9 minute read
News and 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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
