Cloisters Summer 2017 issue 19

SUMMER 2017 ISSUE 19

Foundation Magazine team: Editor-in-chief Content Designer

Front Cover Image

Sophie Manners (DH 2017) Leavers’ Day Wednesday 5 July 2017

Michelle Scott Alexandra Barlow Satvinder Orton

Good luck to the Class of 2017. Have a wonderful summer!

Meet the team in the Foundation Office

Mrs Michelle Scott Assistant Headmistress (Foundation)

Mrs Alexandra Barlow DH LINKS, Reunions, Alumnae database

Update your details online

Lady Louise Peto DHSA, Events, Reunions

Mrs Alison Ilott Events & Fundraising

Have you recently moved, changed your email address or phone number?

You can simply update your details online: http://www.downehouse.net/foundation/ update_details_form.asp Email us at:

foundation@downehouse.net

CONTENTS

FOUNDER’S WEEKEND 4

ALEX FINDLAY 19

LEAVERS CELEBRATIONS 8

FROM THE ARCHIVES 20

FOUNDATION DINNER 12

WEDDINGS 22

DH IN THE FAR EAST 15

STAFF FAREWELLS 24

The Seniors of 2016 - 2017

Founder’s Weekend

Bringing the Downe House community together On Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July, the Downe House community gathered for our annual Founder’s Weekend celebrations. Now in its seventh year, the weekend was infused with entertainment from start to finish. The weekend was blessed with fantastic weather throughout and opened with a very moving Founder’s Service in the Farr Centre and concluded with the phenomenal Dance Showcase ‘Downe the Rabbit Hole’. Every aspect of the School was on display and it was wonderful to see so many of the Downe House community enjoying all that was on offer.

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Founder’s Weekend

We were delighted to welcome Jennifer Davies (DH 1938) to Founder’s Weekend this year. As a former Music Scholar, Jennifer attended the Founder’s Concert on Sunday afternoon, during which she joined the choir to sing ‘The Ground’ by Ola Gjeilo.

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Founder’s Weekend

Founder’s Weekend in numbers

2500 cakes, all made in the Downe House kitchens.

8 music events Over 1000 eggs in the baking process

9 workshops

50 kilos of buttercream 11 exhibitions

36 punnets of strawberries for the scones

72 cucumbers

12 stalls at the Founder’s Fair 30 kilos of prawns 363 girls performing 2000 rounds of sandwiches over £1000 raised for charity at the Founder’s Fair

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Farewell to the Class of 2017

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Leavers’ Celebrations

On Wednesday 5 July we celebrated the end of an era for the Upper Sixth. The day commenced with a Prize Giving Ceremony in the Farr Centre. Our special guest for the assembly was Downe House alumna Dr Clare Michell (DH 2002).

A Leavers’ Service followed in Chapel and then a delicious three course lunch was enjoyed by all in the marquee. The sun shone throughout the day and we enjoyed saying farewell to this wonderful group of girls. We wish them the very best with Results Day in August and look forward to tracking their lives beyond Downe House.

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Farewell to the Class of 2017

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Leavers’ Celebrations

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F O U N DAT I O N D I N N E R 2 0 1 7

F O U N DAT I O Wishing the Class of 2017 all the very best for the future.

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F O U N DAT I O N D I N N E R 2 0 1 7

ON DINNER 13

Comedy Evening a Roaring Success Special guest performer, Emma Powell (DH 2010) delighted the audience at the Downe House Comedy Evening on Wednesday 3 May with a series of hilarious stories about her time at Downe House.

The Comedy Evening took place at The Bluebird, Chelsea and attracted sixty guests for a wonderful evening of comedy, fine wine, delicious food and lots of laughter! Emma’s performance was followed by an auction which successfully raised over £5,500 for the Centre for Learning Project.

With just £500,000 left to raise to meet the final target of £6.5 million, the proceeds of the Comedy Night brings the project another step closer to completion after just one year of fundraising for the Centre for Learning since the public launch in February 2016.

International Lacrosse Downe House has seven international players in four different teams at the Rathbones Women’s Lacrosse World Cup 2017 at Surrey Sports Park.

Annie Hillier (DH 2008 & England Team) Kirsten Lafferty (DH 2007 & Team England Team) Sandrine Heller (DH 2017 & Swiss Team) Rebecca Gaunt (Current Staff & Wales Team) Charlotte Williams (DH 2001 & Wales Team) Tash Bott (Current Staff & Wales Team) Katie Mok (DH 2003 & Hong Kong Team) Good luck to all the players!

Debut Album for Downe House Girls ‘We are Young’ is the debut album of the Downe House ensemble group, Holcombe Singers. The album was released in May with the hope of raising money for the group’s three chosen charities – Marie Curie Nurses, The Queen Elizabeth Foundation and Malawi Open Arms, the Holcombe House International Charity.

Rose Galbraith (DH 2017), who has led the group for the last two years, comments: “The Holcombe Singers is an entirely student-led, auditioned ensemble group which performs in the ‘A Cappella’ genre. For the last couple of years I have had the huge pleasure of leading the group, supported superbly by India Burney (DH 2017) and Tiffany Chan (DH 2017). We are currently a group of twelve girls of mixed ages, all of whom show incredible ability and enormous commitment and loyalty.”

Please email foundation@downehouse.net if you are interested in purchasing a CD.

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Talks and Lectures Tara (Pom) Ogilvy (DH 2013) Alumna Tara (Pom) Ogilvy (DH 2013) came back to Downe House on Monday 8 May to deliver a talk to the girls as part of our Oyster Society Programme. She gave a wonderful insight into the world of fashion and talked about her current role at Vogue.

Alexandra O’Kane (Lower Sixth) commented: “Pom shared a great number stories from her time in Tatler as the fashion assistant, and also more recent tales from her current position as fashion co-ordinator at British Vogue. These stories ranged from of having a photo shoot in the Olympic swimming pool at 4am, to meeting Colin Firth and talking about problems with children despite having none of her own! The talk was full of laughter and truly inspirational stories of her life so far within fashion, and made a fair number of us want to be in her shoes.

Pom (right) pictured with Florence Elliott (DH 2017)

Having attended the talk I have a much stronger interest in perhaps pursuing a job related to fashion in the near future, which by the sounds of it is a very hard working but thoroughly enjoyable lifestyle that is definitely worth living.”

DH IN THE FAR EAST

Reunion One of the highlights of the year is the annual visit to the Far East in May. Mrs Emma McKendrick and Mrs Michelle Scott enjoyed four days in the company of current, former and prospective parents and girls at various locations across Hong Kong and Singapore.

It was wonderful to see alumnae and former staff at both of the informal reunions which took place at The Continental, Hong Kong on 11 May and The Mandarin Oriental, Singapore on 13 May.

We look forward to visiting again in 2018 15

Mr Chris Dech (former staff) and Miss Hannah Dickson (former staff)

Alumnae Success Stories

Harriet Pattinson As one of the foremost showcases of portraiture by recent artists, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition is a prestigious platform for a painter at any stage of their career. How exciting then that Downe House alumna Harriet Pattinson (DH 2009) had one of her portraits selected to be exhibited at this year’s event at The Mall Galleries, SW1 from 4 - 19 May. Harriet, who is London-based, works mainly in oils and she has a particular love and interest in painting people. Her selected work, entitled ‘Profile’ and already sold, took its place amongst that of eminent masters and emerging artists on the walls of the Mall Galleries. The subject matter of the exhibition always includes a mix of well-known personalities and faces, adding to the fascination of the genre.

This exhibition encompassed a huge range of media and styles of work, demonstrating the richness of contemporary portraiture and its lure for many artists. Harriet accepts commissions and you can find out more by visiting www.harrietpattinson.com For more information about the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition visit www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Rachel Skinner Our congratulations go to Rachel Skinner (DH 1994) who was recently awarded ‘Best Woman Civil Engineer’ at the European Women in Construction and Engineering (WICE) awards.

Rachel is the Executive Director and Head of Diversity at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. After leaving Downe House, Rachel went on to study Geography at the University of Durham and subsequently a Masters in Transport Planning & Engineering at the University of Leeds.

Sophie Manners

Rose Galbraith

Congratulations to Sports Scholar Sophie Manners (DH 2017) who has been offered a Palatinate Sport Scholarship to Durham University for Lacrosse.

Congratulations to Rose Galbraith (DH 2017) who has recently secured a place on the prestigious and fiercely competitive RADA Foundation Course in Acting.

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Alex Findlay (DH 2004)

Writing her way to success The future is looking bright for Alex Findlay (DH 2004) after launching her new business ‘Alex Writes’ this year.

When did you start the business?

In April 2017, after leaving my job in advertising and taking a bit of time out to go travelling in India and Sri Lanka - a great way of putting a full stop to my advertising career.

What is your previous background?

I worked in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) business development and marketing team at a global media agency for seven years until March this year, with a focus on running big new business pitches for new clients (e.g. Uber, Chanel and Disney) and creating/implementing our regional marketing strategy. In 2015, I spent six months at the company’s global headquarters in New York which was an incredible experience - New York is the spiritual home of the advertising industry, and I had the ultimate commute - a walk over Brooklyn Bridge.

My degree was in French with History of Art, from Newcastle University, and after I left uni in 2009 I did a short stint as a PA to a well known singer before starting my marketing job at the media

agency. Aside from my time in New York, I’ve been lucky enough to live in Paris for my degree as well as travel all over Europe with my old job.

Describe a typical day for you now I am currently dividing my time between my copywriting business and volunteering at an amazing charity called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs. A typical day might start with writing a blog post for a client (the most recent one was on recycling plastic - an issue close to my heart) and creating and scheduling some social media posts or proofreading a newsletter.

I then spend the afternoon at the charity, where I focus on searching for the UK’s most exciting social entrepreneurs so that we can support them in achieving their social impact goals. When I get home in the evenings, I might spend an hour or so sending out invoices, sending emails to prospective clients or writing another blog post - I also do some pro bono work for a start-up social entrepreneur.

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What has been the biggest challenge with your business?

I struggle a bit with juggling my time and ensuring that I get a bit of downtime - when you have your own business there is always something else that you could be doing, whether that’s client work, doing my own blogging or doing admin/bookkeeping. But it’s worth it as I feel completely in control of my career and that I’m doing something that I love.

Where do you hope to be in five years time?

A tricky one as at the moment I take each day as it comes and I’ve only just started out on this entrepreneurial adventure, but in an ideal world I would to combine my love for social enterprise and writing in some way - perhaps working part time for a social enterprise and part time on my copywriting business. I love the fact that attitudes to careers are becoming more flexible and that you can have a ‘portfolio career’ - it suits me down to the ground!

Work Shadowing Case Study 19 - 22 June 2017 Industry: Law Current Parent: Alexander Bastin Pupil: Shalayna Assani (Upper Fifth) In the first week of my summer holiday DH LINKS organised an amazing opportunity for me to shadow a Barrister, Mr Alex Bastin (current parent) of Hardwicke, as my career interest lies specifically in law.

On my first day, I went to Mr Bastin’s chambers in Lincoln’s Inn, central London, where the majority of lawyers’ chambers are located. When I arrived, Mr Bastin gave me a deeper understanding of what he specifically practises in, property litigation, and his career path. In the morning, I read over some of the cases that he had previously worked on which I found really interesting. In the afternoon, I went to the Royal Courts of Justice. There I had a look around and found out more about the historical aspect of the legal profession and how it has changed and progressed over many decades. The next few days I visited various other courts including Edmonton County Court, City of London Magistrates Court and on my last day, the Central Criminal Court, also known as the Old Bailey! During these days, I learnt a lot about the procedures that take place in court, the various job positions; the judge, the clerk, the defendant and the prosecutor. Most importantly, I learnt that from a defendant’s point of view, it is always better to have a lawyer represent you rather than trying to defend yourself as it will make your argument much stronger. My favourite part of the week was attending the Central Criminal Court.

I went in the public gallery of a courtroom and had the opportunity to listen to an ongoing murder case. I have always been interested specifically in criminal law therefore it was very beneficial as I was able to grasp a further insight into this specialised area. By gaining this experience, I was able to retain a better understanding and knowledge of the profession and get a sense of the content and lifestyle.

Written by: Shalayna Assani (Upper Fifth)

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From left to right: Amy Torrance (DH 2011), Mary Black (DH 1988 & current parent), Charles Bischoff (current parent), Bethany Perry (Lower Sixth), Skye Wilson (Lower Sixth), Saira Kabir Sheikh (current parent), Richard Waller (current parent), Clemmie Blackett-Ord (Lower Sixth), Helena Parker (DH 2010), Hye Lim Park (Upper Fifth), David Hudd (former parent), Venetia Hudd (DH 2015)

Law Cluster Group On Tuesday 20 June, current and former parents as well as alumnae who are working or training in the legal sector, attended a Legal Cluster Group with Lower Sixth and Upper Fifth girls who have expressed an interest in law as a career.

The event was kindly hosted by current parent, Saira Kabir Sheikh QC at the Francis Taylor Building, which is located in the heart of the legal district.

It provided a unique opportunity for girls to talk informally with solicitors, corporate lawyers, barristers, advocates and those who have recently undertaken a variety of law courses and training contracts. After an informal networking session over drinks and canapés, each guest gave a short presentation on his or her career, where they currently work and their area of expertise. Girls were able to ask questions to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the many different career paths in law and to make useful contacts for the future.

“We all had such a great time at the DH LINKS event in London and it was really useful to be able to discuss different roles within the legal profession.

It was so lovely to have a small group and the conversations we all had at the event were so useful.” Skye Wilson (Lower Sixth) “I really valued the DH LINKS evening in London on Tuesday 20 June. Not only was it a great networking opportunity but it was also so interesting to speak to alumnae about their journey towards a career in law. The event certainly provided me with a lot of new information and I am incredibly grateful for the work experience I may be able to take from it.”

Bethany Perry (Lower Sixth) If you wish to attend or host a future DH LINKS Cluster Group please email foundation@downehouse.net.

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From the Archives The Chapel through the years

1907 KENT

COLD ASH

1922

At first Chapel services were held in the Cloisters – open to the elements on one side with the interior wall on the other. There are reports of girls sneaking in hot water bottles under their capes.

The Chapel building at Downe House in Kent had to be taken down when the School left, and it was all moved, block by block, and reconstructed here at Cold Ash by the legendary Miss Nickel and a band of helpers.

Soon after the School was founded Olive Willis decided that its own Chapel was a priority as soon as the means could be found.

This is a photograph of the School’s first Chapel, at Downe House when it was located in Kent. This Chapel was at the top of the house and used for daily School prayers. Olive Willis herself preached a sermon on Sundays.

1916

1930

Miss Nickel, who joined the staff in 1912 as a teacher of Geography, was a most creative and skilled individual and quickly took on other roles - one of those was a builder.

She designed and built a Chapel in the School grounds, it was dedicated in 1916.

1933

A dramatic event took place at Downe House in January 1933.

A fire broke out in the Chapel causing extensive damage to the Ante-Chapel and destroying the organ. The incident was reported in the local newspaper at the time.

Please see transcript from the Newbury Weekly News on the right.

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Julia McSwiney, when writing of her time here in the mid 1930s wrote, “School Chapel was a modern, light cheerful building.

Morning and Evening Prayers on weekdays, 10 minutes silence for prayers each evening before bed and following Early Service or Chapel on Sunday mornings, we had a Bible class after tea and an Evening Service. We were forbidden to listen to light music on Sundays on our wirelesses.”

From the Archives The Chapel through the years

1980 Drawing of the Chapel by Grania Willis in the 1988/89 School Magazine

1950’s aerial view of the School and Chapel.

2008

2017 A specially commissioned new altar was presented to the School in 2001 and was resited, following modern custom, towards the front of the chancel.

2013

The Chapel looking across from the Cloisters. A number of girls are confirmed during their time at Downe House and Houses take their turn at leading services at various times during the year.

The Chapel as it looks today. This photograph was taken during Founder’s Weekend 2017.

Repertory Choir during evensong in 2013.

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dings d e W

Chloe Pincott (2nd from left) and some of her Downe House colleagues.

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Share your happy news with us.

E: foundation@downehouse.net Thank you to our Facebook friends!

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Staff farewells

Maggie Richardson 1977 Whole School photo

Maggie Richardson One of Downe House’s longestserving members of staff, Maggie first joined the Languages Department at Downe House in 1973

primarily to teach French but also Spanish and Italian. When the time came for Maggie to start her family, she took an eight year career break before returning to Downe House.

She then began teaching Italian at GCSE and A Level, for which the demand has steadily increased since that time.

see the girls using the language and experiencing the culture. I have also found it incredibly rewarding to see the number of girls going on to study Italian at some of the top universities in the UK and I think this was very much down to the influence of the study trips which the girls so enjoyed.

Maggie said, “It has been wonderful to be part of the strong tradition of language teaching at Downe House and I have always enjoyed seeing the girls learning to speak Italian and discovering a love of Italian culture and history. Particularly memorable have been the study and culture trips to Florence for the Upper Fifth and Perugia and Rome for the Sixth Form because it was so joyful to

I am looking forward to spending more time walking my beloved labrador, and I am hoping to travel to Italy more often too!”

Our thanks to Maggie for her contribution to Downe House and our best wishes for her retirement.

Maggie (bottom right) during a trip to Italy Maggie (left) pictured with Alice Wonnacott (DH 2005) in 2016

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Laura Ogilvie-Jones

Laura Ogilvie-Jones Variety is the spice of life, so they say, and Laura’s career at Downe House has certainly been full of variety – since starting as a full-time Geography teacher in 2003, Laura was appointed Head of Careers in 2008 and in 2011 she set up DH LINKS to facilitate careers and professional networking between girls, alumnae and parents.

In 2015, Laura took on the role of Director of Admissions and continued to teach Geography to a few classes.

Laura said, “It has been amazing – I know I am going to miss the wonderful people at Downe House and that strong sense of community.

I have loved keeping in touch with the DH alumnae and watching the whole journey from Remove through

Anne-Marie Gane The life of a PE teacher is incredibly active as well as varied and in the eleven years that Anne-Marie Gane has been a PE teacher at Downe House she has taught swimming, lifesaving, rounders, tennis, squash and of course, countless lessons in her major sport of lacrosse. AnneMarie has seen the PE Department grow over the years to its current 34 members of staff, all with their own specialist sport as well as the massive improvement in the facilities brought about by the construction of the floodlit astroturf, tennis courts and multi-purpose sports pitches on the playing fields.

Anne-Marie said, “Since I started at Downe House our fixtures list has expanded, as has the number of teams we field on a regular basis. It is particularly rewarding to see such

to hearing about their university lives, careers, marriage, babies. My funniest memory is during a careers interview when a girl told me that her ambition was to become a professional wrestler and promptly got down onto the floor to give me a demonstration, it was a slightly hysterical moment to say the least! I have had so many happy times and leaving will be a big wrench – I just wish I could move Downe House to Edinburgh and carry on!”

Laura and her husband Will are moving to settle in Edinburgh to be closer to family and Laura will be taking up a new role setting up an Alumnae Relations Department and, of course, teaching some Geography at St George’s School for Girls.

We wish Laura and Will every happiness on their Scottish adventure!

Miss Jones ‘Jeffy’! I can’t believe it has been 14 years since we first met - we were annoying U4’s and you were a very patient new teacher. So many happy DH memories with you. Trips to Iceland and extra tuition at home are just a couple. Always so calm and good humoured even when Hodnett and I were at our most testing! Thank you for putting up with us! I know that you will be hugely missed by everyone at Downe House, but wherever you are heading for your next adventure they are extremely lucky to have you . Lots of love Georgia MacMillan (DH 2006) “Jeff Jones, I met you at the very start of your career at Downe House. You are a fantastic teacher and always went above and beyond for your students. I know you will be sorely missed by the School but I wish you every success with your next venture. Lots of love, Lucy Hodnett (DH 2006)

Laura (centre) - ‘Just Another Show’ after party in 2004

strong 3rd and 4th teams which give so many more girls the opportunity to play competitive lacrosse matches against other schools. The girls at Downe House really love their sport and expect to win, which makes coaching the teams very rewarding because they are so responsive to our teaching. I have also very much enjoyed working in such a large PE Department with so many colleagues with whom to share skills and experiences.

For a number of years I organised a golf competition for parents and staff at Donnington Grove Country Club. It was also great to introduce the girls to a new sport, one which I love to play and I have great memories of those golfing days.

I am looking forward to lots of time on the golf course and to developing new interests and hobbies.”

We all wish Anne-Marie the very best for the future.

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Laura - 10 Year Reunion (Class of 2006)

DHSA News Save The Date A drinks party for members who left between 1995 and 2006 will be held on: Monday 16 October 2017 at Davy’s Wine Bar (The Cellars), High Holborn, London WC1V 6DT For information contact dhsa@downehouse.net

Recent Grants DHSA grants have been awarded to the following: Lily Lower (DH 2012) to be a lead volunteer for the America’s Cup. Jo Vellacott (DH 1939) to publish the first volume of her memoirs covering 1922- 1947.

Caroline Williams (DH 2010) for a Medical Elective with SHAWCO, South Africa.

Kate Womersley (DH 2007) for a Medical Elective in New York.

Honorary Old Seniors

We are delighted that five new members have accepted an invitation to join the DHSA in recognition of their service to Downe House and the DHSA. We welcome, from the left: Mrs Philippa Toogood – Teacher of RS, Philosophy and Ethics, formerly Head of Religious Studies and Examination Officer, currently the Acting Head of Sixth Form.

Mrs Laura Ogilvie-Jones – Teacher of Geography, later Head of Careers and now Director of Admissions.

Mrs Yvonne Charlesworth – Teacher of Physics, Head of Science and Operations Manager.

Mrs Lucy O’Meara – DHSA and Foundation Administrator.

Mrs Genevieve Ford – Teacher of RS, Housemistress and now Boarding Deputy and Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Deaths of Former Members of Staff We are sad to record the deaths of: Mrs Diana Smeath (bottom left) who taught Chemistry with some Maths and Physics from 1973-1987.

Mrs Mary Bellhouse who taught English from 1980 – 1990. Please see obituary written by Jennifer Kingsland on page 27.

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Obituaries Nerolie De LavisTrafford DH 1937-1941 It is with great sadness that we report that the world of Manchester Terriers has lost its President of the British Manchester Terrier Club, who died on the 3 March 2017. One of her nieces, Caroline Pye was with her at her peaceful end. Nerolie was a fount of knowledge and there cannot be many exhibitors and breeders in our history who have been so active in the breed for such a long time as she. In 2013, when Mrs Enid Teague Knight retired as our President, Nerolie being the Vice President became our Acting President until the following AGM when she was voted unanimously.

Previously she had been an active member of the Committee for many years, and she continued to take a workshop at our seminars until ill health prevented her taking part. She bought her first Manchester as a companion for her mother. Later in 1968 she bought

Mrs Mary Bellhouse, Former Staff Mary Bellhouse joined the English Department in 1980 and for the next ten years she was fully immersed in the life of the School.

Many former pupils and colleagues will remember Mary with respect

herself a bitch Eaglespur Seringa which started a long and fruitful friendship with Enid, and from thereon all her breeding was based on the Eaglespur lines. She was the first to introduce the breed to Finland by exporting to Liisa Koskinen, also Raf de Winter was another early exhibitor to import a dog from Nerolie. She was well known for her bitches, but one dog that she bred who was only used at stud a few times was Ch Tyburn Karukion. The bitches bred on and she was proud of the fact that each was bred from a champion, with the possible exception of her last litter. From her first litter in 1970 she bred Ch Tyburn Aurelia, and from there 9 more champions followed, from generation to generation.

ceased when ill health prevented her from attending. She was always helpful and offered advice if asked.

She enjoyed talking dogs and had a good sense of fun, she will be sadly missed. She was a link to our early days. The funeral was held at Highclere Church on 16 March 2017.

Our thanks go to The British Manchester Terrier Club for allowing us to print this obituary.

She was also a very keen gardener and had a wonderful large garden with water features, where the first ever Fun Day for the Club was held.

Nerolie sang for many years in the Highclere Church Choir and only

and affection as a formidable and devoted teacher of English.

Many of them will have also been subjected to her Yorkshire plainspeaking when their ideas did not match hers! Perhaps a dragon when necessary, but kind-hearted and always eloquent in defence of honest endeavour, sound scholarship and good manners. She was fired by a love of learning and a desire to see every pupil, whatever her ability, doing her very best and enjoying the doing.

Before joining Downe House, having already had a distinguished teaching career, Mary fulfilled a dream and changed tack for a while to take a degree in Chinese at Oxford. Then, deciding to return to teaching, she

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came to Downe House.

Mary gave much to the School in other ways. She proved an excellent Chairman of the Common Room for several years, was a generous donator of books to the libraries and together with Jennifer Gosse, was a mainstay of both the flourishing Literary Society and the School Bookshop.

Outside the classroom, she will be long remembered as the creator of the staff pantomime viz. Cinderella in 1987 – so cleverly written and cast.

Written by: Jennifer Kingsland with grateful acknowledgement to a valedictory piece written by Miss Jennifer Gosse in 1990.

Informal Reunions

#DHOGS

We love it when Downe House girls get together for informal reunions. Share your photos with us via foundation@downehouse.net Thank you to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram friends! #DHOGS

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Calling the Class of 1992

25 Year Reunion Wednesday 11 October 2017 6.30pm – 9.00pm The Lansdowne Club, London RSVP to foundation@downehouse.net

Calling the Class of 2007

10 Year Reunion Thursday 2 November 2017 6.30pm - 9.00pm The Atlas, London RSVP to foundation@downehouse.net

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Reach your desired audience with exactly the right message • Newsletters and mailers • Blogging and social media • Editing and proofreading • Social media consultation • Video scripts

alexscfindlay@gmail.com

AlexWrites.Strikingly.com

+44 (0) 7824 39 55 48

Alumnae

Netball Festival Saturday 16 September 2017 Downe House Netball Courts 1.30pm Arrival 2.00pm Warm up 2.15pm Matches start 3.30pm Matches finish 4.00pm Refreshments Email foundation@downehouse.net to confirm your place

DEATH NOTIFICATIONS Miss Pamela Mure

DH 1937

Miss Nerolie De Lavis-Trafford

DH 1940

Mrs Ann Goldsworthy (née Burnard)

DH 1951

Mrs Jane Matthews (née Spranger)

DH 1947

Miss Rosemary Samson

DH 1953

Miss Miranda Strickland-Constable

DH 1955

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Dates for the Diary 2017 SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER Alumnae Netball Tournament TUESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER Medley Lecture, Simon Weston OBE

Stay Connected:

WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER Class of 1992, 25 Year Reunion

Join us on Facebook - Downe House Alumnae (Old Seniors)

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER DH LINKS Cluster Group, London

Follow us on Twitter @ DowneFoundation or @DowneHouse1

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER Downe House Gift Fair THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER Class of 2007, 10 Year Reunion Please see the Foundation section of the Downe House website for event booking details and further information on each event. us for an evening MEDLEY LECTURE Join with Simon Weston OBE,

Simon Weston OBE

a veteran of the 1982 Falklands War. Simon’s is an inspirational story of achievement, of triumph over adversity, of seizing the moment and succeeding, charting his journey from the front line of war and the edge of death, to being a contented father, grandfather and now a national treasure.

‘DH LINKS’ group E: foundation@downehouse.net T: 01635 204719 www.downehouse.net/foundation

Have you visited our website?

Tickets are free. There will be a retiring collection in aid of The Falklands Veterans Foundation.

Tuesday 19 September 2017 - 7.30pm in the Farr Centre enquiries: foundation@downehouse.net

www.downehouse.net/foundation

Celebrating 110 years

Cold Ash, Thatcham, Berkshire RG18 9JJ T: 01635 204719 E: foundation@downehouse.net www.downehouse.net