The Script Spring / Summer 2016

Script THE

Spring / Summer 2016

Independent learning florence corran, director of sixth form

‘Independent learning’ is a phrase that rings through classrooms and corridors of schools, colleges and universities all over the world. Even pre-schoolers are encouraged to work things out for themselves and universities especially value applicants who demonstrate that they can direct and monitor their own achievements.

At Sherborne Girls, we aim to give students the skills to keep learning throughout their lives, as well as to master ideas on the syllabus.

Reflection and self-assessment are important aspects of a long-lasting understanding; they help nurture a growth mind-set, understanding how you have learnt what you have learnt.

Well planned lessons and preps do this every day, but it is through more extended project work, and one-on-one tutor time, that students lay down extra stores of academic resilience.

From L4 to L5, girls undertake Sherborne Girls Diplomas. In the L5 the girls write long essays on complex topics including Global Concepts and Religious Studies and present their findings formally at the end of the course. In M5 and U5, we have recently introduced a Higher Project Qualification which may be submitted for GCSE credit and the girls can also compete for the Thinkers’ Essay Prize.

In the Sixth Form, Extended Essays written by IB students and Extended Project Qualifications undertaken by A Level girls allow them to become expert in topics not usually found at school-level. Both these projects require university-level study skills including several months’ planning, research, development and reflection.

We believe that the progression of these skills sets the girls up to learn independently as well as develop a love of learning which we hope they will take with them throughout their lives.

From the Headmistress

I hope this new-style issue of The Script gives you a flavour of the happy, inspiring, challenging, fulfilling and colourful life that we are fortunate to lead at Sherborne Girls.

At the start of the Michaelmas Term, I launched our theme for the year as ‘Stronger Together’, reminding the girls that we can have a greater impact working with others, whether collaborating on a project, participating in a team sport, playing in a music ensemble or being part of a committee.

The same goes for being part of a community both here at school but also as part of Sherborne town. At Sherborne Girls, we aim to develop and celebrate individual talent in the context of a caring and supportive environment. I hope this theme is evident to you in the following pages.

You will read about our commitment to enriching all areas of school life through an inspiring curriculum but also through our developed co-curricular programme and new Adventure and Leadership initiative. We hope not only to prepare our girls for the best possible exam results but to provide opportunities for them to explore and develop interest and talents beyond the classroom, as well as to broaden their perspectives and develop self-confidence.

Overseas trips to Krakow, Iceland and Italy serve to further open the girls’ eyes to the outside world and new experiences, whilst charity events, fundraisers and volunteering in neighbouring primary schools all promote a sense of responsibility and an ethos of giving.

We believe these experiences and skills will help the girls go on to lead successful, happy

and fulfilling lives, whilst also having a moral compass and the desire to make a difference.

From our very own EU Referendum and Young Enterprise success to the M5 CSI Challenge and Digital Leaders initiative, the girls have not only been learning to apply learnt skills to life scenarios, but also to work as a team to overcome challenges, express views and achieve success.

Our commitment to excellence in all areas of school life is evident as we share individual achievements, as well as team successes in the academics, arts and sport. You will read about our ‘brilliant and inspiring’ art exhibition in London, about the numerous ‘outstanding musical events’ and just some of our many ‘sporting triumphs’ at school, regional and national level.

Life in a full boarding school is a rich experience full of learning, achievement, challenges and friendship. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our life at Sherborne Girls.

Jenny Dwyer, Headmistress

In this issue 3

4-5

6-7

8-9 10

11

12

13

14-15

Feature

Academic Enrichment

Student Showcase

The Arts

Travel

Co-Curricular

Boarding

Community

Sports Highlights

Front cover: Confirmation Service, Sherborne Abbey, February 2016

2

Sherborne Girls | Bradford Road | Sherborne | Dorset DT9 3QN | 01935 818224 | E. office@sherborne.com | www.sherborne.com

feature

What is Academic Enrichment?

Louise Orton, Deputy Head, Teaching and Learning

Ahead of the Game, Prepared and Ready!

Education Reforms

Academic Enrichment refers to no one aspect of the education of a young person and as such appears in all areas of school life. Young people have a greater capacity to reach academic potential if their curriculum is enriched with physical activity, social support, community involvement and an awareness of the needs of others, sufficient time to learn in a conducive atmosphere, good nutrition, time to read, and a challenging and varied learning environment where the opportunities have no boundaries.

Happy, fulfilled, intellectually curious young women who are ready to be successful in life Our curriculum expands knowledge and academic experience beyond the rote learning of predefined specifications for examination success, focusing on understanding and depth of knowledge and exploring lines of enquiry for long term academic achievement beyond school. It incorporates the development of life skills that develop self-confidence and emotional and creative intelligence for successful future leaders, communicators, performers and good citizens. The developing brain can be trained in many directions and maintaining a breadth of experiences is an important part of the stretch that every girl needs.

Academic enrichment occurs within the classroom with a focus on personalised learning; meeting the needs of every individual. Staff use a range of teaching and learning styles, resources and appropriate technological opportunities to provide variety, capture attention, challenge, and ensure every girl is appropriately stretched. Beyond the classroom, subject specific study trips, exchange programmes in this country and abroad, an extensive regular programme of

co-curricular opportunities, academic extension provided by internal and national competitions and challenges, and tutoring, offer more focused enrichment.

Our boarding school environment enables the development of resilience, resourcefulness, and leadership qualities, in addition to academic enquiry, in the pursuit of excellence.

Encouraging girls to move out of their comfort zone, take risks and learn from their academic mistakes ensures they remain openminded and aspirational. The benefits to Sixth Form girls who direct and choreograph house dance, drama and singing competitions, and to girls in all years who create business opportunities to raise money for their chosen charities, provide a sense of purpose and achievement in supporting others.

Our vision for academic enrichment therefore is everything each individual member of staff does, and facilitates, to give exposure to an environment that will enable girls to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, cultivate a natural curiosity to explore, discover interests and reach their full potential.

L6 girls following A Level courses are experiencing the benefits of our decision to embrace the opportunities for increased teaching and have a ‘break’ from formal examinations for a year. We are currently in the first year of the government imposed three year phased introduction of new courses at A Level. This consists of greater input from universities on content, reduced coursework and practical assessment, and linear courses with A Level examinations being taken at the end of the two years, rather than in two separate sittings including AS examinations in the L6. Increased teaching time and a greater focus on depth of understanding has enabled subject specialists to promote a genuine love of learning in the L6, rather than teaching to the examinations too early.

This also fits well alongside the International Baccalaureate programme, also offered in the Sixth Form.

At GCSE, new courses for all subjects, except DT, will begin for M5 in September. The main differences for our girls are that the reformed courses will be more demanding in terms of problemsolving and application, and will have little or no coursework. The most significant change is that performance will be graded according to a new numerical scale 9-1.

The current A* grade will be split into 8 and 9 with the highest score therefore being much more difficult to achieve than the current A*. Grade 4 will be considered a ‘pass’, comparable to the current grade C, but it is anticipated that a grade 5, a ‘good pass’, will be the preferred grade for Mathematics and English for entry into some universities.

Heads of Department and teaching staff have been attending courses, preparing schemes of work, and scrutinising assessment objectives to ensure that we are ready for these changes.

3

ACADEMIC enrichment

Sherborne Girls promote STEM katy smith, head of physics

EU Referendum Kate Scorer, history teacher

EU Referendum fever has hit Sherborne Girls this term. Interest was sparked in Prayers, where a brief history of the European Union was presented, following which twenty or so girls volunteered to lead the campaign teams and organise the in-school Referendum, which will be held on Thursday, 23 June.

The Sherborne Girls STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassadors worked hard during British Science Week to promote Science and Maths to younger students. Following training from STEMNET, The Ogden Trust and the Institute of Physics, the Sixth Form students were responsible for planning and delivering outreach sessions in the school’s boarding houses and to local primary schools which

explored ideas around colour, sound, the human body and Mobius loops.

The campaign teams have been busy producing posters and researching arguments to persuade voters either to choose to remain in the EU, or elect to leave it. Their campaigns were given a boost on Friday, 20 May when Sir Graham Watson, a former MEP, and the

Our STEM Ambassadors are all volunteers who are keen to share their love of STEM. They have shown incredible leadership, maturity and confidence in the way that they are delivering the programme and they are fantastic ambassadors for the school and for STEM subjects.

Digital Leaders gema carvia-ruiz, head of spanish

Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe spoke to the whole school, debating the pros and cons of EU membership and taking questions from the floor. The Senior History Society has also produced an information booklet offering a balanced view of the arguments, and focus on the background to this discussion.

The girls will themselves have an opportunity for further consideration in a whole-school debate on the eve of the Referendum, and voting will then take place at the same time as the ‘real’ event.

Congratulations to our Digital Ambassadors who have been appointed as part of the Childnet Digital Leaders programme. The girls will influence the school’s approach to e-safety, along with our creative use of technology. They will be role models providing advice and support to their peers and raising awareness about internet safety.

4

The girls will be required to work independently during the training and will meet weekly to discuss how they hope to move the initiative forward. They will be part of a nationwide student group and will communicate with other Digital Leaders in the UK and contribute to

forums, all of which earns them points. On completion of the training, the girls will be ready to get started in an official capacity. Their role will include a range of activities from delivering assemblies to students and creating displays to educating parents.

We hope that our Digital Leaders will not only gain a greater understanding of technology and internet safety, but that they will also learn valuable life skills such as interview techniques, presentation skills and independent learning.

Young Enterprise success claire morgan, geography teacher

The Young Enterprise Scheme is a programme that allows students to form a business and elect a board of directors, raise share capital, then create, sell and market products, attempting to generate profits. This year, eight L6 Sherborne Girls - Catherine Barber, Amelia Belle, Ellie Dowie, Ella Penton-Voak, Alicia Robinson, Lizzie Rydon, Hannah Segrue and Matilda Taylor set up Temple, a bobble and beanie hat company.

Ably guided by two outside Business Advisors,

Temple have sold over £1,000 of stock inside school, from their website and at trade fairs.

They also took part in a Dragons Den experience against other schools, where they asked for money to further develop their website advertising. Two of the four Dragons invested in the company. And, at the Dorset County Final they won a number of awards: Best Report in Dorset, Best Financially Managed Company, a cheque for £250 from Andrews and Palmer for their fantastic Sales Record and second place in the County Final out of the 25 other companies in Dorset.

CSI Challenge Martin Crabtree, Physics teacher

On Monday, 18 April, the M5 turned up to prayers as usual; punctual, smartly dressed, attentive and alert. Little did they know that in a short time they would be trained in the art of crime solving - and have to put their new-found skills to the test by solving a murder. They spent the morning being trained in forensic techniques to analyse fingerprints, hair samples, footprints and bodily fluids!

In the afternoon they returned to find themselves at the site of a murder scene. Ever ready for a challenge, they quickly put their new found skills into action, using the evidence left at the scene to solve the murder and work out ‘whodunit’ - how, where, when and why?

Polymer Day antonio angelosanto, head of chemistry

On Tuesday, 17 May the whole of M5 participated in a Polymer Day at Bristol University. After a prompt and early start, we arrived at the Chemistry department where we were greeted by the Science Outreach coordinator, Dr Tim Harrison. The day began with the girls working in the undergraduate laboratories where they made a number of different synthetic and natural polymers. Following lunch the students were given an informative talk on university life, undergraduate courses and UCAS applications. A second lecture, presented by a final year PhD student, called 'Sugars, Drugs and Nanoholes' gave a fascinating insight into recent scientific developments and discoveries.

The day ended with a highly entertaining and spectacular lecture demonstration by Dr Tim Harrison where explosions, flashes and bangs were in abundance!

The event was provided by Pulse Education and Business and was part of the school’s Eureka!

Programme which shows the girls how aspects of science can be applied to everyday life and the world around them.

As well as the fun and insight into forensic science, the girls will also have developed transferable skills such as approaching situations presented to them in an analytical and critical manner, and in working as part of a diverse team.

5

student showcase

Relatives brenna orrock (L5) An extract from Brenna’s entry for The Montefiore Creative Writing Award.

The house was everything she had wanted as a little girl. Big, with lots of bedrooms for lots of children. A wraparound porch to have drinks on with her husband and family friends. A kitchen window that looked out onto the big backyard so that she could watch her children run and play while she did the cooking. She could have the perfect life here with her husband, and they would

have done all the right things in the right order: love, marriage, house, and children.

someone or cause sadness in their bubble of happiness and love……..

She could fill the house with the smell of cooking and homemade throw cushions and family pictures. Her husband would give her kisses and flowers picked from the garden, and laughter would dance through the house, like the bubbles in champagne lazily floating to the surface. The perfect life was there, in front of her, patiently waiting for her to reach out and take it. She could have it all and everything would be what everyone said it would be and no one would be sad or broken because there was nothing that could break

…….. Only her eyes told the truth. In her eyes, you could see the fractures run along her bones until they splintered into shards of what used to be and regret, you could see them pierce the rest of her body like pieces of shrapnel from a grenade. You could see that when she bled her blood was liquid shame, and the shame of being unloved would pour into her lungs until she was drowning in it.

But no one ever looked into her eyes, and so no one ever saw the shadows of regret, so no one ever knew, and nothing was done.

Pandora Covell U5 GCSE 2015/16 Landscape, Sunset acrylic on canvas

She Talks Science

Children in Medea

Tiffany Chan (L6)

Mary Butler (L6)

Extracts from Tiffany’s winning article ‘What will medicine be like in the future’ published on the 'She Talks Science' blog from Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.

An extract from Mary’s essay which was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Christopher Marlowe English Essay Competition from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

In recent years, there has been a surge in gadgets and devices developed in the medical field. At the push of a button, we are able to keep track of our health at the molecular level.......these innovations have brought us into a whole new world of medicine.

The revolutionary age of medicine seems to be flawless at first glance, however, are there any drawbacks? Firstly, these devices can possibly invade the patients’ privacy. Being able to track who is sick and carrying a virus in a community is certainly a ‘hack’ into one’s life. No one can guarantee that the medical records will stay confidential in such a system. Secondly, whose responsibility is it if there is a misdiagnosis? The complete absence of the patient-doctor relationship seems to have been completely forgotten with such advances….

6

…Sympathy and encouragement are the basic elements of healing and the human component is essential to the healing process. Technology can aid the diagnostic process but the complex decision-making requires an analytical, empathetic approach which can only be offered by a skilled and experienced practitioner.

Many people assume Euripides’ ‘Medea’ to be a deliberately thought provoking presentation of devastating events, told to press points about human rights, betrayal and morality. However, the play loses the possibility of a humanitarian standpoint once we propose that Euripides was unconcerned with the actual infanticide and was more interested in the events surrounding it. The play essentially unfolds a balanced psychological analysis of a broken marriage, and it can at times be forgotten that the children are even involved. It is likely that he simply used them to provide a deeper inspection of Medea’s situation; as a dramatist he was surely not above the necessity of raising the stakes in order to make a more engaging point. The fact that the boys are ignored except as catalysts to the sequence of events implies that it is devoid of true sympathy and delivers only a cold deconstruction of what is essentially the psychology of divorce. By this logic, the children are far from being characters with depth; instead they are tools used by the author to allow a deeper inspection of his chosen theme.

The tree behind my garden

Lucy Redman, A Level 2015 Plant study, ink, Kew Gardens triptych, oil on canvas

Thea Berry (M5) Thea’s entry for The Philippa Lawrence Poetry Prize.

The tree behind my garden Stands big, stands great, stands tall.

But the tree behind my garden, Cannot speak at all.

The tree behind my garden Sits quietly with the creatures.

No one takes a second look Despite its marvellous features.

The tree behind my garden Has bark like golden sheets.

Its roots clutch the ground Like great big pointy feet.

The tree behind my garden sings sadly round the wood.

The song sounds soft and silent, You’d hear it if you could.

The tree behind my garden Is standing in the way.

The machine comes to cut it down And has nothing left to say.

The tree behind my garden No longer looks to the sky.

And the tree behind my garden Is stacked and piled high.

7

the arts

Making our Mark Our 5 yearly art exhibition took place in March at the Menier Gallery, Southwark, London, featuring a selection of the best painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, textiles and product design produced by the school’s students over the past five years.

What are they like?

National Theatre Connections

As part of the National Theatre Connections project, ‘What Are They Like?, the cast, made up of girls from U5L6 and co-directed by L6 student Mary Butler, were fortunate to have the opportunity to perform to family and friends at school, as well as to the public at the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole. Andrew Pritchard, Connections Director, visited a rehearsal to offer the girls some advice ahead of the performances.

The exhibition was formally opened at a drinks reception on 8 March with some inspiring words from Lizzie Perrotte, Programme Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at Christies Education, along with Headmistress, Jenny Dwyer and Head of Art, Jenny Newman.

Throughout the week, the exhibition was attended by current and former students, parents, governors and friends of the

school who were inspired by the breadth and quality of work on display; many visitors even commenting that the standard of artwork was “as good as any professional exhibition!”

Pritchard commented, “This production of What Are They Like? by Lucinda Coxon is a constantly evolving, moving image. It is laced with lovely touches of knowing humour throughout and contains excellent use of children’s toys as melodramatic storytelling devices. The structure of the piece was perfect and the cast delivered some very mature work.”

Lola Dare (L4) remarked, “My first impression was how amazing and eyeopening everything was, and how brilliant the artwork was. In three words: flabbergasting, brilliant, inspiring!”

Fish for success At the beginning of the year, ten U5-U6 girls started the National Theatre’s ‘New Views’ playwriting course. They followed a series of online tutorials covering themes such as plot, narrative and dialogue before starting to write their own thirty minute piece of drama. The girls worked with a professional playwright who gave them one-to-one feedback on how to improve their work which was then submitted to the National Theatre’s judging panel, alongside hundreds of other entries from schools and colleges across the country.

Congratulations to Mary Butler (L6) whose play ‘Fish’ made the 2016 New Views shortlist, representing the top nine entries in the country. Mary’s play will be performed as a rehearsed reading in the Dorfman Theatre, London in July.

8

His recommendations included exploring the peaks and troughs in the pace and energy; de-centering the action to explore new proxemics and stage pictures; finding precision in the physical moments; working on transitions; and practicing vocal resonance and projection. The girls took on board the valuable professional advice which then shaped their stunning final performances. Praising the cast, Pritchard congratulated the girls on delivering a simple, effective and naturalistic performance, describing the stage pictures, imagery and tableaux as “very effective” and the physical work throughout the production as “a joy to watch.”

Music highlights

John Jenkins, director of music

Arabian Nights jenny moore, drama teacher

At the beginning of term, the magical tales of The Arabian Nights were performed by 47 young actors from West who used their acting, singing and dancing skills to transform these exotic fables into a vivid spectacle.

This term has been enriched by a number of outstanding musical events. The Madrigal Society played their part in a very special concert on 16 April, an 80th Birthday Celebration for Miss Augusta Miler, the school’s Director of Music from 1973 to 1996. Having founded the Madrigal Society in 1962, it was most appropriate that the girls were able to make their own tribute to ‘Gussie’ at this wonderful concert.

A few days later, the Madrigal Society joined forces with the String Orchestra to give a delightful concert in St John’s Church, South Brewham. Meanwhile, fourteen members of the Senior Choir continued our lovely tradition of singing at Old Girls’ weddings, providing the music for Emma Hamnett’s (DH/RH’06) marriage service at Corton Denham Parish Church.

This year’s Jazz and Blues Evening in April was an outstanding affair. It was a joy to see how a large number of senior girls had grown in ability and confidence over the years under the guidance of our wonderful team of singing teachers.

As has been the custom for many years, Sherborne Girls hosted the educational strand of the Abbey Festival, welcoming the Duruflé Trio to give an Improvisation Workshop in the Benjamin Britten Hall.

Our two major contributions to the Festival were excellent. The Madrigal Society sang beautifully in the Abbey and the String Orchestra played with great verve and style at Castleton Church.

The Concert in the Courts in May was a great success, with a number of senior girls giving accomplished performances as soloists or as members of boy/girl bands.

Valerie Tsoi (L6) once again played an important role as guest percussionist with the Sherborne Community Orchestra. On the strength of her impressive work with this amateur ensemble, Valerie has been offered a concerto performance with the Dorset County Orchestra in June 2017.

We also congratulate three of our advanced musicians on recent achievements: Charlotte Ewins (U6) on being awarded a place to study oboe at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; violinist Crystal Cheung (U5) on gaining a place in the Duet Philharmonic Orchestra for Easter 2017; and Teresa Feng (U6) on being awarded a place to study piano on Trinity College’s Independent Study Programme.

This was a stunning production full of colour, expressive movement and exciting storytelling. Over 100 primary school children watched the Matinee performance on 21 April with one little boy exclaiming that this was “the best play he had ever seen.”

Jessica Cotton (U4) wrote that her favourite moment in the play was when Shahrazad (Charlotte Orton, U4) and Dinarzad (Poppy D’Abo, L4) sang ‘Please Tell Me’ as it was so beautiful and very special. Another favourite moment for both the cast and audience was the final dance with its colour and vibrant celebratory feel.

Directed by Jenny Moore with John Jenkins as Musical Director and Ana Manero as piano accompanist. Well done to all those involved.

And all that without mentioning our flourishing musical outreach to the community projects, Concerto Concert on 26 June and Piano Masterclass and Concert with Virginia Black on 28 June.

9

travel

West’s Winter Wonderland Hayley Vanstone, Housemistress Aldhelmsted West

IB in Iceland David banks, assistant head of sixth form IB coordinator

Every year the IB girls choose an international project. Last year the girls went to Romania to complete a CAS charity project. This year the students set off for Iceland just before half-term, to conduct a science project on ‘energy’.

This year’s skiers flew to Venice, then travelled by coach to the Dolomites to spend six days in the beautiful village of Madonna di Campiglio. With wonderful weather, superb skiing conditions and fabulous food at our lovely hotel, the week flew by in a flurry of fun on the snow, evening activities and delicious Italian food.

A good mix of skiing abilities made for great progress across the board, under the fun-filled and enthusiastic instruction of the Italian Ski Academy. Complete beginners were soon

zipping down the tree lined slopes whilst our expert skiers flew around the mountains tackling all manner of jumps in the snow parks.

All too soon it was time to leave our winter wonderland. The girls unanimously agreed it was a really fun experience; they made huge amounts of progress and loved getting to know girls from the different year groups.

We’re already looking forward to next year’s trip!

Holocaust Ambassadors

Two L6 students, Serena Dwerryhouse and Blanca Rivero, recently had the opportunity to travel to Krakow as members of the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. The purpose of the trip, organised by the Holocaust Education Trust, explained Serena, “was to make sure the next generation understands what happened in the Holocaust and to ensure it never happens again. It was about humanising the victims, helping us understand that they were more than a number but individuals.”

10

Over 100 students and teachers flew to Krakow, where they were then taken to the town of Auschwitz. They visited a Jewish cemetery and the site of an old Jewish synagogue before being taken to the camp itself. “Before going,” commented Blanca, “I thought it would be quite desolate, isolated and quiet. I hadn’t appreciated the close proximity of the camp to the town.”

Asked what the trip meant to them, the girls, who have both now applied to be Regional Holocaust Ambassadors, commented that they appreciated the opportunity to meet other students from different schools, all with a common interest in history and all passionate about the same cause.

“What I realised after coming back,” added Blanca, “was that I was shocked that I hadn’t considered it earlier. By becoming an Ambassador, I hope I can convey the significance and magnitude of the Holocaust to others. I feel it is a moral responsibility to pass it on to others who haven’t been able to do a trip like this.”

Stunned by the barren landscape, the girls drove past lava fields and crater rows to find the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ‘bridge between continents’, where they crossed from the European plate to the Amercian plate in a matter of seconds!

The girls visited the famous Reykjavik landmark, the Perlan, a futuristic building composed of large circular tanks holding the city’s naturally heated water reserves; along with The Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Station, which proved an unforgettable stimulus for their project.

They were also fortunate enough to visit three breath-taking waterfalls; Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Gullfoss; a glacier; the ‘Geysir’ hot spring; Thingvellir, one of Iceland’s most beautiful and peaceful national parks; and the ‘Blue Lagoon’, a spacious bathing pool set in a moody landscape of mossy lava.

“Iceland was incredible! I was amazed by everything; the waterfalls were astounding, the glacier was like nothing I have ever seen before, we sang on all of the journeys, the blue lagoon was fantastic, there are too many unbelievable places for me to name!”

Flora Wordie (L6)

co-curricular

Co-Curricular ben gudgeon, deputy head, co-curricular Nurturing girls who are adaptable, intellectually enquiring, courageous and compassionate

We have recently reviewed our rich co-curricular provision with the aim of giving girls more direction in their choice of activities. The pursuit of excellence in a particular field is something we wish to celebrate and for which we will continue to provide protected time and opportunity. For most pupils, however, we believe a variety of experiences is the best starting point to develop a life-long passion for learning and to discover new talents.

The first major innovation is the introduction of Adventure and Leadership lessons from L4.

As an offshoot of the programme, the girls will volunteer their services and skills to the local community and engage in service-related activities. We are setting up a pupil-led Charities Committee and Conservation Club to run alongside Amnesty Society, Green Club and the Medicins Sans Frontiere’s ‘Missing Maps’ project.

In addition to their weekly Adventure and Leadership sessions, girls will have time put aside during which they will rotate through a variety of activities designed to whet their appetites. These activities are chosen to develop skills in a clear progression as the girls move up the school. They will cover current affairs and global awareness, engage in weekly debates, participate in book clubs, and learn how to play chess, bridge or other intellectual games. This carousel will be just one element of their cocurricular programme, with time also allocated for music, sport and drama.

The overall programme has been designed to consider the balance of academic work, activities and guilt-free relaxation: there is time for all of these. Moving up the years, girls will be given progressively more freedom of choice, within a well-developed frame of reference, based on broad experience and personal development.

Adventure & Leadership tom fremlin, head of adventure and leadership

We are delighted to be launching a more comprehensive Adventure and Leadership programme in September, building on the success and growth in popularity of our well-established expedition culture.

L4 and U4 girls will have the opportunity to participate in timetabled sessions which aim to develop self-confidence, teamwork, outdoor skills and promote a healthy relationship with the environment. L5 will also have Adventure and Leadership sessions where they will pick up key skills required to look after themselves indoors and out; building towards two summer term expeditions. The extensive programme includes a number of walks, environmental projects and other exciting activities such as sea kayaking and sailing.

In addition, the girls are expected to spend an hour a week volunteering their time in a way which benefits the community. A series of talks and workshops are planned to inform the girls about leadership and give them opportunities to put ideas into practice in team-building and problemsolving activities. All of L5 will have the option to enrol in the DoE Bronze Award and undertake a basic first aid course.

In the middle and upper school, girls can sign up to the very popular DoE programme at Silver and Gold level.

Recent years have seen a huge surge in the variety of expeditions available, including walking expeditions on Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Yorkshire Dales, mountaineering trips to the Picos de Europa in Northern Spain and paddling expeditions on the River Wye and the Great Glen.

Plans are in the pipeline to offer an even greater range of adventures, including a possible Scandinavian trip and the opportunity to paddle some wilder rivers or even sea kayaking.

11

boarding

Full boarding vs boarding Fiona clapp, deputy head, external affairs There are many independent schools which advertise themselves as 'boarding' schools. A number of these offer flexible or weekly boarding and the school is left with just a few students at the weekend. There are only a handful of schools which deliver a truly full boarding experience across both an extended day and the weekend.

Flexible and weekly boarding allow parents the opportunity to commit to busy working lives and professional careers as well as being able to see their children at weekends. This seems to deliver a perfect mix, but is there an argument for a more full boarding approach?

A full boarding school can offer a rich and varied experience which is real preparation for life. It can take a more creative approach to education, filling evenings and weekends with enriching opportunities. From Duke of Edinburgh walks in the pouring rain, early morning swimming training or weekend concerts, to the excitement of which clothes to wear for the Saturday social, the house charity lunch and the year group entrepreneurs competition, these shared experiences become the bedrock of lasting and unshakable friendships.

Picnic in Paris debbie miller, housemistress aldhelmsted east

On Saturday, 23 April, the girls and staff from East took part in a charity event in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK, in memory of our dear Matron, Mrs Kathryn Rowswell who sadly lost her brave fight against cancer this January. The idea was that we would cycle from Sherborne to Dover before swimming the English Channel. Once at Calais, we would cycle to Paris where we would enjoy a picnic before coming all the way home again.

We decided we would complete the challenge in the Oxley Sports Centre using the swimming pool and the spinning bikes and in total we would have to swim 2,640 lengths of the pool and cycle 1,172km.

The customary East house spirit was out in force and all the girls and staff who participated were amazing, working themselves really hard to complete the distance. We played music to keep our spirits up and girls sang, danced and displayed brilliant cheerleading skills throughout the evening. One girl commented that it was one of the best evenings she had ever spent at Sherborne Girls and that it summed up the ethos of East. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part and a massive thanks to all who donated towards a grand total of ÂŁ2,694.

12

When you visit a boarding house in a full boarding school you will see all the evidence that it is a home away from home. There will be the hotly contested house trophies displayed, pictures of weekend excursions, dinners and social events advertised and study bedrooms decorated and strewn with the same personal clutter that one might see in any teenage bedroom.

Teenagers of today are living in a time where everything is posted and examined online.

Being away from home and with friends means that students can communicate freely amongst themselves without this pressure. It gives them the opportunity to reflect, determine and decide which path they want to follow in a safe and supportive environment.

The holiday time can then be truly valued by both parents and children without the trials of school work!

Whilst flexi-boarding is a modern solution to the 21st century life-style, it is full boarding which delivers preparation for all the challenges which the future will inevitably provide, and true lifetime friends which will make those challenges so much more enjoyable.

community

Digital Detox Hayley vanstone, housemistress aldhelmsted west

Home from Home ella scott, gap student

The girls in West decided to accept my challenge of fundraising through a digital detox week. This meant the girls would have to hand in all of their devices, from laptops and iPads, to phones and Kindles, in order to experience a ‘screen-free week’. The girls asked their friends and family for sponsorship for our chosen charities; School in a Bag and Cancer Research UK. To my delighted surprise the screen-free days were not grumbled about and I wasn’t inundated with

questions about whether the devices could be returned earlier than the end of the week.

The girls commented on how much fun they’d had doing other things and how it was lovely to have the full attention of their friends during conversations and games!

I am delighted to announce that a very impressive £2,445 was raised during our very refreshing digital detox week.

Jumping for a cause

I am so grateful to be surrounded by such lovely, friendly staff members as well as girls. I found that within weeks of being at the school it felt like I had been here months. Sherborne Girls has provided me with wonderful opportunities to see some beautiful places in the UK. I do still suffer from dreadful homesickness and think the weather has had a bit to do with this!

Following two failed skydives due to poor weather, Georgie Lane (U6), along with Georgie Luders, Charlotte Given and Emily Williams (U5), decided to face their fear of heights and take part in a charity skydive in April, in support of Teenage Cancer Trust.

The girls commented,

“This is such a worthy charity that helps so many young cancer sufferers every day.”

Georgie (Lane), whose friend Hannah was sadly diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer, in March, added, “Hannah has shown a huge amount of courage, inspiring hundreds of people. She never fails to amaze us all with her constant

I came to Sherborne Girls from New Zealand in January this year. When I first arrived it was very over whelming. The school I went to was very different to Sherborne Girls; there were 1,800 girls at my high school and the pupils come from all walks of life. Boarding school meals are a huge novelty to me and I was astonished at the amazing meals on offer in the boarding houses. So much so, that I’ve been forced to learn to administer a bit more self-control!

energy and bravery and I felt this was a good way to help in some small way.”

Well done to the girls on their achievement, jumping from 10,000 feet over Salisbury Plain and collectively raising over £10,000 for this worthy cause.

To me, the school feels like it has its very own small community and each house within that has its own family. All the houses have their own different vibe depending on the house parents and the girls who live in them. This makes them all unique and individually fabulous. I have grown to love the girls and staff that I work with.

13

sports highlights

Cross Country Target Sprint

A fantastic photo of the Cross Country team at the end of the season with coaches Jayne Dart and Ian Kennedy. The girls are adorned (and surrounded) by their mighty medal haul from the past Cross Country season. Very good times and a season to savour. The girls have since turned their attention to middle distance on the track. The cross country season ended on a high with our annual Inter

House Trophy held in the spectacular grounds of Sherborne Castle. On a glorious spring day the girls entered into the spirit of the competition and the results saw Mary Butler (L6) win the race setting a new course record with Araminta Stubbs (U5) coming in 2nd place, also under the old course record.

Once again we welcomed our sponsor Pete Hounslow to present the trophies.

Eight girls took part in a new event in the fixtures calendar; the Target Sprint, held at Leweston School and organised by British Shooting. The event (run / shoot / run / shoot / run) required the girls to do 400m sprints and then compose themselves to shoot down 5 targets with an air rifle. The girls performed incredibly well with 6 of our 8 competitors qualifying for the National Finals in Cardiff at the end of July. In the U18 competition we had a clean sweep of medals with Mary Butler (L6) winning Gold, Araminta Stubbs (U5), Silver and Olivia Manson (L6), Bronze. In the U15 event Hannah Collin and Lucy Fortescue (both L5) won Silver and Bronze respectively.

A few highlights

LACROSSE - Our U18 first lacrosse team, competed at the Rathbones National Schools Lacrosse Championships in March and were successful in winning Division 2.

BIATHLE - Following a successful series of British Biathle events Olivia Manson (L6) has qualified for the European Championships in Portugal in July.

NEW ASTRO - We are delighted with our new astro and look forward to next season’s hockey fixtures!

Netball

A successful season for our Sherborne Girls netball teams across the Seniors and Juniors.

All teams played competitive and friendly matches displaying their skills and sportsmanship throughout the season with a number of teams being undefeated. Our U14’s finished 1st at the North Dorset tournament and progressed onto the County tournament where they narrowly missed out in the final.

Our U15’s had a fantastic day at the County tournament finishing second in the final and our U16’s progressed from the North Dorset onto the County tournament qualifying to Regionals where they played in Cornwall. This 14

was the first time we have made it through qualifying for Regionals and we look forward to it becoming a regular date in our calendar.

Athletics Swimming

Following a series of successful six-school swim meets at the Oxley Sports Centre, comprising of U18 and U16 girls and boys, the school swim teams have had a very successful year with the U18 and U16 teams finishing unbeaten. The meets have been highly competitive and have showcased swimming at Sherborne Girls, with in excess of 70 swimmers competing on a given Saturday.

Kayleigh Parker (U5) qualified to compete at the British Gas Championships in Glasgow in April. This event was also the Olympics Trials.

Six girls qualified for ASA South West Summer Regional Championships this term, all performing very well and gaining multiple personal bests. Jess Carroll (M5/15 years) became the 50m and 100m Breaststroke Champion, Kayleigh Parker (U5/16 years) was the 200IM Champion, Olivia Flack (L6/15 years) was a finalist in 50m, 100m and 200m Backstroke, and Harriet Watts (L5/14 years) was a finalist in 50m, 100m and 200m Backstroke.

Kayleigh, Jess and Harriet have qualified to compete at the British Age Group Championships in Sheffield in July and Olivia Flack has qualified to compete at the English Championships in August.

The success of cross country has transferred into the athletics season with the Junior and Senior teams both winning a number of highly competitive events including the Bryanston relays and coming second in the

Milfield Super 8s event. Sixteen girls have qualified to represent North Dorset in the County Championships, a number of whom are vying for English standard qualifying times.

Tennis

Tennis teams have enjoyed unprecedented success this term. Our U14 A, B C and D teams are all unbeaten, winning all 15 matches this term so far. Our Senior Teams (1st to 4th teams) have won 19 out of 21 matches and our U15 teams (A to D teams) have won 10 out of 12 matches.

These results demonstrate that we have high performance players in the school as well as strength and depth in all age groups.

The Parents and Daughters Tournament, which took place in May, was a wonderful community event. Families enjoyed a lovely, sunny afternoon of tennis and helped raise funds for Rwanda. The event was run by Mr Brooker (Head of Tennis) along with our Sports Leaders.

15

www.sherborne.com/the-arts-centre

Coming soon...

A striking new centre at the heart of the school that will inspire the whole community We are expecting planning approval shortly on a striking new centre at the heart of the school. We look forward to updating you in the next issue on the progress of this exciting project. In the meantime, this image gives you a glimpse of the new centre which will benefit the whole community.

• A new building for music, including a 520-seat auditorium • Innovative conversion of the Stuart Centre to house drama

• Foyer and attractive display space to showcase our talented artists

• A multi-functional space for a range of events from guest speakers and exhibitions to match teas and socials.

For more information and to follow the progress of this project, please visit www.sherborne.com/the-arts-centre

Diary dates 25 June Sports Day and picnic Ealhstan and Thurstan (RH) Centenary tea L5 Play ‘Bluff your way in Classics’ 26 June Concerto Concert 29 June Inter-house swimming

30 June Commemoration Concert 1 July Commemoration Service Prizegiving Art and Design Exhibition Chamber Music Concert

For further information, please visit www.sgcalendar.com Shelleys The Printers