Inside Heathfield - Issue 111

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Issue Number 111 October 22 2020

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Autumn has finally arrived as we reach the end of our first half-term. I always knew that returning to physical school would be challenging in a pandemic, but I did not anticipate the extent of support and appreciation for the School and our pupils from parents, staff, and everyone in our community. Thank you all so much; you have no idea how much all the positive and congratulatory emails cheer us all, and I am very appreciative.

As we end the term, I must celebrate our staff. I am so very privileged to work with the most wonderful group of people and I am deeply grateful to each one of them for working so hard to keep Heathfield open and your daughters happy.

I wish you all a healthy half-term wherever you are and look forward to seeing you all back at school afterwards. Please take care of yourselves and each other; you are each very precious to us.

With best wishes Mrs Gardiner Legge

Head Girl Team and Prefect Roles The Prefect process at Heathfield is quite different to many other schools. We believe that it is vital that the young women who apply for Prefect roles are introduced to the idea of an external recruitment process early and it is certainly rigorous.

It begins with an application letter and an action plan written to the Headmistress. The action plan details the specific initiatives the girls wish to bring in over their tenure, if

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elected to the Head Girl team. They then have interviews with the Head of Sixth Form and

Past Issues the Headmistress, and, much more terrifyingly for the candidates, the outgoing Head GirlTranslate

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Team. If that was not challenging enough the Head Girl team candidates and the candidates for House Captain, then speak either at hustings for the entire School or in front of their Houses. The House then votes, and the School vote separately for the Head Girl and the Deputies, as do all staff.

The challenge of doing this remotely only added extra spice to the process and well done to Auriel, Claudia, Lexi, Lily, Louise and Roxy for their resilience and perseverance. Their speeches were magnificently performed with a special round of applause for Lexi where the sound cut out halfway through her first rendition, but it speaks volumes for the other Candidates, and for her, that she got up and did it all again at the end.

The school then voted online, and the results will be announced later today. The best of luck to all the Candidates.

Mrs Gardiner Legge, Headmistress

Form I Geography Trip to the New Forest The Geography trip to the New Forest was an opportunity to introduce Form I to the delights of viewing the world through the eyes of a geographer. Work before the trip covered the different types of data that we could collect and planning some sensible inquiry questions.

The first method of data collection was to draw a field sketch of part of the Beaulieu River which has been dammed to create Mill Pond – unfortunately, just a flat mudbank this year as the tide was out.

The pupils focused on the geographical landscape whilst admiring the many swans and ducks. From there, we conducted traffic surveys of the surrounding roads, taking care to consider the risks first. We also gathered qualitative data in the form of bi-polar surveys and writing Haiku poems capturing the environment.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch at Beaulieu Road under the trees in the forest – also the site of a railway station and the Sales yard where the Commoners can sell the ponies. In the afternoon we visited Lyndhurst Museum where the girls carried out their research into the National Park to find out about its wildlife and its history as one the oldest areas of natural woodland in the country. They were surprised to find that it is not all forest, but vast heathlands, moors, and grasslands play a major part in the mosaic of landscape and providing wonderful biodiversity. We have returned to School to research further the Silvery Studded Blue Butterfly and the seven species of native deer.

Mrs Lesley Worrall, Subject Leader of Geography and Head of House (Austen)

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The Royal Society of Biology – Biology Challenge 2020 The Biology Challenge stimulates students’ curiosity for the natural world and encourages them to take an interest in Biology outside of School. It is a worldwide competition and Heathfield students in Forms II-IV took part in the last week before lockdown with some great results: Joy (Form IV) – Commended Rachael (Form IV) - Highly Commended Rosaleen (Form IV) – Highly Commended Theodora (Form IV)- Bronze Ella (Form V) Highly Commended Georgia (Form V) - Commended

British Biology Olympiad 2020 The British Biology Olympiad is a global competition for A Level students and challenges and stimulates students to expand and extend their talents.

Well done Tina UVI – Commended Ms Lucy Johnson, Head of Science & Teacher in Charge of Biology

Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) – Rotary Young Photographer Competition /

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Last year, before lockdown, GCSE and A Level Photography students submitted entries into

Past Issues the local Rotary Young Photographer Competition. We asked girls in Form IV and LVI toTranslate

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submit a portfolio of three images. We have such creative girls at Heathfield and a diverse selection of amazing images were shot for the competition.

Images by Lucy in Form V stood out for the judges, taking the theme of ‘through my eyes’ in a completely different direction. Judges were so impressed that Lucy was awarded First Place in the Senior category of the local round. Her work was then carried through to the District Round and she won the Senior Category once again.

Miss Karen White, Subject Leader Photography and Head of House (Seacole)

University for the Creative Arts Discuss Higher Education Options Director of Creative Development, Mrs Feilen was delighted to welcome the University for the Creative Arts for a bespoke lecture to pupils studying Art and Photography across Forms V to UVI. Savannah Moray, Graduate Admissions Advisor, detailed the wide range of courses on offer across their campuses located at the following sites: Canterbury, Farnham, Epsom and Rochester, as well as their two satellite schools ‘The Royal School of Needlework’ based at Hampton Court and ‘Maidstone Television Studios’, Kent.

Pupils listened intently as Savannah discussed the range of courses offered, including gaming, animation and film studies. Ms Moray presented compelling research which detailed exponential growth in the Creative Industries sector.

Mrs Eve Feilen, Director of Creative Development

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Elevate Study Skills Sessions The development of effective study skills is an important part of a well-rounded education.

In this regard, Heathfield works with Elevate Education, an organisation that has benchmarked the study habits of thousands of pupils over the past seventeen years. Elevate will be running seminars for all year-groups this term. They will also be providing parent seminars to explain the theory and practice of their work.

On 7 October, Elevate continued their programme with our Form V with a seminar entitled ‘Ace Your Exams’. This hour-long session took pupils through smart skills such as: Identifying the six biggest mistakes in exam preparation Recognising the seven steps for preparation excellence Employing the three steps to exam room excellence With the Form V assessments being in that week and the mock examinations approaching at the start of December, this session was extremely timely and very well received by our Form V students.

On 13 October, Elevate introduced their programme of skills for success to Form I through a seminar entitled ‘Study Skills Kick Start’. This session showed our Form I students how to: Employ dynamic reading techniques Format their notes effectively with: Main headings Sub-headings Trigger notes Pictures and diagrams Use mind maps to consolidate learning These techniques were very new to the majority of Form I students and will be extremely helpful in preparing them for the Form I assessment week that takes place from Monday 16 November onwards.

Mr David Mitchell, Deputy Head (Academic)

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Careers Guidance As part of the Careers Guidance offered at Heathfield, at the end of Form IV we usually use Morrisby Online to help the girls build a profile that identifies their core strengths and reflects their personality, interests, and motivations. Due to the pandemic, we decided to defer this to the Michaelmas Term. Consequently, Form V completed their Morrisby assessment on 9 October. A final report is produced following an online psychometric assessment and a one-to-one meeting with a Morrisby career adviser, which takes place over video conference, the week after their return from half term.

Heathfield uses Morrisby, an established service that offers impartial and objective career advice, so the girl receives information from an independent and expert source. The girls will enjoy lifelong access to Morrisby Online to accommodate their changing needs, so they can amend their profile and utilise the resources available to them.

These final reports also feed into planning to encourage girls in careers in which they are already interested and inspire girls to think about careers they may not have considered previously. To support a greater understanding of the huge variety of roles and career pathways, the girls had the opportunity to listen to a variety of different talks last year including ex CSI & Forensics, Milliner, Art Curator, One Young World, the CEO of the Jo Cox Foundation, and the online talks after lockdown. A blended Speaker Programme will continue this academic year.

Mrs Rushi Millns, Director of Careers & Outreach and Head of Computing/ICT

House Charities Austen House are putting all their efforts into raising money for Robbie’s Rehab. Robbie was a pupil at Edgeborough Prep School and when he was 6, he lost his mummy Kate to breast cancer. Tragically aged 8, he himself was diagnosed with cancer – a malignant brain tumour. Despite the best efforts of wonderful medical staff, he died aged 10 in February 2016. Alongside his family and friends, we wish to fulfil the aim of Robbie’s Rehab, to provide staff to rehabilitate children with brain tumours on an outpatient and athome basis.

Austen House Captains, Carolina and Marybelle (UVI) DeValois House have chosen to fundraise for Great Ormond Hospital for Sick Children (GOSH) as it is a charity that we all resonate and sympathise towards. GOSH deals with current breakthroughs in medical practices and de Valois feel that by donating money into this worthy cause it will help make a difference to children’s lives who may be suffering from rare diseases/cancers Auriel, Louise and Roxy (LVI) Seacole House has chosen to support The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity that raises money to ensure their nurses, doctors, and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments that are used in the UK and around the world.

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The Royal Marsden is a small charity hospital, and they are currently fundraising to build a

Past Issues new hospital called the Oak Centre which we will hopefully be helping to raise money for. ITranslate

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spent some time doing virtual work experience with the fundraising team at the Royal Marsden over the summer and I learned so much about the charity and the differences they make to so many people's lives through their hard work. Cancer is a disease that has touched almost everyone in some way or another and by supporting The Royal Marsden we are going to be doing our bit to help cure Cancer.

Seacole House Captain, Tabitha, UVI Students in Somerville House were asked to nominate a House Charity. Felicity in Form 1 nominated Helen and Douglas Hospice when she spoke at our House meeting. Kiki in Upper Sixth spoke for the Oscar Foundation. The House voted strongly for the Oscar Foundation but a moving speech by Felicity also gained her nomination a sizeable number of votes.

The Oscar Foundation empowers children and youth in low-income families in India. They use football to deliver education and life skills sessions enabling children to become role models in their communities. The Covid virus and resulting lockdown have hit poorer communities in India particularly hard, so their need is greater than ever.

Last year a girls’ football team from Oscar stayed for several nights at Heathfield and we helped towards their fundraising. We will be organising a raffle and auction using prizes donated by Somerville families and fundraising will continue throughout the year.

Somerville House Captains, Imaan and Kiki, UVI

Taster Events We were very excited to welcome Year 6 pupils to Heathfield for the first of five Taster Events being held for prospective 2021 entry pupils. Although social distancing was the order of the day, the girls enjoyed making friends with pupils from a wide range of schools including Coworth Flexlands, Eton End, Falcon Girls, Falkner House, Garden House, Hall Grove, Highfield, Lambrook, Maltmans Green, Thomas’s Fulham and Upton House. /

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The busy programme included a Textiles Workshop, live experiments in Science, and fun on

Past Issues the Lacrosse pitch. The girls had lots of questions about life at Heathfield and were excitedTranslate

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to meet new Headmistress Elect Ms Sarah Wilson who will be joining us next term. Prospective pupils will return to Heathfield in November for their assessment and interview and we look forward to welcoming them back.

Mrs Isabel Hutchings, Head of Admissions

Virtual Open Morning We held our second virtual Open Morning on Saturday 17 October which included a live Q&A session attended by over 60 families. The day before, registered families were able to view three videos showcasing Heathfield and our pupils, including Headmistress Elect Ms Sarah Wilson. I am delighted to report that we have had a hugely positive response to the content and format of the event resulting in further registrations for 11+ entry next year.

Ms Anna Morgan, Director of Marketing & Admissions

Heathfield Sport A huge thank you to all the girls who are regularly attending sport practices after School. We are impressed by your commitment and it is great to see so many of you improving week by week. Our Saturday morning House Lacrosse has been a tremendous success. Despite the rain and the cold, the girls have shown grit and determination, with smiles on their faces and displaying some excellent lacrosse skills. Well done to all the girls involved!

Congratulations to Alice (Form III) who rows for Eton Excelsior and competed against Eton Rowing Club and Windsor Rowing Club. Her Quad finished 4th out of 80 boats.

Also, congratulations to Isabella (Form I) as she was awarded Most Improved Player by her netball club and Isobel (Form III) awarded Most Improved Player at training with the Ladies Polo Foundation.

New Clubs starting after Half Term On 7 October we held a Trampolining taster session. It was great to see so many girls interested, and Trampolining club will begin after half term.

Michaelmas Term Activity Week has just finished. Girls were encouraged to participate in sports outside of the curriculum. This week we played Hockey and Water Polo. As a result of high demand, a Hockey lunchtime club will start after half term.

Recent feedback from the Form I Open Door with Mrs Gardiner Legge has also resulted in a multi-sports club starting after half term.

If you are interested in attending a Netball Camp over half term, please follow this link https://www.surreystormnetball.co.uk/coaching-events/junior-coaching/ Finally, we want to wish the best of luck to all the girls who are attending National Regional Lacrosse Academy trials over Half Term: Form III - Allegra, Birdie, Emily, Jazzy, and Olivia; Form IV - Ella and Form V - Carina.

Miss Carys Willimott, Head of Sport & Dep. Head of House (Austen)

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Past Issues Heathfield Equestrian

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The Heathfield riders and polo players had a great start to the term, enjoying the lovely autumn afternoons and sunsets.

Our new Monday and Thursday polo players are already showing great confidence and potential for future Heathfield teams. We train with Coolhooves Polo at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club and HK Polo School at Ranelagh Farm.

Our riders and showjumpers have also settled into enthusiastic groups at the Berkshire Riding Centre, with beginners and advanced riders making the most of their hour of riding and pony care.

Mrs Gill Glimmerveen, Equestrian Co-ordinator

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Weekend 2 - 4 October The weekend began with a variety of indoor activities for all three boarding houses, whilst the Upper Sixth and Mr Hart hosted an extremely popular pizza evening for Form V and the Sixth Form. Pizzas were freshly cooked in a real pizza oven built into the back of a Range Rover. Forms III and IV had great fun at a Kahoot quiz and Brontë girls loved watching Freaky Friday whilst devouring items from their tuck boxes!

House Lacrosse went ahead on Saturday morning with the girls undeterred by the heavy rain. Indeed, the younger year groups, who had been indoors, feared that they were missing out on something and joined in the outdoor fun before going back into school, or home, to dry off and warm up!

By lunchtime, the weather had improved, and the older girls were able to experience Segway riding. In addition, the ever-popular petting zoo set out their animals into pens including guinea pigs, sheep, and Shetland ponies for girls to stroke and cuddle.

The evening Roller Disco proved a great success with Brontë and Wantage girls and a few of the Sixth Form, whilst other Sixth Formers enjoyed a movie night.

Brontë girls appreciated the community spirit of Chapel in person on Sunday morning whilst others took part virtually. Brontë girls attended a football match at Ascot Ladies FC which proved somewhat cold and wet but fun, nonetheless. Wantage substituted an afternoon of board games for the scheduled outdoor Golf and girls participated with great enthusiasm.

Mrs Janet Liepa, Deputy Housemistress Wantage

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Weekend 17 – 18 October BrontÍ House girls participated in the House Lacrosse on Saturday morning and then joined the Graffiti artists workshop which produced a lot of very imaginative art. The girls made Halloween decorations, and these will be used for their Halloween party after half term. The fun-filled day ended with a movie night and snacks. They loved the movie Dirty Dancing and spent the weekend singing the songs from the film. Sunday started with Chapel and the rest of the day was spent pumpkin carving. The day ended with a textiles workshop which was a lovely way to finish the weekend.

Wantage House girls also played House Lacrosse on Saturday morning and took part in the Graffiti artists workshops. They then had great fun on Segways over our 36-acre site.

Saturday ended watching the movie Legally Blonde with snacks. On Sunday, Chapel and brunch were followed by pumpkin carving and baking in our Leiths School of Food and Wine kitchen.

Sixth Form events started on Friday evening with the Head Girl hustings taking place and all the Sixth Form girls attended to show their support to the six Candidates. Saturday was an early start with House Lacrosse and ended with a movie night. Sunday was a more relaxed day with Chapel, followed by brunch and then girls enjoying free time to study or to spend time with friends.

Mrs Pauline Kerley, Deputy Housemistress Sixth Form

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22 Oct - 15.00 Half Term 01 Nov - Boarders Return 02 Nov - Term Starts 04 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 05 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 11 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 12 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 18 Nov- 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 25 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 26 Nov - 11+ Entrance Examinations for 2021* 18 Dec - END OF TERM *Email: Admissions@heathfieldschool.net 13+ 16+Entrance Exam dates to be announced.

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