West-Newsletter-Summer-2011

West House News

July 2011

A Sad Farewell to West’s First House Mistress Chris Allison has been Housemistress of West since it first opened in September 2001. Without her West would not be the successful, organised and delightful House that it is. Chris has devoted ten years to the girls of West House and her successor Claire Neil has a tough job to follow. She has been a fair and caring Housemistress, but has encouraged the girls to think for themselves and achieve the highest possible standards, not only in their academic careers, but in their commitments and general attitudes. I know that West will miss her terribly: she has certainly been an inspiration to me. ODR

Tash Misbah—House Captain of West Starting off as the only overseas boarder in IVth form, I would not have been able to cope as well as I did if it weren’t for Mrs Allison, comforting me as I mostly cried on the phone to home every chance I had! She has always been there to give me and others advice, help us make the right choices and push us along at times when we may have felt like giving up.

I think I can say on behalf of all of West that there have been many a time where we thought things might not be possible, or have needed help in one way or another and Mrs Allison has had the right answer. I will always remember one of the signs she had outside her office...”if it’s necessary it will almost certainly be possible...if it’s not necessary, probably best not to ask”. If there was ever anything you needed to be done, she would always make it possible and go to great lengths to make it happen.

I have had many fond memories over the past 5 years with Mrs Allison, the most recent being in my last term of U6th where we thought we’d have a quick trip to A&E; she then ended up staying in hospital with me until 4:00 am, and for that I am very grateful! It’s been an honour to be her house captain this past year, and build our relationship further, and I’d hope Mrs Allison would say the same!

Issy Curran—Deputy Captain of West Mrs Allison has been my housemistress for five years and I think we can all say that looking after 100 teenage girls is not an easy job. Many would not be able to cope with it, especially when trying to get half of the house to take their make-up off or trying to calm everyone down on results day. I will be leaving here with memories that will stick with me for life and most of them are of my time in West House. I was lucky enough to work more closely with Mrs Allison in my last year, which I have really enjoyed doing.

The atmosphere in West is always welcoming and her door was always open for people to go in to chat, cry, or whine (about being in the house swimming).

Through all my ups and downs here, she has always supported me and I know that she has done the same for every other girl in West.

ATHLETICS—Grace Devlin This year’s House Athletics demonstrated West’s amazing team spirit and support as well as many incredible individual performances. Despite the heat the fourth form led the way with Rosie Grieg and Chloe Nicholls putting South to shame coming first and second in the Junior Girls 200m. Izzy Greeno continued this trend with a brilliant victory in the girls 1500m. The fifth form also showed some strong athletic talent in particular with Maddy Austin winning the girls 1500m (and coming second in the boys), smashing the school record to pieces. As well as cheering along the rest of the house, the 6th form demonstrated their skills on the field with Nannas Syms winning the girls Javelin on her first throw, and a great performance by Lucy Weston in the high jump. The 6th form did not disappoint on the track either, with Sophie Butterfield’s easy win in the senior girls 200m. Indi Thompson showed that size isn’t everything when it comes to athletics, giving South’s Milly Windus a run for her money with a close 2nd in the girls 800m. Similarly, Lizzie Wait chased South down to a very close 2nd in the girls 1500m. To finish off a great effort West showed team collaboration in the relays, drawing a close to a fun-filled afternoon.

Congratulations to everybody who took part and thank you to all for your support.

Stonar School One Day Event Early one Sunday morning in the first half of term, whilst most normal people were lying in bed, four of West’s riders prepared for the Stonar Schools One Day Event. Full of tough competition, West’s first rider was Briony Pearson. She completed an excellent dressage test and had a clear ride in the cross country event, but sadly knocked a pole down in the show jumping, which meant that overall she came 3rd individually. Erin McCombe was our next rider, riding a brilliant dressage test and going clear in both the show jumping phase and the cross country phase, coming 5th individually. This meant that the team both the girls were in came first. Holly Partridge was next and she rode a good dressage test, but sadly knocked a pole down on the show jumping phase. However, she went on to go clear in the cross country event. Alex Adams was the last rider to ride for Cranleigh; she had a good dressage score and went clear in both the show jumping and cross country phases. Unfortunately she got knocked out of the placing for going too fast in the cross country phase and received penalties for it. We all had an enjoyable and fun day full of crêpes and teamwork!

Alex Adams

HOUSE MATCHES BADMINTON This year West’s senior house badminton team consisted of Gracie Devlin, Izzy Curran, Martha Black, Tessa Farrington, Kelly Hughes, Sophie Butterfield and Lise Taunton-Fenton. After a few of us having played badminton the previous term we were all very determined to keep the cup for a second year and after some very competitive and close games against South (who put up a good fight) West were the final winners.

Izzy Curran The junior house badminton was a huge challenge for our team this year. Our captain Sophia Ambrose joined forces with the amazing Nancy Newberry to form the UVth team; Camilla Mills and Jessica Haller were a strong combination for the LVth and Sophia Holden and Issy Greeno proved their place as the IVth form team. Everyone put tremendous effort into their matches and the popular sport proved equal in both houses. However, due to our strengths playing on their weaknesses, West were successful beating South by 1 point. The girls should be praised for their extremely creditable performance. Well done!

Issy Simpkin ROUNDERS—Miss Mallory This was possibly the noisiest House rounders competition in living memory. House rounders has certainly become a fiercely contested title and the level of support and expertise in the field were testimony to this. West’s U15 team won both their matches though the A team left it to a nail biting finish just pulling ahead of South in the final innings. Our U14A team were less convincing in the initial stages allowing South to take an early lead in their match. However, in the later stage they played with a little more conviction and team work. West’s U14B team were the real surprise of the afternoon; they were exceptional in their batting and fielding with some fine performances put in by Jen Vincent, Poppy Heaver, Charlotte Tristem, Holly Partridge, Amelia Shotter and Ellie Smith to name but a few. Overall West won the Junior Rounders competition and a very well done to all the juniors involved. This was a tremendous effort filled with determination and House spirit. Well done girls!

TENNIS—Lizzie Wait House tennis took place in the 1st half of the summer term, where a group of West girls gathered together in windy conditions to play some of the best tennis seen all season! Playing against team mates was always going to be competitive, and indeed some nail biting sets took place. Good sportsmanship, as well as a few funny moments on court, set the tone for an afternoon of lovely fluent rallies between the girls! Everyone’s enthusiastic contribution to the event led to a high standard being achieved across the board, resulting in a fantastic score which saw WEST house come out on top!!

SWIMMING—Freddie Dicks The House Swimming competition began as all House events do with intense screaming and shouting from the start of the first race- the Individual Medley, where Millie Crane came out of nowhere winning a second place for South. With the atmosphere becoming increasingly excited, the swimmers put in a massive amount of effort for their Houses, in the midst of impressive performances from very irregular swimmers such as Grace Lent, Mads Iafrate and Lottie Grafton with Imogen Way proving to herself that she ‘could actually swim’ by finishing the final length of the last race and doing her House proud. The competitive swimmers for each House were in top form; Maddie Austen, Ellie Conner and Sophie Kinally all reeled in points for West with style. Overall the winners were West House, but there was some tough competition put up by South. On the whole the event was a great success and thanks to all the teachers who put in an effort to organise it; it was one full of fun and laughter with people stepping in at the last minute to ‘take one for the team’.

Golf—Lottie Grafton House golf was played over 2 rounds which consisted of 7 holes. Jen Vincent, Chloe Nicholls, Lauren Chitty, and Lottie Grafton competed for West House and played both rounds scoring tremendously well. Overall West achieved a comfortable victory. Well done to all who took part.

Cricket—Mara Waters Eleven West girls took on South house in the South v West cricket house match. We had a strong team of both experienced and inexperienced cricketers which made the match enjoyable for all. West were put into bat first and with some quick singles and a few fours we managed to total 86 runs in 12 overs. With South into bat and a healthy total backing us, the bowling was shared around. Opening the bowling with our fast-paced bowlers put us in a good position which meant that some of our less experienced players had the opportunity to discover their hidden bowling talent and gain some experience! It was a great afternoon, a match played in good spirit and to top it all off West won by 5 runs.

SUMMER IN WEST HOUSE To all our leavers in 2011:

Goodbye and Good Luck!

INDIVIDUAL SUCCESSES Congratulations to Maddy Austin for taking the silver medal at the English Schools Athletics Championships and her subsequent selection to run for England in a Three Nations.

Congratulations to Tatiana St. Pier and Georgie Pask who were selected at the Waverley Trials to compete at the Surrey Schools event in June.

Congratulations to Erin McCombe and Briony Pearson who were part of the winning team at the British Schools Eventing Championships and to Holly Partridge who was part of the winning eventing team at St LeonardsMayfield ODE. Chloe Nicholls has been selected for the U15 Regional Hockey Squad.

Our U6th year: Martha Black, Izzy Curran, Frankie Denney, Grace Devlin, Tessa Farrington, Tasha Misbah, Nicola Hardwick, Kelly Hughes, Hannah Lubbock, Alex McWhirter, Alex Newman, Sophie Ray, Anna Rickenberg, Sophie Shearer, Nannas Syms, Katje Van der Zalm, and Lucy Weston, To Kirsten MacLaurin from the L6th and Harriet Cowcher in the U5th.

And Mrs Sam Harrod-Booth who has been a tutor of West for one year.

End of Term Awards: 4th Form: Effort and Progress: Extra-Curricular: Tutors’ Prize: Perseverance: L5th: Effort and Progress: Tutors’ Prize:

Jen Vincent won an age-group golf tournament in Switzerland in the last week of term which was part of the Graham Moore International Juniors circuit.

House Spirit: U5th: Effort and Progress:

Thank you to everyone for all your kindness, friendship and support over the last ten years, however small the part you have played in this. It has been a privilege to be part of West during this time and rewarding in so many ways to see so many girls fulfil their potential and more.

I have learnt a lot about myself and about that species called the ‘teenage girl’ and perhaps one day I will make my fortune by writing a book about it all!

Tutors’ Prize:

I wish everyone in West continued happiness and good luck in all that they do.

L6th: Effort and Progress: Tutors’ Prize:

Abi Dahl Chloe Nicholls Saskia Bridgen Amelia Shotter Grace lent Olivia Al Marzook Tilda Martin Issi Rennocks Georgie Beamish Steph Cooper Alex Adams Katie Seymour Nancy Newberry Abi Camsey Ellie Connor Livi Burgon

Lizzie Wait Emma Kelly Mara Waters House Spirit: Imogen Way Half House Colours: Ellie Connor Grace Lent House Colours: Georgia Watson; Freddie Dicks; Sophie Kinally; Mara Waters House Pin for outstanding services to the house: Lottie Grafton House Shield: Tash Misbah