Withington Onwards 2024

//Welcome to the 2024 edition of Withington Onwards - your publication for Withington alumnae, friends and former sta .

Whilst we didn’t plan it this way, it has become clear that there is a thread that runs through this edition about empowered women empowering and supporting others. Thank you to all the alumnae who have been featured this time. We also know that there are many Withington alumnae making a di erence in their various fields. There is another opportunity for them to be recognised by nominating them for this year’s Ad Lucem Awards (p.9). We would love to hear from you if there's a school friend who you feel deserves to be recognised. Another way that alumnae support us is through sharing your careers experiences. In February, we were extremely grateful to all who contributed to our Futures Convention. We know that our pupils gain so much from all of you who give up your time in person or online – thank you. It makes a huge di erence to current Withingtonians to have such amazing former pupils to inspire them.

It was due to the foresight of former Headmistress, Miss Hulme, in creating the WGS Trust in 1976, that providing bursary assistance has become such an integral part of Withington’s ethos. As a school, we are very much indebted to her and grateful to the generosity of all in the

Withington community who continue to uphold that ethos by donating to the Marjorie Hulme Bursary Fund (p.18). This generosity was very evident during our second school Giving Day (p.27). It was wonderful to see everyone come together over 36 hours and to see the enthusiasm of sta and pupils taking part in activities in school. Thank you to all who donated – over £80,000 was raised, enabling girls with potential to take up their place at Withington. Your support remains as important as ever; the economic challenge continues for many of our bursary families and the average level of bursary required continues to increase. There was much laughter and lots of conversation at our ‘Fabulous Fours’ Decades Reunion in September. It was great to see alumnae who hadn’t returned to Withington since the day they le t catching up with classmates as if they had never been apart. We are very much looking forward to meeting all the Fantastic Fives this year on Saturday 20th September. So, if you le t Withington in a year ending in five, make sure that we have your up to date contact details so that you don’t miss out!

If you are a regular reader of Withington Onwards, or coming to it for the first time, we hope that you find it an enjoyable read and wish you the very best for the coming year.

LESLEY DOWDALL Director of Development

//We are delighted that The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025 has named Withington as Independent Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence in the North West. It is the sixth consecutive time and eighth time overall that we have received a Sunday Times accolade. We never take academic success for granted. We recognise that it is the result of the collective e ort, positive attitude, imagination and skills of all who make up our community. We are all inspired to give of our best, making Withington a place where people can grow, where the value of shared endeavour is understood and, importantly, where we all care about each other.

This year, Upper Sixth students firmly demonstrated that their impressive range of talents beyond the curriculum are underpinned by strong academic credentials, with 93% of all grades achieved at A*- B and

over 40% at A* grade in the 2024 A Level examinations. I hope that the Class of 2024 are settling well into life a ter Withington and we welcome them as our newest alumnae. Our Founders’ Day celebration took place at the Bridgewater Hall at the end of March. The theme was ‘Make a Di erence’. Reading this year’s Withington Onwards, I feel as if this could equally apply as the theme of the magazine. Our hope at Withington is that pupils will develop to be individuals able to think for themselves, see where and how things could be di erent and have the courage and determination to make that change happen. It is both gratifying and inspiring that so many of you are doing just that in your own spheres of influence. I have very much enjoyed reading some of your stories in this issue and I look forward to seeing your nominations for this year’s Ad Lucem Awards (p.9).

How fascinating it would have been to be present in those first meetings our Founders had when their ideas for their new school were taking shape. They must have asked themselves ‘What do we want for our daughters, and for future generations of girls and young women?’ What should our school be for? What should it try to do?’ It was a real highlight at the beginning of this current academic year to welcome descendants of one of those Founders, Louisa Lejeune, whose association with Withington lasted for 47 years. It was remarkable to be reminded of how her values continue to influence the ethos of our school, as well as shaping the attitudes within her own family (p.32).

In October, we gathered to celebrate the life another role model who had a significant impact on the life of our school, former Headmistress Miss Marjorie Hulme, who died in January, aged 101.

Miss Hulme remained in contact with Withington right up until her death and we were delighted that so many alumnae joined us for her memorial celebration in October (p.20).

2024 marks 20 years of Withington’s very special relationship with The Gambia. What began with an exploratory trip in 2003 has evolved into a long-term friendship and sustainable partnership under Ms Browning’s leadership. As well as all that has been achieved, we know that wonderful memories were created for those of you who have taken part over the last two decades (p.28).

Our former pupils play a vital role in our school. The inspiration you provide and expertise you share with current pupils is invaluable, so thank you.

I wish you all the very best for the coming year.

MRS SARAH HASLAM Headmistress

When we asked her if she would agree to be included in this year’s Withington Onwards, she suggested that she speak with current students. Jess and Nikita are Upper Sixth students studying A Level Economics; both are aiming for a career in finance.

(Class of 1991) is

previously

J&N: We are both interested in a career in finance and we wondered what attracted you to a CFO position, as opposed to other areas of finance?

Anna: When I was in Year 13 at Withington, I thought I wanted to be a research chemist. So I went to university and studied Chemistry but in my Master’s year I fell out of love with research. I realised it’s quite a lonely thing to do and that what I wanted to do was be part of a company working together with others to achieve a common aim and to get things done. And why finance? Well, I’m quite logical and so I thought, if I can understand how the money flows, it will help me understand the company.

I applied for graduate trainee schemes in companies that interested me, with the hope that this would increase my understanding of how a company fitted together, but at this stage I didn’t have an aspiration to do anything in particular. So, I started from a position of asking myself what I really enjoyed. And the answer was I really enjoy spending time with people, thinking aloud, working in teams, collaborating, making things happen and being part of that outcome. To this day, I love making things happen!

J&N: The insights you gained that led you to industry, was this through doing placements or work experience?

Anna: Actually, the harder bit was gaining insights about myself. At your stage, I hadn’t understood that - I’m sure that you are probably

more thoughtful about this than I was, as my own daughter is – but when I was at your stage, the emphasis was on what subjects I liked, rather than how I liked to work. So, I think I worked it out more during interview processes by asking loads of questions and figuring out if this would be a good fit.

J&N: That’s really interesting - it feels like we need to get placements and do work experience, and perhaps what we really need is time to reflect and think about what’s best for us.

Anna: I agree, it is really important to reflect after you’ve done a placement on what you’ve learnt about yourself and about the kind of the environment you need to be in to be really happy because you spend an awful lot of your life at work.

Knowing why I’m here, am I happy in this position; knowing I am driven still by my own North Star actually gives me a lot of resilience, being able to say to myself that I’m making good decisions based on my value set, I’ve got a good team, I’m doing the best I can. Some things will go wrong but I’m OK with that and I will learn something from that.

J&N: That’s really helpful to hear from somebody with your experience.

Anna: I’ve worked in five industries, lived and worked in seven countries – it all looks Instagram perfect, but the truth of it is, I was good at some of those things and other things not so much. And you know, that’s how any career goes and the moments I was getting it completely wrong is actually where I learned from it.

J&N: Do you mind sharing how you found best to reflect on your mistakes in order to do better going forward?

Anna: There are two things: the first is to ask myself, would anyone else with similar experience to me have got all of this right? It’s quite easy to think you should have got everything right but then you think of all the people you know and realise that most of them would have got something wrong, and you suddenly realise that you’re quite normal.

The other is feedback: I’ve always found feedback really helpful because that’s also how you learn. We shouldn’t be frightened of feedback. We’ve all got strengths and areas where we can improve and being able to explore that has really helped me to navigate my own journey.

J&N: We wanted to ask you to describe two contrasting days in your work? Because we’re guessing it's not the same every day.

Anna: Wildy different! I’ve been a CFO for nearly a decade in three different companies and you can imagine all the variety! For instance, let’s look at two days this week. Today, I’ve had some time to spend with my team. That has been great for helping us all to be aligned on the company priorities and to think about the different challenges that might arise. I’ve also been able to have individual meetings with some of the team.

Tomorrow, I’m involved in bringing the top 100 leaders from Nestlé around the world together for a meeting. Nestlé is the leading food and beverage provider

Anna Manz

the Chief Financial O cer for Nestlé globally. She has

held posts as CFO of the London Stock Exchange Group and Johnson Matthey and as Group Strategy Director for Diageo.

IT'S AMANZ WORLD...

globally and these are leaders running large businesses in their different countries. The CEO will be outlining his vision for our future plans and I will be supporting him. Tomorrow is about aligning the company, outlining our direction of travel – there are 270,000 people working for Nestlé and it’s important that we’re all travelling in the same direction!

In between, there are all the different and unforeseen things that arise to deal with, as well. But the variety is what I love about it.

Jess: Hearing about how you like project managing every day, on a large scale and then still knowing the intricacies of the business sounds really interesting. As captain of my hockey team, what I enjoy is seeing it all come together on a match day, having spent training days developing the skills that we need for it all to come together.

Anna: Exactly, you understand what you enjoy and what energises you. What I like is having that intellectual challenge of bringing teams of people together to make things happen, which is similar to what you're describing with hockey. It’s definitely worth reflecting on what you get your energy from; is it in the leading or the thinking? Or both? This will help you to choose what kind of role might be right for you in the future.

J&N: Thinking about your career path, how would you have done things if you had taken a more economics or financebased degree at university?

Anna: I think studying Economics will give you lots of insights on how value is generated.

And then I think the question is, what part of that value chain do you want to be in? Different areas will develop different skills. My route was to work my way up through different companies. There are many diverse roles. You won’t get it all right first time and you will change jobs and all of that is OK. There really isn’t a ladder to walk up with a career. It's more like a jungle gym - you have to figure it out as you go along.

J&N: What’s the most useful advice that you have been given?

You can get a lot of well-intentioned advice as a woman. For example, I’ve been given advice around what clothes to wear in order to stand out or not to stand out. I was even advised not to have brightly coloured pens because people might assume that I’m frivolous! There was a thing about needing gravitas; whatever this gravitas thing is, I spent about a decade trying to find it before one day realising that gravitas was just about being myself on my own terms! Which is why I have a frivolous pencil case full of brightly coloured pens! More recently, when I was CFO at London Stock Exchange Group, I started to work with other female CFOs. We realised that across the European indices, there were 432 CFOs in the equivalent of the FTSE 100 and, at that time, only about 30-40 of them were women. We all knew each other and there’s quite a natural network among women. So we came together to mentor the next generation of women with potential to help them to move to the next level. There is rarely more than 30% women at the very top levels of organisations. We need to shift that figure through sharing learning and providing support. And it’s not just about gender diversity. We need to create genuinely inclusive environments. The thing that unlocks the value in a diverse boardroom is inclusivity. By that I mean creating an environment where different views are really welcomed, respected and valued.

J&N: What in your career is the thing you are most proud of?

Anna: I like challenge and taking on things that are hard to achieve. If I think back over my career, the moments when I was at my happiest and that I’m most proud of are when I think of a team coming together to do something we didn't think we could do. For example, very shortly after I joined LSEG, we closed a £27 billion acquisition that doubled its size and then COVID hit. We were all working from home, in our spare bedrooms, trying to merge two

teams, at the same time building a new combined business for our customers. It was hugely challenging, but I remember it because it was about bringing teams of people together to do something we were proud of, under really difficult circumstances.

J&N: What are your memories of Withington?

Anna: It was being in an environment where we were all equal and it's completely acceptable to be good at science, or whatever. But it was the freedom to create opportunities and take on a challenge that I really enjoyed. For example, when I was about 14 or 15, we had to volunteer to lead an activity and so I taught Transition to get grade one recorder and I really enjoyed that. So you can see what I enjoyed then is very similar to what I enjoy now, just on a different scale. It has been a fulfilling journey building on what I enjoy and learning as I go.

VELOPME NEWS

EMILY SIMON SOCIETY LUNCH

//In May, members of the Emily Simon Society were welcomed to Withington for their annual lunch. The Society is made up of those who have pledged to leave a gi t in their will to the school, helping us to continue to provide the opportunity of a Withington education for bright young girls of the future, regardless of their financial circumstances. Before lunch, guests met Junior and Senior School pupils who read out their entries for ‘Through the Window’, the English and Art competition held as part of this year’s Giving Day, asking pupils to share a snapshot of life at Withington.

LEGACY DONATION

//In the last year, we were grateful to receive a legacy from the estate of the late Alan and Marjorie Piper. Marjorie was a pupil at Withington during the 50s. Their names have been added to the 1890 Circle plaque which hangs in the school’s entrance hall. The 1890 Circle honours donors who, over the years, have given significant support that helps us to continue to o er educational opportunities to girls with potential, regardless of their economic situation. If leaving a legacy to Withington is something that you are considering, you can find out more on our website or contact Lesley Dowdall, Director of Development at ldowdall@wgs.org.

AD LUCEM AWARDS

//As a school community, we feel it is important to celebrate the achievements of Withington alumnae, whether that be in a personal or professional capacity. It is also incredibly inspiring for our current pupils to hear about the lives of those who have come before them at Withington.

So, we’re incredibly pleased to launch our Ad Lucem Awards 2025 and we’d love to hear about as many alumnae as possible this time around. You can nominate an alumna for the Ad Lucem Award or for the Young Ad Lucem Award (for alumnae under 30 at the nomination deadline).

Anyone is welcome to make a nomination but you can’t nominate yourself! Nominees must have attended Withington Girls’ School as a pupil.

A shortlist will be chosen by the selection committee which includes the Head Girl Team. Senior School pupils will then vote for their preferred nominee for the Ad Lucem and Young Ad Lucem Awards. Nominees for the Rose Acton Award are considered by the Headmistress and decided upon in consultation with other school sta .

You can make a nomination via our website. Go to wgs.org/alumnae/ad-lucem-awards/

SCH L NEVVS

RUTH BAYLEY ILLUSTRATION COMPETITION

//

‘Birds’ was the theme of this year’s Ruth Bayley Illustration Competition - an annual event run by the Art Department in memory of WGS alumna Ruth Bayley, a successful illustrator of many children’s books and made possible through the generosity of the executors of her will. Wildlife sculptor Kate Kelly was the guest judge. There was a fascinating display of works in a variety of mediums, all demonstrating real skill and creativity. The winner was Lower Sixth pupil, Maya.

FOUNDERS’ DAY 2024

//

Making a di erence was the theme for Founders’ Day in March as the Withington community gathered at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall to commemorate the school’s foundation 134 years ago, including the traditional Recital of Founders by Chair of Governors, Mr Malcolm Pike. Our guest speaker this year was Lizzy Burden (Class of 2009). Lizzy is currently Bloomberg TV’s UK correspondent. She recounted that her own personal journey has taken her on a ‘path less travelled’, with influences from her Withington education helping to make a di erence. A bursary pupil at Withington, Lizzy spent time as an international fashion model before studying History at Cambridge. Having experienced other pathways a ter university, Lizzy shared that she now feels that she has found her calling working as a journalist. Her role, she said, enables her to ‘hold people in power to account’. She has covered major news stories for Bloomberg, such as the death of Queen Elizabeth ll and the fall of then Prime Minister, Liz Truss.

“I feel it is what I was born to do. And yet, I hadn’t even heard of the US-based, global financial news outlet Bloomberg when I was at Withington, which proves to me that you have to be true to your own strengths, passions and values to get to where you’re meant to be in life.”

It was the resilience and persistence she had developed during her time at Withington that had helped define her journey - but ‘my Withington education wouldn’t have been possible without my bursary,’ she said, adding a personal tribute to former headmistress Miss Hulme, who established the Bursary Fund in 1976 and who died in January 2024. “Her legacy continues to make a di erence to the lives of all of us bursary girls,” she said. “Handbags, holidays and houses are not success. Rather, you are here to make a di erence in the way that only you can. Use your

failures to teach you who you are. And whichever path you take, if you walk it your way, you’re bound to make a di erence. That is what this wonderful Withington education is for.”

Withington’s Head Girl, Sonali Koku Hannadige, said her Withington journey has been one characterised by ‘triumph, tears and togetherness’. Thanking the teaching sta for their incredible time, e orts and dedication, she spoke of being inspired to wholeheartedly pursue her ambitions. To the Class of 2024 cohort, she said:

“As I look at you now, I see ambitious, compassionate people who are going to inspire their future families, friends and the many people around them.” And to her Withington peers, she advised, “Be fearless, and dare to dream big, because your legacy is enough to inspire thousands of future Withingtonians to join the school for the same reasons you did.”

Mrs Haslam spoke of the school’s defining qualities that saw Withington ranked as the best value independent school in the UK last year, and named as the North West Independent School of the year for Academic Performance, in its fi th consecutive Award from The Sunday Times. Mrs Haslam cited many examples of current pupils and sta going the extra mile to make something special happen, inside and outside of the classroom.

“It is on days such as these that I believe we see the true value of our school - not in monetary terms but as a place where people can grow, where the value of shared endeavour is understood, and where people care about one another. In short, a place that makes a di erence.”

During the ceremony, posthumous tributes were paid to both Miss Hulme (See p.18) and Mrs Catherine Ositelu, Teacher of French since 1994 and Young Enterprise Lead (See p.39).

INTRODUCTION OF VAT FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

//As alumnae and members of the Withington community, we wanted to let you know the school’s response to the Government’s introduction of VAT on school fees from 1st January 2025.

In recent months, we have undertaken significant amounts of work to mitigate the impact of this policy on our parents whilst ensuring we maintain the recognised high standards and quality of our educational and cocurricular o er for our pupils. We are striving to ensure that Withington remains a ordable to hard-working families who simply want the best for their daughters.

Whilst we will be legally obliged to charge VAT at 20% from January 2025, we will be able to reduce fees to mitigate some of the impact of VAT, so that the overall fee increase will be 15%. We know that equality of opportunity and educational excellence are important to all of us connected to Withington. It is our ambition to maintain the current level of bursary

support provided by the school, as this remains central to Withington’s ethos and educational philosophy. It remains to be seen how many more families will be seeking bursary support given the increase in fees, but we will be monitoring the situation closely and working with individual families as we move forward.

As a school, we will continue to control costs and manage our resources as carefully as possible to ensure that the educational o ering we provide continues to represent excellent value without impacting the quality of education provided. Indeed, we are proud that Withington was ranked second, nationally, for the highest academic return on fees in a Daily Telegraph feature on best value schools in February 2024. We were ranked first in the same survey by the Daily Telegraph in 2023.

If you have any questions about this issue, please feel free to contact us via development@wgs.org.

THE SIMONS OF MANCHESTER

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We were very pleased to be given a copy of a newly published book, The Simons of Manchester: How one family shaped a city and a nation. The book o ers a reappraisal of the lives and work of two generations of the Simon family and includes a chapter on our Founder, Emily Simon, written by Dr Diana Leitch, a former parent. Dr Leitch was able to consult our archives with the help of our archivist, Hannah Brown, and has kindly written an inscription inside the cover of the book.

JUDY CENTURY née Stern (Class of 2001)

//

Following a successful career in project management, Judy rediscovered her creative side during lockdown and took the opportunity to launch her own business. She is now a professional artist, exhibiting and selling her work in galleries and art fairs and running painting workshops.

Earlier this year, she had her design proposal accepted for an owl sculpture trail in North London, raising much needed funds for the North London Hospice. The five foot tall owl formed part of the ‘Big Fun Art Adventure’ trail, alongside 29 other owls all designed by di erent artists. The owls were then auctioned o . However, Judy’s design, ‘Wildflower Mead-Owl’, had already been bought by the company who sponsored it, raising thousands more for the hospice.

"The hospice has extra meaning for me, as my husband's grandma was cared for there, so I know first-hand about the fantastic work they do. Being involved in the owl fundraiser trail has been a great way to create art for public enjoyment and to give something back to the community."

LEAVERS 20 / 24

THE

Olivia Darby (Class of 2002) is the Chief Programmes O cer and Co-Founder of WONDER Foundation, a charity which works globally and in the UK to empower women and girls through education.

What does WONDER Foundation do?

Our aim is to build a better future for women and girls. We work closely with local, women-led partners who empower women, girls and their communities through quality education. It’s really important to us to do this by supporting women leaders, partnering locally, promoting sustainability and taking a whole-person approach. Why women and girls?

We realised early on that, as a smaller charity with aims to make the world a better place, we wouldn’t be able to do everything! To be fundable, legitimate and impactful, we needed to have a focus and we decided that would be women and education.

We believe that all women and girls should have access to quality education so they can thrive. The positive impacts of educating women and girls are farreaching. Yet millions of women and girls face many barriers that prevent them from accessing education or excelling in their studies. This can include childcare responsibilities, gender-based violence, or a family’s reluctance to pay for a girl’s education instead of her brother’s. According to a recent UNESCO report, an estimated 129 million girls are denied access to education but many more experience patchy or substandard education in places where class sizes can be up to 120 and teachers aren’t resourced. Unfortunately, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has only widened education gaps for girls.

WONDER is working in 24 di erent countries. How do you decide which projects to partner with?

We do a lot of due diligence and we take recommendations from people we already know and where we have relationships. We have trustworthy advisors and a wide network of those who have experience in di erent countries.

It’s very important to us that that the projects are run by local women. It’s also important that the outcome delivers sustainable change. Real change takes time, so we work with partners who are providing long-term solutions to education. If you look at what makes a project have real impact, so much is about the relationships established between educators and students, and those relationships build communities –it's so exciting when past students come back as teachers or mentors.

What are the outcomes that you are looking for?

Our projects need to deliver quality education – it’s not just about being in the classroom but helping women and girls to understand that they are significant. Being in education isn’t enough: many young women enter our projects with the equivalent of GCSEs but barely able to read or write and no idea of the world of work. It leaves them very vulnerable. We want them to develop skills that improve day-to-day life, as well as becoming leaders in their lives. Part of this is helping them to find good work. There are many education projects

that aim to li t people out of poverty by teaching skills, but sometimes these raised expectations are dashed when the work isn’t there a terwards.

Part of helping our students to see they are significant is to provide empowering spaces. Poor infrastructure and unsafe environments o ten act as direct barriers for girls’ education. Our partners educate women and girls in places that make them feel comfortable and safe, because when you don’t feel safe you can’t learn. Having access to a clean loo shouldn’t be a luxury, nor should having a place to chat with a friend.

We have also discovered that family engagement is key to success; it is critical to consider family engagement when it comes to the learning and achievement of young people. This can help to improve school attendance and even overcome certain gender-specific barriers to education.

All of these aspects are brought together through evidence-based mentoring. A whole-person approach is key; we work di erently with each student according to their needs. Our partners see each woman and girl as an individual and mentoring helps them to discover their skills, plan for their futures and understand how to achieve those goals. What projects have you been involved with recently?

I’ve just returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was visiting our nurse training school partner where

OF EMPOWERING VVOMEN

13 midwives have recently graduated: the first trained in the country to the international standard. There has only been legal recognition of midwifery in DRC since December last year. It can take years in research and planning before a project takes o . During COVID, we were dreaming about it, but finding funding and resources was so di cult: we thought it might take 10 years to achieve.

We also work with another project in the Congo which supports girls who have been out of school long-term. Many of them come from the interior or the east of the country and have been displaced by conflict. The project provides a fouryear programme to finish their education and to teach them tailoring skills. You also aim to shape policy. Why is that important?

Women – whether they are our students or those leading our projects - are not necessarily involved in the conversations that decision makers are having about their lives. Their experience and expertise aren’t always recognised, o ten by the women themselves. So o ten we, as women, count ourselves out of conversations both because we prioritise using our time for other things (which may be the right decision) and also because it can be hard to get into the spaces where those conversations are happening.

Policy and sharing best practice are incredibly important. Whilst there are many examples of brilliant practice, there can also be instances where there is a cycle of repeating failure. It is so

important that knowledge is shared and that there is the opportunity to innovate. If knowledge isn’t shared and best practice outlined, then organisations will see funds wasted because lives are not being impacted in a positive and sustainable way, but equally, it is a way for expertise to be found and acknowledged.

Recently, I have been working with King's College London, looking at a policy question about migrant family reunification and integration and psychosocial support. If families are reuniting a ter significant separation and trauma, due to war or migration, there needs to be thought and systems that help to overcome the e ects of that so that family reunification is long-term and sustainable. So much of policy and practice treats people as individuals, neglecting the power and importance of family support systems. Resources are wasted trying to address challenges when they have not been properly understood, and ensuring that the voices of those a ected are heard is so important. Coincidentally and happily, one of the Master's students involved in this policy research is also a Withington alumna, Helena Mitson!

You’re a small charity that operates both globally and here in the UK – how do you manage that?

The partners that we work with both here and overseas have confidence in us and that is something that we certainly don’t take for granted. The trust they place in

us is very important to us. It’s always so rewarding to see partnership projects flourishing and those who run them gaining in confidence. They do amazing work. All our projects are autonomous. We don’t simply fund projects, but work with our partners to develop practice and expertise. Our aim is to invest in a long-term partnership that sees an organisation grow its impact. We see it as an equal partnership where we act as a critical friend.

We’re also on a constant journey of systematization. It’s always a balance between having the systems that you need versus systems for their own sake. As we have grown, we realised that we needed structures in place to help us to operate e ectively. Fortunately, we had lots of support in setting these up from our corporate volunteers.

We are always keen to engage others to inform what we do. It’s invaluable to us to gain di erent perspectives and insights, especially from those that also share our desire to achieve better outcomes for women and girls. It is enriching for WONDER to benefit from the experiences of women who have gained positions in di erent sectors and who can bring those skills or connections to bear in supporting us. One way of doing this has been through the WONDER Foundation’s Young Professional Advisory Board. They contribute in so many di erent ways and it is great to see that another Withington alumna, Diva Vaish, is currently on the Board.

THE WONDER OF EMPOWERING VVOMEN

What are your aims for the future?

I want us to deepen in our work to empower parents and support families. Our recent experience – especially working with Ukrainian women in the last few years and researching support for at-risk migrant children in London - suggests that if marginalised parents are not being supported to nurture their children, we are failing those children. Healthy relationships and feeling secure allows children to flourish. But if parents are also traumatised by their own experiences, then this becomes very much harder.

That’s why developing our work with reuniting refugee and migrant families and ensuring there are the right support mechanisms is so important. If those reunions don’t have the right support, there is the capacity for further trauma for the family and if that happens it can compound poverty, as families split up and their resources are stretched even further as a result. This all impedes girls’ abilities to thrive in education and in their futures.

“Along with four other students at King’s College London, I was tasked with developing a comparative policy report for WONDER Foundation on psychosocial support for migrant family reunification. It became clear throughout our research that there was a distinct lack of psychosocial support of this nature, something WONDER Foundation hopes to change. Support of this kind is vital to prevent family fragmentation and to enable successful integration into host communities. WONDER Foundation recognises the need for this gap in policy to be addressed and is advocating for the provision of better support.”

I am also really interested in developing e ective teacher training, having advised a project on this in Liberia in the last year. It’s crucial to ensure that education is more than just being in a classroom.

What do you think you took from WGS that has helped you? My education at Withington really taught me to think critically. In the environments where we are working, we rarely have the full picture – data and research are so scarce that they should only inform you to ask better questions. It is key that we interrogate what we see or hear to understand if what we are trying to accomplish is going to be useful. The skills I gained at Withington in thinking for myself and using what was available to me to work out my own position on an issue have really helped me. Having had an excellent education myself, it’s a stark contrast to what I see elsewhere.

Withington instilled in us a belief that there was nothing that we couldn’t do just because we were girls. My hope is that every girl that we help through our educational projects will develop that same belief that nothing is o limits for her.

“Education has been the cornerstone of my journeyfrom my early years at WGS through to my current MBA studies at London Business School. But I recognise this pathway of opportunity isn't available to millions of girls worldwide, despite education being one of the most powerful catalysts for social change. Through my role on WONDER Foundation's Young Professionals Advisory Board, I support their mission of empowering women through education and mentoring. I'm particularly excited to contribute to WONDER's goal of creating sustainable change through local, women-led initiatives. When we educate girls and women, we don't just change individual lives - we strengthen families, boost economies, and build more resilient communities. That's why I'm proud to support WONDER Foundation, helping create a future where every woman and girl has access to quality education and can reach their full potential.”

Advisory Board

DIVA VAISH (Class of 2010) WONDER Foundation's Young Professionals

HELENA MITSON (Class of 2020) Studying for MSc at King’s College London

BACK UP E PUSH

//Last June, in extremely rainy conditions, Laura Johnson (Class of 1995) was part of a combined team of barristers from Deka Chambers and solicitors from Slater & Gordon who tackled The Push, a race to the top of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) organised by the charity Back Up who support individuals and their families to come to terms with the changes to their lives following a spinal injury. Joining them as part of the team was Mark Holland, who Laura describes as ‘the most fun chariot commander we could have had’, as the team worked together to get him in his specially adapted wheelchair to the top of the mountain.

Not only did they reach the summit, but the team won the Top Fundraising award, raising over £10,000 towards a total of nearly £70,000.

Laura said:

“Back Up Trust are amazing. Mark su ered a spinal injury in a mountain biking accident in 2023. He has three young children and he and his family have hugely appreciated the support Back Up has provided, including practical support and mentoring to help them all adjust.

The climb was slippery, steep and ‘uneven’ doesn’t even begin to describe it, but we did it! The whole team was brilliant and we definitely brought spirit to the challenge. We’re so pleased to have supported Back Up so they can help even more people and families at a time when their world has turned upside down.”

SARAH BURTON (Class of 1993)

//  In September, it was announced that Sarah had been appointed as the new Creative Director of Givenchy. She will be responsible for the creative direction of all of Givenchy’s Women's and Men's collections.

Sarah was previously Creative Director of Alexander McQueen for 13 years, and designed the wedding dress of HRH The Princess of Wales in 2011.

Sarah was also the recipient of Withington’s Ad Lucem Award in 2023, as voted for by Senior School pupils.

Image courtesy of Givenchy

MI HULME

//MISS MARJORIE HULME (1922 – 2024)

Headmistress of Withington Girls’ School, 1961-1985

When we reflect on the history of our school and the people who have made it the place of outstanding learning and the empowering community it is today, there are certain individuals whose contributions are particularly significant. One of these people is Miss Marjorie Hulme, former Withington Headmistress, who died in late January at the age of 101.

Miss Hulme was Headmistress of Withington Girls’ School for 24 years from 1961-1985. She was highly respected for her dedicated and inspiring leadership, and the school continued to flourish and develop throughout her tenure. We pay tribute here to all that she gave us, supporting and inspiring generations of pupils and sta . Miss Hulme was born in 1922 and brought up in Bury by her parents, who were also teachers. Having attended Bury Grammar School, where she was Head Girl, Miss Hulme progressed to Girton College, Cambridge, where she studied Mathematics and was also awarded a Rowing Blue. Following teaching posts at Blackpool Collegiate School for Girls and Wade Deacon

Grammar School for Girls, she was appointed as Headmistress of Leigh Girls’ Grammar School in 1955. Miss Hulme succeeded Miss Bain as Headmistress of Withington Girls’ School in 1961, a position she held until 1985 when she retired.

Miss Hulme had tremendous foresight and was instrumental in implementing a number of significant developments during her time at the school, including a new Dining Room and the school’s Arts Centre, opened o cially in 1982, will be familiar to many former pupils and remains very much in use to this day.

“The building, made possible originally by Miss Hulme's vision and courage, has evoked in girls and adults alike a child-like delight and enthusiasm.”

WGS NEWSLETTER 1982

The study of Music as an academic subject at Withington was developed during Miss Hulme’s time, and it was she who felt strongly that the school should have an orchestra and o er musical opportunities to all pupils.

It is widely agreed that Miss Hulme’s lasting legacy to Withington is the action

she undertook in 1976 to create the WGS Trust. Centred around the school’s long-standing ethos of equality and opportunity, the Trust enabled more girls to attend Withington whatever their family's economic circumstances.

Today, Withington’s Bursary Fund supports one in six of our pupils and continues to uphold those aims. Thanks to the Bursary Fund, so many girls have benefited from all that a Withington education has to o er and have gone on to flourish in their chosen professions and careers. In November of 2022, to mark the occasion of her 100th birthday, the Bursary Fund was renamed the Marjorie Hulme Bursary Fund, reflecting Miss Hulme’s vision and commitment to bursary provision at Withington.

Following her retirement in 1985, Miss Hulme retained a close interest in the school’s achievements and successes and remained in close contact which we all greatly valued. There was a significant celebration at Withington for Miss Hulme’s 90th birthday in 2012 and she last visited us in the Spring of 2022 to attend an Emily Simon Lunch.

Her significant impact whilst Headmistress is reflected in the words of three other former WGS Headmistresses on the occasion of Miss Hulme’s 90th birthday:

"During Marjorie’s years of headship her quiet determination enabled Withington to weather the changes of the 70s more successfully than many other girls’ schools and its reputation today owes much to her foresight and careful planning. We are all in her debt."

MARGARET KENYON

Headmistress 1985-2000

" Without Marjorie’s foresight and determination, the Trust Fund that enables school bursaries to be awarded would not have been established. Without her commitment to the highest standards in all aspects of education, including facilities and resources available to pupils, Withington would not enjoy its position as one of the best schools in the country. Generations of Withington pupils, parents and sta - myself included - have reason to be extremely grateful to the truly remarkable Miss Marjorie Hulme."

JANET PICKERING

Headmistress 2000-2010

"The foundations of our national reputation lie in Marjorie’s vision for the school and the practical steps she took to realise it. The hallmarks of Marjorie’s outstanding leadership of the school are all around us, in our work ethic, our buildings, our bursary funds and our determination to aim high. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice."

SUE MARKS

Headmistress 2010-2016

"It was with deep sadness that we heard the news of Miss Hulme’s death. Miss Hulme was a constant in the life of Withington Girls’ School and continued to be as interested in the achievements of our pupils and all areas of school life as she had been during her tenure as Headmistress. We have all been inspired by her example and will remember her with much a ection and great respect."

SARAH HASLAM current Headmistress

MEMORIES OFMI

We had many messages from alumnae following the announcement of Miss Hulme’s death. Here is a small selection.

"Miss Hulme in a tutu. It was a Christmas performance given by the sta for the girls. I remember my surprise and absolute delight!"

WENDY TAYLOR

Class of 1974

"Miss Hulme was 'my' headmistress and to me 'was' Withington. I can't think of Withington without thinking of Miss Hulme. I admired her for her total dedication to the school & the lives of her pupils."

PENNY HOLMES

Class of 1975

"During my year as Head Girl I got to know Miss Hulme very well, especially in the daily few minutes before the morning assembly when I would meet her in her study and walk together to the hall. I felt I was treated by her as an adult and she would talk confidentially about school matters with me."

DIANA WOOLDRIDGE née Hall

Class of 1965

"Miss Hulme was indeed a remarkable woman of her time, who influenced the lives of so many people... she has a rich legacy and will be remembered with gratitude and a ection."

DR MARY MCDONALD

Former Deputy Headmistress

" What a legend! We bumped into Miss Hulme by chance at the National Theatre in 2005. She not only recognised me, but also remembered my name and my two sisters, only 28 years later!"

CHRISTINA BRISTOW née Gibbs

Class of 1977

"It was a privilege to be guided by Miss Hulme during my years at Withington, having arrived with her in 1961. I have no doubt that her high standards and encouragement enabled me to achieve my ambitions. Miss Hulme will always have a place in my heart."

WENDY WILSON née McDonald

Class of 1968

"During my early years at WGS, I was, no doubt like many, absolutely in awe of Miss Hulme. It o ten seemed her keen glance could see right inside your soul! It was only during my O Level year, when my mother was seriously ill in Christie Hospital, I understood that as well as her fierce intellect and tremendous presence and authority, Marjorie Hulme was one of the most caring and compassionate women one could hope to encounter. She was kindness itself at a very di cult time and I will always be grateful for her support, understanding and the example she set to us all."

SONIA HEARLD née Hodgkinson Class of 1971

"Truly a wonderful woman who encouraged us all to grow up into strong women. I am not sure there are many others who inspired me more. Thank you, rest in peace."

KATHERINE COOK

Class of 1977

//

On Thursday 10th October, Withington welcomed many alumnae, former sta , current sta , governors, WGS Trust members, friends and family to pay tribute to Miss Hulme. It was an incredibly special evening as everyone gathered in the hub to share memories before moving to the Arts Centre. Mr John Lee, Chair of the WGS Trust, spoke of Miss Hulme’s determination and forethought in establishing the Trust and how it continues to be vital in ensuring funds for bursary provision continue. Mrs Catherine Bankes, former member of sta , spoke on behalf of those who had been part of the group of retired Withington teachers known as the WOTAs, bringing to mind

Miss Hulme’s involvement in their regular social meetings.

Mrs Janet Pickering, Headmistress from 2000 to 2010, remembered Miss Hulme’s drive and her immense contribution to our school. Alumna Janet Davies (Class of 1962), whose family were close friends with Miss Hulme, described how the relationship came about and gave a real insight into Miss Hulme’s life away from Withington. Their warm friendship continued right up until Miss Hulme passed away last January. Miss Hulme’s relatives, Jo and Mark Stewart, who had travelled from Brighton, were incredibly pleased to see the school that had been such a part of Miss Hulme’s life, as well as to hear even more about her.

Guests were also shown a film of current pupils reading the tributes to Miss Hulme sent in by former pupils – a very heartfelt moment. We heard from a former bursary holder, Rachael Rose (Class of 2007) and two current Sixth Form Bursary ambassadors who spoke eloquently of what bursary provision has meant to them. They acknowledged the very real di erence that Miss Hulme’s foresight continues to make to the lives of bursary students attending Withington today. The Sixth Form choir sang a song specially composed by alumna Sasha Johnson Manning (Class of 1981) for Miss Hulme’s retirement in 1985, a very fitting end to the evening.

MISS HULME MEMORIAL EVENT

HULME

"As the daughter of a vicar, I would not have been able to a ord to attend WGS without the benefit of the bursary scheme set up by Miss Hulme. I recall Miss Hulme with great a ection and respect and not a little fear and trembling! The quieter her voice, the crosser she was!"

REBECCA ROTH-BIESTER née Hunt

Class of 1987

"My lasting memory will be my first encounter with Miss Hulme in my interview to gain a place at Withington, being asked how I would make a cup of tea.

Me: ‘I get a mug and pour in the boiling water onto the teabag, then I add the milk and squish the teabag.’ Miss Hulme: ‘Do you not have a teapot and teacups in your house?’ Still makes me laugh now!"

HELEN HODGSON née Hamilton

Class of 1988

"The walk from the door to the desk, rarely made, skirt smoothed, socks pulled up, felt like a long one. 'Sit down Diane'. 'Thank you, Miss Hulme.' Back in 1979, I was persuading her to let me study Maths at A Level rather than French, with English and History. She heard my reasons (I wanted a business career) and accommodated me, for which I will always be grateful. Ad lucem, Miss Hulme."

DIANE HUGHES

Class of 1981

" Wise, incisive... she saw the inner depths in each of us and how to let us discover them for ourselves."

JUDY BROWN née Allegro

Class of 1970

EVE S & REUNIONS

//

In June, we welcomed back the Class of 2023. They had kindly given up time to speak to the Lower Sixth about their first year experience at university and to give them some tips and pointers on the application process. Students and alumnae broke into smaller groups defined by broad subject areas for an informal chat. The a ternoon was extremely beneficial for students who gained a first-hand insight into what it was like to study at di erent universities.

A terwards, the Class of 2023 gathered in the Sixth Form Bistro for their first formal reunion since leaving Withington. It was a lovely opportunity for them to catch up with each other and with sta .

LONDON EVENT 2024 ONLINE REUNIONS

//In March, we jointly hosted a reunion event in London with Manchester High School for Girls and The Manchester Grammar School. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we were able to hold the event at Madhu’s, The Dilly. It was a real opportunity for alumni from the three schools to reconnect and was an evening filled with camaraderie and laughter. It was a pleasure to catch up with so many Withington alumnae and fantastic to see so many di erent year groups represented; a wonderful reminder of the diversity of experiences and careers of our former students. Indeed, the event was so popular that a follow-on event was arranged at The King’s Head, Mayfair which also proved to be very popular!

//As well as our Fantastic Fours in person reunion, we also helped the Classes of 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009 celebrate significant anniversaries that ended in a ‘5’. Although not meeting in person, it does mean that alumnae can join in from wherever they may be in the country, or indeed, the world.

We are planning online reunions for the coming year with the Classes of 2010, 2000, 1990, 1980 and 1970 – look out for more information in the new year!

LONDON EVENT 2025

If you were unable to attend, or missed out, we have arranged a second event for this coming year: Thursday, 6th February, from 6.30pm

The Escapologist 35 Earlham Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9LD

Tickets, including a welcome drink and canapés: £15

Booking is available via our website, wgs.org/alumnae/events/

*Please note, there are a limited number of spaces le t for this event.

THE FANTASTIC FIVES

Next year’s Decades Reunion takes place at school on Saturday 20th September for anyone who le t Withington in a year ending in a five. If that includes you, do pass the date on to any classmates who may not be in touch with us.

Information about the event will be sent out by email, so do make sure we have your up to date email address. Contact us on development@wgs.org.

FABULOUS FOURS REUNITED

//Last September, Withington alumnae from the Classes of 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014 returned to school for our Fabulous Fours Decades Reunion. For some it was the first time that they had been back to school. Alumnae were keen to share all their news with each other and the conversation flowed readily from arrival to final departure. Following a welcome from Mrs Haslam and a toast to the ‘Fabulous Fours’, there was a wonderful display of musical talent from four current pupils. Conversation

then resumed over lunch. Many photos were taken and then, another highlight of the day for many, they had a tour of the school, rediscovering old haunts and recalling many memories of their time at Withington.

As one alum from 1984 said:

“ We all seemed to take o from where we were 40 years ago, with those intervening four decades vanishing in seconds. The incredibly loud chatter in the room was a testament to the success of the reunion."

MARY RAWSTHORN (Former PE Teacher)

//It just goes to show that good things really do come to those who wait! Earlier this year, Mary received her honorary degree from Bedford College of Physical Education. Those studying a ter Mary’s cohort at the college were awarded a degree, whereas her generation gained a Teaching Certificate. Now she and her cohort are also the recipients of a B.A. Congratulations, Mary! P.S. Mary also reminded us that the WGS gym was o cially opened in 1934 by Margaret Stansfield who started Bedford College.

Comedy has given me the opportunity to become my authentic self as a woman in my 50s. I’ve had a giant midlife crisis and I’m delighted about it! It just goes to show, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

A SERIOUSLY FUNNY BUSINE

A ter a highly successful career in HR, based in Europe working for international companies, Sharon von Simson (Class of 1985) is forging a new path as a stand-up comedian. Here she explains how this came about and what it means for the way she now lives her life.

//When I was in the Lower Fourth form at Withington, I fell for the delights of PG Wodehouse. My friend Joanne née Ellis and I wrote a play in Wodehouse style for fun. When we told our English teacher, Miss Boucher, she encouraged us to actually produce the play. We held castings and rehearsals and finally a performance for the whole Lower Fourth.

It was also at Withington that I embarked on the journey that would take me into the world of HR. I wanted to be a female engineer - a ter all, we learned at Withington that we could do anything that men can do and to just go for it! I’m sure that other alumnae from my era will remember the interview we each had with the Headmistress, Miss Hulme, about our choice of university subject. When I told Miss Hulme I planned to study engineering, instead of congratulating me, as I expected, she asked, 'Have you ever tried to fix your bicycle?’ I had to admit that I hadn’t, so she suggested that Metallurgy might be a better fit. It took me a long time to realise what Miss Hulme instinctively knew - I was not cut out for engineering!

A ter finishing my degree at Oxford, I joined the ICI engineering graduate programme and... I hated it! In three years working as an engineer, the only thing I actually enjoyed was delivering safety training. In hindsight, this combined the two things I love - developing people's potential and performing. Eventually, with a nudge from my first coach, I re-trained in HR and started work in learning and development, which I loved.

I le t ICI to work for PA Consulting in London and then decided I needed more education. I did an MBA at INSEAD, moved to Paris, worked for a consultancy specialising in organisational transformation and got married. From Paris, I was hired by Bombardier Transportation (BT) in Berlin to run their HR transformation. I stayed with BT for nine years, including a baby pause, and by the end was running an HR Shared Services organisation of 300 people providing HR services to BT’s 36,000 employees around the globe. I then moved to Cologne to become VP HR for a 5,000 person family owned business with a global footprint. I

accompanied an outstanding long-term CEO in his final six years before he handed over to a successor. I onboarded the new CEO, then le t on generous terms. In retrospect, I was burnt out. I decided to treat myself to three months o , purely for me, before even thinking about getting a new job. When I asked myself ‘what should I do with the time?’, the answer was: ‘Stand-up comedy!’ Who knew? Discovering stand-up comedy felt like coming full circle, back to the 13 year old who wrote a play.

Years previously, I had penned a long bucket list, including “write a show, take it to the Edinburgh Fringe and sell out”. At the time it seemed like a pipe dream. But now, I started doing comedy open mics and met a fellow female comedian, Jess Bauldry, who was also disillusioned with corporate life. We co-wrote a show 50 Ways to Leave Your Employer and took it to the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. When I got home from Edinburgh, I was ready to go back to work. Because comedy is great, but so is money! Instead, I found a lump in my breast and spent six months recovering

A SERIOUSLY FUNNY BUSINE

from breast cancer. I also made other discoveries about myself. In addition to the work and health crises, I also split up with my husband and found myself questioning my sexuality at the ripe old age of 56. With the help of therapy, I finally worked out that I was bisexual. I went back to HR, working part-time whilst continuing with comedy. I cofounded a weekly English comedy open mic night in Cologne and worked with Jess and others to launch Festrogen, the Luxembourg based comedy festival for feminists of all genders. With Damian, a male comedian I met at the 2022 Fringe, I developed a second, highly autobiographical Edinburgh Fringe show for 2023 50 Mid-life Crises to Try Before You Die. This time we sold out the run. The new HR job didn’t work out and I realised that working for a corporate no longer made any sense to me. I still needed to earn a living but I gave myself two new rules: 1. only do things I enjoy 2. only work with people I like. It was a whole new approach!

I decided to launch Seriously Funny Business, an executive coaching and training company using comedy as a leadership tool. I o er executive coaching for mid-life, mid-career professionals looking to rediscover their creative mojo. I also run events such as The elephant in the room, a bespoke workshop using comedy to open up discussion of the unspoken issues that are holding the team back. Another workshop is Story-telling for leaders helping leaders get their message across in the war for attention.

For my 2024 Edinburgh split bill show, 50 Ways Jesus (Almost) Ruined My Life, I dug even deeper into my past. Everything from my mixed race heritage (Dad is white British and Mum is from Ghana) to the impact on my life of being a born-again Christian in my teens and twenties. It was definitely therapeutic. And also quite funny.

One of the many lovely things about doing the Edinburgh Fringe is having people from my past randomly turn up

at the shows. Where they tend to find out more about me than they expected! It’s been a beautiful way to catch up with former friends and colleagues, including Withington alumnae such as Heather Jones, Helen Roberts, Belinda née Salem, Rachel née Sluce, Penny née Allison and Jude.

What’s next for me? Well, I need to make Seriously Funny Business a success. I will also keep returning to the Edinburgh Fringe. My dream is to win the best newcomer award in my sixties. I think that would be really cool. People tell me I’m brave to do standup. I’m finding that the older I get, the less I worry - it's one of the positives of ageing! I simply don’t have time to be shy any more. I’m too absorbed by becoming a better artist. I want to become a better comedian, writer, business woman, mum, friend, lover and person. And I’m having so much fun doing it!

It’s been a roundabout path to get here, but I no longer have any regrets. I really am living my best life!

GIVING DAY

//It is testament to the generosity of our Withington community that, over the 36 hours of our Giving Day in March, we raised more than £80,000 for the Marjorie Hulme Bursary Fund, allowing us to continue to provide future pupils with the opportunity of a Withington education regardless of financial circumstances. House challenges were a big part of the day in school, with students and sta taking part in the Sixth Form Rowathon and a whole school penalty shootout. The ‘Through the Window’ art and writing challenge, asking students to capture a moment that reflected life at Withington, resulted in a wonderful exhibition by Senior and Junior School pupils.

A snapshot in time. An ordinary classroom: students poring over texts in English or learning a new maths formula. In the corner sits a girl who’s wanted to be a musician ever since she was 5, and towards the window, there’s a girl who’s always wanted to be a pilot. In the front, there’s a girl who doesn’t know what she wants to be, but no one doubts she’ll make us proud. Girls who show you new things about the world and about yourself too - an ordinary classroom with the most extraordinary people you could ever meet. Ten years ago - di erent girls, a di erent window, but still very much the same picture. Another ten years: classrooms filled with the lawyers and scientists and women who would change the world. Through the windows of our school, the seeds are sown, and out there, they will bloom.

HARMONY Lower Fi th

It was wonderful to welcome two former Lionesses - Jill Scott MBE and Rachel Brown-Finnis, to Withington. Jill o ered encouragement to those taking part in the Rowathon and gave Junior School pupils some footballing tips. She was then interviewed expertly by Sonali Koku Hannadige, the Head Girl, and Immy from Year 9 during a specially organised Senior School Assembly. Rachel joined us for the penalty shootout, commentating alongside Ms Lindsay Johnson, WGS Director of Sport, also herself a former Lioness. Both Jill and Rachel spoke to students of the importance of teamwork and being part of a team. Giving Day was a great example of what we can achieve when we all work together, so thank you to those who so generously donated and for making Giving Day such a success.

As I stand before the window, peering through its transparent barrier. I find myself drawn into a world of curious reflection. Within the corridors framed by the window, a bustling hive of activity reveals itself. Students, adorned in their uniform of intellect, travel the halls with purpose, their animated conversations echoing the liveliness of youthful curiosity. In classrooms adorned with the environment of learning, the exchange of ideas unites minds and hearts. Hidden within the walls of Withington stands the talent of hundreds of girls painting their future ahead. Yet, through this window, there is more than what simply meets the eye; It o ers a portal into the ethos of Withington Girls’ School. It’s a glimpse into a community where resilience is nurtured, passions are kindled, and aspirations take flight. It’s a view that speaks to the transformative power of education and the boundless potential inherent in every girl who passes through these doors.

KHADIJA Junior

School

JUDITH MORITZ (Class of 1995)

//Having presented two BBC Panorama documentaries about nurse Lucy Letby, Judith has co-authored a book about the controversial case with producer-director Jonathan Co ey.

Judith was the only TV journalist to be inside the courtroom throughout Lucy Letby’s trial, and she leads on the ongoing reporting of the story for BBC News.

Unmasking Lucy Letby delves into the background to the case and deals headon with questions which have been raised since the verdicts.

The Times called it ‘meticulous and unexpectedly gripping’ and named the title Book of the Week.

Judith said:

“There’s no question that the Letby case is one of the biggest news stories of our times. I spent nearly a year watching Letby up close - sitting a few yards away from her and listening intently as she gave her account. It was mesmerising and frustrating in equal measure. The book is an opportunity to take you with me inside courtroom number seven, for a ringside seat at the trial of Britain’s most notorious nurse.”

THROUGH THE WINDOW

FOR 20 / YEARS

//This year Withington has marked its special 20year partnership in The Gambia with a series of commemorative anniversary events, which has seen more than £20,000 raised over the past few months. This takes total donations since our first school trip to The Gambia in 2004 to nearly £150,000. Our contributions have funded a number of transformational education and community projects including a nursery school, now recognised nationally as a Centre of Excellence; an award-winning youth enterprise programme; and more recently, much-needed wetland and forest restoration programmes.

The event finale was a sell-out ‘Great Gambia Get-Together’ evening, held at school on Tuesday 2nd July - ‘WGS Gambia Day’. Around 100 guests, including alumnae who had joined past trips, enjoyed a sit-down meal with tasty Gambian dishes followed by a medley of music including some of Withington’s talented singers and musicians; The Rat Pack made up of four sta members; and a local African drumming band, accompanied by three dancers who put on wonderful displays of Gambian dancing.

“When I embarked on this WithGambia journey, I didn’t think this far ahead - but here we are in 2024, celebrating a remarkable 20 years. It’s taken a mammoth e ort from everyone involved. I’m so grateful to the Withington community for its support, which has endured for over two decades, delivering sustainable projects that really do make a di erence.”

KAEREN BROWNING WithGambia Coordinator

Withington’s ‘WithGambia’ partnership continues to be led by WGS Teacher of Geography, Ms Kaeren Browning. Many students over the years have been involved with her annual trip to The Gambia. Throughout that time, Ms Browning has worked with project managers on the ground to identify suitable community projects in need of financial support and Withington’s work in Illiassa continues. This year’s funding will pay for further work to the Mama Tamba Nursery with a perimeter fence being erected around the school and ancillary buildings, as well as a new roof and floor for the kitchen area, plus equipment upgrades. A pond that will benefit the local community is in the process of being built - and Withington’s contributions will also include a waterfiltration oxygen machine and fish stocks to add an additional source of protein to local diets.

“Our partnership with Withington Girls’ School has formed a true bond. Together we have transformed opportunities for many young children, from childhood to adulthood, with some of the first enrolled children now pursuing their studies at university. I look forward to seeing what the next 20 years brings.”

TAMBA JAMMEH Mama Tamba’s Headmaster & Youth Empowerment

//"I think my interest in leadership started very early – I was a Sixer for the Imps at Brownies and House Captain at WGS before becoming President of the JCR at Durham University where I studied Economics and Maths. I wasn’t hugely taken with the Economics, but I did enjoy the Maths."

Following university, Joëlle joined Lloyds Banking Group on their graduate scheme. She qualified as a banker and spent the following ten years in retail and corporate banking and believes that this was all great training for what was to come. Following the birth of her two sons, it became apparent that, at that time, Lloyds couldn’t o er the flexibility Joëlle felt she wanted and so she decided not to return a ter maternity leave. Subsequently, she was approached to become the Finance Director of a leadership recruitment firm in Manchester, working part-time to cover a maternity leave. She discovered that she loved the recruitment aspect of the business and was o ered an opportunity with the same company to become a recruiter in the banking sector, working three days a week. She enjoyed both the smaller company environment and being back in Manchester. At the end of two years, the company o ered to make her

TREATING O

Joëlle (Class of 1980) set up her own leadership recruitment business, Warren Partners, in 1999. It was founded on her belief that you can succeed in business without losing in life, behave ethically and treat others as you want to be treated. Twenty five years on and she has just retired from the business, which is now employee owned. What has inspired the way that she has led her business and what’s next?

an equity partner – with one catch: Joëlle would have to work full-time.

"I wasn’t prepared to compromise on my desire to work three days a week, so decided to go out on my own. I started with an o ce above the NatWest bank in my Cheshire town and built the business from there. From the very start of launching Warren Partners, I maintained working three days a week.

The founding principle for Warren Partners is something inspired by my Christian faith that I still try to live and work by - ‘treat others as you would want to be treated’. The candidates that we were helping to place would be treated honestly and fairly; likewise our clients, the community, our suppliers and, of course, our colleagues. And I discovered that others wanted to join me on this journey, people of all faiths and none; it has been a guiding principle throughout the life of the company."

Over the years, this led Joëlle to think about other ways in which people are not treated equally and finding ways to bring about change. At first, realising how women were so under-represented at board and leadership team level, Warren Partners really pressed on the gender agenda. Gradually, the company became much more aware of other areas, such as

race and ethnicity, where representation at board level didn’t reflect the British population as a whole. Warren Partners took a position to champion ethnic diversity and to challenge its clients to commit to diversity in their senior appointments in terms of gender, race, and other forms of diversity, thus reflecting the company ethos of treating others as you would wish to be treated.

Around five years ago, Joëlle started to look to the future, for herself and for the company.

"I knew that I could sell the company and reap the financial rewards, but this was simply not what I wanted to do. It’s the team at Warren Partners that built the business and so I decided that what was right for the business would be to transfer it into employee ownership and that happened in 2019. I’ve observed that o ten owners of businesses stay around too long once they’ve taken the decision to step back and, having appointed a new MD and worked with her for two years, I knew it was time for me to do just that. I also knew that there were other things I wanted to do."

Joëlle had always taken active roles outside of her business. In her 40s she had been on the board of Manchester Metropolitan University where there was a strong brief around widening

O ERS

participation and some imaginative ideas around their buildings, all of which chimed with Joëlle’s beliefs and ideals. She was the youngest board member at the time and describes it as ‘a fabulous learning experience.’

Joëlle was invited to become Vice LordLieutenant of Cheshire in 2010. She confesses to having to Google to find out what a Vice Lord-Lieutenant was, but says it was a huge honour. It’s a post she still holds today.

"It provides a real opportunity to make a di erence to those in the community who find that they are not necessarily treated as we would wish to be treated. In this role, I had the privilege of setting up the Community Foundation in Cheshire as its Founding Chair, working with a fabulous board and team to raise funds through philanthropic donors to support hundreds of amazing small charities and voluntary groups across the whole of Cheshire and Warrington."

Joëlle then became a non-executive director of a hospitality group that runs three sports venues, an outside catering business and hotel and of the Dome Youth Zone, part of the Onside youth charity. Her love for learning new things and for expanding her experience is as strong as ever. She was recently appointed as the Chair of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT).

"Although I’d taken part in NCT antenatal classes when I was a new parent, I wasn’t sure initially that the post was for me, as I had a dated view that it was focused on white, middle-class women and my whole career had been focused around inclusion. But when I heard about their new ‘For Every Parent’ strategy which aims to support everyone who becomes a parent to feel confident, connected and safe, this chimed with my own commitment to diversity, inclusion and to widening access and participation. I’m really excited for what is to come to reach more people, do more to support new and expectant parents, and campaign with impact. The NCT has a huge alumnae who have benefitted from the charity over the years and I’m keen to see those people get involved in realising our exciting vision. Getting this right will have longlasting and far-reaching benefits, not just for parents, but also for babies, children, families, and our whole society."

Joëlle’s faith has always been important to her. She was in the Christian Union at school and is now involved in the leadership of her local church. She is a Lay Canon of Chester Cathedral and was asked in 2019 by the then Prime Minister to chair the Crown Nominations Commission to appoint the Archbishop of York.

"It’s my faith that has had the impact with regard to my guiding principle of treating others as I would like to be treated. It has been my North Star throughout my life."

Throughout her career she says she has been mentored and sponsored by others and believes it is important for her to do the same, especially in support of widening participation for those who are currently under-represented at senior levels.

"As I move into the next phase of my life and career, there are several things that feel important in how I spend my time: to work with people that I like and respect; towards a purpose I can get passionate about – something that makes a di erence in society; and it needs to be something where the skills and knowledge that I have gained can make a di erence. Withington provided me with lots of opportunities for leadership, was a place for making and learning from my mistakes and gave me a sense of confidence and determination to ‘have a go’ as well as a great education. As far as I’m concerned, the opportunities were fantastic – I took part in plays, I was in the choir and the orchestra. I wasn’t very involved in sport at school – I do far more sport now! I qualified as a ski instructor in my 50s –my sons qualified in their gap years and I thought, ‘If they can do it, so can I!'."

LOUISA LEJEUNE'S LA ING LEGACY

It was an honour to welcome to Withington the direct descendants of one of our Founders, Louisa Lejeune: Derek Chambers, her greatgrandson, Francesca Lejeune, her great-granddaughter, along with Angie Chambers and Lea Chambers Volpe, her great-great-granddaughters. They had come together from Canada, Australia and the USA, to visit Manchester to see for themselves where Louisa and her family had lived and to find out more about her continuing legacy. Whilst here, the group looked through archival records, enjoyed a tour of the school and met this year’s House Captains, as well as Governors and

other sta . They also took part in a special assembly where Francesca, Angie and Lea shared some of their family history with pupils, explaining what an important influence Louisa continues to be in their family.

As Francesca said:

“ We all wish that we could have met her and really, in some way, coming here to Withington Girls’ School allows us the joy of connecting with her through her vision and her ongoing legacy.”

Lejeune House Captains, Florence and Abi, thanked the visitors, saying how “inspiring it was to hear about the history that continues to shape

Following their visit, the family sent the following reflections:

“The coming together of we cousins from Australia, Canada and the US was memorable in itself but to experience together the school that is a living legacy of our ancestor, my great-grandmother was profound. We are descendants of a diaspora to other countries, and I think this means we yearn for connection with our past. Visiting Withington Girls' School helped us to connect with Louisa the person and learn about the school that she contributed to for forty seven years. Her legacy is inspiring. It’s a reminder, for me, of how much one person’s work can make a di erence to generations now and into the future.”

FRANCESCA LEJEUNE

Great-granddaughter of Louisa Lejeune

our school and its values” and that they were, “so proud to be a part of something with such a special history.”

Mrs Haslam, Headmistress, spoke of the far-sightedness of our Founders and that it was self-evident to them that they should play their part in improving the world around them, making it a safer place.

“Louisa Lejeune was the longest-serving of the school’s Founders. She supported the school for 47 years as a Foundation Governor. We owe her a great deal.”

The assembly was a moving and insightful journey of genealogy and of our shared past.

“ Visiting Withington Girls’ School and witnessing the legacy le t by my great-great-grandmother Louisa, has created a tangible connection to my past that has invigorated me and filled me with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the future. I’m so proud to be a descendant of a woman whose vision and contributions to the education of girls has impacted the lives of so many. I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to Withington and stay connected with the school for the rest of my life, and pass on my excitement to the next generation of girls and boys in our family.”

LEA CHAMBERS VOLPE

Great-great-granddaughter of Louisa Lejeune

“I was incredibly proud to visit Withington's Girls’ School and to see the real world manifestation of my great-great-grandmother's legacy. It was an inspiring day and I am so glad I got to share the moment with my father and cousins. I was raised with the belief that education and knowledge is the key to independence and a life where you can choose your path. I feel that the Founders of Withington Girls’ School had this very progressive idea for the time in mind when they started the school. I was so very impressed with everything I saw at the school and feel fortunate to be descended from someone who helped create such an amazing place.”

“I am proud to be either a direct, or an indirect descendant (through marriage), of nine family members who were former students at Withington Girls’ School. During my own career at a post-secondary educational institution in British Columbia, I went out of my way to encourage and support my female students in achieving their educational goals, unconsciously carrying on the tradition of my great-grandmother Louisa Lejeune. It gave me the greatest of pleasure to see how well the principles that were in place at the school’s founding are continuing to be faithfully applied a ter so many years."

DEREK CHAMBERS

Great-grandson

of Louisa Lejeune

ANGIE CHAMBERS

Great-great-granddaughter of Louisa Lejeune

▶ Lea, Angie, Derek & Francesca

Anna Ya e (Class of 2016) studied Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham. She worked in procurement for three years before becoming Outreach Manager for Smart Works Charity London.

What is Smart Works?

Smart Works is a UK based women’s charity that exists to give women the confidence they need to reach their full potential, secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives. Our mission is to help women enter the workplace through our tailored interview dressing and coaching service, which is available for all unemployed women aged 16+ in the UK. The women who come to Smart Works are referred to us by other non-profit organisations, such as the Jobcentre Plus, training providers, refugee charities, local councils and universities. Each client receives a styling consultation with two trained volunteers to find a high-quality interview outfit that’s free of charge and theirs to keep, followed by a one-to-one coaching session, giving them the best chance to succeed at interview. Smart Works has grown from just one centre in North London in 2013 to 11 in cities across the UK. We want any woman who needs our support to be able to find her way to a Smart Works centre.

What led to you working in the charitable sector?

I think I always had in mind that I wanted to work in the charity sector, even when I was applying for graduate schemes. My job in procurement was my first professional position. It was an amazing start to my career and I gained really valuable experience, but I still felt it didn’t quite resonate with my values and what was important to me.

The charity sector still appealed. I knew that my motivations would be best served by working somewhere with a clear mission and a supportive environment. Disappointment at narrowly missing out on a role working for another charity only confirmed that it was the right thing for me. When I heard about the position at Smart Works, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been here as Outreach Manager in London for over a year now and I love it. My team is incredibly supportive and so committed to the work we’re doing.

I love the mission of the organisation; using the power of clothing and coaching to develop confidence and empower women on their journey into employment.

Our service is carefully designed, with kindness and respect at the heart of everything we do. It’s such a simple and e ective service - 63% of clients get the job within one month, and 94% leave us feeling more confident. Seeing firsthand the di erence that this support can make to our clients is incredible. They might come in not really knowing who we are or what we do and by the end of their appointment, they feel supported, motivated and their sense of self-belief has increased.

What does your role entail?

Every woman who comes to Smart Works is referred by another organisation or charity, with over 300 organisations referring in London alone. My job involves building and managing relationships with these referral partners, allowing us to reach even more women in need of our support. Day to day, I’m usually out and about in communities across London to meet with new and existing partner organisations and the women in their networks. There is huge variety - I could be promoting the Smart Works service at a jobs fair, meeting with frontline workers from local charities or hosting

workshops for potential clients. This year, I also worked on organising our own Smart Works Jobs Fairs, providing opportunities for clients to connect with brilliant employers including Microso t, John Lewis and TfL. We were delighted that over 500 women attended to meet with over 30 employers and service providers. We also o ered professional headshot photography, Bobbi Brown makeup touchups, and on-site Career Coaching sessions to ensure attendees le t feeling even more confident and empowered in their job search. We’ve since heard from clients who have secured jobs with employers that they met at the event, which is incredible! How do people support Smart Works?

One of the easiest ways to support us is by donating suitable workwear. I understand that Withington sta donated to the Manchester centre recently, which will have helped so many women.

We have a relatively small team of paid sta but a brilliant team of volunteers - over 300 in the London area alone. There’s a variety of ways to get involved, including volunteering as an interview coach, stylist, wardrobe volunteer or admin volunteer.

Our funding comes from a variety of sources. We host our own fundraising events such as fashion sales where various high-end retail brands donate beautiful stock for us to sell. This year we are hosting our first Christmas Carol Concert, headlined by Smart Works ambassador, Alexandra Burke! Our Philanthropy team also works to apply for appropriate grants, and our Partnerships team builds relationships with companies who support us as corporate fundraising partners.

In 2025, we’re opening a Smart Works centre in Bristol and are currently looking for prospective trustees, volunteers, and referral partners, so if any Withington alumnae in the area want to get involved, please get in touch!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love working for Smart Works. It’s wonderful to see the change in a client’s confidence following their appointments with us, and we o ten get phone calls from clients telling us that they have got the job, which is amazing! It’s wonderful to see women who have perhaps been away from the workplace for five, even ten years, securing positions in careers

that they love, having thought they might not be able to do that again.

When clients have secured employment, Smart Works still supports them. We invite clients back for another styling session, providing them with a capsule working wardrobe to tide them over until their first pay cheque and to help them retain their new-found confidence as they start their new job.

Being a pupil at Withington gave me a real sense of confidence, both in myself and in my abilities. I also really valued being part of such a supportive group of women, all so determined to succeed on whatever path they were taking.

I made life-long friends at Withington and, despite us all going our di erent ways, that sense of support is still there. When I was organising the Smart Works Jobs Fair, I reached out to my school friends to see if their organisations might be able to help and the response was amazing!

It's brilliant to work for an organisation giving support and confidence to women who may not have experienced this previously, or in the way that we did at Withington.

If you would like to support Smart Works, take a look at their website, smartworks.org.uk, or contact us at development@wgs.org and we will connect you with Anna.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Over the last year, alumnae have been an incredible support in terms of giving up time so that current pupils can benefit from your experience and knowledge.

//This event in February, for Year 9 pupils and above, was a great success, thanks to all those who gave up time to share insights and information about your chosen careers and industries. There were 36 di erent stands, as well as panel presentations for pupils to attend, helping them gain inspiration for their future pathways. The feedback from pupils showed how much they appreciated your presence at the event:

“I found the panel talk I attended very interesting and informative. The speakers were really helpful and kind and it’s inspirational to see women being in senior positions in the field I am interested in.”

“It opened my mind to di erent possibilities that I hadn’t considered before and I enjoyed speaking to professionals from various fields.”

“The most important advice given to me was to simply do what I enjoy and see where it takes me.”

// Farah Abbas (Class of 2023) and sisters Zunaira Shah (Class of 2024), Zahra Shah (Class of 2022) and Zainab Shah (Class of 2021) o ered time in school with pupils to present on the application process and of their experiences of studying Medicine or Dentistry.

//

Alumna Nishani Reed (Class of 2004) returned to Withington to speak to Year 9 pupils about publishing her storybook for young children. She outlined the challenges and joys of this process, and how she worked with an illustrator to bring her characters to life.

// Sitara Bartle Davies (Class of 2017) and former student at Newnham College, Cambridge, spoke about the application process at our annual Oxbridge Information Evening for Year 12 students and their parents. We would also like to thank the alumnae who subsequently supported with Oxbridge mock interviews.

WRITERS’ CLUB

//  In March, Writers’ Club welcomed Rachel Lloyd (Class of 2011), Deputy Culture Editor at The Economist. Rachel spoke about her journey into journalism and shared great insight into life as journalist. She covered a wide range of issues including the use of AI, multimedia journalism and the importance of engaging with popular culture discourse.

Blossom Hibbert (Class of 2018) also visited Writers’ Club to run a poetry workshop on National Poetry Day. During the session pupils began to compose their own poems under Blossom’s guidance and she also shared her journey from being a qualified vet to becoming a published poet.

//AFF LEAVERS

At the end of the academic year 2023-24, we said farewell to three very familiar Withington faces. Dr Vilela, Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Mounteney retired a ter a combined total of 57 years of teaching at Withington. They were all dedicated to nurturing and engaging their students, providing

MRS SUSAN HAMILTON

Mrs Hamilton arrived to teach Geography in 2005, taking over as Head of Department in September 2019. A stalwart leader of fieldtrips and residentials, she inspired students and opened their eyes to the value of her subject. Mrs Hamilton was also a very e ective Head of Year for many years, with many students benefitting from her wise counsel and care.

MRS SARAH MOUNTENEY

Mrs Mounteney was highly respected as Head of Mathematics, a role she held from 2012, and many current and former students have benefitted from her mathematical expertise. As part of the Sixth Form Tutor team she was known for being a very caring form tutor, looking out not just for individuals, but creating a real sense of community within her form.

DR CRISTINA VILELA

As Head of Chemistry, Dr Vilela’s infectious enthusiasm and superb scientific knowledge were inspirational to her students. She undertook the role of Oxbridge Coordinator with energy and commitment for 11 years, guiding many students through the application process and ensuring that they were well prepared for any forthcoming interviews. Her encouragement, sensitivity and support were very much valued.

the best opportunities and support to ensure that students achieved the best results possible. Their interest and care, however, extended far beyond academic achievement. All three possessed excellent pastoral skills, displaying empathy and consideration for students, always having their best interests at heart.

Mrs Hamilton, Mrs Mounteney and Dr Vilela were part of the fabric of Withington. They will all be very much missed and they leave with all our good wishes for them going forwards.

MIRANDA BATE (Class of 2020)

// Miranda has graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, and with Honours in her BSc in Biology from William & Mary University in Virginia, USA, where she was also playing lacrosse for the university at Division 1 level. She has now embarked on a DPhil in Molecular Cell Biology in Health and Disease at Oxford University. She is currently researching antibiotic resistance and gut microbiota and is playing lacrosse for Oxford. Miranda says she has really enjoyed bumping into other Withington alumnae since she’s been at Oxford.

LIVES REMEMBERED

//

ANDREA DRURY MANGAMBO MALUNGU

Class of 1996 • 1978 - 2023

A ter a tragic cycling accident on her way to work in which she su ered fatal head injuries, Andrea passed away on the 27th November 2023. Here, her sister Gillian (Class of 1998) reflects on Andrea’s life a ter Withington.

"Andrea’s life was characterised by a sense of adventure, curiosity about the world and a love of learning. On leaving Withington in 1996, she went to Edinburgh University, where she not only studied French and German, but combined this with joining the University Air Squadron (she already had her private pilot licence) and a year studying abroad, living in Belgium and Austriathe first of many overseas adventures.

A ter volunteering in South Africa and Botswana, teaching English in Japan for a year and completing the first of her two Master's degrees, she found her true calling working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Humanitarian work was her passion and it took her all over the world, from Rwanda to Colombia, to the Democratic

Republic of Congo (DRC). Andrea tackled some of the toughest challenges; human rights in prisons, reunification of orphans with wider family members but always with a smile and sense of humour. She was open minded, o ten immensely stubborn and had a strong sense of what was right and wrong. It was in DRC that she met her husband, Biram and his son Adore who she took on as her own. They also have a daughter, Nelly, and her family meant the world to her. Following her marriage, the family lived in Kenya, where Andrea moved into learning and development, which in turn took them to Thailand where she headed up the regional learning team.

She worked with ICRC right up until her death last year, having moved to Geneva to take up the post of Deputy Head of Learning and Development, training new recruits, supporting the career path of colleagues and becoming a qualified coach.

Andrea embraced both the challenges and opportunities that life sends our

way. She also made the smaller day to day things count. No matter how busy she was, she was always there, for everyone. A ter her death, we heard from so many of her friends, from di erent parts of her life and all corners of the world and they all said the same thing: that she was thoughtful, loving, always made time for them and that she was a beautiful soul. As writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou wrote, ‘people will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel’.

Andrea was a caring, thoughtful and funny daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend, quick to smile with that huge cheesy smile of hers. She loved life and packed more into her 45 years than many of us will potentially manage, even if we make it to a ripe old age. Her legacy will be the impact she has had, not only on some really tough issues through her work, but on so many people individually. We miss her every day."

//MME CATHERINE OSITELU

Teacher of French • 1994 - 2023

It was wonderful to see so many members of our Withington community gathered in the Hub in April to celebrate the life and achievements of Mme Ositelu who was a Teacher of French at our school for 29 years before her death last September. We were surrounded by some of the beautiful glasswork and mosaic pictures created by Mme Ositelu, an exceptionally talented artist. It was her wish that these pieces should be sold to raise funds for the Dianne Oxberry Trust which raises awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer to improve outcomes for people across the North West of England. Mme Ositelu also wanted proceeds from the

sale of her book that she wrote about her experiences during her illness, to be donated to the charity.

We were very pleased to welcome members of Mme Ositelu’s family on the evening who paid tribute to her, alongside several of her Withington colleagues. The Chair of the Dianne Oxberry Trust, Eamonn O’Neal, expressed his thanks for all Catherine had done to support the charity. Through the sale of her artwork and book she raised over £6,000.

In June, Sylvia Pearl from the Dianne Oxberry Trust presented the school with a Dianne Oxberry rose which will be a beautiful and lasting memory of Mme Ositelu in our garden.

SHIRLEY DODD NÉE JEWISON (Class

of 1952)

Died 16th July 2024

//Shirley lived in Winchester for 40 years and made a strong contribution to civic life. She was manager of the CAB and involved in witness support for many years. She was also a gi ted sculptor and exhibited at local shows. Shirley is survived by her five sons, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

OLGA HALON NÉE BETESH (Class of 1938)

Died 11th October 2024

//Olga attended Withington in the 1930s and represented the school in both cricket and netball, becoming captain of the team in 1937. A ter Withington she worked as a clerk for the Refuge Assurance Company and during the war, she was called up to work in the wages department of Fairey Aviation Company. Later on she volunteered at a care home and delivering library books to the housebound.

Olga and her sister Vera (Class of 1934) were famous for being two of Manchester City’s lifelong fans. They were mascots for the team in 2018 and enjoyed a ternoon tea with the then City captain, Vincent Kompany.

Being a Withingtonian became something of a tradition in Olga’s family. Her daughter, Val, attended the school, as well as her granddaughter, Helena, who was Head Girl 1993-1994. Her greatniece, Jessica, is a current pupil.

Mme Ositelu’s family with Ms Browning, Ms O’Neal, Mrs Fletcher, Mrs Haslam and Eamonn O’Neal, Chair of the Dianne Oxberry Trust