Pipers Post | Summer/Autumn 2020

PIPERSPOST SUMMER/AUTUMN 2020

HIGHLIGHTS ยง

HONEY BEE MURAL

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CHRISTMAS PLAYS

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SPIRIT OF GIVING

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SIXTH FORM INITIATIVES FOLLOW US

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FROM THE HEADMISTRESS

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elcome to our latest edition of Pipers Post, featuring our latest school highlights, which I hope you enjoy reading.

It has been a difficult year, for all schools, but I have been bowled over by the dedication and support of our students, staff and parents. Our Remote Teaching and Online Learning provision during the Summer Term was very highly commended and I continue to be impressed by the way in which everyone has adapted. It has been fantastic to see the school buzzing with life again this term and long may it continue.

A group of Year 7 students had the honour of decorating the Headmistress’s Christmas tree in her office.

US ARTIST PAINTS BEE MURAL

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t the beginning of the Autumn Term, US mural artist Matt Willey travelled to Pipers Corner to paint a mural on the outside of the Orchard Pool building.

Matt spent five weeks painting the honey bee mural, as part of his ‘Good of the Hive’ project, whereby he aims to paint 50,000 honey bees around the world. Matt visited various classes, from Pre-Prep to Sixth Form while he was here, educating students on the plight of the honey bee but also igniting curiosity for planetary health issues. So far, Matt has produced 29 murals including murals at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Burt’s Bees Headquarters.

His work at Pipers Corner was his first mural painted outside of the US, and came about after Head Girl Maddie I contacted Matt about his work as part of her GCSE Art project.

Above: Matt during the early stages of the mural at Pipers

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Head Girl Maddie I was instrumental in getting the project off the ground

A Pre-Prep student presents a gift to Matt to thank him for his hard work

Amazing work by one of our students, based on Matt’s mural

PRE-PREP MAKE LEST WE FORGET OWN APPLE JUICE O T his term, Pipers Corner produced its own freshly squeezed apple juice, made from apples grown in our very own orchard.

In September, the Pre-Prep Department worked very hard picking apples from our trees. The apples were then pressed and pasteurised and the bottles featured labels designed by the Pre-Prep students.

n Armistice Day we took a moment to remember and reflect with our own tribute to those lost at war.

Mr Barr, Head of MFL, played The Last Post to mark the day World War One ended, on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. Staff and students then held a two-minute silence to commemorate those who so bravely gave their lives.

Our poppy sales for the Royal British Legion raised more than £850.

BUGSY MALONE ON FILM S tudents in Year 6 spent the second half of the Summer Term in three performance ‘bubbles’ rehearsing for their production of ‘Bugsy Malone’. As they couldn’t hold a final performance to parents on stage, the decision was made to move to a film production. Filmed by our Arts Centre Technician, with free rein of the school site, various scenes were filmed outside, as well as on stage. The finished film was a huge success.

> The Senior School will be performing ‘The Sound of Music’

in February 2021. Although it is an uncertain time for live performing arts, we are confident we will be able to deliver a stand-out production, whatever the format.

In September, we celebrated VE/VJ Day, with a special barbecue lunch, including over 700 cupcakes. In the afternoon we held our virtual Prize Giving Ceremony.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we held a virtual Carol Service this year. We were very fortunate to be able to record some of the service in St Albans Cathedral.

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STUDENTS ACHIEVE TOP CLASS RESULTS

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he resilience of our students was evident during this unprecedented period, where they performed exceptionally across the board, achieving excellent results in this summer’s public GCSE and A Level examinations.

students secured their first choice university, though two students with university places were also offered places on prestigious Degree Apprenticeships courses – in Engineering with BAE, and Marketing with Microsoft.

The A Level results for 2020 saw 44% of all grades awarded at A*-A, with almost a fifth of all grades awarded at A*.

Meanwhile, 75% of students achieved at least one A* or A grade with 77% of all grades A*-B. As in previous years these students secured places at top-ranking universities on competitive courses, with the majority heading to Russell Group universities or prestigious top Art Schools. Nearly all

Our Year 11 students received fantastic and well-deserved GCSE results – once again in line with previous years, but also a real reflection of their hard work and talent. The fact that 60% of results achieved top grades 9-7 (A/A*) which is also almost exactly the same percentage as in 2018 when students sat actual examinations, reflects just how well Pipers teachers know their students.

LOOKING OUTWARDS SCHOOL MAGAZINE

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his term, the Sixth Form Prefect team launched their initiative of ‘Looking Outwards’ with the aim to encourage students to be more aware of the wider world and therefore inspire them to act upon this.

To achieve this, the Prefect team are looking at making connections outside of the Pipers community with places such as care homes, hospitals and charities. Their first project was to compile hampers of Christmas gifts for local care homes Porthaven in Farnham and Aylesbury.

The team have asked students from each House to bring in different gifts so that they can put together hampers for the 126 people in these care homes.

To further integrate our school with these homes they also sent them a recording of our virtual Carol Service, sharing our annual magical celebration of Christmas and festive spirit which featured spectacular performances, carol singing and traditional readings.

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his summer, our Sixth Form school magazine team produced the flagship 2019/2020 edition of Aquila, which they named ‘Rebellion’. The predominantly red and black designed magazine is bursting with topical and thought-provoking articles, written by students from across the school. Design whizz and Sixth Former Alicia W (Leaver 2020) took charge of the overall layout and design of the publication, resulting in the glossy magazine being produced fully in-house for the first time.

AQUILA

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SUPPORTING THE NHS

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ur amazing staff and students were very busy during the first Covid-19 lockdown making various Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the NHS. Our Arts Centre Manager, Ms Duncan along with her team of volunteers made over 2,200 face shields. In addition, the Pipers Corner Textiles team led by Mrs Maynard sewed and delivered 63 bags and 80 headbands – in just one week! Lastly, some of our students hand-made scrubs and face masks.

PRE-PREP NATIVITY PLAY

PREP CHRISTMAS SHOW

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SPIRIT OF GIVING T

his term, the students returned to school with a strong desire to help and support others. Two Year 8 pupils, Hannah B and Maisy M decided to raise funds for the African Education Trust (AET). AET is an education specialist organisation that believes supporting quality education is key for changing individuals, communities and countries for the better. Their first fundraiser was an Art Competition and the winners were Josie O (Senior) and Ionie D (Prep).

Students have been supporting the Alzheimer’s Society with a charity badge and band sale, as well as a Spring Art Competition organised by two Year 9 students. The winners were announced this term – Matilda N (Year 8), Eva H (Year 9) and Nia F (Year 10).

Our Sixth Former Prefect Team volunteered at Amersham Community Centre on ‘Silver Sunday’, helping make 500 afternoon tea boxes for the local elderly community.

We were overwhelmed with the generous Harvest Festival donations from our families. These were delivered to the One Can Trust, a foodbank charity providing emergency food parcels to people in crisis in High Wycombe, Marlow and South Bucks.

Finally, during the October half-term, we were delighted to make our fifth IT charity donation, by donating over 100 PCs and laptops, other IT hardware and printing cartridges to IT Schools Africa. This charity aims to transform lives through access to e-learning.

CHILDREN TUNE UP TUESDAY IN NEED I O ur annual Children in Need Mufti Day raised over £1,100 this year.

Students were invited to ‘Come as Yourself’ on Friday 13 November, with some students opting to wear Pudsy onsies (pictured).

In the afternoon, the whole school watched a Children in Need assembly via Zoom.

n light of the challenges the Arts sector faces during the current Covid-19 climate, the whole school participated in ‘Tune Up Tuesday’ on 24 November, an initiative led by the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA).

The national event was an opportunity to celebrate the arts and the impact they have on our mental health and wellbeing. During afternoon registration, the students watched videos about drama, dance, art or music and created some of their own artwork, including their own zentangle square.

The Prep Department put their zentangles together to create a large collage.

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aterers Holroyd Howe sponsored a Pumpkin Competition this term. Students could enter two categories – ‘Pumpkin with most character’ or ‘Best recycled pumpkin’.

The winners were Juliette R in Year 6 (top left) and Millie Powers in Year 7 (top right).

r Cohen, Head of Years 7 and 8 completed a 230mile charity bike ride in July in aid of the Childhood Tumour Trust and Nerve Tumours UK. Inspired to take on the challenge by one of our students, Gaby W, he cycled from Pipers Corner to Kent, raising nearly £5,000.

HELPING PROTECT THE RAINFOREST

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his term, the school received a certificate in recognition of the money raised in support of Rainforest Concern.

The total amount of £900 is the biggest single donation from any UK school in the past year.

Mr Williams, our Environmentalist-in-Residence, has supported Rainforest Concern for over 20 years; a British charity that works with local communities and projects to protect tropical rainforests and related wildlife.

Earlier this year, our Eco Club ‘HOPE’ came up with the idea of a ‘Green Week’. During the week, HOPE ran a Mufti Day and they organised a swap shop for donated clothes with a voluntary contribution to the charity.

The money raised will sponsor 18 acres of rainforest to “extend and protect The Choco-Andean Rainforest Corridor Project in northwest Ecuador and the great biodiversity found in this region.”

One of the charity directors was so grateful they have agreed to visit the school at a later date to give a talk on the charity’s work.

Major scientists suggest that if we do not address the destruction of the rainforest by 2060 there may be no rainforest left, only small national parks.

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r Horlick, who works in our Reprographics department celebrated his 90th birthday in November. Mr Horlick has worked for the school for 25 years after retiring from John Hampden School. However, he retires again at the end of this term and we wish him all the best.

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t the start of term, our Year 6 students travelled to Longridge Activity Centre for a sociallydistanced teambuilding day.

They took part in kayaking, climbing and various team challenges. Fortunately, the weather was kind and the students had a great time.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE

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ipers’ budding entrepreneurs have created two Young Enterprise teams this year. The teams, each comprising 16 Lower Sixth students, are ‘Corkify’ and ‘Soteria Covers’.

Corkify turn old, used and even wine-stained corks into something unique. “After finding out that corks take 200 years to biodegrade, we decided to take it upon ourselves to save them from going into landfill and do something with them,” said Amber F, Corkify’s Managing Director.

Corks are natural and biodegradable, but are naturally impermeable and therefore do not break down easily.

Corkify came up with the idea to use them to create various gifts, such as wreaths, ornaments and keepsakes.

Meanwhile, Soteria Covers (pictured below) are producing webcam covers to maximise customers’ safety online.

They will be using eco-friendly materials from production to packaging and aim to provide a diverse range of designs.

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ast term, our current Year 5 students wrote letters to Holly Black, author of the ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ and this term they were thrilled to receive replies. She even included an illustration for one student, who had included some illustrations in her original letter to Holly.

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e have had two new eco outdoor classrooms installed, one near Prep and the other in Pre-Prep.

Each classroom has its own weather station, with a wind turbine and solar panel which can be switched on during lessons to show how energy can be generated.

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SPORT

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his term has been like no other for school sport. With so many unknown factors, we have all battled through and with true Pipers resilience have been involved in a wide range of sports and clubs.

It has been fantastic having so many pupils regularly joining training sessions, including our introduction of Rugby with Mr Todesco for students in Years 3-10.

The end of term was celebrated with seasonal tournaments and a lot of fun, including our Christmas Netball tournaments.

Inter-House competitions were back on the calendar with Hockey being the focus this half-term. Well done to Hampden winning the Year 8A and Year 5 competitions; Mandeville winning the Year 4 and Year 6B tournaments; Milton winning the Year 6A matches, and Penn winning the Year 8B event.

We look forward to finishing the Hockey tournaments early next term before moving on to Inter-House Netball.

Virtual events have also been popular and will continue next term. Well done to the Prep girls who took part in the virtual-cyclathon and the Senior year groups who competed in the Wycombe Abbey virtual swimming galas. We are still

Gardening in Pre-Prep

awaiting some results but the Year 7A swimmers should be congratulated on their excellent performances where they finished a very close second against a number of other high performing independent schools.

The PE department look forward to continued training and hopefully fixtures and competitions in the New Year.

Donkeys visit Pre-Prep

‘Show Racism the Red card’ Mufti Day

Year 6 Forest School

Year 8 Textiles workshop with artist Jessica Grady

Year 8’s Christmas lunch

Year 7 Maths in the sun Christmas party food made by Sixth Form

Year 8 at Hillingdon

Celebrating Diwali

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Pipers Corner School, Great Kingshill, Buckinghamshire HP15 6LP

01494 718255

www.piperscorner.co.uk

theschool@piperscorner.co.uk

Years 10 and 11 learning how to pot plants

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Lower Sixth Food Tech with rhubarb from Gardening Club

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Sixth Form solo on VE Day