Summer Update July 2019
TRINITY TERM IN PICTURES
RMS NEWS Another busy term in the life of RMS... There have been numerous achievements in our girls' academic, sporting and creative pursuits - here are just a few highlights from an eventful Summer Term...
RMS SHORTLISTED FOR "GIRLS' SCHOOL OF THE YEAR"! We are delighted to announce that the School has been shortlisted in the category "Independent Girls' School of the Year" in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards 2019. The Independent Schools of the Year 2019 is an awards scheme that has been designed by Independent School Parent magazine to recognise and applaud the varied and imaginative ways in which independent schools prepare young people for their future lives. There are 20 different awards categories, which reflect the breadth and diversity of life in an independent school in the 21st century. Judges will be looking for stories of success which demonstrate how the schools applying for each award have fostered excellence and supported positive student experiences in whichever aspect of school life the award recognises. The judging panel received entries from more schools than ever before, therefore we are thrilled to have formed part of the shortlist alongside some "big name" schools like Roedean and Benenden. Results will be announced in October.... Watch this space! Arkwright Scholarship Success for Charlotte Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship of its type in the UK. The Scholarships are awarded to high-calibre 16 year old students through a rigorous selection process and support the students through the two years of their A Levels. Charlotte had to submit a written application together with photographic evidence of her practical work. Success in this application lead to a 2-hour examination where Charlotte’s problem solving skills and engineering potential was put to the test. On passing the examination, Charlotte was interviewed by two professionals, one from education and one from industry. It is on the recommendation of the professionals who decided that Charlotte is worthy of the Arkwright Scholarship.
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NEW COLLEGE OF THE HUMANITIES ESSAY COMPETITION SUCCESS Congratulations to Mia in Year 12 who was named winner of the 2019 New College of the Humanities London Essay Competition (Politics) for her essay about increasing voter turnout at elections. Held in Bedford Square Gardens, the award ceremony was hosted by Professor A C Grayling, Master of the College, alongside the College’s academic faculty and students. 150 highly commended high school essay writers and their guests enjoyed being VIPs at our red carpet event and had their pictures taken by the NCH paparazzi. Prizes were awarded in all the seven major subjects taught at undergraduate level at the College. In each category, the First prize was £1,000, the first runner-up was £500, the second runner-up was £250, and a third runner up was awarded a £40 voucher. Everyone who was highly commended received a £20 voucher. Professor Grayling said, “The College received 3,600 entries into this year’s essay competition, and 150 students were shortlisted and invited to this award ceremony. To be in the top 4% of essayists is exceptional. Every individual who has been shortlisted deserves to be very proud of their academic achievement.” Now in its third year, the NCH London Essay Competition was founded to inspire and encourage students from around the world who are in their penultimate year of secondary education and have a passion for the humanities and social sciences, to pursue their interest in these subjects and to further develop their critical thinking and writing skills. Chaired by Professor Grayling, former Man Booker Prize Chair of Judges, the judging panel comprised academic members of each subject faculty and high-performing third-year undergraduate students.
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WINGS OF HOPE SUCCESS FOR NIA AND EVA The Wings of Hope Achievement Awards are a nationally recognised social enterprise programme created in 2005. Students in Years 9-13 work in small teams of 6 or fewer, running fundraising projects for the Wings of Hope Children's Charity which helps children in India and Malawi to gain a free education. Students gain valuable skills from close mentoring and workshops from corporate partners, allowing them to kickstart their career development with events like Speed Mentoring, and be inspired by speakers at Back to School Day. Through this national programme, teams are in with a chance to be selected for the semi-finals which are held at the Houses of Parliament! This year, Nia and Eva, both in Year 10, decided to take part, and following their successful fundraising campaign and competition submission, were invited to the Annual Awards Ceremony at the end of June, held at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London. The celebrations kicked off in style with a dance showcase from Pineapple Dance, who then led the crowd back up to the beautiful Nuffield Hall where the Ceremony took place. After an introduction to the beginnings of the charity, Dr Sri Ram one of the co-founders of the Wings of Hope praised the current students for being ‘the light in the darkness’ with all their efforts and achievements of the past fourteen years of WOHAA. Hosted by Smruti Sriram, each Award presentation was given by a guest presenter. Professor Shivakumar from London Business School, Damon Clarke ex-CEO of digital marketing company Brandwidth, and Praful Nargund the Managing Director of Create Fertility, were among those who presented awards. Nia and Eva were runners up in the Best Presentation category - congratulations to both girls on this achievement.
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RMS DEVELOPMENT PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE The brand new Performing Arts Centre in Alex House is now very nearly complete with just the fit out of the recording studio to be completed over the Summer holidays. A team will be installing an industry standard filming, recording and editing suite at the heart of the new centre. The girls have already had some drama and dance classes in their new studios, and the feedback from staff and students alike has been nothing short of glowing! As Mr Carson stated in his speech on Prize Day, the new centre is not "just" for our most talented dancers, actresses and musicians; it is a facility that will be used by ALL our students to develop and hone a whole host of skills - such as creativity, confidence and communication, all skills that all students will need in their lives after RMS. We are so looking forward to the official opening of the Centre (date TBC, watch this space!) and to watching all our students flourish in this fantastic new facility!
RMS ALUMNAE RELATIONS RECONNECTING WITH ALUMNAE Another major project this year has been to reconnect with our alumnae network; an amazing group of women working in a whole range of industries across the globe. In the past year we’ve seen alumnae return to talk to MedVetDent Society about their careers in medicine and science, to speak to girls on the Year 12 LEAD programme, and alumnae who are at university coming back to chat to the Year 12s about their universities and courses. The unbiased insights of their predecessors are invaluable! In June we welcomed Old Girls who left in 1968, 1969 and 1970 for their 50 year reunion. Following stunning performances from music scholars Anna Ngan and Antonia Chan, our guests were invited to lunch in the Governors’ Dining Room followed by tours with Year 12 students. The stories they shared of how the school has changed since they were pupils at school, from the uniform to the dining arrangements, drew plenty of gasps! The Old Girls absolutely loved their day back at school and we are extremely grateful to our performers and tour guides who made their visit so special.
THE OLD MASONIC GIRLS' ASSOCIATION One particularly significant development this year has been that the Old Masonic Girls' Association (OMGA) has handed its responsibilities over to the school. The OMGA has been the link between the school and its alumnae for over 100 years, but this responsibility was handed over to RMS on Sports Day and now lies with the Development Office. At the start of this new chapter in the life of the school, we are looking forward to providing more opportunities for alumnae to stay in touch with each other, to benefit from a thriving professional network and to pass on their wisdom to current pupils. As part of this handover we are delighted to be able to report that the OMGA has generously decided to donate their funds to the RMS Bursary Fund. Until 1978 RMS pupils attended the school for free due to family circumstances. The OMGA felt that it was fitting that their legacy to the school would be to offer others, who would not normally be able to afford the fees, the opportunity to attend the school on a bursary. We are very thankful to the OMGA committee and members for supporting the school in this way. www.rmsforgirls.org.uk
CYBERFIRST GIRLS GO ON THE ROAD Following their success in the National Cyber Security Centre / GCHQ CyberFirst competition last term, our team of four Year 8 cybersleuths have been on the road, visiting Google and BP to learn more about cyber security in the work place. Not to forget a trip to Windsor Castle for afternoon tea with royalty... Read on for more about their adventures! A Royal Appointment... Along with the other finalists of the competition, we were thrilled to have been given the opportunity to meet a member of the royal family, His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, The Duke of York at Windsor Castle. This was an absolutely incredible experience and it is something that we will never forget. The Duke of York spoke to us about how we should never wait for people to teach us things but we should discover things ourselves, and how we should never allow someone to tell us "no", instead we should grab opportunities for ourselves. We also talked about the importance of increasing awareness of careers in cyber security and how jobs in this field need to become as well-known as other professions such as Medicine and Law. His Royal Highness was incredibly supportive of this field of study and he even shared his own knowledge of cyber security with us. Thank you to Mr Lilley for accompanying us on this part of the incredible CyberFirst adventure - and to the Queen for lending us the castle for the afternoon...! Cyber Security at BP On 3rd June we were invited to the BP Cyber Security Centre where we learnt more about how cyber security is necessary in large corporations. It was fascinating to see how it is also linked to politics, and how certain political and economic events can influence the number of cyber attacks a company might suffer. We all found it very interesting to talk to these industry professionals who gave us an in-depth view into what it is like to work in positions like this wihtin large companies. We would like to thank BP for providing us with an amazing opportunity, and Mr Lilley for accompanying us on the day.
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RMS EVENTS PRIZE DAY - JUNE 2019 Our Guest Speaker this year was Charlotte Roberts, one half of the "Digital Sisters", who delivered a brilliant speech on how to stay "smart, savvy and safe online" and presented awards to the girls in Years 7 to 9. Prizegiving was followed by a fantastic concert, led by Head of Music, Mr Werner, which featured impressive solos by Sophie (Harp), Eliza (French Horn) and Angelina (Voice) and culminated in the spinetingling performance of a specially arranged African folk song.
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CELEBRATION OF SPORT - JUNE 2019 The evening started with a barbecue in the Dining Hall Quad, put together by our brilliant Catering team, after which guests moved into the Great Hall for the main event. Mrs Cooper, Director of Sport, began by welcoming everyone, and announcing a new award for the RMS Sports Personality of the Year, to be voted for by the guests that evening. Starting with Year 7, awards were handed out for three different categories: Progress in PE, All-Rounder, and Sporting Excellence. These were interspersed with students’ annual reports, as well as spotlights on the individual nominees for the Sports Personality award. You can see the full list of winners below. There was also a sports quiz, in which each table of guests competed throughout the evening in rounds including dingbats, music, and making the best sports-themed playdough model. Following those for each year group, there were overall awards for Young Leader, Services to School Sport, and Team of the Year, after which our special guest speaker, cricketer Lydia Greenway, gave a speech about her story and summarised her advice for the students with the maxim: “feel the fear and do it anyway!” The evening’s final winners were then announced, first for the quiz, and lastly the RMS Sports Personality of the Year, Amelia. To bring the evening to a close, we were treated to a photo montage of highlights from the past year, topped off with some lovely video messages for the students from the cyclist Eddie Dunbar, triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee, and rower Sarah Outen. Congratulations to all the winners, everyone who has taken part in sports at RMS this year, as well as all involved in this fantastic evening to celebrate it! You can view more photos of the evening here: http://bit.ly/RMSCofS19 www.rmsforgirls.org.uk
Special Award Winners 2019 Young Leader
Ellie Wheeler
GCSE Award
Ella Peters
A Level Award
KIrsty Stewart
Services to School Sport
Florie Moir
Lifetime Contribution
Talia Morton-Kemsley
RMS Team of the Year
U15 Trampoline Team
RMS Sports Personality of the Year
Amelia Daley
Young Leader Year Group Award Winners 2019
Progress
All Rounder
Excellence
Year 7
Elena Mitchell
Charlotte Byde
Victoria Daley
Year 8
Hayleigh Taylor
Emily Harper
Aneka Patel
Isabella Janssen
Carys Arnold
Charlotte Clarke
Year 9
Year 7 Montana Year 7 Geminder
Year 10
Polly Berryman
Holly Townshend
Year 11
Abena Adoma
Miranda Conn
Amelia Daley / Stephanie Roycroft
Katie Boxall
Talia Morton-Kemsley
Senior
Elena Izquierdo-Hall
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SPORTS DAY 2019 Sports Day this year was another huge success, albeit on the hottest day of the year!!! Here are just a few photos from the day...
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RMS TRIPS YEAR 9 HOMESTAY VISIT IN MONTPELLIER Over the Easter holidays, a group of Year 9 students set off for a homestay visit to Montpellier... Despite a terribly early start, we arrived in good spirits ready to meet our host families who were waiting for us at the airport. We paired off and went back to what would be our homes for the trip and had our first experience of a French family lunch. Lots of us had a nap in the afternoon, some of us played with the various pets in the host placements, and we eagerly awaited activities the next day. Throughout the trip we experienced intensive practice of our oral skills, making sure we were fully prepared for our impending public examinations, as well as an art workshop, a visit to an ancient Jewish Mikvah pool, a LOT of crĂŞpe eating, and a whole-day visit to the Camargue. This provided the most hilarious moments of the trip as poor Mme Frossard fell victim to our very enthusiastic guide who wanted to take her shopping during our free time! We came back with lots of memories of a great trip and we all felt more confident with our speaking. It certainly was an experience that none of us will ever forget! Thank you to our teachers who accompanied us and most of all to our host families for making us all feel so welcome.
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HISTORY TRIP TO THE BATTLEFIELDS OF FRANCE AND BELGIUM In late June a group of 35 Year 9 students had the opportunity to visit the Battlefields of the First World War in Belgium and France. This would allow them to enrich their understanding of this period in history and visit sites where trenches were dug, battles were fought and heroes were made. Jacques, our guide, took us around key sites near Ypres, including Bayernwald, a series of German reconstructed trenches, and the Langemark German cemetery (which was in stark contrast to those British and Commonwealth cemeteries we had seen from the coach, which all appeared bright and uplifting). Langemark contains a number of mass graves and highlighted the anger and resentment felt following the end of the First World War. Afterwards, we travelled to Tyne Cot in order to hold our remembrance service to the Old Masonic School Boys. We stood in a circle to read our Act of Remembrance; whilst the teachers read out the service and then the names of the 112 teachers and students whose names are on the memorial in the Chapel corridor, students placed a red carnation on the ground. We would like to thank FORMS for providing the red carnations for this memorial and Maria and Josephine for reading the poem at the end of our service. To see so many red carnations lying on the ground provided a vivid image of the loss experienced due to this war. That evening we attended the Last Post service at Menin Gate, which is held every evening at 8.00pm and heard a visiting choir singing songs to the fallen, which added to this sobering experience. A number of us had relatives listed on this memorial and so took the time to find their names and pay our respects. This was certainly a touching end to what had been a moving day.
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Our second day began with a visit to the Wellington Tunnels in Arras, an underground museum which was founded to the memory of thousands of men of the British Army and Dominion Forces who lived and worked under the city during the First World War. It particularly commemorates the tunnelers of New Zealand, who used hand picks to enhance this extensive underground system so that the enemy would not hear them at work. We were shown a number of features, such as; mining trucks, equipment, food and drink containers and the latrines! There are also examples of ‘graffiti’, having survived over 100 years and showing soldier’s perspectives at the time. At 11 degrees and with water dripping from the ceiling it is hard to believe that for many days soldiers lived in these networks, preparing for their attack! In the afternoon we visited the Thiepval Memorial, the largest of the memorials to the missing men of the war. On the panels of the arches are the names of those who have no known grave and are thus ‘the Missing.’ There are over 70,000 names on the arches of men who died in the Battles of the Somme, with some blanked out if their remains have since been found and so an individual grave given. Afterwards we visited the Ulster Tower, a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division. At the entrance to the tower is a plaque commemorating the names of 9 men of the Division who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Somme. There is also an inscription which reads: "This Memorial is Dedicated to the Men and Women who at the call of King and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of man, giving up their own lives that others might live in Freedom.”
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We finished by visiting La Boisselle, which is situated at the heart of what had been the Somme battlefields. We learnt that during the war it had reached stalemate between both sides on the surface and so they began searching beneath their opponent’s trenches in an attempt to gain an advantage. In December 1914 French and British engineers had begun tunnelling beneath this region and placing explosive charges. This particular crater was made by a gigantic underground mining explosion which had been sprung on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The crater has been preserved as a lasting memory to this war and the men who died. On our last day we visited In Flanders Fields Museum, in the centre of Ypres. The museum is full of interesting artefacts, including a recent exhibition of empty chairs from all countries who fought in the First World War to reflect all those families who had an empty chair at home as a result of the casualties of war. Its layout is intentionally designed to make the visitor feel uncomfortable and this adds to the atmosphere. Having visited the museum we stocked up on Belgian chocolate and travelled to Hooge Crater Museum for our final visit of the trip. This museum contained a huge array of artefacts from the First World War and included a video clip that outlined how the surrounding area had changed as a result of the First World War. Thank you to the History Department for another brilliant trip!
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HISTORY TRIP TO CUBA When the group of historians returned from their trip to Vietnam and Cambodia last year, one Year 11 member suggested Cuba as an alternative destination for the History trip this year... No sooner suggested, and Miss Simmonite had organised... Read on for more about the latest History Department adventure... Cuba is one of only a few communist counties in the world today and this means that all companies, schools, businesses, hospitals and the media are controlled by the government. This has some positives in that education and healthcare systems are good, there is little serious crime and there is not very much commercialism in terms of advertising and domination by big companies. However, the downsides are a low quality transport system, a lack of freedom and a lack of belongings and general wealth. However, Cuba is also a land of rich cultural history and we saw first-hand many of the wonderful sights of the country. Cuba’s history has been built on trading in rum, tobacco and sugar and these are still vital elements of their economy today. Our trip included many of the famous sights and historic places. We started in Havana, the capital city which is full of colonial buildings and old-style vintage cars. We visited the rum-making museum where we learnt the story of how rum is made and how the industry supported the growth of the Cuban economy. We saw the famous sights of Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral, and spent some time taking in the feel of city.
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From Havana we travelled out into the Vinales Valley for the day, where we visited a tobacco farm and saw how goes from growing in a field to being rolled into a cigar - another key element of the Cuban economy. This area is characterised by rolling, lush countryside and small fertile valleys - it looked like something from Jurassic Park. We then trekked into the Cueva de los Indios, a cave that was an indigenous dwelling rediscovered in 1920. We came out of the cave through an underground river where we were then met by a buffalo, which a few people got to sit upon!
The next day we ventured to a crocodile farm. Here, it rained and it rained, but many of us still held a baby crocodile and got to help feed the giant crocodiles. The farm is a sanctuary for 16 species of endangered crocodiles. During the journey to lunch we encountered the march of the red crabs as the creatures came out of the sea and migrated across the road to mate. They covered the roads in some areas and the bus had to try and avoid crushing them. The restaurant we stopped at for lunch was by the sea and covered in crabs - they were on the walls, in the trees and even down on the floor by the toilet bowls when we went to use the restaurant toilets... It was a bit of a scary experience for some, but one we will never forget!
We then ventured out to the infamous Bay of Pigs, the site where the Americans tried to invade Cuba in 1961. Today, it is merely a vast beach, but helps to understand the context of the invasion and see why the Americans found it so hard on reaching the beaches of Cuba.
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Next we ventured to our next location - the city of Cienfuegos, known as the ‘Pearl of the South’. Here, we stayed in a hotel right on the sea and enjoyed some time cooling off in the pool. Our next day, the rain had stopped and we ventured to a local farm to see how it worked. Following this we took either a gentle horse ride or a horse and cart down to the beach - our own private cove where we could swim in the Caribbean Sea before heading back. On our way we encountered a flock of flamingos in the wild! We returned to the hotel for some pool time and the mocktail hour as the sun was setting over the sea. This day was the highlight for many! The next day we set off for Trinidad, stopping along the way at an aquarium to see the dolphin show. We arrived in Trinidad for lunch and then had a tour of the city. Trinidad is a preserved Spanish colonial settlement where the clocks seem to have stopped and have yet to restart. Our final hotels were set in tropical surroundings and thankfully had lovely, cool pools to keep the heat off us.
We saw a lot in Cuba - and learnt a lot about its history, language and of course the difference in culture and ideology. A once in a lifetime trip for all!
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HISTORY TRIP TO BERLIN No year would be complete without a History trip (or two) to Berlin - more to follow but here are some photos in the meantime!
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WATERSPORTS TRIP TO FRANCE A group of students have just been enjoyed a watersports trip in Meymac, in Central France. We know they all had a wonderful time, and will bring you more details soon, but here are just a few photos of the girls on both land and water!
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BOARDING UPDATE The end of another academic year - Trinity Term always seems to go so quickly! It was filled with exams for Year 13 and Year 11 who left early on study leave, preceded of course by leaving parties. There was also a prom for the Year 11 girls - what a flurry of dresses, shoes, make-up and hairstyles in the house - great fun of course and welcome respite from revision! We have had many outings and trips this term; of special note was the trip to Blenheim Palace and our annual trip to Brighton followed by the camp out. How wonderful to be on the Lowers cooking marshmallows on an open fire to make delicious "smores", whilst watching our Gap Assistants putting up a tent - such fun and laughter! We also hope we have started a new tradition, our very own festival called "Garthella". Every boarder joined in, we had a picnic tea, lots of music, face painting, garland making, temporary tattoos and a photo booth. This was all followed by a screening of "Mamma Mia" under the starry sky. The overall idea came from Sonya, and she was supported, helped and encouraged by all. This term also sees Miss Batty and Mrs Dwyer leaving us after many years of dedicated service. Miss Batty will be replaced by Mrs Jones as Head of Boarding and Housemistress of Connaught House, and Miss Baillie will take over the reins from Mrs Dwyer at Harris House. This is indeed the end of an era! Amongst many gifts and leaving presents for both was a wonderful jigsaw made by Head of DT Miss Dines - each girl and member of staff in boarding painted a piece which was then covered in clear acrylic, and around the edges was written: “We are all jigsaw pieces that fit together in the marvellous colourful world of boarding" (pictured below!) We wish them well in their new endeavours, and rest assured that their laughter and sense of fun will forever be etched on the polished corner stones of RMS. We will all be facing change in one form or another next year, with the girls moving up a year, some also changing House, as well as new members of staff joining boarding. I know that with true RMS resilience we will embrace the changes and boarding will continue to flourish. In Zetland, we are very excited about the brand new bedrooms too! Enjoy the holidays with your girls. We look forward to welcoming them back in September and especially hearing all about their summer adventures. Mrs Dobson Housemistress of Zetland
THE BOARDING TERM IN PICTURES
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HOUSE ART AND TEXTILES COMPETITION Starting in the Easter holidays, students in Years 7 to 9 were tasked with designing a pattern based on a different theme for each House - cultural patterns, patterns found in nature, patterns from your mind, and optical patterns. The winning entries for each house were then used to decorate a deer using decoupage, and the resulting herd have since been spotted around School - including on the stage at Prize Day... Thank you to all members of the Art and Textiles Departments, and special thanks to Mr Redding who took the deer to be sprayed and waterproofed at his classic car workshop, and congratulations to Atholl-Sussex House whose deer was judged to be the winner!
YEAR 11 WORK EXPERIENCE In late June, Year 11 embarked on a week of work experience, discovering more about their interests and the jobs that exist for them to pursue these. Jeea writes about her experience with the journalist Camilla Tominey... I spent the week shadowing Camilla Tominey - the Associate Editor at the Daily Telegraph. I was able to get an insight into her busy life and realised that her job did not involve sitting at a desk for the whole day, but instead included frequent visits to Parliament and other panels, meetings and events it was like nothing I had ever imagined! For me, there were some key memorable events that I enjoyed the most during my week, including watching Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, listening to the Policy Exchange panel discussing the NHS, and filming an excerpt for BBC One’s ‘This Week’ in Victoria Tower Gardens. The panel discussion at Policy Exchange on the NHS was particularly eye-opening since I was exposed to a different perspective and way of thinking, with which I eventually began to agree! There, I also got to meet the politician Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Camilla and I spoke to him about the current sentiment in the House of Commons itself and this discussion was very insightful. On Thursday, Camilla and I were in Victoria Tower Gardens filming a comedic excerpt for the BBC One show ‘This Week’. While I wasn’t initially interested in film making, this experience was intriguing as I was able to see how such sketches are produced and the somewhat repetitive motion of filming. Overall I had a great time with Camilla, meeting many interesting people from directors and producers to politicians, and from these interactions I was able to learn many things. One key lesson was that things might not be as simple as they appear on television and in the media - in real life things and people are often very different. Furthermore, I learnt that journalists do indeed have very varied jobs and don’t just sit at a desk writing for hours on end. Spending a week with such a high-level journalist was a phenomenal experience that I will never forget, and one that has inspired me to be a journalist myself. Other work experience placements included Transport for London, Lab Services in Watford, software consultancy Solirius, and Neuberger Berman. Thank you to all the companies and individuals who offered their time to give our students an introduction to the world of work!
SPORT THIS TERM Athletics The 2019 season has been very positive across all year groups. The Year 7 and 8 team have dominated the majority of their county league fixtures and are currently sitting in a position to qualify for the league final. As well as finishing 2nd in the regional final of the track and field cup, both Year 7 & 8 teams were crowned district champions! Strong performances at the county championships saw Kyra crowned 70m hurdles champion, with Lila and Victoria gaining podium positions in the hurdles and 800m respectively. The Year 9 and 10 team have experienced equal success. Plenty of PBs have led to a potential place in the league plate final and a 5th place finish in the track and field cup regional final. Amelia, Freya and Emily stepped onto the podium at the county championships and have been selected to represent RMS and Hertfordshire at the English Schools National Final. We extend our wishes to Freya and Talia who will don their orange Hertfordshire vests once again to compete in the Heptathlon regional finals. Special mention also goes to Amelia in Year 11 who jumped her way into the record books at the recent Hertfordshire County Athletics Championships. Taking part in the triple jump, Amelia jumped a distance of 11.27m, beating the record of 11.00m which had stood for the last 19 years. Amelia's personal best is actually some way better than this, standing at 11.78m which means she is currently ranked 5th in the country. Amelia has been selected for the the Schools National Finals.
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Badminton The badminton team has performed extremely well this season. Each training session we have practised a variety of skills and demonstrated resilience and participation throughout. The team has entered several leagues, with the U14 and U16 teams finishing second and first respectively in the district tournament. The U16 team went through to compete in the County section of the National Schools Championship. The team consisted of Monika, Holly, Lottie and Florie; they fought very hard and came a very solid fourth, only a couple of points behind the school in third place. There have been some highly Well done in particular to the U13 pair 1 placing 3rd and competitive tournaments across all age the U15 pair 1 placing 2nd in the doubles tournaments. groups with everyone doing very well. Within the league matches the U15 have stood out as top performers, comfortably winning games and finishing 4th Overall League Results in the league. Overall the past two terms have been very Under 14: 7th successful and we can’t wait for next season! Under 15: 4th Under 16: 6th Florie and Lottie
Cricket
Golf
25 year 7-9 students have taken part in cricket with great enthusiasm; for many this was their first opportunity to play.
Not many schools can boast a golf course in the grounds, and this year we have tried to make more use of this exceptional facility!
Over the course of the season, the girls have progressed from how to hold the bat, through bowling straight arm, to playing in our first match. The Year 7 match was very close, with RMS winning by 8 runs. Unfortunately, the older team did not fare so well, coming up against an excellent team who were able to catch many of our best hits on the boundary.
On 1st May, we invited girls from Abbot's Hill, Northwood College and St Helen's to come and take part in a "friendly" golf tournament. For many of us, it was the first time we had picked up a golf club, so the level was not necessarily the highest but we all had lots of fun!!!
It has been an exciting journey and the girls' progress has been amazing with special mention to Jes, Amy, Aisha, Sophie, Milly, Imogenz and Aleena who have continually shown the resilience and enthusiasm to learn a new sport. Roll on next season. www.rmsforgirls.org.uk
Gymnastics This year the gymnastics team has done very well representing the School throughout the competition season and have come home with a multitude of medals, trophies and awards. We started the term off with the Acro competition held in Milton Keynes where both pair and group routines were performed. The girls performed particularly well in the tumbling against tough competition; they came away with a few medals, but more importantly with a real sense of achievement. Congratulations to Kyra (3rd), Victoria & Eloise (joint 4th), and Ynes (7th). In the pairs competition, the Under 14s, Kyra and Victoria came 2nd, Livvy and Josie came 3rd and Jemima and Sofia came 4th. In the Over 14s Sophia and Mia won the event and proceeded to the Nationals, held in May. The whole team performed brilliantly and as a school we were placed first overall, as both the Under 14 team (Livvy, Gabi, Josie, Jemima, Sofia and Eloise) and Over 14 teams (Molly, Miranda, Amelia, Sophia, Beatrice and Talia) came first, both also making it to the national finals in Stoke-On-Trent. More success came for our Milano team, who also got through to the National Finals where the Under 11 team came 1st as a part of the Eastern Region, the Under 13 team came 4th overall as well as 2nd as a part of the Eastern Region. The Under 16s came 5th overall but due to an outstanding performance in their group routine they came out with the highest score. In the Floor and Vault competition the Under 11s came 1st in the Eastern Region as well as going through for the Nationals in May. In addition to this the Under 13s came 3rd but unfortunately narrowly missed out on 1st by only 0.3 marks, which shows how tough these competitions can be. As a season finale, our teams took part in the ISGA competition, which consists of 2 vaults, 2 floors and a group sequence. Overall the girls did extremely well and all their hard work paid off, as they left the competitions with both medals and trophies in hand. Results as follows: Under 9s 8th overall and 7th in their group sequence; Scarlett also deserves a special mention as she came 8th individually out of the 60 gymnasts who competed in her age category. Under 10s who came 13th overall and then 8th in their group; Isobel also did an excellent performance on the day as she came 8th out of 83 gymnasts. Under 11s came 3rd overall, as well as 1st in their group; Sowmiya and Sophie came 10th and 14th. Furthermore, their group was in fact so good that they were asked to perform it once more as an example of the standard judges hope all gymnasts can reach next year! Under 13s came 6th overall and 2nd in group, with Victoria coming 19th out of 80 competitors. Under 15s came 8th overall and 2nd in group. Over 13s finished the competition off with an outstanding performance by Miranda who came 9th and Amelia who came 14th individually, as well as the team coming 5th overall and 1st in the group sequence. Overall this has been an extremely successful term for the gymnastics team and I believe everyone should be very happy and proud of what they have achieved.
Swimming This season has been another successful one for the RMS Swimming Team. They have swum in a variety of matches including friendly and league matches, and entered and qualified through to Nationals. The Development Squad have been working hard this year, particularly developing their starts, turns and finishes, as well as their overall stroke technique. We have swum against a variety of schools this year in our friendly matches. One of the closest wins was against Wycombe Abbey; a closely fought match with RMS winning 92-90. In the league, the Year 7 team had two stand-alone league matches this season with fierce competition. Our B team came sixth overall with 56 points and the A team came third with 78 points, just three points behind first place. Our Junior league team, a combination of Year 7 and 8 swimmers, swam in the five qualifying matches and qualified though to the final. It was a tough final, but the team performed excellently, scoring highly, supporting each other and showing great teamwork. Through grit and determination, the Junior team won the league final with 48 points. A final mention should go to our Senior swimmers who qualified for the fifth year in a row for the English Schools Swimming Association Secondary Schools’ Team Championships, their National event, held in the London Aquatic Centre in November. It was a tough gala, given our four Year 11 team members were swimming against teams with Year 12 and 13 swimmers. The team swam to the best of their ability and managed to achieve twenty fourth place in the country for the freestyle relay and thirteenth in the country for the medley relay.
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Rounders Year 8 This season of Rounders has been short but effective; we learnt many new skills during our practices and in our PE lessons. Although many were cancelled due to the unfortunate weather, the A team won most of the matches that we did play, and the Bs drew once and lost once. Despite the shortage of match practice, we have developed as a team and have learnt to play well together. We have all learnt how to hit left and how to get our throws a lot harder; we also learnt to trust each other more with passing and to always back up 2nd base on backwards hits. Everyone has tried various positions this year meaning we have all tried something different to work out what we are best at. A big thank you to Miss Whitton. Neve Year 10 The Year 10 rounders team have had an excellent Year 9 season and have remained undefeated. The year 9 rounders team have had a very successful season, with wins against They have had wins against Aldenham, St Margaret’s Aldenham, St Margaret’s and and Watford Girls. In the District Tournament RMS Rickmansworth. On Wednesday 5th June faced some tough competition but narrowly made it they faced Watford Girls and the B team through to the semi-final to face St Margaret’s. After managed a comfortable win. Unfortunately some excellent fielding they made it through to the the A team lost by 2 rounders and the Final. They batted very well despite some strong match highlighted some key areas for the fielding from Haberdasher’s, but when it was RMS’s girls to work on in training. turn to field they were exceptional and managed to get After a couple more weeks of training the the entire team out. RMS won 3.5-1.5 and held on to team went to the District Tournament, their title of District Rounders Champions. comfortably beating all teams in their pool and going through to the semi-final against St Margaret’s. After our best performance to date we progressed to the final where we faced Watford Girls once again. RMS batted exceptionally well and scored 7 rounders. When Watford stepped in to bat RMS were able to display some excellent fielding and made it very hard for Watford to score. The final score was 7-3.5 and the girls were crowned District Rounders Champions.
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Tennis Tennis has continued to develop this year with team, district, and recreational teams playing from Years 7-10. All teams have played well, with some extremely difficult matches against Queenswood and some nail biting team tennis shoot-outs. Notable highlights include: The Year 7 Team Tennis players had an extremely impressive 12-0 win over Longdean School. The Year 8 Team Tennis players successfully moved through to the LTA Team Tennis schools competition finals. The Year 9 District Team came second in the Nicola Mabbit District Tennis League and the Year 9 Team Tennis players came first in their LTA Team Tennis schools competition group and moved through to the finals. Both the Year 10 and Year 8 team tennis squads came third in their groups. Well done to everyone who has committed their time to training and competitions, and congratulations to those students who have received Tennis colours this season.
Additionally, congratulations to those students who received outstanding colours for their contribution and high performance. In Year 8 Aneka, Elsie, Livy and Hannah. In Year 10 Monika, Freya, Stephanie and Betsy.
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Sports Partnership Round Up 2019 The Watford and Three Rivers School Sports Partnership continues to provide a huge range of different sporting opportunities for all our pupils. Inter-school competitions for Cadogan House pupils have included indoor athletics, X-country, tri golf and netball. The Senior School pupils have taken part in tournaments including multi-sports, badminton and trampolining, table tennis, indoor athletics and cricket. Not only are our pupils able to participate in competitions, RMS have also hosted various events enabling our Sports Leaders to gain valuable experience in leading and officiating. 18 of our Sports Leaders were chosen to attend the Leadership Academy at the beginning of the year run by the Partnership staff. During the day-long course the girls had the opportunity to learn how to lead events that we would be hosting, and practise with visiting local primary school children. Success has been aplenty in all SSP competitions this year not least in indoor athletics and badminton. The Year 7 Indoor Athletics team won the district rounds qualifying for the County competition, and then went on to finish a very credible 5th out of 11 very strong school teams. In Badminton both the Under 14 and Under 16 teams competed in the Partnership tournament finishing second and first respectively. The Under 16 team went through to compete in the County section of the National Schools Championship finishing fourth, just a couple of points behind the school in third place. At the Sports Partnership's own awards night, a number of our students and teams were shortlisted for awards. One of Team GB's London 2012 stars, double gold medallist Alex Gregory presented the awards to the top young sporting talent in the Three Rivers and Watford area. Congratulations to Freya who won the "Outstanding Contribution Award" for Key Stage 3-5, as a result of her performance at last year’s English Schools Athletics finals and her participation in a number of other sports for the School. The RMS junior gymnastics team also won the Key Stage 2 Team of the Year, and the trampolining team came second in the Key Stage 3-5 Team of the Year following their national silver medal performance. Libby came second in the Young Official of the Year category, and in the Key Stage 3-5 Exceptional Performer Award, Amelia was runner-up and Charlotte was highly commended. Congratulations to all our girls who were shortlisted.
Thank you to Mrs Marsh and the other members of the PE department for arranging all the events and opportunities over the last year.
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FAREWELL YEAR 13 As is tradition, our Year 13 students choose the theme for "Leavers' Day" and this year opted for Mario Kart... Lots of fun had by all (including the staff!)
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UPDATE FROM FORMS It has been another successful year of fundraising by FORMS, the RMS Parents' Association. Trinity Term saw one longstanding FORMS favourite, the Summer Fair, as well as the advent of a brand new event, the FORMS Fun Run. Thanks as always go to the FORMS Committee and their team of volunteers, without whom none of these events would be possible, and of course to all of you who came to enjoy the events. With your help, FORMS has raised a good deal of money that will go towards the next big project with the School. This year also saw the successful completion of the FORMS Cadogan House Hall project, including stage, lights and sound hardware. Next year, FORMS will be launching their Senior School project, and have many exciting events planned as ever - we look forward to sharing these with you soon!
SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY 22nd NOVEMBER FORMS CHRISTMAS PARTY!
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY NEXT TERM Michaelmas Term is always a busy one - and we will be adding more events to the calendar shortly. In the meantime, here is a snapshot of the term ahead, with some key dates for your diary. To keep up to date with events as they are added, please consult the School Calendar via My School Portal. Tuesday 3rd September
Boarders' Welcome (Year 5,6,7 and 12)
Wednesday 4th September
Boarders' Welcome (Year 8,9,10 and 11 Year 7 and 12 Induction
Thursday 5th September
Term Starts
Tuesday 10th September
Year 7 Parent Information Evening
Thursday 12th September
Year 8 Parent Information Evening
Monday 16th September
Year 10 Parent Information Evening
Tuesday 17th September
School Photographs
Thursday 19th September
Year 12 Parent Information Evening
Monday 30th September
Parents' Life Skills Evening
Sunday 6th October
WHOLE SCHOOL OPEN DAY*
Monday 7th / Tuesday 8th October Whole School Open Mornings Thursday 10th October
Sixth Form Preview Evening
Wednesday 16th October
RMS Drill Performance
Friday 18th October
Senior School Prize Day and Drill Performance Saturday 19th October - Sunday 3rd November - HALF TERM
Saturday 19th October - Pompeii /Bay of Naples Trip departs (returns Wednesday 23rd October) Monday 21st October - Hockey and Netball Tour to Holland departs (returns Friday 25th October) Wednesday 23rd October - New York and Washington DC Trip departs (returns Wednesday 30th October) Sunday 10th November
Remembrance Sunday Service and Drill Performance
Tuesday 19th November
Year 12 Parents' Evening
Weds 20th - Fri 22nd November
Senior School Production
Wednesday 27th November
Year 10 Parents' Evening
Monday 2nd December
Parents' Life Skills Evening
Friday 6th December
Christmas Concert
Saturday 14th December - Tuesday 7th January - CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS Wednesday 8th January - HILARY TERM BEGINS *PLEASE NOTE THAT ATTENDANCE AT OPEN DAY IS OBLIGATORY FOR ALL SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
RMS Girls think differently
RMSforGirls.org.uk @RMSforGirls The Royal Masonic School for Girls Rickmansworth Park Rickmansworth Hertfordshire WD3 4HF 01923 725354