Leweston Life Winter 2015

Leweston Life

Winter 2015

Page 9

Page 22

Page 11

Contents

Page 15

Head’s Welcome

3

Public Examination Results 2015

4

Academic Awards and Successes

5

Creative Life

9

Duke of Edinburgh

15

Senior Sport

16

Junior Department

22

Junior Department Sport

28

Nursery

30

Boarding

32

Spiritual Life

34

Dates for your Diary

36

www.leweston.co.uk Cover image: AS Textiles Coursework Natasha Lau

Welcome from the Head Welcome to the winter 2015 edition of Leweston

hope to see that number increase throughout the

Life. It pulls together the highlights of what has

year as more children are welcomed into the

been an exceptionally busy, varied and, I hope,

Leweston fold, benefitting from the first class

fulfilling term for students, staff and parents alike.

education we offer right from the start. More

As my first term in the role of Leweston’s Head I

news from the Nursery can be found on pages 30

have daily been reminded of the enthusiasm and

and 31.

talents that our girls and boys possess and how amazingly rich and varied their school days are.

It has also been a busy term for the arts at Leweston, with the talent and creativity of the

As the new Head, the academic profile of

pupils never ceasing to astound us all. Particular

Leweston has very much been at the forefront of

highlights were the Fashion Show (pages 10 and

my mind. My vision is to secure Leweston’s

11) and the Junior Department and Senior School

reputation as a centre of excellence for teaching

Carol Services, not forgetting the wonderful Angel

and learning. I want it to be a school where every

Express Nativity. I was also delighted that three of

lesson, all pastoral support and every decision is

our Sixth Form girls were selected to appear in the

framed by the crucial question – ‘is this the best for

Sherborne Boys’ School musical production of

this particular child?’. By sharing best practice in

Sweeney Todd (page 13). The Sports Department

the classroom and working closely with other

also goes from strength to strength, with more

schools, I hope to keep the delivery of an

exceptional achievements registered across

outstanding curriculum high on the agenda at

multiple disciplines (see pages 16-21 and 28 and

Leweston.

29) and we were delighted to be awarded Penthalon GB Academy status at the end of term,

Nowhere has this been better demonstrated than

one of only 8 locations in the country.

in another exceptionally strong set of A Level and GCSE results which pay testament to the hard

Thank you to the Leweston community for making

work and dedication of the girls, as well as the

me and my family feel so welcome in my new role.

determination to go the extra mile for which the

I hope that you enjoy reading about the Autumn

staff here are well known. Our great results can be

term at Leweston and I look forward to 2016 and

read about on page 4.

all that it holds.

The School continues to thrive across campus and as we embark upon a new academic year, it is wonderful to see such strong numbers in our Nursery. We now have over 40 pupils on roll and

Kate Reynolds Head

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GCSE, A Level and Pre-U Results 2015 Leweston is delighted to once again be celebrating an exceptional set of public examination results.

“It is wonderful to see such strong academic results from these multi-talented year groups. Their achievements

At A level Sixth Form girls achieved a 100% pass rate with 92% of the exams passed at grade A* to C or Pre-U equivalent and 77% at A* to B or Pre-U equivalent.

63% of the results were passed at A* or A grades or Pre-U equivalent, more than double the national average of 26%. Average UCAS points per candidate were 372, the equivalent of over three A grades per candidate.

These results have enabled almost all Leweston’s leavers to win places at their chosen universities or specialist colleges. The outstanding achiever was Alina Pietruszewicz with 3 A* and 3 A grades who will read Natural Sciences at University College London. Many girls are going on to the more selective institutions including Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, St. Andrews and University College 4

across the subject and ability

A Level and Pre-U candidates 2015

London to study degrees such as Accounting, Architecture, Economics, English, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Nursing, Philosophy and Politics, Psychology and Theology.

range are as impressive as the list of additional accolades they have garnered in music, sport and outdoor education; all testament to the benefits of an all girls’ education where Leweston girls achieve to the best of their ability both inside and beyond the classroom.”

Kate Reynolds - Head

IN BRIEF...

30% of candidates achieve 9 or more A or A* grades at GCSE

77% or A Level passed at A* to B or Pre-U equivalent Average UCAS points per (over three candidate of A grades per candidate).

372

At GCSE 34% of examinations were passed at A* with 59% of all entries passed at A* or A. 84% of examinations were passed at A*, A or B. Congratulations to the 30% of all candidates who achieved 9 or more A or A* grades and to the 17% of girls who got 9 A* grades or more.

Particularly notable were the results in the subjects of Latin and Further Maths. 100% of the pupils taking Latin achieved an A* with 94% of the candidates taking Further Maths (representing 37% of the year group) achieving an A* or A. Congratulations to Beth McMillan, Elizabeth Hobbs and Elizabeth Davis who all achieved 11 A* grades. All three girls are academic scholars at Leweston.

Academic Awards and Successes

Leweston Sixth Former Receives Highest Award at the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge

Kemal, Head of Chemistry at Leweston, were invited to attend a reception at the Wellcome Collections Museum in London along with all the other Roentgenium Award winners, at which crystal trophies were awarded to students and their teachers. Katarzyna who gave a short presentation about an element of her choice wrote: Congratulations to Sixth Former Katarzyna Zator who has been awarded the prestigious Chemistry Roentgenium Award after being placed in the top 0.7% of over 8000 entrants nationally.

The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge is a prestigious and highly competitive international Chemistry exam for Lower Sixth pupils, which not only requires significant subject knowledge but also first class lateral thinking and problem solving abilities. The Gold, Silver and Copper awards are topped by a Roentgenium, the fourth and most rare of the noble metals in Group 11 of the Periodic Table.

Katarzyna was one of 8 Leweston pupils who entered the competition this year. She achieved the highest accolade possible, The Roentgenium Award which placed her in the top 0.7% of all entrants (8481 students) nationwide and qualified her to attend a 3 day residential Chemistry Camp at Cambridge University where she had the opportunity to take part in some advanced practical work in their laboratories and was taken on a tour of the Chemistry Department. Katarzyna and Dr

“Being at Cambridge and working

on challenging topics ranging from quantum mechanics of electron orbitals to organic syntheses and being taught by inspirational teachers amongst them Dr Peter Wothers, the organiser of the challenge and the author of the text book that I so much enjoyed reading, was fascinating and so rewarding. Cambridge is a beautiful city and my brief experiences at the camp has only served to strengthen my desire to study Natural Sciences at St Catharine’s College.”

“Katarzyna’s element of choice was Polonium. She delivered her presentation with conviction and confidence. I was proud to be escorting her to the awards ceremony. Trophies were presented to both Katarzyna and to the school as further reward for success. It was a great honour for Leweston School to be involved with this event and we are extremely grateful to all the staff at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and their sponsors from Saudi Aramco for making this event possible.”

Dr O. Kemal 5

SIXTH FORM CHEMISTS EXPERIENCE

‘CHEMISTRY IN ACTION’ Leweston’s Sixth Form Chemists attended a day of lectures held at University of London’s Institute of Education in November. The day focused on how science is used in the real world and featured talks from some of the world’s leading Chemists on a range of topics including Diamonds, The

Chemistry of Drugs, Rates of Reaction and What Started Life on Earth: the biggest unanswered question in both Biology and Chemistry. This was a fascinating and inspirational day which delved into the more advanced aspects of Chemistry.

Physicists hear from Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt

History Comes alive at Hampton Court A party of girls from Year 11 went on a very rewarding visit to Hampton Court Palace in September. Not only was the great beauty of the site enriched by the presence of people wearing the costumes of bygone eras like a benign ghostly presence, but Hampton Court’s education department provided the opportunity to handle artefacts from the distant past, bringing history to life. Hampton Court has always served as a great stage set for intense royal and political dramas, including pageantry and tragedy and the girls were able to connect with this fascinating, complex and challenging heritage.

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Sixth Form scientists enjoyed a visit to Southampton University to hear from the 2011 Nobel Laureate for Physics, Brian Schmidt. His lecture described how leading Scientists traced back the expansion of the universe over billions of years and discovered that it was accelerating, a startling discovery that suggests that more than 70 per cent of the cosmos is contained in a previously unknown form of matter, called Dark Energy. The girls were also able to meet and talk with current physics undergraduates about their work at Southampton University. A great day!

Congratulations to Year 10 pupil Amelia Mercer, who has enjoyed much success at this year’s Sherborne Literary Festival. She won first prize in the 12-16 year old category with her poem “Departures” and third prize in the Short Story Competition, with “Cow Parsley” on which the judges commented:

“Intriguingly told, with a backwards structure that cleverly compacts a life of strong emotions into a short space, with good descriptive language”.

There was also a special mention for Charlotte Sewed (Year 10), for her story “Losing Will”, which received a Highly Commended certificate. The judges wrote:

“A powerful short story, told with imagination by a wellcreated narrator”.

marshmallows. Ingenuity was required as creative and innovative architectural designs led to eye-catching results. The end of term culminated with a recreation of Fishbourne Palace following on from their work on King Cogidubnus. Great efforts were made by all, and the attention to detail was particularly impressive, with a bath house complete with under floor heating!

Classics Club: Togas and Temples

Leweston’s Budding Writers Recognised at Sherborne Literary Festival

The girls involved in Leweston’s Classics Club have had a creative term developing their understanding of life in Ancient Greece and Rome. A new academic year meant new toga trends. The girls in Classics Club have learnt about clothing in ancient Rome and had great fun designing their own togas with newspaper! This was followed by the girls attempting to create models of Greek temples using only spaghetti and

Public Speaking Success Two teams of Year 9 pupils represented Leweston at the local Rotary Club Youth Speaks Intermediate public speaking contest, held at the Gryphon School in November.

Congratulations to Team A of Emilia Brazier, Speaker: Eliza Dawson and Vote of Thanks: Daisy Pilkington who provoked much discussion with their speech entitled, ‘Exams: what is the point?’ and who, as runners up, will go on to the next stage of the competition.

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Leweston Welcomes Author Maria Farrer

Autumn Term Chemistry Symposiums Inspire and Enrich This term’s Chemistry Symposium, involving the Chemistry Departments of Leweston, Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls has proved an excellent forum for showcasing scientific literature research which has inspired and enriched the participants. Recent talks have covered a wide range of topics as diverse as chemistry in the food industry and explosive types of drugs. At the most recent Symposium on the 25 November, two of our Sixth Formers, Evie Davies and Monika Olejnik, delivered an impressive presentation on the exciting applications of Nanotechnology for a healthy life and better ageing, which stimulated a lot of interest. We look forward to the next series of Symposia in the new year.

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Creative Life...

The English Department was privileged to welcome Maria Farrer, author of A Flash of Blue and Broken Strings, in October. Maria talked to pupils in Years 9 - 11 about her work as a novelist, giving some fascinating insights into the editing process in particular. The girls will undoubtedly find her advice on creating an engaging narrative voice and to ‘be brave’ as writers invaluable, both in their creative writing and when facing the challenges of exams.

Leweston’s Cambridge Pre-U students enjoyed an extra workshop with Maria in which they immersed themselves in the narrative voices of a wide variety of writers. The girls enjoyed a lively debate and were offered a rare opportunity to see the writing of fiction from an author’s perspective. We would like to extend our thanks to the Sherborne Literary Society for offering us the opportunity to host Maria’s visit.

Leweston Staff and Students Inspired

by Weekly TED Talks Leweston girls and staff are being challenged and inspired in a weekly discussion and debate club enthused by speakers from around the world.

TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less) that cover topics from science to business to global issues. It has been an engaging and exciting first term of talks and we look forward to the club’s continued success in the new year. Find out more at https://www.ted.com/.

Christmas Carols and Concerts This year’s Christmas Concert, hosted at the Church of the Holy Ghost in Yeovil, was a sell out with pupils’ family and friends and members of the local congregation enjoying festive performances from Schola Cantorum, soloists from across the school and many of our instrumental ensembles. The concert was raising funds for Jana

Jyoti, Leweston’s sister school in Nepal, and for the Church of the Holy Ghost. Thank you to all who came and supported this event.

The Christmas Concert was, of course, followed by the Carol Service which once again provided a moving and fitting end to the autumn term in the wonderful surrounds of Sherborne

Abbey. The service featured spectacular performances by Schola and Cantemus, as well as a number of poignant readings from pupils, staff, parents and the Chairman of the Governors. It was a tremendous and atmospheric occasion, with the stunning festive songs filling the majestic interior of the Abbey from floor to vaulted ceiling.

Sixth Former Takes Part in Strings Workshop led

by Classical Violinist Nicola Benedetti Congratulations to Sixth Former Evie Davies who was one of only a few school age musicians selected to take part a strings workshop led by internationally renowned Violinist Nicola Benedetti at the Royal Albert Hall (pictured left). Evie is currently a music scholar at Leweston and as well as the Violin, she also plays the Piano and sings as part of the school’s senior Choir, Schola Cantorum. Evie had a fantastic and inspiring day in London and we look forward to her continued progress throughout her Sixth Form years at Leweston.

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The 2015 Fashion Show was a wonderful showcase of the creative talent across the school. This year’s event featured work created by girls from Year 6 through to Sixth Form. The girls in Year 6 created dresses made from recycled plastics and paper, the work by the girls in Years 7 and 8 was on the topic of circus head pieces whilst Year 9 work was inspired by jewels and birds. GCSE pieces were on the theme of architecture, whilst the Sixth Form pieces were self led and included the course work that will go towards their A Level examination. The quality of the work was exceptional. Over 100 pieces of wearable garments were showcased, all modelled by Leweston pupils.

The creativity was not just limited to the catwalk. A Sixth Form team created the set design, the music, the lighting and the stage design. Year 13 pupil Stephanie So, who plans to study Fashion Communication and Promotion at university, also created a film documenting the preparations and all the back stage action which can be seen on our website or our Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/lewestonschool.

A2 exam piece by Harriet Cook

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AS coursework by Ella Monachello

AS exam piece by Ella Monachello

GCSE coursework by Celeste Patterson

A2 coursework by Lila Chillingworth

A2 exam piece by Kasey Chiu

Fashion Show Collections 2015

AS coursework by Stephanie So

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Old Antonian Secures Job with Tom Ford Congratulations to Leweston OA (leaver year of 2011), Catherine Hammick, who has secured a job working for world renowned American fashion designer and Oscar winning film director Tom Ford. Catherine recently graduated from Istituto Marangoni with a 1st with Hons in BA Fashion Business. We look forward to Catherine’s continued success in the fashion industry and wish her luck with the new job!

Year 8 Pupil Jessamy Takes Lead Role Congratulations to talented Year 8 pupil and Drama Scholar Jessamy Bowditch, who was awarded the lead role in the Yeovil Youth Theatre’s musical production of ‘Annie’ which ran between the 17th – 21st November. Jessamy, who recently played Alice in

Leweston’s production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (pictured) performed in every show, without an under-study, whilst managing to balance all her school commitments. No doubt a bright future awaits.

Sixth Former Awarded ATCL Performance Diploma Congratulations to Year 13 pupil and Music Scholar Natasha Panton who has been awarded her ATCL Performance Diploma on the Flute.

This is an advanced exam and equivalent to the first year of a Music Conservatoire Degree course. Natasha’s achievement builds on Leweston’s strong record of success in this area. In 2013 three Year 13 Leweston girls achieved Distinctions in their ATCL (Associate Trinity College, London) Performance Diplomas: Ellie Byfield on the Saxophone, Emily Yang on the Piano and Imogen Massey on the Flute.

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Sixth Form Perform at Dorset Schools’ Charity Concert We are delighted that our Sixth Form Vocal Duo and Sixth Form Wind Quartet performed alongside musicians from other local schools at the Dorset Schools’ Charity Concert at Sherborne Abbey on Thursday 12th November. The event, organised by the Royal British Legion, raised funds for local Dorset veterans and was a spectacular success. Our pupils were joined by Old Antonian Camilla Foster-Mitchell who featured as Guest Soprano at the event. Camilla wowed the audience with her rendition of ‘Quando Men Vo’ from La Boheme by Puccini and ‘Caro Nome’ from Rigoletto

by Verdi.

Sweeney Todd

Congratulations to Sixth Formers Freya Logan and Lexsis Nyeko who were selected to take part in the joint schools’ production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ featuring pupils from Sherborne School, Sherborne Girls and Leweston. The musical is one of the more macabre musicals in the canon, and the performers did its grisly sense of humour great justice with their beautiful and highly-moving production.

Royal Academy Life Drawing Workshop

Artists in Years 10-13 enjoyed a life drawing session this term with an artist and model from the Royal Academy of Art. Girls sketched the form through specialist workshops and enjoyed trying out different materials. The session provided a fantastic opportunity to develop expressive drawing.

We had an excellent number of quality entries for our inaugural School summer photography competition.

Congratulations to the prize winners’ whose photos can be seen below

Popular Vote Category Joint Winners: India Cole (Year 9)

Popular Vote Category Joint Winners: Grace Pilkington (Year 7)

Year 10 - 13 Category Winner: Neen Jarosombat (Year 12)

Year 7 – 9 category Winner: Sophie Lyons Montgomery (Year 7)

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Record Numbers of Girls Complete their Awards at all Levels It has been a bumper Duke of Edinburgh season at Leweston with a record number of girls taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award at all three levels and an unprecedented number of girls completing their Gold Award.

The Bronze and Silver teams benefitted from the county outdoor centres for their training which, with the exception of one particularly cold night, was consider a great success. The three Bronze teams focused on Purbeck for their expeditions while the two Silver teams went to new locations in the Quantocks.

To complete a DofE programme is a huge achievement. It has been a challenge both physically and mentally for the Bronze and Silver teams and yet again the Leweston girls have risen to the occasion, completing and passing their final assessments with tenacity and a great sense of team spirit. In doing so, they have gained the respect of their leaders, supervisors and assessors.

This year we had a very strong Gold team who headed to Dartmoor for both their practice and assessment. Rugby and illness meant that teams were changed but the final 4 on assessment were well prepared and highly commended by the assessor. The teams were lucky with the weather, experiencing very little of the micro-climate for which Dartmoor is famous. Blisters, bruises and ticks were the only remnants of a highly successful final expedition. Well done all!

Mr Keith Whitehead, D of E Co-ordinator

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Senior Sport Pupils Inspired by International Athletes at Girls Go Gold PE Conference 2015

Leweston Awarded Pentathlon GB Academy Status Leweston is delighted to have been awarded Academy status by Pentathlon GB with effect 1 January 2016, making it the eighth PGB Academy.

The award has been made in recognition of the support and contribution the school has made to the sport of Modern Pentathlon and the development of Leweston and local community athletes.

A Pentathlon GB representative commented

“Leweston makes a significant contribution to the PGB Pathway and is one of the cornerstones of the GB Biathle Squad. Resident Coach Mr Mick Flaherty has worked tirelessly towards earning Academy status for the school and he is congratulated for the significant contribution he makes to our sport.

Well done.”

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Six pupils in Years 11 and 13 attended the Girls Go Gold Gold conference at Headington School in Oxford in September.

Daisy Liddle, Year 13 Prefect, writes...

The 2015 Girls Go Gold PE Conference was put on by the Girls’ Schools Association and attended by over 400 girls from schools all around the country. The day consisted of various lectures and workshops on the topics of sports nutrition and sports psychology. The sports nutrition session was particularly interesting and we were able to pick up some tips on what foods are the best choices, with particular emphasis on what to eat for breakfast to provide energy to complete challenging training programmes.

The event’s workshops were equally interesting and included ‘controlling the controllable’ during which we learnt about the things that we, as athletes, can control to give us the best chance of success. We greatly enjoyed the high intensity training (HIT) workshop where we were given a taste of a hard sprinting session on spinning bikes and a rowing taster which was lead by Katie Greves, Team GB rower working towards Rio 2016. We also had the opportunity to attend a higher education exhibition of

universities which specialise in sports related courses. The day ended with a speech from Sally Gunnell (pictured above left), the 1992 Olympic Gold medallist at the 400m hurdles and the only woman to have ever held the Olympic, World and Commonwealth titles at once, followed by a Q&A with the very popular young athlete and current Junior Heptathlon World Champion, Katarina JohnsonThompson (pictured above right).

Her talk was truly inspiring as she is a real role model to all of us.

Overall the day was amazing and I think we will all take away what we have learnt and use it to become better competitors.

Leweston Welcomes Australian Touring Team We were delighted to host staff and pupils from Firbank Grammar School (Melbourne) as part of their two week multi-sports tour to the UK at the start of term. The 28 visiting pupils were hosted by Leweston families and over their three day visit the girls enjoyed many competitive sports fixtures against Leweston in the pool, on the netball court and on the football pitch. The Australians clinched victory on the netball court, but Leweston girls emerged victorious in the pool and on the football pitch. The Firbank girls were amazing ambassadors for their school and we had a great few days full of laughter and fun. We look forward Firbank visiting again in 2018!

Winners at the St Mary’s Relays Congratulations to the U16 Cross Country team of Zuleika VoegeleDowning, Libby Tolly, Poppy Boyden and Daisy Davies who won the St Mary’s Shaftesbury Cross Country Relays last Wednesday. The girls beat 14 other teams winning comfortably by 59 seconds. Well done!

Leweston Relays 2015 The annual Leweston Cross Country Relays took place on Thursday 26 November resulting in some outstanding success for the home teams.

This year’s event saw 75 teams and over 300 competitors representing schools from across the South West. Leweston enjoyed much success with teams taking the top spots in the Minor Girls category (girls in Years 5 and 6) contested by 18 teams and in the Intermediate category (girls in Years 9 to 11), also of 18 teams. Leweston also took podium positions in the Junior event (girls in Years 7 and 8) coming second and in the Senior Competition (Sixth Form) coming third. A special mention must go to Year 7 pupil Issy Colwell who produced the fastest lap of the 112 runners in her category, quite an achievement.

LEWESTON HOSTS REGIONAL ROUND OF THE ESAA NATIONAL SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY CUP Leweston was delighted to host the Regional Round of the ESAA National Schools Cross Country Cup competition in November. 48 teams from 29 schools attended the championships, in a region that stretched from Land’s End in Cornwall to Reading in Berkshire. Both home teams had qualified for this prestigious event, with the Junior (Year 7/8) Team and the Intermediate (Year 9/10) Team finishing a creditable 5th out of the 12 schools in their category.

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Success at the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships Congratulations to the two equestrian teams who had a record breaking weekend at the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships at Addington Manor at the beginning of November. In the ‘Jumping with Style’ event the Leweston’s team came 8th out of 35 teams who had qualified for the event from all over the country, the highest place Leweston has gained at the prestigious and highly competitive championships.

Congratulations to Eve Southcombe, sisters Kitty and Sacha Godman-Dorington and Portia Alexander. Well done also to the show jumping team of Issy Colwell, Alice Southcombe, Kitty and Sacha Godman-Dorington who came a creditable 19th out of 43 teams, also an outstanding achievement.

Leweston Inter Schools’ Show Jumping Competition 2015 We were delighted to welcome riders representing schools from all over the South West to our annual Inter Schools’ Show Jumping Competition on Saturday 26 September. The Leweston equestriennes did exceptionally well in the team results coming third in Class 1, sixth in Class 2 and first of 16 teams in Class 3. Well done to all the competing schools and riders on another successful event. A full copy of the results can be downloaded from www.leweston.co.uk 18

Leweston Girls Win Bronze for GB at the World Biathle Championships

Three Leweston girls travelled to Batumi Georgia to represent Great Britain at the World Biathle Championships in September. In order to be selected for Great Britain the girls had taken part in several Biathle races around the country and put in lots of training hours, in the pool, in the sea and on the roads. Their hard work was rewarded with much success with Year 10 pupil Libby Tolly finishing 6th and Olivia Manson (Year 12) finishing 13th in the Girls 16 and Under event. The girls formed 2 parts of the three woman team and their performances meant that the team took a Bronze medal, just behind South Africa and Russia. In the Girls 18 and Under event, Year 13 pupil Georgie Kemp, finished 10th at the end of her first season of Biathle. Well done!

MEDALS AND PBS GALORE AT THE NATIONAL BIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Leweston’s athletes enjoyed another successful year at the National Biathlon Championships at Solihull. Leweston was delighted to have 14 representatives at the competition and a competitor in every age group - an outstanding achievement.

A special mention must go to Ginny Bruce (Year 5) who helped the Dorset Pentathletes come 1st in the U10 event (pictured above right). Well done also to Year 9 Sports Scholar Daisy Davies (pictured above left) who took bronze individually in the U14 event helping her team to a silver medal. Libby Tolly (Year 10) also came a creditable 6th in the U16 event helping her team to Bronze.

Well done to all the Leweston competitors who performed brilliantly on the day.

Leweston Dominates at the Dorset Schools’ Biathlon The Dorset Schools’ Biathlon took place at Leweston School on Sunday 4 October with over 120 competitors taking part. Once again Leweston was well represented with the girls generating some excellent results including a team win in the U12 event and individual wins in the U12, U16 and U19 event.

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Leweston Hosts the First Junior Air Pistol Championships Leweston School was proud to host a South West schools’ Junior air pistol shooting competition; the first of its kind in the country.

The competition, held in October, was run by British Shooting in partnership with the NSRA and attracted over 120 competitors from schools all over the South West. It was a busy schedule with 3 different age groups Junior (Year 5 & 6), Intermediate (Year 7, 8 & 9) and Senior (Year 10, 11, 12 & 13). Leweston was the only school to win a medal in each final: well done to Lily Amor (Year 6) who won gold in the Junior shooting with Holly Johnson (Year 6) following behind her in 7th place. In the Intermediate final Elektra Covell (Year 8) took the bronze medal behind 2 Welsh internationals and Issy Colwell (Year 7) came 8th. In a very competitive Senior final Libby Tolly (Year 10) had a great shoot which saw her win the bronze medal. A hugely successful and enjoyable day for all those involved.

Elektra Year 8 20

Issy Year 7

Libby Year 10

Team Gold at the National Tetrathlon Championships Well done to Year 8 pupil Elektra Covell who came 2nd individually in Under 13 girls (Youth D) at the National Tetrathlon Championships in September. Elektra (pictured centre) won her fencing and shooting events and still had the energy to pull out a personal best in the pool. Her performance, alongside those of her two teammates (also pictured) meant that they took team Gold for Dorset Pentathletes.

Row Like A Girl: Old Antonian Departs on 3000 Mile Trip Across the Atlantic The first day of advent also saw Old Antonian, Olivia Bolesworth (’06), set off on the Talisker Whiskey Challenge: an Atlantic crossing in a row boat as part of a team of four girls. The intrepid team are planning to row 3,000 nautical miles from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean, in support of Plan UK’s “Because I am a Girl” campaign.

They are also hoping to set new world records as the youngest and fastest four girls to cross the Atlantic. Crossing the Atlantic is not an easy task and the girls will face extreme conditions, mental and

physical hardship, sleep deprivation, exhaustion (they will be rowing 24/7, non-stop, in a 2 hour shifts for 3000 miles), isolation, harsh weather conditions (including 30-40ft waves, storms and a dangerous range of hot and cold temperatures), vulnerability, heath issues, nutritional issues, solitary confinement, rowing in the dark, and being solely responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the vessel.

For more information about Plan UK and the “Because I am a Girl” campaign, please visit http://plan-

international.org/girls/. The team are hoping to raise £50,000 for the cause and would welcome any help to reach their goal. Updates from the girls and ways to support their fundraising efforts can be found at www.rowlikeagirl.uk

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Junior Department YEAR 5 AND 6 HISTORY TRIP TO PORTSMOUTH HISTORIC DOCKYARD Pupils in Years 5 and 6 went to Portsmouth to find out more about the Mary Rose and see HMS Victory early in the autumn term.

The children visited the Mary Rose Museum and saw many of the thousands of artefacts that have been found. They took part in a gun drill with a replica ‘port piece’ breech loading gun and tried their hand at a model long bow. The other workshops involved Tudor navigation and military planning, either as the French attacking Portsmouth or the English defending it. The pupils sent their work to Mary Rose Education which was promptly posted on twitter…

Mary Rose Education tweeted…

Brilliant work from @LewestonSchool after their visit @MaryRoseMuseum “We had a marvellous time”

Fossil Hunting in Lyme Regis Grandparents’ Day

Pupils in Years 1 and 2 enjoyed a windy and action packed trip to Lyme Regis as part of the science curriculum in September. The pupils enjoyed a Museum visit, a very successful fossil hunt and rock pooling on the beach. The fossil guide was old Antonian, Kate Acheson, who took time out from her doctorate studies to lead the group. A wonderful trip enjoyed by all.

YEAR 5 AND 6 LATINISTS LEARN ABOUT THE ROMAN FESTIVAL OF SATURNALIA

We were delighted to welcome many of the grandparents of pupils in the Junior Department to this year’s Grandparents’ Day in September. Our visitors enjoyed returning to school for a wonderful welcome from Head Girl, Polly Harwood and Games Captain Lily Amor, before heading off with their grandchildren to take part in lessons which were of a European Theme as the school was also celebrating the European Day of Languages.

Later that morning there was a moving Blessing in the Chapel which featured prayers that been written by the children for their grandparents. There was not a dry eye in the house.

We look forward to next year’s event.

One grandparent commented

Year 5 and 6 students have had a fascinating term learning about life in ancient Greece and Rome.

The term’s lessons culminated in a study of the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia with the pupils exploring the idea of the reversal of traditional roles by

becoming the teacher for the afternoon. Miss Flannery enjoyed hearing about the topics they had learnt in Latin this term and was impressed by their enthusiasm and confident delivery!

“How fortunate our grandchildren are to be educated at Leweston and how lucky we are to feel involved. Thank you again”.

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Harvest Mass

We were delighted to celebrate a beautiful Harvest Mass on Wednesday 30 September led by Year 4 pupils. Thank you to all who donated food items which were sent to the Lord’s Larder in Yeovil to help those in need. Well done also to the Year 4 and 5 cookery club who made the wonderful Harvest Loaf which took pride of place on the altar!

Leweston Remembers

A Spectacular Bonfire Night Pupils, parents and friends of Leweston enjoyed a fantastic Bonfire Night on Thursday 5 November. The grounds were bathed in the glow of the magnificent bonfire whilst guests tucked into a delicious hog roast and watched the spectacular fireworks explode across the night sky. Thank you to all who came!

Following Father Peter’s moving Mass on the morning of Armistice Day, pupils in the Junior Department held their Remembrance ceremony including the customary two minute silence at 11am.

Poems were read and poppies and wreaths were laid. The older pupils had been selling poppies in the run up to the event and many children brought in photographs or memorabilia of family involved in war, both past and present. A moving and thought provoking event as always.

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Funky Tops and Tails for Children in Need Pupils and staff in the Junior Department (and across the campus) had fun raising money for BBC Children in Need 2015 by donning funky tops and tails for the day and what a wacky selection there was. Thank you to all who got involved, your efforts helped us raise ÂŁ190 for the charity this year.

JUNIOR PUPILS IMPRESS AT AUTUMN CONCERT The Junior Department Autumn Concert was yet another spectacular showcase of the wealth of musical and dramatic talent in the Junior Department, with fantastic performances by instrumentalists, LAMDA groups and the Performing Art group. Congratulations to all the performers on another wonderful concert!

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ANGEL EXPRESS NATIVITY PLAY Parents, grandparents and siblings were all treated to a fabulously festive Nursery to Year 2 Nativity at the end of term. Their festive musical, Angel Express, was filled with confident and talented performances from Leweston’s youngest pupils.

Huge thanks go to our enchanting, enthusiastic cast and crew for putting together such a wonderful production – always a highlight in the Leweston calendar!

Families Enjoy a ‘Taste’ of Life in Reception at Leweston Junior Department We were delighted to welcome local families as well as our Nursery parents and pupils to the Reception @ Leweston taster event on Thursday 26 November. This action packed morning enabled families to find out more about Leweston’s Reception in a fun and informal setting. Parents enjoyed

chatting to the staff whilst children enjoyed indoor and outdoor phonics, French and Christmas themed activities.

Parents and prospective Reception pupils also enjoyed a taster of this year’s Nursery – Year 2 Nativity production: ‘Angel Express’, and

there was even time for a swimming lesson with our specialist Early Years instructor in the school pool. A particular highlight was a visit to Father Christmas in his grotto. He had flown in specially to give all the children a pre-Christmas present.

Much fun was had by all!

The annual Leweston Cross Country Relays took place on Thursday 26 November resulting in some outstanding success for the home teams. This year’s event saw 75 teams and over 300 competitors representing schools from across the South West.

Leweston enjoyed much success with the Junior Department’s A team of Lily Amor, Molly Colwell, Alice Anderson and Ginny Bruce taking the top spot in the Minor Girls category which was hotly contested by 18 teams. A special mention must go to Year 6 pupil Alice Anderson who came fourth individually out of the 72 runners in her category, quite an achievement.

In other Cross-Country News…

Congratulations to the children in St Margaret who were the winning house in this year’s InterHouse Cross Country competition. Luckily the rain held off and all the children ran brilliantly. Well done to all competitors.

Ginny Wins Gold at the National Biathlon Championships Leweston’s athletes enjoyed another successful year at the National Biathlon Championships at Solihull. We were delighted to have 14 representatives at the competition and a competitor in every age group - an outstanding achievement. A special mention must go to Ginny Bruce (Year 5) who helped the Dorset Pentathletes come 1st in the U10 event. More success followed for the Senior School which is detailed on page 19. Well done to all the Leweston competitors who performed fantastically on the day.

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Junior Department Sport

LEWESTON RELAYS 2015

Leweston Hosts the First Junior Air Pistol Championships

RYA Sailing Success!

During September, all of the Junior Department pupils in Years 5 and 6 participated in a two day RYA sailing course at a Rockley Watersports, Poole Park. The children rose to the challenge of completing both the practical and theory sections of their relevant sailing courses. Some pupils had already attained entry levels in the RYA Youth sailing scheme and were undertaking the first part of their more demanding Stage 3 courses. Most children were new to the sport of sailing and were embarking on their Stage 1 courses with enthusiasm.

Congratulations to all Stage 1 participants who passed their entry stage with flying colours and the more experienced group of sailors managed to tick off a great deal of their Stage 3 course requirements. The Year 5 and 6 children are now looking forward to the next course, due to take place this coming summer term, to continue developing their burgeoning sailing skills.

Leweston School was proud to host a schools air pistol shooting competition in October; the first of its kind in the country. The competition was run by British Shooting in partnership with the NSRA and attracted over 120 competitors from schools all over the South West. It was a busy schedule with 3 different age groups Junior (Year 5 & 6), Intermediate (Year 7, 8 & 9) and Senior (Year 10, 11, 12 & 13). Leweston was the only school to win a medal in each final: well done to Lily Amor (Year 6) who won Gold in the Junior shooting with Holly Johnson (Year 6) following behind her in 7th place. Once again there was also success for the Senior School which can be found on page 20. A hugely successful and enjoyable day for all those involved.

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Nursery Fabulous Phonics We were delighted that our 3-4 year olds in the Nursery started their daily phonics sessions with our new Reception teacher, Miss Hosegood at the start of the autumn term. They are enjoying learning the sounds through songs and actions. All the children have already made exceptional progress and we look forward to more fabulous phonics in the spring!

Christmas Christmas is always a special time in the Nursery with the children embracing the joys and delights of the festive season with complete abandon. The seasonal celebrations commenced with our annual Christmas Jingle Nursery Activity Morning and we were delighted to welcome over 20 families to this event for some festive fun. This was followed by the wonderful Nativity ‘Angel Express’ (see the photos on page 26) and the Carol Service at the end of term. Perhaps unsurprisingly the children in the Nursery had still not run out of energy (not the same can be said of the staff!) and so to finish the seasonal proceedings the Nursery hosted a wonderful Christmas Party at which Father Christmas made an early appearance.

Parents and children enjoyed the many festive activities on offer – we are not sure who had the most fun!

Crackers!

FOREST SKILLS FUN

Our October Forest Skills Nursery Activity Morning was another fantastic success. We were blessed with the weather and were delighted to welcome over 20 families to the event. During the morning the children enjoyed making woodland pictures, exploring the Enchanted Wood, den making, making forest crowns and listening to woodland stories. Thank you to all who came!

Make New Friends at Leweston!

It’s never too early to join the Leweston community. We run a weekly Parent and Toddler Group for newborns to 4 year olds on Thursday mornings from 9.45am until 11.30am (£1.50 per session) and an Aquatots Group for parents and toddlers aged from 3 months to 3 years every Wednesday from 10am-10.45am at the Leweston School Pool (£3.50 per session).

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!

Boarding ...

Aspiring Boarders Enjoy an Aquatic Adventure After the success of previous years, this year’s Rose House Boarding taster (a sell out) was met with eager anticipation. The house was full to bursting with girls looking at joining Leweston in September 2016 as well as some of our own girls who were trying boarding for the first time. The weekend’s theme was ‘Commotion in the Ocean’ and the House was decorated along the theme with the staff even donning special outfits for the occasion!

After a busy evening enjoying the fabulous Leweston Fashion Show, exploring the Boarding House and enjoying oceanic themed craft activities and a film night, the girls spent a thoroughly enjoyable day at Weymouth Sea Life Centre. It was soon time for the happy explorers to be collected but we look forward to welcoming you back in September 2016!

Out & About…

Other trips and visits this term have included Team Building with Lifesigns Group, Flying Saucers Pottery Café, Ringos at Warmwell Snowsports Centre, Splashdown Water Park, Dorset Heavy Horse Centre, Abbotsbury Swannery, Paintballing, Sherborne Castle Fireworks, Harry Potter Studios Tour at Elstree Studios, Chococo Chocolate making, Water Zorbing and the Exeter Christmas Markets – what a term!

Head’s Pizza Nights Boarders in Rose and Glyn House have had a lot of fun Pizza making at Head, Kate Reynold’s House this term. The mess was worth it; the Pizzas were delicious!

Boarding Skills Award We are delighted that all the boarders in Years 7 and 9 are in the process of completing their Boarding Skills Award. The Award has been produced to create a flexible and attainable award to reflect the skills and experiences generated from being a boarder in a British Boarding School. We look forward to the girls’ continued progress next term.

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Spiritual Life Old Antonian Award Winner Shares OMV Pilgrimage Experience Year 13 Old Antonian Award winner Rhiannon Valentine gave an inspiring presentation to 6th Formers in November to share her experiences as a volunteer assisting a group of disabled people on the Order of Malta Volunteers annual charity pilgrimage to Lourdes.

In her own words… ‘I spent a week in Lourdes as a helper with the

Order of Malta Volunteers. This was an invaluable experience where I learnt a great deal from both the hospital pilgrims and helpers. Many of the pilgrims were unable to walk, talk or feed themselves. I particularly enjoyed looking after and learned a great deal from a girl around my age, who had cerebral palsy. She taught me that even if you have a physical illness which makes communication difficult, your personality and sense of humour can still shine through. Most of all, my experience at Lourdes has taught me to be humble and patient.’

The OA Award is a sum of money available annually to assist a pupil or former pupil of Leweston School whose project develops the School’s mission statement of work for the less privileged. The OA Award Committee commented ‘We are delighted to have supported

Rhiannon’s trip and this worthwhile cause.’

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STAFF AND STUDENTS EMBRACE THE SEASON OF GOOD WILL The Leweston Community had a busy end of term hosting many events to raise money for several charitable causes. The annual Leweston Christmas Fair raised money this year for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and the Leweston Bursary Fund and on the same day we were delighted to host a Christmas Concert at the Church of the Holy Ghost at Yeovil which raised funds for the Church itself and for Jana Jyoti, Leweston’s sister school in Nepal. The final week of term saw pupils don their festive finery for our Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Make a Wish and Save the Children. We were also delighted to welcome the local residents who form part of our Community Service programme to a Christmas Tea Party which was much enjoyed by all who attended. Thank you to all who came to these events and supported these fabulous causes.

Baking Brilliance

Year 7 Explore ‘Friendship’ at St Rita’s Our new Year 7 pupils travelled to St Rita’s, Honiton in October for their Retreat along the theme of ‘Friendship’. During the two day event the girls had time to reflect on both the nature and demands of their relationships with each other and it was valuable to spend time together, as a year group, briefly away from the busy school routine. St Rita’s staff made everyone very welcome and the girls were invited to join the community for Mass on Friday morning where three Leweston girls took responsibility for readings. St Rita’s is set in beautiful grounds and the girls were able to take advantage of the autumn sunshine with outdoor play and team building activities. Friendship was both the theme and the outcome of the trip which saw many of the girls strengthen the bonds they had made since starting Leweston in September.

Leweston is delighted to have raised over £300 for Macmillan Cancer Support following this September’s coffee morning at the Junior Department and Cake Sale at the Senior School, all as part of the Macmillan World’s Largest Coffee Morning Event.

Thank you to all those who donated their fabulous bakes for the occasion!

Open Mornings 2016 Thursday 17 March 2016 Nursery Activity Morning: ‘Spring Along’ 09.45 – 11.30

Bank Holiday Monday 2 May 2016 Joint Schools Open Morning 09.45 – 13.00

Saturday 18 June 2016 Nursery and Junior Department Open Morning 09.00 – 12.00

Dates for your Diary…

Monday 25 January – Tuesday 26 January 11+, 12+, 13+ Scholarship Days (September 2016 entry)

Monday 25 July – Friday 19 August SUMMER HOLIDAY OUTDOOR EDUCATION, SPORTS AND ADVENTURE WEEKS for 5 – 11 year olds 9.00 – 17.00

Thursday 3 and Friday 4 March 18.30 – 20.00 School Musical ‘The Lion King’ Week 1: Tuesday 29 March – Friday 1 April Week 2: Monday 4 – Friday 8 April EASTER HOLIDAY FUN CLUB: OUTDOOR EDUCATION SPORTS AND ADVENTURE WEEKS for 5 – 11 years olds 9.00 – 17.00 Monday 4 – Saturday 9 April EASTER PENTATHLON, GB BIATHLE AND TRIATHLON TRAINING CAMP Residential training camp for 9 – 18 year olds run by GB Biathle coach Mick Flaherty Saturday 7 May Gaudy Reunion for various leaver years Friday 10 June GCSE AND A LEVEL ART EXHIBITION PRIVATE VIEW Manor House 17.00 – 19.00 (Exhibition open to all Monday 13 – Friday 17 June)

Monday 4 July – Sunday 28 August LEWESTON SUMMER CLUB (Enjoy the use of Leweston’s swimming pool, tennis courts and extensive grounds – various membership packages available) Monday 8 – Saturday 13 August SUMMER PENTATHLON, GB BIATHLE AND TRIATHLON TRAINING CAMP Residential training camp for 9 – 18 year olds run by GB Biathle coach Mick Flaherty Weekly Events: Aquatots: : Every Wednesday from 10.00 – 10.45 in the School Pool Parent and Toddler: Every Thursday from 9.45 – 11.30 at the Junior Department

For more information about any of these events, or to register your attendance, please call 01963 210783 or email LEWESTON SCHOOL, SHERBORNE, DORSET DT9 6EN office@leweston.dorset.sch.uk 01963 211010 ADMISSIONS@LEWESTON.DORSET.SCH.UK Leweston is a registered charity number 295175 WWW.LEWESTON.CO.UK