Issue Number 5, w/c 29th April 2013 & w/c 6th May 2013 ‘Moving Mountains’ by Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger ‘You can achieve anything if you are determined enough’. This was Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger’s message in her inspirational talk, entitled ‘Moving Mountains’, on Thursday 9th May 2013, when we were privileged to welcome her to Heathfield. The whole school was captivated by her account of her experiences as a field nurse working for the International Red Cross in war-torn countries and, in particular, during the devastating famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s. She described the harrowing decisions that had to be made by aid workers in order to save lives and how these efforts were reported by the BBC in 1984, inspiring Bob Geldof to launch the Band Aid appeal and to organise Live Aid. Among many prestigious awards, Claire Bertschinger has received the Florence Nightingale Medal, The Woman of the Year Award and in 2010 was honoured as Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to Nursing and to International Humanitarian aid. As Michael Buerk said, she is ‘one of the true heroines of our time’. Dame Claire is currently the Director for the Diploma in Tropical Nursing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; she is also a trustee and an ambassador for the African Children’s Educational Trust (A-CET), supporting thousands of vulnerable Ethiopian youngsters to achieve their potential through education. Dr Sammy Assefa, who accompanied her, is testimony to the wonderful work of the charity, as his schooling was supported by A-CET, enabling him to achieve academically. Having recently gained a DPhil in Computational Biology at Cambridge University, Dr Assefa is currently a research fellow at LSHTM, investigating potential cures for malaria; we look forward to hearing more about his work when he visits us again later in the year. Both in her talk and later when speaking individually to pupils, Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger made us all realise that we should endeavour through courage, compassion and determination to overcome obstacles in order to succeed in our aspirations, thus enabling us to make a difference not only in our own lives but also to the world in which we live. Mrs Bramley, Librarian & Head of Careers
Trip to Andalucia 2013 Students from Forms III, IV and V visited the south of Spain between 2nd and 6th of May. The objective of the trip was for the girls to speak and listen to Spanish and they took full advantage of this by video recording day to day Spanish conversations. Another objective was for the girls to experience the Spanish culture. They visited the beautiful Alhambra Palace in Granada, tasted Spanish cuisine and also visited the Picasso museum in Malaga, while also finding time to enjoy the beach! Mrs Pullen, Mrs Diaz and Mrs Marin would like to express how happy they were with the girls’ behaviour on the trip and the enthusiasm they all showed practising the language. Mrs Pullen, Teacher of Spanish