Inside Heathfield enews issue 14

Issue Number 14, w/c 18th November 2013 & w/c 25th November 2013 St Nicholas’s Stalls Heathfield held its annual fundraising event, St Nicholas’s Stalls, on 23rd November 2013 in aid of the House charities; S.O.S Children’s Village International, Flip’s Fund, Richard Burns Foundation and Make a Wish Foundation UK. At 11am in true Heathfield tradition girls, parents, governors, staff and old girls gathered for the grand opening at the entrance to the St Mary’s Theatre to see the youngest girl in the school, Georgina (Form I), and Mrs Heywood cut the official ribbon. Inside, the St Mary’s Theatre was packed full of external stall holders offering an array of goods, perfect for Christmas presents, including candles, soaps, jewellery and clothing. The Sports Hall was a hive of activity as each House traded goods on its House stall. The girls were proactively selling raffle tickets and promoting their games which included Guess the Name of the Brussels Sprout, Grab a Grand and Guess the Name of the Baby. There was face painting, Santa’s grotto and a tuck shop all run by the girls in the name of charity. Thanks to everyone who made this year’s St Nicholas’s Stalls such a huge success. Money from the event is still coming in but last year’s total has already been exceeded.

Miss S Lloyd, Marketing Manager

Issue Number 14, w/c 18th November 2013 & w/c 25th November 2013 Careers Fair Heathfield’s Careers Fair took place on 19th November 2013. Girls from Form IV upwards attended the event which began with two talks, first from Liz Grassby from Outreach International who talked about gap year possibilities.

The second speaker was Julie Marsden, a Human Resources Director from HR Solutions, who discussed interviews and careers and explained how one could prepare for future careers. Her advice was to learn, learn again and learn some more. Once these talks drew to a conclusion the girls then attended breakout sessions where they talked to professionals from different industry sectors including Interior Design, Media Law, IT and Journalism. The girls had the chance to ask plenty of questions during the breakout sessions. The girls then came together again in St Mary’s Theatre to listen to Gareth Henderson speak on Equities, where he discussed stock markets and investing in companies and he took the opportunity to discuss the successes and potential pitfalls.

To conclude the evening the girls took part in another series of breakout sessions and this time got to listen to careers advice on Fashion Design, Banking, Medical Careers, Film and Entertainment and Music Events. Huge thanks must go to everyone who came to speak to the girls, especially our five returning Old Girls Emily Todhunter (Heathfield 1974-1978), Lulu Burrough (Heathfield 1993-1998), Georgia Oakley (Heathfield 1999 - 2006), Kitty Faulkner (Heathfield 1999-2006) and Laura Fairfax (Heathfield 1999-2006) and parent Helena Frith Powell. Angela Drisdale-Gordon from the London College of Fashion must also be thanked for her continued support, returning after she judged Heathfield’s Fashion Show last year.

Mrs J Meeson, Old Girls Co-ordinator and Teacher in Charge of History of Art

AIM A Level Biology Conference A Level Biology students had an early start on Friday 29th November, heading into London to the AIM A Level Biology Conference. One of the speakers was Lord Robert Winston, arguably the greatest biologist of our time, as well as two UCL lecturers, speaking about subjects related to the two AS modules, Biology and Disease and Variety of Organisms.

The event was held, ironically, in a Baptist church, which was bizarre as the topics included evolution and the variety of life, IVF and genetic engineering such as sex selection. This linked in with the LVI Form’s recent debate competition for which their topic was 'is sex selection in IVF right or wrong?' (when asked, Lord Winston said that it is right). The day was very helpful, offering different views of the content of the syllabus and thought provoking ideas from such well known lecturers.

Thanks to Miss Wells for organising the trip and giving us such a thought provoking day.

Janet, Form UVI

Issue Number 14, w/c 18th November 2013 & w/c 25th November 2013 Old Girls’ Christmas Cocktails Despite taking place in mid-November, the Old Girls’ Christmas Cocktails evening certainly got everyone in the mood for the festive season when Old Girls of all ages congregated at the Lansdowne Club on Thursday 21 st November. Everyone spent hours reminiscing about their days at Heathfield and were delighted to be reunited with Mrs Heywood, Mrs Bramley, Mrs Ingram and Mrs Meeson. As ever it is always fascinating to hear what Heathfield Old Girls are doing today, from sitting on the governing body of a girls’ school, nursing or studying for a PHD, to being a jewellery designer or becoming a mother. The Christmas Cocktails were a huge success and were very much enjoyed by all.

Mrs J Meeson, Old Girls Co-ordinator and Teacher in Charge of History of Art

De Valois Weekend, 30th November & 1st December 2013 The Christmas season started on Saturday afternoon for the Lower School as they headed off to see an unorthodox version of Snow White the Pantomime at South Hill Park. In this unusual performance, Snow White was accompanied by Rapunzel, The Princess and The Pea, Six Dwarfs and a Dragon. The girls were lucky enough to meet the cast at the end of the show.

On Saturday evening the large inflatable obstacle course was put to good use in the swimming pool while Form IV all looked extremely glamorous as they had an evening of ‘Mocktails’, speed dating and dancing with boys from Harrow.

On Sunday morning a large contingent of the Senior School headed off to Winchester, ably led by local tour guide Ms Reynolds (Director of Sport) on a tour of the Cathedral and Winchester’s Christmas Market, while in school a fierce battle took place which saw Forms I and III challenge Form II in a Benchball / Dodgeball tournament.

Congratulations to Forms I and III who narrowly won. That afternoon the girls also made their own Cone Advent Calendars.

Miss J Talbot, Head of House – De Valois

Issue Number 14, w/c 18th November 2013 & w/c 25th November 2013 Business Studies Trip to MINI On 19th November, Business Studies students from Forms IV and V and the Business teachers Miss Dawson and Ms Kendall headed to Oxford. After a long drive we finally arrived at the MINI factory. We entered Reception and had to wear some black overalls so that our clothes didn’t get dirty! First of all we had a guided tour and got to see informative displays on the evolution of Minis. Afterwards, we finally went round the actual factory. We saw the last part of the production process of making a Mini, which consists of putting in the glass and engine, and adding the wheels.

We learned that each Mini has been ordered by a customer and will be made to their specific requirements on a production line. Each car can have over 40 variants in colour scheme or having cashmere seat covers and air conditioning. While making the car, workers have to look at a sheet stuck to the car, which contains the information of what the customer is looking for.

However it’s not only workers but also robots that work there as they work much more quickly and accurately.

After seeing how the five lines of finishing a mini work we had to go back to Reception for final questions and a photo opportunity.

Fernanda, Form IV

Economics Lecture at Eton College On 21st November, the AS Level Economics students were invited to a lecture at Eton College by the Keynes Society.

The topic was “How to avoid another financial crash.” There was a panel of four speakers, including Ha-Joon Chang, an international best selling author who in 2010 released his best-selling book called 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism; Ann Pettifor, a widely published author and analyst of the global financial system; Paul Ormerod, the author of The Death of Economics and other two very successful books, and Crispin Odey, a fund manager and founding partner of Odey Asset Management.

The speakers talked for 45 minutes, followed by another 45 minutes of questions answered by the panel. 27 other schools attended, making it a very interesting and lively debate, from which we learnt about our current situation and how we can apply the syllabus theory to the real life events of the 2008 financial crash. We learnt about the causes of the economic crisis and how not to repeat them in the future. We also found out about our current situation in the UK and Europe, and about the diversity of opinions regarding which stage of the business cycle we are in at present.

We are looking forward to further lectures and meetings by the Keynes Society in the New Year.

Blanca and Blanca, LVI Form Students UVI Photography Trip On Thursday 28th November, the UVI Photography students spent the afternoon viewing exhibitions at The National Portrait Gallery and The V&A. At The National Portrait Gallery we saw the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2013 displaying editorial, advertising and fine art prints. The work submitted by several photographers ranged from ‘gifted amateurs to talented students and established professionals’. Past exhibitions have been filled with striking and personal images and this year doesn’t disappoint with another collection of excellent portraits. After analysing two images for our coursework we headed to The V&A where they were exhibiting Photography: Making It Up and their permanent collection of The History of Photography. The Making It Up display included photographs by some of the most influential contemporary artists working in this area, such as Gregory Crewdson, Duane Michals and Cindy Sherman, alongside examples by 19th-century professionals including Julia Margaret Cameron, Clementina Lady Hawarden and Oscar Gustav Rejlander. It was incredibly thoughtprovoking and showed us a different side to photography that we do not usually see. The second exhibition took us through a history of photography. The Gallery showcased some of the most technically brilliant and artistically accomplished photographs in the history of the medium. We were able to see many different aspects of photography, which will hopefully inspire us for our own future photography. After analysing two more photographs for our primary research we headed straight to a well-deserved dinner after an incredibly captivating afternoon.

Jasmine, UVI Student

Issue Number 14, w/c 18th November 2013 & w/c 25th November 2013 Music and LAMDA Concert On a cold autumn Friday evening, parents, staff and students were treated to (according to Mrs Heywood) ‘an absolutely outstanding Music and LAMDA concert, Heathfield’s best ever’. The concert opened with a quirky but effective orchestra arrangement of Autumn from The Four Seasons and A Whiter Shade of Pale performed by the joint Heathfield and St George’s Orchestra. Girls from all year groups were involved including Honey-Bee (LVI Form) singing What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line, Anoushka and Kitty (both From III) dancing their GCSE set study, Hermione and Atalanta (both Form IV) singing Read All About It by Emeli Sande, the brass ensemble playing Liberty Bell and Maya, Millie and Tattie (all Form IV) performing their LAMDA piece. Other highlights of the night were Phoebe (Form IV) giving an emotional performance on On My Own from Les Miserables, Thea-Rose (UVI Form) on the cello playing arguably the most poetic composition ever written – Rachmaninoff’s 3rd movement from his Cello Sonata in G minor, Janet (Form UVI) singing and Diana (Form LVI) on the drums for Cry Me A River, the a cappella group singing Diana’s arrangement of Summer Nights and the choir singing O Happy Day. The event finished with our Heathfield band performing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli. The audience were in such good spirits they couldn’t help but cheer for an encore! Everyone was on their feet dancing and singing along to the repeat performance by the band. It really was an amazing night.

Miss S-M Kong, Assistant Director of Music

Senior Maths Challenge On Friday 22nd November, four students bravely took part in the Senior Maths Challenge, a day designed to promote mathematical dexterity, team working and communication skills against other schools in the Guildford area. Anastasia (UVI Form), Selina (UVI Form), Diana (LVI Form) and Kate (Form V) were the Heathfield representatives who participated in the three rounds against 24 other schools.

Round 1 allowed the students 40 minutes to complete ten challenging questions as a team, in pairs or individually. Round 2 was a crossword puzzle where one pair was given the across clues and the other pair were given the down clues. Unfortunately, the pairs were only allowed to converse between the teacher, which increased the difficulty dramatically. The final round consisted of four mini rounds with four questions in each round. The first pair completed the first question in the round and the answer to that was required for the second question that the other pair completed and so on until all four questions were answered.

The girls performed admirably, working as a team and definitely got into the spirit of the event. Unfortunately they did not reach the top three schools. Next time, watch out!

Miss J McSweeney, Teacher of Mathematics

@HeathfieldAscot

Heathfield School

Heathfield Blog