Alumnae, Edition 17 Autumn 2023

ALUMNAE Edition 17 | Autumn 2023

Networking and News from Royal High School Bath

Coronation of King Charles III: The monarchy in Bath

GS Blackburn Travel Report: New Zealand

Welcome to Class of 2023: Thrilling successes in their first public exams

150 years of the GDST Difference: Girls Futures Report

Girls making their mark

SAVE THE DATE

Alumnae reunions 2023-2024 Tuesday 19 December 2023 at Circo Bar, Bath 18:00 to 20:00

Christmas Drinks

Would you like to

hold a reunion

for recent leavers (Classes of 2019 to 2023)

with your school friends?

Saturday 16 March 2024 10:30 to 14:30

We are on hand to help you catch up with old friends for some reminiscing and find out what everybody’s up to now. There are three ways you can do this:

Bath High School Reunion

Organise a gathering in Bath: we can help you track down your former classmates and, in exchange for some photos and news, will put a couple of bottles behind the bar!

Saturday 29 June 2024 10:30 to 16:00

Return to RHSB: whether it be for a tour and a catch up over coffee for a smaller group, or a larger gathering in one of our function rooms, we’d love to welcome you back (by prior appointment and subject to availability)

Annual Alumnae Reunion and Summer Music Festival:

Join us as a special anniversary group at the Annual Alumnae Reunion: if you let us know far enough in advance we can prepare an archive display for your year group alongside our regular 10th and 20th anniversary group displays.

Class of 2004 20th Anniversary and Class of 2014 10th Anniversary Celebrations

Please contact rhsalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net for further details or to book.

Welcome Welcome to the latest annual edition of Alumnae; our retrospective of school and alumnae news for 2022-2023 with a taste of what lies ahead.

Mrs Kate Reynolds Head Royal High School Bath, GDST

Last year we celebrated 150 years of the GDST and we move this year to marking 25 years since the creation of Royal High School Bath following the merger of The Royal School and Bath High School.

It is lovely to have the opportunity, once more, to reflect on the past year both through the lens of our current cohort of remarkable pupils but also from the perspective of you, our valued alumnae.

After an unseasonably damp summer, the grounds look wonderfully lush and green and ready to welcome back our new cohort of pupils. We finished the Summer Term with a new style Speech Day of Celebration with a two-hour extravaganza of music, dance, drama and poetry highlights from the year together with prize giving for our Year 13 leavers.

To allow the Senior School and all our families to join us for this new initiative we moved to The Forum in Bath for a joyously uplifting reminder of how the girls learn without limits and, we hope, will go on to live their lives without limits.

Support us

We were also celebrating our first unfettered year of opportunities after three Covid restricted ones. Our four Houses (Wollstonecraft, Du Pré, Brontë and Austen) have been rejuvenated by energetic staff leads with highlights including a return to a wonderfully zany and competitive House Dance and Music competition, as well as a brilliantly supportive inter-House Sports Day at Bath University. The Houses have continued to focus on fundraising, each selecting their own charity to support in addition to the Crane Academy in Kenya and the Keo Ropov school in Cambodia. From the GDST perspective,

CONTENTS

WELCOME

their support has extended to bursaries for our students from Ukraine and two sisters from Afghanistan all of whom are receiving an education they would otherwise have been denied.

Our school-wide fundraising for bursaries to mark 150 years of the GDST continues and I would like to extend thanks to the many alumnae who have supported this worthy cause that will offer one local girl a fully funded bursary in the years ahead.

Please do consider any help you can give particularly as families face growing financial challenges: www.gdst.net/ donate/RHSBath It has been a pleasure, as always, to welcome alumnae back to School for reunions and small group visits. I was amused to learn of Miss Campbell’s cat, I believe called Monty but known as ‘Headmaster’ with girls being warned not to inadvertently ‘sit on Headmaster’. How things have changed – and not just that, we now have a Welfare Dog. Thank you to Francesca Orr, our Alumnae and Community Liaison Officer, for the wonderful work she continues to do reconnecting alumnae and for her unstinting work with this publication and our annual events. I hope you enjoy the news and contributions; please keep them coming and do come and visit – everyone always says how pleased they are when they have.

Mrs Kate Reynolds Head RHSB

Welcome

16 Events

22 Catch Up Corner

4 School News

18 Giving

25 In Memory

8 Focus

20 GDST News

11 Alumnae News

21 From the Archives

Cover Image: Celebrating 150 years of the GDST at Royal High School Bath.

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ALUMNAE | 3

SCHOOL NEWS

Welcome

News roundup 2022-2023 Flying the Eco-Schools Green flag We were thrilled to start 2022-2023 by earning an international accreditation, the EcoSchools Green Flag, recognising our amazing work in making our school more environmentally friendly and raising ecoawareness in our students. Eco-Schools is an international education programme that prompts young people to explore sustainability and climate change and take action. We were reviewed on everything from recycling practices to energy usage, to how environmental themes are covered in classrooms. Visit www.eco-schools.org.uk to find out more.

RHSB awarded Showcase School status We are delighted to have been recognised

by Microsoft as a Showcase School, making us part of an elite group of schools using technology to underpin teaching and learning. As pioneers in girls’ education it is has never been more important than now for us to offer educational transformation that includes vision and innovation in teaching, learning, and ensuring our students develop skills for the future.

and the general consensus is that the transformation has been a huge success.

Both Common Rooms have been divided into various zones so that there is plenty of space for students to relax and spend time with friends but also break out areas for smaller group conversations and activities.

Friends Education Awards 2023 Every year the Friends of RHSB invite students from Year 12 and Year 13 to apply for the Friends Education Awards, providing funding for their chosen extra-curricular project or activity which must be related to their current studies or future career aspirations. This year the Friends received a large number of applications of a very high standard of which the following girls were successful: - Amber (left) in Year 13 has won £1000 towards 4 weeks volunteering in Peru, teaching English in deprived areas - Pelagia (centre) in Year 12 has won £1000 towards Medical Summer School, on her path towards becoming a Doctor

We look forward to reporting back on their adventures in due course!

The Year 10 and Year 11 Common Rooms have been totally transformed thanks to a carefully thought-out design scheme which was based on feedback from students and Heads of Year. Students in particular are thrilled by the calm and uplifting colours, comfortable, contemporary furniture and fittings 4

The children got to train in both dressage and jumping on their own horses and spend time watching and learning as Laura and Gio rode and trained their incredible horses. There was also plenty of time to ask lots of questions like how do you handle your nerves heading out to ride a cross country course like Badminton and what is it like to fly a horse to Tokyo!

England U16 Hockey Squad Selection

- Juliette (right) in Year 13 has won £500 towards taking part in an archaeological dig in Greece with the Helike Project

New Common Rooms for Years 10 and 11

having won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and won Badminton 2022. Gio Ugolotti is an Italian 5* Eventer who has competed successfully for his country and is currently aiming for the Paris Olympics.

Cesca and Boo meet two eventing legends Along with the six other junior winners from the Cotswold Cup Eventing Championships, Year 10 student Cesca and her pony Boo got to spend the day with two eventing legends - Laura Collett and Giovanni Ugolotti! Laura is one of our top British Three Day Eventers

We are so excited for Ruby in Year 11 who has enjoyed her second season as part of the U16 England Girls’ Hockey Squad. Having been one of twenty-seven girls selected and part of the England Age Group Programme, Ruby not only has the best possible chance to play again for her country, but also participated regularly in a high performance environment through training days and camps during the season, as she continued her journey in the England Hockey Talent System Framework.

Ruby, who is the first-choice goalkeeper for our school hockey team and is also a member of the second team squad for Team Bath Buccaneers, was part of the England U16 Hockey Squad who played in a Four Nations invitational series at Nottingham Hockey Centre last Easter. Facing Scotland, Spain and the Netherlands, the U16 Girls faired well and Ruby was kept particularly busy in the Netherlands match helping hold them to a close 3-2 defeat! Ruby kept England 2-1 up in the Spain game and the team enjoyed a good win against Scotland.

It has been a fantastic year for Ruby who was presented an REPS award for the first phase of the season, recognising players who have exemplified key qualities and values. Ruby also received a certificate for demonstration of the Pursuit of Excellence, given to players who constantly push themselves outside of their comfort zone to achieve progression.

Special Commendation for Ms Morton Congratulations to Ms Morton, Head of RSHE for being awarded a Special Commendation in the Sex Education Forum’s Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Awards 2022.

The Sex Education Forum is an organisation that has helped support generations of educators and successfully lobbied for the introduction of compulsory relationships and sex education in England. The RSE Awards take place every year to celebrate excellence in teaching RSE in England and to shine a spotlight on educators who go the extra mile for their pupils and young people.

Under Ms Morton’s leadership, Royal High School Bath has adopted a holistic approach to RSHE fostering the values of respect and tolerance that make for healthy relationships and communities and ensuring it runs throughout every aspect of the curriculum and school life.

Mr Hardcastle celebrates 25 years with Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Mr Hardcastle, Head of Higher Education, has been involved in the running of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for an incredible 25 years. In 2023-2022 alone, 81 RHSB students have enrolled to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with four completing Gold, 15 Silver and 27 Bronze awards. ‘’I thoroughly enjoy helping to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme at RHSB. It offers a wide variety of experiences to our students and it’s wonderful to see them learning new skills and developing their resilience, selfmotivation and independence. Although I’ve helped many children to take part in DofE over the last 25 years, it’s still a very proud moment when I see our students receiving their awards.”

Staff Farewell – Mrs Kate Williams This summer we bid farewell to Mrs Kate Williams, Head of Physics. Mrs Williams joined us from a career in engineering as a part time Physics teacher. In the intervening 19 years she rose to being the Head of Physics, part of our remarkable Duke of Edinburgh Awards team and led an incredible array of visits to encourage girls’ love of Science and Physics in particular. The number of testaments from alumnae sharing how Mrs Williams had been pivotal in their career in engineering is a wonderful illustration of the considerable legacy she leaves. We caught up with her during her final weeks to find out about her retirement plans, what inspired her to teach and her experiences of RHSB: When did you join our school?

KW: September 2004 What are your plans for after you leave?

KW: To do voluntary work for some local charities, sort out our hugely overgrown garden and travel to some of the many places on my bucket list!

What first attracted you to teaching?

KW: As a third career it was the ideal one to do whilst raising a family. However, once I embarked on it I realised that it was so much more than this, and that it would give me a great opportunity to inspire students to consider future careers in the world of science, but especially in engineering and physics.

What do you think makes the Royal High School special?

KW: The individuality of the students and the commitment of the amazing staff that teach them.

What was your proudest moment as a teacher here?

KW: In 2017 when a team of Year 12 Physics students presented their completed Engineering Education Scheme project (the re-design of a chemical dosage point for Wessex Water) to an assessment panel at Bath University, as a result of which they were awarded a Gold CREST and Industrial Cadets award.

SCHOOL NEWS

Do you have any memories that really stand out?

KW: Seeing all of the Year 10 Ten Tors teams that I have helped to train alongside Mr. Hardcastle successfully cross the finish line at the end of their 35 mile events. Going underground to visit one of the detectors in the Large Hadron Collider during the Sixth Form Physics trip to CERN in 2014 and taking a group of students on the GDST NASA trip in 2017, during which we saw the Atlantis Space Shuttle in the Kennedy Space Centre.

Tell us something we might not know about you?

KW: I have flown in a Harrier jump jet, sailed across the Atlantic in a 55 foot yacht and swum in Devil’s pool at Victoria Falls.

Do you have any parting words of wisdom or ‘words to live by’ for our current students and alumnae?

KW: Be true to yourself and don’t follow the crowd. Never be afraid to try new things, and don’t give up too quickly when the “going gets tough”. Always find something to smile about every day.

We wish Mrs Williams every happiness in her retirement and extend our thanks for her years of service to RHSB and its pupils.

To find out more about everything our students get up to, visit the news pages on our website: www.royalhighbath.gdst.net/news | 5

SCHOOL NEWS Megan said: “It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to be able to play as part of the Bath Young Musician of the Year competition. I found the adjudicators’ comments especially helpful to enable me to improve my playing, and it was amazing speaking to the other competitors who share the same passion for music.”

Liv becomes National Indoor Rowing Champion The National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships (NJIRC) returned this year for its first in-person race since 2020. The event saw juniors from across the country race at two venues, one in London and one in Leeds. Congratulations to Liv in Year 9 who competed against 196 people in London and 83 in Leeds. She won in London and was the overall champion making her the Year 9 National Indoor Rowing Champion.

Liv is pictured with Sophie Hosking, Olympic medallist, who presented her medal.

Later in the year, despite the surprise snow fall across Bath scuppering travel plans for many, there were still some RHSB girls who managed to take part in the Mid-Somerset Festival. Successes included Ellie in Year 11 who won the Public Speaking Solo Year 10-13 category, and Siena in Year 7 who took part in four drama and music classes, with two third places, one second place and one first place. Emily in Year 8 came first in the under 15 Vocal Duet/Trio competition, performing Rutter’s Angels Carol.

All our performers who took part received marks in the mid-80’s, receiving impressive Commended grades.

Congratulations to all!

Lily performs at Royal Albert Hall

Mid-Somerset Festival success Last Autumn, Year 13 student Megan was one of the finalists in the Mid-Somerset Festival’s Bath Young Musician of the Year event at the Pump Room. Megan won the Cello class and played Bach’s Prelude from Suite No 4 on the Cello alongside five other exceptional instrumentalists from different schools across the city.

The Mid-Somerset Festival nurtures musicians and performers of all ages, abilities, and levels of experience. The autumn competitions honour gifted and talented high achieving students, many of whom step into a professional career soon afterwards.

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Last December, Lily, a Year 12 student, performed with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Lily is a talented singer and was successfully accepted into the prestigious choir at the age of 11. Lily performed with the choir as part of their annual Christmas Concert, accompanied by a full symphony orchestra and sang again at the Royal Albert Hall in April as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.

The Choir has enabled Lily to meet new people and to perform in numerous concert venues across the UK as well as being tutored by renowned vocal coaches. Lily is studying music at A-level

and is a Music Scholar, she said: “Studying music and being a Music Scholar at Royal High School Bath has assisted my development as a musician, with the help of Mr Bradbury, Head of Music, and other music staff. With the excellent facilities at the Music School, I have been able to fully immerse myself in my A-level studies and use the recording studio and high-level technology that the school offers. I have also been able to explore my talent through the opportunities that the school has offered, performing in school concerts and choirs, which has improved my confidence not only as a performer but also as a person.”

2023 Cyber First Girls Schoolgirls across the UK including our team applied their tech skills tackling cyber security challenges in-person simultaneously at the thirteen finals taking place across the UK in February, with the top-scoring teams in each final being named champion. The challenge lasted all day, and the finalists, aged 12 to 13, worked in teams at double screen computers throughout the day to crack cyber-related puzzles on everything from artificial intelligence to cryptography and logic.

It was great to see that the RHSB team once again made it into one of the national finals, something we have achieved every year that we have entered this amazing and inspiring competition.

This year, our Year 8s worked really hard as a team and were top of the leader board most of the day and came in fourth place, narrowly missing the third spot. We are delighted that we managed to beat some of our local rivals and hope even more girls will be encouraged to enter next year.

Now in its seventh year, the CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to inspire girls to consider pursuing careers in cyber security and change the future of the industry for the better.

Welcome to the Class of 2023

Poetry at Heart 2023 Congratulations to RHSB Year 9 student, Florence, who was selected as one of only ten KS3 finalists in a national competition called ‘Poetry by Heart’ and got to perform at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

As part of this prestigious poetry speaking competition, which is open to all schools and colleges in England, the RHSB’s English department held first stage heats when each student was required to learn a poem by heart and perform it in front of their English class. Florence was selected to be put forward for consideration for this national competition (only one applicant per school) and was thrilled to hear she had been selected as a finalist.

In June, she performed her chosen poem ‘Morning Song’ by Sylvia Plath in front of the packed theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe and a judging panel of prestigious poets, including former poet laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, and Daljit Nagra.

Commenting on her experience as a ‘Poetry by Heart’ KS3 finalist, Florence said: “It was so brilliant to have been selected as a finalist and to get the chance to perform at the Globe. It was totally nerve-wracking but very exciting. I loved having my mum there with me. She was as excited as I was and was amazing throughout the whole process. She studied English Literature at university so loves poetry too and was just so helpful and really supportive. It was also so nice to meet the other nine finalists and share this experience with them. Everyone was just genuinely so nice and supportive of each other.”

Congratulations to this year’s International Baccalaureate cohort who have ridden the storm of an education through Covid without having the chance to take their GCSE exams.

Between them, they have achieved an average point score of 35 against a global average of 30 maintaining the RHSB tradition for achieving results which are significantly higher than the global IB average.

The diversity of the subjects they are pursuing and the destinations they have chosen reflects the breadth of interests and skills in our student body and we are incredibly proud of their individual achievements and successes.

They include: Phoebe Wirick who is off to Kings College London to study International Relations; Juliette Marinelli who heads for Nottingham to read Classics; Karah Parry who is aiming for UCL for French and Art History, and Megan Ong who has secured a place to study Medicine in addition to her exceptional musical talent as runner up in Bath’s Young Musician of the Year.

After a traditionally chaotic, piratethemed Muck-Up Day and a fabulous ball at Bath’s Guildhall, our Year 13 cohort and Class of 2023 had their final day as Royal High School Bath students at our inaugural full Senior School Speech Day and Prize-Giving at the Forum, marking the beginning of their next journey and becoming RHSB alumnae.

Since then we have been delighted to celebrate the success of our A-level students: 20% of A level examinations taken achieved the top A* grade with a

SCHOOL NEWS quarter of the cohort receiving at least 3 A*/A grades and 81% awarded A*-C grades. which has translated into 98% of pupils meeting their entry criteria for one of their chosen universities, with 78% accepting their first-choice university course. Notable individual successes include Maddie Whitmore who gained her place to read English at Cambridge whilst also being shortlisted for the BBC Young Writer of the Year.

Isabel Wright will be heading to Oxford to study Chemistry but also made her mark as one of our leads in last year’s school musical, as well as involvement at the World Dance Championships and calmly honoured her commitment to perform in the Christmas concert, making apologies to leave at the interval to travel to her Oxford interview.

Amber Righton-Bueno epitomises the modern polymath with her clean sweep of top grades and is heading to Ecuador supported by a Friends’ travel bursary where she will teach English before a year’s art foundation course at Trowbridge followed by Liberal Arts at Durham. Whilst we continue to encourage students to consider the best career path for them we also celebrated Florence Dawson’s offer of an apprenticeship at a London hospital to specialise in pharmacology and chemotherapy dosage with the option of a paid degree on completion of her apprenticeship.

Class of 2023: we all wish each and every one of you the best of luck in the next stage of your journey and extend to you a very warm welcome to our Alumnae Network.

To find out more about everything our students get up to, visit the news pages on our website: www.royalhighbath.gdst.net/news | 7

FOCUS

Welcome

GS Blackburn Travel Award Report Lara Chalkley (RHSB 2022) is currently reading Japanese Studies at Sheffield University and in her final year at RHSB was successful in her applications for the 2022 GS Blackburn Travel Award & 2022 GDST Travel Scholarship (Sir William Cash Scholarship).

Originally Lara had planned to travel to New Zealand for 5 months and also spend some time in Japan, but ongoing Covid-policies and vastly increased travel costs forced Lara to forego visiting Japan and reduce her time in New Zealand to 2 months. The purpose of her trip, however, remained the same; to investigate the story of Asajiro Noda, one of the first Japanese to arrive in New Zealand in the 1800s who married a Maori woman and lived amongst the Maori. Inspired by her Maori relatives’ connection to one of Asajiro sons, Lara planned also to learn about Maori culture and her own family history whilst exploring the suggested similarities between Japanese and Maori culture that helped Asarjiro Noda’s integration into the Maori community.

Here, Lara documents her travels:

WELLINGTON

ROTORUA AND WAITOMO

In Wellington I met briefly with Dr Awanui Te Huia and with Dr Shin Takahashi from Victoria University. Dr Takahashi was very familiar with the story of Asajiro Noda, and as well as recommending text for further reading he also invited me to sit in on his Japanese language class. I also visited the Alexander Turnbull library to obtain copies of articles about Asajiro Noda.

From Wellington I travelled north meeting and staying with more relatives along the way. I also stopped in Rotorua and Waitomo. Rotorua is a geothermal town in central North Island famous for bubbling hot mud pools and a distinct sulphurous smell. It is also famous for its living Maori village which I visited. It was a little touristy but still interesting. I watched a traditional Maori haka and dance performances and also tried traditional foods such as a hangi.

I also spent one day and one night in Waitomo where I tried caving and got to see the famous Waitomo glow worms.

I met my Aunty Lena (Grandmother’s sister) who shared details of our family history and genealogy (Whakapapa).

She explained to me how we are related to the Noda family but asked me not to share the family tree with anyone outside of our family. I had not realised the importance of this request until I arrived in Huntly which is where I had intended to speak to Asajiro’s direct descendants.

Having also visited the Te Papa Museum, spent a day helping in a Maori language nursery school (Kohanga reo) and accompanied my cousin on her school trip, I felt I got to know my Wellington family well.

CHRISTCHURCH AND SOUTH ISLAND I started my trip in Christchurch, staying with my uncle and aunty there and then spent 10 days travelling around the South Island. Coincidently my uncle explained to me that he had worked on Japanese fishing boats when he was much younger, and he said that he thought that the Japanese language sounded very similar to Maori.

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HAMILTON In Hamilton I visited the Waikato University library to view and copy archived Newspaper articles about Asajiro Noda.

TE KAURI, HUNTLY I had initially planned to stay two weeks in Huntly but cut my trip short by one week once I realised that I would not be able to meet with the Noda family descendants.

This is where I learnt a big lesson in carrying out research. I had assumed that because my mother is from this community, and they are all our relatives that I would be welcomed and people would be happy to share information with me, but it wasn’t the case. As mentioned earlier, my Aunty Lena asked me not to share our genealogy with people outside of our close family. At the time I did not understand why but once in Te Kauri it became clear.

Te Kauri is a very small and poor rural community (approx. twenty houses) of Maori people located about three miles from Huntly township. The community are all descendants of the Tarawhiti family and official records show that the family have lived in the area since at least before the 1700s. It is a close community and so outsiders stand-out. I was hoping to speak to Sheryl Thompson (née Noda) who had visited Japan with her father to meet the Noda family. She knew my mother and initially via Facebook conversations said that she was happy to meet with me but then changed her mind just before I arrived at Huntly.

Another relative in Te Kauri explained to me that Sheryl decided that she did not want to meet because I was essentially a stranger and that there had been too many cases where people wanted information about the family genealogy in order to join claims for Maori land reparations. Apparently, the work that goes into tracing genealogy and land claims is extensive, time consuming and can be costly. Relatives then resent other relatives coming in and enjoying the gains but not having put in any work and, in some cases, fraudsters have claimed to be relatives hoping to gain from the reparations. At the time I was not aware of the reparations that have been taking place in New Zealand. Since returning home I have discovered that there have been landmark cases where some tribes have been given up to $177 million.

FOCUS I was obviously very disappointed not to have the opportunity to speak to Sheryl or any other Noda family members. However, I was grateful to see my mother’s home, meet other close relatives and hear their stories of growing up in Te Kauri. I also visited the family marae itself and was allowed to take photographs of the photos of deceased family members on display. There were photos of Asajiro, his wife and his daughter-in-law and all of these photos are treasured by the community.

Although they did not request it, I plan to share any information that I have gathered about Asajiro with Noda family members based at Te Kauri marae.

AUCKLAND AND BEYOND In Auckland I met with more relatives and attended the Pasifika Festival which celebrates the music, dance, and food of lots of different south pacific cultures.

From Auckland, I travelled to Cape Reinga which is the northern most point of New Zealand, stayed in Paihia where I met more relatives and spent a day in Waitangi where I visited the Waitangi museums and learnt about the Treaty of Waitangi.

that I keep our family links alive. I was disappointed not to have spoken directly to any descendants of Asajiro but the information I found in the libraries and recommended further reading from Dr Takahashi will be of use should I wish to carry on some sort of related project.

An important lesson I learnt during this trip was that when carrying out any research I should make myself aware of any possible cultural sensitivities that could arise. The fact that Noda family relatives had concerns about my motives for wanting to speak to them was a valuable lesson and although it did surprise me and even offended me a little, I understand why. I cut my stay at Te Kauri short by one week but perhaps if I had stayed it might have been enough time to change minds.

Applications will again be invited from Sixth Formers and alumnae up to 25 years old, early in 2024. Please contact rhsalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net to register your interest.

BENEFITS OF MY TRIP FOR ME Having to work to help pay for my trip was beneficial to my confidence. It also helped to improve my communication skills when dealing with a wide range of people. I did enjoy where I worked and the people I worked with.

With regard to my trip, I have learnt that I am capable of organising myself, meeting with academics and being away from home which was all good preparation for University.

I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to visit and get to know family in New Zealand, learn more about them and more about my culture and ancestry.

I am inspired to continue learning the Maori language and customs. I will also maintain contact with all of the relatives I met and stayed with to ensure

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FOCUS

Coronation

Whilst the Union Flag fluttered once more from the Clock Tower and pupils dressed up as red, white and blue pirates (imagination is called for when coronations and Year 13 muck up day collide), in May we came full circle from 8 September last year when our Parents’ Reception was interrupted by the news of the then Queen’s death.

Bath’s connection with coronations goes back a long way. In 973 King Edgar, now regarded as the first King of all England, was crowned in Bath Abbey, a scene captured in one of its stained-glass windows. 50 years ago Queen Elizabeth II visited the Abbey to mark 1000 years since that first coronation and there is a ledger stone in the floor commemorating the event. Royal High School adds to these connections with the monarchy in Bath. Established in 1865 as the Military Female School (a catchy if rather edgy name) to educate daughters of army officers, it swiftly gained royal patronage from Queen Victoria and was renamed the Royal School in recognition of this.

Queen Victoria donated 100 guineas

and 50 guineas thereafter each year, a tradition that has continued with her descendants. With the merger of the Royal School and Bath High School 25 years ago Royal High School, the school we know today, was born.

The coronation marked a key aspect of Britain’s heritage and its legacy from the past, which we celebrated across the School. Our Prep School children baked scones and enjoyed a Royal afternoon cream tea with lots of fun arts and crafts activities, including the creation of a shared school self-portrait. Senior School students dressed in red, white and blue and took part in a school parade ending with an arial photograph taken from the Clock Tower of a 150 formation to mark 150 years of the GDST. Meanwhile, our Abbey choristers sang their hearts out at the Royal Celebration Concert at Bath Abbey.

All events that, alongside those witnessed in the Capital and across the nation, are living history that provide us all with greater insight into our past and our traditions.

Women in Astronomy – Inaugural Nightingale Lecture “The sky is for everyone.”

Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell

We welcomed a very special guest to RHSB for our inaugural Nightingale Lecture, Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

This was a unique opportunity to hear Professor Bell Burnell talk about her remarkable career spanning four decades, her experience of being a woman in astrophysics and the changes she has seen in the UK, as well as reviewing the position of women in astronomy in other countries.

With the title Women in Astronomy, she introduced key women astronomers through history, and then looked at the current climate for women in the field, discussing challenges in bringing equality to astrophysics and looking at future possibilities. This was followed by an extensive audience Q&A, with Professor Bell Burnell offering advice to many future scientists in the audience.

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She concluded that we need more scientists and engineers, girls can do physics brilliantly, and that girls are more likely to choose and succeed in physics in a single sex environment.

“Professor Bell Burnell’s talk spoke to our students on so many levels. Her excitement at the possibility of science to uncover the unknown was palpable and inspired the girls in the audience, from Y3 through to Y13. Although she warned of some of the difficulties of succeeding in what has been, until now, a male dominated sphere, she provided hope for the future. We concur that a singlesex school environment provides girls with the space to test out their ideas and gain confidence in their ability. Once our students enter university they can push the scientific world forward as women with their own unique contributions to make.” Mr Briggs, Deputy Head Academic RHSB. Today Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell is known as one of the most influential scientists in the UK. The winner of the

2018 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, she has been vital in advancing the role of women in science and physics. Her discovery of radio pulsars in 1967, as a young researcher at Cambridge, pays testament to her passion and determination and remains one of the most significant astronomical discoveries of the last 100 years.

All proceeds from ticket sales went to the GDST 150 Bursary campaign, enabling as many girls as possible to benefit from a GDST education, and possibly to become our future scientists!

Alumnae Tips for Uni

Starting university can be a thrilling and extremely rewarding experience, but it also can be somewhat challenging and even overwhelming for many.

Fortunately for our Year 13 students, early in the autumn last year, a group of our 2021 leavers were on hand to share their experiences of university life at our annual Alumnae Tips for University and Tips for Oxbridge forums.

The Year 13 students took full advantage of the opportunity to cross examine the visiting alumnae about a range of topics from how to best navigate the application and interview processes to the pros and cons of campus versus noncampus universities. Practical tips ranged from making time to look after yourself and how to be well-organised to the importance of managing expectations – don’t expect to find your core group of best friends and feel entirely settled on day one, it all takes time.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to catch up with some of our alumnae and hear how they are getting on.

Darcy Evans (2014) read Natural Sciences at Cambridge and recalls how much she enjoyed writing her dissertation, “it isn’t often now that my knowledge of women’s participation in antinuclear campaigning comes in handy but getting to work towards a much bigger project, carry out research from primary source documents and explore obscure parts of the university’s libraries was great fun!” Darcy is now an insurance solicitor and whilst it is not too connected to her degree, she appreciates being able to understand the maths for loss calculations or understand some of the terms when there is a medical related claim. Darcy believes that for anyone at university a lot of the skills you learn will be useful to you whatever you end up doing afterwards. As for something that helped from her RHSB days, apart from both subject specific and general advice from teachers, Darcy remembers an alumna at the Tips for Uni session recommending taking a door stop to university. Darcy was very grateful for this when moving in, enabling her to meet people who lived on her corridor and then keeping cool in the summer!

Tara Williams (2021) is reading German at Oxford where a highlight has been viewing a selection of medieval and early modern manuscripts and books at the Ashmolean Museum and Taylor Institution as part of her study of German literature. Helping bring the period to life, Tara loved that so many of the manuscripts contained beautiful accompanying woodcuts or illustrations. After university, Tara is currently considering working in the general field of communications or perhaps undertaking postgraduate study to reflect her interest in film and literature - two aspects of her German degree that she particularly enjoys.

Of her time at RHSB, Tara says that thanks to the support of her teachers she felt confident enough in her subject knowledge to be able to express her thoughts clearly in the classroom and beyond, which has been especially helpful during her Oxford tutorials!

ALUMNAE NEWS The academic highlight of Imogen Rafferty (2021)’s first year reading Classics at Exeter is her Latin seminars.

Imi really enjoys the small group work, constant discussion and debate about the text, translation and how culture and history are affecting the narratives that they are reading.

Imi finds it is a lot of fun agreeing or disagreeing with your classmates about various theories and ideas making the coursework very enjoyable as you can really argue your own views through your personal translation and interpretation.

Imi credits RHSB with giving her the confidence to develop her own ideas and ‘voice’ within her essays. This has been incredibly helpful at university as she already had experience of formulating her own interpretation and then backing it up with evidence over an essay or even verbal debate. After university, Imi plans to join the Army and will be starting the Sandhurst Commissioning Course in September 2024.

Tatiana Squire (2021) is in the third year of her Anthropology and Sociology degree at Durham and achieved a place on a competitive HR internship programme. Whilst Tatiana relished the opportunity to listen to and learn about people inside and outside the company, her degree continues to provide her with knowledge and resources to back up some of the conversations, regarding diversity, wellbeing, recruitment and performance, necessary in the careers she’s interested in. Tatiana explained that her time at RHSB taught her about the value of who she surrounds herself with, ‘’I had the honour of being at RHSB with the most caring, intelligent, funny and powerful girls who are now women I still see very regularly. I frequently meet people at university who were so excited to cut off people from their school – Royal High is different and the love we hold for one another will last a lifetime, I’m sure!’’

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ALUMNAE NEWS

Alumnae Awards 2022

Miss Lynda Bevan, Governor and President of Royal High Bath Alumnae Committee, presented the Hilary Williams Award for Dedication to Chhaya, Year 13, for showing exceptional dedication in her approach running an Ultimate Science Club for younger students whilst assisting with the running of a Graphics Club.

In the run up to last Christmas we held our annual celebration of the RHSB Spirit that is inspired by our alumnae by rewarding students who have demonstrated the characteristics of friendship, kindness, dedication, community spirit and academic endeavour.

We were joined by alumna Daphne Hemingway (BHS 1982) who presented The Sarah Williams Red Squirrel Award, instigated by a group of Bath High alumnae in memory of their friend, alumna Sarah Williams (BHS 1982), who sadly passed away in 2015 from cancer. This year’s winner was Darcy, Year 8, for showing spirit, courage, support for others, kindness and loyal friendship.

Alumna Hilary Williams (BHS 1948 to 1963) was the first female prison governor, later holding senior management roles at various companies helping to change discrimination laws, having battled discriminatory challenges in the workplace herself. Whilst Chief Executive of Girl Guiding UK, a member of several women’s business networks, holding a non-executive position for Bath’s RUH and volunteering at her local guide group in Bath, Hilary was also a hugely committed member of the alumnae committee and was Chair for fifteen years. At her funeral she was described as a people-orientated and inspirational leader with vision, who had her feet firmly on the ground and who relished achieving results through others by encouraging, empowering and

supporting. A truly inspiring role modal who no doubt would have approved of Chhaya’s achievements.

Reminiscing about his own school days and the importance of striving for success whatever your ability, Richard Hall, Chair of Governors, presented the Alumnae Network Award for Continued Academic Endeavour to Kashuf, Year 11. Kashuf was nominated as somebody who simply does nothing less than her absolute best across the board achieving impressive results.

Finally, Mrs Kate Reynolds, Head, presented the Alumnae Network Junior Cup for Services to the School Community to Pelagia, Year 13, who is a committed and enthusiastic member of the school community and has made an outstanding contribution as a house prefect alongside her inspiring participation in the Bath Youth Parliament.

When our winners and worthy fellow nominees go out into the world as RHSB alumnae, we have every faith that they will continue to embody all that is RHSB Spirit!

Aspire Conference 2023 In the Spring, RHSB Year 10 students were joined by Year 10 representatives from schools around Bath, plus eight GDST schools online, for our annual Aspire Conference, a day of academic lectures designed to stretch and challenge the students’ thinking and knowledge in a range of subjects from Art to Astrophysics.

Our guest speakers covered a wide range of academically challenging topics and included Mrs Maiken Mosleth King, Lecturer in Ancient history at Bristol University, Dr Chris Stephens, Director of Holburne Museum, Dame Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Astrophysicist, and RHSB alumna and RHBA Committee Chair, Dr Sarah Wride (RHSB 2005).

Sarah delivered a fascinating talk that engaged with Romantic-period debates about how, what, and why writers should (and did) write. Taking William Wordsworth and Maria Edgeworth, Jane 12

Austen’s bestselling rival, as her focus, she tracked the emergence of two very different ideas of ‘culture’, still used today: as related to a sub-set of people whose minds and behaviours are (somehow) more advanced or as related to anyone, no matter their mindset or actions.

Sarah has taught a wide range of under and postgraduate modules in English, History, and Interactive Media at the University of York and at Bishop Grosseteste University. She is particularly interested in three research questions: how do national political and social reform debates, 1776-1948, relate to changing conceptions of the role of culture in society? In what ways and why have murder cases, 1827-1953, been understood and represented in culture? and, what can these questions’ answers tell us about the potential impact of contemporary and future reform debates and crimes? Her current project, ‘Oscar

Wilde, True Murder, and the Cult of Black Beauty’, is supported by UCLA’s WildeHolland Fellowship 2023-24. Sarah co-chairs the History Lab+ network of early-career historians and is Editorial Assistant for the British Association for Victorian Studies Newsletter.

“This was a great, rewarding experience …even if it was surreal to be on the Memorial Hall stage and not in the stalls!”

ALUMNAE NEWS

Alumna-led coding

On the day of our biennial Royal School Reunion last Spring, some of our boarders were excited to have an opportunity to take part in a workshop with CodeBrave, a tech education charity working with 12-18 year old children from disadvantaged areas in Lebanon, whilst our visiting alumnae enjoyed observing.

Founded by Clemmie Brown (RHSB 2010), our links with CodeBrave continue from strength to strength. Our students enjoyed an online workshop with May, another CodeBrave educator who taught them how to programme microbits to create a ‘tug of war’ game as well as to create a pedometer. As one of the students said: “It’s cool learning how to create code and see the results of the program we wrote work straight away.”

Mrs Lycett, Head of Computing, explained: “We hope to roll these workshops out with other year groups and will continue to work with CodeBrave – the social enterprise element of what they do resonates with our ethos, and nearly 50% of the students they teach are young women and girls. Their education programme for schools and individual tutoring funds their social enterprise and support for disadvantaged children. This kind of skills-based teaching is essential for our students, and we will continue our links with CodeBrave.”

Festival of Ideas The Summer Term started with a bang when students returned to immerse themselves straight away into our annual Festival of Ideas. This year’s theme was Health Matters, when students were asked to explore the all-important question: ‘What should we do to improve our health?’

Alongside an exciting programme of cross curricular activities, students enjoyed a programme of speakers throughout the week starting with Dr Bhatia, GP and Holistic Wellbeing Consultant, who set the girls a challenge to think about wellbeing themes, consider the science and art behind them and inspire others with their ideas at the following day’s Ideas Fair. Other speakers covered a wide range of topics from the power of a smile to how computer science is revolutionising medicine and included alumnae Dr Lucy Jessop (BHS 1995), Director of Public Health, National Immunisation Office Ireland, and Harriet Cornick (RHSB 2011), NHS Orthotist and Prosthetist, who also joined us for International Women in Engineering Day. Harriet’s talk entitled ‘Anatomy vs AI: can technology replace evolution for people with life altering injuries’ was truly inspiring whilst Lucy delivered a fascinating insight into the world of immunisations with her presentation titled ‘Immunisations are amazing’, where she covered the history and purpose of immunisation programmes, both in the UK and globally. Although there have been many successes and immunisations have saved millions of lives, there are still a number of challenges, including the dip in uptake since COVID-19 leading to a threat of resurgence of measles and polio.

The girls engaged well with the topic, including discussion on vaccine hesitancy and mandatory vaccination.

After leaving Bath High School, Lucy went on to read medicine at Christs College, Cambridge and initially trained in paediatrics but developed an interest in infectious diseases during her elective in a remote part of Thailand, thanks to funding from the GS Blackburn Travel Award. She then transferred to public health, including achieving a Masters in Public Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Lucy worked as a consultant in public health in Buckinghamshire, then moving to Northern Ireland where she led immunisations in the region and dealt with infectious disease outbreaks. Since 2019 she has been the public health lead for immunisations in Ireland, at the National Immunisation Office as Consultant and Director of Public Health. Work has been exceptionally busy since the COVID-19 pandemic, where Ireland has one of the most successful programmes in Europe.

Find out more about CodeBrave at www. codebrave.org – donations to the charity are welcome and can be made via their website.

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ALUMNAE NEWS

International Women in Engineering Day During the week surrounding International Women in Engineering Day in June, we shone a spotlight on inspirational female engineers and inspiring girls to become the next generation of female engineers. At the start of the week, Year 8 took part in an inter-house tower challenge which saw them planning and executing the building of a tower out of card which was over 75cm tall and could hold 40g of weight. Having planned their projects, sourced building materials with allocated budget and built their tower ready for judging it turned out that some shapes are stronger than others!

Later in the week it was the turn of twenty Year 10 and Year 12 students, all with an interest in engineering of some form, mainly medical, to spend a day focussing on prosthetics led by alumna Harriet Cornick (RHSB 2011), NHS Orthotist and Prosthetist. Having explained the history of prosthetics and how technology is now advancing the way prosthetics is designed, Harriet introduced the students to body scanning and what this looks like on a medical CAD

package giving students the opportunity to play with Micro-processing and Myoelectric hands, before being given three real life design briefs that Harriet and her team have worked on. Impressed by the students’ critical thinking and the clarity with which they demonstrated their learning both from Harriet and the process of modelling and testing, it was extremely difficult for Harriet to choose a winning team!

Harriet’s A-levels at RHSB in Maths, Design Technology, and Physics took her to a Degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics at Salford University. After graduating, Harriet moved to the United States and, taking advantage of the cutting-edge technology available, gained valuable insight into different manufacturing techniques and developed her hands-on clinical skills. Since returning to England in 2022, Harriet is working as a prosthetist at the Bristol Centre for Enablement.

Harriet uses skills she learnt during her A-Level DT, Maths and Physics studies on a daily basis and credits the enthusiasm of the teachers at RHSB for guiding her into such a rewarding field. Of the IWIED, Harriet says it was great to be able to come back to the school and how

inspiring it was to see how engaged the girls were in the tasks set before them.

The day was rounded off with talks from local maritime engineering firm BMT and alumna Kaat Van Assche (RHSB 2018). Kaat is currently studying for a PhD in Robot Assisted Surgery at KU Leuven, Belgium having gained a BSc in Engineering which included a semester abroad at Seoul National University, and then a Masters in Electromechanical Engineering, specialising in Clinical Engineering.

Sharing her academic journey in engineering, the students heard how Kaat obtained her GSCEs and the IB diploma at RHSB and that she credits her engineering experiences at RHSB (like the robotics club and the EES program) for sparking her interest in robotics and engineering. Kaat further shared some of her award-winning projects at university: a robotic 3D CNC cutter, leading a gravity race car team and her master thesis on motion compensation of neurons. For her PhD, Kaat is now working on ultrasoundguided robotics to ultimately provide a non-radiative, precise and reliable solution for spine surgery. “It was such a pleasure sharing my journey with RHSB students who are in a similar position as me 5-7 years ago. I hope I was able to inspire the girls and shine a light on the less discussed disciplines of engineering.”

Inspirational Career Talk from GDST alumna Our Sixth Form students enjoyed listening to an inspirational talk by GDST alumna Reverend Catherine Bond (Oxford High) as part of our series to mark Careers Week last March.

Catherine shared her career journey and explained how her degree in History led her to corporate law. Early in her career she then started a successful business which helped law firms to prepare witnesses. She explained the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and how she juggled her personal life in an industry known for long hours. Her career journey 14

didn’t stop when she sold her business to ‘retire,’ as she then trained to be vicar.

The girls loved Catherine’s story and her honesty, reflected in their applause and whoops of appreciation!

ALUMNAE NEWS

Alumna Awarded Oxford Scholarship Marigold Whitaker (RHSB 2021) is now in her third year, reading Chinese at Pembroke College, Oxford and was awarded a Scholarship following her first-year exams having performed at First Class/Distinction level. Whilst spending her second year abroad studying in Taiwan at Taipei Normal University, we were delighted to hear from Marigold how she was getting on: ‘’I’m writing this with Chinese New Year taking place tomorrow, and there are loads of red decorations (春聯) everywhere and closed stores in Taipei as people have headed back to their hometowns to celebrate with family. I’ve just past the half-way point of my time in Taiwan, and I couldn’t be happier here – my Chinese has improved so much after only a few months, and my first-hand experience with cultural phenomena I’ve studied really helps to bring theoretical study to life.

I was always lucky in school that I knew early on I really liked Chinese, from the first Mandarin enrichment lesson with Mrs Liu I was hooked! From there, I spent some of my own time looking up vocabulary, and really enjoyed how characters were composed and how much meaning and history could be contained within such detailed script.

A big reason I was drawn to my current course was having the year abroad in the second year of study, compared to most courses being abroad in the third year. I had already learnt so much and

had such great advice and lessons from Mrs Liu and Mrs Kuo, I didn’t want to wait before heading into a Chinese-speaking environment. I was a little hesitant about the course as a large part is Classical Chinese (ancient Chinese – sort of like Latin but in Chinese!) which I had never studied before, but it has been so helpful for my understanding of the modern language and allows me to study original philosophical and historical texts from over two-thousand years ago.

The Modern Language department at RHSB really helped me to prepare for my interviews, and the university admissions help sessions and GDST-organised preparation helped calm my nerves and focus on talking about why I am so passionate about Chinese. A huge thank you to all my IB teachers and supervisors, who helped me through Sixth Form during a pretty tough time for everyone, and for teaching me invaluable skills which helped me to succeed in my first year of university.

Describing Marigold’s Oxford University Scholarship as ‘A feather in the school’s cap’, Jo Whitaker, Marigold’s mother, explained, ‘Her work stems from her inspirational time at The Royal High giving her the confidence to push for the extra mile academically, while still enjoying the range of extra-curricular things on offer. She even found time to row for her college second boat in the Summer Eights … Mrs Liu’s excellent teaching started her on her path in Mandarin, and the school style of encouraging students to dare to follow their interests has stood her in very good stead.’

We are all very proud of Marigold’s achievements so far and are excited to see what lies ahead for her.

I joined the Royal High in Year 7! Here is a picture from me at Jiufen 九份, I’m on the right!

I love the independence I have over my life here in Taiwan, as well as the opportunities to explore and experience the island since my time is limited. I’ve travelled all the way down to the south and to some small islands (which is possible due to much cheaper transport here), and have thoroughly explored the night markets of Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung. I would highly recommend anyone able to visit Taiwan, the diversity of culture and landscape is breath-taking.

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EVENTS

A Snapshot of Last Year’s Reunions

Christmas Drinks for Recent Leavers 20 December 2022

Royal School Biennial Reunion 25 February 2023

16 | ALUMNAE

EVENTS

Bath High School Class of 1993 Reunion 10 June 2023

On a gloriously sunny Saturday evening at the White Hart in Widcome, Bath, some of the Class of 1993 got together to mark thirty years since leaving Bath High.

It was wonderful to be back together and laugh (and cry too) about life at school and life today. Of course, Miss Winfield came up in conversation, a huge influence on us all, as did many other great teachers (RIP Mrs Leach).

There were school trips we will never forget and neither will the teachers - who probably needed time off or perhaps a change of heart about their career choice after some of them. We also recalled that some of us broke the rules, some of us lived by them, how different we all were and are but how fundamentally we were once a Bath High School girl and always will be a Bath High School girl, as Miss Winfield would always say and, as usual, she was right!

Clare Brackley, Emily Brown, Matilda Dowden, Andrea Keane, Eleanor Moriarty, Kate Smith, Nadine Smith, Catherine Stow, Claire Thompson

Royal School Class of 1991 Reunion

Royal School Class of 1983 Reunion Liz Knowles, Belinda Dutton, Samantha ErskineTulloch, Arlette Overman

Covid-postponed 70th Birthday visit of Sue English née Shearburn (RS 1968) with her daughter Rose ALUMNAE | 17

GIVING

Raising Spirits and Giving Back £1,680 raised for Afghanaid

GDST 150 Bursary Campaign To mark 150 years of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), GDST schools have been busy raising funds to create an additional 150 bursary places across all GDST schools to enable more girls to benefit from a GDST education and make their mark on the world, regardless of their background. At RHSB this has been a fundraising focus over the past year and so far proceeds from various initiatives, including our GDST 150 Spring Fling fundraising ceilidh and online silent auction, inaugural Nightingale Lecture and a verbatim performance devised and performed by our Drama Scholars, have raised well over £6000.

But we need to do more.

Each year nearly 10% of our pupils receive financial assistance and these girls are bright, talented and ambitious like their peers. However, their families do not have the financial means to pay for a Royal High School Bath Education.

Unfortunately, the amount of bursary applications we receive far outweighs the number we can currently offer and therefore we have to turn many deserving girls away, typically offering places to around 25% of applications.

To support the GDST 150 Campaign please visit www.gdst.net/donate/ RHSBath or contact rhsalumnae@rhsb. gdst.net. If you find yourself in Bath, you can also pop in to use the tap and donate machine located in the Senior School’s entrance foyer. Thank you; all donations matter however great or small.

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Natasha in Year 12 was so moved by the atrocities in Afghanistan that she wanted to do something about it.

Working with Afghanaid, and using her contacts, Tashie created an opportunity for RHSB families and friends to listen to bestselling author and historian (and also Tashie’s dad) Saul David talk about his latest book, SBS: Silent Warriors, the first authorised history about Britain’s SBS – or Special Boat Service – in the Second World War. More than 50 people thoroughly enjoyed Mr David’s talk last October and left the event with far greater insight into the SBS, Britain’s original special forces.

The event raised £840; however, with the match funding secured by Natasha, this brings the total to £1,680. Well done Natasha and thank you Mr David for generously donating all proceeds and book sales from the event to Afghanaid.

Natalia Deane, Head of Communications and Giving at Afghanaid said, ‘’ This is not just a fantastic fundraising effort, it is also a show of solidarity, and a message to Afghan women that we stand with them. Thank you to Natasha and everyone involved in this event!”

Charity Walk raises over £500 Well done to Izzy, Chloe and Darcy in Year 8 for raising over £500 for Julian House on the Annual Circuit of Bath Walk on 25 September. The girls joined friends, family and hundreds of other walkers for a charity walk around the countryside surrounding Bath.

Gift for a Girl Last Christmas we again ran our Gift for a Girl campaign for the Crane Academy, Kenya. Over the years we have raised a significant amount with our ethical gifts, and this year we were able to raise £200 through this initiative.

We have been raising funds for the Crane Academy for well over 10 years, and the School continues to benefit from our continued and ongoing help to support the students’ education and wellbeing.

Celebrating Cambodia New Year Led by a group of Year 7 students in April, who designed a programme for us to follow in their Problem Based Learning course, we spent some time thinking about the heritage and culture of Cambodia, as expressed in our sister school in Keo Ropov.

The course asks students to work collaboratively to develop skills to answer specific challenges, and as part of this they were asked to respond to the demand from our Undivided Survey to include more international celebrations within our school calendar. The winning group designed a programme of events based around Cambodian New Year, a 3-day festival which begins in midApril. Whilst the students organised the making and sending of cards with Khmer and New Year craft items and educated the rest of the school about the festival in assembly, the main celebratory event was a water fight, just as it is in Cambodia! A gathering of house teams on the Paddock field, braved the cold grey April weather and had a whole lot of fun, playing team water games and ending with a free for all, causing much hilarity. The event raised money for both our school in Keo Ropov and Water Aid.

GIVING

RHSB alumna sings for M.E. charities Last December alumna Becca Hardcastle (RHSB 2019) put on a Christmas concert to raise money for Action for M.E. and The ME Association. For the virtual concert, Becca was joined by another Royal High alumna, Izzy Pinder, and many other friends, who also performed.

Becca has had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) since she was 15 and is passionate about supporting these two charities. She came up with the idea of the concert as a great way to get into the Christmas spirit without having to leave the house but the timing is also fitting as this time of year is extremely tough for many people with M.E. Many people with disabilities, chronic illnesses or energy limiting conditions are more likely than most to feel the negative repercussions of the cold.

Becca said: “I know from experience that living with M.E. especially when you’re young can have a massive impact on your life. It can be extremely hard doing simple everyday things that most people take for granted like going to school or even spending time with your family and friends. I’ve always loved singing and I used to perform in concerts at school before I got M.E. and I love fundraising, so I thought this would be the perfect way to combine the two.”

The concert raised £327.52.

The RHS team began warming up to play against a very strong and capable KES 1st VII. The atmosphere on court was amazing right from the get-go and gave the RHSB team so much support all the way through. RHSB led the way after the first quarter and stayed in the lead going into half time.

Charity Netball match with KES Last During the Spring, our fantastic 1st VII netball team competed in a charity netball match at KES this week, to raise funds for Moving Mountains Trust, an international charity working with disadvantaged children and communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal.

Match report from our Team Captain Jess:

Ukraine Community Day At the start of the year, a group of RHSB Sixth Formers, Georgia, Anja and Kathy, joined together with other Year 12 students across BANES to raise funds to send generators to Oleksandriya, Ukraine.

Oleksandriya is a city similar in size to Bath with 86,600 residents, and since the Russian hostilities it has become a place of refuge for over 11,700 displaced Ukrainian citizens migrating from war torn regions in the east of the country.

2,500 of these are children. This winter, the people of Oleksandriya suffered

Teachers get a soaking for WWF! Senior School students enjoyed taking part in a sponge the teacher event to raise funds for the WWF. 10 brave teachers took part while students enjoyed throwing soaking sponges at them for 50p a go. There was also a cake sale in the Sports Hall. All funds raised went towards the WWF’s adoption campaign.

Prep girls raise funds for Oceana Charity Our Prep School Ministers of Environment, who are part of our School Parliament, are passionate about the environment like many of our pupils and wanted to do something special to help.

At our last Prep School COP27 meeting, many of the girls expressed the desire to organise a fundraising event for Oceana,

Mr Benedict, Head of Sixth Form, had an *extremely* successful stint in the shoot-out at half time and during the third quarter RHSB stayed in the lead, but KES fought back in the fourth.

The game ended with an intense 4th quarter, the whole crowd on their feet, resulting in a 39-39 draw - a great game which raised a very worthwhile £230 for the Moving Mountains Trust. power outages caused by Russian military action, enduring freezing temperatures and limited light. So the students organised a community day at RHSB on Friday 24 February, commemorating a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, encouraging the whole community to take part in an own clothes Community day featuring the colours of the Ukrainian Flag. Parents made charity donations via ParentPay and the school catering team provided a special Ukrainian lunch.

The students also worked hard to encourage parents the RHSB community to purchase a ticket for a Bath Abbey concert to help raise money for the cause, whilst other RHSB students and families have been busy fundraising for Ukraine including Lottie from the Prep running a bake sale all on her own, raising an impressive £350 for British Ukraine Aid. a charity that protects the world’s oceans, and so held a cake sale. Many of them brought in some wonderful cakes, some of which were environmentally themed! Thanks to everyone’s efforts, over £100 was raised for this very worthwhile cause.

Year 5 Teacher Mrs Robson said “As a school we have a strong commitment to the environment so it is wonderful to see that from a very young age, our girls are already looking for ways to support environmental charities firmly espousing Greta Thunberg’s belief that ‘you are never too small to make a difference’.”

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GDST NEWS

Celebrating GDST The GDST Difference

150 years – celebrating a milestone in girls’ education Across the 25-strong network of GDST Schools, last Autumn we all came together for an Assembly to mark 150 years of the Girls’ Day School Trust and its founding ethos to help girls learn without limits.

Led by Chief Executive, Cheryl Giovannoni, we reflected on the vast number of students who have had a GDST education and now make up our 75,000+ strong alumnae. Our transformative Bursaries programme allows us to give a GDST education, regardless of a family’s circumstances - currently, we provide 1,100 of these life-changing bursaries nationwide. We heard from students across the network, including Alice in Year 6 at the Prep who spoke about what she believes a GDST girl to be.

The clearest, and most inspirational message of all was: “You are the generation who will go on to make our world a better place - not just for girls, but for us all.”

Cheryl Giovannoni, GDST Chief Executive

GDST Dance Competition Winners This year’s annual GDST Virtual Dance Competition saw wins for RHSB students in 4 categories: U11s Solo, first place for Etta - U11s Duo, second place for Louisa and Emmanuelle - U14s Group, third place for KS3 Dance Company, U19s Duo, second place for Freya and Olivia!

Well done girls!

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The GDST’s anniversary year has provided us with an opportunity to reflect on noteworthy achievements of the past and focus on how we continue to shape an unrivalled education for as many girls as possible. The Girls’ Futures Report was produced as a landmark national survey to mark this. Over 5,000 pupils in state and independent schools and academies across the UK shared what they believe lies ahead for them in their future personal and professional lives. This research provided clear evidence that girls do genuinely thrive, not just in a girls’ school, but in a GDST school, more than they might do anywhere else. GDST students are more passionate about pursuing leadership positions, more comfortable expressing their views and more able to look after their physical and mental wellbeing.

Our collective responsibility as a group of schools is to help girls learn without limits, so they can lead lives without limits.

“I’m lucky to go to a school that really values the aspirations of individual students - that is very uncommon.”– GDST student.

One brilliant example of the work done this year is around sustainability which is the green thread that runs through everything we do at the GDST. This term over 800 junior students from 22 GDST schools took part in the ‘Changing Climates Curriculum’, culminating in over 100 Year 6 students from 20 schools attending the inaugural GDST ‘We are One’ sustainability event at Wimbledon High School. Throughout the project, pupils were supported by their teachers and mentors to explore how they felt about climate change and to equip them with the skills and tools to engage constructively with environmental issues.

By embarking on this project, GDST schools are highlighting that challenging climate change is not about having ‘one winning idea’, but about recognising that each person has a vital part to play and that together, our actions can make lasting change.

GDST Senior Debating Competition This summer we were delighted to field a number of strong teams for the GDST Senior Debating Competition at South Hampstead High School. Five Year 12 girls – Catherine, Lily, Maddie, Annabel and Anja – each participated in their first ever British Parliamentary Debating tournament, and gave a great account of themselves in a very competitive contest against experienced debaters. Lily was named as the third best novice debater and Catherine won the award for best novice debater in the whole competition!

U14 winners at GDST Festival of Hockey Congratulations to our U14 Hockey team who were the winners of the Plate competition at this year’s GDST Festival of Hockey. It was a fantastic three days of hockey which saw over 250 girls competing in a Cup, Trophy and Plate competition playing against teams from 11 other GDST schools. Many thanks to Newcastle High School for hosting a great competition.

Jess selected for GDST Select Netball Squad We were thrilled that last Autumn current Head Girl, Jess, Year 13, was selected for the 12-player GDST Select Netball Squad after attending trials alongside fellow students Olivia, Isla and Imogen.

All four girls have been successful in being selected for the Team Bath Athlete Development Centres in Bristol and Bath.

Memories soon available online

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Whilst the digitalisation of the Royal School’s archives is nearing completion, digitalisation of Bath High School’s archive is well on the way, and we look forward to presenting progress to date at the next Bath High School Reunion on Saturday 16 March 2024.

To access the Royal School Digital Archives, please visit: https://www.theroyalschoolbatharchives.org.uk/ or Scan Me: Access is free to all alumnae, staff and students; click ‘request login details’ and complete the short form to gain entry.

Bath High School Trips to France

Drama at the Royal School

Do you know where and when these photos were taken? Can you identify anyone in the photos?

Do you know when these photos were taken? What was the production?

Can you identify anyone in the photos?

Photo 1 Photo 1 Photo 2

Photo 3 (second left : Celia Budge.

Far right: Yvonne Baldwin) Photo 2 Photo 4

Photo 5 Photo 3 All photo answers please to rhsalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net

ALUMNAE | 21

CATCH UP CORNER

Mary Weeks Millard (BHS 1952-1958) I came to BHS, joining the Upper Third in 1952, and left in December 1958 to work in microbiology in the Public Health Authority Laboratory after just a term in the Sixth Form. I was contacted once by the school after the Bath Chronicle reported I had been awarded the Gold Medal at University College Hospital, London in 1963. I was a nurse and midwife when I met my first husband in Uganda and, together, we served in the Congo as missionaries, returning to England later in life. After being widowed, I became a volunteer short-term missionary in Uganda and Rwanda. I am now in my 80’s but still writing and getting published, so feel hugely blessed. I write poetry, magazine articles, biographies and children’s stories and some of my memoirs are written in ‘Tracing the Golden Thread’, available through Onwards and Upwards Publishing as well as Amazon. I have many contacts in Bath although I now live in Weymouth with my second husband, Malcolm, and have three children and five grandchildren. You can find out more about my books on Face Book @Mary Weeks Millard Books.

Annabel Hood (RHSB 2014) After school and completing her IB, Annabel studied Jewellery and Silversmithing at the University of Edinburgh. Remembering Mr Preedy as a wonderful art teacher who let her do some wild pieces for her Higher Level Art IB, she is now a multi award winning silversmith with a focus in traditional hand engraving and currently developing her skills to become a shotgun engraver.

Annabel has just been awarded a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship for training in shotgun engraving.

Katy Coulthard (RHSB 2008) I am still serving with the Intelligence Corps and am currently based in Bulford.

My current role is Company Commander where I’m responsible for managing 35 soldiers and officers deliver combat intelligence to an Armoured Infantry Brigade (this is currently focussed on looking at the Ukraine conflict and seeing what lessons we can take from this). I’ve been in the Army since leaving university and have specialised in Military Intelligence with operational experience in Afghanistan, Somalia and Estonia.

Photo taken in front of the Estonian Ministry of Defence HQ in Tallinn. Katy on the right with her best friend.

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Emma Saunders née Carstairs (RHSB 1999) I moved back to the UK last year with my three girls after hard times in Hong Kong.

My husband is still there and luckily we are now able to go back and forth more often. I had started my business in Hong Kong during Covid, looking at helping with stress management for individuals, families and companies but, in particular, using a wonderful practice called TRE (Tension/Trauma releasing exercise).

It is a fantastic tool that helps with the release of stress and tension in our bodies that in turn helps with regulating our nervous system. The business took off in Hong Kong due to Covid and the stress people were encountering there, and with the move I have been slowly getting the business up and running here and am starting to introduce and share my experience of this practice. It is one that has helped me, my children and family in turn and I would absolutely love to share it further. I think it is an incredible tool for us all to have on hand to help with the stress we encounter on a daily basis as well as to let go of stress we’ve held in our bodies since we were young. I especially believe that it is a helpful technique for children to learn and has been a wonderful one for my eldest daughter who has ADHD and suffers with anxiety. Seeing the changes and affect it has on calming her nervous system has been truly incredible.

Link to my website: Creative Calm to find out more.

Scan or click here.

CATCH UP CORNER

Carol Beaumont (RS 1998) Carol is delighted to share that Edith Beatriz Beaumont arrived 11th May 2023 and could not be more thrilled!

Scarlet England (RHSB 2022) My first year after school began as a full-time waitress for six months to save up for my ‘Trip around the World’. Initially I didn’t have much of an idea what that was going to be but by Christmas 2022 my good friend Lily Norman (RHSB 2022) and I had a plan!

Dr Laura Toogood (RHSB 2003) On 4 August, Royal High School Bath, GDST alumna Laura Toogood (Class of 2003) rode in the Markel Magnolia Cup at Glorious Goodwood, a prestigious all-women charity race, helping raise over a staggering £50,000 for the Education Above All Foundation to support educating girls in Malawi.

Having never previously sat on a professional racehorse, this is a monumental achievement. You can read all about Laura’s seven months of preparation for the race, with all its highs and lows, condensed into 90 seconds of racing in The Gallop to Goodwood, an editorial series authored by Laura in The Sloaney, the luxury lifestyle publication of which she is founder and editor.

Six different countries in five and a half months. Two RHS girls leaving as 18-year-olds and coming back as very broke 19-year-olds, with incredible tans and a boatload of stories and laughs. We began in Indonesia where we spent time on Bali and Gili Trawangan and passed our Open Water and Advanced diving courses. Next stop was Australia where we spent two months journeying up the east coast via Greyhound buses where highlights were: seeing a performance at Sydney Opera House on our first night for only £20; getting everyone dancing in a bar on Airlie beach, swimming in Noosa Heads; and working on a liveaboard boat on the outer Great Barrier Reef whilst diving every day!

Next stop was Queensland, New Zealand encompassing a mixture of paragliding and throwing shapes at a silent disco. Then onto Mexico where we made, and ate, our way through the Yucatán peninsula and then over to the Oaxacan region and on to Puebla and Mexico City. A real highlight was visiting Chichen Itzá which was incredible!

It is now June and we are in Costa Rica, climbing to the bases of volcanoes, walking on old lava and spending hours in natural hot springs. Our final month will take us to the east coast’s beaches and then to New York City for ten days to finish the trip off. It’s been an absolute blast meeting so many people and learning so many lessons – especially after COVID lockdowns! We are both so grateful to have been able to do all of this and to have done it together!

Huge congratulations to Laura – what an inspirational journey!! When not hurtling around the racecourse, Laura is an awardwinning digital and social media expert, author and media commentator and was shortlisted for the GDST Alumna of the Year Award in 2016.

Link to The Gallop to Goodwood.

Scan or click here.

ALUMNAE | 23

CATCH UP CORNER

Daisy John (RHSB 2022) I have completed my first year of university at UCL and I have absolutely loved learning in London and being in such a busy and exciting city! It has also been exciting to get involved with all of the opportunities such a big university has to offer, and I have joined a variety

of societies, like concert band and legal technology, which have been really fun and allowed me to meet more people! This year has also marked the beginning of my legal studies, and I have greatly enjoyed learning more about the legislative framework of the UK and adapting to studying a subject so different from that at school. I have also had a lot of fun taking part in legal competitions, like mooting and negotiations, which have allowed me to visit the supreme court and be judged by solicitors at top firms. It has been fascinating to learn more about the world of commercial law through work experience and exciting to visit all of the London offices. After such a great year and gaining a spot on the law society committee, I am looking forward to the year ahead!

Eliza Hyde (RHSB 2022) I have loved almost every minute of my time at Cardiff Medical School so far; in fact, I think it’s been the best year of my life. The friendships I have made at university are already some of the strongest I have and we are currently preparing for a backpacking trip to Bali.

I am loving studying Medicine, especially being on placement but I’ve also taken the opportunity to try out lots of societies such as the Wilderness and Expedition Medicine Society. This has involved a coachload of medics but also English and Law students dragging themselves away from the Taff (SU pub) to the midst of the Brecon Beacons to learn about emergency medicine! I have also taken up running since starting university and am due to be taking part in my first Half Marathon in October.

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Salisa Tuck (RHSB 2022) Having started training last January in Thailand, Salisa has not only undertaken her first solo flight but has also passed her Skills Test and is now a fully licensed Ultralight Pilot. Quite an achievement since the airfield in Thailand where she trained has a short runway with obstacles at each end, and the plane she’s been training on has to be properly flown to make good landings. Her father, also a pilot, has shared with school that ‘Salisa’s time at RHSB was of great benefit in her journey of personal development, for which the school has our enduring gratitude; flying is very much intertwined with self-reliance and positive mental attitude.’ Salisa will begin her Journalism studies at Goldsmith in the Autumn.

IN MEMORY Jessie Bell (Former Staff, RS 1971-1983) Former Royal School housemistress, Jessie Bell, sadly died peacefully in a care home in Hove on 18 February 2023, aged 95, having struggled with Macular Degeneration for twenty years.

Helen Robson, neé Peatfield (RS 1962-1968) Helen attended The Royal School with her sister Maggie, and was a Prefect. She enjoyed singing in the choir and sang for the school’s centenary pageant. Helen was awarded the Beatrice Murchison Scholarship and The Capper Travelling Scholarship in 1968. After school, Helen read Spanish at Bristol University, later achieving her master’s degree. She enjoyed teaching Spanish and became a senior lecturer in Advice Studies at Staffordshire University.

Helen was always very independent, no doubt due to her boarding school experience. She loved languages and travelling widely including to her apartment in Spain. She was a loved wife of Brian and a wonderful mother to three children; Christopher, Caroline and Melanie. Helen was a treasured Granny to eight grandchildren with whom she was very involved, in particular with Melanie’s eldest who has cerebral palsy and is a full-time wheelchair user who she regularly took swimming, horse riding and to gymnastics for the disabled.

Helen sadly passed away on 28 January 2023, after battling leukaemia for two years, with her family around her at home.

Jessie Bell joined RS in 1971, first looking after the girls in Lawrence before moving across to Newland in 1975, where she remained as housemistress until 1983.

During this time, she wore additional hats including assistant to the Bursar as well as careers and entertainments. She was dedicated to the girls in her care and took pride in providing a stable, familial environment; felt most warmly perhaps in Newland where I, Janet Bell, came to live, having left my boarding school to attend Bath High School. Our dachshunds, Sacha and Pippa, were very much part of the extended Newland family.

In 1983, my mother moved to Brighton, where she had grown up, to pursue a new business venture but she made many lifelong friends at the School and never forgot the girls, and indeed many of the parents, speaking of them frequently even into her 90s. Her time at RS was a highly valued period in both of our lives. In tribute, the family has set up a Justgiving page in aid of the Macular Society: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ jessiebell The photo below was taken at a Christmas party at Newland (possibly 1976). I wonder who may recognise themselves? Mrs Bell is in the long red dress alongside the treasured Miss Bone!

Janet Bell (BHS 1982)

Esmé Muriel Annie Robbins, neé Murray (BHS 1939-1945) Esmé, who was a student at the High School during and immediately after WWII. died peacefully on New Year’s Eve. She was intensely proud of her time at school in Bath and away from Bath during evacuation. Esmé has shared many stories and it was a compelling formative part of an incredible long life well lived.

During her time at the school, Esmé was friendly with Yvonne Tyler (now deceased) and Ruth Bone who was a few years younger. Mum was in the school guide pack with Ruth and they last met when they attended their teacher ‘Boultie’s’ funeral a few years ago. Esmé was also friendly with the daughter of Emperor Hailie Selassie, Princess Aida Desta, who I believe she met at the school.

Esmé graduated in Geography from Girton College, Cambridge and was later upgraded to an MA when the University’s policy for women graduates changed in the 1990s. As one of the first cohort there was a great fuss and rightly so. I still retain Mum’s letters from Miss Blackburn sent to congratulate her on her graduation, excellent school certificate result and the tragic loss of her brother Bill during the war, through tetanus on an agricultural camp in Devon.

Mum always enjoyed hearing about the school and receiving your annual Christmas card. In the adjoining photograph Esmé is shown in her 95th year in the summer of 2021. She was thankfully able to live out her last years at her home in North Somerset.

Murray Robbins (son) ALUMNAE | 25

IN MEMORY

Margaret Leach (Former Staff, BHS 1974 to 1995) As a friend and colleague of Margaret Leach’s, I never experienced her in the classroom. Allow me, therefore, to quote one of my former German A-level students, Vanessa, now a lawyer in Frankfurt: ‘Mrs Leach was a great teacher. She was able to impart her knowledge to us so well and in an inspiring and stimulating way. I remember her lessons to this day, and it is one of my greatest regrets that I did not do Geography A-Level.’

When I joined Bath High School in the 1970s, I had no idea how girls’ grammar schools in England functioned. Given my Swiss background I blithely used the term ‘lazy’ in a school report – horror of horrors! It was Margaret Leach who very gently introduced me to the subtleties of the appropriate language, not something you learn as part of a degree at Zurich University. Her guidance proved invaluable.

In terms of discipline, we had much in common; indeed, we eventually became known as the ‘ice dragon’ and the ‘fire dragon’, an effective double act.

Margaret was highly organised and totally reliable, which made her the perfect accompanying member of staff on school trips: Berlin, Prague, Leningrad, Moscow – you name it, she was game. And always, always managed to keep me from going OTT, mainly by using her keen sense of humour.

She had great taste. Her clothes were carefully assorted, lots of subtle colours, Christine Doyle (former staff, BHS 1987 to RHSB 2001)

Former English Teacher, Chris Doyle, sadly passed away in hospital on 8 June. Chris taught at Bath High School from 1987 until 1998 and then at Royal High School Bath until her retirement in 2001.

Remembered as a wonderful colleague and an extremely witty person, Miss Margaret Winfield (Former Head: BHS 1985-1998, RHSB 1998-2000) shares her tribute: 26 | ALUMNAE

It was a real privilege for me to have known and worked with Chris Doyle for 13 years. The warmth of her personality and her engaging smile endeared her to all who knew her, both staff and students alike. She was a much-valued member of the English department, never stinting the amount of time and effort she gave. Her pupils trusted her and she brought the best out of them – not only academically, but as people. Her gentle, persuasive manner never lacked rigour, always enabling her students to achieve the very best they could. She had the gift of being able to communicate her love of literature to all her students, something

turquoise, pale blue, pink. Indeed, our Head of Art referred to her as ‘the pastel perfection’.

Privately, quietly, Margaret built up a remarkable collection of art, paintings, ceramics, glassware, all carefully chosen, all quite exquisite.

Margaret sadly passed away on 31 May 2023 and is survived by her lovely daughter, Emma, another clever former BHS girl, and Emma’s partner, David, both of whom share Margaret’s sense of humour, her good taste, and her compassion.

From Barbara Fox (Former Staff, BHS 1973-1998, RHSB 1998-2000) I was privileged to work with Margaret Leach for ten years until she retired in 1995. She set the highest standards in all she did and expected nothing less from her students. Her deep love and knowledge of her subject was infectious and quickly communicated to those she taught. Her interests were wide and varied; she shared these generously and we all benefited. She freely gave her time and her talents to the School and no-one could have been more supportive. I had the greatest respect for her judgement, born out of wisdom and long service to the School. She was a person of the greatest integrity and although we have all lost a wonderful colleague, teacher and friend, the memory of her personality and all she means to each and every one of us will always remain.

From Miss Margaret Winfield (Former Head: BHS 1985-1998, RHSB 1998-2000) they will appreciate throughout their lives.

Her interests were wide and cultured and freely shared. Chris’ loyalty to the school and her students was exemplary and we all owe her a great debt of gratitude for all she contributed to our community. She leaves an enduring legacy to her students and her colleagues as a truly principled and fine teacher and one who was much loved and respected. Our thoughts are with her husband, Bill, for whom this loss is incalculable.

SUPPORT US HOW TO MAKE A GIFT The simplest way to make a single or regular gift is online where you can opt to support RHSB’s Bursaries and Assistance Fund, projects at the School’s discretion or RHSB’s Opportunities Fund. www.gdst.net/donate/RHSBath

A GIFT IN YOUR WILL: Leaving a legacy gift to Royal High School Bath is a simple way of supporting girls in the future and ensuring that the school continues to thrive.

If you let us know that you plan to leave a gift in your will, you will become a member of the GDST’s Minerva Circle. www.gdst.net/support/gdst-legacy Email: RHSalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net

‘Having a bursary has changed my life in so many ways. As a passionate musician this bursary has given me the opportunity to indulge in my extra-curricular activities and experience masterclasses with world renowned pianists all thanks to this programme. I am so fortunate to attend this prestigious Independent school as it’s given me an access to great education, supported by the amazing staff team, here at Royal High. I feel very honoured to be in such a diverse and inclusive school and by being enrolled in this school, I have learnt many skills that I can apply to my future.

Without this bursary, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. It has inspired me to persevere in life and be thankful for what I have and what I have achieved.’

Kopikha, Year 11 2022-2023

ALUMNAE | 27

Upcoming Open Days

Have you considered RHSB for your daughter?

Join us for an Open House to find out more about a Royal High School Bath education today: Wednesday 21 February: Prep and Senior Schools Wednesday 13 March: Prep and Senior Schools Wednesday 1 May: Prep and Senior Schools

CONTACT POINT

HOW TO KEEP UP TO DATE Nearly all our communications are by email, so if you want to stay in contact do please send us your email address by dropping us a line at rhsalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net or by updating your details on the alumnae portal at www.gdst.net/alumnae/portal HOW WE LOOK AFTER AND USE YOUR DATA We promise that your details are safe with us – you can view our privacy policy at www.royalhighbath.gdst.net/privacy-policy. You can choose how you hear from us by updating your details on the alumnae portal. @rhsalumnae

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH rhsalumnae@rhsb.gdst.net | Tel.: 01225 313877

Royal High Bath Alumnae Network

All enquiries by post to: Francesca Orr, Alumnae and Community Liaison Officer.

Royal High School Bath, Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5SZ.

Royal High School Bath