An introduction to Senior School
How is the day organised?
Academic
The girls start each day with their tutors, before going off to assembly. In the course of the week girls attend a variety of assemblies. The whole of Senior School meets together twice each week; teachers or students lead assemblies on a variety of topics, reflecting on key issues, considering local or world events, and celebrating achievement. The different Sections of the School (Middle School, Upper School and Sixth Form) meet weekly too, as do the House groups. The various assemblies are quite different in nature - reflecting the diversity of our community. Assembly is followed by five lessons, each lasting an hour, punctuated by a short mid-morning break and a longer lunch break. School ends at 4.00pm, except on Friday, when a shorter lunch break enables an earlier finish at 3.35pm (so that girls in Upper School and the Sixth Form can participate in the Joint Combined Cadet Force (CCF) which takes place at Merchant Taylors’ School).
How are teaching groups organised?
What curriculum do the girls follow? We aim to provide each girl with a broad, balanced education that enables her to explore her individual strengths and interests. In Year 7, all girls study Art; Computer Science; Design & Technology; Drama; English; Geography; History; Latin; Mathematics; two Modern Languages from a choice of French, German, Mandarin and Spanish; Music; Physical Education; Personal, Social, Health & Citizenship Education (PSHCE); Religious Studies and Science. From Year 8, Science is taught separately as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. From Year 10, girls continue to study a core curriculum incorporating English Literature and Language, Mathematics, Science which can be studied either as a Double or a Triple Award, a Humanity and a Modern Language. They are then encouraged to follow their
interests by selecting a number of optional subjects including Art, Classical Civilisation, Classical Greek, Computer Science, Design & Technology, Drama, French, Geography, German, History, Italian (as a beginner’s language), Japanese (also as a beginner’s language), Latin, Mandarin, Music, Philosophy and Ethics for Religious Studies, GCSE Physical Education and Spanish. All girls in Years 10 and 11 continue with Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) as well as participating in a general programme of Physical Education (PE). In the Sixth Form we offer a programme which enables girls to tailor their study to suit personal interests and strengths and which consistently prepares students for entry to their first choice universities. We currently offer over 30 subjects to A Level in the Sixth Form, providing an extensive range of choice.
The girls are taught in a variety of groups. In Middle School (Years 7-9) the girls have many of their lessons in teaching groups - which are made up of girls from each of the tutor groups. They are placed in ability bands for Mathematics (as is most probably the case in their current primary school) and they are grouped for Modern Foreign Languages according to their choice of languages. House groups are arranged across year groups and tutor groups too. We find this works well, as the girls build strong and varied friendships across the year group and across the School.
What about Sport? In Year 7, girls have three PE lessons per week, pursuing a variety of sports including athletics, dance, gymnastics, lacrosse, netball, rounders, swimming and tennis. As girls move up the School they will find that an increasing range of options is available to them and they will have the opportunity to try out new activities, such as badminton, golf, trampolining and rock climbing. Our aim is that all girls enjoy fitness activities, whatever their ability. There is a huge variety of sports clubs and practices on offer, both for those who simply want to participate for enjoyment and for those who want to commit to competitive fixtures.
Pastoral Care How does the induction programme help girls settle in to Senior School life at St Helen’s? At St Helen’s we pride ourselves on offering a warm and welcoming environment for all girls joining Senior School. Girls join us from a wide number of schools, including our own Junior School. The tutor group is at the centre of our pastoral system. In creating groups, care is taken to connect your daughter with girls from a similar home geographical area, as well as considering girls’ interests, which are often the basis of new friendships. At the Year 7 Induction Day Event in June, your daughter will meet her tutor and her new classmates. The girls receive a ‘Year 7 Girls’ Guide’. This provides the girls with practical information about the organisation of school life and helps prepare them for the start of term. Over part of the summer, we offer an email buddy facility that enables girls to get in touch with one of our Year 9 students to discuss anything
they would like to know: any last minute queries can be dealt with in a reassuring way. At the start of the Autumn Term we hold an Induction Day for all Year 7 girls. The girls use this day to start to find their way around the School and to make new friends, by taking part in a number of fun and informal activities in small groups. Your daughter will quickly find that there is always a friendly face available to point her in the right direction if she is lost or to answer any questions she might have. We have Sixth Form Prefects and Leaders who have responsibility for supporting Year 7. They organise weekly activities for the girls. All Year 7 girls take part in a residential activity centre visit early in the Autumn Term. This is an integral part of the induction programme and there is no additional charge for the weekend. It is a great opportunity for the girls to get to know one another through involvement in a whole range of team-building activities.
At the heart of the St Helen’s pastoral system is the relationship between your daughter and her tutor. Whilst St Helen’s is noted for its warmth and friendly character, we recognise that your daughter may have worries at any time and the tutor is on hand to provide support. Tutors meet with their tutees every morning for organised sessions focusing on pastoral and learning issues. Tutors have regular individual mentoring meetings to review academic progress and involvement in the co-curricular programme. Students and parents can contact tutors at any time by email. Girls are encouraged to bring to the attention of their tutors any concerns or questions they have in the hope that small concerns can be addressed before they become larger ones. Your daughter’s tutor will know her strengths, interests and potential and will encourage her to take an active role in the wider life of the School.
Co-curricular We offer a huge range of co-curricular activities at St Helen’s, ensuring that every girl enjoys the breadth of experience essential to a stimulating education, and enabling her to make the most of opportunities, develop new skills and discover new interests. We offer a very wide range of team and individual sports. Social and elite sportswomen are equally welcome, and will find a sport which fires their competitive spirit! Those who enjoy music and the performing arts will find a wealth of opportunities in our many orchestras and small ensembles, choirs and bands, plays and musicals – or can work backstage in our technical and production
teams. Lunchtime and after school opportunities include debating, art, photography, language clubs, our famous Heath Robinson Inventors’ Club and many more!
the Phab Team, comprising Sixth Formers from St Helen’s and Merchant Taylors’, organises a week-long residential activity week for disabled children.
Further up the school, girls can develop leadership and teamwork skills through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), which we operate in partnership with Merchant Taylors’ School, and Community Action, where the girls work towards gaining the V-Inspired Award. We strive to make a positive difference to our local and global community, and our Sixth Form Charities Team plays a major role in coordinating our extensive awareness-raising and fundraising activities. We raise substantial donations for a wide range of good causes through Calendar Sale (our Christmas Fayre) and activities which take place in House Charities Week. Each year
What about other links with Merchant Taylors’ School? As well as the joint CCF and Phab, the girls work collaboratively with Merchant Taylors’ boys in joint musicals, concerts and plays, and in seminars and discussions related to Careers and Higher Education.
What about Careers Guidance and Preparation for Higher Education? Senior School girls follow a structured programme of activities designed to enable them to reflect on their strengths, to develop their skills and to prepare them for Higher Education and beyond. We invest a great deal of time in supporting our girls to realise their ambitions. They in turn achieve great things, and go on to become leaders in their fields, professions and communities.
How involved can parents be? We value our partnership with parents enormously, and work closely with them in all aspects of their daughters’ education. As well as traditional Parents’ Evenings, we arrange regular information evenings for parents, including at times when the girls are in the process of making important decisions about their subject choices. We are fortunate to have an extremely active and supportive Parent Teacher Association (PTA), which organises a great many social and fund-raising events each year – their most recent contributions to the School have included our Climbing Wall and tiered retractable seating for our new Junior School hall!
Dear Parent
St Helen’s is a school which is proud of its tradition of educating girls to the highest academic standards while at the same time maintaining their co-curricular interests and promoting their development into well-rounded and balanced young women. Our pupils will be the leaders of their professions and their communities and we have the responsibility to prepare them to fulfil these roles by developing their intellects, talents, aptitudes, and characters. When I became Headmistress in 2011, we began a programme to enable St Helen’s to build on its fine traditions and to establish itself as the exceptional school in north London. This has involved us in making significant improvements in facilities and resources and in seeking excellence in the educational provision which we make for all of our pupils. We are now into the second year of the plans I outlined in Our Vision in the Spring of 2014 and have made significant progress towards achieving the aims which were outlined in that document. At the heart of all that we are planning are the three fundamental pillars which support an outstanding education. The first is the provision for learning which promotes excellent academic progress and ensures the fulfilment of every pupil’s academic potential. This is balanced by the second pillar which develops in every girl the qualities recognised and valued by employers and the wider community through a varied, adventurous and exciting co-curricular programme. The pastoral provision ensures that each and every girl is known, appreciated, supported and encouraged. These have always been the hallmarks of a St Helen’s education, and we have implemented a programme of wide-ranging developments by which the School will maintain excellence in every aspect of its educational provision in the future. The fourth pillar is communication: we want St Helen’s to be recognised widely for the exceptional education it provides and its successes to be celebrated by our community of pupils, parents and Alumnae, as well as on the national stage. I know that you are about to make an enormous investment – emotional as well as financial – in your daughter’s future and we hope that the information contained here will answer some of those frequently-asked questions which we know will be running through your minds at this time. Please do not hesitate to ask me or my staff for advice and information.
Dr Mary Short BA (London) PhD (Cantab) Headmistress
Welcome
St Helen’s School Eastbury Road Northwood Middlesex HA6 3AS Tel +44 (0)1923 843210 enquiries@sthelens.london www.sthelens.london