Inside Heathfield enews issue 16

Issue Number 16, w/c 6th January 2014 & w/c 13th January 2014 Confirmation On Sunday 19th January as Heathfield was bathed in glorious winter sunshine, fifteen girls and one member of staff were Confirmed into the Anglican Communion at the school's Chapel of the Ascension. Having been prepared for Confirmation by Fr Tim, the candidates processed in with the girls dressed in the traditional white dress of Heathfield and were presented to the Right Reverend Dr. Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham and Governor of the school. Before a large congregation made up of the girls' friends and families, the candidates made their promises to follow Christ and renounce evil. The Bishop, Fr Tim and the congregation prayed for them. Following a hymn, beautifully accompanied by Miss Kong and the Heathfield choir, Bishop Jonathan then laid his hand on the head of each candidate, confirmed them by name and anointed them.

After all sixteen candidates had been confirmed, the Chapel erupted into a joyful round of applause. The congregation then received Holy Communion or a blessing from Bishop Jonathan and Fr Tim before the newly confirmed left Chapel each holding a candle to symbolise the light of Christ.

The Chapel then emptied and friends, families, girls and staff all mingled to celebrate the event in the Assembly Hall with some canapĂŠs and lots of smiles.

Mr T Pithers, Teacher of English

In the Press In early January, Mrs Heywood was interviewed by the veteran broadcaster Anne Diamond on her mid -morning show on BBC Radio Berkshire. This followed Mrs Heywood’s comments in the Daily Mail over Christmas about her fears over a culture of stupidity caused by reality television dumbing down generations of children. Mrs Heywood also talked about the benefits of an all-girls school including girls having the freedom to study the STEM subjects.

Mrs Heywood also appeared as an education commentator on Sky News Sunrise on January 11 to discuss Labour's newly-announced plans to introduce licensing for the teaching profession if they should win the next election.

Miss L Ivens, Director of Communications

Mock Examinations The UVI, LVI and Form V girls all sat mock examinations during the first two weeks of term. These took place under invigilated exam conditions and proved a valuable experience for all. Historically the Sixth Form had taken public examinations in January but as this is no longer the case they were able to prepare for their Summer examinations in realistic test conditions. Well done to all the girls who worked extremely hard over the six days of mock examinations. Marina Furniss-Roe, Director of Studies

Issue Number 16, w/c 6th January 2014 & w/c 13th January 2014 Flute Masterclass with Mr Ian Clarke On Friday 10th January, Mr Clarke came to Heathfield to give a recital on the flute and piccolo. Before the recital, the Heathfield Flute ensemble had the opportunity to participate in a masterclass with Mr Clarke. To begin with, he introduced himself and his wife (who also plays the flute and is the assistant to Mr Clarke), and showed us a really unusual piece on the flute which includes special techniques. He then asked us to have a go at the technique where we blow into the flute as if we were laughing out loud, using the C major scale. I found this really challenging but very helpful and interesting. After that he gave us a piece of music that we had never done before - The Swan from Carnival of Animals by Saint-Saens - and explained what it was about. After some guidance from him, we could play the piece very well. After that, we were given his two part arrangement to the Jupiter Theme by Holst which is a tune we know because we sing it as a hymn in Chapel. Mr Clarke was very inspiring telling us about this piece. This was my favourite piece among the three that we performed. Finally, we performed Galop from William Tell which we had practised beforehand and was played really well by all of us. Mr Clarke was a kind and very inspiring person. He played amazing pieces in the concert later in the evening.

Franny, Form III Student Recital by Flautist Mr Ian Clarke Heathfield parents, staff and students were treated to an amazing flute recital last Friday given by the internationally acclaimed flautist Mr Ian Clarke. Among the highlights of the concert were original compositions by Mr Clarke, Carmen Fantasy by Bizet-Borne which consists of themes from the opera Carmen, and Wake Up – a piece written for the piccolo and the alarm clock! The Heathfield Flute Ensemble (Iona, Franny, Carol and Emma, all in Form III) also had the opportunity to perform three flute pieces with Mr Clarke at the concert. They played incredibly well despite the fact that they only received the music at the flute workshop given by Mr Clarke two hours before the concert. To conclude the evening, Mr Clarke performed the Great Train Race which displayed many flute techniques never seen before and Flight of the Bumble Bee which was the popular favourite of all.

Miss S-M Kong Assistant Director of Music

Circular Breathing After his phenomenal flute concert, Ian Clarke attempted to teach circular breathing to his niece Phoebe (Form IV), myself and other girls from our year group, since we asked him how he played the flute for so long without taking a breath! Ian instructed us to puff out our cheeks then breathe in through our nostrils as we squeezed out the air from our puffy cheeks. We ended up in hysterical laughter as we all looked rather silly which captured Mrs Heywood’s attention! I think we can safely say that circular breathing was a short trial for us all.

However, Heathfield girls never give up as we are still trying to accomplish this challenge.

Lizzy, Form IV Student

Issue Number 16, w/c 6th January 2014 & w/c 13th January 2014 The ARTiculation Public Speaking Competition On Monday 13th January Thea-Rose and I set off to the Saatchi Gallery in London. The sun was shining, nerves were building but we were both very excited. We were warmly welcomed to the Saatchi Gallery by Lucy Salisbury, who happens to be Miss Fairclough’s sister and who also organised the whole event. She settled Thea-Rose in and announced that she would be the first to speak. There were nine speakers in total and topics varied from Chris Ofili, Delacroix and Malevich to Manet. Thea-Rose’s presentation was on The Byward Tower wall paintings commissioned by Richard II. Thea-Rose delivered her work beautifully and with confidence, leading our minds into the fourteenth century and sharing the mysteries of the paintings. One of the Trustees later complimented her on her talk and her research. Well done Thea-Rose! Sadly Thea-Rose did not win the heat; she was beaten by a fabulous talk on Malevich. However, the experience was fantastic and Thea-Rose said that once she was on the podium she actually really enjoyed it. The BBC is filming the whole competition so look out for it on the Culture Show on 12th March at 10pm.

Miss J Meeson Teacher in Charge of History of Art

GCSE Coursework Day On Thursday 9th January Form IV spent the day completing their GCSE Science coursework. The girls either investigated the quantity of copper in different samples of copper ore or discovered the ideal width for the handles of a plastic bag. For these Individual Skills Assessments the girls were required to plan an experiment, draw a blank results table, collect some data, draw a graph and complete two examination papers. The day ran smoothly and was a huge success.

Dr N Harden Teacher in Charge of Chemistry and Second in Science

SAVE THE DATE Directions Tube stations Southwark (Jubilee Line) or Borough (Northern Line) Parking Permits can be obtained in Blackfriars Road just around the corner.

Tate Modern - Less than a 5 minute walk. Next to Gordon Ramsay’s Union Café, the very popular Jerwood Space gallery.

The area has a range of restaurants and cafés.

RSVP / Further Information: Address: Heathfield School, London Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 8BQ Email: reception@heathfieldschool.net Tel: 01344 898343

Issue Number 16, w/c 6th January 2014 & w/c 13th January 2014 De Valois Weekend, 11th and 12th January 2014 On Saturday the weekend kicked off at the swimming pool with the water walkers in action. The junior school had a great time burning up steam as ‘hamsters’ in a giant wheel. Following this, camp was set up in the Assembly Hall with bean bags and duvets and everyone joined in for a sing-along to Grease. On Sunday Forms III and IV departed for the ice rink at Hampton Court Palace whilst Forms I and II took to the ice at the John Nike Ski Centre, leaving the school quiet for the senior school to revise for mock examinations. The ice skating was a great success, with several girls who had never skated before or not for a very long time, having a great time and actually leaving the security of the rails and venturing onto the rink for several laps. Thanks to those ‘pro’ skaters includng Anastasia (Form III), Hira Maya & Molly (both Form IV).

Miss J Talbot Head of House – De Valois and Teacher of PE

Seacole Weekend, 18th and 19th January 2014 The weekend was a busy one for all with a wide range of activities throughout the school. During the day there were a series of workshops for Forms I to IV in mixed groups with ‘Scary Little Girls’ theatre group. This was kindly organised for us by Housemistress Anita and involved a series of activities to encourage bonding, team spirit and trust within the group as the girls carried out a series of increasingly complex tasks. Every girl got involved and there was a real feeling of joint achievement as the groups progressed.

Meanwhile Mrs Bramley worked with Form V who were exploring their future career possibilities before they headed off for an afternoon and evening in London with Mrs de Ferrer for their much awaited, post mock examination Wild Goose adventure and supper afterwards in Covent Garden. Form I and II got creative as they produced delicious chocolate cupcakes and gorgeous valentine cards. Finally, our UVI Form emerged from their rooms looking great in their ‘black tie’ outfits and headed off to Harrow for a formal dinner and dancing, something they are keen to organise and do again.

On Sunday, school had an air of tranquillity as Confirmation for Form IV girls meant the top twelve were busy singing at the service which included Heathfield Governor, the Bishop of Fulham and many guests. While the confirmands headed into Chapel in their white dresses, others completed prep and played games while others watched a movie or headed for Reading by coach to see Walter Mitty at the cinema. After lunch many were involved in rehearsals for our upcoming production of Fiddler on the Roof. Forms I and II celebrated completing all of their prep for the weekend with a well-deserved trip to the cinema to see Frozen in 3D. Mrs J Kemp, Head of House  Seacole and Teacher of Science

@HeathfieldAscot

Heathfield School

Heathfield Blog