St Catherine's Non Nobis Newsletter Summer 2013

DIARY DATES 2013 Friday 21st June Reunion for Leavers & Former Staff of 1990s Friday 21st June - 19.30 Middle School Summer Concert Auditorium Thursday 27th & Friday 28th June - 19.30 Sixth Form Musical – Oliver - Auditorium Saturday 29th June - 09.00-12.00 Prep. School Open Day Monday 1st July - 09.30-11.00 Grandparents’ Coffee Morning - Prep. School Wednesday 3rd July & Thursday 4th July 3rd at19.00 and 4th at 09.15/19.00 Lower 3 Production - Auditorium Saturday 6th July Speech Day (10.00) & Open Day (14.00) Wednesday 10th July - 17.00 Sound of Music Pre-Tour Concert Holy Trinity Church, Bramley Sunday 8th September Association Day - (please see enclosed flyer)

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ISSUE 19 | SUMMER 2013

Nobis THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ST CATHERINE’S ASSOCIATION

Golden Girls’ Lunch Reunion of 1930s, 1940s & 1950s Leavers

On Friday 17th May 2013 we were absolutely delighted to be joined by over 80 Old Girls who came from across the UK, Italy, Sweden and the USA for this very special reunion. See page 10 for further details.

Friday 27th September - 17.00-21.00 Sixth Form Open Evening Anniversary Halls & Auditorium Tuesday 1st October - 19.00-21.00 Association Biennial Careers Forum Sports Hall Tuesday 8th October Recital at Guildford Institute - TBC Thursday 17th October - 19.30 The King’s Singers Concert - Auditorium Saturday 19th October - 18.00 Senior Chamber Choir Seafarers’ Concert, G-Live Wednesday 23rd October - TBC Senior Cantores Sing Evensong, Salisbury Cathedral

Prospective Parents’ events Senior School Thursday 12th September 2013 Tuesday 8th October 2013 Wednesday 13th November 2013 Boarding Information Evening TBC (please check the website)

Zena Skinner (Leaver 1944) (Left) and Eileen Symonds (née Buxton) (Leaver 1931)

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Prep. School Registrar Annie Daniell 01483 899 665 annie.daniell@stcatherines.info

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For further information contact: Senior School Registrar Judy Corben 01483 899 609 judy.corben@stcatherines.info

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Careers Forum Appeal for Volunteers Tuesday 1st October The Biennial Careers Forum is being held on Tuesday 1st October from 7-9pm and we are appealing for parents and Old Girls to participate in this event. We have had a good response so far but would still be extremely grateful for more volunteers. It is a great opportunity for the girls to find out more about the world of work and get useful and pertinent information about a wide variety of professions. The Forum is for girls in U4-U6 and the aim is to offer them help and guidance when choosing subjects and university courses if they wish to pursue a particular career.

Participation is not onerous and very little preparation is required. If you can help, please get in touch by emailing: fran.flammiger@stcatherines.info.

“It was an excellent evening and each member of the panel was able to contribute. I think it would be very helpful if some of the parents could actually offer work experience as not all the girls have contacts.” (Parent) “I think that the Careers Forum was definitely worth attending; I liked how all the speakers were very honest about the positives and negatives of their jobs as well as giving a clear insight into what they do every day and how dynamic their work really is.” (L6)

It’s a man’s world… or is it?!

Sam Roper (Leaver 2004) will be coming back to school in July 2013 to give the End of Term Lecture to the Senior School. Here she shares some highlights of her career so far in the male-dominated world of Private Security.

Sam writes: Private Security was not a field of work I knew anything about until I joined Control Risks in 2009 after graduating from the University of Nottingham, where I studied French, Spanish and Portuguese. Control Risks is a global risk consultancy that helps clients to operate in complex and hostile environments.

My job is perhaps a little unusual. Firstly, it allows for lots of travel. In my four years with the company, I have spent two living in Paris and, since moving back to London and taking on an Africa-focused operational role, I have travelled to Chad, Libya, Tunisia, Niger, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. Secondly, I work in a male-dominated field.

Rather than attempt to describe what I do, which I still can’t sum up succinctly in a few sentences, I thought I’d share some anecdotes (and difficulties) with you, explaining what working for Control Risks is like…

Being a girl is probably the biggest challenge.

In November 2012 I turned up at a mining site in northern Niger to carry out a security review of a company’s operations. Most clients would expect to see a burly ex-army bloke with a couple of ill-advised tattoos and a lot of muscle step off the plane. I suppose I would, too. This is after all their ‘world’ and many ex-military personnel work in Private Security upon leaving the forces. I have inadvertently set about turning that opinion on its head and am quite enjoying it….

This particular client greeted me with a ‘You can not be serious.’ Oh I was. After their initial shock at realising Sam was actually a girl with blonde hair, they got over their surprise and it was a good few days - if I can ignore the fact that I had to walk from my tin shack room across a courtyard filled with armed guards just to get to the loo. It wasn’t long before they were bored of seeing me every 5 mins…

Note from the Editor Welcome to my first issue of Non Nobis.

The newsletter is only as interesting as the information I receive, so please send me any news/views/stories/photos you have. We are always delighted to receive announcements for the school magazine. Email me at dawn.pilkington@stcatherines.info

Non

Nobis

Non Nobis Domine!

Not unto us, O Lord, The praise or glory be...

The opening of the school hymn Rudyard Kipling

On another trip I turned up at the airport to find my colleague being harassed by security for having packed deodorant in his carry-on bag. The fact that they totally ignored the massive steam iron he’d also packed got me thinking about their priorities…and his.

I have somehow ended up with a knack of being granted visa extensions for bizarre African countries and am quickly becoming very familiar with Air France’s flight schedule. I even had the chance to fly a fixed-wing aircraft (admittedly the pilot had override on) across the Sahara desert.

However, despite the challenges I have been to some fascinating places, met interesting people and learnt a huge amount in the process. It hasn’t always been easy but I love what I do and, as the client in Niger found out, there is nothing more satisfying than turning expectations upside down!

End of Term Lecture Many thanks to Colin Pearce, father of Alice Pearce (L5), who generously arranged an enlightening talk for us in March 2013 from Clare Graham.

She gave a lecture on her involvement in the recent excavation of Richard III’s remains in Leicester. Having graduated from the University of Southampton in 2003, Clare joined the SUMO Group and was able to offer a fascinating insight into the changing world of the technological and geophysical techniques used in excavation work. With particular reference to the recent high-profile case of the last Plantagenet king, Clare, in explaining the level of research required before any trenches could be dug, presented a fascinating perspective on the timeconsuming yet rewarding career of archaeology. Of particular interest to many was her account of some of the forensic work she has also been involved in as a result of her degree, working alongside the police in various murder cases.

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Far Eastern Travels

Earlier this year Mrs Christine Silver (Business Manager) and Mrs Lorinda Munro-Faure (Head of Boarding) travelled East. Mrs Munro-Faure accompanied this year’s St Catherine's, Bramley girls on the exchange programme with St Catherine's, Melbourne and Mrs Silver met with Alumnae in Singapore and Perth before they joined forces in Hong Kong to host a St Catherine's reception. This was held at the Intercontinental Hotel with grateful thanks to Nigel Stocks and was attended by 36 guests including prospective parents, current parents and alumnae. Former parent Mrs Susanna Mok kindly organised a photographer to record the evening for the School. Mrs Silver and Mrs Munro-Faure spent their final evening informally with alumnae Sam Kitson aand Bryony Gibbs.

son Hartley at the Singapore National Museum.

Later she met with Old Girl Mrs Sarah Minto (née Sturt, 1985 Leaver), a current parent Ms Tang and prospective parents at the Intercontinental in Singapore, sharing with them a photo montage and news from St Catherine's, Bramley.

In Perth Mrs Silver met up with Sam Long (2003), Sian Williams (2004), Monique O'Connor (1980), Tania Graham-Brown (2007) and Katherine Adams (2005) catching up with the girls, exchanging reminiscences and current news of staff, students and buildings and enjoying the wonderful Australian hospitality with outdoor cooking and excellent company.

Mrs Silver met Charlotte Wright (née Hubbard, Leaver 1999) and her young Ch

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ht Additional images at www.stcatherines.info/association-gallery

St cat’s girls down under This is the sixth year that we have had an exchange with St Catherine’s, Melbourne and the girls from both schools really enjoy the experience and learn a lot about themselves while experiencing life in another country. This year Lauren Heffernan, Ellie-Ming Ratzke, Hennie Fooks and Connie Curme made the long journey to Australia where they spent the Spring Term continuing their studies. This term they are hosting Missy Bolt, Sam Leigh, Ruby Smith and Georgia Caine at St Catherine’s, Bramley.

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St Catherine’s Presents...

In the Spotlight ...

The King’s Singers Thursday 17th October 2013 at 7.30pm Auditorium of the Anniversary Halls We are delighted to announce that one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles, The King’s Singers, will be performing at St Catherine’s in the first of our series of events for the 2013-14 season. The world famous sextet has a packed schedule of concerts, recordings, media and education work that spans the globe. Selected St Catherine’s pupils will be fortunate enough to benefit from an exclusive workshop run by the singers in the afternoon. The concert programme comprises works from The Great American Songbook, which is their latest CD planned for release in October.

Tickets are £20 and can be reserved by emailing association@stcatherines.info but book early to avoid disappointment.

There is no need to pay until September and we will contact you nearer the time.

‘Elfrida’ - a Medieval Film While Carly Brown (Leaver 2009) is in her final year studying English literature she is also producing and directing a Medieval film, ‘Elfrida’ with her University TV Station (SUSUtv, Southampton). This is a very ambitious project for the volunteers who are building on the success of their last work, a Jane Austen-styled period drama, which won an award at the Union’s Excellence in Volunteering Awards and was shortlisted for Best Drama at the National Student TV Awards.

‘Elfrida’ tells the story of a woman’s quest for revenge after the brutal murder of her lover at the hands of a king. Based on true events and in collaboration with the Theatre, Music & History Societies, this Medieval revenge drama contains sword fighting, archery, horse riding, falconry and

castles. SUSUtv is an award-winning television station with many of its members looking to build a future career in the film and TV industry.

The aim of this project is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to gain experience working on a near-professional film set, both behind and in front of the camera, as it can be very difficult to gain this experience elsewhere.

The group has been fundraising to enable it to produce such a high-quality film and has had support from the University of Southampton and the Students’ Union which has enabled it to start the project and get filming underway. If you would like to support the group you can find out more at: www.sponsume.com/project/elfrida-short-film

Classical Music meets Rap Georgina Harris (Leaver 2007) writes: Before I went to music college, quite a few people asked me what in the world I would do with a performance degree but I have managed to find quite a lot to keep me busy and I am really enjoying all the opportunities that I have been given.

Members of Tir Eolas

including filming a Burberry Acoustic video at sunset on a balcony overlooking St Paul's Cathedral – check out the video at www.youtube. com/watch?v=agqu6XAjpIA.

Whilst at the Royal College of Music, as well as classical playing on the viola, I experienced some more modern, improvised and folk styles. I really enjoyed this type of performance and found myself playing for a singer/songwriter called Roo Panes and in a folk band made up of students at the RCM called Tir Eolas.

With Tir Eolas, I have played in The Elgar Room at The Royal Albert Hall, Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's and last year at Bestival. We have recently been offered a residency at Ronnie's and start in August. We also work for a charity called Live Music Now which sends us into hospitals, retirement homes and special needs schools to put on interactive performances and workshops.

I love these opportunities as we get to play our music to a variety of audiences.

I have done numerous gigs with Roo over the past four years including one at Kensington Palace and the Songbird Festival in Rotterdam.

Last year we supported The Staves and Ben Howard and more recently Luke Sital-Singh. We have been busy recording in North London and a few months ago we found ourselves in a studio next door to One Direction! We have two CDs out at the moment and another to be released in the summer. Roo was the face of Burberry last season and this led to many exciting opportunities

I have also managed to do quite a bit of session work and have recently recorded for Michael Kiwanuka's new album. I have also worked with two rappers over the past year called Akala and Rizwan Ahmed. In the studio they played me a track and asked me just to play along with it! Slightly nerve wracking! I found it really interesting trying to apply the classical sound of my viola on top of the rap – not something I thought I would have to do when I left Music College with a classical degree!

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INALA - a Zulu Ballet

Pietra Mello-Pitman (Leaver 2001), First Artist Royal Ballet Covent Garden, is producing a 60-minute ballet called INALA through her company Sisters Grimm. It will be performed by a highly-acclaimed group of artists including Grammy award-winning, platinum-selling Ladysmith Black Mambazo, renowned classical composer Ella Spira, internationally prominent choreographer Mark Baldwin (the artistic director of Rambert Dance company) and nine world-class dancers from the Royal Ballet and Rambert Dance company including Dane Hurst, Mbuleo Ndabeni and Olivier award-winning Edward Watson.

INALA is a stunningly beautiful fusion of South African and Western cultures and will have its world premiere at Festivals in Summer 2014 before a string of dates at Sadler’s Wells in September 2014.

We wish Pietra every success with this exciting project and more information can be found on her production company website www.sisters-grimm.co.uk

Sia Berkeley at the Old Vic

Sia Berkeley aka Sarah Wilson (Leaver 2003), has just finished a run at the Old Vic in London. She played Miss Barnes, a visiting reporter, in The Winslow Boy by Tererence Rattigan alongside Henry Goodman and Peter Sullivan. The play was directed by Olivier award-winner Lindsay Posner and received five star reviews. To quote Kate Kellaway, in her review for The Observer, ‘Sia Berkeley as a visiting reporter behaves like a mindless humming bird, keen on her human interest story – but also a roaming omnivore, making notes in wonky shorthand about the décor.’

BurntOut’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Clemmie Reynolds (Leaver 2006) has formed her own theatre company called BurntOut. Whilst studying English at Bristol, Clemmie directed numerous plays and after graduating with a First she went on to do a foundation year at RADA (2011-2012). However, in her own words, she “quickly became ‘burntout’ with the apparent impenetrability of the acting world, particularly for women, and so decided to make my own work”. Her vision for BurntOut is to bring accessible productions of Shakespeare to historic and unusual venues outside London, whilst raising funds and awareness for worthy charities.

In May 2012 she put on her first production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the Countess of Harrowby who was looking for someone to put on a play in the beautiful grounds of her Burnt Norton home, and to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her husband, sadly, had died of MS.

Through ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Burnt Norton, and a London run in December in Chelsea, BurntOut Theatre raised almost £9,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and gained fantastic reviews – “The tumultuous reception was well-deserved as Miss Reynolds successfully incorporated traditional elements, including the use of Elizabethan costume, with unconventional staging (the cast flitted from the aisles, balconies and pews of the church), all together creating an innovative production which by no means lost the magic of the original story.” Kensington & Chelsea Magazine.

“Truly exceptional.” Prue Leith.

At the beginning of June 2013 BurntOut are staging ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to raise money for The Wintershall Charitable Trust with 50% of the profits going to the charity.

The production will take place in the stunning grounds of Wintershall, home of the nationally renowned ‘Life of Christ’. It will be a traditional production in Elizabethan dress, but will be a promenade performance, with actors leading the audience through the gardens and woodlands; it will feature an original musical score throughout by young emerging composer James Reynolds.

Judith Hilvert, former Head of Drama at St Catherine’s, is also helping with the production.

More information about the performances at Wintershall, how to book tickets and other venues for Clemmie’s 2013 Summer Open-Air Shakespeare Tour can be found on her website www.burntouttheatre.co.uk

Performing for Jan Murray Alex White (Director of Prep. School Music) writes: The finale of our Prep. School Spring Concert was a piece by Thomas HewittJones called ‘All-weather friends’. He had been commissioned by Jan Murray (Leaver 1965) of Churchill Music to write a piece for all ages to sing, based on the Olympic values. This was then published by Boosey and Hawkes and brought to my attention

by Katherine Stocks. I warmed to one of the pieces written for primary aged children and decided to teach it to the whole of the Prep. School (7 - 11 year olds) to sing as a finale. It was a challenge to learn, with no repeating musical or word phrases that were identical. But we managed and gave a lovely performance on Thursday 21st March 2013 in the Auditorium. We were very honoured that Jan came to the concert driving all the way up from the West Country to listen to us.

Jan was thrilled to be asked to the concert: “WOW! Last night was simply wonderful.

What those children are achieving is nothing short of the tops! The opportunities that they are getting are gifts for life; the inspirational music teaching that clearly engulfs them underpins the whole ethos of ‘education’. Bravo St Catherine’s, if I may be so bold.”

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Cats of all ages strut the Big Cat Walk y Guttridge mod Jenn ellin gj ew e

The raffle at the interval raised £265 in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust and allowed us to enter a video of Cassie’s performance into the Time for Talent, South East Region Competition, organised by the Teenage Cancer Trust. This was to raise much-needed funds for those being treated at the largest and most impressive state-of-the art 13 bed specialist cancer unit at The Royal Marsden in Surrey. The competition was open to children from schools in the region aged 14 to 18. The winner would perform at Dumbfest and enjoy a day in a recording studio.

The five finalists in St Cat’s Got Talent were introduced very amusingly by Charlotte Owens and Annie Cole who also strutted beautifully in their onesies. Judging was very difficult for the panel of three teachers, Miss Jeans, Mr Greenfield and Mr Wright.

Catriona Jones commented, “Gosh, hasn’t the fashion show changed since I took part in it in 2008! The whole night was professionally put together – with hilarious commentators - and the idea to mix in ‘St Catherine’s Got Talent’ was very refreshing. I loved putting together the outfits from Day Birger et Mikkelsen, and the girls looked stunning on the catwalk. Overall it was a great night, and an honour to be back!”

Catriona Jones - Day Birger

This year’s St Cat’s Got Talent final took place on 8th March at The Big Cat Walk, St Catherine’s annual fashion event. Miss Cassie Jackson, aged 15, brought the house down with her rendition of Alicia Key’s Some people want it all while playing the keyboard.

She was absolutely amazing and there was a standing ovation when she was crowned the winner of St Cat’s Got Talent 2013.

The evening was a huge success and the Charities Board, made up of girls from Upper and Lower 6, raised over £4,000 for St Catherine’s Nairobi and the Magnet School in Kenya. Well done, ladies!

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St Cat’s Got Talent!

We were really excited to have so many Old Girls involved in this year’s Big Cat Walk fashion show and St Cat’s Got Talent evening on the 8th March.

We would like to thank Catriona Jones (2008) who works at Day Birger, Scarlett Eley (2004) who has opened her new shop Lemonlase, Amy Hawkshaw(1998) who owns Inkwell & Ivy, Lauren Westwood (2000) who owns Westwood Rocks, Jenny Guttridge (2010) for her modelling and Hattie Carne (2010) with her father’s salon John Carne.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the organisation and mature attitude towards the show. The girls looked amazing on the catwalk in our clothes and I was honoured to be asked to help. I look forward to being a part of it again next year.” Scarlett Eley Amy Hawkswell - Inkwell & Ivy

Cassie’s performance went down really well with the judges and came in a very impressive third place.

House Singing Competition Congratulations to Merriman, led by their music prefects Grace Miller and Lucy Walker, who won the 2013 house singing competition for the first time in over 35 years.

This annual house event is a must for parents and Old Girls alike and now it is held in the Auditorium and the Sports Hall there are no issues with space so everyone is welcome to come along.

Scarlett Eley - Lemonlase

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Prep School News NEPAL2013

House Logo Competition The house system at St Catherine’s Prep. School is of great importance to school life. Whether the girls are in Teresa, Pankhurst or Curie, strong house loyalty and goodnatured rivalry is very apparent.

The healthy competition between the houses gives all the girls an opportunity to participate in representative sport, music and other activities with the aim of raising self-esteem, developing self-confidence and giving opportunities for teamwork.

With this in mind the Prep. School launched a competition for the girls to design a logo for their house. The girls went home with a design sheet and some guidelines to follow. The logo had to: • • • •

have a link with the house name be simple and striking have some of the house colours on it include no words on the design.

There were over 100 entries and it was a tough decision to choose a winner from each house. Winners, as pictured, are Poppy Brown (FI) for Pankhurst, Caitlin Gardner (LIII) for Teresa and Maddison Nash (UII) for Curie.

Chess Championships 2012/13 Staff at St Catherine’s were delighted with the tremendous success of this unprecedented and momentous event. Competitors, teachers and parents battled against the elements to participate in the ECF National Schools Chess Championship for Girls, which was the largest event of its kind. There was a focused, yet amicable and supportive, atmosphere throughout the competition, and when not playing, pupils discussed tactics, effective strategies and openly shared their love of chess. Some, who had been taking note of each individual move during a game, were debriefed carefully and advised by their dedicated team managers, several of whom were Grand Masters.

Away from the intensity and excitement of match play, girls could be found stretching their intellect by solving different types of logic puzzles and riddles in their team bases. It was lovely to see students work collaboratively and it brought together girls of different ages and backgrounds with a common passion. It was clear to all that, in an age where instant gratification through multimedia is omnipresent, chess, which demands extended periods of concentration, still continues to enthuse and captivate even the youngest of minds. This multifarious game facilitates a development of rational and analytical thinking, which undoubtedly has positive implications for learning in general. Our girls were certainly concentrating hard throughout the day to improve their skills and they secured some impressive wins.

Senior and Prep. School competitors from St Catherine’s performed splendidly and we’d like to congratulate the St Catherine’s Senior B team on progressing to the final. The St Catherine’s chess players all agreed that it was an exciting venture and that they had benefited greatly from this unique and fun experience.

“The semi-final of the ECF National Schools Chess Championship for Girls, was a tournament that I won’t forget. It was a brilliant experience, to play individually and as a team for St Catherine’s School. The day was fantastic, and girls of all levels were there, so I managed to play worldranked players, even though I am a beginner. I learnt skills and tactics from others and it was fun to socialise with other girls’ schools that enjoy chess too. The day was challenging, but one that I wouldn’t want to miss, if the opportunity came around again.” Alice Jones L5

Prep. School Headmistress, Naomi Bartholomew, along with her colleagues Wendy Gibbs, Lesley Taylor and Annie Daniell, set off on an exciting trek in Nepal over the Easter break. Following the first section of the route to Everest base camp, the eight day trek climbed to approximately 4,000 metres. The trip was organised in order to raise funds for AGE (A Genuine Effort) Nepal – a school in Kathmandu which provides education and physiotherapy to children with physical disabilities.

The Prep. School came together for its own indoor trek in the Sports Hall at the end of the Spring Term to raise funds for the staff to deliver in person to the Nepali school during their trip. All of the girls, from Pre-Prep to LIII, traversed ‘rivers’, climbed ‘mountains’ and enjoyed taking their own footsteps towards raising £4,000 to help support the vital work which is done to look after the children at AGE. This event, along with cake sales, a step class for Prep. School Mums kindly arranged

by Mrs Arnold, and generous donations raised a total of £4,055.50.

On their visit to the AGE School the St Catherine’s Prep. staff presented pupils with a colourful parachute and other play equipment which it is hoped will help with their physiotherapy. Miss Bartholomew comments, ‘We were so lucky to have this opportunity and would like to thank staff, parents and pupils for their tremendous support and very generous donations which will make a very real difference to the children we met.’

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DEVELOPMENT

Little Wood Lodge During the Easter holidays the area in front of Little Wood in the Prep School was transformed by the new outdoor classroom, office and storage space. The beautiful, contemporary structure has been built with sustainability in mind and all the components are Eco friendly. The school hopes that this new outdoor classroom will encourage the girls to associate learning with the love of all things outdoors – whether that be sport, nature, science or the environment.

Artists im pre ssi on

Mandy Shepherd, local wildlife artist and Honorary Vice President of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, opened Little Wood Lodge at the Prep School May Fair on Saturday 11th May. Her interest in and love of the natural world was inspirational. She encouraged the girls to believe they can achieve more – whether that be uilding ary B ten in their creativity, n Ce of exploration or observing all the beauty of the Surrey countryside. Miss Bartholomew, Head of the Prep School said “I am so grateful to all the parents of the Prep School and the PTA for donating all proceeds from the May Fair to the kitting out of Little Wood Lodge and landscaping the garden around the new structure. The Fair raised £7,400 and we will be adding a Bug City, wooden leaf stools and a creative cascade.

Ar

Under the floor boards newspaper dated 10th Oct 1935

Time-lapse photography recorded the project taking shape and this will be available to watch on the School website.

The contractor Green Studios has done an excellent job and completed the build ahead of schedule by working into the evenings during the good weather.

f Sixth Form Libra sion o ry pres m i s t tis

The Annual Fund for St Catherine’s was launched in London at the University Women’s Club in September 2012 and the School is delighted to report that it has so far raised just over £115,000 in donations. The fund aims to support current building projects and bursaries - helping the School to realise projects in a shorter timeframe and to a higher specification than would be possible from school fees alone, and allowing talented young women an opportunity to study at St Catherine’s when they would otherwise not be able to attend due to financial constraints.

The main activity to raise support for this campaign will be a mailing followed by a telephone campaign in the summer, when 14 recent leavers will return to St Catherine’s and will contact as many members of the Association as possible to hear your news and to ask for your support. The mailing, with further information, will be in early July and the follow-up calls will be made between 12th August and 1st September during the evenings and at weekends.

The Annual Fund allows many people giving small, regular donations to make a significant contribution to funds. All donations, of any size, are always celebrated and very gratefully received.

The planned building projects cost £1.9m and if we can raise pledges of support totalling £400,000 by 1st September 2013 we will be able to move onto the Centenary Building Lecture Theatre refurbishment 18 months ahead of our original schedule.

HOW YOUR DONATIONS COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE If you enjoyed your Sixth Form years and gained qualifications that set you up for university and beyond, why not record that in a gift to the new library? For example: • A gift of £700 (£15 a month*) you can name

a study space - table and chair - in the Sixth Form Library.

• A gift of £270 (£5.70 a month*) will fund a digital locker.

Little Wood Lodge

* for 36 months including gift aid.

There are several naming opportunities available for gifts over £5,000, please contact jo.dowling@ stcatherines.info for further information.

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In with the new ...

Miss Francesca Denton - Principal of the St Catherine’s Dance School

New Governor – Mrs Penny Crouch

NEW ASSOCIATION TEAM NOW IN PLACE ...

Dawn Pilkington writes: On Tuesday 30th April the hand over to me, the new Association Director, and the Association Prefects for this year, Katie Ratcliffe and Emily McDermott, was completed.

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you and farewell to Katherine Stocks and the Association Prefects for the past year, Annabelle Dance and Annie Plews. Katherine has done a tremendous job over the past seven years and has taken the Association from strength to strength.

One way I hope to build on this good work is by ensuring every Sixth Former is aware of the benefits of the Association network before she leaves.

“I’m a solicitor, and I started my career at a City law firm after graduating from Exeter University. After eight years I joined a merchant bank (as they were then known) in what was a new world of financial services compliance. I have remained in a similar field ever since and am now Managing Director with the Swiss bank, UBS. The City has changed in very many respects over my career, not least in slowly adapting to the presence of women in the workforce, and I have been lucky enough to work flexibly for the last 15 years. This has allowed me to spend more time with the family, and to enjoy living in Wonersh following our move there from London in 2006. My connection with St Catherine’s originates with my aunt who was at the school in the war, and has vivid memories of the bomb falling on Bramley station in 1942. When my husband and I started to look for a school outside London for our daughters which offered alternatives to full boarding, the connection led us here and it was a choice that worked brilliantly for us – although after 3 years of twice weekly runs up and down the A3, we decided to follow the girls out of London, much to their disgust as they loved the boarding school life!”

Although I have only been in the role for a couple of weeks, I am already enjoying working with the rest of the Association team and hearing from girls, staff and parents past and present. Please keep in touch by emailing dawn.pilkington@ stcatherines.info - no story/news item is too small!

“We’re really excited to have this opportunity to work with some of the old St Catherine’s girls and are looking foward to being a part of the Association team over the coming year.”

Katie & Emily - Association Prefects

Revd Dr Benjamin McNair Scott BA, MA, PGCE, CELTA It was with thankfulness that I started working at St Cat’s as Chaplain in September 2012.

Having worked before as a curate in a parish, a secondary school teacher, in a primary school and as a chaplain in another independent school, I felt St Catherine’s would be a wonderful place to serve as a teaching chaplain as it tied all my previous roles together. I have not been disappointed! My wife was delighted as it meant we would not need to move from Guildford providing continuity for our four young children.

The year has been going very well; St Catherine’s is a vibrant, exciting community to be a part of and I look forward to continuing to meet the vast family that make it up.

Francesca is the latest addition to the team at St Catherine’s School, and is looking forward to starting this coming September.

She has been teaching dance for many years, and has over 20 years experience with The Royal Academy of Dance, and over eight years with The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. After successfully opening and running her own dance school at the age of 15, she left home at 16 to pursue her own career in performing. Studying as a professional dancer and teacher of dance, her talent was noticed quickly and she was soon dancing in her first professional job.

As a child, Francesca had professional performing opportunities, varying from Toy Story promotional videos, to singing in a music video for S Club 7. As she grew older, she worked more on the stage than on the screen. She danced lead roles including Odette and Odile for the Junior Royal Ballet and several principal roles at Sadler’s Wells as a young adult. She also dabbled in the world of musical theatre, performing in Guys and Dolls at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, and in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London. Feeling she had satisfied her need for performing, she turned her hand to choreography, which is something for which she has a deep passion for. Whilst gaining her degree in teaching, she was lucky enough to choreograph work for people such as George Sampson, Girls Aloud, JLS and Pixie Lott.

Now, having found her real passion for teaching, she is leaving a job with the soon-to-be Brit School in Manchester, to take up the position of Principal of Dance at St Catherine’s. Francesca has a diverse teaching background and an excellent track record, gaining an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ for her Grade One teaching. She is now very excited to be introducing new dance forms and opportunities to the students at St Catherine’s, with the possibility of Imperial Classical Ballet, Cecchetti Ballet, Modern, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop and more. She hopes to make a significant and positive impact on the girls at St Catherine’s and within the local community.

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Memorable Lunch Golden Girls’ Reunion of 1930s, 1940s and 1950s On Friday 17th May 2013 we were absolutely delighted to be joined by 85 Old Girls of the 30s, 40s and 50s who came from across the UK, Italy, Sweden and the USA for this very special reunion. We began the day with a Chapel service where we celebrated the long connection the ladies have with the school. Mrs Elizabeth Cook (née Gooding) (Leaver 1953) read the lesson and a candle was lit in remembrance of those no longer with us.

“...an engagingly honest account of her roller-coaster adventures across Europe by a Fifties girl before the feminist movement began.” Dr Susan Cockcroft, University of Cambridge.

1955 The Summer When ... won the People’s Book Prize 2012, samples of the book can be found at www.valeriethornhill.org.uk.

Never say never!

Our Old Girls continue to challenge themselves and at 80 years young Mrs Stella Chadwick (née Cross, Leaver 1950) shows you are never too old to try something new with her sky diving exploits.

Jane Hampshire (née Griffith) (Leaver 1959)

The ladies enjoyed being shown around the School, visiting old haunts and the new Anniversary Halls. Their Speech Hall is in the middle of being refurbished (see page 8) and the ladies were very impressed with its transformation and commented on what a wonderful resource it will be for the Sixth Formers.

Ann Maughan (née Hart) (Leaver 1958)

ve r1 953 )

“It has irritated me how those of us who grew up in the Fifties have been consigned to a grey and dreary decade before the freedom of the Sixties. My first momentous long vacation in Europe disproves that myth, as my recently published memoir 1955 The Summer When... shows” said Valery.

We were joined by six girls from U4 and L5 who entertained the group with a short concert on a variety of musical instruments, introduced by Mr Geoff Field, Director of Music and accompanied by Mr Craig Greene. The Conference Room, which for some of them was the Head’s Study and for others the Midleton Common Room, was home to an exhibition of hundreds of photos, pieces of Uniform and magazines from er 1946) Leav their era. We were also very y) ( a D pleased to capture some of eé the Old Girls’ memories and reminiscences on video, which really helps to bring the School’s history to life. (n

Valerie Thornhill (now Wilton-Ely, Leaver 1952) was unable to join us for the Golden Girls’ Reunion Lunch because she was on a book signing tour for her latest publication.

Rosamond Ray mo nd

Author

The ladies were very excited to see we had turned the School Library into a dining room for the day because this was the very room that they all had lunch in when they were at school. They really enjoyed reliving those days.

Thank you to Mrs Sue Lawrence, School Librarian, who generously allowed us to take over the library for the day and Mr Tim Brett and the Estates staff who moved over 7,000 books to make this possible.

Dawn Pilkington and a Jo Dowling are looking (Le ey) forward to visiting some of v r Sally Griffin (née Ha the Old Girls who were not able to travel to the reunion and sharing with them highlights of the day plus photos and memories of their friends.

“I was always being told off for talking when I was here in the 50s and I keep expecting someone to tell me off now because I have hardly stopped talking all day! It has been so marvellous to relive old times with old friends.”

Wendy Buer (née Lyon) (Leaver 1954)

Additional images at www.stcatherines.info/association-gallery

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Association Choir Concert Over one hundred and sixty members of the Association took part in this year’s Concert.

This was the second of our concerts to be held at School in the magnificent venue of the Anniversary Halls’ Auditorium and the ninth season of the Association Choir. We were fortunate to be able to sing with four excellent professional soloists, among them Fleur de Bray, a former pupil of the school (Leaver 2002) who has sung with us before.

It is a tradition of this concert that proceeds from the retiring collection go to support The Education Kenya International Fund (EnkI), founded by another former pupil, Rakhee Dodhia (Ramesh, 1992). Thanks to the generosity of the audience and the inspiring talk given by the Association Prefects, Annabelle Dance and Annie Plews, over £600 was raised to fund Kenyan secondary student, Rael Namaye, in her education.

The orchestra also opened the second half of the concert with Holst’s Brook Green Suite, composed for his pupils at St Paul’s Girls’ School. Camerata was most ably led by Grace Miller this year. She is a Music Scholar and is currently preparing for her ABRSM Diploma, although she hopes to read Classics at Selwyn College, Cambridge.

The two Masses by Haydn and Rutter, sung by the Association Choir and conducted by Robert Patterson, were very different in style but provided a rewarding challenge for choir members who had rehearsed them during weekly Wednesday rehearsals over two terms.

The audience certainly seemed to appreciate the hard work and energetic singing and responded with resounding applause.

Soloists: Fleur de Bray (Soprano), Paul Smith (Alto), Will Unwin (Tenor) and Simon Gallear (Bass).

The Association Choir was augmented by the Senior Choir for Haydn’s Nelson Mass and the Middle Chamber Choir formed the Children’s Choir for the Mass of the Children by Rutter. The Camerata String Orchestra played for the Haydn Mass in addition to performing two pieces of their own. Whilst it was a significant amount of music to master, especially as full professional scores are used and not abridged arrangements, the orchestra, as ever, rose to the challenge.

Opening the concert with Britten’s Simple Symphony under the baton of Silja Loya, Camerata played with a wonderful sense of ensemble and the famous ‘Playful Pizzicato’ movement was plucked with great enthusiasm.

2004 reunion with a difference choreographed dance for her, so the St Cat’s On the 12th April 2013, 14 of us from the class of contingent duly broke out their finest moves to 2004, Mrs Rose, Mr Curtis, Mrs Corben and Mrs a Bollywood theme tune in front of 400 (slightly Phillips, were reunited in Delhi for the wedding of bemused) guests. For the ‘Baraat’ the night before our old school friend Tara Singh to Sahil Vachani. the wedding Sahil arrived at Tara’s house in a And what a wedding it was. Six days, seven wonderfully chaotic horse-drawn procession, with incredible parties, banquets, dancing, Lionel hundreds of guests Richie - and some dancing in the street very lethal green behind him to a band shots. The first night of drummers. Later in of celebrations kicked the evening, Lionel off in the Oberoi Richie leapt up on Hotel at a rock'n stage to sing a special roll-worthy 12am. set, including a singWe sipped cocktails a-long rendition of in a ballroom with ‘All Night Long’ that a ceiling covered in nearly took the roof thousands of fresh off. The Sikh wedding hydrangeas while ceremony the Ibiza DJs Hed Kandi following morning spun the decks until Tara (centre in yellow) and 2004 Leavers was contrastingly 6am. The following calm and serene, as Tara and Sahil circled a holy day we were fitted with brightly coloured sarees book to become husband and wife officially. Flying for the Mehndi ceremony, where Tara and all the home after the final celebrations felt like waking female guests had intricate henna painted onto up from a very vivid dream. It was a week we will their hands. As a fun Indian wedding custom one day be recounting to our grandchildren.

Tara’s friends were tasked with performing a

The Messiah February 2014

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the St Catherine’s Association, we are delighted to announce that the next Association Choir Concert will be held in Guildford Cathedral on Saturday, 1st February. The programme will be created around a performance of Handel’s Messiah, a work familiar to many from school days and one that the Choir sang in 2005.

We hope to welcome back those who have sung with us before and that many new members will be inspired to sing this famous work in such a spectacular venue.

Rehearsals in the Autumn Term will take place at School from 11th September – 4th December 2013 and there will be a further 3 rehearsals in the Spring Term before the concert.

We meet on Wednesdays between 7.45pm and 9.45pm and do hope that you will join us.

Further details will be sent out later this term. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Fran Flammiger on choir@stcatherines.info or 01483 899692.

“Singing with the Association Choir was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! As a new recruit to the tenor section I was made to feel very welcome and always looked forward to our weekly rehearsals.

The concert was brilliant although in many ways it was a shame that it was all over for the year, so I'm now looking forward to starting rehearsals again in the Autumn!” Current teacher

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England Selection LUGO Charm Congratulations to Laura Merrifield, current member of the PE teaching staff, and Sarah Taylor (2010) who have been selected as members of the women’s squad representing England at the Lacrosse World Championships in Canada in July 2013.

Previously, Laura has represented England in the U19 2007 World Championships in Canada, helping the team to a bronze medal as co-captain. She was also selected for the 2009 Senior World Cup in Prague.

Sarah Taylor, who is currently studying in the US and has a Lacrosse scholarship, has just been chosen for the Mid-Atlantic Region First Team and was also named for the American Lacrosse Conference All-Tournament Team.

Good luck, ladies; we look forward to hearing all about it when you return.

Sarah Taylor

The second in the series of bespoke sterling silver charms, priced at £15, is now available.

The simple elegance of the new LUGO charm captures the school motto, ‘Let Us Go On…’ in a very special memento. Add this to the original St Catherine’s ‘wheel’ charm and clip them on to a select range of Westwood Rocks jewellery that can be bought from the school shop. Please contact them on +44 (0) 1483 899709 or school.shop@stcatherines.info

Certificate Awards Congratulations to Tracy Wheeler and Sam Kelly, two of our catering team, who were presented with their Level 2 NVQ Certificates by Alice Phillips. Andrew Price, Catering Manager, said he was delighted that his staff continued to strive to improve their qualifications thus providing a better standard of service.

Lectures

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb

Prince to Tyrant: What Changed Henry VIII? Dr Suzannah Lipscomb MA, MSt, DPhil (Oxon), FRHistS On Tuesday 30th April Dr Suzannah Lipscomb, historian, author, broadcaster and award-winning academics, gave a fascinating lecture to Fifth and Sixth Form historians from St Catherine’s and many other local schools and colleges, entitled “Prince to Tyrant: What Changed Henry VIII?”.

It was a great pleasure to welcome so many members of the St Catherine’s Association to the event.

Laura Merrifield

‘Just to say how much we enjoyed the lecture yesterday. What an impressive lady!! It was also good to see so many students and Association members there. It was my first time in the Anniversary Hall and it didn’t disappoint. A fantastic venue and I look forward to many more visits. Please pass on my congratulations and good wishes to the History Department for arranging such an inspiring speaker.’

Anthea Hawtin, former staff member.

Our next History Lecture takes place on Thursday 14th November 2013, signalling the beginning of our commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of WWI. Charles Emmerson of Chatham House, home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, will talk on ‘1913, the last full year before the Great War’, the subject of his recently published and highly acclaimed book.

Life and Death in Herculaneum Professor Andrew Wallace-Handrill OBE Tuesday 7th May was a memorable day for the Classicists among us as we had the privilege of listening to Professor Andrew Wallace-Handrill speak, about Life and Death in Herculaneum.

Professor Andrew Wallace-Handrill

He provided a fascinating insight into the volcanology of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, as well as revealing new evidence to show the Romans in Herculaneum ate, and explaining the excavation and conservation work that has gone on throughout the centuries. With a fantastic audience and many interesting questions at the end of the lecture, this was an excellent evening which most certainly proved that Classics is thriving at St Catherine’s!

Drum kit given new home Mrs Cran and her daughter Sarah (U6) have kindly donated her drum kit to the school and this has enabled us to pay the good deed forward by passing a much needed drum kit to Bushey Academy, where Mr Greene’s wife teaches music.

St Catherine’s Association, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0DF Tel: +44 (0)1483 899751 Email: dawn.pilkington@stcatherines.info Web: www.stcatherines.info Headmistress Mrs A M Phillips MA (Cantab)