TUDOR HALL NEWSLETTER
SUMMER TERM 2016 / NO26
Swimming Gala The sun shone for the intra-school house swimming gala. New 20m races were introduced to cater for a broader range of abilities, which facilitated the setting of new records for the girls to beat. Swim squad members set four new records in the junior competition, three new records in the intermediate competition and Rose Lord (Vs) broke four records in the senior competition shaving 1.02 seconds off the 40m senior front crawl record set in 2004. A record seven girls competed in the individual medley event, fantastic proof that the girls’ continued commitment to swimming training has increased their confidence in their ability and willingness to perform in front of a crowd. Life-saving duties were overseen by members of the UVI, Anna Chambers and Ella Ziegler, who have recently gained their National Lifeguard Qualification.
500 words competition Six years ago, BBC2’s Chris Evans had a dream: to get all children excited about reading and writing no matter what their ability. 500 Words is now one of the most successful story-writing competitions for children in the world. Entrants write an original story on any subject or theme in 500 words or fewer and submit it online. In 2016, 450,000 submissions were received, with Sophie Donald (IIs) reaching the penultimate round with her story ‘A Fork in the Road’.
OTs plant commemorative tree
Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday
Afternoon tea complete with birthday cake
The summer term started with our own celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday. Over 400 girls, staff and dogs assembled on the lawn, adorned in red, white and blue, for an aerial photograph of the community forming a human ‘90’ (the image has since been sent to her Private Secretary as a birthday card). We welcomed back Old Tudorians, who were at school during Coronation year, to plant a red magnolia on the lawn and we all gathered outside the dining room for a traditional afternoon tea complete with birthday cake.
The Mikado The setting of the Japanese Garden could not have been more perfect for the staging of Tudor’s first open air opera, The Mikado. Parents, OTs, staff and girls picnicked on the lawns of this natural amphitheatre whilst cast and chorus members (including the Tudor Junior and Carrdus Choirs) sauntered in their kimonos amongst the blossom trees which were adorned with paper lanterns. The Mikado, staged by professional company Opera Anywhere, was a musical and visual feast keeping the audience amused and intrigued throughout. Huge thanks to the team of Lower Sixth who oversaw hair & make-up, photography, filming, social media and the information desk, as well as Paddy from Buzzy Beans who provided delicious coffee and hot chocolate.
SUMMER TERM 2016
Salters’ Festival of Winners! Budding scientists from the IIs, including Mia Berridge, Abby Rutherford, Ella Smith and Orly Stephens, travelled to the University of Birmingham to take part in the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry. The girls took part in a practical Chemistry competition against 14 other schools and, after a day of experiments, were declared the winners.
Shakespeare’s 400th birthday celebrations The IIs kick-started the summer term with an excellent event to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday, but also to mark 400 years of his legacy. Parents were invited to ‘drop in’ to their daughters’ drama lessons in order to observe their participation in a variety of exercises exploring the work of the bard. The aim of the lessons was to make the language of Shakespeare’s plays more accessible; ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was the text in focus. The girls also created a wonderful display of artefacts relating to Shakespeare, which included a handmade ruff, a birthday cake, informative posters, quotes, portraits and masks.
The Right Chemistry IVs chemistry students started their revision for the school exams with a talk from Nick Barker who oversees Warwick University’s Chemistry Faculty’s Outreach programme. Nick spoke about and demonstrated practicals on hydrogels, biofuels including ethanol combustion, reversible reactions, liquid nitrogen (including using a banana as a hammer) and dry ice (CO2). He then spoke at an Aim Higher talk on women in research posts at university.
National Hockey Success Charli Price (Vs) and Serena Goodhart (UVI) were part of Banbury Hockey Club’s senior mixed team, including Mrs Duncan-Jones and Mr Long, that won the England Hockey Association’s national mixed team trophy. The semi-finals and final were played at Lee Valley which is the national hockey centre based within the Olympic Park. What an achievement for the girls to be crowned senior national champions at such a young age.
Peterhouse Vellacott History Essay Prize Commendation Lottie McGrath (LVI) has been commended in the Peterhouse Vellacott History Essay Competition. Her essay discussed what was derived from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘political black satire’ film Dr Strangelove: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb and focused on why twentieth century society learned to love the atomic bomb. Lottie said, “The essay required independent research and I explored the value of nuclear diplomacy and the deterrent effect that nuclear bombs have on aggressors, as well as the role that popular culture has played to cause many to value, and even love a weapon of mass destruction.” The Cambridge college received over 250 entries from 175 different schools, many congratulations Lottie.
County Athletics For the second year running, Tudor won silver at the County Athletics Track & Field Cup, exceeding the team’s personal best team score. Each girl competed in two events, with individual performance being converted into points for the team. Outstanding individual performances in the junior competition included Tilly Dollar’s javelin throw of 18.85m and Isabella Mackie’s personal best in the 100m of 14.4 seconds. The inter competition saw a huge range of personal bests and impressive performances including Molly Levene’s 300m in 45.2 seconds and javelin throw of 21.10m. Carolina Ortiz recorded a high jump of 1.40m and a hurdles run of 14.4 seconds. Flora Smiley and Roseanne Watkins both scored 23 points apiece with their shot putt efforts. The teams’ total score came to 312 points which placed Tudor narrowly behind the leaders in 2nd place. The team qualified for regional finals finishing in third place.
SUMMER TERM 2016
Boarding Bake Off
English Symphony Orchestra Martha Prestidge (Vs) is a youth member of the English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) and attends the Intermediate Orchestra courses as well as doing some work experience with the ESO to get a glimpse of what it is like to be part of an arts organisation. She recently shadowed the Orchestral Manager for the day at Dorchester Abbey where the ESO were playing as part of the English Music Festival.
Sunshine on Sports Day The sun finally shone through for Sports Day, held this year at North Oxfordshire Academy’s athletics track in Banbury. It was great to see so many girls competing for their houses and supporting one another in one of the sporting calendar’s most tightly contested events. Notable performances included Hannah Drewry’s new intermediate javelin record of 26.50m, Jenny Hannah’s new personal best in the 1,500m of 5.19.56 and Molly Levine’s new personal best in the 800m of 2.41.34. The war paint was definitely out in force!
IIs Bushcraft Outdoor Adventure at Cornbury Park The IIs thrived during a fantastic two day outdoor adventure with the Bush Craft Company in the woods at Cornbury Park. They created shelters, built and cooked bolognaise on their own camp fires, swam in the lake and put their first aid into practice on staff who pretended to be victims of an aircraft crash.
The Boarding Schools’ Association highlighted the benefits of a boarding school education with a ‘National Boarding Week’ campaign. Tudor embraced the scheduled activities and created our own. Skye Brooke’s entry into the ‘Boarding Bake Off’, with a raspberry & lime chequerboard sponge filled and frosted with Italian meringue buttercream and decorated with lime macaroons, made it into the finals held at Dorney Lake, Eton, and saw her crowned as the winner. We submitted a 30 second film, created using girls from all year groups wearing a variety of uniforms and outfits, to reflect the vast array of activities that go on within a boarding school environment. To see the film, visit the school website. We ran a ‘Boarding at its best’ competition, inviting the girls to list the top 3 things they love about going to a boarding school. With a hamper full of goodies as the main prize, we were flooded with entries. Lara Morris-Marsham (IVs) and Rosie Symington (IIs) were joint winners, both receiving hampers. Olivia Gough, Sophie Walker and Rosie Dunbar, all LVI, took part in the Big Boarding Sing which brought together the largest boarding choir ever. Pupils followed Dominic Peckham’s repertoire for the day which was based on his ‘Circlesongs’ workshops, learning specially arranged music on the day with no advance prep needed!
SUMMER TERM 2016
A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Junior Production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream got off to a flying start with superb performances from Grace Sale (Titania) and Annabelle Walker (Oberon) as they created magic on stage with their feisty relationship. The fairies added a further sense of wonder with their bright colours and melodious voices. Comedy was injected by the Mechanicals and Millie Courtney (Bottom) stretched out Pyramus’s death magnificently. Finally, the lovers brought both humour and tension to the stage with some fantastic performances by Tilly Dollar (Demtrius), Poppy Denison-Smith (Hermia), Ella Bridgeland (Lysander) and Violet Blackburn (Helena). The evening was enjoyed by all and the cast deserve the success they worked so hard to achieve.
Inspired by Venice Having visited Venice with the Art Department in March, the IVs’ GCSE group has created oil paintings, etchings and pieces of ceramic work inspired by their visit. This term, the girls started some figure work and dressed up in Venice Carnival costumes and, in September, will be using their sketchbook research and photography work to compose a final painting for their GCSE portfolio.
Swim to success Commonwealth & European medallist, swimmer Sarah Price, held a swim clinic with the school squad. Sarah represented Great Britain at the Olympics, World & European Championships and Commonwealth Games, breaking 35 British, 9 Commonwealth, 2 European and one world record in her wake. Her coaching tips were invaluable to the girls.
CONTACTS AT TUDOR HALL
Leavers’ Recital
Main School Switchboard
The passion, extraordinary quality and wide repertoire of music at the Leavers’ recital was testimony to the part that music plays in the lives of so many young women who performed. All the pieces were well-chosen and performed to a high standard, and the vocal lyrics reflected each individual’s journey and moved many of the audience to tears. The support from friends and families ensured there was a very special atmosphere at the recital. Quotations from the girls include: “Music helps me relax and cope with my exams”, “Music is just part of who I am” and “Music will always be a part of my life.”
The Todd Crest Award All Todds entered the bronze level Crest Award; a national science award run by the British Science Association encouraging children aged 11-14 to design and carry out their own experiments individually, create and interpret data and convert data into excel graphs including a percentage decrease graph representing 10 hours of work. They presented their projects in powerpoint and produced a marketing leaflet. The girls received a bronze level certificate from the British Science Organisation.
Violet Blackburn has been invited to speak at the Discover ARTiculation Final at the University of Leeds in July. The ARTiculation Prize is a nationally acclaimed public speaking competition for sixth form pupils designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of art. Discover ARTiculation is a new competition for 14 to 16 year old pupils. Participants submitted a 2-3 minute film speaking about a work of art, an artefact or a piece of architecture of their choice. Seven girls were shortlisted in the Deddington Poetry competition: Otti Swan, Orly Stephens, Tash Stevenson, Alice Sitwell, Toni Idowu, Alishba Farooq and Emily Reid. Alice Sitwell and Toni Idowu received winners’ medals.
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OPEN DAYS Sixth Form Open Morning Sat 17th September, 10am-1pm
Whole School Open Morning Sat 1st October, 10am-1pm To reserve a place, please contact admissions@tudorhallschool.com
Carrdus School Open Morning Fri 30th Sept, 10am to 12noon. To reserve a place, please contact jcozens@carrdusschool.com
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