referred me to a re nologist. I then received a miraculous healing and now feel incredibly blessed.

I recently had a wonderful holiday in the Cape – my son has just bought a property which has the mountains on his back door-step and an uninterrupted view of the sea from the front. A troop of baboons inhabit the grounds but do no harm. My daughter-in-law lies in her hammock surrounded by them and feels quite safe (I decided not to try!). My two sisters, Judy and Wendy, both have new and beau ful great-grandchildren; my eldest grandson is being married in May next year, so maybe in a couple of years I may join this elite group!

May 2015 be a blessed and peace-filled year for you all at St George’s.

Morag Pleming (née Pool) 1953 Rosemary Graham (née Grant) 1952 2014 was different! I was badly bi en by a large dog 'on the loose' - all summer plans cancelled. On the mend now, can drive, write, paint and garden again. Family are s ll sca ered over the universe - America, Outer Hebrides, Kent and London - with Robert, my eldest here nearby. Eileen plans to come later this year, which is great.

24

St George’s School, Ascot

My news is rather sad as my husband died on August 16th; he had been ill for about four years. However, Camilla (another Old Girl) is very well and busy with her two children and an interior decora ng business, and my son has been Headmaster of Charterhouse since January 2014. I went to a most enjoyable and interes ng lunch at Anne Fenwick's house (Cochran Smith) with nine other Old Georgians, and we had great fun and a lot of laughs.

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Leslie Clark (née Jones) 1955 A er leaving St George’s I studied Geography at Bristol University, gradua ng in 1958, which meant a lot of trips around mountains and caves, including rock-climbing and spelunking (potholing) both in the UK and in Europe. I used a disused old ambulance and combined forces with Oxford and Cambridge climbers. I did personal reconnaissance on Lundy Island and Bardsey Island and many other sites, carrying theodolites. At university I joined the Army, which took us all over Scotland and North England, including Balmoral and Lochinvar. I was also in the University of Bristol rowing crew (4’s), racing other universi es. A er that three friends and I went to America, driving a car and camping all the way to California. I married my ski instructor, who then joined the US Navy. We had two children. I design and build jumps for horses.

The one photo shows me with Lucinda Green by one of my jumps.

Lucinda is a renowned horse and rider instructor.

pain mainly, I'm having shoulder replacement surgery in early December. Told I'll be 98% pain free a erwards.....hoping that is true so am going for it!

We have one more week at our summer home in the Virginia mountains before we return to our Davidson, North Carolina home for winter. Have had 6 great months up here but am ready to return now. Our grand-daughter, Heather, is about to produce her 4th boy next month...her oldest being 6!!! Fortunately she s ll has lots of energy. They are super li le boys but sure do keep constantly in mo on. Glad it is her and not me!

Virginia Carver 1956 Here in O awa, we are having a late but lovely fall with a wonderful colour mixture of green, red and yellow leaves. Like many Canadians, I am off on a week in Cuba in February to escape the cold winter in O awa and in July I go on a cruise to the High Arc c where we hope to see a variety of wildlife such as polar bear, muskox, and walrus. In this decade of travel, I have been very lucky to also see the other end when I went on a cruise to Antarc ca.

In the very unlikely event that any alumnae in my age bracket are living in Canada, it would be fun to meet up with them! Best wishes for the New Year.

Jan Fowler (née Vaughan) 1956

Priscilla Coley (née Hedley) 1955

Ian and I have had a busy year building our downsizing house at the bo om of our garden. We are very happy in our village and valley in Wiltshire and didn't want to move so this seemed the obvious solu on. It will be a huge change living in a 21st Century house a er the gorgeous ancient li le farmhouse we are used to but the challenge is good for us and very exci ng. Travel this year has been on hold because of all the decisions to be made on the building site but we hope to explore again in 2015.

It is hard to believe that it's nearly a year since I received SnapDragon for 2013, with memories s rred by the photographs of school play produc ons, and of the old Science hut above the playing fields.

In the midst of this ac vity I have kept in touch with several Old Georgians and always love the contacts.

Highlights of this past year were a trip with two friends from Woburn Sands to a gite on the River Cher last October. Sadly, one of the owners of the charming converted farmhouse died last June. In the spring there were various excitements - a trip to Barbados for ten days with my (historian) younger sister, and then her marriage on a beau ful day in May at the li le church where she lives in South Gloucestershire. I fulfilled the groom's special request by ge ng a pork pie wedding cake together!

I never contribute, but this year a friend and I went to Sri Lanka in February. Her daughter was living there, and I lived there as a child between the ages of 5-8, so when she asked me I felt it was a wonderful opportunity to revisit. And so it was. We had an amazing holiday - we stayed with Elizabeth's daughter in Galle for a few days; she then produced the most amazing I narary for us... her job was in tourism! We covered the island, except the very northern p - we had a car and a driver - very luxurious and it was fantas c. It is a paradise island, so beau ful and full of history. The most memorable moment for me was visi ng a tea factory - the smell was so evoca ve. It all felt very familiar; though we didn't go to specific places I had known, when we visited the Hill Club I knew I had been there before. I took all the photos with my li le camera, as Elizabeth's camera died the first day! I have created two hardback books with the help of my computer and Photo World which are lovely to keep.

Two grandchildren (the eldest) took their A- and O-level exams this summer, obtaining results good enough to get them to Manchester Metropolitan and on to Sixth Form studies respec vely. The family in Shropshire went on a camping holiday to Douamenez, the two younger grandsons having enjoyed a week's cricket coaching at Shrewsbury School earlier in August. And I had a wonderful week north of Tuscany in a C17th villa, pain ng in a group of like-minded souls - my first a empt. In 2015 I'm hoping to visit Sydney and Tasmania (rela ves) and repeat the Italian experience.

Address: Email:

5 Northlands Way Tetbury Glos GL8 8YT scillajcoley@gmail.com

Sue Knight (née Maclean) 1955 My news isn't interes ng at all. Broke my second shoulder in 9½ months and have had three months of therapy which has helped a bit with movement but is s ll extremely painful. Because of

St George’s School, Ascot

Sue Gill (née Yorath) 1956

Marjorie Hurst (née King) 1956 My youngest has just got married, so that’s all six safely partnered.

And at the me of wri ng I’m very much looking forward to the arrival of the latest grandchild, due in November. Recently went for my 75th birthday walk with all the family – just three grandchildren missing. Min was there, too, and also my brother and sister-in-law …. all the family, plus, of course, the in-laws. Seventeen in all - an

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

25

Your News

1956 - 1971

amazing collec on of names, but I will spare you that! Some of you may know that we are in the 2005 Guinness Book of Records as having the most family members in a theatre produc on; it was at the Kenton Theatre in Henley. There were only 24 of us then!!

Valerie Southwell-Sander (née Barbor) 1956 I live in Somerset with my husband Chris; we have been here for over 40 years, brought up four children who are all married with families of their own. We have eight grandchildren whom we see quite a lot of which is always a joy.

We live in a very old vicarage, with a very big garden, which sadly is ge ng too big for us; we have loved it for so long and have been very busy doing Bed and Breakfast, but we have to make the hard decision to down-size. So we have just star ng building a small co age in our orchard. Sadly, building plans etc were not ready when the sun shone! We started this Monday in pouring rain! The mud is unbelievable! So we now have to throw out 42 years of stuff to make room in a small co age.

My husband is rather disabled so holidays are a bit difficult. Last year my sister (Di Robertson) and I went to the USA to stay with our brother. Sue and Carl Knight drove four hours to come and stay with us. It was wonderful to see them - they never change.

We also went to Norfolk to stay with Jenny Bloom on their farm, great to see them again. It is lovely - you never lose really good school-friends.

Jill Whiteley (née Addison) 1957 Jill and I happened to meet up on a Swan Hellenic cruise from the Canaries to Portsmouth in the spring of 2014. This photo was taken on a par cularly lovely ancient Roman site in Morocco, called Chellah nowadays, but Sala Colonia in Roman mes. It was an unforge able day. SvdV

Rosemary Waterman (née Davies) 1958 Another year has very quickly passed. We spent January and February in the Canary Islands as usual, escaping the cold! France in June and again in September. Caroline White has been to stay and we have stayed with her - always great fun to see her. Also bumped into Caroline Sim at a garden centre nearby. My son was over from Singapore for two weeks, which was lovely, and my daughter Annabelle is expec ng a baby in April, so it looks like a busy 2015.

Sue Serpa Pimentel (née Legg) 1959 This year has been dominated by moving house, and I really am leaving next week, a er 30 years! I am moving to Newbury but there is a gap between houses, so I will be based with my daughter for a few weeks.

Other news is that my daughter is now a fully-fledged teacher. My eldest grandchild is off to Exeter University to study French and Spanish. The youngest has just started primary school and all those in between are flourishing!

Fiona Gordon (née Richards) 1961 Well and truly enjoying re rement, how did one ever have me to work one wonders.

Two wonderful visits to New Zealand in two years, discovered loads of new rela ves I hardly knew I had. Back again to Australia to catch up with friends and visit places not been to before. Enjoying playing the ukulele in a strummers group, playing lots of bridge, tex les and s tching groups and computer design all seem to take up my me. Both sons living within visi ng distance. Rob a geomorphologist, has his office half a mile away; he has a lovely wife and two deligh ul children. Duncan and wife both GPs and have a dear li le boy. Life is good, shame I have lost touch with all fellow Georgians but anyone in Shropshire?

Vivienne Whiffen (née Lin ne) 1962 I'm having to tap this out le er by le er on my Kindle in a camper in New Mexico! As for news ..... we are celebra ng my 70th birthday by travelling around the South West USA in a camper, planning to get to Patagonia (no, not that one) and then to Sea le in me to catch our flight back to Spain where I shall be homeless, having just - unexpectedly - sold my beau ful house. My whole life is in storage. Libera ng perhaps, and we could always live on the boat, but the next step is a li le daun ng. I have lived so long in a rela vely isolated village in the Spanish hills that adjus ng to another culture (by which I mean the UK) might be hard.

Meanwhile I plan to con nue to have exhibi ons and open studios.

Anne Davies (née Strathern) 1963

Belinda Eames (née Starnes) 1958 I trained as a Sick Children's Nurse at Great Ormond Street then married in 1962. I have two children. My daughter, Helen, was married in 2010 and my son, Christopher, in June 2014. No grandchildren. My husband Jeremy and I celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary this year. I am ge ng to be the bionic woman, having struggled with osteoarthri s and five joint replacements. I might even be able to return to tennis and lacrosse which I enjoyed 60 years ago!

26

St George’s School, Ascot

Eventually Meredith and I were able to meet up again, once the long-delayed replacement bridge across the Avon was installed. It is always lovely to meet up with Old Georgians and talk about what everyone is doing.

Had a wonderful holiday in South Africa last year and eventually managed to see the Southern Right Whale (in spite of living in the country for over 11 years). There is nothing to beat si ng in a small boat being completely surrounded by these leviathans of the deep who seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them.

Magical. Am now just off to Zambia, back into the bush which is where my heart seems to lie.

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

N EW S OF GEOR GIA N S

Susan Frew (née Learmond) 1963

Moira Curl (née Kinsman) 1970

This year we did something that we had never done before, we had a family holiday in Oman. The logis cs were quite complicated in ge ng everyone there. We ourselves had to fly from the Algarve to London, another three flew from Lisbon to London where we met up with another nine, and finally one from Kuala Lumpur.

Fourteen of us were all on the same plane! The hotel was splendid and very a en vely looked a er the whole family, especially the six grandchildren! A lovely country and very friendly people.

This news comes at a me when I have just come out of hospital a er a fall gardening and broke my hip and wrist, so have had to have a full hip replacement! Consequently life becomes complicated for a while.

Carla Stevens (née Boulton) 1965 S ll working with young offenders at a local YOT and am also involved in a Restora ve Jus ce project, which is challenging and inspiring. Bryan and I are about to walk from Lausanne to Le Puy, thereby joining up two previous 'pilgrimages'. Going to Australia by train and boat for Christmas and hoping to meet up with some of my contemporary Georgians. S ll see Miss Wickham regularly.

Address: Email: Tel:

43 Aberdeen Road, Highbury, London N5 2XD Carla.stevens@hotmail.com 020 7226 7730

Caroline Wakefield (née Ingilby) 1967 Have taken up oil pain ng and sold a picture this summer - my first! The local art society which I joined last autumn is very good at organising a variety of art lectures, so I hope to gain more inspira on. I also visited the summer exhibi on at the Royal Academy this year, so who knows where it might not lead!

Louella Hanbury-Tenison (née Williams) 1969 S ll happily doing bed and breakfast on Bodmin Moor and travelling extensively with Robin to far flung places. This year we took a group to IndoChina for Ul mate Travel, a marvellous two weeks in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam before going on to Borneo for another ten days to revisit Mulu and see old friends. Then skiing in Meribel before home to Cornwall to look a er guests and holiday makers in our co ages. In February 2015 we are off to Borneo with a group for Ul mate Travel – if anyone wants to come please look at the Ul mate website and book up! In 2016 it will be Brazil, again with Ul mate. It would be wonderful to have alumnae on board! If in Cornwall do drop in!

Tel: Email:

Family all doing well and middle son is ge ng married next summer in Poland to a Polish girl. Jeremy completed a dangerous journey across the Sahara to the Tibes Mountains to document rock art there which is being made into a film. He had a lot of trouble with his camels and hos le tribes. Catriona is job hun ng in London but s ll wondering whether to go back to study medicine. Andrew s ll expanding his 24-hour live-in care company.

Jenny Ba y (née Albrecht) 1971 My news - is this my first a empt in 45 years? I can't remember!

Having had a successful career in design, working abroad for part of it, I have in the last 20 years or so been living in East Sussex with a total change of career (influenced by my documentary-maker husband) filming horses. Not that he films horses at all!

Happily re red and busier than ever, when was there me to work? I compete dressage, am a primary school Governor and many more things besides. Keep in touch with old school friends as you can see in the photos.

Our two daughters Rosie (management consultant) and Amy (a veterinary nurse) both doing well in their chosen careers, so that's a relief.

This was a reunion week-end last year in October as we all pre y much had hit 60, some of us older ones in the year a li le more!

01208 821224 Louella@cabilla.co.uk.

Do y Nielsen (née Spragins) 1969 Our first grandchild was born Feb 5, 2014, Robert Elias. He and his parents live here in Pi sburgh, PA, USA, where we live so I get to babysit two days a week and love it. I accompanied Paul on a business trip to London in late May and was able to see several St G's classmates, which was the best of mes. Hope to return everyone's hospitality in the States some me in the future.

Ginny Steinhoff (née Boswell) 1969 It has been a year of celebra on. We went to Grenada, WI to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and met former students (all with gray hair).We taught in Grenada in the early 70s. Then on to Arkansas, USA where grandchild #3 was born. What joy - they were told they could not have children. Just returned from BC Canada visi ng my Mom and brother. Our days are full and busy.

Both Terry and I are involved at church, teaching Bible Studies and leading a missions group (Diakonos). Thank you to all at St George’s for laying down an excellent founda on. Come and visit when in Colorado.

St George’s School, Ascot

Line up back row left to right: Rowena Geddye (née Sharpe), Philippa Blois-Brooke (née Fryer), and Jane Toler.

Front row left to right : Jenny Batty (née Albrecht), Vonney Masters (née Lovell), Pilla Scott Moncrieff (née Birbeck), Cathy Shostak, Caroline Garland (née Gordon)

Fabulous week-end ini ated by Vonney and mee ng up with Cathy a er 40 years or more was the most amazing surprise that Ro and Vonney had secretly cooked up.

Then this year several of us went to Scarborough to see Alan Ayckbourn's The Boy Who Fell Into A Book and to listen to the music which brilliant Cathy had wri en. I remember how Cathy kept us entertained on the old out-of-tune piano in the Sixth Form Common Room and inspired many in our school days with her amazing piano skills.

See overleaf for Jenny's other photo.

Cathy Shostak's own news is on page 41

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

27

Your News

1972 - 1979

Laura Summers (née Amberton) 1973 2014 has proved a busy year so far - first, we have had the wonderful joy of watching and helping Ariadne, our grand-daughter, grow from li le baby into lively toddler. Then in August Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide were involved in a campaign to promote the website www.jw.org and that has been a fantas c success and many people have taken up the offer of Bible Studies. Mike, our 17-year-old son, con nues to do well with his carpentry and wood-turning and selling his products online: www.mjswoodworkings.com and Neil and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary in September by climbing Snowdon and that was exhilera ng. If anyone wants to get in touch, do phone. I wish the best to you all.

Tel:

01938 810664

This picture also has 2nd from right Carolyn Dowie (née Goodrich) who was not in the first group picture.

Priscilla Draper (née Ma hews) 1972 This past year has seen me become a grandmother for the third me which brings the tally to two grandsons (Alex and Tommy) and one grand-daughter (Charlo e). Photos show me at Legoland in September 2014 with my sister Peggy, my daughter Stacie and the grandchildren.

I s ll work in Brussels in the Energy Department at the European Commission and although I will be 60 at the end of the year, I have no plans to re re any me soon.

I enjoyed mee ng up with a number of former classmates as several of us hit that round number this year. It was great to see Susie, Bishy, Champ, Mary-Lou, and Clubie last May. Don't hesitate to let me know if you plan a trip over to Belgium.

Sue Cole (née Scouller 1975 I visited Julie Gardiner (née Oldham) in Sydney in May this year along with Rowena Jackson (née Cuming) for a fun-filled girls’ weekend. What a great catch-up, and we have decided to meet up every year from now on! In July I travelled back to the UK to visit my family in Berkshire and caught up with Dabbie Hollis (née Amberton) and Jane Staveley (née Birkenhead) whom I haven’t seen for over 40 years! So lovely to see both and catch up on their news. Our three children Emma (25), Nick (21) and Will (19) are living in Melbourne now, so just me and Nick on the farm. Our annual ram sale day is looming in 2 weeks’ me, followed by a 175th Cole family reunion and then a month of shearing sheep and so the silly season starts!

Patricia (Bishy) Feltham (née Dafforn) 1972 Another good year for all my family; my husband and I are just about to go off on a trip to Dubai (to celebrate a wedding), Singapore (to sightsee) and Malaysia (to visit friends and have a break from work!) Our children Ka e 30, Nick 28 and Edward 25 are all well, happy and se led with partners and life con nues to rush by for us all. Have been busy celebra ng 60th birthdays with some of my year group over recent months and mine is looming too! I con nue to work on appren ceships with care workers and look a er my nearly 90-year-old mother who is keeping well.

28

St George’s School, Ascot

From L ro R: Sue Cole, Julie Gardiner and Rowena Jackson

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Dabbie Hollis (née Amberton) 1975 As I write my daughter Lucy has just given birth to Sebas an, a brother to Olive who is now just over two. My eldest son Jonathan, has a li le boy, Jacob, who is now sixteen months, so Christmas is going to be a fun me as everyone will be with me in Teddington.

I saw Sue Cole in the summer which was lovely and we had supper with Jane Staveley (Birkenhead) which was great. Sue and Jane had not seen each other since fi h form at school! I am s ll living happily with John. We had hoped to go and see his son in Singapore in January then on to Australia to see Julie and Sue but a recent mammogram showed abnormali es which need sor ng out first. Hopefully we can go later in the Spring. I wish all the best to everyone and hope we can organise another big class reunion in the not too distant future. This summer anyone?

Just recently, in October, I went to the UK where I very much enjoyed visi ng with Miranda, and I was so touched when Tori came up to London to join us for lunch. I also almost got to see Jo Berry but unfortunately the ming was off (maybe next me, eh?). Priscilla came over to the UK from Belgium and it was lovely to see her again as well as her daughter, son-in-law, and three perfectly wonderful grandchildren (two boys, followed by a girl) ages one through six. From the UK I went to central/northern Spain to stay with a dear family friend for a week where I helped in the vineyards as it was grape harves ng season. My Spanish improved exponen ally as they don’t speak a word of English! 2015 will mark the beginning of my tenth year living with Bill, to whom I owe so much. I look forward to reading the news of others who have sent in submissions to SnapDragon. Please feel free to contact me.

Email:

Tiggy Mason (née Tabberer) 1975 Nick and I had a wonderful holiday with Tori Mossop (SpencerCooper) last March in Barbados. Talk about being thoroughly spoilt, it was all bliss! I see Amanda Ainscough (Wood) o en and had Bronny Macdonald Milner's lovely daughter, Tilly, to lunch the other day! It was fun showing her the old school photo with her mother and me in it! Our elder son Freddie is working in Tokyo for Maersk Ship Brokers and loving life there. Nick and I are very excited about our visit to Japan next Spring. Freddie is planning our trip and field-tes ng restaurants and sights. George has recently qualified as a corporate lawyer with Norton Rose and is enjoying working in London.

Just celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary with my nephew Caius who had been staying for half term. Nick and he had been on different grouse moors entertaining clients so it seemed appropriate to have grouse for dinner on our anniversary.

Our 16-month-old labrador, Migs, is having fun learning the ropes working with Nick and both come home exhausted! Our annual Sco sh fishing holiday in July was a great gathering of the family.

It was mostly spent on the glorious beaches as it was boiling hot!

About to start up with my weekly bridge four, a great thing to do in winter. I know some would be amazed I play bridge (badly) with my hopeless maths!!!

Peggy Ma hews 1975 I’m happy to say that 2014 was a good year for me. In February, my sister Priscilla came to visit me in south-west Florida (where I spend the winter months) for a lovely week of local adventure and dining. It was her first me back to the USA since she was a teenager! I’ve visited her in Europe several mes over the last few decades, so it was nice to have her on my turf for a change. I’ve been blessed with health and happiness and a lifestyle that lets me follow the sun, as well as to travel and visit with friends and family abroad.

pegm57@gmail.com

Jane Richardson (née Edwards) 1976 Having been made redundant in November 2013, I have taken a break and have since enjoyed a cookery course at Ashburton Cookery School followed by a great deal of golf and gardening with very li le cooking. Happily, the golf has con nued to improve and I am preparing myself for a busy year as Ladies Captain of La Moye Golf Club (following in my grandmother’s footsteps). Iona is a Bristol graduate now working in London and Miles is reading Maths up at Durham. Louise has returned to Jersey which is lovely.

On the Georgian front - very li le ac vity, but perhaps a 1976 year group reunion in 2016 is in order? In the mean me any golfers are welcome to visit!

Email:

janerichardson111@gmail.com

Antoine e Stagne o-Vermilye 1979 2014 has been excep onally busy with both kids taking gap years. Josephine finished her A-levels and began her gap year by a ending the most amazing course of her life at the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design which focuses more on the business of fashion and enthralls her day to day. This will be followed by an internship at Ralph Lauren and then we will see what the rest of 2015 brings her before university begins.

Maximilian has managed a month volunteering on an exploratory trip of deepest darkest Australia visi ng (it seems) half the con nent! He followed this up by working for the IUCN in Mozambique for two months, tagging humpback whales and sharks no less! Not sure how he aims to top that!

John, my hubby, is a busy beaver all the me - he runs his own business - Travel Sentry; this enables people to travel without their locks being broken into by customs or security worldwide.

My interior design business has matured, given that I am a one-woman business, so I keep a roster of maximum six clients to ensure I am devoted to their needs. This is a job that I enjoy 100%.

I completed my first restaurant project this year. Also managed to

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

29

Your News

1981 - 1987

visit Japan and spent a good few days visi ng Japanese gardens on the island of Hokkaido, driving alone with a GPS in Japanese!

Since my Japanese is zero , it proved to be a great adventure when I found myself driving off-road, in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere!!!

Finally, seen a bit of Alex Appleby - whose photography is ASTOUNDING, and met up with Claire Carter (Topping) last year in Rome. Also seen Charlo e Safavi last year in Washington DC (and in touch regularly with both her and Muna Haeri).

Nicky Gayner (née Frizzell) 1981 Turning 50 has been a pivotal year for me. Now my children are growing up it has been me to get back to my old love of singing.

A er a lot of work and prepara on, it was me. So in August I braved the Edinburgh Fringe Fes val with my solo show, Nicky Gayner’s Empty Nest.

This is a musical cabaret, which tells my story of raising kids, sending them out into the world and the fun that happens next. It was a roller coaster of an adventure but luckily one that has gone well! Since then I have had several sell-out nights at The Pheasantry in London and have just returned from New York, where I did my show at The Metropolitan Room. It has been an amazing year! Mrs Knight would be proud! Lots of exci ng plans for the new year; so watch this space.

Sarah Belegris and friends when they met up in Bath

Katy-Jane (K-J) Carr (née Hubbard) 1984 My aunt is an organiser of the Tassie Cup. (For those who don't know, The Tassie is a golf compe on played annually for old pupils of girls' independent schools.) We now have a Tassie website up and running. We're hoping to enlarge our remit through it and a ract younger players and more schools. We need your enthusias c help and support please! Do access our website, as the more ‘hits’ we get the be er it will work. I’m also hoping to link the site with schools and golf club websites.

Website: www.thetassiefoursomes.co.uk

Meanwhile, Tom has moved back home, Charlie is back and forth from Bristol Uni and Michele Lawrence’s (Morris) daughter, Blythe, is living with us, while she studies in London, so my nest is looking pre y full again!

Website: www.nickygayner.com.

Some of Jax's and Natasha's photos of their year-group get-together

Sarah Belegris (née Angelos) 1984 A er a terrible 2013 which I would rather erase from my memory, 2014 thankfully has been a be er year. We are s ll living in Athens and my son Mikey is now 13 and a ending an English school. This summer we made it to South England, primarily for my cousin's wedding, and so we were able to tour and sightsee and meet old friends and family. The highlight was, of course, mee ng up with four fellow Georgians in Bath and we had a splendid a ernoon catching up - it was a truly memorable day. I even managed to meet MJ a er 30 years in London ... Not sure when we will all reconvene again, but Facebook, emailing and of course, Sue's efforts, have achieved the impossible in bringing so many of us back in touch a er 30 years!! Many thanks from Sangie.

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St George’s School, Ascot

Jax Fothergill (née Peters) 1984 I have now been married to Ma for 25 years! It seems like only yesterday that Jane Spencer-Jones and Liza Macmillan were my bridesmaids. We’ve now lived in Shropshire for about 12 years, and have renovated a Victorian farmhouse and barn. Our latest project has been a house in Ludlow which we have opened as a shop selling Ma ’s own handmade bags and accessories.

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

In the summer, prompted by the un mely death last year of our lovely Humpy (Jane McCleave, née Humphries), a whole bunch of us got together. SOME of us wore our cloaks! Our generous hostess was Mary-Jane Davis (Aladren) and it was a fabulous, fun evening.

No one had changed! Out of our year group of about 36, there are only three of us who have dropped completely off the radar…Kim, Jenny, Marion, do get in touch!

about the globe. But you never know. Denmark is a super country, Copenhagen and the coastline is wonderful, and so should anyone be visi ng, do mail me with ques ons.

Email:

becca.shaw.frandsen@gmail.com

Email: jax.fothergill@live.co.uk Website: www.ma othergill.com

News for Jane House (née Spencer-Jones) is on page 41 Natasha Safavi Mar n 1984 2013-2014 has been an incredibly busy year. Many of our year group have been in touch, mainly via Facebook. A reunion was organized in North London at the home of Mary-Jane Aladren whom some of us had not seen for over 30 years. As usual, me is no barrier and a wonderful cha y evening was had, all the more appreciated by the fact that many of us have not changed much, save a few wrinkles. The bond between us is unbreakable it seems.

From a personal point of view, business has been going well, but an expansion was required so David and I have purchased some large premises in Sheffield where we intend to provide one of the UK’s premier venues, for par es and themes as well as art spaces and pop-up ar san markets and compe ons. Anyone interested in taking part should contact us via St George’s Alumnae.

I look forward to the next reunion, to meet with teachers and expupils and enjoy the company of current pupils and staff.

Rebecca and her daughters g

News for Claire Hughes (Ploug-Sorensen) is on page 42 Victoria (Vicks) Campion 1987 A er twelve years at the Dragon, it was me to move on and try a new nursing path. Poppy and I moved into our own home a er years of school accommoda on and Pops started a new school. I am now in a new nursing post in primary care and loving the daily challenges that it brings, but am especially loving no night shi s or weekend duty!!! There have been massive changes in our life, but the next chapter in our journey is full of exci ng mes.

Email: Mobile:

sistervicks@hotmail.com 07790 567 131

Annabel Sco 1985 I am s ll living near Cirencester with my three children and four dogs. Not married any more but busy with the various children and the animals in my life! Archie has just started at Cheltenham College, Millie at Randcomb Senior School and Charlie at Cheltenham Prep.

See lots of Emma Hollamby and Alix Wiggins. Keep in touch with loads of schoolmates on Facebook though.

Rebecca Shaw Frandsen 1985 I have now been living in Copenhagen for twenty years. My husband Jørgen is a lawyer, and our children (two girls, Madeleine and Bella) are both now at Sixth Form College doing their Baccalaureate.

One will soon be spending some of her gap year me working in London, travelling on a project abroad and studying at a founda on course in a university se ng. Any ideas on an overseas humanitarian project summer 2015 or 2016 are most welcome. My careers here have spanned commodi es, shipping, and lately transla on and proof reading. I am also involved with school commi ees, the Red Cross and on the board of www.pinktribute.dk.

Am in touch with some ex-Georgians via Facebook which is super cosy. Was so lucky to meet up with Jill Beaumont (née CartonKelly) and Jill Foulkes (née Fraser) last year. With our husbands and brood! We have also met up with Jill Foulkes here in CPH. Deborah White Cooper is very well and a recently-published author, and her daughter has just started at St George's! Mona Arain is living the Andalusian lifestyle at a fabulous li le Andalusian hotel/B&B with excep onal food (www.Al-Lago.es), along with her chef husband and two children.

I am always tempted to a end the get-togethers - some mes I am unable due to various commitments, as my family is rather spread

St George’s School, Ascot

P Poppy on the h b beach, h and d b by the h T Tower off L London d P Poppies! i !

Emma Davies (née Alun-Jones) 1987 Have just started a 3-year course in Naturopathy and Nutri on and hope to qualify as a naturopath in July 2017. It's a whole new career path for me and I'm very excited, if a li le worried, about studying hard a er a good few years away from the books.

The children are growing up fast. Ludo is 12, Alfie nearly 11 and Clemmie 8. We are s ll living in Hants near Andover. I would love to hear from anyone from my year. Have seen Ha e Dawson, Jools White and Rachel Aldridge this year!

Email:

emma1davies@hotmail.com

Anna Handy (née Stephens-Tarr) 1987 A year of consolida on for us. Back in Cambridge with plenty going on. Freddie in his last year at prep school and Thomas now ensconced at Uppingham. Both boys are enjoying lots of sport and growing up fast. We have had a busy year with plenty of fun trips in the sun and snow. We have finally completed our Lake

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

31

Your News

1988 - 1993

District building project and have managed to fit in the odd meet with ex-Georgians. Do contact me if you are in the Cambridge vicinity.

Email:

Susanne Lloyd-Jones 1989 I moved to Brough by Dunnet at the end of June; Brough is the furthest north village on the UK mainland. At first, all I knew was that I wanted to be in the far north or Orkney ... well away from the hustle and bustle of towns and ci es, with the chance to lead a quieter life and enjoy the beauty of the wild surroundings.

annahandy2@yahoo.co.uk

News of Kerry Bertram (née Tichelly) 1988 is on page 42 Philly Lumby (née Tree) 1988 We are s ll in Perth, Western Australia, so do drop in if passing!!

Currently studying again, this me a part- me diploma in divinity/ theology, so will be interes ng to see where it leads me. In the mean me, kitchen extension starts in the New Year, but most scarily Annabel (17) leaves school in the UK in June. Terrifying that she has reached that stage already. Sophie (13) and Lucy (9) are here in Perth and both thriving. Sophie forever being a guinea-pig for Type 1 diabe c research, currently trialling the latest insulin pump. All good stuff, but a cure would be even be er, so I look forward to the year I can post that they have found a cure!

Arabella Maguire (née Bate) 1988 Life in the Maguire household has been busy as always! S ll living in Clapham and loving it. Work is good - I have been at Credit Suisse 15 years now, not sure if I should be proud or just be amazed at how quickly me flies. Steve is currently working in the Wharf which has been lovely and we try to meet as much as busy work days allow.

The boys (Josh, 7 and Cosmo, 4) love football, rugby, running, well, anything involving sport really. I am therefore dragged out every weekend to play in goal whilst they charge around generally and run rings around me! Josh is about to embark on the 7+ exams obviously he is completely sanguine about it all and I'm the one having nightmares about it! I see quite a few old Georgians (Kerry, Tor, Dani and Jo) - but Facebook also helps quite a few of us who are further afield keep in touch....planning a bigger get-together soonish to catch up in person. Would love to hear from anyone.

Email:

Hen Rocks from Brough Bay - this is just 5 minutes away! I am so lucky.

I first came to Dunnet Head in February, on a wonderful clear, cold, sunny day and I fell in love with it. I found my co age and just knocked at the door to ask if I could view it ... and that was it ... decision made!

Since arriving, I have found a part- me job at the Castle of Mey (which nicely keeps the royal family connec on begun with Queen Gree ng at St George’s). I am also joining the Brough Harbour Associa on, plan to do some whale watching and also exercise my rights to cut peat for winter fuel on the moorland nearby.

The Castle of Mey is a beau ful venue for weddings, and from me to me they also hold house-par es. I was lucky to be asked to play and sing while the guests were having pre-dinner drinks. What a lovely atmosphere it was, playing on the piano in the library, with a great big fire of wood and peat burning in the grate. On the last evening I teamed up with George Pain, an excellent local fiddler; we thoroughly enjoyed playing a variety of tradi onal Sco sh music and were treated to a glass of fine champagne!

arabellalmaguire@gmail.com.

Arabella Maguire and her family

Sacha Szpiro (née Malhamé) 1988 Apart from moving house (but s ll in London), I'm expec ng twins in February 2014... siblings to Max who will be 3½ yrs old.

My husband Toby is s ll at Santander in property finance and I hope to go back to work at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park, but who knows how the year ahead is going to pan out!

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St George’s School, Ascot

Pippa Heggie (née Thompson) 1990 I’ve recently started working again a er five years full- me mum and voluntary work for schools and pre-schools, and have to say it’s good to be working again! Feeling very lucky to have found a part- me posi on marke ng five super new holiday co ages in the South Downs Na onal Park. So if anyone is looking for a luxury self-catering co age in Hampshire, do check them out. (photo on next page)

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Also managed an amazing long weekend away in Spain in September at Lucinda Lacon's parents' place with Mel Meacock (Yeldham), Barbs Thurstan (Alex Barber), Rege Holbourn (Charlo e Regis), Peeze Miles (Louisa Parsons) and Jules Vincent (Parker).

The holiday cottages that Pippa Heggie is marketing www.wallopswoodcottages.co.uk

Alys Emson 1991 S ll working and living in the US. Kentucky is not the typical des na on hotspot for a holiday, but feel free to drop me a line if any of you end up close by!

Email:

alysemson@lanesend.com

Nichola I’Anson (née Browning) 1991 I am currently Head of Key Stage 1 at Cranford House School in Moulsford, South Oxfordshire. A few Old Georgians as parents at the school which is fun. I have two boys aged seven and nine. I spend most of my weekends on the rugby touch line.

Sophie Andreae-Jones (née Ball) 1993 I thought I should finally submit a contribu on to the school mag a er all this me. About me, no less!

I find myself married with one sprog, a scarily hyperac ve toddler called Amelia, who most definitely keeps me on my toes, as well as vaguely fit (no need for the gym with her around!). Have just moved out of the Big Smoke to a li le village in West Sussex called Bury (huge contrast to the hustle and bustle of London town!)

Funnily enough, had coffee with a friend who lives a stone's throw away, who just happens to be mates with Kate Piper (a fellow old Georgian)!

Alexandra (Zandy) Ayres (née Judd) 1993 My eldest, Toby, started school in September and seems to be enjoying it - not that I hear much! My youngest, Sam, is now three and can get into mischief quicker than you can blink - so keeps me on my toes - and just to add to the chaos in my life we got a puppy in February.

Left to Right: Lucas, Jules in the back row, Peeze and Mel in the middle Barbs and Rege at the front

As you can imagine, both weekends were full of cha er, laughter - and a fair amount of reminiscing over our days at St G's! Can't believe that we're all turning 40 this year as it seems only last week that we were leaving school! Hope life is trea ng everyone else well.

Ruth Colling (née Willingham) 1993 I started a new full- me job at Badminton School and my memories of a girls’ boarding school have come flooding back! Luke (8) and Adam (6) con nue to thrive at a school which is a short walk away from Badminton so it is sui ng me perfectly. We con nue to play and watch lots of football, golf and cricket and the boys won their first golf compe on - coming joint first, which helped maintain family harmony! We enjoyed a Willingham family gettogether when we all shared a house in the Lake District for a week to celebrate Grandma’s birthday. All 18 of us, aged from six to seventy- plus, climbed to the top of Old Man Coniston and enjoyed some stunning views. Only one of us took a dip in the tarn on the way down! I enjoyed extended birthday celebra ons to mark my 40th which culminated in a fantas c weekend in Northern Ireland and a trip to the Giant's Causeway. Thank you to Mark for spoiling me ro en!

In between the madness of everyday family life I have managed to keep up with friends from St G's. Had a lovely weekend in July with Katherine Chiu (Pinckney) and Ka e Delacombe when Kath was over from Hong Kong for her brother's wedding (photo 1).

Left to Right: Alex, Kath and Katie

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

33

Your News

1993 - 1997

Caroline Ellis 1993 Having moved to Cornwall in 1998 with my boyfriend we are both s ll happily living there. I re-trained to be a Compu ng teacher in 2003 and I am now Head of Compu ng in the largest secondary school in Cornwall where I have been for the last 9 years. Teaching obviously runs in my family and although I fought against it, I finally gave in and I love it. It is the most stressful and most rewarding job at the same me and I s ll relate my experiences and me at St George's to my students. In my spare me I enjoy walking our Parsons Jack Russell, Byron, on our wonderful beaches. I also enjoy riding and compe ng with my horse, Banjo, having started one-day even ng this year. Next year I will be reaching the big 40 and I will be celebra ng this by spending 7 days on horse-back, riding through Sicily and around Mount Etna as a special treat.

Alexandra Richards (née Francis) 1994 The leavers of '94 all met at Caroline Page's (now Illingworth) house near Andover with all our families. It was an amazing day.

We brought our own picnics; water sprinkler, tractor and pony rides, bouncy castle, trampoline etc were all laid on. Natalie Bentley (Johnston as was) did a wee head girl’s speech (she'd come all the way from Singapore and indeed Miranda McMicking from Texas and Emily Lutyens from Paris, Amelia Vernon as was from Guernsey and me from Scotland etc!). Seeing all our children playing together, many of whom are god-children, was very special and I felt the longevity of our friendships is testament to the values ins lled in us at St George's.

Sara Woolland (née Hellyer) 1994 S ll based in Guernsey. Both Jack and Zoe are now boarding Jack at Milton Abbey and Zoe at the most gorgeous prep school in Dorset - Hanford - 80 girls and 30 ponies. Tree-climbing lessons and childhood as it should be.

Hannah Foster (née Tyekiff) 1993 It's been a crazy busy year with the launch of my business www.gi pop.bou que and the addi on of a mad but loveable Weimeraner puppy (a friend for our equally mad Hungarian Vizsla). My youngest son, Walter (3), is now at Ha e's (Dawson) amazing pre-prep school, Harriet House. Albert is now six and Nancy five .We had a wonderful holiday in Portugal with lots of St G's girls.

Email:

Hanfoster@hotmail.co.uk

S ll working in the world of tennis as a consultant for several events, but also now managing Fanny Smith, the World Champion at Ski Cross (Ski Cross is the mad event where four skiers race each other down a course over jumps and turns at speeds of over 80km/h). Great fun and allows me more excuses to get to the mountains! We have just started a Ski Cross Academy to train young athletes and also run camps for kids aged ten and up who are good skiers and who would like to try Ski Cross.

Rebecca Gethings (Sharon Gethings) 1995 Most recently I was in a Channel 4 series called The Mimic which aired in August. Here is a produc on s ll from it.

News for Belynda Rand (née Green) is on page 42)

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Kate Elwell (née Newton) 1996

Ka e Rose (née Buik) 1996

Here is a photo of Hector who is now 15 months old. Apart from that, I'm s ll working full- me in London for the Sultan of Oman in his London office and commu ng at weekends up to our co age in Shropshire. Keeping in touch with lots of the girls from my year who are all doing well too!

I thought this photo might be perfect to send in to the alumnae!

It was taken on New Year's Day this year (2014) and features a number of us who have remained great friends since leaving in 1996. From L-R Claire Jelf (Hayley Bell), myself (Ka e Rose (Buik)) Kate Jason (Sutcliffe) and Geraldine Snoek (Knight) with our children, although Geraldine's two eldest do not feature in the photo and I was pregnant at the me with my 3rd (a li le girl, Ivy, who arrived in June). We had been to another St G's friend Gina Morris (Proctor's) wedding the night before.

Caroline Mor mer (née Offer) 1996 Many congratula ons to Caroline and Max, who were married in December last year.

Becky Perry (née Rodi) 1997 I’m married to Tom and have two li le girls Ma lda (5) and Beatrix (3) and live in London. I work for Diageo, the drinks company, and s ll love to ride horses when I can find the me. I’ve just bought Ma lda her first pair of jodhpurs so Tom is worried it’s a slippery slope to Pony Club from here…..

Amanda Parker 1996

Natasha Phillips 1997

I am s ll enjoying living in the South of France, where I teach at an interna onal school. It's such a beau ful place, right on the sea but only a short drive into the Alps where we o en go hiking at the weekends. I s ll see Maxime and her beau ful daughter all the me as she only lives a few minutes away. We were lucky enough to have a visit from Tasneem this year too - a girly reunion that we only manage once every few years! Looking forward to having more of you to visit next year!

It’s been a wonderful, adventurous and unpredictable year for the enfant terrible of St George’s. My lovely sister Samantha (Class of 2003) got married to her super-suave long-term boyfriend Ben, and my son got to try out Google Glass. Love and lenses – probably as good as it gets in the twenty-first century.

St George’s School, Ascot

For my part, I’ve been working away as ever on family law reform and even got to go to the BBC’s Broadcas ng House to talk about the Ashya King case, which was very exci ng and also a bit

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

35

Your News

1997 - 2003

awkward as I had to get up at 5 am to go to the blasted building for the shows. It was humbling being there though with all those journalists and being able to see where the magic happens. I assume they invited me because they couldn’t find anyone sane to do the job, but that was my good fortune. They did have to strike one of my interviews in the end though, as I made a controversial point; plus ça change....

Charlo e Mackintosh 1998 I have just got back from India a er a month-long holiday to go trekking in the Himalayas. It was stunning. The animal is a Himalayan Brown Bear (we were very lucky indeed to see one – usually you see the paw prints and scat but they are pre y good at staying hidden from people).

As well as making a nuisance of myself on topical ma ers, I’ve been doing lots of copywri ng too, which has been lots of fun. It’s a lovely voca on: one moment you can be wri ng about women offenders and rehabilita on, and the next you’re pu ng together an ar cle on this season’s must-have eyeshadow – it never gets boring.

Our dragon Abraxas is larger and more neon orange than ever. She laid around 30 eggs recently, which was something of a shock as I didn't even realise she was 'with children'. I blame that on my tendency to overfeed li le people and pets - she looked like a large pancake prior to laying her eggs, so I just assumed it was puppy fat.

Thanks to the marvellous medium of Facebook I’m s ll in touch with lots of people from my year and they all seem to be doing well and coping with life’s challenges with the grace and elegance you’d expect from such lovely women. Hopefully they’ll share their news here too.

Antonia Felix (née Phillips) 1999 James and I con nue to live in Barnes with our li le girl, Tilly. I am expec ng our second child in March. Life con nues to be very busy with my work as a family solicitor and family life. I s ll see lots of St George's girls, many of whom live nearby. Olivia Ealand got married a few weeks ago and the choir sang with Mr Hillier – it was lovely to hear it all again!

Olivia Vaughan-Griffith (née Ealand) 1999 Emma White (née Hewi ) 1997 Those who knew me well at school won't be surprised to hear that I am back working with children again. I have le the comfort of Penguin Books and London (where I had been the art team’s studio manager for the last eight years) and bought a children's nursery school in Ipswich, Suffolk. I can hardly believe it myself - I'm s ll in shock that my first a empt at a business loan got approved by the first bank I approached!

We got married on a sunny October day this year and it was an honour to have Mr Hillier playing the organ and the school choir singing. Pippa Bateman (née Biggs) did an amazing soloist piece backed up by the choir too, which took me back to the old days!

Lots of St George's girls joined to celebrate and we had an amazing day, followed by a very special honeymoon on safari in South Africa and then some beach me in Mauri us.

Myself, husband (ar st Richard White) and son (Finn 4) have all moved up close to my mother in Stoke by Nayland so feel free to email me if you are ever passing this way.

Email:

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Emma.smallworld@outlook.com

St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Emma Hawkins (née Halliday) 2000

Sophie Lanfear 2001

Many congratula ons to Emma and her husband on the birth of their baby, Elsie, on 14th April 2014.

Thought I would let you know I worked on the A enborough series that has been on BBC1 recently. I worked on programmes 1 and 2.

Camilla Ollier (née Hearson) 2001 My husband Tim and I got married on 25th June 2011 and welcomed our li le boy Logan into the world on 15th June 2014, Father's Day. We just love him and he keeps us all entertained with his gorgeous smile. He is the first grandchild and great-grandchild on the Hearson side and the first nephew to Aunty Cara. He is u erly spoilt by all!

Tilou Griffiths (née Turner) 2001 Mark and I got married at St Mary's Church, Stoughton, West Sussex on Saturday 16th August so I am now Mrs Griffiths. I am in my tenth year of teaching and absolutely adore it. I am currently teaching at Finton House in Wandsworth. I teach the very li le ones who are very sweet, but my goodness they know how to make you sleep well at night! I am s ll very close friends with Jen, Maria, Caroline Hale and Bryony. Jen read at our wedding and of course did so beau fully.

Alice Dadak (née Delmar-Morgan) 2002 I keep up with a lot of St George's girls which is lovely. I am now married and living in Fulham with my husband Rupert.

Fiona Hewitson 2001 Fiona wrote in January 2014: All is well with me, wai ng on my visa so I can return to the USA to con nue working in motor racing. I have a job in Public Rela ons for a team in the IndyCar Series, the American equivalent to Formula One, and in 2013 we won the most pres gious race, the Indianapolis 500.

Anna Gill (née Samarenko) 2003 In April '14 I had a baby girl - Eva. I am very lucky as she's a really happy chilled-out baby but s ll keeps me busy! Life has certainly changed but we are very happy. S ll living locally and keeping in touch with a handful of Georgians... busy year ahead packed full of 30th birthdays!!!

Email:

St George’s School, Ascot

anna_samarenko@yahoo.co.uk

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

37

Your News

2003-09 2002 -& stop press

Lucy Houghton (née Hollis) 2003 I have been living in Wales for 10 years and run a li le café/pizzeria near Lake Vyrnwy. Tom and I got married in June 2011 and our daughter Olive arrived in September 2012. Sebas an was born on 10th November and we are all completely smi en!

Luisa Gray 2004 In May this year my boyfriend Adam got down on one knee and proposed to me on Albert Bridge in London. It was the exact place I had dreamt about ge ng proposed to when I was a li le girl, and one of my best friends told him this without me knowing! Even though the rain was pouring down around us, it was an unforgettable moment full of happiness, love and smiles. In fact it was the most wonderful moment of my life! Fortunately I said 'yes' quickly so his knees weren't too wet from the puddles! We are very excited about ge ng married in July and are thrilled that so many Old Georgians will be there to celebrate this special day with us.'

Here is a picture of the two of us....obviously a modern day selfie with a view on London in the back ground.

Emma's wedding

Elouise Donaldson 2006 I graduated from Edinburgh University in July 2013 and have been working as a hospital doctor in London since, which I am enjoying very much indeed.

Rachel Forbes 2006 Although I gained a 2.1 from Manchester University in Poli cs and Modern History, I knew my world was going to head towards a career in TV. Currently working as an Assistant Producer on Channel 4’s Gogglebox, I am the lucky individual who gets to find all our new families/couples for the series. I have been extremely lucky to date, not having known anyone in TV before I started in the industry. I have also been fortunate enough to be in constant work, helping produce some other well-known shows that you have hopefully all seen on your telly sets. The job is hugely varied and I get to meet some incredibly interes ng, amazing and absolutely crazy people who let me into their homes or work places and tell me all about their lives and careers.

Outside of work I s ll manage to see a lot of St George's ladies from my year and it is always nice bumping into other year groups at certain alumnae events. To those in my year that I haven’t seen for ages, I wish you all the best.

Shikiko Masutomi 2006

Amelia Riddell (née Rodgers) and Kate Bellamy 2005 Amelia writes: Kate and I le St George’s in 2005 to complete our Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Since gradua ng, we have both been working in event management and now have a combined experience of over ten years in the events industry. With this experience we have set up a crea ve event-planning company called Bellamy & Riddell. We offer a range of events from private par es, corporate events, fundraisers to weddings and we are hoping to launch an online store soon. It is a rela vely new business, having launched at the end of 2013, but we are very excited by it and hope it will become a real success!

Website: www.bellamyandriddell.com Twi er: Bellamy_Riddell Facebook: Bellamy & Riddell

Emma Umbers (née Parker) 2005 We got married on 6th September. We had a beau ful cliff-top wedding (literally!) in Cornwall. The sun shone and the celebraons lasted all weekend. I am very happy in our new home in Wandsworth. Looking forward to catching up with Georgians at forthcoming reunions. (Photo in next column)

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I am s ll in Tokyo but now working for the Bri sh Embassy, assis ng their marke ng ac vi es to promote Bri sh food in Japan.

Karen Chan 2007 I s ll live in Hong Kong and am currently doing a master’s programme in Clinical Psychology.

Emily Ko 2007 I got married to Tin Lee on 28th October at Islington Town Hall with a cosy ceremony with just family. With the formali es out of the way, we are now planning the big party in Hong Kong next year for rela ves and friends… #weddingroundtwo. Here is a picture of Tin and I on our wedding day, and a few familiar Georgian faces at the hen do!

days). In my spare me, I write on Japanese culture for publicaons including South China Morning Post and Singapore Airlines' in-flight magazine, and am currently studying to become a saké sommelier. I am deeply thankful to the wonderful people I met at St George's, and will be sure to drop by to say hello when I next visit the UK!

Alexandra Ghiacy 2009

Emil Em E m y's mil y Hen Part Pa y

Sophie Ma hews (née Hudson) 2007 Dave and I had a wonderful wedding and are now feeling very se led into married life in Wandsworth. It was par cularly special to see Mrs G-P reunited with many of my Georgian friends! I con nue to work with jewellery designer Kiki McDonough while Dave begins training for ordina on as a vicar in September.

A er leaving St George’s in 2009 I studied for a BA Joint Honours in English Studies and Philosophy at The University of No ngham.

A er gradua ng I did a ski season in La Rosière, France, before travelling to America to visit family. I am now the Content Writer for a global organisa on partnered with Apple, Samsung and T Mobile amongst others. I create and manage the copy for the Apple Store, the company website, packaging content, blog and all social media pla orms. It’s my dream job and I’m forever grateful for the support I received at St George’s – especially in perfec ng my English skills!

Email:

alexandraghiacy@hotmail.co.uk

STOPSTOP PRESS

PRESS

Cathy Shostak 1971 I was thrilled and overwhelmed and touched that some of my lovely St George's schoolmates came all the way to Scarborough to see my show. Such amazing support. (see page 29). Producers in London and New York are discussing its future so I will keep you posted. Cross everything!

So Soph oph hie ie and Dave's Wedding g

Sarah Ratner 2007 Alongside The Economist I've been doing lots of ac ng recently - I performed in a play at the Edinburgh Fes val in August (where I bumped into Mrs Crossley - how funny!) and I'm currently in a play at The Courtyard Theatre in Old Street.

Lucinda Cowing 2008 Having completed my studies in Japanese and Chinese languages at SOAS, I have been living happily in Japan for 3 years. I am the Kyoto representa ve for Walk Japan, an operator of off-thebeaten-track tours of the country that is also working to revive an idyllic rural hamlet suffering from mass migra on to the ci es coupled with an ageing popula on. Next year I will be sent to China to begin developing tours along an ancient trading route in the south-west (which helps, as I’m forge ng my Chinese these

St George’s School, Ascot

Also a er ge ng the go-ahead from the acclaimed novelist and screenplay writer Nigel Williams to adapt his book and TV drama The Wimbledon Poisoner into a musical, I have just started work on this. Very exci ng mes and I always remember my 'musical adventures' at St George's.

Jane House (née Spencer-Jones) 1984 It's an age since I sent my news in but a good number of us caught up in the summer at MJ's in London which was such fun and we have a great group on FB!! With Tim in the Army we live such an i nerant lifestyle; just never in one place for more than seemingly five minutes!!

I met Tim in '84 (at school!!), the year I le St George's......30 yrs ago; frightening!! We've lived in Zimbabwe, Germany (several mes!), Malaysia, various areas of the UK and New York. Tim spent last year in Kabul, which made for a very strange year; just willed it away!! He made up for it this year with lots of leave as we waited with baited breath to see if he had managed to secure a second pos ng to the UN in New York.

Absolutely amazingly he made it once again thru' all the various interviews etc etc and we have now been here nearly five weeks.

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

39

Your News

stop press

Kerry Bertram (née Tichelly) 1988 Arabella Maguire hosted a super lunch in London for the class of '88 and we thought you may like a photo for SnapDragon.

Surreal to be back and just soooo looking forward to the three boys joining us for the Christmas holidays. Alex and Ollie are both 15 and in the Vth form at Radley. Arthur is 11 and at Horris Hill Prep School near Newbury.

From le to right: Arabella Maguire (Bate), Selma Arain, Suzy Pope, Dani Paget (Moss), Jo McMahon (Thomas), Victoria Simpson, Kerry Bertram (Tichelly) and Charlo e Baines.

Already caught up with Tanya who very kindly treated me to supper and Bradley Cooper on Broadway. Looking forward to seeing Eugenie again when she's back in Greenwich over Christmas. Have a happy 2015 everyone !!

Claire Hughes (née Ploug-Sorensen) 1986 Last wrote in the 2010 edi on. Lo e my eldest is now in the Sixth Form at St George's. She is very into her Drama, especially at Eton! Emily close behind doing her GCSEs and playing lots of lacrosse - we s ll have the Georgian spirit! Have just celebrated my first year in business, making high-end digital photo albums and home movies. Great to be working again. Please have a look at my website Had a lovely couple of days in the country with Lo e Gillian and Paula. Hope a few more of us will meet up in March.

Belynda Rand (née Green) 1994

The le -hand photo shows Claire's two daughters outside Number Ten. Claire has been involved fundraising for CRUK and through a friend held a recep on there.

Website: www.livingimagesdesign.com

I am living in Gloucestershire under the wide-reaching job tle of farmer's wife and Mummy to Angus who was born in May 2014. I manage to see a number of Georgians quite regularly which is fantas c but terrifying to realise it's 20 years since we le - obviously none of us have aged (and definitely not grown up) so it makes it even harder to believe!

NEWS OF FORMER STAFF

Mrs Jane Benne -Rees (Further Maths) I am s ll lecturing in Maths at King's College, London. As well as teaching Maths, I run a module which our third year mathema cians can opt to take alongside their tradi onal Maths courses as part of the 'Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme'. My students go into some of the most difficult London comprehensives for a day a week for 10 weeks and work alongside Maths teachers, o en taking a small group of struggling pupils or else those who are bright and need to be challenged. It is demanding for the students but they find it amazingly fulfilling to make a difference to these children and change their a tude to a subject which so many are 'turned off' by!

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St George’s School, Ascot

As well as my work in the Maths department at King's, I am s ll on the Advisory Board for the company Oxbridge Applica ons and am spending much of this half-term helping candidates for Oxford and Cambridge prepare for their interviews, giving 1-1 two-hour sessions on Communica on with poten al Maths, Science and Engineering students who are not usually known for their ability to communicate!

I spent a month of this summer in Kenya with my two grandchildren, aged just four and two. We had a wonderful me on the beau ful Kenyan coast and then in Nairobi and Naivasha before they went on to Rwanda and my husband and I went on the best safari we have ever had. That was immediately followed by three weeks in the States for a family wedding, returning just in me for the new semester.

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

Claire Bolton (Gap Student 1997) Am very busy devo ng me to my speech and language therapy prac ce (clinics in Harley Street and in Chesham). Delighted to announce that Jean-Paul and myself became engaged during a trip to the Caribbean. We are looking forward to hos ng an English wedding for our interna onal families.

Mrs Helen Forbes (Head of History) I le St George's to work as Head of Sixth Form and as a member of the senior management team at Francis Holland School, Regent's Park. It was a very busy and rewarding job. Last summer, in 2013, I le to join my husband who was already working in Moscow. He was concerned that I would find it difficult to adjust to Russia - I did not speak the language, would have no work, and knew virtually no-one.

I have had the most wonderful me. I am learning Russian, reading Russian literature, apprecia ng Russian art, sightseeing in Moscow and travelling as much as possible elsewhere in Russia. I am learning to cross-country ski and to ice skate, and enjoy making friends with other members of the expatriate community. This picture was taken at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Having taught Russian history for twenty years, I am par cularly interested in current events. We may have to leave Moscow earlier than we an cipated. I will miss the city.

Mrs Avril Growco (French and La n))

groups of children in the Ecole Maternelle; this picture appeared in our local paper in the summer. Again this year we have had many visitors and were delighted to welcome Mrs Moyles and Mrs Po er as they celebrated not being at school when the new term started!

Mrs Margaret Harman (PA to Mrs Caroline Jordan) Since re ring for the second me from Squires Sugarcra Interna onal School in 2012 and closing my cake business in November 2013, I have been busy visi ng friends and family and having small holiday breaks here and there, including the Robbie Burns Heritage village and the Brig o' Doon. What a beau ful place to live! Fred re red in April and we had a lovely family weekend away (nine of us) as a house party at The Abbey House at Abbotsbury, near Chesil Beach.

We are busy doing a makeover in our garden and sprucing up the decora ve order as we will be placing the house on the market in the new year. Not sure yet if we will move to the country, sea, or stay local. Another highlight was a ending a Buckingham Palace Garden Party to mark the Presenta on of the Standards to the Household Cavalry. We thoroughly enjoyed the deligh ul a ernoon tea and wondering around the grounds of the Palace. I s ll do cakes for friends and family to keep my hand in.

Mrs Jane Hayward (Head of RS) I am enjoying my re rement! At the end of April I joined a group for a tour of Israel. I had an amazing me. We started off in Galilee and worked our way down to the end of the Dead Sea. The emphasis was on archaeology and the Biblical record. Lots of things I had taught 'came alive'. I now help with the reading skills at my grandchildren's primary school and find it most enjoyable.

I o en think of St George's and miss you all. I am a aching a picture of my grandchildren. Raphael was born on October 25th 2014.

We can hardly believe we have been living in the Brenne for three years now; the me has passed so quickly and s ll we are making new discoveries. There is never a dull moment as when we are not walking. bird watching on one of the 4,000 lakes, or gardening, we go exploring, either to one of the bigger towns with art galleries, abbeys or museums or to more local events or sites. We are blessed with a choice of concerts and cinemas, including one which relays live transmissions from the Royal Opera House. Then there are all manner of local events; food and an que fairs, official openings of art exhibi ons, fund-raising dinner dances for the twinning associa ons and ac vi es with the children and adult visitors from Belgium and Italy when they come to Mézières. I also belong to a na onwide associa on which organises volunteers, who are over 50, to read stories (French) to

Mrs Hayward with her Grandchildren

Wendy Kershaw (Ar st in Residence) A er St George’s I was a further educa on lecturer, and then for over eleven years ceramics technician at The Glasgow School of Art. I’m now happily a full me ceramicist, with a studio at home, an old farm house on the hillside of a beau ful Sco sh glen, where my partner Jey and I moved to two years ago. We are ba ling the wood-chip but will win! I exhibit interna onally, and have had three residencies in China. My me at St George’s was

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

41

NEWS OF FORMER STAFF contd

a real help in developing my work. SnapDragon has brought back many good memories of my two years as ar st in residence. Best wishes to all my old students and to the staff.

Website: www.wendykershaw.org

I am temporarily Master of the Choristers at Reading Minster, where I am conduc ng a cathedral-style choir and Mr Ian Hillier is kindly playing the organ on a few Sundays and for the Christmas Midnight Mass. We are talking about a possible visit by the St George's Chapel Choir.

Mr Andrew Stafford (Head of English) Our major news is that my son, Richard, was married to Charlo e Alexander in mid-August. As you can see, we were taken to the chapel by a Routemaster bus and subsequently with a busload of guests to Harleyford. This made us somewhat conspicuous as we went via a crowded Marlow High Street on a Saturday morning.

Fortunately, many of the shoppers were known to us and raised a cheer or two!

My wife, in the fuchsia hat, is the Vice Principal of the new Chiltern Music Academy, while my daughter, who starts her finals year at Royal Holloway, is a Choral Scholar there, and toured Berlin, Prague and France with the Chapel Choir during the summer. The Bridegroom is reading Paramedical Science at the University of Her ordshire and his bride is a teacher.

Best wishes to all Alumnae!

VALETE - staff leavers Mrs Wendy Moyles

rs Moyles has devoted all her working life to teaching.

Whilst her children were young she tutored and worked in Lyndhurst prep school in Camberley, before coming to St George’s in 1986. She has taught English, History and Study Skills and for many years she has been our Head of Learning Support, but more of that later. As she puts it, she has ‘worked under five Heads and five Heads of English’.

Mrs Moyles appreciates the fact that one’s own family can become involved in the school and, in a way, belong to the Georgian community. For example, former pupils may remember that Mrs Moyles’ father came to talk about his me as a Pathfinder in Bomber Command, and her brother spoke in school about his me as an Olympic and professional cyclist. And I remind her that her daughter, Annemarie, taught me about the desktop publishing package that I use for this magazine. As Mrs Moyles says, ‘Teaching at St George’s can be a family affair.’

There have been huge developments in teaching during that me, though, she says, 'it wasn’t quite quill pen and ink when I began!’ Coursework was all handwri en;

One characteris c for which people will best remember Mrs Moyles is her determina on to get the best out of every pupil, to build up girls’ confidence, so that, as she puts it, ‘girls

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42

word-processing hadn’t been heard of. Throughout her teaching career Mrs Moyles has been keen to encourage children to love reading a wide range of books, and she introduced them to the charity, Readathon, about 20 years ago; over the years the First and Second Years who have taken part in it have raised a total of nearly £30,000 for Sargent Cancer Care and the Roald Dahl Funds which help seriously ill and disabled children.

St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

who thought they couldn’t, found that they could’. In her Study Skills courses with the First Years she would begin by showing them a photo of a bee. With its ny brain – the size of a grain of salt – a bee can do so much; so how much more should humans be able to achieve, with a brain the size of a grapefruit? She thinks it really important that a child should know how she herself learns best; is she a visual, auditory or kinaesthe c learner? Mrs Moyles’ eyes light up when she talks about the more recent, exci ng learning tools: iPads, speech recogni on and electronic reading so ware. She has also run Study Skills courses for the Fourth Year, to help them in the run-up to their GCSE year. And for the exam pupils in the Fi h Year, relaxa on classes were available; she remembers that the classes worked unexpectedly well, in that some girls would fall asleep on the mat during the relaxa on exercise!

concern two much-loved colleagues who died while s ll teaching at the school, Mrs Dyer and Mrs Baker. Both had been very suppor ve to Mrs Moyles when she herself was ill.

What will Mrs Moyles miss most? Of course she will miss the friendship in the staffroom, the laughter with both pupils and staff. In addi on to being a form teacher, she also loved having Sixth Form directees; in the years when girls chose their Director of Studies this was a very special rela onship. Sadder memories

Unfortunately, owing to a period of ill-health, Mrs Moyles has had to put her grand travel plans on hold. However, she is making a good recovery; we wish her a speedy return to full health. SvdV

In re rement Mrs Moyles hopes that she and her husband will have enough me to travel. She looks forward to spending more me with their grand-daughter, to studying Art History perhaps, and above all to walking. Walking is her ‘life blood’, she says. She also hopes next year to go on a world trip including a long stay in Perth, Australia, to visit her brother.

But in re rement she is sure she will miss 'the Eureka moment' when girls exclaim, ‘Oh, I get it!’, and the sa sfac on of mee ng former students who are now successful women, o en bringing their own daughters to St George’s to start the circle again!

Mrs Victoria Potter the IT revolu on. In reprographics I have seen out the Banda and Roneo machines in favour of the all-singing, all-dancing photocopiers.’

M

rs Po er (seen here on the le with Mrs Moyles, of course) arrived at St George’s in 1989, having previously worked in two different schools in Bracknell. So she has devoted 25 years to teaching here. Originally she was a part- me French teacher, working just three days a week, but this soon expanded into a full- me post in which she has taught French and History, both of which she studied at university; for a few years she was Head of Modern Languages. She was also Head of First Year and then Fourth and Fi h, as well as Head of Alexander House, in succession to our long- me colleague, Mme Bissinger. Beharrell teaching block was opened in the summer of her first year; then came the Sports Hall, New Loveday and of course the Sue Cormack Hall.

We are all familiar with Mrs Po er’s irrepressible sense of humour (including her at mes uncontrollable giggles) and her wonderful way with words, and I can do no be er than quote the very words that she herself uses to describe the other changes that took place during her career: ‘It has been a journey of discovery for me, a learning experience from this side of the teacher’s desk. During my career, which started in 1972, I have done ba le with reel-to-reel tape recorders, film-strip projectors (inevitably the slides were upside down), casse e recorders and

St George’s School, Ascot

When I asked her what she would miss most – apart from all the pupils, of course (Ça va sans dire!) – she said it was the camaraderie in the staff room. ‘We talk about lifelong friendships being forged amongst the girls but we must not overlook those same rela onships made in the staff room,’ Mrs Po er says. She has also appreciated ‘the ability to be oneself in the classroom’.

What did she mean by that? Well, at St George’s you can share a joke with the girls; you can, if you wish, make a fool of yourself (which she herself admists to having done on many an occasion); what is so important is that you know that the girls will be laughing with you, not at you. And now when she meets Old Georgians there is s ll that good rela onship, par cularly with the many girls who chose her as their ‘Director of Studies’.

Apart from her pa ence and perseverance when teaching, Mrs Po er will be remembered for the huge number of school trips that she accompanied – from ‘Jack The Ripper Tours’ in London, trips to Williamsburg and to Moun itchet Castle (all for History), the Drama trip to New York, to the countless Third Year trips to Normandy, which are described on pages 14-17.

In re rement Mrs Po er will definitely not miss the marking (which she would o en be a acking at 5 am); nor will she miss being ed to school terms. She will now be able to spend more me at her house in France and to travel more widely. She looks forward, too, to con nuing upholstery classes and to having the opportunity to do more ‘cultural things’ – go to exhibi ons and so on – without having whole groups of schoolchildren to shepherd everywhere. St George’s is losing an irreplaceable teacher and we shall all miss her.

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lunch for staff leavers

July 2014 At a lunch for leaving staff in July 2014 we said good-bye to some teachers and administra ve staff, but au revoir to others. Mrs Angela Bushill (Head of Science) re red from full- me teaching, but returned in September to teach some Psychology on a part- me basis. Miss Annabel Brown (Marke ng) – has returned to university to train as a Drama teacher. (Some Georgians will remember that during her me at St George's she helped with some Drama produc ons.) Ms Joan Cauldwell was persuaded during the last school year to return to help out in the Maths department, but she has now re red (again!). Mr Cudjoe-Calvocaressi (Poli cs) le in the summer, Mr Mike Hodges (Maths) has le to return to China and Mrs Ros Lloyd (Registrar for Admissions) has re red and so will be able to devote more me to her new grandchild. Some of our Resident Tutors and Lacrosse Coaches le in the summer, and, as usual, have been succeeded by others.

There will be other familiar faces in the second photo, which was taken at the leavers' lunch - from Le to Right: Mrs FitzGerald, Mrs Smith, Ms Shevills, Mrs Moyles, Mrs Green, Ms Cauldwell, Mrs Kennedy, Mrs Parry, Mrs Po er and Mrs Fidler.

SOME OF THE MAGNIFICENT KNITWEAR WORN BY THE STAFF ON CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY, DEC 2014 - AGAINST A VERY FAMILIAR BACKDROP

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St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

To begin with what was, I suppose, Mrs Shaw’s primary role – in the PE department – one Old Georgian refers to her ‘no-nonsense approach to PE’. Not everyone remembers with affec on the swimming sessions in the outdoor pool – lessons that con nued un l the autumn half term, whatever the weather. The pool could be so cold that steam would be seen rising from it, and girls ‘had to prise their frozen swimming costumes off the outdoor washing line where they lived’. No fuss was allowed, however. ‘It’s good for you,’ declared Mrs Shaw. Another Old Georgian remembers how reluctant she was to jump into the deep end of the pool.

‘Mrs Shaw's earnestness and reassurance helped me, not to men on the fact that she said that she would buy me some sweets if I did it!'

Similarly, memories of the Golden Gates cross-country runs s ll make the muscles ache, it would seem. ‘No slacking was allowed.’

In the earlier years, I am told, Mrs Shaw ran with the girls; in

IN MEMORIAM MRS DEBORAH SHAW (NÉE SAYLE)

later years she would follow them in her Renault 5, shou ng instruc ons out of the window to any lagging behind (with her incredible, very deliberate, clear dic on which we all remember):

D

eborah Shaw, who died in February 2014, joined the staff of St George’s in the mid-1960s. However, her connec on with

the school goes back even further, since she herself was a pupil at the school in the 1950s. So it’s difficult to imagine St George’s

without her. When I emailed alumnae and former staff to let

‘Come on girls, keeeeppppp runnnnningggggggg!’ However, one Old Georgian adds: ‘Deep down, even though Mrs Shaw seemed like an ogre to most of us most of the me, you could also see how she actually had all our best interests at heart and her dedica on to the school was perpetual’.

them know that Mrs Shaw had died, I could not possibly have

Tennis coaching at 7 am brings back memories for huge numbers

imagined the enormous response that I would receive. Everyone

of girls. We’re told that, if necessary, Mrs Shaw would go to

– whether they knew her in the 1960s or in the 2000s – agrees

dorms to wake her pupils to get them out promptly! Not all

that she is someone they will always associate with the school.

appreciated this at the me. These tennis lessons began with three laps of the courts to warm up. Again, no slacking was allowed. Later, if she thought that her pupil was not running fast enough for the ball, then she would place it further away. ‘She had the ability to hit the ball precisely where she wanted.’ And there was the inevitable exhorta on: ‘Mooove your feeeetaaaa’.

Her pet phrases are s ll engraved in people’s minds, such as, when serving you should ‘scratch your back, reach for the sky and touch your toes’. As for squash, one girl comments, ‘I will never be able to play a game of squash again without imita ng Mrs Shaw's famous cry of “balls down bras, girl!” to warm up the squash balls pre-match.’ Then in lax lessons, it was ‘cradlinnnggg to the faaaarrrr goaaaallll’

Deborah, aged 10, left. She told me that she was listening to a baroque trio when this photo was taken at school in 1952.

Her role is difficult to sum up. She taught PE, running the department for many years; she coached tennis and squash; she was a form tutor; she ran many of the boarders’ weekend excursions; for a long period she was responsible for pu ng all the events into the school calendar; she organised many charity events, in par cular girls’ visits to old people’s homes and shelters; she took numerous Chapel services, and – very memorably – she awarded ‘deportment badges’ un l the custom was ended.

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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MRS DEBORAH SHAW CONTD

Another scene engraved in people’s memories is the sessions when Mrs Shaw made them do exercises to music in the gym.

The favourite tune evidently was Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots are made for Walkin’. Another girl remembers Dolly Parton’s Jolene.

Old Georgians will not be surprised to hear that Mrs Shaw herself prac sed everything that she preached in rela on to fitness. Un l she became much less mobile shortly before her death she would swim regularly and was o en seen coming in to use the gym at school. Un l only about two years ago some staff con nued to go to a keep fit class she used to run in Sunningdale. So, one las ng legacy will be the way she inculcated into everyone the importance of keeping fit. An Old Girl who wrote in to us commented, ‘She must have done something right as I got up at 6.45 to go to the gym this morning!’

Not surprisingly, a common thread running through all the contribu ons is Mrs Shaw’s unforge able appearance, with her turquoise eye shadow, her close-cropped hair and her gold teeth – ‘always on view, as she was always smiling’. Then there

Mrs Shaw marshalling the girls for Queen Greeting

an unheated area; Deborah told me I'd survive and not to make a fuss! I did survive, I suppose!’

Every year during Royal Ascot junior girls would be marshalled

by Mrs Shaw with great precision to line Watersplash Lane as the Queen and the royal party rode to the races in their carriages.

was her jewellery – on her fingers and in her ears – or some mes

Mrs Shaw used regularly to volunteer to take the first Chapel

the fashionable single earring, her 'cool Georg Jensen silver

service a er the holidays. In January we would hear how she

jewellery'. One Old Georgian writes that she remembers Mrs

had spent her Christmas Day visi ng people in shelters for the

Shaw ‘being constantly on the prowl to confiscate any items of

homeless and going to see lonely elderly people in their homes.

jewellery we tried to wear to a games lesson, which we always

In par cular, many recall the way she used to speak about ‘Arry,

found hilarious as she wore more rings and earrings than all of us

one of the men she would come across regularly at the homeless

put together!’

centre where she helped out. Mrs Shaw would, I’m sure, be very

Mrs Shaw would go to huge efforts organising ou ngs for the girls. Overseas boarders also recall that Mrs Shaw would take them to the cinema on the last night of term, a er all the day girls

pleased to hear how much Georgians remember from these Chapel services, and what an influence they had on their lives.

Of the many who men oned 'Arry, one wrote: ‘A few years later

and local boarders had gone home. During ou ngs girls might giggle at some of her eccentrici es, such as the 'no sniffing glue' speech that was reeled off before they were allowed to leave the coach on shopping trips ('as if it had ever entered our minds!'), or the fact that she said she always kept some money in her bra in case she was robbed. Of course, girls were also reminded of the importance of courtesy and it was expected that every single girl would thank the driver as she le the coach.

Staff remember that school ou ngs were not relaxing occasions for the teachers accompanying them: ‘Mrs Shaw was extremely a en ve to the welfare of her charges on school ou ngs, which o en meant that the accompanying staff had no breathing

Mrs Shaw and her tutor group - a St George's Day Chapel Service

or ea ng space for a whole day as she herself seemed to

46

survive on air and water…..I remember a par cular harrowing

I ended up volunteering for Crisis for almost a year and I'm sure

Saturday morning at Richmond's Flumes in the winter when my

that Mrs Shaw's stories played a role in my decision to help out

instruc ons were to sit for five hours watching our girls emerging

there.’ And another expressed similar views: ‘I do remember

from tubes on the other side of a pane of glass whilst I froze in

that her tales opened our eyes a li le to see people differently.

St George’s School, Ascot

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

MRS DEBORAH SHAW CONTD We led very fortunate, sheltered lives and would not have seen

and they have fond, rather amusing memories too, such as

people like him in quite the same light without her guidance.’

seeing her wri ng her Christmas cards by the pool in the summer holidays. Mrs Shaw was definitely not a last-minute person!

Mrs Shaw is well remembered as a form tutor. A girl who boarded

But then, these were no mass-produced gree ngs; each card

in the 1990s writes of leaving home in South Africa at the tender

would contain a slip of paper with an appropriate verse or saying

age of 12 and coming to boarding school for the first me. 'I was

specifically chosen for that individual. Former Headmistress, Mrs

so sad to be saying goodbye to my friends and anxious as to what

Griggs, summed up her thoughts thus: 'Mrs Shaw was a complete

life living away from my family would entail. Shortly before my

original and an indefa gable member of staff, u erly devoted to

departure I received a hand-wri en card all the way from the UK

the School's ethos.'

from Mrs Shaw, which I s ll have, introducing herself as my form teacher and telling me a bit about what to expect - she even told

On a personal note, I was grateful for her unfailing support for

me the names of my shadows, both of whom remain my closest

alumnae events. Ironically, just a er her death I opened an

friends. It was the kindest of gestures and meant more to me

envelope with her acceptance form for the next alumnae reunion;

than she'd have known.’

not just one ck, but three energe c ones, confirming that she would like to a end. Even when she was walking on two crutches

And, apart from all the memories sent in by her pupils, what else

she s ll came along to each reunion and never failed to write a

do her former colleagues remember? They, too, speak of her total

fulsome le er of thanks a erwards – a lady to the end.

dedica on to the school, of her interest in other people's welfare,

SvdV

"I am sure she touched the lives of many Georgians through her me at the school and will be fondly remembered by all who knew her."

"It was lovely to see her at the reunion two summers ago. I didn't have a gli ering school career, but she made it bearable, a very special woman."

"Mrs Shaw made efforts towards educa on that went outside the boundaries of a regular schooling."

"She was always around to listen or to help anyone."

"She was my rock as a child, and a source of enormous inspira on into adulthood."

"We will miss her eccentrici es, every last one of them!"

"Now I shall be determined to ins l Mrs Shaw's great quali es into my 3 children, too."

"For me, she'll always be there, dashing around, s cking reams of hand-wri en instruc ons to doors all over the school, telling us not to procras nate, and just generally being energy personified."

We are grateful to the following, among others, who contributed to this ar cle: Amanda Archer (née Goodman)

Antonia Felix (née Phillips)

Amanda Parker

Rosie Stewart

Lucy Balmer (Dingley)

Jax Fothergill (née Peters)

Nina Parker

Alex Thurstan (née Barber)

Emma Beresford

Gemma Fradin (née Wilson)

Natasha Phillips

Alexandra Valsamides

Kerry Bertram (Tichelly)

Nicky Gayner (née Frizzell)

Sam Phillips

Victoria Walker

Susanna Blackburn (née Hunt)

Anna Handy (née Stephens-Tarr)

Suzy Pope

Johnna Wellesley

Amanda Camilleri (née Gwynfryn-Evans)

Vanessa Hayward (née Giles)

Alexandra Richards (née Frances)

Charlotte Whitburn (née Baines)

Deborah Caporn (née Lawson)

Charlotte Hill (née Pemberton)

Ali Richardson (née Grad)

Christie Wright

Kally Carder

Georgina Jackson-Sytner (née Smithson)

Antonia Rubin (née Collins)

Fiona Carson

Charlotte James (née Agnew)

Julia Salvat (née Robinson)

Mrs Jane Bennett-Rees

Charlotte Casella (née Phillips)

Emma Kidd

Mandy Safavi-Goldman

Mme Marie-Christine Bissinger

Jennifer Cheesebrough

Philly Lumby (née Tree)

Rebecca Shaw Frandsen

Mrs Frances Booth

Frances Ching

Jo McMahon (née Thomas)

Danielle Sidders (née Proctor)

Dr Carole Cushing

Charlotte Clark

Arabella Maguire (née Bate)

Victoria Simpson

Mrs Chris Fidler (née Rigg)

Ashlin Cooke

Karen Maxwell (née Goddard )

Sarah Sinclair (née Lodge)

Mrs Anthea Griggs

Lisa Ellis (née McCann),

Melissa Meacock (née Yeldham)

Kate Smith

IN MEMORIAM - old georgians We offer our condolences to the families and friends of the following alumnae: Mrs Heather Brightman (née Pick) 1940s who died in September 2013.

Margaret Enzer (née Tucker) 1932 - former Head Girl. Her son, Richard Deacon, informed us that his mother had died in February 2014 in the nursing home to which she had moved a year or so before.

Maria Hart (née Simonds) - Old Georgian, and grandmother of Sarah, also an Old Georgian. Maria’s son, Robert, tells us that his mother passed away peacefully on 8th December. 2014

St George’s School, Ascot

Wells Lane, Ascot, SL5 7DZ

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IN MEMORIAM voice' and says she 'knew far more than we did who had been at the Junior School.'

Clearly St George’s did not stretch Gabrielle at all. She writes: ‘It was certainly not a school known for its academic standards, so I did no work whatsoever as nobody pushed me, and I was the only girl planning to go to university, most girls going off to finishing school or cookery schools in prepara on for marriage.’

GABRIELLE ROBERTSON OBE (1936–2013)

So Gabrielle did not succeed in her A-levels and had to

abrielle Robertson (nee Maynard) came to St George’s in

G

retake them at a tutorial college in London, whence she went

1949 on an academic scholarship. Her father ran a prep

to St Andrews University to study French and Spanish. It was

school but without this scholarship he could certainly not, she

in her final year at St Andrews that she met the man she was

says in some brief recollec ons wri en in 2012, have afforded

eventually to marry, Struan Robertson. However, before that

to send her to St George’s. In the same term as she arrived at

he moved round Europe with the Army and Gabrielle worked

the school there was a change of Headmistress (Miss Fisher le

for the Foreign Office in London (where she sang with the

and Miss Baker took over) and Gabrielle describes her father

world-famous Bach Choir) and in Berlin. A er marrying in 1962

as having been ‘u erly dismayed’ at the news. Gabrielle and

Gabrielle o en had to travel alone with her young children to

Valissa Casdagli were the only new girls in form Lower V, where

their numerous pos ngs abroad when Struan had been sent on

they were received in a very hos le manner by the other girls.

ahead with the regiment, and as an officer’s wife she was also

Gabrielle describes their form as ‘the most rebellious in the whole

expected to offer support and advice to the soldiers’ wives. She

school at that me, as they all wanted Miss Fisher back’. She says

says that it was only when they were se led and the children

that she was ‘most dreadfully bullied’ and even the teachers ‘kept

had le school that she ‘was able to do other things’. Valissa

walking out of lessons as everybody behaved so badly’. ‘I hated

tells us that Gabrielle ‘worked relessly for SSAFA (the charity

every minute of it and cried myself to sleep every night,’ she

that deals with the welfare of serving and ex-service men and

adds. A er the Christmas holidays she did not wish to return; her

women and their families) and was awarded the OBE.’ Other

mother couldn’t face taking her back, so her father ‘did the dirty

ac vi es involved serving on the Bench in Perth, working on the

deed’.

board of a housing associa on and being a member of General Synod – as well as playing the organ in her local church for 23

Fortunately, though, Gabrielle and Valissa struck up a

years.

friendship which was to last for 64 years, according to Valissa, who describes Gabrielle as a model student, having had an excellent start at her father’s prep school. She adds: ‘She was clever, musical and had a lovely singing voice. She was always

missed by all her family and many friends. I shall miss that

striving to do her best at everything she was involved in, whether

cheery voice saying “Hello, my friend”, but she will not be

it was Drama, Music, games or work. I am sure that her deep

forgo en.’

religious faith helped her through any difficult mes.’ Jane Edwardes (nee Dixon), another of Gabrielle’s friends, describes her as ‘very pre y with lovely fair hair and a beau ful singing

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Valissa concludes her tribute by saying: ‘In October 2013 she lost her ba le with an incurable lung disease. She is greatly

St George’s School, Ascot

Top: Below L: Below R:

Gabrielle (L) and Valissa in the 1953 school photo Gabrielle celebrating their Golden Wedding day in 2012 Gabrielle's daughter, Alice Sheepshanks - also an Old Georgian - with her parents in 2013

www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk

archive photos

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1971 19 71

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1974 - Sixth Form End of Term 'binge'

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SnapDragon 2014 The Newsletter of GALA The Georgian Alumnae Association St George’s School, Ascot