The Gleam 2018-2019

The Gleam.

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BRUTON SCHOOL FOR GIRLS O N

S U N N Y

H I L L

WELCOME TO THE GLE AM Enjoy a collection of creative pieces from our girls.

Celebrate significant activities, events and projects that have taken place.

Reflect on achievements over the past academic year.

ARTWORK ROSIE ECKL

ARTWORK ANGEL LEE

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CONTENTS ARTS WEEK

Drama, animation, art, design and short stories.

AWARDS & COMPETITIONS

Celebrating the girls’ achievements.

16–21

BOARDING

A taste of boarding life.

22–25

CHARITY

Fundraising activities.

26–27

DRAMA

The Scripted Shebang and All That Jazz.

28–35

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

Skill, endurance and teamwork.

36–39

EXCHANGES

To down-under and back.

40–43

GREEN WEEK

From chutney and cakes to plastic pollution.

44–45

HALLS

Inter-Hall competitions and activities.

46–51

LECTURES

From Neanderthals to 100 first women.

52–53

MUSIC

Vocal and instrumental delights.

54–59

PREP

Blossoming at Bruton.

60–71

PROJECTS & COURSEWORK

Highlights of the girls’ projects and coursework.

72–73

R E D - L E T T E R DAY S

Special school days.

74–77

SCIENCE

Super Sassy Science Club to Spectroscopy in a Suitcase.

78–80

SOCIALS

Welcoming others to our parties and events.

81–87

SPORTS

Matches, galas and events.

88–99

TRIPS

Austria, Cape Verde and many more.

100–109

SCHOOL LIFE

PSA, taster days and workshops, plus staff interviews.

110–119

S P E E C H D AY

So long, farewell!

120–125

4–15

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ARTS WEEK

Dramatic Coastal Filming

On Friday, 16 November, Lower Sixth drama students went to Lulworth Cove to film extracts from Antigone, King Lear and Lord of The Flies.

The day was filled with some intense acting on the Jurassic coastline and some hard-core hiking, which resulted in some stunning views of the cliff faces. We risked getting our feet cold and wet for our beach scene for Lord Of The Flies but despite this, there were a lot of laughs, and it was definitely worth it!

Our trip came to an end too soon, but the day was rounded off with well-deserved fish and chips!

SOPHIE OVERD LOWER SIX TH

ARTWORK FELICIT Y LENNARD

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Would I Lie to You?

Dress as a Book Character Day

Would these teachers lie to you?

The art of quizzing.

Grace Kay as Veruca Salt and Mrs Oram as Violet Beauregarde

Mrs Harvey as Sophie from Les Malheurs de Sophie

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Senior 4 as the Mr Men

Ava Jopson as Fantastic Mr Fox

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ARTS WEEK Blood Brothers As part of Arts Week, Mike from Stage-Ed came to BSG to give us a Blood Brothers workshop. He played Sammy in Blood Brothers in the West End for ten years and knew a lot about the show which was especially useful because it is our set text for GCSE Drama.

The workshop was amazing and consisted of working on our Liverpudlian accents, exploring scenes from the play and discussing the characters and themes of the play. It was very well presented and Mike chose people randomly so that everyone had the opportunity to act and play various characters. We performed a number of scenes and Mike explained how they were done in the West End production which was really inspiring and helpful.

Mike told us some funny stories and a few secrets from the show and described how some things are done very cleverly to make them look realistic.

CHARLOT TE BAKER SENIOR 5

The Railway Children On Tuesday, 13 November, Seniors 1 to 3 and Senior 4 drama students visited the Leatherhead Theatre to watch a spectacular musical of The Railway Children, as part of Arts Week.

The production was based on the classic novel

by Edith Nesbit. The story was adapted into a musical, and the music was written by one of our teachers, Miss Barlow.

The story is about three children who are navigating a new life after moving to the country when their father goes away. It brought on many emotions – sadness when everyone thought Roberta had died and happiness, at the end, when the children were reunited with their father.

The musical was the inspiration for our workshop where we recreated scenes and produced advertising material. It was a fantastic show to watch and to put our own spin on. Everyone had a great time.

ELEANOR BRADFIELD SENIOR 3

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Bottle Top Installation Joy Merron worked with girls from Prep 5 to Senior 5 on an installation using old bottle tops.

The tops were pierced and threaded to make a giant octopus which was displayed on the tree near Reception. Girls also worked on the tide of green bottle tops which represented the sea with coloured ones creeping in to indicate the pollution.

The girls loved doing this – many didn’t want to stop. Some commented on how much fun they were having and others on how therapeutic the experience was.

MRS BANCE

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ARTS WEEK

Animation Action Art students from Senior 4 spent a whole day playing with animation. David Daniels, local animator from ‘Ears and Eyes’, stressed that the day was about ‘play’. All the girls were delighted to have a long period of time experimenting with this art form.

We started the day by looking at various award-winning animations that had used simple techniques such as The Owl that Married a Goose which was animated with sand. The girls had plenty of equipment to hand, including: a light box; camera; plasticine for stop frame animation; and even their own bodies for pixelation. Some chose to sketch on white boards or to use collage, and all of this could be filmed using iPhones and a free app called ‘iMotion’. One thing is certain – the girls have now got the bug, so we are starting an Animation Club and already discussing themes and storyboard ideas.

As with all BSG girls, although their amazing visitors stimulate and open doors, it is them who wholeheartedly took it in their own creative directions. I very much look forward to sharing their animations which will get everyone thinking about the next Artwalk.

A huge thank you goes to David for being so enthusiastic and helpful. We will be inviting him in again next year to help edit the future film.

M R S L A T R O B E B AT E M A N

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Natasha Musson Style Workshop

S5 Cookery

On Wednesday, 14 November, the Sixth Form had a style lecture from Natasha Musson as part of our Arts Week programme.

As part of Arts Week, Senior 5 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition group spent some time investigating food presentation and garnishing skills.

The evening included learning how to be confident when putting outfits together for different occasions as well as adding a personal touch to our garments. Natasha curated a collection of garments that were versatile and suitable for a Sixth Form dress code.

The following day, during a workshop, we put Natasha’s tips into practise, as we dressed a mannequin in an outfit suitable for a given event. It was fun to experiment with a limited number of different items of clothing. We needed to match colours and be creative which taught us how to maximise our wardrobes.

I S A B E L L E F I N L AY LO W E R S I X T H

The group were challenged to make an egg and piece of bread look as appetising as possible. The girls used garnishes and colour to add height and texture.

Everyone really enjoyed this and the dishes made by Sophie Jeffrey and Jemma Lewis were voted the winners.

MRS STONEHOUSE

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ARTS WEEK

Winning Stories

A R T W O R K E M I LY G O O D E My Inspiration Staring at the dull white ceiling, I lie in almost complete darkness; apart from the dim and eerie light the moon is reflecting. Any sound made, even the radiators quiet, gentle humming seems to be amplified and echoed around the bare room.

Growing restless, I swing my legs off the mattress and slowly clamber out of bed. I walk over to the large window, the trees’ outline barely visible against the jet black sky, and any stars that could be seen brightly, twinkle weakly behind the low and thick clouds. The road below me is silent, with no hint of human activity anywhere and when the wind blows, it howls against the trees’ branches, distorting them into evil and mysterious figures.

I slump down onto my dressing table stool, and sitting directly opposite me is my reflection. Her face is pale, dark purple bags under her eyes, her hair sticking out from all angles and in her cloudy, glassy eyes emotion fill every millimeter of them. Is that sadness?

Anger? No, that’s definitely loneliness. I didn’t want to move here – another country – it was forced upon me and my family because of my Dad’s work. I know I am very lucky, to have a family and a roof over my head, but for the weeks that I have been here, all I’ve wanted is to go back home because I feel so constantly isolated from everyone; knowing my friends at home are getting on with their lives, with or without me, and people here have already built solid relationships with one another, relationships I don’t think I can intrude on.

Or am I just too scared to try?

Suddenly, a glimmer of bright light catches my eyes, interrupting my thoughts, fading and appearing by the window ledge. I tiptoe over to the window again. Flecks of gold, yellow and orange brush against my window, and over on the horizon, a grand sunrise is emerging. Slowly, but surely, the sun creates a masterpiece of light and colour, stretching out to the furthest point my eyes can see.

“It’s truly astonishing”, I think out loud, the way it turned the cruel and jagged silhouettes into soft, flowing shapes, the way nature intended it to be, and how it made goosebumps travel up my arm at an alarmingly fast rate. Then, as if I was in my very own Disney film, birds start to sing their well-practiced melodic song.

All of this life and vibrancy is simply from a sunrise. That’s when I realise it. I need a new beginning here, like the sun brought a new day. I need to create memories here and I cannot keep wallowing in self-pity when there are such amazing things to witness. My old memories aren’t forgotten or lost, they’re just not controlling me anymore.

My thoughts overwhelm me enough not to realise that light has flooded into my room in metallic gold rays, automatically turning it into a stark contrast from when all I could see was my window. And when I hear my mum call out that’s it’s time for me to get up, I smile.

TA R A C R O O K S E N I O R 3

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Winning Stories My Inspiration The first day I saw her riding it was pouring with rain and there was no sun to be seen. Luckily for her, she was riding in an indoor arena.

Her young, fresh horse came galloping into the arena. Her hands were holding onto the reins in fists and her knees were digging into the saddle with hope that the horse would slow down. She had no hope in slowing down but yet she remained calm and attempted the show jumping course.

Somehow she managed to get the extremely strong horse looking at the first jump. The horse locked on. The horse took off a stride out, unbalancing both of them. Her life was changed within a heartbeat.

The doctor walked into the room with sympathy in his eyes. Then he spoke in a calm voice. I didn’t really understand what was going on. All I saw was my mum in tears and my sister gasping for air.

Now I am old enough to understand. Julie had a rotational fall. The horse fractured her pelvis, collar bone and back. One of her lungs had collapsed, as she had broken three ribs.

This left her unable to walk and struggling to breathe.

Whilst we were in the hospital, mum kept bringing in leaflets and online blogs, written by people who had recovered from injuries similar to Julie’s. Julie had the same expression on her face every time my mum came into hospital with them.

Julie was frustrated and upset; for months she told herself that nothing would get better and that she would have to be looked after by carers for the rest of her life and never be independent again.

This all changed. Julie was in hospital for months and so this meant she was doing nothing which resulted in her watching television most of the time.

Four months into her rehabilitation and things were looking positive. She had regained the strength to sit up in the uncomfortable hospital bed. One morning the doctor walked in. With remorse in his voice he told Julie that she would never walk again. This time she could breathe easily and wasn’t gasping for breath.

I thought that she would show some sadness but she didn’t. It was as if she was expecting it.

We were watching the television one day, after school, and the Paralympics came on and ironically the dressage was on. Julie, at first, didn’t want to watch it as she preferred show jumping and always thought of dressage as boring. I can’t remember what happened but, for some bizarre reason, she began watching it and became really interested in the discipline.

She began looking up some of the athlete’s stories and realised that the majority were similar to the horrific one she had endured herself.

This is when things began to turn around.

I’m not saying that it wasn’t extremely hard, because it was unbelievably hard, but horse riding was something that she enjoyed every minute of and she was not going to give up that easily.

Finally, after seven months in hospital, she was released, but instead of coming home she went to a residential camp for disabled riders.

After many years of hard work and pain, Julie has been selected as one of the members for the Paralympic dressage team.

This injury could have ruined her life but it has made her. She has experienced so many events that she never would have if she hadn’t gone to that competition. Julie laughs about it today and never thinks of the horrific event as a tragedy. So this is why, Julie Hill, you are my inspiration.

LUCY HILL SENIOR 3

A R T W O R K P H I L I P PA J O H N S O N

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ARTS WEEK

ARTWORK ROSIE ECKL

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Winning Stories

My Inspiration The winter hush crawled across the valley in which my people lived, bringing with it the wolves. Since the birth of our tribe, the wolves had come in the frozen months to prey upon us. Once, we ran from them; but our borders were pressing in on us under the colonist’s grip. We were forced to pray to our gods and do nothing but wait out the winter.

In fear of the death waiting for us just beyond the camp fire.

I was not allowed past the threshold of our tepee. My family was crowded inside, little Kali crying loudly as her precious pine-needle doll was crushed accidentally by one of my brothers. It was stiflingly hot and there wasn’t nearly enough room for all of us in the canvas sanctuary. I knew there would be many months of this exhausting tangle of fur blankets and limbs, and the anticipation set my stomach rolling with despair. I wouldn’t – couldn’t – take it.

So when darkness fell and everyone had settled into restless slumber, I slipped out into the night. The frigid air stole my breath and wrapped around my feverish skin like a balm. The valley was silent; the pure white snow was glistening under the legions of stars tossed across the dark sky. My lungs filled properly for the first time in days, and despite the bitterly cold snow seeping through my moccasins, I smiled.

Tipping my head back, my hair spilled over my shoulder as I stared up, my eyes easily finding the great marble circle that was the moon. She shone like a spark-stone, and her stars winked at me from far away. I let myself close my eyes, drinking in the glorious freedom.

My feet moved without my knowledge, led by an invisible calling which guided me away from our camp and further into the valley.

Away from the waiting and whining. Towards the forest, towards the place no one would find me, not if I didn’t want them to.

Crunch. My eyes snapped open, scanning the impossibly dark woodland. I glanced apprehensively over my shoulder, but the camp was much further than I’d expected it would be. I’d wandered too far.

Another crunch tore my attention back to the tree-line. I could see nothing. Behind me, endless white. Before me, pitch darkness. The breath rattled out of my chest. My eyes darted back and forth, burning in the cold. Searching, searching, searching— There, a flash of bright amber eyes. My heart stuttered. I followed the eyes up, along a huge pelt and scrawny sides, as starved as my own. Beautiful black fur, mottled dove grey.

The beast stepped out from its cover, and my blood roared in my ears.

A wolf.

Run, my mind choked, run, run, run. I did not run. My father had taught me never to run from a wolf. “Do not turn your back on the hunter, Anouk.”

My frantic heartbeat was the only thing I heard as the wolf and I stared at each other. The low, full moon watched over us, bathing the scene in silvery hues.

A growl rumbled across the distance.

I whimpered in answer. I cannot die here, I whispered to myself.

“I will not die,” I croaked out loud. “You will not kill me.”

The wolf’s ears twitched at the words. At that movement, I flinched, the snow creaked under my heel. Bright yellow teeth gleamed in the moonlight as the wolf bared his teeth at me, starving eyes locked on my throat. My whole body trembled. The tears stung the backs of my eyes brutally, but I blinked them back.

I would not die weakly.

“Death inspires,” my father’s voice whispered on the glacial wind. “Death inspires many things: courage, fear, anger, jealousy, bravery and pain. Most importantly, death inspires the will to live.”

So I stiffened my back, and met the wolf’s gaze.

I felt my own eyes harden in icy will. “You will not kill me,” I said in the most commanding tone I could. I repeated myself over and over again until my voice was hoarse and the wolf was long gone. Snow drifted down from above, blanching the forest once more.

My tribe found me in the morning, nearly frozen to death beside the forest. My mother was weeping. Little Kali cried with her. My brothers demanded to know why I’d been out at night. I could only utter the words of my father.

“Death inspires.”

C AT H E R I N E J O H N S O N S E N I O R 4

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ARTS WEEK

Winning Stories My Inspiration “Number 196,” he spat at me as he yanked open the bars that kept me from living my life. He gave me a repulsed glare and threw some inedible slop at me. He was like all the other guards; they treated me like a piece of dirt under their shoe – like I was nothing.

Well, I would say to myself, forget him, he’ll have a perfect life and family, he can go to, whilst I’m stuck here.

I looked down at the so-called food, it looked back at me and warned me not to eat it. The devilish walls that surrounded me, stared at me making me feel vulnerable and small.

Colour that had once lived on these walls had died long ago and black and white had grown in its place. Every time I looked up it felt as if they had devoured a little bit more of my space. In front of me, the bars gave me some view of the outside world; it mocked and taunted me. I was like a child being teased, the world was right there but every time I went to get it, it would be taken away. My time was consumed by looking at the walls. I could sometimes make out a vision of my distorted reflection. Was that really what I had come to be? I always looked away quickly not wanting to believe that nightmare of a vision.

The silence was eerie and troublesome, making me always feel on edge, ready for anything. Occasionally, I would hear a dreadful shriek or cry from one of my neighbours. The sound tore at my soul making me feel the same pain. It was like we all shared the same emotions. A metallic smell would flood my nostrils whenever I breathed in making me gag and gasp for more revolting air.

Clank. Bang. There was a long silence before a big, dark figure emerged from behind the open door. His broad presence made me jittery and I crept back into the corner.

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A R T W O R K N YA H DAV I E S

He demanded that I stood up and slapped the handcuffs on my wrists. A whimper was drawn from my mouth as the previous cut from the handcuffs was reopened. The guard pushed me to my feet and ordered that I walked. The boom-boom from inside me was almost as loud as the footsteps that echoed around us.

Everything seemed so loud compared to the silence that suffocated my ears before, and the contrast hurt. As a door began to appear in the distance, my heart was racing, pounding, echoing inside my chest. It felt like it was going to burst. I felt the urge to go through the door, I didn’t know why, but my heart did.

The door welcomed me, and the white light blinded me. She was here. Her smile was a ball of light killing the shadows that lived in my soul.

My love was here, and I immediately knew I was safe. We embraced, and she smelled like heaven compared to where I had been living. Her voice was so soft in my ear and so quiet and...

“Pregnant,” it was hard to swallow at first, but the joy washed over me and I started to feel water run down my face. I looked pathetic, but I didn’t care, nobody could judge. The sour smell of realisation dawned on me – a memory of when I was a kid flashed in front of my eyes.

Tears dripped out of my eyes.

“That’s the one whose Dad is in jail,” they would tease, “That’s the kid of the man who’s in jail.”

No, I couldn’t let it be like that. The loneliness that I had experienced as a child was an unbearable feeling. I couldn’t let my own child go through what I did. Could I be a better me?

I could, I knew I could. I didn’t have to go on living my life with alcohol and drugs. I would love my child with all my heart and would never, ever let them experience the pain I felt.

I needed to live. I’m not number 196, I’m James Albert and I am a father.

BY EMMA GOMPERTZ SENIOR 3

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AWARDS & COMPETITIONS

ESB 2019

ESB Speaker of the Year 2018

Fantastic Results from the English Speaking Board in the Advanced Certificate in Spoken English 2019.

In September, we were delighted to hear that Karris had been selected as one of the Young Speakers of the Year by the ESB (English Speaking Board).

This year’s entrants for the prestigious Advanced Certificate in Spoken English were highly successful. Topics ranged from The Nature of Dreams to The Problems for Transgender Prisoners. The examiner congratulated the girls not only on the quality of their research, but also on their confidence, fascinating interests, spontaneity and passion for their subjects.

Distinction, the highest grade, was awarded to Phoebe David, Katie Wincott and Jasmin Dennis whilst the prestigious Merit Plus was awarded to Amelia Bloomfield, Rebecca Light, Isabelle Finlay and Lilianna Czaniecka. Ashley Gan, Anna Afanasyeva, Sophie Overd and Anna Li should be congratulated for receiving Merit. All the girls should feel extremely proud of themselves in their achievement and feel more confident at giving presentations in their chosen fields in the future.

MRS DERIOZ

The route to the final had been arduous.

Having been ‘spotted’ in her examination in the spring, Karris was asked to submit a recording of her presentation – on Stage Lighting – just before the summer holidays.

Successful in this round, Karris became the Speaker of the Year for their ‘Level 3 Certificate in Speech’ qualification, which is the jewel in the ESB crown: their most stretching examination. In November, Karris attended the final award ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Liverpool’s iconic Waterfront where she and the prize winners from the other age categories performed in what was an extremely prestigious showcase.

MRS E VANS

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National Biology The Youthbridge Award ‘It’s embarrassing how few young people in Britain master a modern language. Even fewer choose or have the opportunity to learn German. The British-German Association’s Youthbridge scheme works to encourage pupils to take up German at school, and to continue it, ideally through to A Levels.’ British-German Association.

Three girls in Senior 5 swept the board in the Youthbridge Award for German students.

Philippa Johnson produced an A2 sized illustrated poster describing the German Green Belt with considerable writing in German (850 words). The language chosen was highly original and the piece contained a large number of uncommon words which are beyond GCSE level. The poster showed an impressive use of relative clauses, tenses and subordination. Considerable time and effort were clearly spent on researching a highly relevant and fully German topic. Philippa’s work expressed her interest in and love for German as a subject and language. A very clear and deserving winner!

Wendy Yang produced a beautifully illustrated recipe book, which showed her interest in and love of German food. She used a large range of unusual vocabulary with a high level of cultural relevance. A good attempt was made to use a range of structures and to make the booklet interesting to read.

Anna Talbot-Ponsonby produced an A3 sized illustrated handwritten booklet on festivals in Germany which showed a passionate interest for German as a subject as well as for the topic of festivities and cultural traditions. The writing was authentic and written from the heart and uncommon language and structures were attempted including the genitive case. The end product is colourful and showed evidence of some independent research work.

Olympiad Success All the students who participated in the National Biology Olympiad did exceptionally well when they competed against students from around the country.

To view these achievements please go to https://www.britishgermanassociation.org/ what-is-youthbridge/youthbridge-projects/ MRS ORAM

A special mention must go to Phoebe David and Abby Gordon who secured a Bronze medal and Amelia Bloomfield, Katie Wincott and Anna Li who were awarded Commended and Highly Commended certificates. Well done girls!

MISS JA ME S

Youth Speaks Success Six girls from Senior 3 took part in the Rotary Youth Speaks Competition and they really did us proud.

Tara Crook, Lucy Robbins and Emma G came second out of six teams and as usual the competition was fierce.

Lucy conveyed a calm charisma and Tara spoke in a purposeful and dignified manner that elicited many murmurs of agreement, from the audience, with the points that she made about gender stereotyping.

Heidi Morris, Violet Little and Lola Barber competed too; Lola commented that she found it really empowering and wants to compete next year.

I was utterly delighted with the girls’ attitude and their performances and we were congratulated by many members of the audience.

M R S D E R I OZ

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AWARDS & COMPETITIONS

The Cranmer Awards 2019

Rotary Writing Success Just before half term, exciting news arrived from the Rotary Club about their Young Writers competition. Entrants had to write no more than 500 words on the topic ‘My Inspiration’ and the standard in the school was exceedingly high. At the local level of the competition, the school completely swept the board, winning all the prizes in both the Senior and the Intermediate categories.

The Rotary gave the following awards: in the Intermediate category, Tara Crook (Senior 3) was placed first, Emma G (Senior 3) was second and Olivia Marriage (Senior 2) took third place.

In the senior category, Catherine Johnson (Senior 4) was first, Lucy Hill (Senior 4) was given second prize and Holly Grant (Senior 4) was third.

In accordance with the Rotary rules, the two entries that were placed first were put forward to the district heat of the competition.

Again there was good news. Tara Crook was given Highly Commended. This effectively placed her second across the district: a fantastic achievement. In the Senior category, Catherine Johnson was judged to be, once again, the winner. Feedback from the Rotary Club described her entry as ‘of professional quality’; I think this speaks clearly of her talent and of her achievement. Her entry will go on to the national final. Good luck to her and well done to both our super writers!

MRS LIFE

The Bath and Wells Diocesan Heats of the Cranmer Awards were held at BSG. It was a tough competition and the judge, Mr Mark Robbins, who has been assistant judge on many previous occasions, recalled how a girl entered the competition every year and was always placed just behind the winner.

Happily, in her Upper Sixth year she made it to the finals and won! So the message was that no-one should be deterred from entering the competition again as all the participants are potential future winners.

We congratulate Rose and Domini as they go to Lambeth Palace to represent the diocese in the National Finals in February.

MRS ROBBINS

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Jessica Brain Represents Great Britain in the World Tumbling

The World Tumbling

Championships 2018

Championships 2019 Qualifier

A huge congratulations to Jessica Brain, Lower Sixth, who recently competed in the Great British Tumbling Championship and came second.

In April, I travelled to Telford, Shropshire for the first of the British qualifiers for the World Championships in Japan which will be held in November.

Jessica then represented Great Britain in Russia to compete in the World Tumbling Championships. The competition was fierce and Jessica did amazingly well. It was her toughest competition yet, the standard of tumbling was incredibly high. Jessica finished joint sixth and we are all incredibly proud of her efforts.

I went into the competition feeling a bit unsure of the competition, as I had been struggling with the step up to a new age group. My coach and I decided that we go for my mid-range run first, and dependent on how well it went, we would decide whether to do the harder one or the slightly easier run.

The first tumble went really well with good height, which is what I needed for the harder, second run. I landed both runs well and I came away with the British qualification, the world qualifying score and a gold medal.

On her return, Jessica said, ‘My feet are killing me, it was such a tough competition and I will never complain about the cold again, Russia is freezing!’ Well done Jessica!

MRS DIKE

JESSICA BR AIN LOWER SIX TH

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AWARDS & COMPETITIONS

Baden Powell Challenge Award

Book Buzz and the Centurion Book Award This year Senior 1 and 2 took part in the Book Buzz Challenge.

All girls were given a book of their choice from the Book Buzz list to keep. They were then challenged to complete 24 reading related tasks, some of which we did together and the rest were undertaken individually.

The five girls who completed all the tasks before Easter were awarded prizes and certificates in Assembly and also given the chance to attend the Centurion Book Awards.

On 30 April, Hannah Maude and Samira Porter from Senior 1 and Célestine Harvey, Isabella O’Brien and Isabella Peach from Senior 2 accompanied Mrs Bance to the Centurion Book Awards. The award is unusual in the fact that all the books on the shortlist are selected by secondary school students from Bath and Somerset.

Of the six books selected, two of the authors were present for a Q & A session and one had sent filmed responses from Canada.

The authors were Tracy Darnton for The Truth About Lies, Phyllida Shrimpton for Sunflowers in February and Sebastian de Castel for Spellslinger – which won!

The girls concluded that we, at BSG, should get involved next year in the judging process and Mrs Bance has asked girls in Senior 1 and 2 to come forward with books that fit the criteria and they feel deserve a prize.

‘There were some interviews with authors, and we also learnt about the shortlisted books. It was very interesting and we now understand a lot about the process of writing a book.’

Célestine Harvey and Isabella Peach Senior 2 MRS BANCE

I received the Baden Powell Challenge Award recently, it’s the highest award a Girl Guide can achieve and took 18 months to complete.

The Award was presented to me at Pax Lodge, a Guide World Centre in London. Whilst there, I spent time with other Girl Guides from Zambia, Canada and the UK. I am continuing my Guiding journey as a Young Leader with both Rainbows and Guides.

K AT E H E G A N S E N I O R 4

Bronze for BSG! Congratulations to Anna Talbot-Ponsonby, Senior 5.

Anna achieved a bronze medal at the English Trampolining, DMT and Tumbling Championships in Sheffield. She was third in the ladies’ category 1 disability trampolining.

Well done Anna!

MRS DIKE

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A R T W O R K E M I LY G O O D E

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BOARDING

Boarding Report

2018 – 2019 has been a busy year for our Sunny Hill Boarders. Not only did they commit a large amount of time to school activities such as sport, the school production of Chicago and helping with open days, they also managed to enjoy many of the activities on offer from the boarding team.

This is just a snapshot of our year. Autumn began with our Boarders’ Challenge day when everyone got to know each other through team building, problem solving and most of all having fun! We ended with a barbeque in the orchard and played with Merlin, the Highcroft dog.

Over the term, girls took the opportunity to horse ride, volunteer at Sexey’s Hospital – giving back to the local community – and Mrs Bennett set up the Saturday morning Art Club which encouraged girls to experiment with different media and skills and unlocked some hidden talents. Cumberlege were also fortunate to receive sewing machines and supplies from the PSA, these have enhanced their skills further. The girls were delighted to attend PSA events to support the fund raising efforts and are grateful to all involved.

Our Halloween Party was a great success – the boarders enjoyed dressing up, pumpkin carving, games and eating spooky food. We loved our trip to Sherborne Castle for the fireworks and were pleased to invite the day pupils along. We also held an international quiz night, which improved our understanding and tested to the max our knowledge of different cultures.

Our boarders were proud to join Sexey’s and King’s at the Remembrance Parade through the town and attend the local church service.

We are grateful to Mrs Marsh for also making it possible for our Catholic girls to attend mass throughout the year. Mrs Robbins celebrated Advent with us; she helped everyone to understand how our many cultures celebrate Christmas and how we do it in the UK too.

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BOARDING

THE GL E A M 2 018/19 Mrs Robbins also arranged a whole school pantomime trip and all girls were invited to a Christmas shopping and ice skating day out at Cribbs Causeway. The term ended with our house party; we had a delicious meal provided by the catering team and lots more team games in the dining hall and a good sing-song.

During the spring and summer, the evenings became lighter and the girls enjoyed plenty of outdoor time. Cumberlege boarders were able to take more local trips such as nature walks and going to town, and some girls took part in running club with Miss Kirkman and gardening with Miss Jones. Both houses enjoyed shopping trips to Bath, Frome and Yeovil and activity trips such as to Yeovil Climbing Centre, the movies and bowling.

We also celebrated Harry Potter Night thanks to Miss Bergner and her sorting cakes and a super surprise from Mrs Bennett with the arrival of a real life Hedwig!

Highcroft helped Mr Wuidart Gray set up an allotment to grow vegetables. After lots of hard work, digging and planting, they are now able to reap the fruits of their labours.

During revision and exams, they also took to doing jigsaw puzzles during their breaks, enthusiastically supported by Mrs Wuidart Gray. The girls also enjoyed walking the dog and teaching each other to cook food from their own countries which motivated them to study knowing little treats were waiting for them. After exams, girls were able to enjoy the Yeovil Escape Room experience and trips to Stourhead and beyond. The girls were also lucky enough to have a day at the beach and another at Thorpe Park in the fine weather.

The year ended with our boarding festival, where the whole community camped, played games, barbequed, danced and toasted marshmallows in to the night. We look forward to another busy year ahead and wish old faces good luck for the future and welcome new ones with open arms.

M R S W U I DA R T G R AY

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CHARITY

Hockathon On 1 November, I organised a 12-hour Hockathon in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The event required a hockey ball to be in constant action during this time.

Throughout the day, the whole school got involved during their games lessons and break time. At lunchtime, there was a 1st team versus teachers game which was great fun and very competitive! The whole school came and watched and supported and cheered us on. The overall score was 4–4. After school, we were joined by Bruton Hockey Club and Buckhorn Western Hockey Club and we played challenging matches until 9pm. There was a great atmosphere from everyone, from those who came to play and those who came to support and eat from the barbecue! I would like to thank all my friends and the games staff who helped me throughout the organisation and during the event.

Around £700 was raised from sponsorship, cake sales and donations for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Miss Cowper, Director of Sport, commented: ‘I am hugely proud of the girls who organised this event, it was yet another example of what makes BSG special. Our whole community worked together for such an important cause. Despite the aching legs the day after, it was great fun and proves how powerful sport can be.’

The Teenage Cancer Trust creates world-class cancer services for young people in the UK, providing life-changing care and support so young people don’t have to face cancer alone.

I S A B E L L E N AT H A N S E N I O R 5

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Red Nose Day

‘ The girls dressed in mufti and ran a variety of stalls to raise money for this ever-popular charity.’

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DRAMA

And All That Jazz As soon as the summer musical was announced there was an air of excitement throughout school. Chicago was coming to Bruton!

The audition process was fun and with so many people taking part, it seemed like every member of the school was there. This added to the great atmosphere and we couldn’t wait to get started.

As soon as the cast was announced and the rehearsals got underway it all began to take shape. The chemistry on stage was fantastic to see.

As ever, Mrs Moody worked her magic and appeared with the most amazing costumes for every member of the rather large cast. She then altered and perfected them to ensure that we all looked the part. With the addition of wigs Chicago was transported to Bruton!

As we arrived at rehearsals the week before the first show, we realised that the school hall had been completely transformed in our absence. Mr Kirby had secured the use of a ‘touring Chicago set’ complete with prison cells and gold curtains! It was all starting to come together and the excitement grew.

Then the band arrived. Wow! Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, it did!

Under the direction of Mr Dury and Miss Barlow the music bought the whole show to life. To have a live band on stage throughout was just incredible.

Once again, we were lucky enough to have top choreographer Ashley oversee our dance routines. He managed to keep rehearsals fun and was very patient while he taught us some fast and complex 1920s dances. Mr Kirby and Mr Talbot-Ponsonby sorted the set, lighting and sound, so the show was in good hands.

Before we knew it, it was performance week.

Dressing rooms were filled with nervous excitement, lines rehearsed, dance moves perfected and there was more red lipstick about than I have ever seen before!

With Mrs Hurstwaite at the helm, ably assisted

by Mrs Fischer and Mr Kirby, we turned a small corner of Bruton into 1920s America and put together a fantastic show full of All That Jazz!

We definitely think that Mrs Hurstwaite saved the best show for her last production at BSG. CHARLOT TE BAKER SENIOR 5

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DRAMA

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DRAMA

The Scripted Shebang The Scripted Shebang is an eagerly awaited event every year, and 2018 was no exception.

The GCSE students performed diverse pieces from a sweet story about two girls in a school adventure to a chilling tale where children’s horror stories came to life.

Every actor captivated the audience, drawing everyone in with exceptional skill. The drama this year really made the audience think as it dealt with issues of severe mental conditions and moral dilemmas. The GCSE students gave it their all; they practiced hard in every rehearsal and worked together displaying teamwork rarely seen elsewhere. With comedy and cannibalism, every performance was nothing short of remarkable.

K AT H E R I N E B E L L I N G H A M SENIOR 5

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DRAMA

GCSE Devised Performances The GSCE drama girls took to the stage and performed three pieces of devised theatre inspired by a stimulus. As an audience member, I was incredibly impressed with the talent and enthusiasm of the actors; they were thoroughly believable and the drama displayed their ability to show a range of emotions and convey a message.

SOPHIE OVERD LOWER SIX TH

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

Brave Bronze Girls In March, the girls had a Duke of Edinburgh training day where they ventured into wet and windy weather with their maps and compasses to navigate the footpaths of Bruton and learned how to pitch tents; some basic first aid; and use the stoves safely.

Then for their practice walk the girls braved ‘Storm Hannah’. The girls started at West Pennard Church with the wind blowing behind them helping them on their way. With wonderful support and navigational training from Mr Lugg, Mr Goode and Mr Nathan, the girls explored the Somerset countryside. All three groups walked into camp at Castle Cary by 4pm which was a great credit to them. The wind decreased and the girls had an early night, they all left the campsite by 8.15am which was a first! With accurate navigating and strong walking, all girls came back to school with huge smiles on their faces after a very successful practice weekend.

MRS PORTINGALE-COWPER

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Silver Practice Expedition – Mendip Hills On Thursday, 2 May, ten Senior 4 girls set off on their practice Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition.

Both groups got off to a good start thanks to Mrs Rostrup and Mr Lugg who helped everyone at the beginning. As the day progressed the girls walked well and later that evening the girls cooked up a nice meal at Mendip Heights campsite in Priddy. Sleep was much needed after a few extra miles off route.

On Friday, the girls set off early and walked from Priddy to North Wootton where they stayed at Greenacres camp site and were lucky to get their tents up before the rain came down. On Saturday, the girls were very motivated to walk and left early to get to the finish as soon as possible.

Thanks to Mrs Portingale-Cowper for organising the expedition, and for waiting around for us when we got lost and putting us back on track. Thanks to Mr Lugg and Mr Nathan who walked with group one to hone the group’s map reading skills and filled our water bottles up at checkpoints. Finally, thank you to Mrs Robbins and Miss Jones for camping with us.

This will be a memorable weekend for all the girls and be very useful for our final expedition in June on the Jurassic Coast.

GR ACE FREEMAN AND OLIVIA PENNY SENIOR 4

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

Silver Duke of Edinburgh Girls Head to the Jurassic Coast On 7 June, the Silver girls headed down to the Jurassic Coast for their qualifier which would last three days and two nights. With the weather forecast not in our favour, the girls prepared incredibly well and were ready for the tail end of ‘Storm Miguel!’ Friday night was rather wet and windy but the girls showed great resilience and were up early and ready to conquer their next day, which to their relief was much brighter. The girls remained strong and demonstrated excellent navigation and camp craft over the weekend and all passed with flying colours. Well done girls!

Thank you to all the staff and volunteers that have helped with the Duke of Edinburgh Award this year and special thanks to Mr Lugg, Mrs Rostrup, Mrs Robbins, Mr Page, Mr Wuidart Gray, Mr Nathan and Mr Goode for all their training and experience, which has ensured another very successful year for the girls at BSG. MRS PORTINGALE-COWPER

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Gold Expedition During the Easter break we undertook our final Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition in the Peak District.

We spent five days outside, which was a pleasant distraction from our phones as well as our intense revision. We met new people and made new friends from all over the country which was a great experience. During the four days of walking we covered approximately 80 km. Although it was challenging at times, we noticed that our physical preparation in the weeks before paid off. We enjoyed planning together, hiking together and surviving the cold nights together. In the end, we agreed that the satisfaction of completing such a challenge is greater than the pain that our feet went through!

RICARDA HENNIES AND YOL ANDA YEUNG UPPER SIX TH

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EXCHANGES

We welcomed a group of 25 Belgian pupils and their three teachers to the Sunny Hill Language School.

The pupils enjoyed their own intensive English language lessons in the mornings and explored some of the local sights and towns in the afternoons.

Our girls made the group feel very much at home and it was great to see how keen the BSG pupils were to get to know the visitors.

Several girls joined in with a joint board games evening on Monday. Jasmine and Daisy Grant showed clear leadership skills as they took charge of ‘Challenj’.

We were also delighted to see a high turnout of boarders and day girls for the British Fun and Games on Tuesday evening. Again, the girls’ behaviour was exemplary! Their willingness to have a go at a wide range of events, and in particular their enthusiasm for ‘Tug of War’ made for a fun evening!

We tested the Sunny Hill girls’ and the Belgian visitors’ knowledge of Harry Potter in a very closely fought quiz on Wednesday and again, the girls’ interaction and patience with our guests were key in making this event a success.

MRS ORAM

BSG Welcomes Belgian Visitors

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‘ Thank you to everyone who made our visitors feel welcome and to staff and Sixth Formers who entered into the spirit by dressing up ‘Hogwarts’ style.’

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EXCHANGES

Farewell to Exchange Students We enjoyed a wonderful Assembly from our Australian and South African Exchange students before they left to go home. The girls compiled and presented a video diary of their adventures in Bruton and beyond.

MRS ROBBINS

‘ The past five weeks have been amazing whilst our exchange partners have been here! To top everything off, they all made a short video about their experiences here in the UK and at BSG. They also gave a speech about us, as their partners. They told us about their favourite memories whilst they were here, such as visiting London, Lyme Regis and shopping in Bath! As expected this was very emotional and everyone was in tears, as nobody wanted them to go home! Their exchange partners are all very excited about seeing them again in Australia over the summer!’

E XC H A N G E PA R T N ER – ALICE FORRESTER, SENIOR 3

‘ My husband and I would like to thank BSG for warmly welcoming Emily and looking after her while she has been at Bruton. Emily speaks so highly of her host family and also of the Bruton community. She says that everyone is very close and she feels like everyone knows everyone. Thank you so much for making her stay so amazing. She’s a very lucky girl to be able to have spent some time at your school and I can’t wait to meet some of her new friends in person when they come to St Mary’s. Although Emily is excited to be coming home, I can see that she’s also sad to be leaving such a warm environment. Thank you to everyone in Bruton.

Thank you also for organising a visit from the Queen.

She’ ll remember that for the rest of her life.’

AUSTR ALIAN EXCHANGE P U P I L’ S M O T H E R

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Adventure Down Under In July, Lucy Robbins, Catherine Johnson and I headed off on an 18 hour flight to Perth, Western Australia.

Fortunately, we already knew our exchange partners and were very excited about being reunited.

During our time in Australia, we went to school and found it very interesting to see how people live on the other side of the world. School for us was amazing and we enjoyed every minute of it!

We experienced new subjects such as Caring for Children, Marine Biology and Young People in Law, which we found very interesting.

Outside school, we saw some of Perth’s amazing architecture and some of the incredible tourist parts of Perth, such as the Perth Mint, Elizabeth Quay and the Perth Bell Tower. We couldn’t go to Australia without seeing some of their wildlife which we don’t have in the UK, so petting kangaroos and koalas is a memory that will last forever!

Exchange for us was one of the best things we will ever do and we really recommend it to anyone thinking about taking part in the future. Thank you to Mrs Robbins, Mrs Botterill and the staff at St Mary’s for organising our excellent exchange experience!

ALICE FORRESTER SENIOR 3

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GREEN WEEK

In a Pickle During Green Week, Senior 3 made apple chutney from fruit grown on site and gathered by the Prep School children and staff. They conserved it in re-usable jars from home.

MRS STONEHOUSE

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Girls Go Green Week

We had a cracking Girls Go Green week.

All year groups contributed positively to the week with their own individual sessions which included: an Earth summit; making chutney; and upcycling material into necklaces. We also welcomed some Sexey’s Sixth Form students to watch and discuss Truth to Power which is the sequel to Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth.

All year groups were involved in a project called the Plastic Tide, and helped to tag plastic pollution on beaches using an app.

This will contribute to the building of an algorithm which will help drones to spot plastic pollution independently. Isabella O’Brien, Isabella Peach, Célestine Harvey and Jasmine Jago Briggs independently ran a cake baking competition to raise money for our charity ‘Project Biodiversity’, a turtle conservation charity. Some interesting creations such as pea cakes were made and consumed.

Throughout the week there were a number of competitions. The whole school Plastic Tide winner was Grace Kay who won a portable solar charging bank for her phone. This prize was paid for by the PSA as was our trip to Carymoor. The girls and I would like to thank the PSA for their massive contribution to such an eventful week.

MISS JAMES

‘ We made necklaces from old T-shirts and wool, it was a lot of fun. We watched a video of a girl weaving an old T-shirt, in and out of her fingers, which looked tricky but we mastered it. We spent all morning doing it and the end results were amazing and individual because of the colours, shapes and sizes.’

AMELIA STEAN SENIOR 1

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HALLS

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time This year, the inter-hall singing competition was reintroduced. Halls battled it out singing the classic Christmas songs: Jingle Bell Rock; Rocking Around the Christmas Tree; Walking in a Winter Wonderland; and Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time.

The renditions were judged by our singing teachers who were looking for everyone to be involved, clear singing and importantly energy. It was a tough competition which saw both solo and individual performances.

Montacute came out in top position! It was a great afternoon and an enjoyable finish to the Autumn Term.

M I S S W YAT T

An Energetic Friday Assembly The Head Girl Team organised an assembly, that involved a game of Under and Over, as an inter-hall competition.

All year groups got involved, and each Hall demonstrated their competitiveness as they raced for the finish line. It proved a great bonding activity and definitely livened up a Friday morning assembly! Thank you to everyone for taking part, especially the teachers.

MILLIE WHITMARSH UPPER SIXTH

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Longleat

Stourhead

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Hadspen

Montacute

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Egg-cellent Treasure Hunt On Friday, 29 March, the whole school took part in the first inter-hall treasure hunt of its kind.

The aim of the hunt was to identify locations around school using images and then complete challenges which were found at each location. Challenges included: balancing a complex chemistry equation; identifying a painting; and naming French, German and Spanish celebrities and their profession in the relevant language. An added twist to the treasure hunt involved the girls collecting letters at each station in order to create the longest word. A treasure hunt would not be complete without Easter eggs which were distributed whilst the marking took place.

It was a very close competition: Hadspen won; Montacute took second place; Longleat finished third; and Stourhead came fourth.

M I S S W YAT T

The Children’s Lit Quiz

Inter-Hall International Language Quiz

On Thursday, 15 November, each Hall entered a team made up of five girls representing Seniors 1 to 5 to take part in the inaugural Inter-Hall Children’s Lit Quiz.

It was lovely to see so much enthusiasm for languages at the inter-hall competition. Hobhouse was buzzing (or should I say full of ‘zoem-zoem’) with a mixture of French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Mandarin, Hungarian and even Tibetan!

In what turned out to be a fiercely close competition, the girls were tested on their knowledge of alphabets, etymology, body parts, onomatopoeia and other general linguistic trivia.

There were five rounds with five questions in each. The topics covered were: classic children’s literature; picture books; name the character; film; and general knowledge. The girls chose a round where they thought they would do best and for this round they were awarded double points.

All the teams worked well together and I can’t remember the outcome of a quiz being so close. There was much suspense as Mrs Life announced the results in alphabetical order: Hadspen 21; Longleat 21; Montacute 21; and Stourhead 22! Well done everyone especially the winners: Philippa Johnson, Emily Stokes, Lucy Robbins, Isabella O’Brien and Solange Sang!

MRS BANCE

Thank you to everyone who was brave enough to participate, and also thank you to our audience who were clearly rooting for their Halls. Some were visibly frustrated that they were not able to help and will now hopefully be inspired to put themselves forward next time.

Thanks are also due to Mrs Harvey who was an expert and fair judge, and also to the MFL Sixth Formers, the language assistants, Miss Donaldson and Mrs Johnson for running the drinks and sweets sale. Above all, of course, congratulations to Amaia Diaz Barbeira, Valeria Garcia Roman, Isabella Reese, Rosie Harvey and Suzanna Reese for a terrific performance as the Longleat Linguists!

MRS ORAM

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HALLS

Tutor Time Tutor time was a busy affair this year with a wide range of activities taking place. Senior 1 to 3 tried cross stitching as a way of providing a relaxed atmosphere to chat and discuss some of the themes in the tutor programme.

Other activities included Snatch Raffle which brought out their competitive streaks and sewing.

One of the challenges the girls were set was to design and build the highest possible paper tower using 50 sheets of A4 paper, a pair of scissors and sellotape. Many different techniques and strategies were employed – rolling, scrunching and folding the paper. It was good to see how the problem was approached and how the dynamics developed within each group. The girls evaluated their performances honestly and self-critically.

MRS ORAM

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Inter-Hall Netball

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LECTURES

Lectures of 2018/2019

Taboos in Literature Wednesday 5 September 2018

Alex Hibbert

Wednesday 12 September 2018

Emma Craigie

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Ella Al-Shamahi

L’auberge Espagnole

Wednesday 26 September 2018

Stella Lyons

The Other Side: WW2 Through the Eyes of an Ordinary German Family Wednesday 31 October 2018

Angela Findlay

Wednesday 3 October 2018

Gail Needham

THE PRE-R APHALITES: Religion & Rebellion

Wednesday 7 November 2018

Madeleine Thiele

Wednesday 10 October 2018

A Film by Cedric Klapisch

LE STY ETIQUETTE Wednesday 14 November 2018

Natasha Musson

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The Creation of Numb3r Wednesday 21 November 2018

Ben Sparks

COOL EARTH

The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Wednesday 28 November 2018

Dr Hannah Peck

Wednesday 23 January 2019

Sue & Patrick Cunningham

Films@59

Wednesday 30 January 2019

Nahla Summers

Wednesday 6 Februar y 2019

Alexandra Drysdale

Wednesday 13 February 2019

Adam Palmer

Cardiff Met Lecture

9 Wednesday 27 March 201

Anita Corbin

We were inspired by the speaker from Cardiff Metropolitan University who came to talk to the Lower Sixth about careers on Thursday, 2 May. She spoke to us about how our future careers will change due to technology evolving and how to make the most out of a future degree. The talk was interactive by involving us in an activity where we had to use our teamwork skills in order to pass a water bottle around the group.

SOPHIE OVERD LOWER SIX TH

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MUSIC

Director of Music, Mr Dury, reviews another busy year for the Music Department.

Spring Concert Bruton School for Girls’ annual Spring Concert was a varied event, bringing together a wide range of performers playing in many contrasting styles.

The school choirs, orchestra, string group and jazz group were in good form, showing just how far they have developed as ensembles over the course of the year. There were also several outstanding solo items in the concert.

A special mention to Helen Han and Candy Lee, who lit up the evening with a beautifully performed traditional Chinese piece for flute and Chinese dulcimer. The Sixth Formers also contributed significantly, with strong solo items from Cynthia Choi, Anna Li, Ashley Gan and Christiana Bingley showing the strength there is amongst the advanced performers at BSG.

ARTWORK ANGEL LEE

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Scholars Concert Under the able supervision of Mr Willis, BSG’s 2019 Scholars’ Concert was a resounding success. Six Senior School Music Scholars presented a diverse array of material in the school’s Main Hall, to a full and appreciative audience.

Following drinks, the concert began with Christiana Bingley performing Hungarian folk music by Monti. Christiana’s tone has developed beautifully over her time at BSG, and the rich sounds of the lower register filled the hall wonderfully.

Emma G then accompanied herself singing two popular contemporary songs. Emma performs with increasing maturity and was a pleasure to listen to. We look forward to hearing more from Emma in the coming months and years.

Eva Larsen followed this with two modern guitar tracks. Eva is producing an excellent sound on her acoustic guitar and is clearly developing her picking abilities at an impressive rate.

Cynthia Choi brought two exquisite classical songs to the occasion, singing ably in both English and German. It is good to see Cynthia explore this kind of repertoire so fully: her musical appreciation as well as her practical ability are clearly widening significantly under the tutelage of Mr Rice, who accompanied her for the occasion.

Ashley Gan’s performance of a modern Chinese piano track was another highlight of the event. Our new Sixth Form piano scholar performs with ease and authority, capturing the mood of her chosen repertoire convincingly.

Finally, Felicity Lennard rounded off the event with the final movement of a Vivaldi Recorder Concerto. Performing with typical skill and control of her principal study, Felicity continues to impress everybody with her technical musical skills, as well as her composure in a formal concert scenario.

The performances were punctuated by reflections on the art of performance by Mr Willis, whose presence as compère brought a sincere gravitas to proceedings.

‘ Six Senior School Music Scholars presented a diverse array of material in the school’s Main Hall, to a full and appreciative audience.’

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MUSIC

Acoustic Recital Tabitha Spindler opened the annual acoustic recital with a fantastic rendition of When We Were Young, accompanying herself ably on the piano. Tabitha’s voice has developed beautifully over the past couple of years, and her performance was a testament to all the work she has put in to develop and perfect her tone.

This was followed by Kate Hegan and Caitlin Brooks, who gave a warm performance of Queen’s hit song, You’re My Best Friend. The duo really gelled well on stage, and we hope to see more of them in future concerts!

Cecily Jago Briggs then took to the stage, the only member of the Prep School who performed, and gave an excellent performance of Beyoncé’s Halo. Cecily performed this on smaller stages this year, and the preparation paid off as she delivered the song with great maturity and composure in front of over a hundred guests.

Philippa Johnson followed with a highly melodic performance of the power ballad There’s a Fine, Fine Line, balancing deeper verses and higher choruses with ease.

Alisha Fong made her debut recital at BSG. She performed without music and gave a strong performance of another Adele classic, Someone Like You. Alisha sang strongly and confidently across the vocal range with beautiful intonation and tone. We look forward to hearing more from Alisha!

BSG’s Sixth Form piano scholar, Ashley Gan, gave the only instrumental performance of the night, a rendition of a piano solo from the film, Your Name. With characteristic poise and subtlety, Ashley showed why she is so highly regarded by staff and students at the school.

The audience were then treated to a memorable performance of Lost My Mind and Always There Beside You, given by Senior 5 students Nyah Davies and Genevieve Sang.

Accompanying themselves on the ukuleles, the girls performed with an infectious sense of enjoyment, as well as typical skill.

Tabitha Spindler then rejoined the action, impersonating the entire ensemble in a rendition of Alexander Hamilton from the eponymous musical hit.

This was followed by another melancholic piano-based ballad, with Emma G accompanying herself beautifully in a rendering of Say Something (I’m Giving Up On You). Emma sang with a strong voice, with good intonation and a particularly welldeveloped lower register. Well done Emma!

Nyah Davies then returned to the stage, capturing a typical soul vibe with an impassioned performance of If I ‘Ain’t Got You

by Alicia Keys. Again her low range stood out.

Nyah has put an immense amount of work into developing her voice over the past couple of years in particular, and again this concert was the perfect showcase for her efforts.

Bastille’s Pompeii was the track that the Senior 3 trio of Lucy Robbins, Eva Larsen and Emma G chose to perform, accompanied by Anna Li on the drums. This was a good ensemble effort, with Lucy taking on much of the lead work in a confident and assured manner. Eva and Emma also took on lead roles during the piece, whilst providing sensitive accompaniment at other points.

Genevieve Sang brought the solo items to a close with a suitably rich performance of Feeling Good, opening with a confident a cappella solo. This kind of track really suits her wonderful voice, showing what strength she has across the range, but particularly lower down.

Finally, the BSG School Choir took to the stage to perform the closing item, Coldplay’s anthem, Fix You. This was a moving performance of all the girls working together to produce a suitably special finale.

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BSG and Castle Cary Community Choir Sing in Wincanton On Friday, 2 November, the Bruton School for Girls choir teamed up with the Castle Cary Community Choir to produce an evening of varied music at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Wincanton.

The girls performed to a large and appreciative audience and sang on their own in two separate sets, as well as performing several pieces jointly with the sixty-strong community choir. Old favourites such as Pie Jesu were led by Genevieve Sang and Nyah Davies, and the jazz band, with Miranda Sturdy, Philippa Johnson and Nyah Davies sang the famous Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. During the interval, we caught up with Old Girls and a wide range of friends and family who supported the event.

We hope to enjoy the hospitality of St Peter and St Paul’s Church again soon, and that this will be the first of many such team events, as this one was a resounding success!

MRS JOHNSON

Piano Recital The annual Music School Piano Recital took place on the lunchtime of Wednesday, 21 November. Girls from across the Senior School, came together to perform a succession of miniatures on the school’s Steinway B model.

The event was arranged by Mrs Brookfield and hosted by Mr Willis who began with an extended introduction, giving the girls an excellent insight into concert deportment.

The playing from the girls was extremely tidy and very much appreciated by the audience, and made for an excellent lunchtime gathering.

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MUSIC Magical Messiah It was with great pleasure that staff and students from BSG joined forces with other schools and choirs from Bruton to perform extracts of Handel’s Messiah on the afternoon of Sunday, 16 September.

Under the direction of Edward Goater, rehearsals took place between 1 and 4pm, and the concert began at 5pm. St Mary’s Church was packed for the performance, with audience members remarking on the fullness of sound achieved by the ensemble. A special mention must go to Old Girl, Genevieve Baker, as well as to current Senior 5 students, Genevieve Sang and Miranda Sturdy, for bravely and expertly performing three solo lines from the famous oratorio.

Choral Workshop with Aurin Girls’ Choir Girls from Senior 1 to 3 visited St Mary’s Church on the morning of Wednesday, 27 June, to sing in a choral workshop with members of the Aurin Girls’ Choir.

The group, visiting from Hungary, are trained in the Kodaly method of singing.

Their conductor gave the BSG girls a tutorial in the basics of Kodaly method; as well as a fascinating insight into the merits of the English Renaissance motet.

Festive Singing at Clarks Village

The Annual Vocal Recital Congratulations to all the students who performed at the annual Vocal Recital on Thursday, 8 November.

There were a range of strong performances delivered to an enthusiastic audience. A special mention must go to Cecily Jago Briggs for her performance of Tightrope and to Sophie Goggs for her performance of Feelings are Fatal. Thanks to Mrs Hansford who organised the event.

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ARTWORK ROSIE ECKL

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PREP The Tempest In Prep we performed The Tempest for our summer production. A Shakespearian tale starring Prospero who used to be the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio wanted the power for himself so he told King Alonso and Sebastian (the king’s brother and his friend) his plan and they agreed. Prospero was sent out to sea with his three year old daughter Miranda to die.

Luckily they washed up on an island of magical creatures and 12 years later all his enemies were on a royal ship not too far from the island and he takes his revenge.

OY INLOL A DAVIES AND ARISA CHIRAKRANONT PREP 6

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Pet Day

Easter Assembly

I organised a pet day where everyone could bring in their pets. There were new born kittens, a bearded dragon and horses to name a few. Kitty and I ran a pet show and a dog show, it was a lot of fun. Prep 5 and 6 ran some stalls and there were some big prizes and these raised money for two animal charities.

For the Easter Assembly, Prep 3 and 4 explained Shrove Tuesday. They taught us about how it was a way to use up eggs, milk and sugar before the fasting season of Lent.

Prep 5 taught us about the holy temple in Jerusalem, this was the temple where the priests bribed Judas.

Kitty Hill and Madeleine Bradfield talked about the Last Supper and where it was held, above King David’s tomb. They made a great model of the tomb.

SACHA MARKUSDOT TIR PREP 6

Cecily Jago Briggs and Liberty Marriage focused on the Garden of Gethsemane and made a beautiful model with the maze and all.

Elspeth Little and Oyinlola Davies discussed the trial of Jesus. They explained that Pontius Pilate had to crucify Jesus because the public wanted him to die even though Pontius didn’t.

Mae Larsen and Sacha Markusdottir told how Jesus was forced to carry the cross until he got too sad, then someone helped him carry it up the hill where he was crucified and left to die.

The burial and resurrection was explained

by Anna Bray and Isabella York who made a lovely model of the cave and they said how Jesus came back to life for three days.

Overall the Easter Assembly was lovely, completed with songs and a prayer from Father Justin.

MADELEINE BRADFIELD PREP 6

Marvellous Mathematicians in the Making!

Sunflower Class had great fun in mathematics: exploring different concepts; problem solving; and taking their learning to a deeper level.

We made magic potions to compare volume and capacity of vessels and played darts to learn our times tables. These are just some of the great ways we enjoy our learning!

MRS STURDY

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PREP

Outdoor Learning In outdoor learning we learnt about rocks.

In pairs we built buildings. Amber and I built Stonehenge. We used flowers and grass seeds as decorations and all sorts of different stones and rocks in the shape it still makes today. We put circular pieces of wood underneath the rocks and stones so they could balance so they were stable while they were photographed.

The shop was also really fun; I worked with Nella Peary and Mia Johnson. The shop was called Cale Park Kitchen Gift Shop. The shop sold a toy goose and its chicks, wellies, a bracelet, a hat and a water bottle. We used money, adding and subtracting. There was a reception area where you had to say what you were there for and a hairdressing point.

We all had a turn being the banker.

B E AT R I C E H A S K E T T P R E P 3

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Budding Author, Aged 7!

Amber Proudley in Prep 3 entered the BBC Radio 2’s 500 words competition. Her story was full of descriptive words and wonderful imagery. In addition, another story she wrote has been published in My First Story for budding Young Writers. We were very excited when a copy arrived hot off the press!

MRS SNOW

The Harvest Festival In October, Sunny Hill had a harvest festival at St Leonard’s Church, Pitcombe. We all had a lovely service, we recited poems and sang harvest hymns. The orchestra played a beautiful piece called Autumn by Antonio Lucio Vivaldi.

KITT Y HILL PREP 6

Forest School In Forest School we learnt new games and skills such as basic whittling with elder and making elderflower cordial. The mud kitchen and deluxe bug hotel provided an outlet for our imaginations!

Prep 1 and 2 learnt about recipes and remedies and how to light fires with flint and steels. They worked as a group and built a living willow heart.

PREP 3 AND 4

Decorating the Christmas Tree Every year Sunny Hill students decorate a Christmas tree with decorations made in their art lessons or spare time.

The youngest person gets to turn on the Christmas tree lights and this year that was Evie Cullen.

CHARLOT TE SMITH PREP 5

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PREP

Pre-School Activities and the Nativity The children in pre-school have shown huge interest in space and the planets. They made their own jet packs using recycled materials.

They sang songs about the planets and learnt facts about each one. Did you know that Mercury is the smallest planet and that Mars has a mountain called Olympus Mons?

The children helped to make a space station role play area, with buttons to press and constellations of stars.

Whilst learning about ‘under the sea’, some of the children dressed up as pirates. We used the adventure playground to practice our counting as the children walked the plank and jumped in the pretend sea. They made telescopes and eye patches.

We have investigated the life cycle of the seahorse. The children each learned a fact: ‘The daddy seahorse has a pouch and the mummy seahorse lays her eggs in it,’ ‘Mummy and daddy seahorses dance together in the water before they lay eggs,’ ‘The baby seahorses have tails so they hold onto seaweed and then they won’t drown.’

The seahorses inspired their art work. The children explored different art materials and how to change the marks they make. For example, they smudged the pastels to make it look more like underwater seaweed.

They practiced recalling events in the right order by retelling how they made the seahorse pictures: ‘First we did finger painting, second we put eyes on, we cut them out, next we made our seaweed on the big paper, then we smudged it all up, the last thing was sticking on our seahorse, I wanted to put some pale yellow buttons on mine at the end.’

The Pre-Prep’s Nativity play was called Whoops A Daisy Angel – an angel who kept forgetting what message she should be spreading. An extremely happy time for all those staff and pupils who took part and parents and grandparents who came to watch.

A lot of concentration happens when preschool conduct science experiments. In order to understand how clouds fill up with water before it rains, the children used pipettes to drip blue ‘rain’ on to their shaving foam cloud.

They watched the blue rain water then fall out of the cloud and into the water. These onehanded tools are a great way to strengthen children’s fine motor skills, ready for when they need to hold a pen.

MRS FIELD

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PREP

Sunny Hill Music Festival

Sea Life Centre On Wednesday, 27 June, Prep went on a trip to the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth.

When we arrived, we sat on the grass and had a snack, after that, we went into the splash pool. Once we had finished playing in the pool, we had a look in the nursery and saw baby seahorses and tiny fish. Then we looked in the rock pool and we saw and felt some starfish. We then saw some really cute Humboldt Penguins. After that, we went to the ocean tunnel and saw a giant turtle and other fish. Next, we went to the seal harbour and saw lots of cute seals. Finally, we went to look at the otters. We had so much fun!

H A N A M I PAV L I N G A N D ISABELL A YORK PREP 6

The Music Festival this year was absolutely amazing! Everyone participated from EYFS to Prep 6. The younger years performed first and they started it off with a bang!

The talent this year ranged from the drums to the piano. Everyone took part and you could tell that each and every student had put a lot of time and effort into their pieces. There were all sorts of songs, from the upbeat and quirky songs such as When I Kissed the Teacher by ABBA, which made us all chuckle, to the more peaceful and calming songs played on the flute

by Mae Larsen and Liberty Marriage.

ELSPETH LITTLE AND MADELEINE BRADFIELD PREP 6

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Charterhouse Trip On Sunday, 12 May, we went on our residential trip to Charterhouse. Everybody boomed with excitement on the bus. When we arrived we talked and settled into our cosy dorms. I was in Dragons Chamber with my friends Oyinlola Davies, Kitty Hill and Anna Bray, we had a delicious dinner.

The next day, we had breakfast and chose our sandwiches for lunch, and then got ready for climbing and abseiling! We set off to Sandford Quarry, where we were told how to put on our harness and helmet. We went climbing on the easier walls and built up to the harder ones.

Halfway through, people were called up to do abseiling. After lunch and more climbing, we went back to our dorms then had dinner and a snack before we went to bed.

The following day we went sailing and kayaking and had lots of fun, we dipped our heads in the water, I loved it! I also got to steer the boat which I enjoyed and then we had a break and lunch which was very yummy. In the afternoon, we started by playing fun games and then got into our kayaks and began paddling, we jumped in the river which I loved.

On our last day we had a bigger breakfast than usual, later on we went orienteering and shelter building, I did it with my dorm and we made a hammock in the shelter we built.

SACHA MARKUSDOT TIR PREP 6

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PREP Handbags at Sunny Hill Over the spring and summer terms Prep 6 designed and made handbags.

Firstly, we were shown different types of handbags for inspiration. Then we thought about colours and designs that we could have on our bag. We thought about the shape and size we wanted and then we drew it out on paper.

Next, we purchased our fabric and then pinned our patterns on it and cut it out. Then we tacked the two pieces of fabric together so we could machine them. After machining them we added trimming including pompoms and tassels.

There were beach bags and clutch bags which we modelled at the Prep 6 party. We’re very grateful to Mrs Larsen and Mrs Bradfield for helping us complete our handbags.

KITT Y HILL AND MAE L ARSEN PREP 6

Cracking Code Prep 5 and 6 and girls from Knighton House School joined together to see if they could ‘crack the codes’.

Sunny Hill Prep featured on BBC Live Lesson Sunflower Class honed their poetry skills and were delighted to be featured twice on the BBC live lesson on National Poetry Day. They worked on their poetry ideas helped by poets Joseph Coelho and Tony Walsh.

MRS STURDY

The Maths Department, led by Mr TalbotPonsonby, arranged a number of team rounds that tested everything from the girls’ knowledge about days in a leap year to matching the mascot to the right coach and club. The girls made new friends and developed their ability to work as a team at the same time. The highlight was saved until last, as the final round involved a relay race answering questions in pairs. Spirits were high and adrenaline pumped as the girls impressed us with their skills and determination to win!

It was a very close finish but Team Euclid was crowned the winner! Thank you to all the girls who joined in the fun, it was a morning to remember.

MRS FISCHER

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Delicious Coursework This year the GCSE students had a choice of researching and cooking dishes from Asia or making a selection of dishes that were suitable for teenagers and would appeal to them.

The girls produced some technically very challenging dishes and all achieved good grades.

MRS STONEHOUSE

Impressive IELTS!

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Many congratulations to our Upper Sixth EAL pupils who sat the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam in December, with top scores of 8.0 being achieved by Zuzanna Hebdzynska and 7.5

by Mimosa Ngai and Paula Garcia Cubero.

The IELTS scores are banded from level 0 to 9, level 9 denoting the level of an expert user of the English language. These are truly impressive results, of which many native English speakers would be proud!

The IELTS exam is taken by Sixth Form EAL pupils as a language requirement for entry to further and higher education in the UK and other English speaking countries.

MR WITT

‘Paketzustellun’, ‘Schokokusswettessen’ und ‘Apfelringe an der Schnur’ At BSG, we take language learning very seriously, though that does not mean that lessons are dull!

To practise speaking spontaneously and to learn more birthday-related vocabulary, Senior 5 played Pass the Parcel or ‘Paketzustellung’ during one of their lessons on mufti day in March. They celebrated their final German lesson of the year by playing more typical German party games including ‘Schokokusswettessen’ (a race to eat a teacake without the use of hands) and ‘Apfelringe an der Schnur’ (Germany’s take on doughnuts on a string). Being able to incorporate elements of traditions and events is a major trump card in the writing and speaking GCSE exams and what better way to remember these games than to actually play them! We also discovered how very competitive and adept at eating a whole teacake in one fell swoop Suzanna Reese is!

MRS ORAM

Zero Waste Design & Technology Project Senior 3 had incredible success in their autumn term Design and Make project.

The design brief was ‘to design and make an on-trend clutch purse using old and unwanted fabrics, attempting to re-use small discarded objects to invent their own clasp or fastening’.

They were shown examples of this: valves from arm bands; and coke can pulls stitched onto note pad covers and handbags.

M R S L A T R O B E B AT E M A N

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RED-LETTER DAYS Browns Book Bus Visits BSG On Thursday, 21 March, Browns Books for Students Book Bus came to Bruton School for Girls. There was great excitement when the girls saw the purple double decker – it was likened to the bus in Harry Potter and indeed it was packed with the magic of books.

Groups of girls came on-board throughout the day and were able to thumb through over 4000 recently published books. Many girls ordered discounted books and many more made recommendations for the school library. There was a great buzz and discussions about titles abounded. Prep 1 even enjoyed story time with Mrs Albiston on the top deck.

The next day, five boxes of brand new books arrived in the Library ready for collection by the girls.

MRS BANCE

Fantastic Funathon!

On Saturday, 11 May, girls from Prep 5 to Senior 1 and some of their friends from outside BSG took part in a Funathon.

The girls started with a cross-country run, then swam in the pool and finished with a sprint run.

All the girls worked in teams and were timed from when the first person left until the final person crossed the finishing line.

Everyone did exceptionally well, the sun shone and we finished the event with cake which helped replenish tired muscles (even those of the cheering squad!)

MRS DIKE

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Her Majesty The Queen Visits Bruton On 28 March, a glorious spring day, HM The Queen visited Bruton.

While Mrs Botterill was a guest at the Memorial Hall for a lunch with Her Majesty, the rest of the school lined the royal route to wave flags and cheer. Prep children viewed the spectacle at the bottom of the High Street and saw Her Majesty as she arrived from Ditcheat having visited the stables. The rest of us lined Church Bridge where everyone had a front row view. The Queen, resplendent in lime green, looked happy as she waved to the girls and staff.

Everyone then had a picnic lunch by the river in the sunshine and Mrs Rostrup and some Sixth Formers accosted the police and sat on their motorcycles for an impromptu photoshoot! The girls then took up their positions again to watch the Queen pass by on her way to Hauser & Wirth. This was a truly memorable day for everyone but perhaps especially for our exchange girls from the Commonwealth countries of South Africa and Australia as seeing the Queen so closely is a rare occurrence.

MRS BANCE

It was a total honour to be invited to the Somerset Lunch with Her Majesty the Queen.

100 people from across Somerset were invited and they were all very interesting.

Firstly we had a drinks reception to get us into King’s Memorial Hall well before Her Majesty arrived. We were all given a letter which indicated which row we were sitting in.

Then we were ushered into the Hall row by row and shown to our seats. We were given a comprehensive briefing on standing in silence when she arrived, waiting for her to sit first and eat first and so on. The meal was lovely and included local Somerset produce such as local pork with Godminster cheese garnish and an apple pudding, and was very well served by the pupils from the school – what an honour for them! Father Justin and I were near to each other, one of our Governors, Col Simon Bate was also there as Master of Sexey’s Hospital.

On my way back up the hill afterwards, I gave a lift to some Senior 5 girls who told me they had seen Her Majesty no less than five times that day as they had run up and down the Bartons to get a really good view as she moved around Bruton.

A day we will never forget!

MRS BOT TERILL

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RED-LETTER DAYS

Remembrance Day To mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice on Sunday 11 November, 1918, girls and staff contributed to a stunning display in the main corridor by the Hall.

News articles featuring some of the human stories behind the conflict in the Great War and paintings by war artists were interspersed with felted red poppies created as a focus for memory by BSG girls back in 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the start of the War. The display linked in with work by Senior 3. Mrs Derioz’s English class wrote poems inspired by the painting, Gassed, by John Singer Sargent, and these were featured in the display. In history, Senior 3 studied the impact of the war on women, using family stories; and they also considered the nature of memory by comparing varying reactions to the Armistice experienced by different people at the time.

MRS DIXON For Duty, Honour and Your Country Eleanor Bradfield and Camilla Cotterell Senior 3

Gassed by John Singer Sargent. © Painters / Alamy Stock Photo

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World Book Day The Head Girl team and boarders took part in the Remembrance Day Service in Bruton.

We were joined by other schools, the Scouts and residents of the town to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day. As a school we were part of a procession through Bruton; the Head Girls and some Prep students had the honour of laying the wreaths. Afterwards, we enjoyed a church service, led by Father Justin, which evoked memories of those lost.

Many people link Remembrance Day with the World Wars, but this event also encouraged us to remember those lost in more recent wars and to think about how this has affected us.

There was definitely a sense of occasion and reflection this year as we thought about the lives lost over the previous century.

MILLIE WHITMARSH, MIMOSA NGAI, CHARLOT TE CONVE Y A N D PAU L A G A R C I A C U B ER O, UPPER SIXTH

This year girls have spent their WBD tokens at our Scholastic Book Fair. There was a great selection of books and the girls enjoyed browsing and purchasing them.

The girls were challenged to decorate cupcakes in the theme of a book. The judges were blown away by the ideas, talent and execution of the Book Off cupcakes which depicted a range of titles.

Girls in Senior 1 and Senior 2 had great fun and made some excellent book trailers based on their Book Buzz reading. They combined their reading with their film making and editing skills and some even thought about soundtracks that reflected, enhanced and complemented the books. Many of the girls also entered the Book Token design competition which is a national competition with great prizes in the form of books!

MRS BANCE

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ARTWORK COURTNEY EDSON THE GL E A M 2 018/19

SCIENCE Spectroscopy in a Suitcase The Sixth Form chemists attended a workshop entitled Spectroscopy in a Suitcase.

Spectroscopy is an analytical technique which is widely used not only in chemistry but also in many aspects of everyday life including medicine – MRI scanners are just very big spectrometers!

A level chemists spend a significant portion of their time learning about spectroscopic techniques and studying the spectra, but most never get hands-on experience of using the machines as they are so expensive. We were very fortunate, therefore, that the University of Bath sent three of their PhD students to Bruton to run this workshop and brought their portable spectrometers with them which provided a great opportunity for the students to put into practice what they have learned over the last two years.

It was a really enjoyable experience that all the girls found very useful as a revision exercise for their upcoming exams! It also gave the girls an opportunity to talk to the PhD students about their career pathways and choices – including industrial experience, which was invaluable.

MRS MOORES

Super Sassy Science Club One of the many activities enjoyed in our science club was making lava lamps.

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Soap Makers

Girls in Science On Tuesday, 9 October, we welcomed 50 girls from local primary schools for a fun day of science! They made bath bombs in chemistry, extracted DNA from a banana in biology and made their own gliders in physics. It was an enjoyable day and all the girls left with big smiles on their faces.

MRS MARSH

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SCIENCE Cleaning Up in Science During Science Week, we took apart a vacuum cleaner which was a lot of fun. We learned about the different components that are in a vacuum cleaner and how they work together. We all realised that it takes a long time to make each part and everything needs to be tested. We learnt that lots of teams were involved in making this vacuum cleaner.

A good engineer needs to be patient, have good communication skills and understand how everybody’s role plays a part in making the end product.

JASMINE HARROW SENIOR 3

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SOCIALS Forensic Science Social Solves Murder Mystery Senior 2 were joined by students from Sexey’s School to take part in a forensic science project in the form of a murder mystery. We did one hour of practical work along with a poster to present our ideas and the final result. Mrs Marsh very kindly organised this activity for us and she presented it very well, even including an outline of the dead body and where it was found along with police tape and a caution sign!

We carried out different investigation experiments including – chromatography, pH, blood and carbonate. All the tests gave us the end results. Some tests were harder than others but we all eventually managed to complete them to get the results needed to find out who killed Professor Periodic Table.

There were three suspects: Doctor Beaker, Mrs Mole and Mrs Test-Tube. Most, if not all, concluded the killer was Mrs Mole. Olivia Marriage and Jessie and Tilly from Sexey’s made up the winning team.

JASMINE GRANT AND SOPHIE RHODES SENIOR 2

ARTWORK ANGEL LEE

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SOCIALS

Spooky Socials!

Senior 3 & 4 Disco

On Saturday, 10 November, guests from King’s, Downside and Sexey’s joined Seniors 2 to 5 for our Halloween themed discos.

Senior 2 and 3 took over Hobhouse whilst Senior 4 and 5 danced the evening away in the Main Hall.

The Social Committee put a huge amount of effort into the preparation and transformed meeting rooms into decorated party rooms.

A great night was had by all, filled with pizza, cookies and very loud music! A photo booth was a fun addition with everyone able to take home photos to remember the night.

We would like to thank all the teachers that came to our social and the PSA for providing the dance floor and decorations. We look forward to more socials in the future with other schools and other year groups.

E VA L ARSEN, ALICE FORRES TER, LOL A BARBER AND LUCY ROBBINS SENIOR 3

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UV Sporting Social On 2 March, Senior 1 and 2 and some girls from Downside had a fabulous night of UV sports.

We painted our faces with UV paint and were split into four teams. We played netball and dodgeball which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Then we indulged in hot dogs, fizzy drinks and a chocolate cookie!

Thank you to Miss Wyatt and Mrs La Trobe Bateman for organising the event.

JASMINE JAGO BRIGGS, ISOBEL STEAN AND DAISY GRANT SENIOR 2

Butchery Social On 13 June, the girls studying GCSE food technology and Lower Sixth Leiths’ group were joined by boys and girls from Sexey’s School for a HT academic social. The butcher from Bruton came to BSG with a whole lamb to prepare for cooking. He explained about where the lamb had come from (Pitcombe), its age, how long it had hung for and about the stamp on it – certifying it fit for consumption. He then proceeded to joint it up explaining in detail about how the cuts differed in toughness, cost and suitable ways to cook them.

We were then put into pairs and given an invention task. We were given 400g of lamb mince and asked to make and present a lamb dish suitable for a main course. Everyone worked very well in their pairs and plenty of delicious dishes were prepared. Mrs Laing, Mrs Stonehouse and Mrs Waller tasted the food and judged it based on appearance and flavour. Everyone did really well but overall the winners were the lamb tacos, the moussaka and the lamb koftas. Thank you to Mrs Stonehouse and Mrs Laing for organising this, we all had a great time.

GR ACE FREEMAN SENIOR 4

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SOCIALS Senior 1 Social Saturday, 6 October saw the first Senior 1 social of this academic year.

First there was a tour of Cumberlege, and the boarders showed the day girls where they live.

Then they had pizza and cookies. Sadly, the weather meant the girls were unable to visit the cutting, however, Danish longball proved to be a fun and entertaining alternative.

The evening ended with board games in Hobhouse. Meanwhile the girls’ parents visited Hill House for drinks with Mrs Botterill.

M I S S W YAT T

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Glitz and Sparkle Ball

Senior 5 Pampering and Slumber Party

The Sixth Form enjoyed a wonderful Glitz and Sparkle Ball with guests from King’s School, Bruton.

Senior 5 were welcomed to Highcroft with Bucks Fizz. Pyramids of cupcakes and brownies also beckoned. Soon enough, a wonderful array of colours adorned everyone’s nails, beautifully and skilfully painted by the resident Upper Sixth boarders, who proved to be generous hosts for the evening.

The evening started with drinks in the Hall, followed by a Spanish-themed meal consisting of tapas which included fried calamari, serrano ham and Manchego cheese, prepared by the lovely kitchen staff.

Then we returned to the Hall for music and dancing. The decorating process had been long but was totally worth it as we all had a truly enjoyable evening. It was lovely to see some familiar faces return and we would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Harvey for organising the event and to all the other staff for giving up their time.

PAU L A G A R C I A C U B ER O UPPER SIXTH

Next, bananas, oats, honey and avocado, to name a few, were mashed up to make natural face masks for the most daring, with slices of cucumber thrown in to complete the experience. In the cosy, the electric massage machine soon proved to be a hit – clearly, a necessary item to soothe those aching muscles after a week’s worth of intense studying. For those less inclined, there was Indian head massage on offer, although these proved to be an acquired taste.

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The room was then turned into a sleeping den and Mamma Mia was played on the television. Mrs Hurstwaite, in her teddy bear onesie for the occasion, led the singing.

With the party lasting till the early hours, not a vast amount of sleep was had but all was made better by the delicious bacon butties that were delivered in the morning to round off the event. What a treat!

MRS HARVEY

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Out of This World Ball It was fantastic to see Senior 5 let their hair down on Saturday evening, after two weeks of mocks. Mocktails and canapés were the order of the day followed by a disco in the Hall.

A huge thanks to Miss Atkins and her team for supplying such great food and drink.

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Netball Report

U11

U11 U13A Team: Molly Edwards, Phoebe Freeman (Captain), Daisy Grant (Vice Captain), Jasmine Grant (Vice Captain), Valeria Garcia Roman, Millicent Moore, Olivia Marriage, Sophie Meeker, Sophie Rhodes, Ella Shore and Tamika Tacon Most Improved: Molly Edwards, Sophie Goggs, Valeria Garcia Roman, Isobel Stean Junior Half Colours: Olivia Marriage, Sophie Meeker, Sophie Rhodes Junior Full Colours: Phoebe Freeman, Daisy Grant, Jasmine Grant

U12

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Netball U14A Team: Lola Barber, Tara Crook, Alice Forrester (Captain), Emma G (Vice Captain), Grace Kay, Eva Larsen, Phoebe Lennard, Violet Little and Lucy Robbins Most Improved: Grace Kay, Phoebe Lennard, Violet Little Team Colours: Lola Barber, Tara Crook, Alice Forrester, Emma G, Lucy Robbins U13B Team: Lola Camm, Sophie Goggs, Célestine Harvey, Jasmine Jago Briggs (Captain), Isabella O’Brien, Isabella Peach, India Puncher, Isobel Stean (Vice Captain), Yige Tang Team Colours: Jasmine Jago Briggs

‘ The U13s is the year group that, in my opinion, has made the most progress during the netball season.’

The U13s is the year group that, in my opinion, has made the most progress during the netball season. Their ball skill, footwork and team dynamics have progressively grown throughout the spring term. Always eager to learn, the girls understood the importance of not just learning to be a shooter or a defender, but rather how to be strong netball players. As a year group they learnt threestage defence, correct shooting technique, attacking formations and set play which they put into match play with confidence. They received comments from opposing team teachers on how strong they were. I’m excited to see them grow even more next year.

Our Under 14A team have had a great netball season this year. The team was made up of committed, skilled players who have played as a team for many years and their confidence with each other when playing shone through.

With five of them playing for a netball club outside school – two at regional level – our U14s showed they could play at club standard and not just school level. They had an almost unbeaten season; they won eight out of ten matches. Alice and Emma even represented the school’s 1st and 2nd teams occasionally and were by no means out of their depth. I am excited to see what the U15 level brings for this team.

MRS DIKE

MISS CHIL DS

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‘ By the end of the season, they had improved their overall ball skill and were playing not just as individual players but as a team....They grew in confidence as a team and started to demonstrate this in their game play.’

Netball Report

U15 Team: Eleanor Block, Bella Churchward (Vice Captain), Francesca Finlay, Grace Freeman (Captain), Holly Grant, Lucy Hill, Rosie Harvey, Catherine Johnson, Molly Lywood and Olivia Penny Most Improved: Bella Churchward, Olivia Penny Intermediate Half Colours: Grace Freeman, Holly Grant, Rosie Harvey

This season the U15s should be praised for their perseverance and determination in both training and fixtures. By the end of the season, they had improved their overall ball skill and were playing not just as individual players but as a team. Their communication and accuracy were far more effective as they progressed through the season, especially once they played a flat, sharp chest pass rather than a loopy pass which was easily intercepted. They grew in confidence as a team and started to demonstrate this in their game play. It was great that some players from the Under 15 team also represented the 2nd team occasionally. We look forward to working with these girls next netball season.

MRS DIKE

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2nd VII Team: Grace Freeman, Holly Grant, Sophie Jeffrey, Philippa Johnson, Suzanna Reese, Genevieve Sang, Isabelle Shalders, Netball Team Colours: Sophie Jeffrey, Philippa Johnson, Isabelle Shalders

‘ This group of girls showed their commitment to lessons, training and matches and some even played up into the 1st team with confidence when asked.’

1st VII Team: Charlotte Convey, Rosie Eckl, Isabelle Finlay, Emilia Gotto, Isabelle Nathan (Vice-Captain), Jessica Rowe (Captain), and Tabitha Spindler Most Improved: Isabelle Finlay Senior Half Colours: Rosie Eckl, Emilia Gotto, Isabelle Nathan Senior Full Colours: Charlotte Convey This has been a positive season for our brand new 1st team, and for many of them it was their first season at U18 level. It was great to see a mixture of Upper Sixth, Lower Sixth and Senior 5 students representing their school together.

It took several matches for the team to relax and understand each other as team mates.

Our captaining team showed great leadership and supported the team on and off the court.

As the season passed, the team grew in confidence which was reflected in the high number of goals scored as well as the strong defence which led to many interceptions and forced errors from the opposing teams. The last match of the season against St Mary’s Calne demonstrated our girls’ determination and effort on the court which resulted in a triumphant win.

MISS CHILDS

The 2nd team consisted of all new players this year. It was made up largely of Senior 5 girls. Initially, being a new team, the players lacked some confidence with each other and were sometimes unwilling to pass to one another. As the girls always attended training and worked hard, their ball skills developed along with their confidence. It was great to see this confidence put to the test in matches and reflected in the end scores being very close. This group of girls showed their commitment to lessons, training and matches and some even played up into the 1st team with confidence when asked.

MISS CHILDS

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SPORT Vitality Superleague 11 girls experienced netball at national level on Saturday, 4 May. They watched a Vitality Superleague match: Team Bath v London Pulse and had superb seats right behind the Team Bath bench.

This match was full of netballing stars, as well as England Internationals: Serena Guthrie, Ebony Usoro-Brown and Ama Agabeze who will all, hopefully, be named for the England Netball team which will compete in the Netball World Cup this summer in Liverpool.

As well as front row seats, the girls got to be the match ball girls and six at a time sat right beside the court itself and watched the players only arm’s distance away. It was a great trip and wonderful experience for the girls to witness the sport they enjoy at the highest standard. To finish off the evening, all girls and Sports Department staff had a group photo with Team Bath. What a fantastic evening!

MISS CHILDS

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Parents v Girls Hockey Match

Hockey Report The Parents v Girls hockey match was great fun and a highly competitive way to end the season. The parents formed an incredibly strong team but the 1st XI gave as good as they got!

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At the end of the first quarter, the girls were leading 1–0 after an incredible goal from Sophie Jeffrey, unfortunately, a second goal was disallowed by Miss Cowper! Spirits were high at the start of the next quarter, and although the parents scored some cracking goals, our drive to beat them persisted. As the parents started to tire we pushed further and further up, with a couple of chances in the D and a few close misses on goal. The defence stood strong against the parents, and were able to withstand some collisions and get the ball back!

Although the parents won 3–1, both teams were very satisfied with their performance, indeed the 1st XI played some of the best hockey of the season. This team has progressed so much this term, it has been a pleasure to be their Captain. I wish them the best of luck for next season!

A big thank you goes out to all of the family members who turned out early on a Saturday morning to play, some travelling a couple of hours to do so.

CHARLOT TE CONVE Y UPPER SIXTH

U11

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Hockey Report

U14A Team: Lola Barber (Vice-Captain), Rosie Bullock, Tara Crook, Alice Forrester, Emma G, Grace Kay, Eva Larsen, Phoebe Lennard (ViceCaptain), Violet Little, Millicent Moy (Captain), Isabella Reese, Lucy Robbins, Naomi TalbotPonsonby Most Improved: Tara Crook, Phoebe Lennard, Lucy Robbins U13A

U13B

Team: Molly Edwards, Phoebe Freeman, Jasmine Grant, Daisy Grant, Olivia Marriage, Sophie Meeker, Millicent Moore, Sophie Rhodes, Valeria Garcia Roman, Ella Shore, Tamika Tacon

Team: Lola Camm, Sophie Goggs, Célestine Harvey, Jasmine Jago Briggs, Isabella O’Brien, Isabella Peach, India Puncher, Patricia Requejo, Isobel Stean, Yige Tang.

The U13A team had a fantastic hockey season. They went from strength to strength throughout, finally finishing on a 3–2 win against Leweston. Their playing skill, thinking ability and positional play improved so much and by the end of the season they had really come together as a cohesive team.

I look forward to working with them as an 11-a-side team next season. They were all so keen and enthusiastic that having more positions to fill will be great.

The U13B team almost came from nowhere.

These girls should be praised for being so committed and enthusiastic, when many of them were playing hockey for the first time.

They had three matches and drew one of these. They played in all weather conditions, including horrible torrential rain, but they persevered. They were a true team in that they all helped and encouraged each other and played in various positions on the pitch.

I hope they will remain enthusiastic for the next season. Well done girls.

MRS DIKE

Team Colours: Lola Barber, Alice Forrester, Emma G, Millicent Moy This was an exciting season for the U14 team with very competitive matches, lots of end-toend action and plenty of fantastic goals from a large number of players. The term started strongly with a draw away to Warminster. This was the first eleven-a-side match for the girls, who have moved up from the seven-a-side game. Although it was a steep learning curve, it set the girls up for an exciting and successful season. The highlight was the last game away to Leweston which resulted in a 7–0 win. The team demonstrated all the skills that they had worked hard on over the term such as: ball pace and distribution; strong defensive skills; and positional awareness when on the attack.

They should feel proud of all they have achieved.

M IS S COW PER

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1st XI Hockey Team: Jessica Brain, Abigail ConnollyMealing, Charlotte Convey (Captain), Nyah Davies, Rosie Eckl, Charlotte Ferris, Isabelle Finlay (Vice-Captain), Imke de Gier, Emilia Gotto, Sophie Jeffrey, Philippa Johnson, Isabelle Nathan, Suzanna Reese, Tabitha Spindler, Miranda Sturdy, Akesa Tubuitamana Most Improved: Emily Goode, Philippa Johnson Senior Half Colours: Charlotte Convey, Rosie Eckl, Emilia Gotto, Isabelle Nathan, Suzanna Reese, Tabitha Spindler

This has been a very positive season for a very young squad, the majority of players started without any experience of playing at 1st team level. It was wonderful to see our captain, Charlotte Convey, return to the pitch for her final year. Charlotte demonstrated great leadership qualities – encouraging and motivating her team throughout the term.

As the season progressed, the girls grew in confidence and their commitment to each other and training could not be faulted. They made a huge improvement in their ball pace, positional awareness and strength in defence.

The last match of the season against Stonar allowed them to show off these skills. We all look forward to and are excited about this team’s future.

MISS COWPER

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SPORT

A lovely sunny afternoon was perfect for the BSG Sports Day 2019, especially after the drizzly days of the past couple of years.

Every year group was represented from the Pre-School right the way through to the Lower Sixth. It all started with the younger Prep members rotating around six different activity stations before finishing with some hurdle and sprint races. This was followed by a surprise parents’ race before the field events started with girls from Prep 3 to Senior 4.

All girls represented their House or Hall and competed for valuable points in the rounders, ball, discus, shot put and long jump events.

The Hall sprint relays then followed which kept the excitement alive. The finale of the afternoon was a new event, an inter-hall Tug of War, which was won by Montacute! Thank you to all the parents and staff who supported such a successful and enjoyable event.

MRS PORTINGALE-COWPER

Sports Day

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Sports day started with the youngest children who took part in events like throwing bean bags into hoops and building towers out of building blocks. Next, Reception class did a running race and even the parents had a race.

After that, it was time for the Prep and Senior School students to compete. At the end the staff and pupils had a Tug of War and the staff won!

MADELEINE BRADFIELD AND MAE L ARSEN PREP 6

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SPORT Swimming Galas The summer term senior inter-hall competition was the swimming gala.

The four halls took part in a variety of races – from medleys to butterfly – and were supported by a huge crowd. Many members of staff commented on the girls’ ability. To finish off a glorious afternoon in the sun, all halls competed in relays which really showed their team spirit. A great afternoon was had by all!

The results were: 1st place – Longleat 2nd place – Stourhead 3rd place – Hadspen 4th place – Montacute MISS CHILDS

This year’s Prep swimming gala was a huge success. All the Houses had mascots, flags and best of all motivational teammates.

Prep 1 – 4 swam widths and overall Earth won with 39 points, Fire earned 28 points and in third place was Water.

Then Prep 5 and 6 swam lengths of breast stroke, backstroke and front crawl. The points for the length and two-length races were Fire with 54 points, Earth with 38 points and Water with 26 points.

Next was the individual medley with Kitty Hill representing Fire house, Madeleine Bradfield from Water, Cecily Jago Briggs from Fire and Mae Larsen from Earth. Each of the girls swam butterfly, backstroke, breast stroke and freestyle.

It turned out to be a fun and enjoyable day!

We would like to thank our supporters on the sidelines, our parents and the amazing teachers who helped us every step of the way.

The results were: 1st place – Fire 2nd place – Earth 3rd place – Water K I T T Y H I L L A N D A N N A B R AY PREP 6

‘ We would like to thank our supporters on the sidelines, our parents and the amazing teachers who helped us every step of the way.’

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Girls Play Cricket On Tuesday, 21 May, Mrs Dike and Miss Jones took Senior 3 on a trip to join King Edward’s School, for a cricket training afternoon. The sun was shining and the entire year group was placed into three teams and played (for many of them) their first game of cricket, whilst being coached throughout.

It was a fantastic afternoon of fun, with lots of confidence and knowledge gained. It was such a successful afternoon, it may become an annual event!

MRS DIKE

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TRIPS

‘ We were fortunate to have perfect snow conditions to explore a variety of slopes and improve our skiing. Our highlight was skiing on the glacier and seeing the breath-taking views including visiting a cinema at 3029 metres.’

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Ski trip to Austria After a busy Autumn Term, there was one final exciting event before Christmas – the ski trip. An early flight from Bristol on Friday morning got us to Innsbruck in time for us to enjoy a full first day in Zell am See. We all got kitted out with skis and boots and then off we went.

The girls enjoyed five hours skiing a day for five days and they all made incredible progress. We were lucky to have perfect snow conditions with plenty of winter sun and amazing scenery. We spent lunch times and evening meals recounting funny tales about the day’s skiing. We all relished our après ski entertainment of quizzes, ice skating and watching a very competitive and nail-biting ice hockey match!

We were delayed on our flight home due to the drone activity at Gatwick, however, this gave us the opportunity to have an unexpected and lovely day of sightseeing around Innsbruck. Overall this was a fantastic trip and one the girls will remember for a long time.

MISS COWPER

‘ Going to Austria was a great experience. It was full of surprises and challenges to conquer. We all improved our skiing and enjoyed our time.’

SAMIRA PORTER SENIOR 1

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TRIPS Geography Trip to Lyme Regis

Cape Verde

On Tuesday, 5 March, Senior 4 and Lower Sixth geographers went to Lyme Regis for the day to collect fieldwork data.

We worked in two groups in order to measure the profiles of the beach using ranging poles and carrying out a beach sediment analysis.

This was followed by surveys in the High Street and along the sea front, where we spoke to tourists and local business owners about coastal management strategies.

We did not neglect the opportunity to buy some highly sought after fish and chips!

There was also much excitement throughout the town as Kate Winslet and Tom Hardy were in Lyme Regis featuring in a new film.

LOWER SIX TH GEOGR APHERS

A Midsummer Night’s Dream On 28 March, after witnessing an exciting visit from the Queen to Bruton, Senior 1 and 2 hurried back to school to go by coach to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. We took our seats in the Tobacco Factory which is a beautiful theatre and the play began.

This visit was useful because both classes are studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Everyone enjoyed the amusing adaptations of the classic play, and the hilarious modern take on the characters. The actors were charismatic and never failed to get the whole audience laughing, the setting was amazing and the entire experience was wonderful, I would definitely go again.

JASMINE JAGO BRIGGS SENIOR 2

On 7 July, eleven BSG girls went off to Sal, Cape Verde for eight days to work with Project Biodiversidad on their turtle conservation project. Our week began with an island tour where we explored the Salinas and had the opportunity to paddle with sharks in Shark Bay. We spent our first day of the conservation project building a hatchery on Kite Beach, where turtle nests are placed until they are ready to hatch. The nests need to be moved due to the light pollution from seafront developments, this disorientates the baby turtles so they crawl away from the sea. The next morning, we helped to move newly laid nests from one of the beaches and placed them in the hatchery. We were all excited to adopt a nest, from which 62 hatchlings were born on 2 September. We spent the rest of the day doing a beach clean, removing netting and plastic that the turtles could get tangled up in.

One of our highlights was being able to see turtles on the beach laying their eggs as we did our night patrol. We were split into groups and patrolled different sections of the beach, documenting where nests were left. Some of us were even lucky enough to name new turtles as they got tagged!

Towards the end of our trip we visited OSPA, a dog shelter set up for stray and abandoned dogs. We fed and played with the dogs and painted new designs on their cages. We also went on a very enjoyable snorkel tour where we saw hundreds of colourful fish and underwater statues.

The trip was an unforgettable experience and we would like to thank Mrs James and Mrs Life for the amazing opportunity.

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The Big Draw For this year’s Big Draw, the Senior 4 and Sixth Form art students worked with artists and tried out a range of very different drawing techniques in response to Takesada Matsutani’s exhibition Drop in Time.

There is no better way to celebrate the world’s biggest drawing festival than by visiting Hauser & Wirth and taking part in their Big Draw workshops. The theme was ‘play’ and this shaped our approach in making experimental drawings. We also examined some of the ways in which performance can be both a physical movement and a subject matter.

Thank you again to Hauser & Wirth for organising this enriching event.

MISS CHMIEL

Linguists’ Trip to the University of Bristol It was a rare opportunity to take both the Senior 5 and Sixth Form linguists to the annual Association for Language Learning lectures as, conveniently, the theme of Cultural Identity spans both the GCSE and A level syllabuses.

It was very rewarding for our younger girls to realise how much they could understand and it provided a superb opportunity for enrichment that coincided beautifully with Arts Week.

The Spanish lecture pertained to the regional identities of Spain and emphasised the variations of traditions, food and language which exist across Spain. There were miniquizzes after every topic which were fun and ensured everyone paid attention.

The German lecture focused on ‘Jugendkultur’ and the ways and extent in which youth culture had changed over the years. The French lecture was on the subject of ‘le patrimoine français’ – an exploration of French heritage and involved creating an Instagram account for France as a country which was very interactive.

As if trialling university wasn’t sufficiently exciting, we had lunch at Pizza Express where ex-Head Girl Alexandra Chadfield, who is studying French and Russian at the University, made a surprise appearance. A spot of Christmas shopping on Park Street rounded off the day successfully. We look forward to next year’s lectures already!

M R S H A R V E Y, M I L L I E W H I T M A R S H AND RICARDA HENNIES UPPER SIXTH

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Tate Trip The GCSE and A Level art groups visited the Tate Modern where they viewed a variety of dynamic work on display, such as: installation; performance; sculpture; paintings; printmaking; and drawings.

Experiencing the artwork in the flesh was vital as they were able to become part of the work, especially in the interactive pieces, which also included sound. The visit awakened the students’ thirst for knowledge about contemporary art and culture.

MISS CHMIEL

‘ Visiting the Tate has really enhanced my learning experience and now I understand why it is so important to view the work in real life as it allowed me to appreciate the different dimensions of the work on display. It has really made me think outside of the box and appreciate different styles of art which I have never experienced before.’

POPPY PR ASERTRUNGRUANG LOWER SIX TH

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We the Curious On Tuesday, 12 March, we arrived in Bristol to go to We the Curious. It is an interactive science centre where we did lots of fun activities.

Some of the things we saw and learnt about were: the planetarium; how much energy do brains need; a recipe-making robot which based the recipe on your own interests; black sand; and a room where it looked like you were in space. The planetarium taught us about star constellations in spring and touched on the planets. The planetarium made it look like we were flying and flipping around the solar system.

J OSEPHINE GR A NGER, AVA JOPSON, HANNAH MAUDE AND TESSA GARRETT SENIOR 1

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Geography Trip On Tuesday, 18 September, the Senior 5 geography GCSE students went to Bristol to look at the regeneration of the city in two areas – firstly, Temple Meads, then the Harbourside and the M-Shed.

After lunch, we went to three different locations: West End, Old City and Broadmead.

We asked people about the area and did an environmental survey and a pedestrian count.

PE G G Y S PA R R O W S EN I O R 5

Cheese!

Head Girls’ Conference The Head Girl team were invited to Redmaids’ High School, Bristol to attend the annual Girls’ School Association conference.

Head girl teams from all across the South West took part in a variety of activities to enhance their leadership skills. The event was led by Major Kate Philp and we all valued the opportunity to develop connections and new thinking strategies, which we hope to employ within our roles.

It was a refreshing experience to attend an academic event independently, and it required us to use our initiative and employ some of the skills we were introduced to throughout the day.

C H A R L O T T E C O N V E Y, MILLIE WHITMARSH, LUCY AMLÔT UPPER SIX TH

On Tuesday, 2 July, the GCSE HT group learnt all about cheese. We started with a visit to Maryland Farm where we were lucky to have a guided tour around the Barber’s Cheese Factory. Charlie Barber explained the history behind the family business and how it was started in 1833 – hence the name of the cheese. We then had a tour of the factory, learning and seeing how milk is turned into cheese. Finally, we visited the six massive storage warehouses where we met the robot that lifts the cheese onto the packaging line and got to grade and taste cheese.

After lunch we moved onto Whitelake Cheese at Pylle, an artisan cheese producer, who has won the Supreme Champion Cheese award at the Bath and West Show for the last three years. This was very different to the large scale production at Barber’s and Roger gave us a very interesting tour explaining all about the different yeasts and moulds that are on the cheeses and the types and shapes they produce using goat, Jersey cow and ewe milk. This ended with a visit to the goats and the milking parlour – a real farm to fork experience.

MRS STONEHOUSE

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Gants Mill Senior 3 visited Gants Mill to extend their work on the local impact of the industrial revolution. Everyone found it very interesting and enjoyed doing various activities.

Here is an interesting fact about Gants Mill: The mill has changed its purpose in accordance with demand. From 1000–1290 AD it was a corn mill, but from 1290 the mill was used to weave cloth, in 1810 silk was produced and today animal feed is milled and the house is used for wedding receptions.

TA R A C R O O K S E N I O R 3

Fusion Energy On Tuesday, 6 November, Sixth Form physicists visited the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.

We heard a lecture on the purpose of fusion reactors and the physics behind it. This was followed by a tour around the Centre where we saw the control and analytical equipment and the JET reactor. We got really close to the hottest place in the Solar System!

Fusion energy hasn’t been used yet and it was an amazing experience to visit part of the biggest scientific collaboration in history.

JOANNA URBANCZ YK AND YOL ANDA YEUNG UPPER SIX TH

‘ I was quite surprised that something so interesting was so close to our school! I had no idea it was even there. I was really fascinated by how far the mill goes back in history, and how it played such an important part in local society and life. I found it really remarkable that such an old system of driving a mill wheel has been adapted and updated for over a millennium. Another thing I found fascinating is the versatility of the mill, and the many uses it has had over the years.

I really enjoyed how interactive it was, and watching the mill’s systems come back to life. I liked going back through the time-line and learning about the owners and others who came to the mill. Our guide was great and made it so much fun to look.’

LOL A BARBER SENIOR 3

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History Conference On Thursday, 14 March, Sixth Form history students attended some excellent lectures

by Professor Jeremy Black and other experts.

Professor Black spoke on the subject of the varying views and issues around Lord Liverpool and his political career. Not only were we impressed by the Professor’s extensive knowledge but he presented many different takes on Lord Liverpool’s life, which will most definitely contribute to and further our work as historians.

AMELIA BLOOMFIELD LOWER SIX TH

Digital Skills for Life

UCAS – Create Your Future

On 28 November, Senior 2 and 3 went to Weston-super-Mare to take part in a Rediscover event run by Lloyds Bank where we learnt digital skills to help us with our future careers.

The Sixth Form art students attended the annual UCAS Create Your Future event at London’s Excel Centre.

During the day we worked in teams to create a new digital business. We used skills that we already have from school to think of a new idea for a website or app. We had great fun working with our mentors, from Lloyds Bank, to come up with designs, names and marketing for our businesses. There were a variety of different ideas: apps that help you find a place to eat; apps that can help you call the emergency services without actually getting out your phone and dialling; and voice activated apps that help organise your whole day!

We were also thrilled that the team comprising: Matilda Barr, Emma G, Daisy Grant, Sophie Meeker, Millicent Moore, Millicent Moy, Ella Shore, and Lily Wang, were voted as having the best design and pitch from over 15 teams.

M I L L I C EN T M OY S EN I O R 3

The girls, along with other aspiring art and design students from across the UK, had a unique face-to-face experience to learn about: creative degree courses; traineeships; and careers in design, music and the performing arts. University course leaders, current students and industry specialists were on hand to answer any questions and give advice regarding possible careers in the growing creative industries.

MISS CHMIEL

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SCHOOL LIFE

Careers Day BSG girls were joined by students from Sexey’s School and Ansford Academy for our annual Careers Day. The students from Years 11 and 12 were given an insight into what lies beyond A levels and higher education.

The students participated in workshops run by speakers from a broad range of career sectors and industries. These included medicine, law, the police force, the music business, the charity sector, and the armed forces. Local business leaders from Rose and Lyons, The FMLY store and Hauser & Wirth also kindly gave up their time to speak to the students.

To start and end the day, there were two fascinating key note speeches from Captain Suzanne Finch and Molly Gunn. Suzanne is a qualified Army pilot based at Yeovilton. She is currently employed as the Adjutant of the Aviation Reconnaissance Force, responsible for one half of the Army Air Corps output on operations around the globe. Molly Gunn of

Excellent XL Club Selfish Mother fame inspired the students at the end of the day when she gave her ten top tips for success, she spoke about always aiming high and not taking no for an answer.

‘At Bruton School for Girls, we know that to equip students for a life beyond the classroom is an inherent and vital aspect of a broad all-round education; hearing from experts with such a huge diversity of professional experience is a crucial element of planning for future careers and decision making. We were delighted to welcome so many young students from local schools and offer both them, and our own girls, different insights into future career paths. We very much hope the Bruton School for Girls Careers Event 2018 has inspired everyone with the determination to follow their goals and dreams, but to do so with some practical expert advice.’

MRS DERIOZ

Over 40 girls from different year groups gathered for a delicious supper before being treated to view Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) presentations delivered by some of our Upper Sixth girls.

There was an eclectic mix of titles which included: Does it matter that some of Shakespeare’s attitudes are now considered politically incorrect? and Is the breeding of brachycephalic dogs enough of a welfare issue to ban its continuation?

The presentations gave the younger girls an insight into the EPQ that is so highly regarded by universities.

I would like to thank all the girls who contributed to the evening and especially to the Upper Sixth who were truly impressive, both academically and in the presentation of their projects.

MRS PEACH

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St Nikolaus Workshop Leiths Taster Day As part of the Senior 4 Sixth Form taster day, the girls raised their game in the kitchen and made some really nice canapés. They took part in a group project that is part of the Leiths Certificate in Food and Wine that is offered as an option in the Sixth Form. They took great care over size, shape, evenness and presentation, and it all tasted delicious.

MRS LAING

December started with the MFL department hosting their annual St Nikolaus workshop for local children aged 6–10.

The atmosphere was festive and everyone loved learning all about German Christmas traditions. The girls were particularly surprised to hear that there are specific words for ‘doing craft activities’ (basteln) and ‘Christmas biscuits’ (Plätzchen). They took part in baking, craft and singing activities and everyone went home with a bag full of goodies.

MRS ORAM

Leiths Toolbox This year saw the introduction of a new, twelve-week Leiths course for girls in Senior 4 and 5. This is a hands-on, fun-packed course that gives girls the opportunity to master more of the building blocks of cooking, building on the skills taught in Senior 1 to 3.

The girls produced a two course meal each week, and created a portfolio of recipes, time plans, menus and short tasks.

All the girls successfully completed the course, which was fantastic, and some have used the course to complete the skills section of their Duke of Edinburgh award. Congratulations to: Eleanor Block, Francesca Finlay, Grace Freeman, Kate Hegan, Catherine Johnson, Tiffany Lau, Jessica Li, Molly Lywood, Olivia Penny and Frida Tang.

MRS LAING

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SCHOOL LIFE A Year in the Life of BSG’s PSA Bruton School for Girls’ Parent Staff Association consists of a lively group of parents and staff who put the sprinkles on the cherry on the icing on the cake.

The ethos behind our events is fun. We believe that getting the families from Nursery to Sixth Form together should be our number one goal, any money raised from our shenanigans is an added bonus.

We run a range of fundraising activities which include: our lively social events such as Quiz and Race Nights; organising and staffing the Prep School Christmas present sale; running the Pre-Loved Uniform Shop; and we can be found behind the bar at school performances!

The proceeds from our events are used to provide some extra special resources and additional curriculum activities for the pupils.

Over this academic year we have funded: two sewing machines and materials for use by the boarders; the animation workshop, theatre trip and workshops for Arts Week; Science Week activities including the Gadget Shop, soap making and visit to We the Curious; a large gas barbecue; a 3D printer; five Ohbot2 assembled with users software licence for use by the Prep School; Senior 2 trip to Carymoor Environmental Centre; the prize for the Green Week competition; materials and workshops for Artwalk; and video editing software for Drama Department.

We are grateful for all the parental support that has made this possible, be that authorising us to claim gift aid on your subscriptions, providing raffle prizes, sponsoring events, volunteering help and providing or buying uniform from our Pre-Loved Shop.

Together with the staff, we are identifying exciting funding opportunities for the coming year which will further support and expand the rich education provided by the school.

MRS HEGAN

PSA Race Night

Debate Club The Senior School Hall was buzzing with excitement as our race horses were cheered on during our Race Night on 29 March.

The noise level ramped up as the evening progressed and punters became jockeys and owners too.

Prizes were won, hot dogs consumed and over £600 raised towards funding special experiences for the students.

Many thanks to: our sponsors; Mr Robbins, who compèred the evening; Miss Atkins and her team who provided the hot dogs; and all the parents, staff and girls who attended.

PSA COMMITTEE

Mimosa Ngai and Millie Whitmarsh organised a Debate Club for Senior 1 and 2.

We discussed many interesting topics, such as how our lives are affected by social media. We also had some lighter discussions, such as, what would be the one thing you took if you were going to a desert island.

JOSEPHINE GRANGER AND SAMIRA PORTER SENIOR 1

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Interviews – Mrs Derioz

‘Fears? - Pah.’ Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

A. I do find, ‘Shall I write this down?’ quite a silly question. I always want to answer it with, ‘No, I shouldn’t bother.’

A. A purple hat.

Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. I quite fancy teaching culinary skills as I am greedy by nature, love the smell of baking and hope there would be less marking.

Q. W hat school meal will you miss the most?

A. I love the salad bar. If there are no bits of avocado left, then you know I got there before you.

Q. What is your biggest fear?

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. Y orkshire tea (other brands are available), a cachet of red wine, a wetsuit, a library and my dog, Tootie McFrootie. I’m not really very practical, but I like the idea of either hiding away until normality is resumed or swimming away and becoming a mermaid.

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. Breakfast at The Chapel (Tiffany’s).

A. F ears? Pah.

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG?

Q. W hat would your superpower be?

A. I ’m not very Polonius-like, so I will borrow advice from elsewhere: wear sun-screen.

A. E blouissant: A French adjective for dazzling; defenestration; mellifluous; serendipity; felicity; caramel; and Benedict Cumberbatch.

A. W hen I was in the Science Museum in London, I saw a placard that read, ‘Everything is always changing.’ This is a scientific fact as well as the kind of platitude you find on coffee cups and inspirational posters. However, it has really helped me through difficult times as I know there is always the potential for things to be different and better.

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. 1 00% spelling perfection.

Q. What is your favourite word?

A. S omething where I could simultaneously wear red shoes and have a swivel chair.

The mind boggles.

A. I like the balcony by the staff room for sneaky sunbathing at lunchtime.

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SCHOOL LIFE Interviews – Mrs Kinsler Q. What is your biggest fear?

A. W asps and heights are pretty much equal phobias for me.

Q. What would your superpower be?

A. T o have a magic wand, that could be used to make everything better when things go wrong….

Q. What is your favourite word?

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A. Y ou can only do what you can do, and to treat others as you would want to be treated.

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. S cience! Because that’s where I spent most of my time, and the science teachers are all so lovely.

A. Fabulous (fab).

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

A. A forensic scientist.

‘ To have a magic wand, that could be used to make everything better when things go wrong.’

Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

A. N ot really been asked anything silly, just get asked for randomly named lab equipment e.g. ‘tube thingy,’ which could be anything from a test tube to a measuring cylinder!

Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. M aths, because numbers just make sense, and I enjoy solving equations.

Q. What school meal will you miss the most?

A. N ot really a meal, but hands down it’s the Australian chocolate crunch!

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

A. T omato based sauces, because they really stain your clothes, and are very difficult stains to get rid of (it’s a parent thing!)

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. F ood, water, my dog (for protection and company), my family (to keep them safe) and a first aid/medicine kit.

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. Freaky Friday.

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG? A. T ry your best, and believe in yourself.

Everyone has a talent for something, so find yours and be happy.

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Interviews – Mr Folland Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG?

A. A male student at an independent school asked me just as we were about to enter an A level conference auditorium, ‘…will it be Ok if I use my Dictaphone?’ You can guess my reply!

A. Remember, life is simple, it’s people who make it complicated.

Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. I harbour a quiet admiration for music teachers.

Q. What school meal will you miss the most?

A. L asagne followed by banana custard.

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. T he Dining Hall (obviously).

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

Q. What is your biggest fear?

A. D onald Trump’s hair.

A. Brexit.

Q. What would your superpower be?

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. Boulangerie.

A. A loaf of fresh bread just baked, a pound of Manchego cheese, a bottle of Chateau Margaux 1999, a complete collection of novels written by David Nicholls and Jonathan Coe (cheating a bit), and an effigy of Boris Johnson with a set of darts included.

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. French.

A. T he Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

A. F orce politicians to be honest and answer the questions they are asked.

Q. What is your favourite word?

‘ A loaf of fresh bread just baked, a pound of Manchego cheese, a bottle of Chateau Margaux 1999, a complete collection of novels written

by David Nicholls and Jonathan Coe (cheating a bit).’

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SCHOOL LIFE Interviews – Mrs Rostrup Q. What is your biggest fear?

A. E xam invigilation.

Q. W hat would your superpower be?

A. To be able to click my fingers and the marking pile to be done.

Q. What is your favourite word?

A. Mellifluous.

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

A. A gymnast.

Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

A. O h, there are so many!!! Actually, there are no silly questions.

Q. What school meal will you miss the most?

A. T hose massive slices of sausage roll, so unctuous and yummy.

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A. D eal with it straight away.

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. I ’m just going to tag along with Mrs Kinsler, she seems to have it covered.

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG? A. L ife is not a rehearsal.

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. M y lab – obvs!

ARTWORK ANGEL LEE

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Interviews – Mr Watts Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. Though I cannot draw and I cannot paint anything apart from circles, I’d like to try being an art teacher.

Q. W hat school meal will you miss the most?

A. I’ll certainly miss the curries.

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A. Always look to find the positive in any situation.

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. Any room with a view towards Glastonbury Tor. Q. What is your biggest fear?

A. That our society becomes divided and intolerant of each other.

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

A. Clouds.

Q. What would your superpower be?

A. An ability to heal division.

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. Sesquipedalian.

A. A jar of Marmite, a box of matches, a Swiss army knife, a waterproof coat and a photograph of my family.

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. Taller.

A. The Return of the Jedi.

Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG?

A. I have never taught a silly student!

A. Appreciate what you have here at BSG – it’s quite special.

Q. What is your favourite word?

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SCHOOL LIFE Interviews – Mr Talbot-Ponsonby Q. W hat is your biggest fear?

A. Drowning.

Q. W hat would your superpower be?

A. B eing funny enough to be able to break the tension in any situation by cracking a top quality joke.

Q. W hat is your favourite word?

A. Gobbledegook.

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

A. A modern day Indiana Jones.

Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

A. D oes light travel faster in the dark?

‘…funny enough to be able to break the tension in any situation by cracking a top quality joke.’

Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. M usic – mainly because I wish I was talented enough to be a music teacher.

Q. W hat school meal will you miss the most?

A. T ortilla bar with pulled pork – obviously!

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A. T hrow yourself into everything. You don’t have to be brilliant at anything, but at least give it a go.

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. T he technical desk at the back of the Hobhouse Theatre – I’ve sat there completely spellbound by brilliant performances from many girls, but also knowing that sooner or later I get the opportunity to scare the entire auditorium witless by firing a gun when they’re not expecting it.

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

A. Rain.

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. F ood, penknife, string, batteries and a puzzle book.

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. 1 2 Monkeys.

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG? A. A lways try – and always be nice.

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Interviews – Dr Adams Q. What school meal will you miss the most?

Australian Crunch, lentil burgers, and the amazing salad bar.

Q. W hat is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A. My Dad always told me to ask myself if what I was thinking of buying was ‘a nice to have, or a need to have?’– It’s still my mantra whenever I shop.

Q. What is your biggest fear?

A. Being trapped under water.

Q. What would your superpower be?

A. I’d like a magic wand to be able to help fix friends’ problems.

Q. What is your favourite word?

A. Discombobulated (It’s how I feel half the time!!).

Q. W hat did you want to be when you were growing up?

Q. W here is your favourite place in the school, and why?

A. I love the view from the photocopier room in Chappell!

Q. W hat would be much better if you could change the colour of it?

A. Spilt red wine – it’s fine being red in the glass but wouldn’t it be great if it went colourless when you spill it!

Q. W hat five things would you take with you during a zombie apocalypse?

A. Zombies, really?

A. A pilot.

Q. W hat is the silliest question a student has ever asked you?

A. There’s no such thing as a silly question…. although one child did ask me if fish were given gas masks during WW2!

Q. I f you could be a teacher of another subject, what would it be and why?

A. I am now teaching STEM which I love!

Q. C an you think of a movie title that best explains your life currently?

A. It’s a Wonderful Life!

Q. W hat final piece of advice would you like to give the pupils at BSG? A. Make the most of EVERY opportunity afforded to you.

A R T W O R K P H I L I P PA J O H N S O N

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SPEECH DAY

Mrs Botterill’s Speech

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Sunny Hill!

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Sunny Hill. Thank you, Mr Hindley, for your kind words, and thank you and all the Governors for your careful planning for the future and unwavering support of all we do. As Marcus Aurelius said, ‘Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.’

I‘d like to take the opportunity to thank you too, Clarissa, for your continued support of the school. As High Mistress of St Paul’s Girls School, you were so very helpful to us in our efforts to work with Prep Schools in London when I first became Head here seven years ago and your inspiration with the Dads4Daughters campaign led us to organise

a very successful event for the Sixth Form and their fathers. Thank you for awarding our prizes today.

Today, with Clarissa sitting to my right, about to tell us how her experiences here shaped her future, and giving our girls advice in that respect, I decided to take a more traditional form to my address, rather than taking themes as I have previously. Instead, I simply want to demonstrate to you today why I think BSG is a brilliant school.

Today we say goodbye to our Upper Sixth and, effectively, to the last century, because from September, all our pupils here will be new millennium babies. Jess, Stan and Amy are our final 1999, last century, girls going

out into the world, so we say a special and poignant goodbye to them. Preparation for the future is, and always has been, a central focus for us here at BSG. The book of our history, The Gleam Flying Onwards, explains that the aim of our first Headmistress, Miss Radford, was to ‘create a school with a character of its own, a school where girls should be prepared for the adventure of life in such a way that they would make the best of their opportunities; where no one should be forced into a groove; but where girls should develop naturally in a sunny atmosphere.’

In the 25 difficult years she was Head here, from 1900–1925, a period of tumultuous change across the world, and with many local difficulties, she felt the girls had changed to

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become ‘more independent; slower to react to human influences, more critical, and quicker to absorb and assimilate the spirit of the time in which she lives’. She felt that, and I quote, ‘a Sunny Hill girl who stays long enough in the school to absorb its spirit, has I believe, something about her – a combination of qualities – which is the outcome of that spirit.’

There’s an even greater need for girls to absorb the school spirit and develop her own, as the world is changing even more rapidly now.

Indeed, it was only at this point last year we were watching the men’s football world cup as we headed off to Poland for the choir tour and this year, we’re excitedly awaiting the outcome of the women’s final, even if England aren’t in it. With the lionesses getting as far as the men did last year – and who else thought we were robbed? – never has so much media coverage been given to women’s sport, the world’s truly changing. So it’s been fantastic to see cricket develop here this year.

It’s really taken off from a small indoor winter club to our first matches this summer. Alongside this, the experience in netball has been excellent, with Hanami and Solange, being invited to, and Kitty making, the final 20 for the Somerset Netball Satellite Academy and Phoebe, Tara, Lucy and Lola being invited to, and Emma and Alice making, regional selection. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Senior 3 team were pretty much unbeatable this year. The experience of national level netball: acting as ball girls for the Vitality Super League match; and seeing England netball stars playing for Team Bath and London Pulse won’t be forgotten. Individual successes are also notable for Hannah for her county level swimming success, Anna T-P for her bronze at the English Trampolining, DMT and Tumbling Championships, Jemma for her regional British Show Jumping performances, Naomi for her bronze at the South West Regional Trampolining Championships and our World Champion Jessica Brain, of course, who qualified with a gold medal for the World Tumbling Championships to be held in Japan in November.

Notable individual success in music includes Felicity, who must be congratulated on gaining her performance diploma on the recorder, giving her letters after her name, as well as Grade 8 in clarinet, to add to her grade 8 singing from last year; to have achieved this in Senior 5 is truly impressive and I’m sure we’ll be hearing about her great musical successes in the future. Yolanda’s grade 8 trumpet achievements were enjoyed in our many concerts this year as have the dynamic duo of Nyah and Genevieve with their tremendous grade 8 singing in evidence in the wonderful Chicago, and Philippa, Kate and Tabitha are also to be congratulated on their Grade 7 singing.

We thank two of our longest standing peripatetic music teachers, Liz Holbrook and Jenny Brookfield, who have given 29 and 16 years of service to the school respectively, teaching for these exams and accompanying girls on numerous occasions.We wish you both well.

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Both have also helped the girls perform in numerous concerts, helping to develop the girls’ confidence and presence in their performances.

It’s not often girls can say they’ve performed with artists who’ve performed on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival. But on Monday that’s exactly what happened here, as we hosted the Langa Methodist Choir from Cape Town for the weekend. In fact, the African drum they used on Sunday was ours – as theirs was lost in transit – and you can see their interview outside Old Vicarage on iPlayer, 10 minutes into The Cure set. Many of you were there and heard them, but for our girls to have the unique experience of singing with them is pretty special. And speaking of moving church choir moments, it was incredible to see the sun shine through the stained glass at St Mary’s Church at the very moment the Hallelujah chorus was sung during the community Messiah performance involving all three local schools and community groups.

From music to drama. Excellent individual and group performances have also been seen in drama throughout the year. 40% of the girls here do LAMDA and they’ve achieved an amazing number of merits and distinctions in their exams this year. The GCSE and A level performances, particularly Suzy in The Pillowman, left us spellbound and terribly proud, and while the Nativity always melts our hearts, the Prep performance of The Tempest was masterful and fun – a great achievement to perform a musical Shakespeare at that level. We wish well Alastair Kirby, our LAMDA teacher, who’s leaving to teach closer to home and Becks Hurstwaite, our Director of Drama and Head of Senior 4 & 5, who’s relocating to the North West, where she and her family will enjoy the outdoor life on Lake Windermere where she’s to be Head of Performing Arts. We’re welcoming back an Old Girl to replace her as Director of Drama, Charlotte Hughes, who was taught

by Mrs Hurstwaite and knows her exacting standards, so her legacy will continue even though she will be hugely missed. None of us will forget all the amazing performances Mrs Hurstwaite has directed over her time with us – with Chicago definitely a case of saving the best till last – providing inspirational experiences for us all – ‘and all that Jazz!’

Last year I outlined the basis for, and explained, our academic changes in the context of the national picture. We must thank Will TalbotPonsonby, and wish him well in his family move to Herefordshire.

He has been on our senior leadership team for the last five years, responsible for all things academic – our academic quality and for steering our curriculum during a period of unprecedented curriculum change nationally. How he has managed to timetable everything, analyse everything and solve so many knotty problems to make daily life happen smoothly, with such apparent ease and graciousness, is a credit to his dedication to serve the girls, the staff, and the school.

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SPEECH DAY That as a non-selective school we were again last year, the top school in Somerset, had two girls going to read medicine, and added on average 1.1 of a grade to every girls’ performance at GCSE shows we punch above our weight and that our size is our strength. Enabling these achievements is a commitment from our staff to their own professional development. The involvement of Alice Wyatt and Claire Peach in a national GSA leadership mentoring scheme has led to the development of a powerful action research project between ourselves and Badminton School looking at overcoming the impact of perfectionism, encouraging resilience and risk taking in girls and staff. Senior 3 and 4 have taken part in this project as part of the redeveloped tutor programme. When Alice and Claire presented their work at a recent conference, a female executive working with the World Bank on global empowerment of women was interested in helping to publicise their work more widely as she believes it has wider significance for developing the skills women need in the workplace around the world – so watch this space. I’m, therefore, pleased Alice will be leading the academic development of our school next year as Director of Learning and Teaching, and look forward to the work that Laura James and Xavière Harvey will do as part of their involvement in this leadership development programme next year. I’m sure this will have an impact upon the student leadership in school as well.

Academic challenge and enrichment for the girls abounds, in the opportunities provided to develop critical thinking, through the variety of the lecture programme and the XL club. For example: Lynne Franks talked about ethical business; Adam Palmer on sound mixing; Natasha Musson on styling; Dr Peck on the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy; polar explorer Alex Hibbert about his travels; and author Emma Craigie on taboos in literature.

Challenge is also provided amongst other things in the form of the EPQ and ESB, and I was delighted to travel to Liverpool earlier this year to support Karris as she received her National Young Speaker of the Year accolade for her presentation on her passion – the theatre – it’s no wonder she had so many unconditional offers from prestigious drama schools. Joanna gained a coveted silver medal in the Chemistry Olympiad, and hopes to continue her passion at Durham.

Philippa, Wendy and Anna T-P took part in the British-German Association Youthbridge Awards and won first, second and third places. Daisy, Sophie, Ella, Millie, Emma, Matilda, Millie and Lily were voted as the best design and pitch from over 15 teams at the Lloyds Bank Rediscover Digital Skills event designed to help the girls with their future careers. Numerous girls were Rotary Award winners this year; with Tara, Lucy and Emma gaining second place in the Youth Speaks competition, Tara, Emma and Olivia gaining first, second and third place in the Young Writers Intermediate competition, and Cat, Lucy and Holly gaining first, second and third place in the Senior competition.

Finally, Sophie gained first prize in the Young Photographer District Round and is today collecting her 3rd prize in the national final round in London. Art continues to go from strength to strength. Numerous workshops and activities have run, from Somerset Art Works artist, Joy Merron helping us make our bottle top octopus to highlight the issue of plastic waste in the oceans, to David Daniels, a local animator from ‘Ears and Eyes’ teaching the girls to experiment with this art form. Our links with Hauser & Wirth and Shatwell Farm are as strong as ever, with the Architectural Summer School doubling in size this summer, as well as providing interesting experiences for our girls. I urge you to visit the displays around the school, particularly the new space overlooking the tor, as well as the gallery, to see the hugely impressive GCSE & A level art.

So many girls are involved in the student led charity committee, raising money for numerous causes, with lots of girls supporting the great Hockathon, for example, organised by the fabulous Senior 5 girls, led by Izzy and for a cause very close to our hearts. Or the wonderful Prep Pet Afternoon this week, organised by Sacha. Perhaps they’re visiting the residents at Sexey’s Hospital, or singing to the elderly in local care homes with the music department.

Girls absorb and develop their spirit through the hugely popular Duke of Edinburgh award, with so many of our girls involved and making a huge difference to people across Somerset in many ways. I thank everyone, girls, staff, parents and volunteers involved in supporting all the activities the girls do towards this fantastic award making them more rounded and interesting people. Perhaps, like Kate, who’s also been awarded the Baden Powell Challenge Award, they’re involved in an extremely wide variety of activities, and perhaps like Charlotte who came 8th in her Crufts dog agility competition, they excel in a particular skill. Ella, Francesca, Grace, Kate, Cat, Tiffany, Jessica, Molly, Olivia and Frida have all enjoyed the new Leiths Toolkit available to girls in Senior 4, which could also be used as a Duke of Edinburgh skill.

The food department have been particularly busy with academic social workshops involving butchering a lamb, then competing to produce a dish made from lamb mince, and trips out, for example to see Barber’s and White Lake Cheese production.

Academic socials organised by departments and socials with other schools have expanded this year, and boys from Sherborne, Downside, King’s and Sexey’s have all, to a greater or lesser extent, been here. These included a forensics workshop for Senior 2 and a conservation film showing for Senior 5 and the Sixth Form. Socials took place in the first two terms for the younger years. Hall activities have been rejuvenated with more short activities, such as, the treasure hunt, tug of war and hall songs keeping the competition keen.

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Enriching the experience, are the variety of trips on offer – over 60 of them this year. The whole school enjoyed the Christmas shopping and pantomime trip with opportunities to go backstage, as well as the Thorpe Park trip, the Prep trip to Weymouth Sea Life Centre and numerous other weekend activities and trips.

History, psychology, RS, chemistry, biology, physics, MFL, geography and art lecture days or evenings out, together with field trips, have taken place for academic enrichment, with a highlight for Senior 1 being the trip to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The popular ski trip to Austria was great fun and girls are looking forward to conservation work in Cape Verde next week.

All that we do enables the girls to develop rounded personalities and their own personal interpretation of the school spirit or gleam.

The one trip that did this in spades this year was, of course, our trip to Bruton, to see the Queen.

We wanted everyone on the staff, as well as girls to be able to experience this historic occasion, hence providing everyone with packed lunches that day. This was apparently Her Majesty’s only, and last, official engagement outside London this year and we felt it was very important we shared the event together. Cool Senior 5 afterwards told me excitedly that because they’d run round town, up and down the Bartons, they’d seen Her Majesty no less than five times. This, together with seeing the Bursar waving his flag with the Pre-Prep children, made for priceless memories and was a real highlight of the year in bringing our wider community together.

On wider community, we’re very grateful to all our alumnae, and particularly SHOGA, who’ve supported us with numerous careers talks and lectures, particularly our ‘careers speed-dating event’ for Senior 1– 4, and our careers seminar day for Senior 5 and the Sixth Form. They’ve also provided many other opportunities, in particular supporting girls’ education, through their scholarship fund for the Sixth Form. We really enjoyed our London drinks event, as well as the reunion in May, which brought together some of our younger Old Girls.

We’re also very grateful to the PSA who support the development of our school spirit, quite literally, in providing really successful bars at events, and also organising activities such as the Prep Christmas present sale, Mother’s Day craft events and also a very successful race night. The money raised is providing: a parent shelter on the hockey pitch; has bought professional gas barbeques and sewing machines for the boarding houses; and provided Arts and Science week events and workshops. The dance floor, here for the ball tonight, has also been used at socials and over the years they’ve supported us with so much more. I know the committee are always looking for extra support and they’ll be running some activities and the pre-loved uniform shop alongside Stevensons, the uniform suppliers, at the afternoon tea on Sunday, 1 September. This is always a great opportunity to catch up after the break and your involvement in your daughter’s education in this way helps support the development of the school spirit.

The opening in September of our all year round, Sunny Hill Nursery, alongside Sunny Hill Prep is exciting. Further investment in Cumberlege will be appreciated, as will the further refurbishment of the swimming pool, extending its use into early autumn. Our investment in upgrading our ICT facilities across the school is an important futureproofing project, as is the work in the kitchens and the purchase of a new minibus. We’re very excited about the new iMac suite for music technology. Investment in this and our creative spaces over the last few years have underlined our commitment to developing these skills for the girls at a time when our creative industries are so important to the country’s economy.

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SPEECH DAY

Sir James Dyson, a past speech day speaker, said ‘creativity is about daring to learn from our mistakes,’ and I’m always ready to do that, hence, I ask for your opinions and act upon them. I’m reassured that 50 of the 53 responses to our recent parent survey about overall satisfaction with the school said we met or exceeded your expectations – with 24, or almost half of you, saying the school exceeded expectations. Of course, the constructive criticism we received was very useful, none of it was a surprise to us, and rest assured it’s forming the basis of our development plans moving forward.

We’ll revisit this survey next year to see how we’ve improved, and I want to thank you wholeheartedly for making the wise choice of giving us the opportunity to educate your daughters. Our girls can look forward to the future armed with their wonderful skills and qualities, their great spirit and inner inspiration

or gleam, which they have developed here.

That’s why we’re one of the top schools in the South West, but it’s our Value Added placing us in the top 7% of schools in the country which is truly amazing.

Because our school is both academically and pastorally strong, with a character-building ethos and many enrichment activities, our girls are fantastic role models to each other, as are our staff. So I want to thank every single member of staff, whatever your role, for your unstinting hard work in creating opportunities for the girls to develop the school spirit which will equip them for the future.

We also thank our other leaving staff, for all your huge contributions to the school. On the support side we thank Nicky Burge in efficiently establishing her role of Medical Administrator. We thank our Language Assistants; our Graduate Teaching Assistant,

Jess Childs; and our Prep Teaching Assistant, Amelia Sampson who’re all returning to develop their own education. Harriet Derioz, teacher of English, is promoted in her move to Beechen Cliff School in Bath and Jane Bruce, teacher of SDU, Neil Folland, Head of Economics and Nigel Watts, teacher of maths all retire, as does Jill Pearce who has covered Miss Moss’s maternity leave. We thank Julia Rostrup, Head of Physics and our EPQ coordinator, who leaves for pastures new, as does Carrie Buchanan, teacher of psychology, who’s relocated to Northumberland to be closer to family. And, as a school that’s often described as a family, we’ve celebrated together over the birth of Emmeline Moss (aptly named, being born in the suffrage centenary year), and the Dury twins, Kate and Lexi.

THE GL E A M 2 018/19

At Easter, we congratulated Hannah PortingaleCowper, and now we congratulate Will T-P, Alice Wyatt (soon to be Mrs Taylor) and Laura James (soon to be Mrs James), on their forthcoming nuptials this summer, wishing them every happiness in the future. And we’ll welcome all our new staff at the afternoon tea in September.

And so to the Upper Sixth. In case you were wondering, that’s why there’s an elephant outside the tent – for the wonderful Bollywood themed ball tonight. Of course, we wish all our leavers well in their futures and hope you keep in touch with us always. All our leavers are unique young women, so very well prepared for the future, and the leadership roles you will inhabit, with grounded values of service to others. But the Upper Sixth have had the final part of their journeys with us, and it’s your day girls! Your support of the vegetable patch, extending to eating your own radishes is evidence of your commitment to living in a sustainable environment, and the jigsaw puzzles which have become a signature of your year group have been a craze that caught on in the staff room (even if you traumatised Mrs Marsh by hiding the last piece on your leavers day).

You can see your legacy is on many different levels! I hope you’ll always remember how we‘ve encouraged you to be your best selves, whether that’s with regular waffle nights or hot drinks in the boarding house or through the variety of opportunities to expand your thinking with the lecture programme, EPQ and the opportunities to lead younger girls. This is your moment to step out into the wide world, following that light of inner inspiration, your gleam, your spirit, which is your unique and healthy interpretation of the school spirit. I‘m so proud of each and every one of you.

Thank you for entrusting your daughters to us, to enable us to develop their light of inner inspiration. At BSG ‘it’s not about who you are, but what you want to be,’ or as some might say ‘it’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.’

Thank you.

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ARTWORK ANGEL LEE

Design: Ice House Design

THE GLEAM TEAM.

The Gleam Team 2018/19 L to R: Sophie Overd, Isabelle Finlay and Mrs Bance (Editor) Gleam Team 2018/19 The Radford Quill for outstanding contribution to The Gleam was awarded to Sophie Overd and Isabelle Finlay Cover illustration Sophie Goggs

Head Girl: Charlotte Convey Deputy Head Girls: Lucy Amlôt and Millie Whitmarsh

Bruton School for Girls Sunny Hill, Bruton Somerset, BA10 0NT +44 (0)1749 814 400 admissions@brutonschool.co.uk www.brutonschool.co.uk