Leweston Alumni Newsletter 2019

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alumnae the newsletter for the alumnae of leweston school 2019

Keeping in touch with old friends all over the world welcome from Kate reYnolds

With a year of memorable alumnae highlights behind us, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this new edition of the alumni newsletter. OA gatherings, be they away fixtures such as our May reunion in London, closer to home such as our 70th anniversary celebrations of the move to Leweston Manor, or even informal get togethers such as the two old girls I bumped into on Sunday who were meeting up to wander around the grounds, are always happy special occasions.

Without losing their heart and ethos, it is important that schools do not stand still and this last year at Leweston has been no exception.

We have welcomed our first cohort of boys into the Senior School as we gradually move to being fully coeducational. The boys are joining Leweston for the same reasons as the girls, valuing the high academic expectations that are coupled with our exceptional pastoral care and all round education that places as

much emphasis on music, art, sport and extra-curricular as on academia.

Academically Leweston has, once again, had an exceptional year.

2018’s GCSE cohort was awarded three times the national average for the highest new grade 9s, placing us in the top 10% of schools nationally for value added at GCSE. At A level, 41% of results gained A/A* grades, putting us top of the performance tables for all Dorset schools with a ‘well above average’ progress score.

The dedication of our teaching staff, pupils’ determination to support each other and strive to do their absolute best, the self-belief from years of encouragement and support – these all contribute to academic results for which Leweston is rightly known and respected.

The Prep School, aside from stellar growth in numbers, has also had a fantastic year under Alanda Phillips’

inspirational guidance, kicking off with the prestigious Independent Schools Pre-Prep of the Year Award.

Miss Phillips has also been instrumental in the Nursery’s move to its own bespoke space including a Mongolian yurt complete with wood burning stove. Over the summer break the Padua Hall in the Prep will be redeveloped and updated to provide new teaching rooms and a new hall.

Finally, after 17 years of Leweston, I move to pastures new at the end of the year. It is my great pleasure to announce that John Paget-Tomlinson has been appointed Head of Leweston from January 2020. I am sure he will continue to lead Leweston with the enthusiasm, passion and drive that ensures it continues to thrive without losing that special something that makes Leweston so dear to us all.

You’ll find all the latest news at www.leweston.co.uk

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reunions and events leweston’s 70th reunion

On Friday 14 June Leweston celebrated the School's 70th year at Leweston Manor with family, friends, alumni and the Sisters from St Antony's Convent. Guests joined the School community for Mass and High Tea.

Year of 1963 Reunion in Bath: We used to meet every 5 years but are now so old we do so every year.... from left to right: Gwen Williamson (Bevan), Nicky Lee (Tribe), Alison Bordes, Gina Seaton (Hodges), Rosie Berry (Vlasto), Tilly AubrĂŠe (Crawford) and Catherine Atthill. Absent are Sally Standford (Murphy) and Lindy Sainsbury (HarwoodRenton).

Earlier in the day the Prep School were delighted to be joined by five former pupils, some of whom were at Leweston in its first year on the site. The ladies spoke to the children about their time at the School and how different their experience was from the lessons of today, although the school's values remain the same.

Year 6 were particularly horrified by the concept of rationing sweets and the lack of heating in the dormitories! It was a brilliant day and fantastic for the students to hear so many fond memories from past staff members and former pupils.

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The Year of 1977 had a reunion in Sherborne and then visited the School.

Memories of the early days at Leweston – Sue Budd (Parmiter) Year of ‘58

In the early 50s, the weekends were free if there were no sporting fixtures.

After we had done our mending, polishing etc, four of us used to roam and play in the woods around the Belvedere. We made a rather basic stockade which we thought was great, so we could keep some tuck there, in a tin of course. On one occasion whilst playing or trying to climb trees, we heard other voices near us, and then out stepped five boys from Sherborne School. What a surprise. We shared our tuck and played until it was time for them to walk back to Sherborne. We did that a few times until “Elly” found out. After that, structured weekends were the order of the day.

On the small book of stamps that were sold in the 50s, there were 2 pages of adverts front and back, mostly for medicines. A small group of girls decided to send for some charcoal biscuits. At that time, if one received post and the handwriting was not recognised or it was type written, we had to open it in front of Reverend Mother or Mother Eleanor. A week or so later the parcels arrived with our names typed, so we were required to open them. Reverend Mother was furious and reprimanded us for wasting people’s time and money.

The punishment was that at tea time we had to sit and eat all of the charcoal biscuits, not all at one sitting but over several days. Everyone thought it very funny except us, but I suppose our digestive systems were somewhat improved. In the summer whilst revising for exams, we were allowed to study in the garden at weekends. Myself and a girl called Lizzie were studying at the Belvedere. It was a hot day and the white benches were not very comfortable, so we decided to go into the cornfield and lie down. Lizzie said, ”Let’s take our dresses off there is no one around.” Whilst in the act of taking our dresses over our heads, who should appear but Mother Eleanor. How did she know we were there? Our punishment - 100 lines to be given in before teatime: “I must not take my dress off in public.”

Before the end of one summer term, my form decided to have a midnight feast at the Belvedere. During half term break, we were to buy the goodies and bring them back to school. One girl said her mother was sending a chicken in the post. I do not know how that parcel managed to escape the eyes of authority.

The parcel arrived earlier than expected so had to be kept in a Smart Roberts Radio bag in the girl’s locker. On the arranged night, we crept down the Black Staircase into the Library and out of the windows, leaving one slightly ajar so we could get in again. We ran across the lawns then used a torch to guide us to the Belvedere. We were so excited and looking forward to the chicken. What a disappointment, the weather had been hot, so the chicken had been slowly decomposing in its bag. So, it was cold baked beans and other dried goods.

Thank goodness we had a tin opener. We returned in a rather subdued mood.

Later on we learned “Elly” and “Matey” knew all about it, but on this occasion there were no repercussions.

Cherie Jayankura Year of 1999 met up in London recently with Tabitha Wharton, Amos Kim and Caroline de Lisle (Budge) at the Shangri - La Hotel Shard.

The Year of 1982 had the most wonderful reunion in February, when 18 attended at ‘Browns Brasserie’ Covent Garden.

It was a fabulous venue and they set aside a great area for the group to have drinks before a lovely and very lively lunch!

The afternoon passed by far too fast and a few of them continued into the evening with drinks in China Town.

Everyone was so happy and of course reminisced on their days at Leweston.

Former Head Girl Sue Raywood (Mornement) still took charge and moved everyone around between courses, so that they all chatted with each other throughout the afternoon. This was a great idea and very well organised! They are already looking forward to 2020’s reunion and hope to add to the numbers!

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marta marta fontanals-simmons, Year of 2004, is a very successful mezzo-soprano with an impressive range of roles to her credit. she has performed at venues around the world, including the royal opera House, the teatro real in madrid and Glyndebourne in roles including siébel in david mcvicar’s producion of faust and Hel in the world premiere of Gavin Higgins’ “the monstrous child” at covent Garden. during the summer term she returned to leweston to answer some questions about her career.

Did you have to make sacrifices in order to perform at this level?

If you start at an early age, you forget there are sacrifices.

Commitment becomes a way of life.

However, there is an impact on your lifestyle - no smoking, not too much drinking and you are often working at weekends. You can’t make too many plans in advance because last minute auditions might be offered.

Even our honeymoon was only five days long due to work commitments! It is necessary to have dedication, motivation and a real love of what you do. The results don’t always show up clearly or at once, and sometimes the outcome is invisible for a long time.

Apart from hours, what is needed to prepare for a performance?

For me, the process of learning a new role involves chipping away at it step by step and unfortunately there aren’t any shortcuts. As well as getting to grips with the composer’s style and learning the score, there is

a lot within the text, history and character of the piece that needs to be understood to be performed well.

Do you have to inhabit a role when you perform it?

I believe that an authentic performance requires full immersion in the role. I like to create a thread that joins each song.

Finding a journey or character helps to memorise the words which may be in a number of different languages and about a multitude of different things. However in the end, what you put out is you. I may be in the role of someone else and singing words not my own but I still need to project myself. This intensity of involvement is closely related to who you are as a person - personal and professional life are so interlinked in this industry.

At the same time, the performer has a responsibility to the composer and the poet. The context, including the history and cultural background, needs to be understood. For instance, the work of Weill and Brecht require knowledge of Weimar Germany. Work of this intensity offers a place to find out about yourself through the prism of other people’s lives.

Do you think classical concerts and operas have become remote from the lives of ordinary people?

What we call “classical” music may seem far removed from the lives of many people but I am interested in making it lose its formality and inaccessibility. I had an illuminating experience running workshops for members of the public and children at The Red House, Aldeburgh. My friend, pianist Lana Bode and I asked the question: “What do you want

interview from a recital?” The people at the workshops liked more informality and for the performers to speak to the audience and not just perform for them.

How do you cope with the strains of performance?

Mindfulness techniques, meditation, breathing techniques and of course Yoga, which I try to do three or four times a week.

What does your work mean to you?

Performing great music or in great productions can be totally transformative which can have a lot to do with the people you work with.

This was true of my work on a new opera, “Monstrous Child.” It was a very collaborative project; the first workshop took place three years before the first performance. In this long period of intense preparation, everybody had a say; this is very unusual. Everyone was so invested in the project, it was a living thing.

As a result, I made some friends for life and it will always be a key moment in my career.

Music has always been my escapism and I love that feeling when the music totally washes over me and moves me to a different world. Hans Christian Anderson said, ‘When words fail, music speaks’. Let it speak to you with no need to reply, be in the moment when the magic happens.

What does musical and art education have to offer our children?

There are many studies showing that students who take music lessons do better in Maths, English and

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Sciences. It is painfully obvious that music is an essential part of every child’s upbringing and so incredibly disheartening to see budget cuts removing this for the current and next generation. Music also offers a place to learn to negotiate that intricate balance of being an individual and working in harmony with a group, whilst also having fun!

In this hyper competitive, sidewaysglancing, perfection-curated society, there is more reason than ever for music and art to develop the minds and souls of our future leaders.

How do you make it as a professional singer?

There are so many different paths into the profession: I know fellow singers who studied to be doctors or lawyers. There are also those who took the most logical steps, did all the training and then decided the career wasn’t for them. If you have done the work and are ready, your time will come. Development as a singer and then a professional takes time. It can feel frustratingly slow but it is a cumulative process. There is also an element of luck but you have to be able to make use of the luck when it comes.

What advice do you have for young people thinking of starting a singing career?

Learn languages and try to speak them as much as you can. Always be inquisitive. Take your time, as a career in music is a lifelong journey.

Do not worry about what other people are doing. Remember you are as good as you can be at this moment. Feed your creativity in things outside of music. Be kind to yourself. Don’t forget to have fun!

openinG of tHe new music scHool

September will see opening of the new Music School in the Manor House.

Work has been going on since Easter to turn the former dormitories into music classrooms, an individual teaching space, an ensemble room and recording studio.

To celebrate the development we will be inviting all former members of Schola to join us for a scratch concert during the Spring Term.

Following rehearsals with the current Schola during the day there will be an evening performance. Taking the role of Gareth Malone will be our Director of Music, Rachel Milestone. If you are interested in joining us or would like more information please email damantc@leweston.dorset.sch.uk More information and dates will follow.

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a few of the oa profiles on the school w

rosie lovell

cathy veale

tv production manager

artist

Year of 2011

Rosie has recently been working for ITV Studios as Production Coordinator on The Voice and Voice Kids but in April she stepped up to Junior Production Manager on Love Island. Her role includes organising logistics, budgeting, booking & sorting payment for crew, managing junior members of the team and organising studio requirements including catering.

After leaving Leweston, Rosie went to the University of Reading to study Film, Theatre and Television but her TV career started at 15 when another Old Antonian, Cat Fox, spoke in a PSHE lesson and offered her a week’s work experience on Harry Hills TV Burp. Cat then went on to give Rosie her first runner job at Tiger Aspect after she finished University and they have stayed in touch since.

After her role at Tiger Aspect, Rosie went to RDF Television (an independent production company) as a Production Secretary and then Production Coordinator before moving to ITV in 2016. During her career, she has worked on various productions including This Morning, Tipping Point, The Chase, Saturday Night Takeaway and Katie Price: My Crazy Life.

Year of 1976

Cathy is a well-known artist who specialises in large seascapes. With an unmistakable style rich in luminosity and colour, her paintings are immensely evocative, and have often been described as appearing ‘wet’ like the sea itself.

Brought up in the Isle of Purbeck and its thriving art community, Cathy is drawn to the coast and fringes of land. The Jurassic coastline, with its stunning natural beauty, has been the theme of her work for many years both on land and from the sea. Her fascination with the sea is fuelled by its changing moods and patterns that are formed by the sky’s reflection and tidal states. Cathy’s paintings depict a unique sense of texture, concentrating on the effects of light and colour on water.

Cathy has regularly shown her paintings, alongside Britain’s leading watercolour artists, at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Society of Marine Artists in London. For many years she has organised art exhibitions promoting the work of Dorset based painters and sculptors and aspiring young artists. She now paints full time as a professional artist and is gaining increasing acclaim for her stunning coastal scenes. Cathy paints to commission and has a variety of limited edition prints for sale. To see some of Cathy’s work visit her website www.cathyveale.co.uk.

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l wall

victoria stockings

millie pilkington

international operations the Halo trust

photographer

Year of 2010

Victoria finishes her training with the HALO Trust in August. She started with three months in Cambodia, one of the oldest HALO programmes and one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. From there she headed to Abkhazia, Sri Lanka and Nagorno-Karabakh. Her first posting will be Zimbabwe.

After leaving Leweston, Victoria worked in risk management consultancy but she wanted more hands on experience and applied to the HALO Trust.

All operations staff at the Trust qualify as de-mining paramedics and Explosive Ordnance Disposal by way of finance, logistics, mechanics and everything in between. There is no typical role and no typical day.

Victoria writes: “The HALO Trust works to get rid of the debris of war. Landmines and IEDs are indiscriminate; they are as dangerous to a soldier as they are to a child, farmer or livestock. Some weapons are specifically designed to target children or those looking to remove them. These remnants of war harm the most vulnerable who cannot afford to live in safe areas. Once wars are over the people affected by them are often forgotten but the legacy continues to harm decades after the fighting has stopped. I’m very grateful to work for an organisation that makes a real difference and contribute in my own small way to such important work.”

Year of 1989

Millie is one of the UK’s most respected and accomplished portrait photographers, specialising in children and family. She’s also one of its best loved, not just for the beauty, authenticity and artistry of her finished photographs, but also for the boundless energy, humour and professionalism she brings to the process of taking them.

Based near Sherborne in Dorset, Millie Pilkington’s portrait commissions take her far and wide across the UK and abroad. Whether photographing in her state of the art studio in Dorset or on location, Millie is known for doing whatever it takes to get the shot, from balancing precariously at the top of a ladder to wading through a pond.

Her ability to capture the spirit of a moment: a child, a family, a relationship or a character, gives her images an emotional truth and beauty that can be profoundly affecting. Although the majority of her commissions (which range from fun and informal family portraits to the private wedding photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) aren’t in the public realm, her work has nonetheless appeared widely in the UK and international press including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s and Pippa Middleton’s weddings.

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announcements Births

Harriet Wright-Morris (Staveley-Hill) Year of 1999 a girl Minna on 13 July 2018.

Amelie Saupe (Von Furstenberg) Year of 1999 a boy Caspar on 4 January 2019. The family are living in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Lianna Fairhurst (Orde) Year of 1999 a girl Emmeline on 22 October 2018.

canon richard meyer Father Richard Meyer passed away after a short illness in June 2019. He first came to Leweston in 1994 and worked here for three years teaching, looking after the library and in the role of Head of Year 11. When an opportunity arose for him and his wife, Jan, to become Joint Heads of House at St Mary’s, Ascot Richard moved to look after the girls in his House and teach Theology. However, he said that the call of the priesthood was never far away and in 2002 he was given permission by Rome to become ordained and invited to return to Leweston as Chaplain.

He was ordained in Leweston Chapel with the School community around him and remained as School Chaplain until 2010 when he moved to be parish priest in Bridport, looking after three churches, Bridport, Beaminster and Chideock. Despite his work in a busy parish, Father Richard continued to take a strong interest in Leweston and served as both Governor and Chair of Governors, only retiring from the Board last year.

Former pupils, parents and staff share fond memories of Father Richard. He was known for his red socks and witty sermons which often went in unexpected directions and his open arms and loud ‘hello’ when greeting people. He was always available to listen and discuss problems and gave a great deal of his personal time to those who needed his support. Pupils remember ‘Father Richard’s Rambles’, pyjama prayers and the active role he played in the life of both the Prep and Senior schools. He particularly enjoyed the many OA weddings and baptisms he officiated at. His life was celebrated with a Requiem Mass in his parish in Bridport and in Sherborne Abbey which was attended by around 500 people. This was followed by an event at the School. On both occasions, as a tribute to him, members of the congregation came wearing something red.

In his last OA newsletter before leaving Leweston, Father Richard wrote “Leweston will always remain a very special memory: a lovely place to live and work, young people and adults held in great affection, and a community where I have learned what it means to be priest and a human being”. He will be much missed.

engagements

Louise Newton Year of 2011 to Andrew Harvey. The couple are celebrating their marriage with family and friends in May 2020.

OAs Sophie Newton, Isabelle Barber and Maria Barlow are bridesmaids.

Luciana Birch Reynardson Year of 2010 to Alexander Everett. They will be marrying in Scotland in September 2019.

Chloe Henderson Year of 2010 to Johnathan Snell on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii. They will be getting married in 2020.

weddings

Jo Taylor Year of 2004 on 8 June 2019. Her bridesmaids were OAs Eleanor French, Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Jo's sister, Nikki Taylor.

Charlotte Robinson Year of 2009 to Jack Wheeler in St Mary's church in Beaminster on 27 July 2019.

Dr Sarah Sanderson Year of 2004 to Charles Rupert Harrison on 8 July at The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Chichester. OAs Katie Johnston and Anna Illingworth were bridesmaids.

in memorium

Geraldine Richmond-Watson Year of 1953 on 21 January 2019. Eve Harris, Angela Bailey and her daughter Madeleine, all OAs, attended the funeral.

Katie Johnston Year of 2004 her memorial service was in Sherborne Abbey on 18 July 2018.

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staff leavers every summer we say goodbye to a number of staff. this year includes two central figures in the school and we asked them to share some of their thoughts as they depart.

Geoff Smith Deputy Head

I am writing this sitting in my office on the day after Speech Day as I come to the end of twelve years at Leweston. This week I have been reminded just what a special place Leweston is, meeting up with former pupils and parents as well as saying goodbye to this year’s leavers. I have loved my time here and will be very sad when I leave. There have been many special moments: such as taking a group of A Level Mathematicians to Thorpe Park to learn about the mechanics of rollercoasters (a short lecture followed by an extensive practical investigation on the rides themselves), or waiting with champagne and tissues to celebrate (or not) the A Level results of a potential vet or being dressed as one of the Ugly Sisters (with Dave Barlow) in the staff pantomime when the fire alarm sounded and having to evacuate alongside Prep School parents who were at their Carol Service! Most of all I remember teaching so many pupils, from the those who needed my support through to Cambridge High Flyers.

Leweston’s Chapel holds a very special place in my heart and it has been central to my journey of Faith. I felt very sad during my last Mass there yesterday. An equally special place has been the swimming pool and I will miss my lunchtime swims, although I will still get in a pool as often as possible.

I am heading off to Godolphin School in Salisbury, where I am going to be teaching maths, hopefully making more time for my wife and family, but I know that I will be back at some stage in the future.

Lu Worrall Director of Boarding and School Chaplain

Our four daughters started at Leweston in September 2006. With one in the Senior School and the others in the Prep and Nursery, we made friends very quickly. We felt enormously blessed to travel up the sweeping drive every day, the cross on St Antony’s Chapel greeting us.

Four years later, I took a leap of faith applying for the role of School Nurse and found myself nurturing our lovely Leweston pupils.

Wednesday mornings often saw a queue - nothing to do with Mass, I was always reassured! Thursday afternoons brought a flurry of Sixth Form - it took me ages to work out that this was PE afternoon! I loved every minute, even manning the Sixth Form Ball which always had a generous element of fun and grateful, if not somewhat embarrassed, Sixth Formers appearing over the following days!

In 2016 I stepped out of the Health Centre to become the first Lay Chaplain. An earnest believer in health being wholeness in mind, body and spirit, it was a great privilege to walk alongside pupils as they struggled with the big questions in life. ‘Faith is caught and not taught’ was very much in the forefront of my mind as I helped to lead the spirituality of the school along with our faithful Sisters and Parish. In 2007 I added Director of Boarding to my professional profile. It was an ambitious ask, but fortunately, I had an outstanding team who picked up plenty of wayward balls!

Following my husband’s illness in March, we made the decision to leave Leweston to focus on our own health and wellbeing. Once again I will go back to palliative care nursing, a job which brings great fulfilment, of a different kind.

When we thought we were giving the best education we could to our daughters, little did I realise how much of that education would benefit me. In nine years I have grown and changed. It wasn’t just Lent in a Tent that built my resilience (before ‘resilience’ was a ‘thing’), but learning to dig deep, trust God and those he puts in front of us. It is true to say that young people are there to challenge the preconceived ideas of adults and thank goodness they do. I have learnt far more from our young people than I dare say they have ever learnt from me.

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tou in

1950s

Gillian Bowles (Atkins) Year of 1950 - 2019 finds Gillian still in Calgary, Canada, with its cold winters and varying summers. Her husband, Roger, died in 2015 at the age of 85. She has one son, Marc, and three grandchildren, who are married or living with their wonderful partners. They all work hard and have meaningful careers in teaching, non-profit and the youngest is a creative chef. For the last twenty years before she retired Gillian worked in television in various aspects. Her start was in the Calgary Olympics in 1988, an exciting time working with worldwide broadcasters. The next sixteen years was with PBS Television, the Public Broadcast Service, situated in the United States, which operates almost entirely without government funding or advertisements and relies heavily on individual viewers’ donations.

Retirement has brought great benefits from all the travelling she has been able to do. There are very few places left on her bucket list.

One can give thanks for a full life that continues to yield many benefits with all its up and downs.

1960s

The picture above shows the three Egan girls: Harriet Whinney Year of 1967 (left), Mary-Anne Darlow Year of 1974 (middle) and Joanna Broad Year of 1972 and former Head Girl.

The youngest sister (standing) is not an OA The picture below shows Harriet’s daughter and OA Emily Doherty Year 1990.

Harriet and her husband Nigel emigrated to New Zealand in 2011 to be with their daughter Emily who emigrated there in 2004. They all live in Nelson, which is at the top of the South Island. Nigel and Harriet lived for many years in Somerset and Harriet ran a pearl business that she sold when they emigrated but is still going strong as Harriet Whinney Pearls Ltd. You may come across them at Badminton, Burghley or even Sherborne Fair. Joanna lives outside Salisbury and Mary-Anne in Gloucestershire. They also have a son who is married and lives in Canada with two children who Harriet and Nigel visit every year.

They love to see anyone who is visiting New Zealand and have a regular stream of friends and family during the summer. Harriet returns to Somerset every year to visit her mother aged 98!

Jo Barlow-Poole Year of 1964 - Jo met up with Cherry Hartigan (Holmes) who was in the same year. She lives in Salisbury and Jo saw her fairly recently. Jo sees her two cousins occasionally, Alison Bordes and Jacqueline Kilty (Bordes), but she has not met up with them for about a year.

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cH Judy Barrett (Blackburn) Year of 1964 - Judy worked in a family hotel in Weymouth and went into teacher training in the late 60s. She married in the early 70s, moved to Langton Herring and had two boys. She fully immersed herself in family and village life and became a parish councillor and then Church Warden.

She is into gardening and writes for a local magazine. (Group Silvergilt from Chelsea). Judy continues to lives in Langton Herring and due to her position as Church Warden she was invited to the National Commemoration last November in Westminster Abbey, which was utterly beautiful. Now, she finds herself involved in Dorset’s purple poppy event raising money for war animals. Never a dull day!

Brigid Crawford (O’Brien) Year of 1962 - Brigid has retired to Dorset and is now running a small Bed and Breakfast. It is popular with walkers and people have come from all over the world to walk in the area. Her husband restores vintage motorcycles as a hobby. So what with all of this and village activities they are kept busy.

Extract from Brigid Crawford – The Sisters of the Christian Instruction at Leweston - Brigid’s family first met the Sisters of the Christian Instruction in 1956 when her father, Commander Philip O’Brien OBE, recently retired from

the Navy and gave his annuity for school fees which allowed the Sisters to complete the New Wing in time for the new September term. Brigid has fond recollections of Reverend Mother Andre who was very kind to a new girl and Mother Eleanor whose very considerable talents as Headmistress, she got to know more closely when she was Head Girl (1961-62). Her generation will always remember Mother Lucia who taught them to knit and sew and who was so kind to all of them and Mother Julienne who looked after them when they were in the VI Form study bedrooms. Mother Margaret Mary, among many other things, was always there to greet them when they arrived at school for the new term, and there was Sister Cook feeding them all that healthy food

and chips on Sunday. She remembers Mother Edwarda, Sister Hilaire, Sister Raphael, Sister Jeanne, Mother Christopher and later Sister Brede. She is sorry she has not remembered them all, but they are all part of her school years and much remembered with very great affection and gratitude.

Clare Humm (Shingleton) Year of 1965 and her daughter Louisa Humm recently visited the school.

Noreen Alexander (Smith) Year of 1966 - After leaving Leweston Noreen trained as a teacher of Drama and English. This stood her in good stead for a lifetime career in broadcasting in South Africa and in Britain. For the past few years, she has been training the new generation of Radio and TV presenters in South Africa where she now lives. Noreen has married twice but has no children, just 6 Burmese cats and two rescue dogs! She would love to hear from others in her year!

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toucH in

1970s

Anne Cronin (Weaver) Year of 1970 and Head Girl of that year. This year she met in Sotogrande a group of 12 of that year. They had the best of fun and caught up on the goings on of each other. This was very special; the friendships you make at school age can remain for nearly 50 years.

They would love to hear from other OAs who were in their year.

From left to right Sarah Ainslie, Jane Wharton, Louise Barlow, Rosemary Cotter, Mary Clare Pyne, Rachel Bevan, Sarah Lamb, Sara Hay, Teresa Turner, Tania Linares Tor Wroth and Anne Weaver.

Valentine Simson (Cooper) Year of 1977 - Valentine has just completed 22 years working for the MOD at Bovington and as a result was awarded a General’s Commendation for loyal service to the MOD. Her award was presented to her by Dame Kelly Holmes in March 2019 in her capacity as Hon Colonel of RAC Training Regiment. Valentine has three children and three grandchildren and is married to

Kestrel. Valentine celebrated her 60th birthday in February with a party attended by several OAs including Fo Parker (Moseley), Jane Pridham (Stibbon), Elizabeth Sherbrooke, Judy Carron-Brown (Seymour), Lucinda Fraser (Rayment). The party was organised by her daughter Olivia - also an OA who is working as the fundraising manager for a military charity.

Penny Ross (Coyer) Year of 1977 After 17 years in a deep Devon valley Penny moved in 2017, with husband David, to a village in the North Cotswolds. They are very close to Chipping Campden, where she sings in the local choir (first attempt at singing since Leweston) and not so far from their son, who lives and works in Oxford. For their sins they have taken on another major building project (at the time of writing their home has a very large hole in the middle!) but they are sure it will be worth it in the end.

Plants are a big part of their life they enjoy their garden and are both pretty much full-time volunteers with a garden plant conservation charity.

Gillian Wetherall (Dyke) Year of 1974 - Gillian retired around a year ago from her role for 13 years as a medical secretary to a Consultant Psychiatrist who works with adults with learning disabilities in the community. She thoroughly enjoyed

her job and continues to socialise with her ex work colleagues. She has a very busy life, amongst other things enjoying fun agility with her young border collie and exercise classes at a health club. She is an active member of the local University of the 3rd Age (U3A), learning to play Bridge and spending time with her mother who is 93 and still lives independently very close by. She has holidays in her touring caravan and occasionally abroad.

For those of you who knew her sister Carolyn Year of 1968, she died of a long illness in December 2015. All her family misses her so much.

Gillian enjoyed returning to Leweston recently with Pip Rabbidge for the 70th anniversary.

Of course, lots has changed, but they also relived old memories.

Louise Harris (White) Year of 1975 Louise is married to Stephen Harris.

They live at Stourhead and farm on the National Trust Estate. They also have a farm shop in the National Trust carpark. They have four children and recently celebrated their daughter Tessa’s marriage to her Scottish husband. Martha and her husband Tom live in London with their daughter who is 18 months old. Hannah lives in Dorchester and Sam, their youngest son lives in London and is working for Marsh an insurance company.

The four children keep Louise and Stephen busy.

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Mary Wear Year of 1978 - Mary has worked in advertising as a writer and latterly as a creative director. She is now a freelance copywriter living in rural Suffolk with her garden designer husband, two children and two step children, aged between 18 and 25. Her proudest career moment was coming up with the Make Poverty History line when working with Richard Curtis on the campaign in the 2000s. She is still working with Richard on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and other charity work as well as more venal work for mainstream advertisers.

1980s

Marian Boswall (Estlick) Year of 1984 - Marian runs a Landscape Architect’s practice in Kent, working on projects across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. This year her studio won the Society of Garden Designers’ Grand Award. She is in touch with lots of lovely Leweston friends and is still married to Rupert.

Robbie (21) is at Oxford reading PPE and Phoebe (24) graduated in Chinese from Edinburgh last year.

Sophie Cook (Kopanski) Year of 1985 is happily married and lives in Bristol. Her daughter has just finished her degree at Exeter University and starts full time work in September for M&S Head Office in Merchandising and her son is finishing his first year at UCL. It was lovely to see Sophie at the OA Reunion in London recently.

Claire Godard (Gregson) Year of 1987 - Claire has swapped the green pastures of Dorset for the desert sands of Dubai. She continues her work in the oil and gas sector for S&P Global where she manages the Middle East and Africa for their analytics business. Claire and family love their new home and she is enjoying the different culture and discovering the region; particularly barbecues in the desert. Her two sons, Alban and Oscar, both former Leweston Prep pupils, are loving life in Dubai and enjoying their new schools. Oscar has been a member of the school’s gymnastic squad this year and won 3 gold medals in a recent inter-school competition.

They are all learning Arabic to varying degrees of success. Thanks to business trips, she manages quick visits to Dorset every few months and the boys will be spending some time there this summer with friends.

Bronwen Gray (Edwards) Year of 1989 - Perhaps the chilly Leweston pool of the 80s started this

adventure but this year Bronwen has entered the Bantham Swoosh, a 6km sea swim which most people do in a wetsuit. Her recent years of coldwater swimming all year round at her local Tooting Bec Lido have tempted her to challenge herself and so she has been approved to ‘skin swim’ the distance on July 6.

Training is fitted in around freelance sales in the City, her own network marketing company and family! As always, a sporting challenge raises money for those in need so feel free to encourage her HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/fu ndraising/bronandcat

Belinda Norman-Walker Year of 1989 - Currently Belinda is planning her move to Amsterdam to take up a role within Uber’s Global Real Estate Team where she will be managing the relationship between the operational lines of business and the Real Estate support function. There is a lot of talk about Millennials and their portfolio careers but maybe she is a trailblazer there as her career has spanned roles in the

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Royal Navy, a real estate investment company, a professional services provider and now Uber. She is sailing and dressmaking but has also recently discovered open water swimming and cycling, both of which have given her some interesting challenges. She is still in touch with Bronwen Gray, Sally Hyett, Fiona Parsons and Luisa Lucantoni from her year. They had a lovely minireunion in Tooting Market in December last year.

Catherine Hermes (Rigby) Year of 1983 - Catherine realises that her best friends are still her old school

friends. Others come and go, but her Leweston friends seem to stay forever. She did her A levels in 1983 and was a boarder 1976-1983.

Having lived in Asia for 8 years, she moved and married in Germany, meeting her then husband in Switzerland. She is still in southern Germany, near Stuttgart, but she is in the process of starting all over again in mid-October. Direction unclear! She often visits old school friends in Geneva and Alice Connolly and Gemma Tucker near Bristol. Presently she is involved in corporate and technical language and intercultural training at the Audi plant near her and teaches yoga.

Sometimes she does freelance editing. She has two sons, 19 and 21 who are studying in the UK. Catherine travels to India twice a year where she often treks in the high Himalayas or visits temples in the south.Â

1990s

Damaris Drews (Hooper) Year of 1991 - Damaris left Leweston and studied Occupational Therapy and then travelled to Hong Kong where she lived and worked with a some recovering drug addicts who had been heavily involved in the Triad gangs. Four years later, some of these men and Damaris were asked to go live in the largest slum in Bangkok (Thailand) to share their lives and stories with some very desperate and poor people. They lived in the slum for 7 years, helping those who had been lost to

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addiction, prostitution, AIDS and abuse. Thankfully, they saw amazing miracles. She married her wonderful German husband (she cannot believe she learnt Spanish at school instead of German) in a huge street wedding in the slum - people from all walks of life and from many different countries came to celebrate with them. She even had three Leweston girls join the celebrations (Sandra Dharmawan, Melanie Moore and Bin LindsayClark). The last 14 years brought them back to Hong Kong where their three lovely children were born.

They do a lot there with local Chinese families, couples and teenagers who face a highly-strung and competitive life, but it’s fun hearing their children chatter away in Cantonese and English (her French teacher would never have guessed that!).

Sophie Pender Cudlip Year of 1991 Sophie is living with her family in Donhead St Mary, just outside Shaftesbury, having recently moved back from Dubai. She has four

children aged 17, 16, 13 and 10 years old. Having spent many years working in financial PR, journalism and magazine publishing, she is now Head of Communications & Marketing at St Mary’s Shaftesbury.

She is delighted that despite her own daughter not going to Leweston, her niece is there and absolutely loves it. She still sees many of her Leweston life-long friends.

Lucinda Barry (Courtnell) Year of 1991 - Lucinda is in touch with lots of Leweston friends. She is married to Justin, who is in the army so they are regularly on the move. She has three children, a part-time job for Alexander Mann in recruitment and recently set up an eco-blog found on Instagram as together_eco. She partly blames the Leweston girls for suggesting she sets up her blog.

Tammy Cooney (Dixon) Year of 1992, sister to Karen Brooks (Dixon) Year of 1986 and Honor Dixon Year of 1987, joined a group of 1992 Leavers at The Eastbury Hotel in June 2019 for a good catch up and plenty of Prosecco! Tammy is married to Bob and they have a son Joseph, who is 8 years old. She moved back to the area with her family in 2012 and now lives in the same street as her mother. They unfortunately lost their father, Dixie, in 2011. Many will remember his involvement with Leweston as well as the junior school and the stalls he ran at various events, where you might have won a Polo Mint calendar! Karen is a head teacher in Aylesbury and Honor is a fitness instructor in Weymouth.

Hannah Bragg (Luard) Year of 1993 Hannah married in 2008 and has had four children, George, Lilly, Lexi and Rosie and amazingly has moved house 15 times. Hannah is currently doing a total renovation on their forever home in the Brecon Beacons. She is the builders’, electricians’ and plumbers’ labourer, which she thoroughly enjoys. Her hair has ‘body’ for the first time in her life due to all the dust. Hannah’s husband is Head of Sarcoma for Wales as well as taking over Command of the Royal Yeomanry this August. Although Hannah does not have a paid job, she is extremely busy being the support and running everything at home. Luckily, she loves it.

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Harriet Olds (Lavender) Year of 1995 - Harriet is living in the countryside of Bedfordshire with her twin girls and husband Matt. She is in touch with a handful of Leweston friends, including Yazz, Dickens, Selina, Issy & Glid. Last year she set up Trapeze HR with an ex colleague; Trapeze is a Recruitment company that partners with clients in the hiring of both full time & flexible working, Human Resources professionals. Clients range from SMEs looking to hire their first HR professional, to global organisations expanding their team www.trapezehr.com Harriet finds it liberating working for herself and is thoroughly enjoying learning how to run a business and the freedom that comes with that!

Gina Whiting (Mosse) Year of 1999 Gina is married to Marc Whiting.

They bought a house together in 2009 and refurbished it from top to bottom, which is still their family home. She has worked at various different jobs while trying to find her calling! They have a daughter Bella aged 6. Gina started her own business making handmade goods as Benaberry products. She was married 2013 in the Dominican Republic where 38 of their family and friends joined the celebrations.

After running Benaberry for two years she got a job at Daher Aerospace as an estimator (still doing Benaberry on the side).

Shortly after being back in full time employment she was diagnosed with Irelan, which was potentially triggered by having her daughter.

After having constant headaches for 6 months she saw a specialist, who diagnosed her and she has been wearing tinted glasses ever since. In 2017, Gina had twin boys; Josh and Zac who are adored by their sister Bella. Gina has project managed an extension on their house which is almost complete. Gina has been promoted to Senior Estimator running a small team, pricing containers and storage solutions for Aerospace parts. She plans to go back full time next year when the boys get more hours at nursery. All in all a fun filled 10 years.

00s

Isabelle Crocker Voillemot Year of 2000 - Isabelle works in the Music/Entertainment industry now, most recently as Senior Director of Digital Marketing and Sales at Universal Music in Santa Monica.

She had her second baby girl in November and is currently taking some time out with her daughters.

Alex Harris Year of 2001 - Alex remains in the Royal Navy and following promotion is serving as a Principal Warfare Officer in the new aircraft carrier, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH. This autumn she will deploy to the United States to

conduct the next set of fixed wing (aircraft) trials. Over the past 11 years she has been fortunate to serve in a variety of locations, including two years in Portugal working for an Admiral in NATO, conducting Defence Engagement and Counter Narcotics in the Caribbean, assisting in the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, and conducting Counter Piracy and Maritime Security in the Middle East (which included time on the ‘Gun Line’ during the Libya conflict). Alex is fortunate to represent the RN in both skiing and sailing; and when at home in Southsea she and her boyfriend (also RN) enjoy getting out and about and sipping on a welcome glass of wine!

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Lucy Haseldine (Grassby) Year of 2002 - Lucy studied BSc Geography at Kings College London followed

by MSc GIS with Catchment Management and Dynamics at Leeds University. She has worked at JBA Risk Management as a Catastrophe Analyst for 8 years, building probabilistic flood models for the re/insurance sector. She lives in Grassington, North Yorkshire with her husband Kevin and their children Oliver and Eddie (4 and 1).

cathedral. They were married 8 July 2018. She wishes to pass on that she is happy to give careers advice to any budding doctors.

Roma Loukes Year of 2002 - Roma is living in Stockholm in Sweden and working at the Gothenburg opera.

Chloe Henderson Year of 2010 Chloe has been living in San Diego, California for just over 3 years and recently became engaged to Jonathan Snell. Chloe works for a luxury tour operator called Scott Dunn, with whom she was lucky enough to be able to move with the job out to California. Chloe is the Sales Operations Manager, which means she work closely with managers and the sales team in order to help deliver exceptional holidays for US guests around the world.

Dr Sarah Harrison (Sanderson) Year of 2005 - Sarah is working as an anaesthetic registrar at Southampton Hospital. She has completed all of her professional exams and will be graduating as a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in September. She now lives in Chichester with her husband Charles who is Organist and Master of the Choristers at the

Lulu Murray Year of 2010 - Lulu is currently working for FTI Consulting as an Executive Assistant. She lives next to Clapham Common with her boyfriend. Lulu regularly re-visits Dorset and the grounds of Leweston on a horse through the winter months.

Natalie Wroblewska Year of 2010 Did you know that more people have access to mobile phones than clean water? This offers new opportunities (and challenges!) for healthcare around the world. Natalie is currently working at the WHO in Geneva, helping governments use new technologies to improve the health of their citizens. On a work

unrelated note, this summer holiday she will be travelling to Norway to photograph... shamans! Natalie has been awarded a travel grant from the Peter Kirk Memorial Fund to document Finno-Ugric shamanism in Northern Europe, combining her interests in photography and anthropology.

Lucy Gregory Year of 2011 - Lucy left Leweston in the summer of 2011 and went to study at Norland College. She graduated in 2015 with a BA Hons Early Childhood Studies and the Norland Diploma. She nannied for 4 years for a variety of families, doing permanent and temporary work and event nanning.

She nannied for children ranging from 4 days old to 17 years. She is currently working for the NHS as part of the Public Health Nursing Team. Lucy also has her own business as an Early Years Consultant (focusing on families with children who are 0-5 years) offering advice and support. She has recently

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become a Weldmar Hospicare Voluntary Ambassador. This is a charity incredibly close to her. She has been doing a lot of work for them, including making public speeches, and was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Solent.

She cannot quite believe its 8 years since she left Leweston but she is thankful that she is still in touch with some girls from her year, some of whom are her best friends.

Georgina Belt (Lanfear) Year of 2011 - Georgina studied adult nursing at Bournemouth University.

In-between starting and graduating she married her husband Dan. She graduated in 2014, became a registered nurse, and worked on an acute surgical ward looking after those in pre and post-operative care.

She was fortunate to be head

hunted by a vascular surgeon two years ago who wanted her to be part of the vascular team as a specialist nurse. Obviously, she was amazed by this request and accepted, as she knew she would not get this opportunity again; however, there was a catch. The catch was that she had to do a three-year Masters course to be an advance nurse practitioner. She is half way through her course currently taking part in the prescribing unit. In-between her transition of a staff nurse to a specialist role, she had a daughter who is now two and a half and definitely keeps her on her toes. She was a very keen hockey player at Leweston and is a member of Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey 1st team.

Daisy Lewis Year of 2015 - Daisy graduated from Exeter last year in medical sciences and has just completed her first year at Bath doing another degree in Pharmacy.

Catherine Hammick Year of 2011 Catherine is currently based in Berlin working as a Content and Social Media Manager for Premium Group. After leaving Leweston,

Catherine moved to London and graduated with a BA in Fashion Business with Honours from Instituto Marangoni in 2015. She went on to develop her career at Tom Ford as Showroom Assistant, moving on to creative agency MATTE Projects in New York and then freelance as a Fashion Assistant and Photographer at fashion magazine when she moved to Berlin. Having built a large network of valuable friends and contacts in the places she has been living, her dream is to bring acquaintances from around the world together on creative projects as well as working with green fashion labels to reduce the environmental impact of fashion.

Francesca Damant Year of 2010 Francesca is a paediatric heart specialist nurse working at the Royal Brompton Hospital. She has recently completed an MSc in Cardiology and Respiratory at Imperial College, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Francesca has particular interest in congenital heart disease and raising awareness of heart disease. She lives in Battersea with her boyfriend.

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“

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talula cup project

“

I started the Talula Cup project in Mkushi, Northern Zambia in February 2017 selling menstrual cups. My project reaches out to rural women and introduces the cup combined with an education talk on hygiene and health.

I researched many of the different cups either on line or in many cases; I bought different brands and trailed them. Not just myself, but also I handed them out on the farm to have the local women trial them. I personally had been using the Moon Cup since 2005. It took me 2 years to test these products.

Due to the lack of good quality and affordable menstrual products, I realised that a menstrual cup would be very beneficial for women in Zambia.

Many rural women spend their periods indoors using rags, unable to work or in the case of schoolgirls, unable to go to school. They use pieces of blankets, cotton and even

leaves; if they can afford them they buy cheap pads, which are expensive and due to the high amount of chemicals in them they cause chaffing and sores. The rags and blankets need to be washed thoroughly. There is also a stigma attached to the drying of the rags in public so they are dried inside where the husband cannot see them. This means that they are often not dried well enough therefore causing bacteria and infection. In most cases of rural women, they cannot afford underwear so even using a pad or rag becomes complicated.

The Talula Menstrual cup eliminates all of the problems that come with menstruation. It is non-allergic and hygienic, needing only washing between emptying and then sterilization (boiling in water for 5 mins) between cycles. It eliminates unpleasant waste. There is no need for underwear, no hiding the rags from husbands and reusable so a once off purchase for at least ten years. It can remain inserted for up to 8 hours (longer for a lighter flow) enabling women and schoolgirls to work or attend school without having to change, so they can refresh when they return home.

There are no embarrassing leaking or odours either. Many teenagers have their first period without

having a clue what is happening to them. We encourage mothers to explain these things to their daughters. We also emphasise the importance of girls attending school.

The cup gives the first confidence to go to school without fear of leaking or smelling. A huge proportion of girls miss school during their cycle due to the fact they cannot afford safe sanitary products. The Talula cup gives these girls the chance to stay in the classroom and hopefully compete their education. I have three trained representatives who travel to neighbouring farms, schools; shows etc and promote the cup whilst also chatting to the women about personal issues including menstrual concerns.

I would like to offer a couple of gap year girls an opportunity to visit and get involved in the project if it was of interest. I always need help, especially with social media and could offer food and accommodation, transport and a 2/3 month stay within the safety of our home whilst exposing the girls to life on the ground in a rural area of Africa. If you are interested, please get in touch. alice@talulacup.com www.talulacup.com

“

Alice Fricks (Leigh) Year of 1987 Alice has three grown up children Zoe,( 24) and Ivan and Dima (22).

They are all in various places in the UK or Europe. Hugo her husband, is ex Ampleforth and Lifeguards Household Calvary. They moved to Zimbabwe in 1992 and in 2007 to Zambia. She has always been involved in grass roots projects while living and working on a farm.

Recently she set up a menstrual health project called Talula Cup, which introduces a menstrual cup to women in Zambia.

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london

2019 reunion

On 23 May we held our second London reunion for OAs, this time at the Rose Pub in Fulham. It was fantastic to see so many former pupils from a wide range of year groups. During the evening we asked everyone to write down their memories of school, some of which are shared here. We are looking forward to next year’s event and will share the date as soon as possible.

“

“Flipping a pedal car, Mrs Walworth coming running down the drive to see if we were OK to find us laughing our heads off.”

“Having a massive water fight in the dorms so much so the boarding staff just closed the doors and left us to it, We did finally stop when large puddles formed in the corridors.”

“Filling Bronze dorm with duvets and pillows and performing our inter-house gym routine to anyone who would watch.”

“Climbing the cedars in the grounds and wandering into the woods at the Belvedere. The best was picking apples in break.”

“

“Mr Aylward’s glasses going missing in assembly when they were on his head the whole time.”

01963 211015

leweston scHool, sHerBorne, dorset dt9 6en admissions@leweston.dorset.scH.uK www.leweston.co.uK Leweston is a registered charity number 295175