Pipers Post | Autumn 2015

termly news | issue 23 | Autumn 2015

Top grades in ISI Report Page 3

Also in this issue...

Founder’s Day Page 2

Hakuna Matata Page 4

Into the wild Page 6

Pitch perfect Page 7

Pipers Corner School, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP15 6LP telephone 01494 718 255 | email theschool@piperscorner.co.uk | visit www.piperscorner.co.uk

Message from the Headmistress The word “excellent” is used to refer to something that possesses outstanding quality or superior merit. It is no surprise therefore that we were delighted to be awarded this grade in all categories in our ISI Inspection this term (see page 3).

However, whilst reports and adhering to protocols and guidelines are obviously important, it has always been my view that it is the school community that makes a school “excellent”, and this term the girls and staff have once again proved just what it is that makes Pipers such a special place to be.

An annual highlight of the Autumn Term is the Senior School production and this term’s performances of “ The Lion King” were truly a

spectacle to watch (see page 4). All of the girls and staff involved demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm and commitment, creating an excellent piece of theatre.

I feel extremely fortunate to be the Head of a community where the outstanding support shown and received by both girls and staff truly demonstrates that it is an excellent school.

Our new augmented reality sandbox - the result of a fantastic collaboration between Departments (see page 3) - is a prime example of the ways in which our talented staff are continually seeking to strive for excellence in the curriculum and inspire the girls to aim higher.

I look forward to sharing in many more “excellent” moments as we continue through the academic year and celebrating the successes that are to come.

Then there are the numerous events that the girls participate in, whether raising money for charity, competing against other schools in sports fixtures or simply a group of girls putting together a presentation or assembly. You can always rely on Pipers girls to give their all.

World Ballet Day

Founder’s Day 2015 The whole school came together to celebrate Founder’s Day on Friday 25 September. The purpose of the annual event is to celebrate the life and work of the school’s founder, Miss Jessie Cross.

Each year a different decade is chosen for the celebrations and this year marked the 1970s.

From Pre-Prep to Upper Sixth, girls and staff came to school in the fashion of the 70s and were given the opportunity to experience what lessons were like, as well as learning about the history of Pipers Corner and what Jessie Cross set out to do for the school.

0s of the 197 he spirit T t a e liv a e really cam rful as wonde w It . ay d hat w in Pipers to rt irls take pa g s ll a e o o se to e sch l a l day for th is a specia r our history as well be al we remem at the soci oser look cl a as take a decade. history of well, Mrs Cress ead H t n ta is Ass

Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a happy New Year.

In the afternoon the whole school attended the Founder’s Day Service where the hymns and readings reflected the period. The service culminated with the cutting of a celebration cake by the eldest member of the school Ellena C (Upper Sixth) and the youngest member Anya B (Reception).

During lesson time the girls were able to learn about 70s history and culture. In Art the girls learnt about the artists of the decade including Pop Art, Auerbach and Ayres and also about the different patterns that were used during the era. Year 9 – Upper Sixth learnt about the miners’ strike and the three day week in Business Studies. History covered 1970s medicine for Year 10 and 11 and the history of Pipers Corner in the 70s with Year 7. Girls made “Pong” games in ICT, whilst the rise of Marxism was discussed in Sociology, and Textiles delved into 70s fashions.

Five of the world’s leading ballet companies broadcast a full day of behind-the-scenes footage from across the globe in early October as part of “WorldBallet Day LIVE”.

The broadcasts provided the girls at Pipers Corner with a fantastic opportunity to see what it takes to be part of one of the world’s top ballet companies and get a real insight into the dedication required to be an elite professional ballet dancer.

Nativité des préparatoires Girls in Year 6 welcomed their parents to school for a delicious French breakfast and Nativity performance at the beginning of December. The girls were very impressive as they acted the story of the birth of Jesus entirely in French. The morning was a fantastic way for the girls to practise their conversational French and for their parents to see the progress the girls have made in learning the language.

Power passing for charity Girls in Pre-Prep and Prep embraced the game of rugby in September as part of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) Powerpass charity initiative. The aim was to make as many rugby ball passes as they could in 15 minutes to raise money for itrust, a children’s education charity and Wooden Spoon, the children’s rugby charity.

The girls in Pre-Prep managed to pass 976 rugby balls and the girls in Prep passed 7407, making a fantastic total of 8383 passes.

Day of Discovery This term Year 7 visited St Albans Cathedral for a day of discovery. The girls took part in two workshops on the day which included a walk round the cathedral trying to spot different types of medieval graffiti and made clay tiles using medieval designs and symbols which represented the floor tiles in the cathedral. They also learnt the story about St Alban and the history of the cathedral and town.

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Pipers Corner School achieves top grades This term Pipers Corner was celebrating after being been judged as “Excellent” in every single category in its ISI Inspection. The purpose of an ISI Inspection is to provide a full account of a school’s provision and the categories include quality of teaching, pupil achievement, pastoral care, curricular and extra-curricular provision.

The rating, which is the equivalent of an “outstanding” Ofsted grade, was awarded to the school following a four-day inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in October 2015.

“The school is highly successful in meeting its aim that pupils should fulfil their potential, developing maturity, confidence, self-esteem and a sense of independence. These aims are reflected in the excellent quality of education and the high standard of pupils’ personal development throughout the school.”

This is a significant achievement for Pipers Corner, currently in the midst of a major programme of development to further improve its already excellent facilities. With new amenities provided for Sixth Form girls in September 2015, an Arts Centre, including a 280 seat theatre, due to open in September 2016 and plans in place for a new Learning Resource Centre, the school is confident of a very bright future ahead. This feeling was exemplified in the report with Inspectors recognising the school’s clear and ambitious vision for the future, with praise for the Governors’ wholehearted commitment to the school.

such e are very pleased to have received W a positive endorsement of our school. ous inspection The final report is the result of a rigor school’s the of ct aspe y ever h whic in e procedur ngs are findi The d. inise provision was closely scrut the school all of work hard the to t men testa a true girls themselves staff, combined with input from the We look lies. fami our all from ort supp and the on the ing build and ard forward to moving forw ring ensu rt, repo this in tified iden gths stren many best the with ls pupi our ide that we continue to prov school. the of area y ever ss acro ation educ possible Mrs Helen Ness-Gifford, Headmistress

Getting started in Textiles This term Year 7 girls have been introduced to the subject area of Textiles as part of the Design Technology Curriculum. Lessons have focussed on the tools used within the subject, how to be safe when using different equipment, how fabrics are made and what the fibres are that are used in creating these fabrics.

To kick start the introduction the girls learnt how to make felt, which helped them to gain an understanding of how natural fibres can be felted into fabric.To make their material they chose their own colour scheme and design, which is also an important aspect of textiles.

Using their felt creations the girls then designed and created cushions. To do this they chose fabrics which worked well together, incorporated their felt into the main design and embellished their cushions using different hand sewing techniques.

Augmented landscapes Pipers Corner School is one of the first schools in the country to build an augmented reality sandbox. The project is a collaborative effort from the Geography, ICT and Design and Technology Departments to bring technology into the classroom and provide more interactive experiences when teaching students about landscapes and the impacts of change.

The box was built by the Design Technology and ICT teams and works by utilising a Microsoft Kinect Sensor taken from an XBOX 360 games console. This calculates 3D depth between the camera and sand surface allowing the software to map and plot the contours for the landscape which is then projected back onto the sand surface giving a colourful topological map that moves in real time when the sand is moved. The sand used for the device is a high quality white sand which is chosen for its light reflective qualities. The software, which is used to bring the sandbox to life runs on Linux which means it is using high performance graphics to simulate landscapes.

The device will be used mainly in Geography lessons, to teach girls about relief and contours (Year 7), fluvial processes and features together

with the impacts of dam construction (Years 10 and 11), coastal studies, how and why volcanic eruptions can affect the landscape and in the Sixth Form, there is also potential for teaching about the movement of ice and mass movement. The device will also be used in the Pre-Prep and Prep Departments to teach them about mountains and rivers and to introduce them to the world we live in.

tment and it has really are very excited to have this device in the Depar We able to physically Being changed the way girls learn about landscapes. understanding of better much a gain to girls the manipulate the landscape, allows h workshops, throug ce resour the geography behind it. We would like to share the schools other with links h throug ly possib and ies use it in cross-curricular activit s! endles are ilities ensuring that it is used by a range of ages. The possib Mrs Collins, Head of Geography

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The Bethlehem Star This year’s Pre-Prep Nativity was called “The Bethlehem Star” and told the story of a group of reporters who are looking their next big “scoop”. All the girls were enthusiastic in their roles and really brought the Nativity story to life. The girls performed extremely well with great songs such as “Extra Extra”, “Choir of Angels” and “At the Manger”. They acted with confidence and excitement and presented a professional and enjoyable production to the watching audience of family and friends.

Production methods Year 10 have been developing their knowledge of production methods in their GCSE Food Technology lessons this term.

The girls first learnt how to design and produce a bespoke biscuit using the one-off production method where a single product is made. They then produced a batch of biscuits which involved making a set number of identical products - this is seen mainly in bakeries where a certain number of different types of items are made every morning.

The final method was to create biscuits using continuous-flow production. This is a high-volume method where machines run continuously doing repetitive tasks. The purpose of this method is to save time and lower the cost of production.

To demonstrate and understand how a continuous production line works, the girls used a table cloth as a conveyor belt on their production line. They made sure that the different aspects of the line was covered, such as loading, icing, decoration and packing of the biscuits. The girls then attempted to assemble the biscuits with all the decorations and without losing any items, whilst the conveyor belt was moving.

their own ere By creating e the girls w s lin n productio reason d an s ce the differen sed able to see methods u production e so th al as w behind It s. companie ice by different girls try to seeing the g in n ossible p as s entertai it cu many bis and pack as ving conveyor belt. o m st fa with a Mrs Orr, Technology Head of Food

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Symbol of love and care The Pipers Corner School Harvest Festival took place in October. It began with an assembly led by School Chaplain, Revd Mary Gurr, during which the girls gave thanks for everything they have and reflected on how they can help those less fortunate than themselves.

• Hampden House chose to support the “Wycombe Homeless Connection”.

• Girls in Penn House donated gifts for the Oxford homeless.

• Milton girls prepared hampers to be sent to the food bank “One Can Trust” in High Wycombe. A food bank dedicated to giving food to people deemed “in crises”.

• Mandeville House followed their longestablished practice of taking harvest baskets full of tins and packets of food to people in need in the local community and to Nancy Hall Court retirement home.

Each House brought forward a decorated hamper as a symbol of all the items that had been generously donated by the girls and their parents in the run up to the event.

All girls from Pre-Prep to Upper Sixth were involved collecting a variety of The Harvest Festival was produce and household a lovely occa celebration. sion of At Pipers w Festival prov items to donate to their e believe th ides an oppo at the Harve rt in un st which they ity for the gi chosen charity. can support rls to look at those less fo generous gi w ays fts really mak rtunate. I be lieve the e a different supported by to the people w the House ch ho are arities.

Mrs Helen N ess-Gifford, H eadmistress

Hakuna Matata In late November girls at Pipers Corner brought the plains to Africa to Great Kingshill when they put on an outstanding performance of the musical “The Lion King”.

From the Pride Lands to the jungle the audiences at each of the four performances were enthralled by the adventures of Simba, heir to Mufasa, King of the Pride Lands.

Ellie G (Year 11) was fantastic in the lead as Simba alongside Imogen B (Year 11) as Rafiki, Abbie V (Upper Sixth) as Mufasa and Hannah W (Upper Sixth) as Scar. From the principle cast to the ensembles all girls shone in the spotlight and didn’t disappoint the sell-out audiences. The talented backstage crew also played their part providing wonderful make-up for each show as well as excellent stage management and

I was very exci performance ted about this and was not disapp ointed. It w as remarka to see so m ble uch talent on just acting and singing show, not , bu design, cost umes and p t make-up ronunciatio of African w n ords! All gir ls and staff involv ed excelled in their discipline an d it was on e production s Pipers has of the best ever deliver ed.

Mrs Helen N es Headmistres s-Gifford, s

organisation. The incredible costumes and props, created by the DT and Art Departments and the Art and Scenery club, really added to the atmosphere and helped to make the show an amazing experience to be part of.

Exploring First World War Battlefields During the half-term break girls in Year 9 travelled to Belgium and France to explore the Battlefield sites of the First World War. The visit helped to bring the conditions faced by soldiers in the conflict to life for the group and served as excellent enrichment to the work they had been doing in their History and English lessons.

On arrival the girls spent the day in and around Ypres, the scene of three major First World War battles. Here the girls learnt about the medical

treatment of soldiers with their first stop at Lijssenthoek Cemetery, the site of Lijssenthoek Casualty Clearing Station and Brandhoek Advanced Dressing Station. Following Brandhoek the group visited Tyne Cot, one of the larger battlefields cemeteries.

They were also able to explore the reconstructed trenches at the Bayernwald German trench system. The day concluded with Lucy H, Niharika S and Jemima C representing Pipers in the Menin Gate Last Post service in Ypres, where they laid a wreath.

Alice and friends Girls in Pre-Prep were taken on an adventure into the magical world of their imaginations this term with a visit from a storyteller. The girls came dressed to impress in their animal costumes and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The story was about Alice who loves going on adventures. On this particular adventure she found herself in a magical forest where she met Wilfred the Worm, Bertie the Bee and Alex the Ant. On this journey the girls learnt about how animals protect and enhance the forest by making the soil and plants healthy.

The storyte lling was b rilli Teoni brou ght the fore ant, life with th st to e story and the girls wer enthralled e by what th ey were hea They also le ring. arnt a great deal about animals, ho ho wever smal l, really mak w difference. ea Brodie K in Year 2 said learnt that she ‘worms hav e a purpose ’.

Mrs Rushfor th, Head of Pre -Prep

Teoni, from “Stories and More”, involved all the girls in the story with songs and dances.

They also acted out various scenes from the story, which included walking through the smelly swamp, how to wiggle like a worm and collecting pollen and nectar like a bee.

The girls ha time at S d a wonderful ulgrave M experien ano ce girls’ learn really helped to m r. The ak ing of the and fun.

Tudors m e the The addit eaningfu ion of the l making c b lass also provided read with han th ds e they all th -on learning whic girls h I’m sure oroughly enjoyed.

Mrs Eme ry, Year 5 teacher

A Christmas window As part of their Enrichment programme girls in the Textiles club have made a link with the South Bucks Hospice and have been creating a Christmas window for their shop in Hazlemere. The girls used old fabrics and clothes to produce small items for sale in the shop, such as lavender bags, Christmas decorations and stockings. The girls were delighted to produce these items for sale and have enjoyed being able to contribute to the charity.

A very splendid performance

The Tudor lifestyle This half-term girls in Year 5 visited Sulgrave Manor in Oxfordshire, to enrich their study of the Tudors.

lds of e battlefie Visiting th France is a nd Belgium a ls and for the gir ce n e ri e p x e t r. n e a b n m ig e o p rem ill always one they w , Mrs Tinnelly tory Head of His

Sulgrave Manor is the ancestral home of America’s first President, George Washington, and the girls took a trip back in time to see what life was like for the family of wealthy wool merchant, Mr Lawrence Washington, who lived in the manor house. The visit began with the girls dressing up in Tudor clothing and learning the names of each item they were wearing.

They also took part in dancing to traditional Tudor music. In the afternoon the girls were shown where a blacksmith might have lived and learnt about his lifestyle and trade. As a contrast they then visited the manor house to see how a wealthy family would have lived. They also found out about the origins of many sayings and traditions from Tudor times. Following their visit and to complement the experience of visiting Sulgrave Manor the girls took part in a bread making workshop at school. Here they learnt how the Tudors made bread and how it differs from the methods used today.

This term GCSE and A Level Drama students were treated to a special performance of Homer’s “Odyssey” by The Splendid Theatre Company. Splendid’s take on the classic story used a Brechtianstyle episodic structure and incorporated Greek theatre conventions. It provided the girls with a fantastic example of the way traditional stories can be adapted and included tightly structured storytelling with a minimum of props, lights and scenery and maximum use of performance skills including physical theatre, clowning, audience interaction, puppetry and song.

Process of discovery Year 9 and Year 11 girls studying GCSE English met with nationally acclaimed poet Jacob Sam-La Rose in September. Jacob’s mission is to mentor and inspire young people around the world to read and write poetry. He talked to the girls about the poets they like and the aspects of poetry they found difficult, before giving a reading of three of his own poems. All the girls agreed that being able to speak and listen to a professional poet really helped to focus and motivate them in their own writing.

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Christingle celebration The Pipers Corner annual Christingle Service always serves as a wonderful beginning to the festive season. Cristingle is the symbol of Christ’s light and love and refers to the symbolic object made up of an orange, ribbon, candle and dried fruit. At this years’ service, in addition to learning about the symbolism of the Christingle the congregation thoroughly enjoyed performances from the Prep Choir and the Year 5 and 6 Chamber Group.

Awareness through Dance In December Girls in Year 8 – 11 made the most of a fantastic Dance workshop delivered by the founders of the “Awareness through Dance” company.

Awareness through Dance was devised to create a positive change within individuals, communities, and the world. The girls took part in various team building activities and dance warm ups. The workshop enabled them to explore different ways to use dance to convey messages, a skill they will be able to use in their Dance lessons and exams.

Pre-Prep donate for Operation Christmas Child During November, girls in Pre-Prep took part in the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Appeal for Operation Christmas Child.

The girls filled shoeboxes with a variety of gifts including toys, pencils and colouring books, toothbrushes and soap.

29 shoeboxes were delivered to the collection point in High Wycombe to then be sent to children all around the world.

The idea behind Operation Christmas Child is to bring joy to children at this time of year, who are less fortunate.

Outdoor adventures Year 6 had a thrilling time at Longridge Activity Centre in September. The centre, which is located by the river in Marlow provides water and land based activities for young people to get involved in.

Despite some heavy rain the girls really made the most of the opportunity to work in teams and to come together as a year group. Activities included raft building, team puzzles, a giant swing and crate stacking.

Into the wild Girls in Year 3, along with members of the Pipers’ Wildlife and Conservation Club had the opportunity to release hedgehogs into the Pipers woods towards the end of term.

10 young hedgehogs were brought to Pipers by former pupil Emma Routledge (who left in 2006) who now works for Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital. The hedgehogs had lost their parents and had been brought in to the hospital to make sure they were cared for properly until they were well and old enough to be released back into their natural habitat.

The girls prepared the specially built houses and straw for the hedgehogs to make their new

homes. One by one they were relocated with great care and attention to their surroundings.

Emma explained to the girls why the hedgehogs were in the hospital and why they needed to be placed back into the woods. She also went on to explain what conditions the hedgehogs needed to survive and how the girls can help the hedgehog population as a whole, by having natural grass in gardens, lots of shrubs and plants for the hedgehogs to hide in and holes in fences so they can travel around.

t It was a grea elcome w to privilege release to school to Emma back pers Pi e th to s in the hedgehog d ye e girls enjo an grounds. Th witness such to le ab being to e os d get up cl occasion an astic It was a fant s. al im the an d an nservation lesson in co tats. animal habi ook, Miss Easterbr Co-ordinator ol ho Forest Sc

Land of ice and fire During the Autumn half-term break Geography students from Year 8 to Upper Sixth embarked on an exciting journey to Iceland. The trip started in Reykjavik where the girls visited the old port, central lake and the Hallgrimskrkja Church. They then headed to Perlan, which is a futurists building made of large circular tanks and holds the city’s natural heated water reserves. From here the girls were able to see amazing views of Reykjavik and also see the indoor geyser erupt.

Other spectacular places included The Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Station where they found out how the heat from volcanoes is turned into energy; The Eyjafjallajokull floodplain, where the girls saw the effects of the glacier burst from the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption; The Stokkur geyser which erupts every 5 - 7 minutes with warm water and The Reykjanes Peninsula where the girls saw boiling mud pools and hot springs.

Feel the force In October girls in Pre-Prep and Prep enjoyed a fantastic interactive visit from a team from the London Science Museum. The girls thoroughly immersed themselves in a series of lectures and workshops on the topics of forces and materials. A highlight of the day for girls in Reception to Year 3 was “The Bubble Show” where the girls found out about the secret Science Museum bubble recipe and how certain materials can change the way other materials behave.

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ty for the girls to . ulous opportuni fab a ed id ov pr d plate tectonics d coasts, rivers an The visit to Icelan of cs s pi lve to se e th rning on om for them enhance their lea ing in the classro e have been study w of the visit and ts at th en m ts ep ele nc be able to take After seeing co w no ill w rls gi e orld th out in the real w to their studies. apply them back raphy teacher Miss Clifford, Geog

Pitch Perfect On Monday 2 November staff and students at Pipers Corner School were delighted to welcome Great Britain and England Hockey goal-keeper, Maddie Hinch, to the official opening of their new £200,000 all-weather multi use games area.

The new outdoor playing area houses three floodlit netball/tennis courts and a hockey pitch with an all-weather surface. All girls from Reception to Upper Sixth are now making use the new facility for curriculum based PE lessons, enrichment sport activities and competitive sporting fixtures with other local schools and clubs.

It is very ex citi school, to b ng for us, as a e able to pro this fabulo vide us facility fo r our pupils We look fo . rward to se ei ng the girls develop th eir skills in a va sports inclu ding tennis riety of , netball an hockey. We d will also be ex opportunit ies for wider ploring u community, se especially fo within the coaching fo r r children. W specialist e working w ith one loca are already l organisat Tennis4Kid ion, s, to deliver a suitable programm e for tennis coaching fo local childre r n over the next year.

Mrs Helen N es Headmistres s-Gifford, s

Santa’s on strike The Prep Department brought festive cheer to Pipers with their Christmas Concert at the end of term. It was a fantastic production of dance, drama and singing from all girls in the Department.

Some of the highlights were Year 3 singing “Puppies are not just for Christmas”,Year 4 dancing to Mariah Carey’s “Santa Clause is coming to Town”,Year 5 performing the poem “Caring at Christmas Time” and Year 6 dancing to “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”.

Time for tea

At the special assembly to mark the opening, Miss Hinch spoke to the girls about her happiest moment in sport which was when she won her gold medal at the recent European Championships in London. She went on to say how she enjoyed all sport at school and that being active in all sports is a great way to find what you are really good at. She also talked about how setbacks in her hockey career made her more resilient and determined to succeed – fantastic advice for all the aspiring sports stars currently at Pipers Corner.

Year 2 welcomed their grandparents to a special tea party in the Pre-Prep Department in October. The girls had taken great care in their planning and organising for the day – designing their own invitations, making delicious cakes and decorating Pre-Prep with posters and welcome signs. The theme for the party was “what life was like when grandparents were young” and the girls really enjoyed learning about their grandparents’ lives and experiences.

News from Sport Barcelona Sport 2015 During half-term the U14, U15 and U16 Netball Teams, along with the Junior and Senior Swimming Teams (Year 8 - 11) travelled to Barcelona for the 2015 Netball and Swimming Tour. Both the Netball and Swimming coaches worked the girls really hard, pushing both their fitness and skill levels to get them ready for the tournament day.

At the Netball Tournament the U14 Netball Team put in a fantastic performance winning all of their matches and taking first place overall.

The U15 and U16 Teams also performed well and played each other in the semi-final. The

Equestrian stars The Pipers Corner Equestrian Team put on a fantastic display when they took part in the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships at Addlington Manor Equestrian Centre on Saturday 24 October. The team consisting of Ciara S on Dinky, Jemima C on Scooby, Phoebe H on Chip and Olivia S on Sox qualified for the event after competing at the National County Challenge Show Jumping Championships in April.

The Pipers Corner team performed exceptionally well in the final and finished in a very creditable 8th place out of the 39 teams.

match was very tight with the score being 10-10 at the end of normal time. Two minutes were added and the U16 Team just won with a “golden goal” in the last second of added time.

Overall the U16 Team placed second and the U15 Team placed 3rd.

The swimmers produced some excellent results with some girls gaining new personal bests in the 50m outdoor pool. Notable performances came from Rowen S (Year 8), Phoebe H (Year 8) and Daisy H (Year 8), who all won their individual races. The final result was Pipers 53 and Club Natacio l’Hospitalet 67.

Most improved lady golfer of the year Pipers is very pleased to announce that Jess H (Year 11) has been awarded the Hamilton Trophy for most improved lady golfer of the year by Beaconsfield Golf Club at the annual Ladies meeting. Jess won the trophy with a score of 10 under her handicap. Last year Jess was also named Girl Golfer of the Year, three past winners are now all professionals in the sport. She also won the Mahwood Jug, which is a senior trophy for the female player going from bronze to silver division with the biggest handicap improvement in the year.

Football match On a cold winter’s evening the Pipers football team kicked off the very first football fixture at Pipers Corner against Wycombe High School.

The girls had many spectators cheering them on as they played and the matches showed great talent from the team.

The results were as follows: • Year 7 vs. Wycombe High School B | 0-0 • Year 8 vs. Wycombe High School A | 0-2 • Year 7 vs. Wycombe High School A | 0-1 • Year 8 vs. Wycombe High School B | 0-1

Inter-House Netball • First | Penn 25 points • Second | Milton 21 points • Third | Mandeville 18 points • Fourth | Hamden 16 points

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Who’s who at Pipers Corner Name: Lucy Snellgrove Brief description of your role within Pipers Corner.

I am Head of Department and teach as part of the curriculum from Year 6 to Year 8, as well as GCSE and A Level. In addition, I teach extra-curricular ballet classes in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. I am very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to work with girls of such a wide variety of ages.

What did you do before you joined the School?

I worked as freelance Dance Teacher for dance schools in the Buckinghamshire and Berkshire area. Before that I worked for a dance school in Cheltenham. This was my first dance teaching post after graduating from the Northern Ballet School, Manchester, where I gained all my vocational grades and teaching qualifications with The Royal Academy of Dance, and with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in Ballet, Modern, Tap and National.

Key dates for your diary Spring Term 2016 Term begins: Wednesday 6 January | 0830 hours Half-term: Friday 12 February | 1600 hours to: Monday 22 February Term ends: Wednesday 23 March | 1600 hours

Have your say We would love to hear your thoughts on Pipers Post. If you have any comments or suggestions then please contact us.

Rebecca Conroy Senior Marketing Executive Pipers Corner School Pipers Lane, Great Kingshill High Wycombe HP15 6LP T: 01494 719850 E: rconroy@piperscorner.co.uk For all the latest news and updates you can follow us on Twitter: @PipersCornerSCH Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ PipersCornerSchool.

Position: Head of Dance

What excites you about the job that you do?

I get to teach a subject that I have been passionate about since the age of three!

I have the privilege to inspire young girls in and through dance, as well as encourage the development of creativity, self-expression, performance, musicality, self-discipline and self-belief. It is also lovely to share and experience with students the more traditional dance forms as well as the new and innovative styles of dance emerging in the dance world today.

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

I like to keep active – being a dance teacher means it’s very hard to sit still! I enjoy attending a weekly ballet class where I am the pupil and I have the freedom to dance and express myself. I also like taking leisurely walks and going swimming, and when I’m ever by the sea I like to have a go at surfing.

Who would you say has inspired you most in life?

Many people have been a motivation in my life, particularly my mother. But, in dance, my dance teachers have been inspirational to me.

Throughout my training they have given me confidence, the drive to work hard and the courage to persevere; shaping me into the teacher I am today.

Finally, the best thing about working at Pipers Corner is...

The superb facilities, especially our new Dance Studio, make working at Pipers a sheer joy; but most of all, the girls and staff really make Pipers a wonderful and happy place to work.

“I get to teach a subject that I have been passionate about since the age of three!”

News from the Pipers PTA It was wonderful to see so many of you at the New Parent’s Welcome and Macmillan Coffee Morning at the beginning of term. Our thanks to all those who attended and brought cakes.

We raised a fantastic £400 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

In October we held an open meeting where we welcomed some new faces and ideas for this year’s events. One new event we will be holding is the Pipers Burns Night on Saturday 30 January 2016. We have now sold out of supper tickets but tickets for the Ceilidh, which takes place after the supper, will go on sale at the beginning of next term. Details are on our website ppta@piperscorner.co.uk.

The latter part of the term kept us busy with the Christmas Fair preparations. We were very impressed by the generous donations and support from parents and girls which undoubtedly helped to ensure that the Christmas Fair was a truly enjoyable event.

The day certainly seemed to help put us all in the Christmas spirit.

Dates for next term are: • Burns Night | Saturday 30 January | 1900 hours for Burns Supper or 2100 hours for the Ceilidh.

• PPTA AGM | Wednesday 3 February | 1930 hours | Terrace Room.

• The Easter Egg Hunt | Saturday 19 March | 1400 – 1700 hours.

All monies raised at these events will be given to this year’s charity, The British Heart Foundation, as well as contribute to various school facilities including the new Pipers Arts Centre. We hope you can join us.

Goodbye and good luck!

Hello and welcome!

Miss Sarah Clifford | Teacher of Geography

Mrs Celia Etchegoyen | Head of Prep Mr Paul Craven | Second in Geography Mrs Rachel Palmer-Jones | Forest School Assistant