Form II History trip to Ironbridge, 18 – 19 March
Form II set off on their first trip to Ironbridge from Heathfield School early on 18 March, arriving some 3 hours later at the Museum of Iron and the Darby Houses. The Darby family were a benevolent, Quaker family, who pioneered the use of coke in the smelting of iron and thus revolutionised its production. The girls were able to visit their houses and try on typical costumes from the Victorian period. They also gathered information in the Museum for use in their projects and then enjoyed a more ‘hands on’ experience in the Enginuity Museum which they had to themselves.
We were made to feel very welcome in the Coalport Youth Hostel where we stayed overnight and enjoyed a great home cooked dinner and a photo quiz afterwards.
In the morning the girls visited the village of Ironbridge where sketches were made of the iconic Iron Bridge. It was hard to imagine this quiet village on the banks of the Severn, with its tourist shops and cafes, as the birthplace of British Industry. On closer inspection, the brick built kilns and bridges gave away the history of the area.
Our last visit of the day was the open-air Victorian Museum at Blist’s Hill which, along with what seemed like the whole of Shropshire (enjoying free entry to the 10 Ironbridge Museums), Form II visited Victorian shops, the school, iron forges and the funfair.
Thank you Form II for your great enthusiasm and energy, a great day had by all!
Lesley Worrall, Teacher of History
Key dates for your diary
May– Fellowship Day 13 – 15 May – Exeat Weekend 21 May – OPEN MORNING
May – 2 Jun – HALF TERM
June – Parents’ Tennis
- 18 June – Royal Ascot 18 June – Sports Day
June – Lily Ball 2 July – Parents’ Day 2 July, 1pm – END OF TERM
Highflyer Awards, Lent Term
The final Assembly was a great celebration of the girls’ achievements throughout the term. Highflyer Awards are given to girls in each Faculty who produced an exceptional piece of work. In the Lent Term, these were:
Languages and Society Faculty
Anna Fenwick and Maria Parfentyeva
Humanities Faculty
Frances Hunt-Davis
STEM Faculty
Lily Jevons
Expressive Arts Faculty
Phoebe Parker
The Mary Grant Cup for making the most of her talents, for determination and resilience and for cheerfulness and compassion was presented to Anna Fenwick.
To conclude the Assembly, the House Shield winners were announced: Seacole.
Congratulations to all our winners.
Sarah Shirwani, Gifted & Talented Co-ordinator
LAMDA results 100% Distinction or Merit, March 2016
Congratulations to our LAMDA pupils for achieving either distinction or merit. Well done! Special mention to the following students who achieved 85% or over: Sophie Goschen, Charlotte Geddes, Olivia Adderley, Isabel Youssoufian, Lilla Stone, Paloma Guerrero, Tamara Pilkington and Lily Jevons.
Natalie Shaw, Drama Co-ordinator
Outstanding International Student Award
Congratulations to Ranti (UVI) who has been awarded The Outstanding International Student Award. This is a one-time merit-based entrance scholarship awarded to qualified students when they are offered admission to the University of British Columbia. Grades and the Personal Profile are reviewed for consideration for the award. Well done Ranti!
Kath Bramley, Librarian & Head of Careers
Nations Cup Team, 28 April 1 May
Well done to Rose Hugh Smith (LVI) who has been selected for the second time to represent Great Britain at Saumur, France with a horse she has trained herself, Florentino. An amazing achievement. We look forward to seeing the results and following future Team GB events.
Life after Heathfield talk, Thursday 28 April
Heathfield Old Girl Julianne Hicks inspired the senior girls with a realistic look at what they need to do to shine in their university and work applications.
Julianne, who was at Heathfield from 1996 to 2002, and went on to read Law at Durham University, hit the ground running, telling the girls they needed to put in the essential legwork to succeed right from the beginning. She also warned them that they should never lose perspective when things went wrong and make a mountain out of what would later seem like a molehill as they gained experience.
Crucially, she also encouraged them to nurture and value their female friendships and ‘Be in the sisterhood’ at university, work and in their lives ahead.
A trader since 2008 at Stemcor, Julianne roused the girls with her vibrant and enthusiastic talk which also urged them to make the most of their outstanding and privileged education and give something back to the world through charity work or volunteering, even if it was only for one week out of their lives.
She also advised girls on the practicalities of looking after their minds and bodies and respecting themselves to stay fit and healthy, as well as on tips for job applications and presenting themselves.
Kath Bramley, Head of Careers
House Music, Monday 21 March
We were delighted to welcome Hannah-May Lucas as our adjudicator for House Music this year. Hannah-May studied Music and Drama at Royal Holloway University before starting her career at Hampton School where she took their male voice choir to Edinburgh and the Voice Festival and Choir of the Year category finals. Hannah-May currently holds the Head of Music post at The Marist School where she has founded a new a cappella group who will be appearing in the Voice Festival UK finals in April.
Sophie Drysdale won the Junior category, Amber Milligan won the Intermediate category, Angela Liang won the Advanced category and Somerville won the Ensemble category.
Congratulations to Austen House who won the overall cup and thanks to Daisy ChetwyndTalbot and Charlotte Geddes who entertained the audience during Miss Lucas’s deliberation.
Julie Dance, Director of Music
Forms I & II visit to Ascot Racecourse, Wednesday 27 April
How many horses can you safely fit into the Ascot racecourse saddling enclosure?
What is the minimum weight for a flat race jockey?
How long is a furlong in metric measurement?
What article of ladies clothing is worn by male and female jockeys?
The only way to know these answers is to either work at Ascot Racecourse or be one of the Heathfield girls who spent a day combining mathematics with an educational and entertaining visit to the famous racecourse as guests of BHEST (Racing to school) who combine racing with educational mathematics on the racecourse.
After meeting in our private box at the world famous Ascot racecourse the 27 girls were invited down to the weighing room and saddling enclosure. Allowed only ‘in disguise’, all of the girls were kitted out in their own racing colours for their adventure and educational day at the races.
We were given an informative talk about weights and measures involving both horses and jockeys. The girls then measured the parade ring to work out the risk assessment limit for the amount of horses per square metre of area available. Our two hosts, John and Shelley, were experts in the field as they had both been professional jockeys.
After a quick chat with the racing expert John McCririck we all went back to the box for lunch. With views over the whole racecourse and the countryside beyond, it was definitely a room with a view. After lunch the girls once again split into their year groups and took turns to hear a detailed account of all of the jockeys’ protective clothing and they then enjoyed the opportunity to race on foot along the famous racecourse to the winning post.
The girls finished their day with an in-depth look into how maths is applied to the day’s race card and all the horse information in each race.
Form I were extremely lucky to finish their day with a talk from the very successful trainer Mr Marcus Tregoning. He advised the girls as to how Burmese, a horse running for Tamara Pilkington’s grandfather in the third race of the day would fare.
Escorted by Mr Pilkington, the girls stood by the winning post to cheer on the horse who finished 5 th in a field of 10. A really successful day enjoyed by all.
Gill Glimmerveen, Equestrian Co-ordinator
Form V Drama, Wednesday 20 April
Late afternoon, the GCSE Drama girls headed off to the National Theatre to see a production of Wonder.land.
First seen at the Manchester International Festival, Wonder.land was conceived by Rufus Norris, Blur's Damon Albarn, who wrote the score, and playwright Moira Buffini and as the name suggests is a radical reworking of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The show has received great acclaim for its stunning if somewhat hallucinogenic abstract visuals that beautifully evoke something of the infinite realms of digital reality. As the Telegraph review states ‘It often all feels a bit trippy – there's a particularly brilliant psychedelic caterpillar made out of a chain of human "baubles".’
Needless to say, the girls (and the staff) loved it and came back to school buzzing with the possibilities of all that can be achieved with a little imagination!
Sioban O'Connor, Director of Drama
Ambassadors’ Dinner, Wednesday 27 April
A really big thank you to all our fantastic Ambassadors who attended the annual dinner at The Lansdowne last week. It was great to see so many of you and to see how passionate you all are about Heathfield. Your continued support, input and energy are all greatly valued and we look forward to the year ahead and implementing as many of your suggestions as possible.
Jo Meeson, Old Girls’ Co-ordinator
Oxbridge Day, Tuesday 22 March
Being unsure of what was required as an Oxbridge applicant, and whether I was a suitable candidate, this day was a perfect opportunity for me to work out what was required and whether I was up for the challenge. Throughout the day, talks were held on various subjects such as Natural Sciences, History & Politics, Psychology and much more. In addition to this, there were sessions on ‘Student life and finance’ and ‘Making a good application’.
Through these talks, I learnt how to make a personal statement stand out and the importance of having done an EPQ. We were able to obtain first-hand knowledge from professors and admissions staff on any queries we had. Throughout the day, I was able to speak to students from both universities and learned that in the case of Cambridge they weren’t looking for straight A* students, but rather someone who demonstrated a general passion for the subject they wished to study. My main concern had been whether they would accept me for having done Photography at A Level, due to being a less academically challenging subject. However after speaking to the professors and admissions staff, they explained that this subject was still an acceptable A Level.
The day provided me with invaluable information and gave me a greater insight into what was necessary to apply and therefore has encouraged me to consider these universities as options in order to study Psychology.
Izzy Colley (LVI)
Boys’ Cadet Corps, St Petersburg
Over the Easter holiday, Ksenia returned to St Petersburg with the family where she continues her Russian studies. Thanks to her studies at Heathfield she has already completed the year and a half advance course with perfect results.
As top student, Ksenia was invited to give a lecture at the Boys’ Cadet Corps about her education in England. It is one of the best military boarding schools for boys in Russia and it is extremely difficult to get a place.
It was a great experience for Ksenia. She gave a very interesting presentation with a slide show. The lecture proved a success with the cadets and a question and answer session followed.
The authority of the corps invited Ksenia to visit them again during her next holiday and to create a competition and an informal English lesson for the cadets!
Olga Alexandrova, Parent
Ascot Schools’ Rounders Tournament, Wednesday 27 April
Congratulations to the U16 Rounders team who played really well and were subsequently placed second in the Ascot Schools' Rounders Tournament.
Heathfield had the following wins:
LVS 10 - 6,
St George's 5 - 1 1/2
St Mary's B 5 1/2 - 3 1/2
Finally, the team lost to St Mary's Ascot, the overall champions.
Well done girls!
Wendy Reynolds, Director of Sport
De Valois Weekend, 23 & 24 April
While the LVI and UVI Gold Duke of Edinburgh girls were trekking their way across Dartmoor National Park, the sports teams headed off to rounders and tennis matches and the senior girls undertook one of Mike’s gruelling spinning sessions. On Saturday afternoon the Fourth Form organised and led fun games in the Sports Hall for the junior school and the Third Form created pizzas in the Cookery Room.
That evening the junior school headed to Papplewick for a social. To kick things off staff led a game involving newspaper and the act of balance. Despite some somewhat interesting forms of balancing this proved a great opening act for a fabulous evening. Back at school the LVI organised a whole school game of rounders and ‘capture the flag.’ A great evening’s entertainment for the first of our summer term.
London to Amsterdam, 3—4 June
Following Chapel and a welcome visit from three Old Girls Jenny Goodwin, Francesca Worsley and Emily Monckton, the junior school headed off to Pizza Express in Sunningdale for a ‘create your own pizza’ party before heading to the pool to take on the large inflatable obstacle course. Form III headed into Windsor to undertake the Junior Apprentice Challenge before entering the boardroom with ‘Karen Brady and Lady Sugar’ to be crowned ‘Lady Sugar’s Apprentice’ and Form IV headed off to Snow Tubing which involved lugging huge inflatable tubes up a dry sky slope before flying themselves down again. Exhausting stuff!
Janet Talbot, Head of House - de Valois
Ian Parham, our Facilities Manager, is cycling 145 miles from London to Amsterdam in aid of Prostate Cancer UK: men united. He is cycling alongside other football supporters from all across the country who are uniting to raise as much money as possible towards this worthwhile cause.
If you would like to support Ian and Prostate Cancer UK, please visit Ian’s Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/IanParham06LondontoAmsterdam. Thank you.
London Marathon, Sunday 24 April
Finally, a huge well done to our Director of Studies, Marina Gardiner-Legge and our Director of Sport, Wendy Reynolds for completing the 26.2 mile London Marathon. They have raised over £8,500 for their chosen charities, Macmillan Cancer Support and Children with Cancer.
If you would like to offer your support, you still can. Please visit justgiving.com/10yearson and justgiving.com/Wendy-Reynolds13 for further details. Thank you.
