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CHRONICLE 2020/2021

“Every girl is known and valued” Kathryn Gorman, Head

Contents Prep School

Abbot’s Hill Update 1

Welcome

Prep School Office Bearers

Whole School News and Events

Abbot’s Hill Parents Association

News and Events

Charities & Partnerships

Sports Round Up

GCSE Results

Creative Writing

COVID 19 - Looking back at 2020 Nursery School 34

Senior School 11

News and Events

Senior School Office Bearers

Prizewinners 2020

Performing Arts

Nursery News

Abbot’s Hill Update 37

Grounds & Facilities

Sports Reports

AHOGA

Creative Writing

Farewell to Mrs Doyle

Art Gallery

Magazine Team 2020-21 Editor: Anna McCarthy Editorial Team: Alexia T, Elizabeth W, Heather C, Ishani M, Katja B, Poppy H, Talia G and Verity E

Welcome

Dear Abbot’s Hill Community, Abbot’s Hill is a school with a unique personality. Founded over 100 years ago to educate young women of character, the school places great value on the development of the individual. High expectations for all sit at the heart of this proudly inclusive environment. Unstuffy and authentic, our pupils are happy and engaged and, quite simply, happy pupils learn best. Those lucky enough to come here will develop the self-awareness and strength of character to go out into the world and make a positive difference, understanding that the real impact is felt when courage and kindness combine. The events of the past two years, through the Covid-19 pandemic, have show this to be the case. I have spent much time finding the Covid silver-linings. We have been able to reflect on who we are and set out an agreed set of values, bringing all this together under a new strategy which I look forward to sharing with you. Despite the disruption, our staff have ensured that many and various opportunities have continued to be provided here. From the sports field to the rapidly adaptated school productions and concerts; through the leadership opportunities and academic enrichment programmes such as inspired; whether working with our partner schools in the local community or helping to supervise our youngest pupils as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Abbot’s Hill has continued to offer something for everyone and indeed has expanded its provision. Returning to some sense of normality this September has reminded us all of our pride in what we do and the strength we have when we are together. Finding out who you are has never been so much fun. Kathryn Gorman, Head

Whole School N Young Artist of the Year Award 2021

The Artist of the Year competition once again had to take place virtually. The students were asked to respond to the theme of ‘Life in Lockdown on a Postcard’ and the department provided postcard size canvases to work on in any chosen media. This year we also invited staff and parents to submit entries and we were blown away by the quantity and quality of the work. The competition was judged by Mr Joe Tatham who works in the art department at St Columba’s College. He too was impressed by the diversity and skill shown in the work.

Well done to all of the winners but also a huge thank you to everyone who took part. Year’s 3 & 4 • 1st place, Anne Marie I • 2nd place, Hannah S • 3rd place, Lottie I

Year’s 7 & 8 • 1st place, Martha B • 2nd place, Mia E • 3rd place, Charlotte R

Year’s 5 & 6 • 1st place, Mia G • 2nd place, Sophie G • 3rd place, Anees M

Year’s 9 & 10 • 1st place, Bella HH • 2 place, Charley C • 3 place, Emily B

Staff and Parents winner - Anna Croxen

Year 5 and 6

ews and Events 1

Year 7 and 8

Year 3 and 4

Year 9 and 10

AHSPA Abbot’s Hill Parents Association Autumn

The Autumn term saw the formation of a brand new AHSPA committee headed by Chair, Annette Jones. With some fresh faces and lots of exciting ideas it was time to hit the ground running. As we were still in lockdown events went virtual with a series of festive themed workshops and Polar Bear raffle.

Spring

Running a virtual Easter raffle took some organising, but thanks to some generous donations, 6 hampers were created and a series of vouchers and gifts were also up for grabs. Through the raffle, funds were raised for the School and local charity Billy’s Wish. The Bears returned! In the Spring term AHSPA were delighted to successfully relaunch the Abbot’s Hill Clan Bears. The bears were exactly the same as were first introduced to the School over ten years ago and were available in clan coloured jumpers.

Summer

During the Easter holidays AHSPA held a second hand uniform sale that raised over £2,000. The Association are very much looking forward to a series of 2022 events and a long overdue ball!

Billy’s Wish £1100 was donated to local charity Billy’s Wish. Katharine Harper, the charity’s Education Officer, said: “Now it is more important than ever for Billy’s Wish to reach schools. Local and national headlines show a widespread concern that as lockdown restrictions ease, crimes related to gangs, drugs and knives will increase due to frustrations over unresolved issues. The money raised by AHS will go a long way to help fund our school visits in the next few months. We know from feedback given by teachers and young people alike, that sharing Billy’s story directly to pupils, in both primary and secondary schools has a huge impact. This amazingly generous donation will also help us to develop new ways we can support children in keeping away from knives and finding positive alternatives.”

2021/2022

Partnerships

As we slowly move out of the pandemic phase, we are really looking forward to resuming our partnership activities. We welcomed two local primary schools on to site for Come and Create in October which was very successful. In the new year, we are launching Come and Investigate, our new series of science workshops for several local primary schools. We look forward to engaging the children in 6 workshops to inspire their scientific minds. We will run K’Nex workshops and Art workshops to local schools and host Herts Music Service in their Proseco and Play event. With a Come and Cook event in the planning, we are really looking forward to opening up to working with other schools and organisations again.

Charities KidsOut and the Rotary Christmas Toy Box Initiative Christmas is always tough for families in refuge, with this year set to be harder than usual. Most children arrive at refuge with only the clothes on their back, restricted to a single room with their mother and siblings. Mothers struggle to provide basic essentials, let alone toys for their children at Christmas. KidsOut, the fun and happiness charity, aims to provide children who have fled domestic violence and are living in refuge with a brand new box of toys. Julian Margolin, Chief Ambassador, showed the pupils how to pack their box and helped them pick age appropriate toys. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their time volunteering for such a worthwhile cause. We were honoured to help such an admirable organisation.

A socially distanced ‘Hello!’ to residents at Water Mill Care Home Our pupils spent time designing colourful banners and drawings for a very special cause. The children went in their lunchtime and said hello from the hill to Water Mill Care Home in Apsley, Hemel Hempstead. Pupils and staff members walked down the School drive and waved and showed the residents their drawings, banners and pictures. The care home residents and their carers waved through the windows back at the children. It brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Even cars, cyclists and pedestrians beeped horns and waved hello. Bringing a little bit of happiness to the elderly residents who may not have been able to have seen their own grandchildren and families was a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon and the pupils thoroughly enjoyed meeting some new friends!

Raising funds for Children in Need Abbot’s Hill took part in various fundraising activities for Children in Need. The Nursery raised a fantastic £370, exceeding their £100 target! Thank you to all who donated. Well done to the Pre-Prep and Prep who ran a ‘Crazy Hair Day’ fundraiser. There were some hugely inventive, and definitely crazy, hairstyles! From under the sea themed complete with sting rays and jellyfish, to bright pink cupcakes and plenty of glitter. In the Senior School pupils took part in Joe Wicks challenges throughout the day, pushing themselves physically and competing against one-another.

GCSE RESULTS

GCSE Examination Results – Summer 2021 Congratulations to all our Year 11 pupils who have continued to achieve excellent GCSE results. Head, Kathryn Gorman, said ‘These results are testimony to our pupils’ unfailing determination to succeed despite enduring the greatest disruption to their education since the Second World War. In these unprecedented times, the unwavering commitment and dedication demonstrated by our staff has shone through. The events that have unfolded over the past two years have been met with such resilience by everyone in our community. Finally, we thank the parents for their patience and support.’ Abbot’s Hill recognises all of our pupils’ achievements including the following highlights: • 97.8% of pupils achieved 9 – 4 grades • 60.5% of pupils achieved 9 – 7 grades We are very proud of all our pupils’ results but particular congratulations go to: • Isabelle E and Millie H for achieving a staggering 11 grade 9s • Amani C for achieving 11 grade 8 and 9s • Congratulations to Siya C, Sofia L, Beatrice L, Beatrice H H, Charlotte M, Jiya M, Sofia S and Yasmina Z for achieving 11 grades at 9 – 7

Looking Back to Look Forwards Mrs Gorman, Head, reflects on her first two years at Abbots’ Hill and leading during a global pandemic Instead of spending the next two minutes and thirty seconds of your time reading about the difficulties of the last 18 months, I prefer to reflect on the so-called Covid silver-linings. It has been a time of ‘firsts’ in many ways. Not only was this my first two years as Head at Abbot’s Hill but, since my first day in January 2020, we have learnt an entirely new vocabulary – fogging, zoom and social-distancing are now part of everyday parlance, I had to work from home, I became my own childrens’ teacher. The list goes on. School firsts These ‘firsts’ have been firsts for everyone in our school community. Managing the emotions and expectations of staff, pupils and parents while rolling out an online school made the early stages of the pandemic very demanding indeed for school leaders everywhere. Another first for me was facing an ISI Inspection after 6 days as Head. The outcome – Excellent – was testament to what I know to be true about this school. The human side On a more human, less operational level, many people all around the world and close to home have suffered loss – personal and financial. Lives have been turned upside down and we must never forget that. I have listened with interest to Mark Carney’s Reith lectures where he asks us to reflect on 2020 and to consider what it has taught us about ‘value’. Referring to Oscar Wilde’s famous aphorism, he suggests we had become a society that ‘know[s] the price of everything but the value of nothing’. This struck a chord with me because in joining Abbot’s Hill, I knew I was joining a school whose values are in the right place. I was therefore determined at the start of 2020 to more clearly articulate and reaffirm these core values and to re-frame them in light of future skills, outreach and partnerships in our immediate local community and our wider professional community, and we have done just that. So, looking back, I would like to turn my attention to some of the ways that I have simply been amazed by the professionalism of my team, the agility with which we went online and the maintenance of our school community – which has been our priority throughout. Normality in a time of uncertainty has been the watchword. Staying connected We received overwhelming support from our parents for our online provision Abbot’s Hill ConnectED with satisfaction ratings consistently over 90%. Perhaps one reason for this was that the promotion of balance and positive mental health was central to our planning. Ensuring that everyone felt a part of the School community was our guiding principle and so important for wellbeing during these unprecedented times. We therefore re-wrote our timetables to ensure that pupils could work away from the screen, while ensuring face-to-

face delivery of lessons where appropriate. Assemblies, tutor time or 1:1 tutorials with teachers followed registration and slightly shortened lessons allowed for breaks and movement away from a desk to go and jump on a trampoline or play with the family dog. After feedback from parents, we aligned lunch time across the school so that families could eat together and made sure learning was as active as it was rigorous. ConnectEd and InspirEd: Remote learning success Teachers worked very hard to find new ways of working and the practical subjects such as Music, Drama, PE and Food and Nutrition continued unabated. Even science experiments were conducted on-line, with pupils undertaking and recording their own work to share with the class. There was so much spontaneous creativity and the use of Apps such as Tapestry, SeeSaw and the G-suite enabled innovation on an unprecedented scale. We also took advantage of the time gained from the cancellation of external exams to organise a rigorous post-half term bridging course organised for our Year 11 pupils. Devised by our Head of Careers, Liz Cross, the InspirED programme proved to be excellent preparation for the transition to 6th Form and College life is set to continue, post-Covid. Back to school When we returned to school, I was impressed once more by th determination of my staff to create a safe and healthy learning environment for our pupils. As with every other school, the looming threat of a Covid-19 shutdown meant that we had to be ready, poised to pivot and flip the switch on remote learning once more. Meeting challenges with positive change Managing this Coronavirus pandemic has certainly been a tremendous challenge for schools across the country, but we are proud to have met these head-on at Abbot’s Hill. Rather than stopping or slowing down our efforts as a school, the pandemic has seen us – if you’ll pardon the phrase – draw breath and launch afresh with enthusiasm, creativity, determination and most important of all, teamwork. Collaboration and communication between teachers, pupils, and parents means that the future truly came into the present with more bespoke, tailored, truly digital learning. Partnership work, sports leadership coaching, school productions that have become film productions, online parents’ evenings…the list goes on. And on. Our digital strategy has been rocket-fuelled and I can’t wait to see where that leads us as an organisation. I think, perhaps, this may have been a highlight of the year for me. The way the school has come together – fired by those core values of integrity, compassion, collaboration. The emotional intelligence of this school is high. Alongside other skills that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront such as active learning, creativity, complex problem-solving and systems analysis, emotional intelligence, kindness and leadership are defined by the World Economic Forum (January 2020) as vital future skills. Abbot’s Hill is leading the way in building a community rich with these characteristics. Our school spirit – the founding values of the Baird sisters of strength and character – which perhaps nowadays we call resilience or maybe tenacity – are alive and well. So, while this has been a year of firsts, it has brought us back full circle to our purpose.

COVID 19

Lockdown 3 Below is a list of the many acts of kindness shown by staff, pupils and parents during unprecedented times: • Zoë B, Year 9 Bedding donations were made into scrubs bags. • The NHS sign was painted onto the front lawn by the Grounds Team • Abbot’s Hill’s Parents’ Association prepared and delivered meals for NHS workers through the ‘You donate…we deliver’ scheme. • The Catering Department donated stock from the food cupboards to help with this. • A delivery of gloves, aprons, sanitising wipes and hand sanitising liquid was donated to Hertfordshire division of the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

A Clan Challenge that celebrates heritage at Abbot’s Hill

Pupils share what they are grateful for As part of Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week, staff and pupils were asked to share a word that reflects what they are grateful for or represents how they are feeling at the moment. There were some moving responses including feelings of hope and anticipation along with outpourings of gratitude for family, friends and our legged additions! Thank to you all who took part.

Screen Free Learning

On Friday 5 March, pupils from Year 7 – 11 took part in a ‘Screen Free Learning Day’. There were no live lessons or curriculum work set, instead the pupils were encouraged to read a book, listen to podcasts From Reception through to Year 11, the pupils are placed in one of or spend time researching and expanding their knowledge. Teachers three Clans; Cameron, MacDonald and Macneil. Our Clan system harks at Abbot’s Hill felt it was very important that the pupils had a chance to back to the heritage of the school founders: Miss Katrine, Miss Alice and wind down and have a day to reflect ahead of returning to school after Miss Mary Baird, and we are still proud to celebrate our Scottish roots the lockdown. to this day.

Virtual Bookshelf

Over the first 2 weeks of the lockdown, Clan pupils were virtually racing to their ‘Seat’, where the families originally resided, in Scotland. With a staggering 564 miles to complete, pupils either walked, ran or cycled to Although the library doors remained shut the remote learning continued. clock up mileage that was then submitted and added to a daily total of The staff at Abbot’s Hill thought of innovative ways to bring school to the miles completed. We even invited staff to take part in the challenge! homes of our pupils by launching the Abbot’s Hill Virtual Bookshelf. Aptly named the ‘Race to the Highlands’. Their end destinations were The Virtual Bookshelf was a digital version of our wonderful library and as follows: knowledgeable Librarian and English teachers who are armed with Cameron – Achnacarry Castle hundreds of book recommendations. Each day of the week books were MacDonald – Armadale Castle recommended for different year groups, across all sorts of genres and Mcneil – Kisimul Castle lengths. The winners were Cameron who between them accumulated an amazing 694.251km!

Pupils were asked to share favourite books, write reviews and send in a rating (1 – 5 stars) of the books they had read.

Life in Lockdown

Abbot’s Hill pupils learn to cook with WWII rations Have you ever cooked with rations before? That was the challenge set for Year 6! Pupils were given a ration cook book and asked to see what they could whip up with the rations they would have received during the war. Rationing began on 8th January 1940. An adults weekly rationing would have been the following: Bacon & Ham Other meat Butter Cheese Margarine Cooking fat Milk Sugar Preserves Tea Eggs Sweets

4 oz value of 1 shilling and 2 pence (equivalent to 2 chops) 2 oz 2 oz 4 oz 4 oz 3 pints 8 oz 1 lb every 2 months 2 oz 1 fresh egg (plus allowance of dried egg) 12 oz every 4 weeks

Sabina tried out the ration pancakes, they looked great! It was great to get the pupils thinking and understanding the difficulties that rationing brings, especially during a national lockdown. History shows us that as a nation, we have faced hardships before. We are pleased that the ability to connect with our pupils remotely has allowed them the opportunity to learn creatively from home.

Our Staff and Pupils share what they are grateful for

G R AT E F U L

SENIOR SCHOOL

“Pupils can be themselves and are respected for their individuality and what they bring to the school community.”

News & Events

Commemoration Day The final event of the year that took place was the Senior School Commemoration Day. Although restrictions meant no parents could attend they all watched from home via a live stream for a virtual celebration. This year’s guest speaker was Mrs Jane Prescott, Headmistress of Portsmouth High School and President of the Girls School Association. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Prescott who spoke via Zoom to the Year 10 and 11 pupils.

Last Night Supper We were so delighted that the Last Night Supper event was able to go ahead in the final week of term. The Year 11’s all looked absolutely stunning and were welcomed to the event by the rest of the school after the Race for Life charity event. Although a number of changes had to be made to the usual format it was lovely that the girls had the chance to show off their showstopping outfits. The staff and Year 11’s then enjoyed a fantastic evening dancing, taking photos in the photo booth and eating an absolutely delicious Mediterranean buffet provided by Mrs Wheeler Smith and her team and finished off with a chocolate fountain! Mrs Rance and her team transformed the marquee into a magical midsummer themed space which really enhanced the evening.The weather was kind so canapés and drinks were enjoyed on the lawn and it was wonderful to be able to relax together and celebrate all that Year 11 have achieved in this challenging year. It certainly was a night to remember with so much laughter and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Senior School

News & Events

Year 7 Recycled Fashion Show On 15 November, Year 7 produced the annual fashion show based on the theme of recycling and the environment. A range of materials were used to create the costumes, including crisp packets, newspaper, fabric samples, a sweet box and recycled clothes from home. The whole of year 7 was involved and all the groups had very creative ideas with amazing designs. The Year 7 fashion show is part of the Abbot’s Hill school tradition and this year we can certainly say that the girls went above and beyond expectations! Even though we could not watch live, the show was recorded and we all had to vote for our favourites. A very special well done to the winners - Nife, Avia, Heidi and Naitra - for their Queen of Cards dress and accessories, including face mask. The girls designed a very impressive costume inspired by the Queen of Hearts using playing cards! Nife modelled the outfit for the show, carrying the umbrella and wearing the face mask! All the group designs were very creative and unique. Second prize went to Amelia and Martha for their sophisticated male and female party dresses, whilst Freya and Maia were placed third for their imaginative use of Ikea bags to create an impressive outfit. Overall a big well done to all the girls who participated in this event. Your costumes were awesome! Written by Elizabeth Wilcox.

Christmas Cake Competition The annual Senior School Christmas Cake Competition was as impressive as ever with over 20 cleverly thought out designs entered. The Christmas Cake Club and Year 10 GCSE Food and Nutrition pupils work extremely hard baking and decorating their cakes. All of the cakes were unique and each presented professionally. The cakes were judged by pupils and staff who voted for their favourite entry.

1st

2nd

3rd

News & Events BBC Young Reporter On Thursday 27 May, a select group of Year 9 pupils took part in the BBC Young Reporter Day where they shared their news reports and the most recent news stories of the day. The BBC runs this event annually to encourage more teenagers to get involved in the news and television industry. It is a UK-wide scheme aimed at students aged 11-18. The reports are accessible to people worldwide. To take part in pupils had to submit a letter of application to Mrs Ahmad, Head of Media Studies, outlining their preferred role on the team and explaining why they would be a suitable candidate for their chosen position. Working together in a team of reporters, editors, camera women and presenters, the roving Abbot’s Hill BBC Young Reporters were able to film a total of seven reports on the day, and write a range of news articles. Some of the subjects included climate change, politics, poverty, feminism, animal testing and sponsored charity events. The pupils interviewed a host of people for the reports and filmed and edited the video footage. In the run-up to the big day, the BBC Young Reporters would meet every Tuesday lunchtime from November 2020 till the end of May 2020 in order to discuss their progress and work further on writing and producing their reports. Whilst BBC Young Reporter Day is usually held in March every year, this year for the first time it was delayed due to lockdown and the Coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, the pupils remained committed to preparing for the event and worked very hard to make BBC Young Reporter a success!

Holocaust survivor Selma van de Perre’s interview in recognition of Holocaust Memorial Day. During PSHCEE on the February 2, we had the privilege of hearing Selma Van Perre, a survivor of the Holocaust, sharing her inspirational story via an interview with Mrs Davison. Selma was born in Amsterdam in 1922 and was 17 years old when WWII broke out. This was a dangerous time for Jews and other minorities that Hitler targeted as they were often sent to Nazi concentration camps or what they believed were labour camps. On Selma’s 17th birthday, she was called to join a ‘labour camp’ but she managed to avoid this (probably her first scrape with death) and get a job at a factory. Hearing of all the Jews being taken or ‘disappearing’, Selma realised that her family still weren’t safe and managed to hide her mother and sister for a year before they were betrayed and taken to a concentration camp. She never saw them again. In the following years, she became a member of the Resistance, working against the Nazi regime. This was a very dangerous thing to do. After the war Selma moved to London to work for the BBC where she met her future husband, the Belgian Journalist, Hugo van de Perre. She then studied Sociology and Anthropology and later became a Teacher. Selma has an autobiography available called ‘My Name is Selma’. In her book she tells us about her life and her experiences in a concentration camp. It also describes her move to London after the war and about her working at the BBC. She says that her story illustrates what happened to the thousands of Jews and other groups deemed undesirable by the Nazis. She also says that she only survived by sheer luck and pays tribute to all those who suffered and died. Written by Kat Belmont and Ishani Malkgiri.

Senior School

News & Events Year 7 to Warner Bros Studio Tour Year 7 had a magical day at the Warner Bros Studio exploring their favourite sets, discovering behind the scenes secrets and understanding key aspects of bringing films to life through clever scriptwriting.

“The Gringott Bank has to be one of the best sets we saw, an invisible screen made it look so real .... a dragon emerged from the fog and shot fire in our faces!”

“We enjoyed it because of how interesting it was learning about how the green screens and robotics worked”

“It inspired me to do jobs in the future like make-up and acting”

“I really enjoyed the visit to the Harry Potter Studios. I was surprised by how things that look real in the film were actually made using special effects”

Enrichment Week Despite having a circuit-break isolation week starting on the 28 of June, Enrichment Week was a massive success throughout the year groups. Even without the Thursday and Friday of the previous week, Mrs Smith managed to arrange an amazing array of activities for everyone to take part in. The week got off to an amazing start with some individual year group activities, with Year 7 making clay pots and bug hotels, Year 8 refining their videoing and editing skills (no doubt aiming to get the girls to sign up for the new photography GCSE!), Year 9 were tasked with building a lighthouse and programming a series of lights to go with it and Year 10 learnt how to do CPR and cooked both French and Spanish dishes. As Year 11 had been able to go into school from Thursday the 1 July, they were able to have a full week of Enrichment activities before sports day, including Japanese stitching, self defence and mindfulness, all organised by Mrs Hodge. As a treat they also had a trip to Thorpe park and had a BBQ. A highlight of the week was Wednesday afternoon. Years 7-10 did the Race for Abbots’ to raise money for cancer research and ran stalls in tutor groups. At the end of the day everyone congregated round the back of the sports hall for a show of year 11’s Last Night Supper Dresses; they all looked stunning! Another favourite for most of the pupils was the ‘Bouncing into Summer’ activity. Its cryptic title it left us all wondering what it was we would actually be doing. Once we arrived the two large inflatables in the sports hall were hard to miss! We let our competitive sides out and had great fun racing each other on the obstacle courses. A massive thank you to all the teachers that helped to organise and run all the enrichment week activities, we all had a great time! By Talia G

Senior School

2021 Prizewinners Subject Cups, Awards & Certificates Years 7-9 receive Achievements Awards vouchers and Certificates. Years 10 & 11, in addition, receive a Subject Cup or Award. These are awarded to: Art: The Corbett Award Dance: The Williams Cup Design Prize: Drama: The Bucknall Cup English: The Shipley Cup French: The Champagne Cup Geography: The Aarons Award History: Living History Book Home Economics: The Cliffe Cup

Amani Chishti Charlotte G Sophie C Francesca B Beatrice HH Jiya M Millie H Freya H Teresa G

ICT: The Morgan Award Mathematics: The Mary Doggett Cup Media Studies Award Music: The Lees-Jones Trophy PE: The Lees-Jones Trophy Religious Studies: The Hall Cup Science: The Rosalind Franklin Trophy Science: Triple Science Award Spanish: The Ross Pheby Cup

Alice T Isabelle E Sofia S Siyi C Isobel S Yasmina Z Hannah M Charlotte M Sophie L

Special Cups & Awards The AHOGA Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia M (presented to a girl who consistently upholds and exemplifies the values of Abbot’s Hill; demonstrating compassion, integrity, tolerance and responsibility) Amicula Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Millie H (awarded to someone who meets the demands of school life with calmness and composure) Coulter Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alicja N (for contribution to the music department) Helen Roberts Instrumental Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie W Irving Cup for Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica L (awarded for Drama performance) Kirsten Thorborg Cup for Singing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia W Matthews Musical Theatre Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chloë D Nerdrum Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beatrice HH (for a special effort made in many areas of school life) Perserverance Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teresa G Richard Batchelor Cup for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sophie C Stowe Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Isobel S (presented to a girl who has made the most of many opportunities available at Abbot’s Hill) Swift Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amelia M (for effort and resilience) The Karen Othen Award for Service to the School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yasmina Z (presented to a girl who generously gives her time for the benefit of the school or others) The Stevens Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Isabelle E (awarded for outstanding academic achievement across the science and arts)

Sports Prizes Mrs ‘P’ Trophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte G (awarded to a Year 10 girl who has made the most outstanding ‘all round’ contribution to school sport throughout Years 7-10) The Wynn Trophy (for outstanding sporting achievement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grace M

Senior School Office Bearers 2021-2022 Scarlett C Zoë B Peta H Sophie T

Head Girl Deputy Head Girls

Chair of the School Council Clan Captains Cameron Music Rachel G, Elizabeth H Sport Isabella B-W MacDonald Music Cordelia E, Isabella HH Sport Phoebe D Macneil Music Cerys B, Rachael G Sport Charlotte G Senior School Prefects Scarlett C, Zoë B, Phoebe D, Rachael G, Charlotte G, Madelaine H, Peta H, Elizabeth H, Isabella HH, Isabella P, Asha P, Sophie T Mentors for Year 7 Sienna A, Amy G, Charlotte N, Ebony W Careers Mentor Kaya P Mentor for New Pupils Madelaine H & Ella N

Music Officers Cameron Darcey C, Iris H, Sofia P MacDonald Ria B, Isabelle B, Emily E Macneil Heather C, Melanie G, Poppy H Eco Captain Nicole R Charity Captain Lucy Y Art Captain Kara K Cross Country Captain Grace M Dance Captains Charlotte G & Ebony W Design Captain Isabella HH Drama Captains Madeleine R & Lauren W Equestrian Captain Madeleine R Food Captain Lola B Lacrosse Captains Hannah F & Madeline M Learning Support Captains Isabella P & Scarlett W Librarian Ethne G Music Captain Ethne G Music Vice Captain Eleanor W Netball Captains Amy R & Ellie T Rugby Captain Jake C Ski Captain Jemima C Swimming Captains Darcy D & Rosie H Tennis Captain Rose T Trampolining Captain Lucy Y

Year 11 Leavers - July 2021 Zara A

Natasha G

Sofia L

Mae S

Olivia B

Abigail G

Beatrice L

Isobel S

Francesca B

Teresa G

Jessica L

Sofia S

Isabel B

Megan H

Hannah M

Olivia T

Imogen C

Millie H

Charlotte M

Isobel T

Siyi C

Gracie H

Jiya M

Amber T

Amani C

Jemima H

Abigail M

Jessica V

Rosie C

Beatrice HH

Amelia M

Sophie W

Sophie C

Paige H

Olivia M

Natalie W

Scarlett C

Alicia H

Alicja N

Georgia W

Chloë D

Freya H

Karina P

Yasmina Z

Isabelle E

Mia J

Charlotte R

Georgina F

Yana J

Emylie R

Tilly G

Katherine K

Gracie S

Performing Arts

And the Spring 2022 Drama Performance is… Lord of the Flies! A new tradition began this year with Performance Clue Week. Every day, a new cryptic clue was placed around the site by the Drama Department. Then the whole school tried to piece together the clues!

1 Clue

Clue

Music on the Hill On Tuesday 22 June Abbot’s Hill held an outdoor concert aptly named ‘Music on the Hill’. Due to restrictions lots of events have been cancelled or rethought so we were delighted to welcome parents onsite for an outdoor concert. Years 7 to 10 were involved with the below ensembles performing: • Y7 Brass Group • Y8 String Sextet • Y8 Flute Group • Y7/8 Clarinet Group • Y7 Wind Band • Sonoro • Y9/10 Clarinet Group • Y9 GCSE music Group • Y10 String Quartet • Y10 Choir

Clue

The sun was shining as parents relished a glass of fizz whilst enjoying the music. Well done to Mr Harrison and the performers who conducted a fabulous event!

Performing Arts A B B O T 'S

A WEE K OF T HEAT

RICAL

HILL SCH OOL

WORKS

PRESEN

HOPS L ED BY WEST E ND ACT OR

The West End comes to Abbot’s Hill During the summer term, the girls were engaged in an exciting West-End week. This was mainly for Year 6 however the girls in the Senior School did have the chance to participate in some Q&As. Each day, there was a 20 minute interview where pupils from years 7-10 could meet some wonderful West End performers who told them about their career path. Every performer had a very different story and it was so inspiring to learn more about the musical theatre industry. There were lots of chances to ask questions and hear first hand experiences. We heard from 4 different people from 4 different musicals; Emma Kingston from Les Misérables, Antoine Thomas-Sturge from 9to5, Kelly Downing from Hamilton and Joseph Clause from Phantom of The Opera. This created such a wide range of answers to all our questions depending on whether they were dancers, singers, actors or a talented mix! The biggest thank you to Miss Cross and Miss McLoughlin for organising this spectacular week and giving us such a great opportunity. “What a wonderful opportunity for pupils to meet with Performing Arts representatives from such exciting West End productions! I hope that those who attended will have been inspired not only by the on-stage world of theatre, but also by the many off-stage roles which were discussed across the week including: directing, teaching, post-production, script writing and more.” - Miss Cross (Head of Careers) By Poppy H and Heather C

Senior School

Sports Reports

Super League On December 5, the Abbot’s Hill netball and lacrosse clubs came into school to have a tournament against their fellow classmates, keeping in the year group bubbles. Anyone who was in these lunchtime and after school sports clubs were invited and put into a team of mixed abilities. Although it was bitterly cold outside, the girls powered through playing all their matches to the highest standards. With all year groups attending and having to be socially distant, we would like to say a massive thank you to the P.E. staff who organized the event and kept it all running as smoothly as possible. Also a big well done to the winning teams from each year for both sports. By Poppy H and Talia G

Abbot’s Hill compete in National Schools Outdoor Open Ski Race Two teams from Abbots Hill competed in the National Schools Outdoor Open (South) Ski Race. The National Schools Snowsports Association event was well attended with 80 skiers from the region and we managed to avoid the rain with Abbots seeded for an early start. Abbot’s Hill entered two teams captained by Rosie C, Year 11: A Team: Rosie C Year 11, Jemima C Year 8 and Cassandre P Year 8 B Team: Lucia C O Year 8, Katie U Year 8 and Ava S Year 4 All the girls did extremely well with Abbots Hill teams coming a respectable overall 7th place combined. It was so lovely for the girls to get back to competing for school once again.

Sports Reports Senior Sports Day Abbot’s Hill hosted the Senior Sports Day at Jarman Park. The heat made no difference to pupils who made incredible efforts to break records and perform their very best. New records Grace M, Year 9 – Won the 1500m with a lighting quick time of 4.58 minutes and 45 seconds. The previous record was set in 2015, well done Grace! Jaimee M, Year 9 – Won the 300m in 47.94seconds beating the previous record set in 2019. Congratulations to Jaimee. Best performances of 2021 Best Junior Track Performance – Grace M Best Junior Field Performance – Nife A Best Senior Track Performance – Chloe D Best Senior Field Performance – Amy R Clan Winners Overall Clan winners – Macneil, 2nd – Cameron, 3rd – MacDonald

England Lacrosse Regional Pathway Programme Congratulations to Harriet Year 9 and Olivia Year 8 for being selected for the England Lacrosse Regional Pathway Programme. “The Pathway seeks to identify and develop athletic decision-makers who can perform under pressure and give them the opportunity to maximise their potential in a supportive environment. Players attend a number of Talent Pathway sessions each year to learn, train, and prepare for the next level of the Pathway as well as for a future career as an England player!”– England Lacrosse

Equestrian success for Izzie Congratulations to Izzie, Year 11, who has been selected to represent Pony Club UK in the Pony Club International Alliance (PCIA) Inaugural Dressage competition. The PCIA is made up of 7 nations – the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Hong Kong and the UK. Izzie and her pony, Carnhill Cooper, will ride the United States Dressage Federation First Level Test 1. She is part of the UK team in the 18 and under class. There are four riders from each country in each class. The tests will be video recorded and then judged against the other UK riders and the riders from the other 6 nations. We are so pleased for Izzie and wish her huge good luck!

Senior School

Creati This Christmas This Christmas I hope for kindness. As simple as this may sound, I believe it is possibly the most important thing in life. It’s an ever-so-cliched topic, however, this year it has been extremely important that every community sticks together. For many families all over the world, they weren’t even sure if they could spend Christmas with their loved ones at all and I know we are all so thankful we can with the current guidelines. There is a reason so many wonderful Christmas songs and films centre around being kind, giving back and finding the ‘Christmas Spirit’ and it’s because in a world that can seem so dreary and depressing, it is such a wonderful feeling when at this time of the year we all come together and support one another. Sometimes it becomes so easy to get lost in this modern day world. Christmas is in the middle of winter, the coldest season here in the UK, bringing millions of people warmth. For me, something I do every Christmas, is go to a local Christmas tree seller with my dad and we go in the car (probably singing Christmas songs atrociously!). It’s such a small thing but honestly it means the world to me to have that time with my dad, so happy and easy. I sometimes forget how amazing my friends and family are but they are always there to remind me especially at Christmas. The past year has been so difficult for so many people and little acts of kindness show them you care for them. There is nothing more important. Every person deserves to know that someone is there for them. No matter how hard life gets, Christmas is when I make sure my friends and family know how much I love and care for them, which is truly so so much. However, it is always just as important to help those I don’t know, tell them that someone cares about them because that is such an important message. Whether it’s giving someone in need a small care package or giving food and shelter to the homeless, kindness is always the key.

Heather (Year 9)

ve Writing I hope for ... This Christmas, I hope for peace and joy all over the world. I wish that we could all come together and enjoy the happi ness that Christmas brings. No countries would be living in poverty, and they’d have all the food they need to have a lovely Christmas roast with their family and friends. It would snow in all countries, maybe not too much, but enough for young children to experience the love of playing around in the snow, and having snowball fights with their friends! I hope that we’d all open our presents in excitement on Christmas morning, and all be happy for each other! There’d be no jealousy and it would all be so festive and colourful. I wish that every country could experience the amazing Christmas they have in other countries, and if I could, I’d definitely make sure that every single person had the best Christmas ever. Christmas is about many things that everyone should have the chance to experience. Love - sharing and receiving love is a big part of this magical festive season. It makes people feel so warm and bubbly inside and it makes me feel loved and happy. Another thing about Christmas I love is the food. The food is so delicious and it makes me sad that not everyone, for example in Africa, can experience it. Music, caroling and the beautiful lights are also a bit part. It’s so special. I just hope that this Christmas, everyone will be able to enjoy and experience it. Christmas is one of the most special times of the year, and it brings me so much happiness and joy watching my mum get excited about spending quality family time with us, and making small nibbles on the table whilst we decorate the tree. We watch movies and sing songs and dance, it’s all just magical. If everyone could have that, the world would be such a different, happier and better place to live in. To everyone suffering in the world, if that’s for poverty, or anything else, just know that everyone is standing right behind you, fighting for you, hoping and praying for you, sharing the love for you, giving and receiving for you and hoping that you have the best Christmas in the world.

This Christmas I hope for snow, peace, generosity, giving, helping the homeless, laughter, smiles, joy and being jolly. This Christmas I hope for family, friends, snow, music reunion, lights, hugs and excitement. This Christmas I hope for flamboyant trees, mistletoe, to be altogether, fun and not be afraid to show who you are. This Christmas I hope for my grandpa and that people with lost ones will have a home to go to, grinning from ear to ear, eyes wide open with excitement. This Christmas I hope for beautiful trees, snowmen, clear nights, glowing fires, deep red and orange with warmth. This Christmas I hope for everyone to be grateful for what they receive because it has been so tough and being together is so important. This Christmas I hope to play games, watch movies together and switch off our phones so that we can enjoy the time with friends and family. Cherish your family and friends because you never know when your life or theirs will end. Fill your bellies with roast dinner!!!!

Amelia (Year 7)

India (Year 8)

Senior School

Art Galler

Year 7 Year 8

Year 8

Year 8 Year 8

Year 9

ry 2021

Year 10

Year 11

Year 10

PREP SCHOOL

Prep School Office Bearers Post of Responsibility 2020-2021 Head Girls Clan Captains Cameron

Sabina K Bella W Eleanor G Jessie G Phoebe B

Post of Responsibility 2021-2022 Head Girls Clan Captains Cameron

Saskia G Talia R Mathilda C Leela K TianTian G

MacDonald

Erin M Sadie D Sophie G

MacDonald

Megan E Emilia W Arabella B

Macneil

Alice B Daisy E-N Sophie C

Macneil

Ariella R Ishita M Jasmine T

News & Events The Big Draw Festival This year, Pre-Prep and Prep took part in a worldwide drawing festival called “The Big Draw Festival” It is a charity event that supports professional and emerging artists. The festival encourages millions of people all over the world to get creative and to make marks of meaning. The Big Draw theme for 2020 is “It’s time to go green”. Through drawing, we encouraged pupils to make positive changes to save our planet by using outdoor green spaces to live and work alongside nature. To celebrate the festival, we decorated all the windows in our school. Here are a few examples of the girls’ work. Well done to all who took part!

Pupils take on Little Inventor Challenges The Year 5 – 6 Science and Tech Club took part in a series of Little Inventor activities. Using recycled materials the pupils completed lots of tasks, using their creativity and science thinking hats! You can see some of the challenges here. Elena and Caitlin invented a ‘Horse that does your chores’, complete with a sweeping tail. Erin created a friendly faced robot. Tasked with creating a toy suitable for a small child, Emilia came up with a toy with lots of buttons and things to press, turn and twist Marphary made a colourful box on wheels. Annabel and Eva worked together to create a lift to help Annabel’s dog get upstairs, they came up with a chair lift with a pulley system

International Women’s Day Celebrating International Women’s Day with the Prefect’s Challenge, to celebrate this year’s theme; Choose to Challenge. The prefects set a series of challenges for which the girls accrue points which will be combined for clan totals. “A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.” International Women’s Day, 2021 We were overwhelmed with the number of entries and eagerness from pupils who completely threw themselves into competing, with many pupils learning new skills or showcasing existing talents. Overall points totals 1st Macdonald – 2865, 2nd Macneil – 2440, 3rd Cameron – 1985

News & Events

Skipping into Summer! Every Prep pupil received an Abbot’s Hill skipping rope. Pupils spent time in the sunshine practicing and perfecting their skipping, we were so impressed by some of their skills and can’t wait to see how they get on at home! It was an exciting afternoon as Year 8 Photography Club joined them to capture some action shots.

Prep takes part in ‘England does the Daily Mile’ The Daily Mile hosted their first national event day in schools and across social media, aiming to get 1 million children moving across the country. “In light of the events in the past year, children’s mental health, and its relation to physical activity, is more important than ever.”, The Daily Mile What better way was there to raise awareness for better mental health than a few laps of our grounds with the sun shining! Well done everyone to all in the Prep School who took part.

News & Events Year 2 Woodland School Twilight event Pupils spent an afternoon outside in the grounds and the woodland classroom building camps. Using natural materials they created flowery head dresses and lavender scent bags. Once the grounds were empty they began racing kites on the school field and had their very own BBQ! Finally, they had bubble play with a fantastic bubble machine and lots of different creative bubble tools. They made massive bubbles, which they tried to chase and pop!

Year 5 Science & Art Day at Abbot’s Hill Each April, we take our Year 5 girls on an adventure in the Senior School, with opportunities to engage with different subjects, meet senior teachers and quiz the current Year 7 on their Senior School experiences. Starting the day in Science pupils took part in a forensics workshop investigating a missing lab coat using finger printing and chromatography to solve the mystery. “I really enjoyed finding fingerprints because you can see your finger pattern. I learnt that only 30% of people have my fingerprint in the world. Also I never knew what different fibres looked like!” said Saskia. In the afternoon the pupils headed over to the Stable Block to create their own versions of seascapes. Using masking fluid and then flooding the space with ink to create some ocean inspired masterpieces. As well as the chance to explore the facilities in the Senior School, Year 5 had a Question & Answer session with current Year 7 pupils who made the transition last year from Prep. “I think that today really helped me and I am looking forward to year 7 and the rest of the Senior School!” exclaimed Caitlin.

Prep School

Enrichment Week

This year it was an Olympic theme with pupils taking part in an opening and closing ceremony! Pupils had a chance to try lots of new activities including cheerleading, orienteering, obstacle courses and trampolining. On Monday, the children were put in mixed teams within the Pre-Prep and Prep. They created their team name, flag and motto. These were then presented in the outdoor opening ceremony, attended by the whole of the Prep School. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the teams participated in sports rotations, which included crab football, trampolining, badminton, cheerleading, obstacle courses and many more. On Thursday, the teams planned, practised and performed their closing ceremony piece. There was such a huge range of performances, with some brilliant displays of teamwork and a lot of creativity involved! As Year 6 headed off on a long overdue trip to Hudnall Park the rest of the Pre-Prep and Prep School participated in Drama workshops, Woodland School adventures, Orienteering challenges and the most talked about event, the inflatable giant slide and obstacle course that was right outside Mrs Gorman’s office!

Trips

Year 5 travelled to the Silverstone Interactive Museum at the Silverstone Racing Circuit The pupils took part in a STEM workshop that involved identifying parts of a race car and motor bikes and then finding out why they made the vehicles go faster, such as wings. The pupils asked some fantastic questions and we were very impressed by the educated guesses as to what some parts were. In the museum pupils learnt about the history of the Silverstone circuit and how the land was used before racing. The pupils particularly liked that corners on the track were named after what had previously been on the site, from a farm and village to an Abbey! A highlight of the trip was the history behind Silverstone as one of the straights on the track was named after the Wellington bombers that used to be stationed at RAF Silverstone during WWII. The ground floor was motor racing history and technology and included many interactive activities showing for example how brakes worked and how to change a wheel on a racing car. There were displays of how racing cars and clothing had changed over the decades including Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes race suit. There was also some famous racing cars such as the Red 5 Williams Renault of Nigel Mansell. At the end of the museum visit, Year 5 went on a virtual ‘ride’ around the circuit in an immersive cinema, racing with many of the legends over the years on motor bikes and in racing cars – an amazing experience! Outside they watched the cars going around the track testing for an upcoming GT3 race. Abbot’s Hill were even lucky enough to see racing legends Damon Hill and Jensen Button out on the track!

Prep School

Sports Round-Up

Prep Sports Day Sports day looked a little different in 2021 for the Abbot’s Hill girls but all of the pre-prep and nursery pupils put in a superb effort with their lockdown events. For pupils in Reception - Year 2 the girls were challenged to take part in ten different events. These ranged from sprint races, obstacle courses, the traditional egg and spoon race, throwing and jumping events. For every event that they participated in the girls gained a point for their clan, we had some superb videos sent in of wonderfully imaginative obstacle courses, excellent sprinting techniques and strong athletic performances. Their were also points available for the top three finishing positions in some categories. The overall response was superb and we were delighted to see the girls demonstrating so many athletic skills that they had learnt over the course of the year.

Abbot’s Hill takes part in Move-A-Thon Abbot’s Hill Prep School took part in a national charity fundraiser Move-A-Thon. The Olympic-themed workout was livestreamed into the classrooms at Abbot’s Hill and 18 other schools, pupils across the Prep School had great fun jumping, squatting and lunging! Each School was raising money for its own chosen charity. Abbot’s Hill chose Place2Be as it’s charity to support as they are a vital for raising awareness of children’s mental health. They raised over £500. Thank you to all took part and donated.

Creative Writing

Mr Twit was a horrible warty man with a nasty foul beard fall of long forgotten dinners. If you bury your hand in it (not that you’d want to) you’d find fish tales, corn flakes bits and mouldy maggot’s. So if you ever see Mr Twit turn your back and run a mile away before you get a whiff of his beard. Did you know Mr Twit is so much of an idiot that he nearly swallowed a glass eye because him and his wife were having a childish argument? Would you like to be his friend? I would not because he’s a selfish fool and he’d never do anything for me. By Rowan Year 2

In a city not so far away lives an ugly old horrid man which is always up to mischief. He has the worst beard you could ever see, the beard includes: worms, a sardine tail, rotten cheese and his name is Mr Twit. Most of Mr Twits clothes are not washed and stink horribly. Did you know Mr Twit is so idiotic he played extremely stupid tricks on his wife Mrs Twit? As an example he made Mrs Twits walking stick longer because he added thick bits of wood! Would I like to be his friend? I wouldn’t like to be his friend with a dirty-rat “ugh”. By Karolina Year 2

The Iceberg That Tore Them Apart One coldest morning Gaspar and Rossi were adventurous, Rossi said “We need to find a telescope” Gaspar said “you find one” so Rossi did. Then Rossi found one, it was there old telescope it was from our old lost adventure. Then suddenly the ice began to crack quickly, then tor them apart, Rossi said “ Gaspar!” Gaspar said “Rossi!” After a while Rossi began to say “swim out” then Gaspar said “you know I can’t swim”. After that a massive wave came by and it was the dark blue enormous whale to push them. The white sparkling ice began to break into pieces when the whale pushed, then the blue whale began to cheer Gaspar and cheerful Gaspar swam but it was cold. Finally they were home! they all gave hugs and they went on many more adventures. Written by Jaanavi, Year 2

Prep School

NURSERY

Outstanding in all areas Extracts from the ISI Inspection Report January 2020

Nursery Activites

Bringing a smile to the local Community Key worker pupils, nursery children and staff headed to the end of the drive to say hello to the residents and carers of Water Mill House Care Home. Armed with colourful banners and rainbow drawings the children thoroughly enjoyed being able to say a socially distanced ‘hello’. Even cars, cyclists and pedestrians beeped horns and joined in. Bringing a little bit of happiness to the elderly residents who may not have been able to have seen their own grandchildren and families was a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon and the pupils thoroughly enjoyed meeting some new friends!

Diwali The children in Nursery took part in celebrations for Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Across the years they created Rangoli patterns, experimented with tissue paper as a material and made their own Diya lamps.

Thanks Giving The children in Nursery took time to celebrate American Thanksgiving by reflecting on things that have made them happy and our youngest children even made Turkeys out of paper plates.

Christmas This christmas the children in Stepping Up were joined by their very own Buddy the Elf who got up to lots of fun adventures each night once the children have gone home. The children love the excitement of coming in to see what he has been up to.

Nursery Activites Woodland School and a New Vegetable Patch In Woodland School, Stepping Up followed a piece of string around the woods, weaving in and out of trees and climbing over branches! In Tiny toes and Stepping Up we have started off our new fruit and vegetables patch with these established plants. We are hoping to continue to grow them and add to our collection.

New Trees! Children in Footsteps and Stepping Up enjoyed a visit to the greenhouse where Mr Cutler spoke with them about a special delivery of trees to be planted in our lovely grounds. The children listened carefully, were able to hold and look closely at the trees and got to go inside the greenhouse. There are 200 trees to be planted in total and we are hoping that lots of the children will be able to see these tree’s grow throughout their time at Abbot’s Hill.

International Nurses Day To celebrate International Nurses Day the children in the Nursery painted rainbow pictures, dressed up as nurses and talked about how nurses help us. The children made a card to send to Hemel Hempstead Hospital to say thank you to all the amazing nurses.

Earth Day Our Nursery are always looking for ways to educate the children on the importance of caring for the Earth and what better time to celebrate this than Earth Day. We celebrated by continuing our planting of trees with Mr Cutler, potting flowers and exploring different kinds of landscapes from around the world.

Grounds & Facilities

Introducing Mr Braggins, Facilities How long have you been working at Abbot’s Hill? I started at Abbot’s Hill in the January 2021. It was strange starting without many people being there. What is the most enjoyable aspect of your job? I enjoy the variations of the work, no two days are the same. What is your favourite school lunch here? I enjoy all of the lunches, but most enjoyable is when custard or rice pudding is on the menu. What does a ‘normal day’ in the facilities team look like? First thing I clean and check the swimming pool, followed by car parking duties and then a variety of maintenance and repair jobs as needed. You’ve created some amazing ironwork pieces for around the school, what was your inspiration behind some of these? It started when I was asked to repair the gate and railings in front of the stable block, I thought I would add something extra. I then thought the entrance to the stable block had two large pillars with nothing on them. I decided to make an archway so it would look smarter. I then thought I would have a go at making a wind vane, with three girls holding the initials of the school. This then led me to making one for the Head Gardener’s cottage. There are also a couple of other iron work pieces around the school. All the ironwork has been made out of recycled metal that has been found around the School.

Multiple celebrations at Abbot’s Hill! We were delighted to welcome the Class of 2020 back to School for a BBQ, results presentation and tree planting. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces after their last year was cut short. We were glad to finally be able to celebrate their achievements in a mini Commemoration Day presentation. Thank you so much to alumni, parents and staff that attended to make it such a special afternoon.

Abbot’s Hill Old Girls Association (AHOGA) hosted an evening with members of the Sport Department, past and present, and Bronze medal winning Olympian alumnae Marilyn Okoro. Hosted by Mrs Doyle, current Senior Deputy Head and former Director of Sport, Miss Roberts, Abbot’s Hill alumnae and current Director of Sport, Abbot’s Hill welcomed back Marilyn Okoro. Marilyn is a British Track and Field Athlete and despite her dreams of playing lacrosse she found huge success around the track coming third in the 800m at the 2007 and 2008 World Athletics Finals. Represented Great Britain at the Beijing Games in 2012 finishing a respectable sixth that at a later date became a Bronze medal due to the disqualification of other teams. Joined by families from Abbot’s Hill ‘A Question of Sport’ the virtual evening was a fun and informal question and answer with pre submitted questions being asked as well as live questions from those attending. Our thanks to Marilyn who not only gave some fantastic advice about sport but also about mental health, body image and other current topics. We also horoughly enjoyed listening to her happy memories of time spent at Abbot’s Hill.

We would love for you to stay in touch with us through the Abbot’s Hill Old Girls’ Association (AHOGA).

Farewell to Mrs Doyle and Mrs Stephen n

phe e t S s r M

yle o D s r M

It is with a sad heart that I am saying farewell to the AHS Community. It has truly been a wonderful five years and I have really enjoyed meeting and getting to know all the children, parents and amazing staff.

I cannot quite believe that I have come to the end of my time at Abbot’s Hill. I started here in September 2002 as Head of PE and was asked to develop the netball, gymnastics and athletics curriculum and the extra-curricular provision as we already had some very experienced lacrosse coaches, which included Mrs Hodge (nee Bellamy) at that time

It has been a privilege to lead the prep school and every day I have been able to see the talents, skills and the enthusiasm of our pupils in some way or another. It is watching them grow and develop that drives all the staff here and it has been a really great pleasure to be part of that team.

After only a term I was asked to be a Head of Year too, which was only for a year group of 32 pupils, with 8 pupils in each tutor group - how times have changed!

I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support and entrusting me with your children. I am honoured and feel so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to be part of the AHS Community. I have fostered relationships with many of you and I will cherish the memories and friendships I’ve made during my time. I will miss you. Although it’s hard to say goodbye to the parents and staff, the hardest part of leaving is saying goodbye to the children. I have loved watching them grow into amazing young people. I will treasure my memories of them all. In closing I’d like to acknowledge just how lucky we are to have such a fantastic school community and I will use all that I have learned here at AHS and carry that to the next phase of my career. I wish you and your families all the very best!

During those years I worked under the headship of Kerstin Lewis and it was very clear that the ethos was nurturing and very child entered, which has continued to this day. This caring and supportive environment is true for pupils and staff alike, and this was very clear to me in September 2018 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have a few months off work for surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The support from pupils, parents and staff is what got me through that very difficult time along with my family circle. I was keen to get back to the normality of work in February and that really helped me. When Mrs Thomas started her headship at AHS, I was promoted to Director of Studies and one of my first jobs was to design a whole school timetable which meant that Prep and Senior timings were aligned. It allowed me to set up a Teaching and Learning committee and we managed to achieve that first task. After that we introduced Building Learning Power into the school, something I am very proud of as we designed and led the staff INSET on this. In January 2016, I took over the role of Deputy Head from Miss Maynard, who I learnt so much from and I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenging role. Leading the day to day business in the Senior School and still teaching a few hours of PE has allowed me to get to know the pupils and parents in the Senior School very well and it has been so rewarding. One of my more recent proudest moments has to be when the school received ‘Excellent’ for our Academic provision in the last ISI Inspection in January 2020 as we have always had that top grade awarded for our Pastoral provision but never for our Academic side. Only a couple of months after this inspection, the Covid pandemic hit us and that has meant that many of us have re-evaluated what is important to us, as my illness did too. After not seeing my family for 18 months I decided that I would resign and move to North Devon to be closer to them. This has not been an easy decision at all but I am looking forwards to a new challenge and taking some time out to walk my dog on the beach and over Exmoor. I would like to finish by thanking you all; pupils, parents and staff for your support over the years and I hope that the school will continue to flourish for many more years to come.

Independent Day School for girls 4-16 years, Day Nursery & Pre-School for girls & boys from 6 months Bunkers Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8RP Email: enquiries@abbotshill.herts.sch.uk www.abbotshill.herts.sch.uk