South newsletter summer 2015

A Few Words from Mrs Frett...

As yet another year draws to a close, I find myself asking the same question: where has the time gone? It seems only yesterday my 4th form came through the South doors for the very first time and joined this wonderfully unique, boisterous, gargantuan and slightly eccentric family. I have watched them grow from unsure and nervous (at least some of them were for a few minutes!) into individuals who have learned valuable lessons, made mistakes and become well established members of Cranleigh School. I tell the girls constantly that their time here will go in the blink of an eye and they need to dive into all that school offers because time is precious. With three days to go and sitting with my iPad watching the sunrise and enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet I have time to reflect on this whirlwind of a year. South has never been so strong. We have had amazing successes in academic, musical (South’s wins in the Helen Wareham Competitions are the stuff of legends!), sport (we are fiercely competitive and the house spirit has driven us to win House Swimming for the very first time in South’s history, as well as winning house tennis, athletics, netball and hockey, and bouldering to name a few!), drama (lead parts in major school productions), art (winning major art prizes both inside and outside school); and yet whilst I am so proud of the way these Southies step outside their comfort zone and exceed all their and our expectations, and whilst I want to applaud them and recognise their triumphs, I also want to think about the many girls in my house who have triumphed over adversity.

I want to pay tribute to the girls who have overcome personal difficulties and who embody qualities of perseverance and courage. They are the unsung heroines of South. Their victories have not been feted, and yet their battles have forged their characters and made them resilient, outward looking, independent and ready to take on this exciting, tough and sometimes unforgiving world. My Upper 6th have been superb examples of this and as I find myself saying goodbye to my very first cohort of Southies, I want to thank them for enriching my life and that of South’s by their energy, wit, courage and leadership. I would say to them never forget the experience you have had of what true community looks like, and use the good and tough times to shape you to become ambassadors and advocates and make this world a better place. I am so proud of the young independent women they have become and so grateful for them demonstrating true leadership. All that remains for me to say is to thank all my fabulous Southies for making my job so diverse, entertaining, challenging and rewarding. Have a great summer wherever you are, and stay safe. In the words of one of my favourite hymns, ‘God be with you ‘til we meet again.’ Mrs Frett x

Matrons’ Corner - Guest feature from Clare Marsh (matron’s prefect) It has been my pleasure to spend my final year at Cranleigh in and around Matron's room; ask anyone where to find Clare and the answer will mostly likely be in Matron's! From my time spent in the purple chair in Matron’s (it is after all the most comfortable), it is the everyday goings-on in Matron’s that have made me smile the most. From the shared stories over mugs of tea and hot chocolate (both staff and students alike), to the daily rush for biscuits after prep and the scramble for chocolate on Friday nights, it is the little things of Matron’s that I am going to miss.

From the competitive games of Jungle Speed, a difficult game requiring both fast reactions and concentrations, to the chilled out chats about life and school, Matron’s room has always been a happy place. Monday night matron socials for each of the years, a special tea party for the Upper Sixth, and whole house socials, including doughnuts following house athletics and an ice cream night, have provided welcome breaks from all the exam and work stress.

A massive thanks to Kim and Claire for all their hard work in the past year; who knows what we would do without you, and we wish Kim a speedy recovery from her operation. We hope everyone has an enjoyable and relaxing summer holiday and returns (unlike me!) ready for the new year.

Colour Run The South House charity day was a colourful event (pardon the pun!!), with the decision made this year to get active in order to raise money for charity. The South House Colour Run took place on the 12th April. All the girls, tutors and a number of keen parents, siblings and friends, met outside Speech Hall ready to embark on a 10km run. After a safety briefing from the resident biologist Miss Sturdee (“the paint may cause respiratory problemsâ€?), we set off, some more quickly than others. The run, consisting of two 5km laps, was eventful. Large amounts of paint were thrown at various points across the school grounds, coating all the participants in a layer of colour. Those spectating and throwing colour were having just as much fun, if not more, than those running. By the time everyone finished, Mrs Frett gracefully bringing up the rear, the BBQ was well under way and bacon butties were served all round. The morning ended with an awards ceremony for both the fastest and most colourful runners. Thank you so much to Miss Merry and Phoebe for planning such a great event and thanks to all the tutors for ensuring it ran so smoothly. Congratulations to all those who took part; we managed to raise a massive total of ÂŁ7,055.90 for our chosen 5 charities.

House Athletics House athletics this year was in just week 4 of the Summer Term, and was a fantastic day for the house, as with our superior athletic ability, we were able to destroy West. The final result was West with a total 194 points and South with a total of 220 points. All age groups won their category, but the especially strong senior girls won theirs by 13 points.

There was an amazing amount of house spirit with the whole house out supporting, despite the weather, which held the tradition of pouring with rain. Well done to everyone who took part, not only those who won their events.

House Badminton House badminton this year was as exciting as ever. South had three pairs: Caileigh and Harriet, Charlotte and Victoria, and Fay and Matylda. The matches were very tense and taken very seriously by all those participating. There was pre-match ice cream, extensive team talks and serious technique information being shared. Everyone tried their best, but sadly this year was not our year, but we are still very hopeful that after a long and hard year of training we will return victorious.

House Riding House riding this year consisted of everyone taking part in a combined training followed by pizza. This meant that all riders participating had to do one dressage test and one show jumping round. South narrowly missed out on victory, losing to West by only 3%. South did, however, have many very successful riders such as Caileigh, Charlotte, Freya, Amy and Charlie. It was a really fun and enjoyable thing to be a part of, and it was a great experience for the less competitive riders.

House Rounders IVth We went out fighting for house rounders and raring to go. The matches were both so close, but we didn’t quite make the cut. We had huge hits from the elite and great catches, including one-handed catches that looked relaxed and easy. We kept our cool and had a lot of fun. Although we lost our matches, house spirit prevailed and we had what Mrs Frett likes to call a moral victory. And we all especially enjoyed our ice creams from matron!!

LVth Both our A and B team triumphed over West in house rounders this term. Both of our teams won by a decent number of rounders overall, and our supporters did very well to cheer us on! It was a very competitive match, with many rounders balls disappearing into the ditch due to our amazing batters. Well done to everyone who participated!

UVth We had a very short season due to Study Leave, however it was a very memorable and enjoyable one. Our coach was Mrs Frett, which was a lot of fun. We practiced many skills and played a game at the end of each session. We ended up with a very strong, enthusiastic team that had many talented batters. It was a great season, although we only had two matches.

Unfortunately, we lost our first match, as the other team had a slightly bigger advantage, but we won the second one, which ended our season on a positive note.

LVIth House rounders this year was a very tense time for South, we all knew (going into the different matches) that every player would have to be on top form and play their best. South however played their best and the L6th A team beat west 16-18; special mentions must go to Eva and Clemmie for superb hitting and catching. The South L6th B team just lost out on a win by losing 14½ -16 to West, but everyone remained in very high spirits which made the afternoon very enjoyable.

UVIth The Upper Sixth house rounders this year was a competitive one, one with skill and enthusiasm. Unfortunately we lost to West, however we had some great fielding skills from Livi Walliker and Clare Marsh, preventing West from scoring. Even though most of us, when batting, got out on first base, Poppy had some particularly good hits which got us some well needed rounders. We put up a tough fight, but a special mention should go to Katie Bowser for her enthusiasm for the game and to Livi Hartley for the best throw, helping us lose by a smaller margin. Well done South; it was a tough one!

House Golf With enthusiasm, Gaby, Victoria, Livi, Poppy, Iola, Becca, Izzy and Lily participated in the House Golf this year, with varying levels of success, but there was never a long face to be seen. Although only slightly losing both rounds, we all had the best time and everyone played with the best house spirit. Appreciation should definitely be granted to those caddies who kept everyone going through the good and the bad shots, namely from Victoria who seems to have had more air shots than actual shots!

House Cricket I think it’s fair to say that the cricket house match was not our most successful house match this year. Despite our brilliant efforts, West still managed to get at least double the number of runs compared to what we got. South definitely won when it come to the number of supporters around the boundary and the house spirit, which is obviously the main competition. Overall, everyone who played was brilliant, and well done to them all.

House Swimming From the juniors, Annie bossed the breaststroke, coming 1st, and Abbie came 1st in the IM and front crawl. Ella Basing did her best in the backstroke and Fifi was amazing in the butterfly. Due to the amazing performance from these girls, we managed to win the Juniors! From the Inters, Tash swam the butterfly and PJ swam backstroke and IM. Emma swam breaststroke and IM, and Izzy Petter and Holly Hubbard swam front crawl. They all won their races and absolutely drowned West in the relays, meaning the Inters went on to win against West. From the seniors, Gaby and Livy Walliker swam the IM but sadly didn't manage to beat the West team in the horrible 4 stroke race, and then Gaby went on to come 2nd in the butterfly. Livingstone did her best in the front crawl and Charlie Norton amazingly filled in for Livy in the butterfly. Some great house spirit! Emily Hill swam the breaststroke and Soyoung swam the back stroke and breaststroke, bringing some amazing house spirit. Unfortunately the seniors’ house spirit didn't quite bring them to victory, but the efforts of the juniors meant we won the House swimming… and Mrs Frett's excitement led her to being a little wet!

House Tennis South house tennis unfortunately did not triumph this year as we were defeated by West. In our team we had Clemmie Ryder-Smith, Olivia Chesser, Libby Richards, Poppy Bathurst, Alice Simmonds, Ella Williams, Cate Philip, Willow Senior, Ella Batham-Read, Emma Galletti, Lottie Godber and Ellen Talbot. As always, South gave it their all with the support from the remaining members of South cheering them on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

DW The Devizes to Westminster is a 125 mile kayak race that takes place over the four days of Easter, and this year was a huge success, and as a school Cranleigh came first. South was well represented by Charlie Norton and Jemima Young. This was Charlie’s second year of competing in the race. We all had a really good time and many of us would like to compete again next year alongside some new Southies!

Bronze DofE D of E was a great time for everybody involved, despite many people walking a lot longer than expected due to the fact that they had no idea where they were, people didn’t know how to work compasses, and others lost their map. Many girls from South were taking part and we all agree that it was very fun and we have found out things we never knew before, such as one person’s unusual fear of cows – subsequently, it took that team half an hour to get across a farm. Despite the lost wondering we all made it back alive and many of us are going on to make an attempt at Silver.

Silver DofE This term in South there have been quite a few of us in UVth doing Silver DofE, and our expedition takes place in the New Forest in late June. We had a practice in March, which was definitely an interesting experience for all, but I think it's safe to say everyone enjoyed themselves and it prepared us well! We have also had to do volunteering every Wednesday as part of the award, which ranges from working in charity shops to helping at the stables, and is a very rewarding thing to do.

Gold DofE On Wednesday the 10th June, Alice, Jemima, Victoria and Matylda went to either the Lake District or Mid Wales. We endured four days and three nights of walking and camping, and both groups walked about 100km over the expedition. We all had a really good time and managed to remain in good spirits during some tougher moments! It was a great expedition to end our last ever DofE! Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales had been rehearsing since January. We all struggled with learning our lines and "becoming" the character, but Mrs Plowman and Maddie Lock helped us so much that when it came to our Sunday rehearsal before the play, we were almost ready. During the week of the play we had a couple of rehearsals so that by opening night all that was bothering us was the nerves. After our first performance, we were buzzing and were all ready our next show.

After Juliet From the 19th-21st of May, with a cast of 24, we performed the play After Juliet by Sharman MacDonald.

From South we had Flossy, Poppy, Gen, Millie M and PJ. Overall we had a very enjoyable time. We had many rehearsals which started in January. Throughout rehearsals, the whole cast shared a lot of laughs and the outcome of performances was worth it. I am sure everyone will agree with me that it made us a closer cast and we had a fantastic time, giving us all a theatrical experience. From quite mad punk themed costumes to the make up, needing over an hour to get ready, I know we won’t forget After Juliet.

Encore The highlight of this term was definitely the Encore Concert, in which South certainly dominated. Millie Mazzone (piano), Emma Grainger (clarinet), Olivia Chesser (violin), Fayruz Megdiche (oboe) and Alice Simmonds (piano) all played spectacularly and proved they deserved to be there. For the Sixth Form, it was a treat to dress up and enjoy the black tie theme, and it was so lovely to have such a large group of supporters from the Lower Sixth who certainly enjoyed wearing heels and dresses!

Frodo and Bertie’s Column Woof, woof my fellow canine friends! Bertie and I have had a fun filled year with all you amazing Southies! We know we are not around the House, but we can always hear you from our house! We love it when you take us for walks in the sun or the rain; we really appreciate it. I know sometimes you might feel that I don’t like you when I let a widdle go in front of you, but really, it means I like you! I will miss the Upper Sixth and the others that are leaving but I look forward to the newbies next year! Bye girls! Frodo (and Bertie!)

Thank you to our cleaners Although when you come into the house you may not immediately see our lovely cleaners, as they are busy making out house sparkling clean, they are one of the most important members of South. The house couldn’t function without you and you guys are so amazing! You work so hard and we just don’t thank you enough for all the amazing work you do; we really appreciate it. A big thank you to Val (lower floor), Mollie (middle floor), Jan and Mel (top floor) and Lynne (on Saturdays).

P.S. It was Val’s 70th Birthday on Sunday 28th June, which you wouldn’t believe due to how young she looks. A big shout out to her for her big day!

Caileigh (Head of House) This Summer Term has been as packed as any other. The Fourth Form and Lower Fifth have been enjoying the sunshine, while tensions have been high with the upper three years taking part in big exams. Regardless, South has continued to dominate West in most house events and still found the time to take part in various socials. I have absolutely loved being part of such a special house, and I hope everyone has a lovely summer; and good luck for the many years to come!

Bye everyone, It has been another cracking term in South and we have all had loads of fun! I hope you have enjoyed reading about what we have got up to in this newsletter!

Victoria and Phoebe (Newsletter Editors)