HIGHLIGHTS Spring 2015
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EPQ COURSE
EPQ Excellence for our Year 13 Students
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his term marked the end of the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) course for many Year 13 students. The EPQ tasks students with writing a 2,000 word essay of their choice, or creating an artefact and writing a 2,000 word essay to accompany it. It is open to all Sixth Form students. What makes the qualification so enjoyable for many students is that they are free to explore a topic of their own choosing that they are passionate about. They learn valuable life skills through learning to research and reference sources correctly, managing
their time and being challenged to think analytically about their strengths and weaknesses. The project is equivalent to an ASlevel and has proven extremely popular with universities around the country. Evidence shows that many institutions have made lower grade offers to girls who are studying the EPQ, compared to those who are not. Mr Cannon, Head of Business and Enterprise We asked three of our Year 13 students to share their EPQ experiences and learning:
Annabel Sim (Year 13) My Extended Project was based around the role of the country house in three of my favourite novels: Pride and Prejudice; Brideshead Revisited; and Rebecca. The premise of the project was to distinguish the location of these novels as not merely a set, but something more poignant that contributed to the reader’s wider understanding of the text. Undertaking the EPQ has been a thoroughly rewarding and engaging experience, through which I have learnt so much and developed many new skills. I delved into an area of literature that just a year ago I knew barely anything about, but from which, I have learnt so much. The level of independence required for my EPQ has forced me to become much more responsible for my own learning, whilst also encouraging me to admit mistakes and move on from them. My project has not merely provided me an outlet to pursue my interests on a deeper level, but has even encouraged them further. I am incredibly pleased with the end result of my project, and the experience has greatly affirmed my desire to study English Literature at university. I would recommend the EPQ to any AS student, not only as a way of deepening your understanding of a topic you are interested in, but also of honing valuable skills that will be of great use for A-level study and beyond. Annabel is now looking forward to reading English at Christ Church College, Oxford University.
Elara Surety (Year 13) I was interested in orthography. Orthography refers to the way a language is written, including aspects such as spelling and affected literacy acquisition. I was examining it in relation to the English language, in particular, whether our irregular orthography is a disadvantage to us as English speakers. First, I looked into the irregularities in the language, and how and why some of these irregularities have arisen. Then, I focused on whether this made it harder for us to initially ‘learn’ the English language compared to another language, and other effects, such as increased dyslexia rates. Building from this research, the vast majority supported the theory that deep orthographies take longer and are harder to learn. I went on to look at whether we should have a spelling reform to counter these negative impacts. In answering this, I considered the social and economic benefits and disadvantages of the English Language undergoing a reform. I also considered the global effects of such a reform, which are particularly pertinent when concerning English, and considered who has the right ethically to make such changes. I think the most important advice that can be given to those about to start the EPQ would be the importance of carefully considering the topic. I can honestly say that, had I not been completely fascinated by my topic area, I would have been much less likely to have finished my project. My interest meant I was motivated to continue through with it until completion. It also meant that tasks such as researching did not feel arduous or hard work, as I genuinely constantly wanted to learn more about the topic area! Elara is now looking forward to reading Modern & Medieval Languages at King’s College, Cambridge University
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EPQ COURSE
Elizabeth Isaac (Year 12) My EPQ was originally going to be an essay on theatre or history. It took a long time for me to choose a subject, because I knew that I had to keep the interest in that topic for around nine months. I was carrying out research into Cromwell’s closing down of the theatres; it occurred to me that I could create an artefact. As my play-writing is stronger than my essay writing, I thought that I would write a play and produce it, and that is what I am doing now. I’ve always loved acting and directing and writing, so for me it is the perfect choice and it doesn’t feel like a chore at all. I think that EPQ is fantastic and I love the freedom that it has given me. We perform the play, ‘When they Went Dark’ in June; the actors who have agreed to be my characters are brilliant, and it should be a fantastic show!
ART GALLERY
Phoebe Hughes Year 11
Perdie Vaughan Williams Year 12
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SCIENCE
Celebrating Science!
“I enjoy how we are able to do things ok ourselves, not just lo ts at things/experimen .” ed en that have happ Alice Barr
Science Week and CSI Event Junior School
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hroughout the year, we place a great deal of importance on STEM subjects. Running a Science Week allows us to further raise the profile of Science and to channel the girls’ enthusiasm. During Science Week the girls cover topics and participate in events and activities that allow them to extend their experience of Science. Activities during our Science week this year included; Science Assemblies; a theatrical performance where the pupils learnt about different states of matter, and live demonstrations and workshops which provided opportunity for hands-on activities. An excellent learning week involving ‘fun’ science was experienced by all. We now look forward to Science Week in 2016! Mr Mostert
Zoo Trip Year 4 travelled to London Zoo and had the experience of a lifetime, sighting an Okapi, Giraffes, Zebras, Tigers, Penguins, and many more exotic creatures. We all really enjoyed it and hope to go again.
Science Week
Year 1, 2 and 3 Science Activities The three year groups experienced fun science demonstrations by Mr Mostert. He explained about the eclipse and safety, and the groups acted out what happens.
Science Week was very eventful at Blackheath High Junior School, with many enjoyable and exciting activities…
Monday Science Assembly Jess McLaughlin and Katya Labiaga Grace from Year 5 presented an exciting eclipse assembly. The Year 6 Green Team Prefects demonstrated some experiments and spoke about famous women scientists. Both groups were very good, and it seemed the school really enjoyed it.
Bunsen Towers We started our Science Week with an amazing performance by the Kinetic Theatre Company, watched by KS1 and Reception, then KS2. The main topic was ‘changes in materials’; it was a fun and educational show, and we hope to see them again with another scientific play!
Solar Eclipse On Friday the 20th of March, we experienced a partial solar eclipse. The cloud cover made it difficult to notice any big changes, however, our teachers showed a live stream of the morning’s events. Year 4 enjoyed making their pinhole cameras even though we did not put them to use on this occasion.
STEM Assembly Mr Mostert spoke about the importance of STEM subjects, and how girls can compete and be very successful in subjects that were traditionally seen to be for boys only. Thea Simpkin and I (Martha Norman) then did a presentation about the different STEM subjects and explained their importance in everyday life.
Science Week was, overall, an exciting edition to our calendar, and we are sure everyone is looking forward to the fun and excitement next year. Martha Norman and Kate Robinson
“Fun! Interesting and inspiring” Mille Ferreira-Leake
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SCIENCE
Senior School
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ur Senior Science Department has had a busy and exciting half term, with lots of great activities and experiences. On the 25th February, we set off on a wonderful trip to Colchester Zoo with Year 7. Surprisingly, we were blessed with unusually good British weather for the time of the year. The girls enjoyed a full tour of all the animal enclosures, the highlights of which were the large cats (although they seemed, generally, to want to sleep) and the large primates, with whom the girls had great fun interacting! A running and enthusiastic commentary from our resident Biologist Mr Laber highlighted the majesty of the natural world in what we were seeing. The amazing British Science week commenced on the 13th March, with a spot of pond dipping in the school pond. This gave the girls the opportunity to look at the variety of flora and fauna the pond produces. They saw frog spawn, newts and toads, as well as daphnia and other pond-dwelling organisms and as summer rolls on, we hope to see the nymphs and other warmer weather creatures making an appearance. Science Club, a mainstay of the school’s extra-curricular programme, had an engaging session on the use of conductive paint, a really remarkable material. The girls fashioned their own blinking robot greetings cards using the paint, button cells and LED’s and were genuinely surprised at this cutting edge material. Its uses include lighting up a tiny bulb on a birthday card, creating an over-sized game controller for consoles, and painting an entire wall so that when it is touched a light comes on. Later that week saw the highlight of National Demonstration Day come alive with the double act of Mr. Jordan and Dr. Mustafa. We had ‘Screaming Jelly Babies’ (well, screaming Gummy Bears in our case), an amazing Thermite reaction reaching a temperature of about 2000 OC with a shower of sparks and the aptly named ‘Whoosh Bottle’ (named after the ‘whoosh’ the vapour makes as the alcohol ignites), exploding hydrogen balloons, the Chemistry of the Sparkler, a dry ice and magnesium volcano, dry ice rockets and spooky dry ice fog. All of this was enthusiastically received by the girls in equal measures of excitement and healthy fear. At the end of a busy week, we had arranged for the girls to trot off to the Heath to watch the partial eclipse but alas, typical British weather prevailed, so instead they happily watched the BBC live coverage from the Sports Hall. Hopefully the skies will be kinder in 2026 for the next one! To mark the end of a fantastic week of Science, we had a very interesting and thought provoking assembly talk given to us by parent Mrs Wright.
She highlighted the concept of innovation in Science and lifechanging inventions, both past and present. She also encouraged our girls to think about the importance of daring to be different which was particularly motivational. We thank her for sparing the time to speak to us. All of this made for a very exciting and fitting end to an exciting and hopefully inspirational half term for all our girls. Dr Mustafa Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 5
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SCIENCE
CSI Morning at Seniors At the end of term, Year 5 became crime scene investigators for the day at the senior school! A large quantity of money had been stolen from the safe. Evidence was gathered: a footprint was discovered just outside a window, an unknown white powder was found near the safe, clothing fibres had been caught on a forced open window and a jacket was found near the crime scene. Throughout the morning, our enthusiastic scientists, assisted by Year 7 helpers, participated in Biology, Chemistry and Physics sessions, to deduce clues, determine details and draw conclusions from their investigations. Their scientific activities included using microscopes to analyse fibres and materials; analysing unknown powders; testing for elements to identify substances; using UV light, analysing footprints and assessing the reliability of eyewitness statements. At the end of the morning, the pupils were invited to compare their evidence, and discuss their findings.
“One morning we went to the senior school to learn how to perform some science-based investigations. We were told a story about a robber who had stolen some gold from a local warehouse. Everyone was split into groups and then had to do three different science experiments to discover which character in the story was the robber. In each science laboratory there was a series of tasks to complete to find out more information about the robber. We investigated different areas of Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Once we had done all the tasks, we were able to figure out who the robber was.” Hannah Ridd
ART GALLERY
Rubia Southcott Year 11
Georgia Robinson Year 12
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ART GALLERY
Katie Wright Year 11
Emma Noone Year 12
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DRAMA
Beauty Beast and the
at Greenwich Theatre
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n Monday 16th March, Blackheath High School’s Music and Drama Departments headed to Greenwich Theatre for our annual musical performance. This year we performed Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, an enthralling and exciting tale of enchantment and love. The Beast (Rosie Hough) and Belle (Alexandra Brilliant) delighted the audience with their story – which saw us move from the small provincial town to the Beast’s magical castle. The castle – beautifully created by the Art Department - revealed several engaging characters all of whom were under a spell. There they met
the candlestick; ‘Lumiere’ (Poppy Cracknell); a clock called ‘Cogsworth’ (Georgina Smith-Morgan); a teapot ‘Mrs Potts’ (Eden Rickson) and various other exciting personalities. There were also talented performances in the duo team of Gaston (Phoebe-Rae Levene) and Lefou (Erin O’Brien). Who could forget their hilarious duet? The lively music provided a show-stopping Year 5 Chorus number – Be Our Guest – as the cutlery they almost stole the show! It might possibly have been the best show yet and we’ve a lot to live up to next year. Mrs Tyrrell, Head of Drama
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DRAMA
Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 9
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MUSIC
Seniors
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he Spring Term was an incredibly busy term, packed with trips, musicals and a tour to Amsterdam. Our academic lessons were supported by trips to the Institute of Education to enable students in Year 10, studying GCSE Music to participate in a conference. Our Year 12s also attended a similar lecture where they gained a greater insight into the coursework element of AS Music. The Tea Time Concert gave our soloists and smaller ensembles the chance to perform in the Dance Studio to a supportive audience of staff, friends and parents. A particular mention must go to Subeeksha Jayasangar who wowed us with her ‘Dr. Who’ medley on the keyboard. A new addition to the calendar was ‘Pop Fest’, which showcased our Rock Band under the leadership of our guitar teacher, Mr Luckett. We also heard a number of solo items performed by girls from across the year groups, many of them accompanying themselves on the guitar or ukulele. After a busy first half of term, the school production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ gave an opportunity for our best singers to shine on the stage. The band grew in number this year and we were delighted to hear some fantastic playing by Olivia West (percussion), Rubia Southcott (violin), Severine Higgins (violin), Pascale Higgins (viola) and Jasmine Sheshuryak (viola) who performed alongside three professional musicians. The Spring Concert was a huge success, with a large and supportive audience. The evening started with a warm-up set given by the Rock Band. Year 7 choir sang ‘Singing in the Rain’, under the direction of Mrs Coles, and Chamber Choir and Vocalise both sang a diverse range of music from classical to jazz. The newly formed Folk Group performed a series of Gaelic jigs and Glee treated us to an Adele medley. As always, there was an array of percussion instruments from djembes to marimbas, showcasing Samba Band, Beat It and Mini Mallets.
The final performances were on the last day of the term. A Level recitals were given by Philippa Jackson and Marie-Odile von Ungern-Sternberg. Both performed at an incredibly high standard, with both recitals being completely note perfect. A fantastic way to end the term. Mrs Gunton, Director of Music
Photos reproduced with kind permission from Marianne Swienink-Havard http://swieninkhavard.co.uk/msh/Blackheath.html
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Juniors
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here were many musical highlights at Juniors during the Spring Term. Particularly memorable was the performance of Song of the Earth, a children’s cantata written by Lin Marsh. Years 4 and 5 teamed up with Years 5 and 6 from Invicta Primary to perform eleven songs which told the story of the Emperor and the Nightingale. All the children performed with so much energy and commitment and it was a pleasure to hear 160 young voices sing so beautifully. During the Autumn and early Spring terms, Lin Marsh, a well known children’s composer and young voices expert, visited our school to take rehearsals with both schools. We were also joined by Ed Scolding, Assistant Director of the Conservatoire, who rehearsed and led the accompanying orchestra of young musicians. The final concert was stunning; Helen Fraser, CEO of the GDST, who was among the audience, tweeted: @HelenFraserGDST @BlackheathHigh It was an incredible
evening. The audience (including staff) was visibly moved at the end. Year 5 were impressive as ever as a chorus in the senior production of Beauty and the Beast at Greenwich Theatre at the beginning of March. As the end of term approached, we were delighted by the performances of Year 5 and 6 in their Tea Time Concert, which featured 48 talented young soloists and was a reminder of the hard work and commitment that goes into learning an instrument. These girls showed the audience and each other their achievements in music, whether learning for a matter of months, or years. The term then ended on a high with Chamber Choir winning the Junior Choral Class at Bromley Music Festival. This was the first time we had participated in this event and we went in for the experience of competing and dealing with performance nerves. The excellent result, winning our heat
and then overall winner of the three classes was a wonderful bonus! We were awarded the only distinction of the class, beating Blackheath Prep, Bromley High and Colfe’s among other schools. Well done, girls!
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ART
Senior Art We will always have Florence
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n April an excited group of Year 11-13 artists set off early to Florence. On arrival, we went straight out for dinner in a square and to get our first night-time glimpse of Brunelleschi’s breath-taking Duomo. The great thing about Florence is its scale; we were able to walk everywhere for the whole trip. On the first morning we strolled over the river in the sunshine to Palazzo Pitti. After a talk in the throne-room from Mr Whitfield about the rich Florentine merchant families, we got to explore the artwork. Room after room stretched ahead of us; when you started down a new wing you couldn’t even see the end of it. Each room was adorned with paintings from the Renaissance era, the colours were amazing and each room was a different shade of deep red or emerald green and gold. It was a pretty spectacular start to the trip. There was also modern art and an exhibition of the history of Italian fashion. It was funny to see clothes from the Pop Punk era displayed in such a grand setting, and it gave the sixth formers lots of inspiration for their ball dresses. We explored the gorgeous gardens and enjoyed some drawing time to sketch some of the things we had seen. After our first real Italian pizza in the piazza, we watched a flag march display in front of the Palazzo Vecchio next to Michelangelo’s famous David. Some of us even had a go, flipping an enormous flag 10 feet into the air and catching it, which is harder than it looks!. Afterwards at the Academia we saw lots of beautiful sculptures, but the highlight was seeing the famous prisoners by Michelangelo. The next day, with the sun shining, we went on a day trip to Siena, where we went on a tour of the heraldic districts led by Mr Whitfield and climbed central the Tower del Mangia. Over 100m up, we were treated to some fantastic views over Siena. After a light lunch we went to the astounding Cathedral; the Gothic architecture was really beautiful and different to some of the other sacred places we had seen.
The penultimate day was jam packed with churches and cathedrals! First we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella; especially peaceful and beautiful as we were the first people in and the sun shone through the stained glass windows to create some really stunning patterns on the floor. Inside the Basilica we got to see one of the first paintings to use perspective as we know it, The Holy Trinity by Masaccio. Then we looked round the famous leather markets of Florence and had the opportunity to haggle for some great souvenirs. Later we visited the solemn and glorious Medici Chapels, with their utterly beautiful architecture and sculpture. My favourite part was the small hidden chambers which contained preserved body parts and bones of saints in spooky reliquaries. That afternoon we got our long awaited daytime look at the Duomo and the Cathedral of Saint Maria del Fiore. The size of the cathedral was incredible; it really took your breath away! We were also lucky to have the opportunity to climb the dome, where we ascended hundreds of stairs to get to the top to see spectacular views. On our final evening in Florence, our group got to select a restaurant we had seen, and to choose whatever we wanted off the menu. The teachers had spotted a really lovely little restaurant in a quiet square off the main part of central Florence, which served genuine Florentine dishes. On the final day we had just enough time to pop to the amazing food market. We all came out with huge hunks of parmesan, litres of Italian oil and other delicious goodies to take home. It was such a great trip, the weather was beautiful and the sights were stunning! The whole trip was just spectacular, I already miss it! Rosie Hough
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ART
Junior Art Art update from the Junior School
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ven before the girls had returned to school after the Christmas holidays, the staff were hard at work enjoying a half day’s art inset session, led by our own Mrs Hamburger, who has been with us teaching Years 5 and 6 while Mrs Drummond has been on maternity leave. The focus of the session was on close observational work, and everyone was able to take newfound skills back to their practice in the classroom. Meanwhile, the rest of the community (the girls and their families) were hard at work searching for famous artworks which they replicated, using photography, to produce their own updated versions. We had over fifty entries for the display entitled ‘New Images Distant Visions’, which runs along the corridor leading to the gym. Since then it has taken much longer to get the school into the gym for assemblies! Several members of staff have commented on how lovely it was to hear all the girls discussing each piece they passed, and laughing at some of the humour. Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 enjoyed second visits from our Artists in Residence, run in collaboration with The Blackheath Conservatoire. The focus was mainly on 3D work and ranged from fantastic Louise Bourgeois spiders to Stone Age statues, from Turner’s watercolours to magnificent Victorian style bronze busts. The pupils’ work was displayed in our annual art exhibition during the week of 18th May. The term ended with a Key Stage 2 Easter Bonnet Competition, arranged by the art prefects, Lily Chatterjee and Alice Jinks. The emphasis was on using recycled materials and provided a light hearted finish to the end of term. A big well done to our overall winner, Isobel Adcock (5H).
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FASHION SHOW SIXTH FORM
A show of talent
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his year’s Fashion Show was a punchy and funky showcase of Sixth Form talent performed to a lively and full house. The girls chose the theme ‘Nouvelle Vague’ and the final show really did encompass both a sense of crest-of-the-wave innovation, as well as humorous nostalgia and playfulness. Highlights included garments made from shimmering jewel-like plastic, everyday-wear customised into fairytale dreaminess, white haired mythic demi-gods and fauns, gold capes, intricately printed aprons and wild animals. Individual collections took themes such as fairytale, ballroom, gems, and mythology, processing them into a professional and surprising array of
garments and sculptural accessories. The walks were accompanied with bespoke films and presented with exciting choreographic and theatrical performances. The collections were interspersed with excellent singing and dancing performances. Sixth Form organisers Kathryn Doran, Phoebe Chard and Maddy Harrington smoothly rallied their peers and facilitated an evening’s entertainment that set everyone’s eyeballs ringing, ears tapping and feet dazzling! As we go to Press we have just heard that Isabella Smith has been shortlisted for the Young Fashion Designer UK South finals. Very well deserved! http://youngfashiondesigneruk.com/ Mr Whitfield, Head of Art
Isabella Smith’s dress; shortlisted for the Young Designer UK South Finals
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Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 15
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NEW HEAD GIRL TEAM
L-R Elizabeth Isaac, Marie-Odile von Ungern-Steinberg, Harriet Aubertin, Saina Hydara, Rosie Hough
MEET OUR NEW HEAD GIRL TEAM help organise various student events throughout the year. I’m really looking forward to working with the younger students.
Which subjects are you currently studying? The subjects I am currently studying in Year 12 are French, Geography, Spanish and History.
Harriet Aubertin - Head Girl What is the remit of your role? Being Head Girl, it is my responsibility to run the team, look over Senior Societies, organise the Sixth Form Ball in Year 13, participate in the School Council, represent our school on different occasions and
What do you plan to study in HE and do you have any particular career aspirations? I would love to study French, with maybe ab initio Italian. However, perhaps a History or a Geography degree - I still have yet to decide! After university, teaching is an option for me as I really enjoy seeing students’ understanding after I have helped them out with work, although for now I am still very uncertain of what line of work I would like to do. Living abroad in France for a couple of years is a dream of mine, as
I love travelling and it could help with my languages. However, for a career, I would love one that is highly people-centred.
What made you want to be part of the HGT? As I have been at Blackheath High School since I was three years old, I have looked up to the Head Girl Team here nearly all my life. All members have been so inspirational and I was really attracted to the job. I want to give back to the school and help in the community as best I can, and being Head Girl will definitely allow me to do that. I also love that I am a representative of our wonderful school and can really show everyone just how excellent it really is. What skills and personal attributes can you bring to the role to the benefit of the school and your fellow students? One of my main attributes is that I am a very organised person… I even won the Outstanding Organiser Oscar Award when I
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was younger! I thoroughly enjoy planning, preparing and leading events of any type. I also think I am very approachable as I truly enjoy chatting and helping anybody in any situation. Furthermore, as I have been here since Nursery, I really know the school well. Therefore, I will be able to approach all aspects of being Head Girl. I have also been Form Captain many times and really enjoy taking a challenge with the Duke of Edinburgh Award - I am currently going for Gold!
What do you hope to achieve whilst in the post? I look forward to the many opportunities the role will have. My main aim is to further bridge the gap between all students in our school. I feel that the younger years really should
not feel scared to come and chat to the sixth formers once in a while as we were once them. Furthermore, as I have a big passion for sport, I would like there to be more opportunities where the older and younger years can participate in sport together.
Please give details of any forthcoming events that you will have a role to play in as a member of the HGT. The team and I are helping out in the Year 10 ‘Moving Up’ evening, so we are all looking forward to speaking to the parents and students and giving our advice on what to expect with Year 11. I have also arranged that every break and lunch time, a Year 12 student will be on lunch duty in the dining room to chat to the younger pupils and to see if we can help them in any way.
Saina Hydara – Deputy Head Girl What is the remit of your role (including responsibilities)? As Deputy Head Girl my main duty is to help Harriet with all her various activities around the school. These jobs include overseeing the development of Sixth Form life, helping to manage the Senior Societies and organising the Sixth Form Ball and other events throughout the school. I also regularly meet parents at information evenings to tell them about life at BHS. Which subjects are you currently studying? What do you plan to study in HE and do you have any particular career aspirations? Currently I am in Year 12 studying Biology, Chemistry, History and English Literature. After I finish Year 13 I hope to go on to university to study Foundation Year Entry to Medicine. Alternatively, I hope to study public health course; as long as I can help people in need to feel better I will be happy! With these qualifications, I hope to either become a doctor or work in the charity sector with organisations such as W.H.O and Médecins Sans Frontières. What made you want to be part of the HGT? My main reason was to inspire the girls of Blackheath High. During my time here at BHS I have grown in more ways than I could have imagined; my whole attitude towards school and learning has changed. I wanted to be a figure that showed girls that you didn’t have to be the reincarnation of Einstein to be successful. Even if you are not the top of the class, as long as you persevere and put effort into everything that you do, nothing else matters. What skills and personal attributes can you bring to the role to the benefit of the school and your fellow students? I think that the main skill that I can bring to my role is my recently discovered ability to think on my feet. The greatest example of this is my largely spontaneous Head Girl speech and clearly it worked! I also think that I have the ability to stand strong in the face of adversity, regardless of what it is. What do you hope to achieve whilst in post? I hope that during my time as part of the Head Girl Team, I can inspire the younger girls of the school to think that they too can overcome anything that faces them. I hope to remind everyone that ‘age wrinkles the body, but quitting wrinkles the soul’. Please give details of any forthcoming events that you will have a role to play in as a member of the HGT. I will be joining many of the other Year 12’s in a new scheme that we will be introducing. There will now be Year 12’s volunteering in the Dining Room at lunch time to bridge the gap between the Lower School and the Sixth Form.
Marie-Odile von Ungern-Steinberg Deputy Head Girl What is the remit of your role (including responsibilities)? As Deputy Head Girl, my remit is to be a role model for younger peers, represent the school at academic functions and promotional activities and to encourage communication between different years at Blackheath High School. Being Deputy Head Girl means I will always be available to help Harriet (Head Girl) when she is organising events, and I can participate more in the running of the school. Which subjects are you currently studying? What do you plan to study in HE and do you have any particular career aspirations? The subjects I am currently taking for AS are Biology, Maths, French, German and Music. I am planning on dropping Maths and continuing with my other four subjects. At the moment, I am thinking about midwifery, as I want to be able to empower women and their families to be able to have the pregnancy and birth that they choose. I want to enable women to build the confidence that they need to make this happen. What made you want to be part of the HGT? I wanted to be part of the Head Girl Team because I wanted to become more involved in the running of Blackheath High. I want to be a more active student in the school community and take on responsibility, which is beneficial to the school’s academic, social and extracurricular life. What skills and personal attributes can you bring to the role to the benefit of the school and your fellow students? I can work well in a team and love talking to students about how the school can be improved, and then acting on it. I believe I am quite creative, and will therefore form ideas which can develop the school further. I think I am approachable, so anyone can talk to me! Also, I am organised and reliable so I can do any duties happily alongside schoolwork. What do you hope to achieve whilst in post? Whilst I am Deputy Head Girl, I hope I can make useful contributions in meetings and get to know the ins-and-outs of Blackheath High life, and perhaps even improve it with the team! However, my main goal is to get to know younger years better and bridge the gap between the Sixth Form and the lower years. Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 17
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NEW HEAD GIRL TEAM
Elizabeth Isaac Senior Prefect What is the remit of your role (including responsibilities)? I am a Senior Prefect on the Head Girl Team and my job is to assist the Head Girl, attend all Head Girl Team meetings, attend, take part in and help to organise events, as well as helping to run the Senior Societies and the 6th Form Ball. Like the rest of the Head Girl Team, I act as an ambassador for the school. Which subjects are you currently studying? For my AS subjects I am studying German, Spanish, English Literature and Geography, and I am also doing EPQ, which is a lot of fun!
Rosie Hough Senior Prefect What is the remit of your role (including responsibilities)? I am one of the new Senior Prefects; as part of the Head Girl Team my main responsibilities are to do with organisation. The next academic year will see the introduction of Senior Societies, run by the sixth formers, and as part of the Head Girl Team we will need to help organise these and make sure everyone is doing what they need to do to make their society work.
What do you plan to study in HE and do you have any particular career aspirations? In the future I hope to study Geography or Spanish at university before becoming a travel or ‘geo-journalist’, or maybe a civil servant at the Foreign Office. Having said that, my real passion is theatre and playwriting so I’d be happy doing anything in the theatrical world or by writing. In short, there’s a lot that I want to do in my life. What made you want to be part of the HGT? I wanted to be a part of the Head Girl Team because I like to help people, I enjoy interacting with everyone and I wanted to give something back to the school. I wasn’t always at Blackheath, I joined in Year 7; this school has turned me into a very confident individual. I felt that serving the school would be my way of trying to say ‘thank you’- a bit clichéd, but that’s the truth.
I’d like to say that I have a good sense of humour and am good at leading people. I also love public speaking and debating. I’m always very honest and because of that, I think that I’m quite approachable. I’m willing to help anyone and I have been told that I give sound advice about most things and that I can keep a cool head in difficult situations.
What do you hope to achieve whilst in the post? I hope to learn how to work in a more professional environment, in addition to learning to be more organised (hopefully I’ll learn from Harriet) and generally being a better leader and team-player.
What skills and personal attributes can you bring to the role to the benefit of the school and your fellow students?
Please give details of any forthcoming events that you will have a role to play in as a member of the HGT. Recently, we’ve been giving the Lower School advice about the big right-ofpassage that is GCSE’s and moving into the 6th Form, attending a couple of events to help with that.
Which subjects are you currently studying? I am currently studying Geography, French, Art and Theatre Studies.
at the school since Reception; the majority of my time here has been happy, so a part of me feels I owe it to the school.
What do you plan to study in HE and do you have any particular career aspirations? I am not entirely sure what I would like to do at university although I know I would definitely like to take a gap year; in particular I would like to travel to South America and East Africa and also get some work experience working on a film for a longer period of time. After this I think I might study Anthropology, and then hopefully become involved in the film industry or food journalism, who knows!
What skills and personal attributes can you bring to the role to the benefit of the school and your fellow students? I am really looking forward to representing the school at future events and talks, as I think I can do this well.
What made you want to part of the HGT? One of the main things that made me want to be on the team was the ‘leaving my mark’ aspect of it, as I have been
What do you hope to achieve whilst in the post? I have been lucky enough to go on a lot of school trips abroad and also have taken part in every play I can; this has allowed me to build really strong friendships with the lower years, and as part of the Head Girl Team, I would like to give everyone the opportunity to do this as we are such a small school, and it is nice to have more of a network of friends.
18 Blackheath High School Spring 2015
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ART GALLERY
Chloe Neil Year 12
Eleanor Storey Year 12 Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 19
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Junior Sport Spring Round Up 2015
T
he Spring term has seen another busy term for Junior P.E. Year 5 and 6 have changed activities from Netball to Hockey, and the fixtures have continued to be varied and exciting. Year 6 played all of their required league matches and were placed extremely well in the top four with a second place in their pool at the end of season tournament. This year the school’s Junior department hosted both the start and end of season tournaments. The Year 5 team also managed to sneak into the year 6 ‘end’ tournament for some extra experience, as another team dropped out at the last minute. Our strength this year was in the depth of the entire squad, highlighted in an A, B, C and D tournament that we attended, where we were placed second overall (worked out by a combination of all four teams’ scores). Year 5 finished their Netball season with the much loved ‘Silly Socks’ Tournament, where the girls play wearing their bright and snazzy socks. ‘Silly Socks’ is a charity event supporting the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). The girls were invited to play in a round robin tournament and also had a chance to take part in a charity shooting competition and a fantastic cake sale. The Blackheath girls did an amazing job with both the netball and the silly socks, with lots of money raised for the charity. Across both schools Year 6 and 7 were involved in the Inter-house Cross Country event held at the field, with Paragon as overall winners and lots of individual personal bests. Congratulations to the overall winner Freya Burton-Franklin, Year 6!
Continuing with the Cross Country theme, Blackheath held a Year 4 Inter-School Cross Country event during the Spring term. The year 4s were well prepared and Shelby Gordon displayed a strong performance gaining third place. The last events of the Spring Term were Hockey events. Year 5 played in a fast and furious fiveaside Hockey tournament at St Dunstan’s and Year 6 attended the annual Hockey fun afternoon run at Bromley Cricket Club. This final event of the term meant that every year 6 girl had an opportunity to take part in an intra and inter-school competition this year. The Summer Term promises to be just as packed with the Mini Marathon, Dance Competition, Various Sports Days, fixtures and Year 4 Partnership Sports Festival. Mrs Hallett, P.E. Teacher 20 Blackheath High School Spring 2015
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SPORTS
Senior Sport Spring Round Up 2015
I
t’s been a busy term for the Seniors, starting off with the annual ski trip to Torgon. This year it was the turn of the Seniors, with the chance to ski in Saas Fees and Saas Grund. January took us straight into the main Cross Country season, with the final two races of the season for the team competition in the Greenwich and Lewisham League. We had some fantastic results this year, with Year 9’s winning the league and Year 7 & 8 coming third. Individually, Lara Atkinson, Grace Miller and Ada Phu secured 1st and 2nd place trophies. We also had great results representing Greenwich in the London Schools Championships. with Lara Atkinson coming 8th, enough to secure a place at the English Schools Championships in Lancashire. Our squad also enjoyed a good performances at the GDST Cross Country event at Bromley, with girls looking to better their previous year’s results. In games, we have been training hard for the London Youth Games, in both Netball and Hockey, and are representing Greenwich Borough. The girls have been getting plenty of practice at the County tournaments, our U12 and U13 squads returning with convincing wins. The U12 Squad participated in the GDST’s first residential tournament weekend this year (see below), and a chance to ask Stacey Francis, the England team’s GD some tricky questions on how to improve. The Sxith Form have challenged local Corelli College to a basketball match, coached by our own Joel Moore; they had an excellent afternoon, and we now have girls playing for Greenwich Titans! The Trampolining Academy has continued to grow on Friday afternoons and we have students from both Juniors and Seniors coaching a Junior Squad for competitions. Our horse riders have completed their last sessions for the season at Mount Mascal, with an opportunity to gain Pony Club qualifications as they progress. Miss Holland, Director of Sport
GDST Year 7 Netball Weekend, Condover Hall On the 6th March, a very excited Year 7 Netball A Team set off for the beautiful and historic Condover Hall in Shropshire for a weekend of Netball with up to 25 GDST teams in the tournament. On arrival, we were welcomed by the enthusiastic JCA staff, who helped us and gave us a tour of the site. We were then straight into dinner and then off to our evening activities. Throughout the weekend when the girls weren’t playing or practicing their netball, they were given the opportunity to try lots of different activities Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 21
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such as low ropes, camp fire, high ropes, pot holing, laser quest and grid of stones. Saturday morning saw the start of the serious netball, after a pretty hectic first match, where due to an injury Shona switched from attack to defence, taking it completely in her stride. The girls had a fantastic morning of netball, and with their skill and determination growing with each game, we were proud of our hard earned place in the Plate competition the next day. Saturday evening was disco night where the Blackheath girls outdid themselves winning the dance off! On Sunday morning we were ready for our final games of netball. Our first game against Norwich ended in a draw, followed by an impressive 8-2 win over Northampton, but the girls just missed out on a place in the final when they were narrowly beaten by Streatham and Clapham in what was to be their last game of the tournament. A fantastic weekend was had by all, behaviour and determination were exemplary. Special mention must go to Dilmi and Marta who were exceptional as Team Captain and Vice-captain, with Dilmi also receiving the overall ‘Good Egg’ award. Tilly Evans also received ‘Player of the Tournament’ and must be congratulated for her consistency, skill and tactical awareness when playing throughout the two day event. The PE staff are very proud of all the girls that participated. Congratulations all for a superb weekend! Mrs Hallett, P.E. Teacher On the 6th of March, nine enthusiastic Year 7 A Team netball players headed off on a four hour bumpy bus ride to Condover in Shropshire. After a quick stop at Costa, we arrived at an amazing grand mansion. After a tour of the site from our amazing leader Mia, we ran out to play floodlit netball right outside our dorm house. The next morning we woke up excited and prepped for the upcoming matches. After our goal defence Esther had a war injury in action, our versatility helped us to carry through on to the next matches to win against Sydenham High. Our superb centre court players, Emma, Lauren and Marta, our great defence, Sunanda, Tilly and Esther, as well as our fantastic shooters Dilmi, Ela and Shona pulled together to secure ourselves a place in the Plate finals. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to try some of the activities on the site, as well as watching some of the other netball talent. In the evening, we went to the disco, where we won the ‘dance off’ and had some fun as we danced continuously for 3 hours… The next day, we got up ready to go and have our photo taken in our matching blue hoodies. On courts two and three we beat Norwich, then drew, but unfortunately lost in the pouring rain against Streatham and Clapham. We headed home, tired, wet and hungry with our sandwiches to eat….then Mrs Hallett announced that we would be making a celebratory trip to McDonald’s which she kindly paid for - thanks! We would like to thank Mia, our brilliant first time leader, Mrs Reed for encouraging us (and also letting us do her makeup), and of course, Mrs Hallett, who planned the trip and gave us Lucozade! We will miss having you as a teacher; yelling, supporting and loving us. We are so grateful to all you have done for us. By Sunanda, Tilly and Dilmi 22 Blackheath High School Spring 2015
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OGA NEWS
Death of former Headmistress Mary Abraham
M
iss Abraham started her teaching career in a boys’ school where she stayed for 3 years until she began her career with the GDST. In September 1944 she moved to Manchester High School for Girls, teaching history at all levels and French for middle school and from January 1946 she was Senior History teacher, dropping the French teaching and in 1950 she became Deputy Headmistress. In 1951, at the invitation of the UNESCO UK Commission, she attended a five week conference at Sevres on the teaching of History in relation to international understanding. She joined Belvedere school as Headmistress from September 1955 and, following an interview in February 1960, she succeeded the outgoing Mrs Stoker at Blackheath, taking up post in January 1962. She soon felt that Blackheath was resting on its laurels and set about making changes to shake things up, taking the decision to revamp the kitchen by replacing the potato peeling machine in January 1964 for a cost of £103! She was extremely committed to her role as Headteacher overseeing the building of a New Hall at Wemyss Road, conversions which gave the school a library, several subject rooms, an extension to the games pavilion and modern labs. She also established a bursaries fund which stood at more than £127,000 when she left Blackheath. During 1966, she spent a grace term at Berkley University
California and in 1974 she had another grace term when she visited Merseyside & Belvedere, Wales. There she cruised the Mediterranean and Aegean, visiting Greece and Turkey. During that same year she received a number of accolades: she was appointed a Fellow of the College of Preceptors, invited to become a Member of Council for newly formed City University, and was a guest at the conference of Somerville College former students conference to discuss educational topics (she was MA Oxon). In 1976 she was chosen as Chairman of the London Branch of the Association of Headmistresses and at the end of the summer term 1978 she chose to retire, a year before the school Centenary, returning to the area of her childhood, to live in Chichester. Miss Abraham died peacefully at the age of 96, after a short illness. A number of former pupils attended the funeral, which was held in Chichester on 1st June 2015.
BHSOGA AGM & Lunch
B
HSOGA’s next annual reunion will be on Saturday 7th November 2015. This is a departure from the usual September/October dates, avoiding the tail-end of summer holidays, half term and Christmas. At the last 2 AGM's there has been discussion about changing the timing of the AGM and although we realise that there is never likely to be a date that will suit everyone, it is also hoped that by changing
the date to November we may see an increase in the numbers attending. The OGA (and the school) would love to hear news from Blackheath High alumnae on their educational achievements, career paths and other significant developments. Please email news@bhsoga.org.uk – we look forward to receiving updates from our alumnae.
ART GALLERY
Chloe Neil Year 12
Maya Gunn De Marcos Year 11 Spring 2015 Blackheath High School 23
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