St Catherine's - Non Nobis 39 - Summer 2023

HAPPY AND GLORIOUS

DIARY DATES

SEPTEMBER 2023

Thur 7 Term starts

Sun 24 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Foundation Day Celebration

A celebration of the founding of the School with Chapel service, guest speaker Erin Baker - UK’s most senior female motoring journalist and Editorial Director of Auto Trader, afternoon tea, and a chance to see the first test drive of the Sixth Form girls’ Westfield kit car.

Sat 30 1.30pm - 5.30pm

Year of 2000 School Reunion

OCTOBER 2023

Thur 5 6.00pm - 8.00pm Nottingham Alumnae Reunion

Thur 12 7.30pm - 9.45pm

St Catherine’s Presents: The Band of the Welsh Guards

Thur 19 6.30pm - 8.30pm

London Network: Working Life After Maternity Leave

Fri 27 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Hong Kong Reunion

NOVEMBER 2023

Thur 9 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Durham & Newcastle Alumnae Reunion

Fri 10 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Edinburgh & St Andrews Alumnae Reunion

Fri 24 7.30pm - 10.00pm

St Catherine’s Day Gala Concert Parents only but all can listen in via livestream on the website.

Thur 30 7.30pm - 9.00pm

St Catherine’s Presents: Alex Hibbert, Polar Expedition Leader

DECEMBER 2023

Tue 5 6.00pm - 7.30pm

St Cats Chats: Zoom Book Club with Jonathan Worthen Watership Down

Thur 14 End of Term

Mon 18 3.00pm - 5.30pm

Alumnae Lax & Netball Matches 6.30pm - 8.00pm

Association Carols by Candlelight

Contact association@stcatherines.info for for more information on any of these events.

Welcome to the Coronation edition of Non Nobis, in which we celebrate our links with our newly crowned Patron, along with many other items of exciting news from St Catherine’s: a wonderful production of Lord of the Flies in the Senior School; the Association Concert (p. 9) and National Championships victories for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd U19 teams, making us the first school ever to achieve this in one season.

An end-of-term lecture on AI, given by a current parent in March (p. 3), kept us up-to-theminute in the world of Tech, and from September all Senior classrooms will be devoid of IT hardware and run entirely from laptops in the hands of staff. The pace of change is remarkable in the Tech area and this is the right place to pay tribute to Dan Raymond (Director of Digital Technologies) and his team for all their forward-thinking work and App development for us across the whole school, and to Angelique Burns and Katie Malins who lead in the Digital Learning programmes for pupils aged 4-18 and in training for staff.

The Creative Arts Departments, now settled into the Art & MakerSpace @ the John Palmer Centre, have vibrant A Level and GCSE exhibitions currently on show. Prep Students have also started to make use of these areas, too, while also enjoying their own refurbished Prep School space - The Imaginarium - which has brought cookery alongside Art and DT. We invited boys from RGS Prep (formerly Lanesborough) for a fast-paced cookery lesson and it was great to see the girls and boys working alongside each other to create culinary delights!

Lower III are soon to present Matilda in the Auditorium, and in other Prep news we were delighted to be awarded the highest Primary Science Quality Mark earlier this year. This in recognition of the progressive approach to science teaching and learning within the Prep School and the considerable outreach work we are undertaking in this area.

Alice Phillips and Naomi Bartholomew - Headmistresses

PROSPECTIVE PARENTS’ EVENTS

SENIOR SCHOOL 9.00am-12noon PREP

Thursday 21st September 2023

Non Nobis Domine!

Not unto us, O Lord, The praise or glory be... The opening of the school hymn

RUDYARD KIPLING

Wednesday 11th October 2023

Senior Registrar - Clare Woodgates 01483 899609 admissions@stcatherines.info

9.45am - 11.45am

Wednesday 20th September 2023

Friday 13th October 2023

Prep Registrar - Sarah Waller 01483 899665 prepadmissions@stcatherines.info

END-OF-TERM LECTURE

SALLY SFEIR-TAIT (CURRENT

PARENT)

We were delighted to welcome Prep School parent Sally Sfeir-Tait, CEO of RegulAItion, to give our End-of-Term Lecture in March. Sally began her career as a barrister, working as an in-house lawyer for banks, before working as a legal advisor, drafting legislation and implementing policies for international law firms and major banks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Her move from law to tech might have seemed unprecedented, but as she explained, ‘sudden career changes’ aren’t usually that sudden, but a gradual shift over time. FinTech is fundamental to the operation of banks, so her legal role in banks was strongly linked to technology, leading on to her current role at RegulAItion.

Sally’s journey to becoming CEO was abundant in life lessons for girls to consider. The hardships faced in her childhood, growing up during the war in Lebanon, taught her the importance of grit, resilience and living life to the full: skills which informed her attitude of perseverance in response to being told she ‘wasn’t good enough’, and the challenge of being a woman in a male dominated industry. With internships offered by Sally for the best questions, we had some fascinating discussions surrounding the ethics and regulation of AI, including a live demonstration of ChatGPT by Sally, which deftly illustrated what it can and cannot do.

FAREWELL TO THE YEAR OF 2023

As the Summer Term draws to a close, we say a fond farewell to the Year of 2023, among whom nine have been here since PP1, aged 4.

As you embark on gap year travels, further studies or into the world of work, we look forward to hearing all your news, and we hope to see you at some of our regional reunions or at St Catherine’s in the near future. Always feel free to be in touch with your Association for life.

Ginny (U6)

These pictures were taken after the Leavers’ Picnic in May, just before the traditional fancy-dress parade around the School grounds and through Dining Hall!

Sunday 24 th September, 2pm - 5pm

Join us for the annual celebration of our School’s Birthday.

Foundation Day Chapel Service led by our Chaplain, the Rev’d Dr McNair Scott

Foundation Day Lecture. Erin Baker, the UK’s most senior female motoring journalist, editor and broadcaster will be giving our lecture this year.

You will then have the opportunity to see the St Catherine’s Westfield sports car based on the Lotus 7, which has been built as part of a Sixth Form engineering project. Tours of the rest of School will also be on offer.

Afternoon Tea with birthday cake will be served in the Dining Room

All generations of your families are welcome. There will be some art activities available for younger guests. There is no charge for the day. Simply email: association@stcatherines.info to book your place so that we can make the right catering arrangements.

THE LONDON NETWORK

Creating career connections between alumnae and parents

Working Life After Maternity Leave

Frances Cushway (current parent): Founder of The Maternity Coach Helping parents thrive in their careers after starting a family.

Thursday 19 th October 2023 | 6.00pm - 8.30pm | Drinks and canapés kindly hosted by DIF Capital Partners, 62 Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8HP

BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS

IN CONCERT WITH ST CATHERINE’S CONCERT BAND

Returning to St Catherine’s once again, The Band of the Welsh Guards’ primary role is to support state and ceremonial events. Regularly to be seen at the Changing the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the Band enjoys performing with world class orchestras and at spectacular extravaganzas.

Thursday 12th October 2023

7.30 – 9.45pm

Bar open from 6.45pm

St Catherine’s School Auditorium Free admission with reserved ticket

ALEX HIBBERT

ICEBERGS AND

BOOK YOUR PLACE

Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets: stcatswelshguards.bpt.me alternatively please use the QR code.

POLAR DARKNESS:

an unexpected winter in the Arctic Far North

In the next of our St Catherine’s Presents and Sixth Form Lecture series we are delighted to welcome Alex Hibbert, the world record-holding polar traveller, who has skied further on an unsupported Arctic journey than anyone in history. Join us to hear Alex’s captivating account of his ground-breaking polar expeditions.

Thursday 30th November 2023

7.30 – 9.00pm

Bar open from 7pm St Catherine’s School Auditorium Tickets £10 each Students Free

BOOK YOUR PLACE

Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets: stcatsalexhibbert.bpt.me alternatively please use the QR code.

BOOK CLUB WITH JONATHAN WORTHEN

Tuesday 5th December 2023 6.00

– 7.30pm

Our St Cat’s Chats Book Club with Jonathan Worthen (Former Head of English) has proved popular with alumnae, parents and pupils alike. For our next ‘virtual event’ we are delighted that Jonathan will be presenting Watership Down, a classic story by Richard Adams.

Jonathan writes as follows:

I’d like to dismiss three misconceptions about Watership Down. It is not a children’s book, not a “fluffy bunny” story, and not a work that requires the reader to be a lover of nature. The central figures are indeed rabbits, but they are presented in such a way that the reader comes to think of them as humans like himself, humans with fears, hopes, virtues and faults. The novel should be seen as an epic adventure that tells of flight from danger, quest for a true home, and battle against overwhelming odds. To some extent, it may be regarded as having a political or philosophical dimension, in that two very different forms of society are presented in the course of the action, both of which are completely rejected because they are inimical to a life that is genuinely worth living - a life that is honest and free. If you read it with an open mind, you will, by turns, be amused, thrilled, gripped, educated, uplifted and inspired. Like many well-known books, it has its film versions, but I urge you to ignore these and do your very best to read the novel itself. You can get a taste of it by spending under a quarter of an hour watching a video-talk I made on one particular episode, here: tinyurl.com/ykk34b9n

This event is open to everyone and is free, but please register your interest by emailing association@stcatherines.info

Zoom details will be sent out to registered attendees prior to the event.

CALL OUT TO THE YEAR OF 2000

Year of 2000 Reunion at St Catherine’s School

In September 2023 it will be 30 years since you joined St Catherine’s Senior School in Upper 3! Please join us for a reunion at School on

Saturday 30th September 2023

2.00pm – 5.00pm

Enjoy an afternoon of welcome drinks, tours of School and afternoon tea in Dining Hall. Please contact Gilly Hanking-Evans via association@stcatherines.info for more details. And please spread the word, as we don’t have contact details for everyone in the year. Even if you left in Upper 5 (1998) you are still the Year of 2000 and very welcome to join us!

UNIVERSITY REUNIONS 2023

In the Autumn Term, Dawn Pilkington and Fiona Haywood (Association) will be visiting the following university towns to meet up with alumnae in the area. Please let us know if you can join us at any of these events. We will be at each venue from 6pm - 8pm. Please feel free to drop in at any time during the evening - refreshments and pizza will be provided ...

NOTTINGHAM

Thursday 5th October, 6pm - 8pm

The Rose & Crown, NG7 2GW

DURHAM/NEWCASTLE

Thursday 9th November, 6pm - 8pm

The Boat Club, DH1 3AF

EDINBURGH/ST ANDREWS

Friday 10th November, 6pm - 8pm

The Pear Tree, EH8 9D

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

St Catherine’s Alumnae Carols by Candlelight Service

Monday 18th December 2023

6.30pm - 8.00pm

Mulled wine and mince pies followed by a candlelit service in the Chapel. We are looking forward to hosting this very popular event once again for our younger alumnae. Alumnae Lax and Netball matches in the afternoon from 3pm.

Email association@stcatherines.info to register your interest and for more info.

REUNIONS YEAR OF 2013

10 YEAR REUNION

We were blessed with great weather on Saturday 10th June for the Year of 2013’s Ten Year Reunion back at School. Over 30 alumnae and 10 current and former staff joined the start of the afternoon with welcome drinks outside the Anniversary Halls.

The tours of School were very noisy as the girls chatted and shared their memories, while taking lots of pictures of themselves in their old haunts. They were particularly impressed to see the SHLib (Speech Hall Library), The 6 (Sixth Form Boarding House and Sixth Form Common Room) and the new Art&MakerSpace @ the John Palmer Arts Centre - all new additions since they left. They were delighted to see their names on the 2013 Honours Boards in the SHLib and loved poring over their U3 photos that we had put out for them from the School Archives. When we reached Chapel, Caragh Bennet (former organ scholar) accompanied everyone singing Non Nobis!

Tour over, it was then off to the new Culinary Arts room for a cooking lesson with Mr Friend followed by a sports lesson with Mrs Alexander - as always the rounders match was very competitive ... even in the 300C heat! ... and Mrs Alexander’s ability to recall every name was, as ever, impressive!

To round the afternoon off, everyone gathered in the Dining Room for afternoon tea and a chance for more catching up.

OXFORD MENTORING TRIP

DR GUY BRINDLEY (CLASSICS)

On Saturday 17th June, 46 students and 5 staff set off (relatively) bright and early for a day in Oxford, the ‘city of dreaming spires’ and home to one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Having mercifully arrived at the city just after a torrential downpour, we proceeded on a walking tour of the centre, taking in Sir Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodleian Library, the majestic Christ Church College (which has a cathedral inside), and, most impressively of all, Ben’s Cookies in the Covered Market.

After a chance to explore Magdalen College (also majestic, but with a deer park instead of a cathedral), there was a break for lunch, during which the aforementioned Ben’s Cookies did a roaring trade among students and staff. We reconvened for a Q&A session with some recent St Catherine’s alumnae: Bella Done (2021) studying Maths at Hertford College, Annie Horan (2022) studying Maths & Philosophy at St Edmund Hall, and Connie Horan (2021 studying Music at Christ Church, who all very generously gave up their time amidst exam season to tell the students about their own experiences of applying to and studying at Oxford. The wealth of questions asked by the girls demonstrated how well these three engaged and inspired their audience. After a gentle potter through the centre, we got back on the coach to St Catherine’s just in time to avoid the second downpour of the day, and returned to school with the students full of ideas and enthusiasm for the next step in their educational journeys.

EXETER UNIVERSITY REUNION

On the evening of 2nd June Fiona Haywood (Association), Ali White (DT) and Amanda White (Geography & Ashcombe Housemistress) visited Exeter to take current university pupils out for drinks and supper. We agreed to meet at The Old Firehouse in the town centre, and were so pleased to welcome 19 alumnae from Prep and Senior School, one honorary alumnus and Skipper the dog to the event. It was lovely to catch up on all their news, to hear about the wide range of degrees they are taking, and to see them all reconnecting with their school friends.

YEAR OF 1995 GATHERING

We all loved seeing the photo of the girls from the Year of 1995 meeting up at The Ivy in Guildford.

Left side of table

Jo Tridgell (Larmer)

Suzy Nowlan

Anna Martin (Griffiths)

Danielle Kelly (Katz)

Fiona Katz

Head of the table

Gabrielle Brine

Right side of table

Jessica Stewart

Heather Shaw (Camp)

Jaimee Mathews (Broome)

Jo Coulter (Robinson)

Claire Coleman

The Association Choir Sings Rock and Band has been running since 2014 as a light-hearted choir and band for members of our St Cat’s community. We get together at school for 3 rehearsals on a Wednesday evening in May before performing our song in the annual St Catherine’s Jazz and Rock Concert.

California Dreamin’ was obviously a very popular song choice as we had a large choir of 48 singers this year, consisting of alumnae, current and former parents and staff, and we all really enjoyed the rehearsals and final performance together.

Thank you to Sarah Jones (Head of Prep Music and Head of Vocal Studies), who led our rehearsals and conducted on the night, to Matthew Greenfield (Director of Music), for accompanying during rehearsals and on the night, to Alex Perry-Adlam (Head of Art) on guitar and last but not least to Ian Young (Head of Percussion and Contemporary Music) who led the band.

ASSOCIATION CHOIR CONCERT 2023

The Association Choir concert was a triumph and performed to a packed audience in the School Auditorium. The Choir was joined by Senior Choir, Middle Chamber Choir and members of the George Abbot School Choir. In total we had 120 voices filling the space.

Accompanying the performance were the Symphony Orchestra, composed of 75 musicians, the overwhelming majority of whom were current girls showcasing their musicianship. They were joined by some alumnae, staff and visiting professionals.

The concert started with a wonderful rendition of I was Glad by Parry - complete with Matthew Greenfield’s (Director of Music) version of the famous Vivat sequence rearranged for Regina Camilla and Rex Carolus! Next came Ginny (U6), our Jennifer Bate Organ Scholar, playing the Finale of Organ Sonata No1 in D Minor by Guilmant. The first half then ended with the orchestra playing English Folk Song Suite by Vaughan Williams with Donald Lloyd (Director of Symphony Orchestra) conducting throughout. In the second half, the choir performed Carmina Burana by Carl Orff under the watchful eye of our conductor, Matthew Greenfield. We welcomed professional baritone,

Dan D’Souza, and tenor, Stephen Anthony Brown, as soloists as well as our fantastic Ruby (U6) who was the soprano soloist, more than holding her own alongside the professionals.

This year the concert was dedicated to former Director of Music, Robert Gillman, who sadly died last April. Jo Adams (2002) gave a memorable talk about what an inspiring teacher he was, and the retiring collection was for the charity he had supported for many years, The National Deaf Children’s Society. Robert was passionate about their cause as hearing was the sense he valued most, and he wanted to provide the same opportunities to deaf children as their hearing friends enjoyed. The concert raised over £1,000 in donations. Finally, thank you to Matthew Greenfield for giving up his Wednesday evening for rehearsals for over 10 weeks and conducting on the night and also a big thank you to Donald Lloyd for teaching and conducting the Symphony Orchestra throughout this term. Thanks also to Sin-seok Kim and Catherine Olver for helping accompany choir rehearsals and to all the other music staff who came along to help and play with the orchestra.

If you would like to join the Association Choir for our next concert on March 16th 2024 please contact association@stcatherines.info. Rehearsals will start in November.

We are sure that many of you were watching the coverage of the Coronation of HM King Charles III and HM Queen Camilla in the majestic and symbolic ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 th May.

At St Catherine’s School, we are all immensely proud of our connection to HM The Queen, who is the great, great granddaughter of Lord Ashcombe, one of the founders of our School.

George Cubitt (1828-1917) was the eldest surviving son of 12 children. His father was Thomas Cubitt the famous and wealthy master builder who had developed Belgravia in London. George was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, after which he wished to train as a clergyman, but his father wouldn’t let him as he really wanted George to join his building business. George was only 27 when his father died and he inherited great wealth. He went on to become an MP for 32 years serving as Conservative MP for West Surrey and for Epsom, and was then

ROYAL CONNECTION VISIT

In February 2014 HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visited St Catherine’s, when she officially opened the 125th Anniversary Halls and The Speech Hall Library. Following her visit, The Duchess agreed to be Patron of St Catherine’s School.

elevated to the Lords as Baron Ashcombe of Dorking and of Bodiam Castle, having been invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1880. He also served as Honorary Colonel of the Royal West Surrey Regiment and Lord Lieutenant of the counties of Surrey and Middlesex.

George married Laura Joyce, daughter of the Vicar of Dorking, and they had 9 children, although only 6 survived beyond infancy.

Denbies, a large estate in Dorking was part of the inheritance from his father and he lived there until 1905. George’s grandson Stephen wrote of him ‘he led a simple and austere personal life among the luxury with which fate had surrounded him, careful for those about him, and scrupulous in all his ways.’

It was while an MP for West Surrey that Cubitt and his wife Laura became Founders and one of the largest benefactors of St Catherine’s

School. In 1896 Lady Ashcombe also gave £1,000 to build and furnish a sanatorium. This house, which stands separate from the main school block (in case of infectious diseases in those days), has changed its use a number of times. It became a Sixth Form house in 1965, then a study centre and finally the Music School, which it is today.

Lord Ashcombe died in 1917 and is buried at St Barnabas Church in Ranmore, the church he had built for the staff on the Denbies Estate.

The St Cecilia stained-glass window in Chapel is in memory of Lady Ashcombe. ‘In grateful recollection of Laura, wife of George, 1st Baron Ashcombe, of Denbies, in this County, one of the founders of this School, this window is dedicated.’

Dawn Pilkington and Fiona Haywood (pictured above), represented St Catherine’s by kind invitation of our Patron and had seats in the Grand Stand opposite Buckingham Palace where there was a wonderful view of the processions and the balcony appearance. Mrs Phillips had emails from several groups of alumnae who were in London in various locations enjoying the party atmosphere of a memorable day.

This year’s Coronation is the fifth since the foundation of the School. As long ago as 1897, the headmistress’s diary reports that a group of 108 pupils had visited Windsor to see the ageing Queen Victoria, and ever since, the School magazine has followed royal occasions with interest.

With Speech Day 1902 booked for the usual last Saturday in June, the year of Edward VII’s Coronation, this was then postponed as it coincided with the intended Coronation Review of the Fleet two days after the Coronation on 26th June. Unfortunately, the King’s serious illness meant that the Coronation had to be postponed at short notice, and when it eventually took place on 9th August the School was on holiday.

In 1911 matters went to schedule with the Coronation of King George V on Thursday

22nd June, and the School was given a holiday from 20th to 26th June. This meant that only ten boarders remained at School during the celebrations, but for them ‘they found so much in the way of amusement that they were quite sorry when the time came to an end.’ They visited Guildford for ‘cinematograph’ and tea, picnicked at Blackheath and visited three of the school mistresses. Not unusually, Coronation Day itself was very wet and village festivities in Bramley Park proved impossible, but the girls had an improvised picnic in the Hall with unlimited strawberries and a splendid cake. In the evening they watched beacon fires from their windows.

The Coronation of King George VI was on 12th May 1937, the date originally scheduled for that of his brother, Edward VIII, who had abdicated in the previous December. Again, the School had a week’s holiday and fifth former Agnes Allan reported the activities of those left behind during the week: on 11th May they had gone to the cinema in Guildford and had tea at Nuttall’s (now Guildford House Art Gallery). On Coronation Day they listened to the service on the radio in the common room although the afternoon transmission was subject to interference from a thunderstorm. On Saturday the girls went to London, but after some very tiring

CORONATION CELEBRATIONS FROM THE ARCHIVE CORONATION CARDS

Congratulations cards were sent to Their Majesties at Buckingham Palace to mark the Coronation. Poppy’s card from the Prep School featured a print inspired by the work of the WWII artist John Piper; Emily’s card from the Senior School featured a pencil drawing of a Jack Russell inspired by Their Majesties’ two rescue dogs, Beth and Bluebell.

[1] Poppy (LIII)

[2] Emily (L6)

walking they had only managed a distant view of the King and Queen before returning to see a rocket display at Wonersh. On Monday they joined the village sports and pageant, and on the last day of the holiday at a further visit to the cinema they saw a film of the Coronation followed by tea at The Corona Café.

Meanwhile fourth former, Anne Chubb’s family had tickets to see the procession from the Victoria Memorial as her father worked in the India Office, and she reported enthusiastically on the appearance of troops, politicians and Girl Guides from all parts of the Empire, but particularly noticing the two princesses (the future Queen Elizabeth II and the late Princess Margaret). They listened to the service transmitted on loudspeakers and had lunch, before viewing the rather wet return journey to Buckingham Palace.

The next Coronation was for that of our late Queen on 2nd June 1953, which coincided with half-term. Many of the pupils viewed it at home on newly acquired television sets, theirs or neighbours’, watching a small monochrome picture on a 9” screen in a darkened room. There had been a talk on the ceremony on 9th March and on 6th July the film Elizabeth is Queen was shown to the School.

In this issue we have chosen to focus on Mrs Maren Kelly, Head of Prep School Science.

Working in the inspirational WonderLab, one of only a few specialist science labs for primary school students in Surrey, Mrs Kelly is committed to giving girls the very best scientific education.

She completed her BAHons in Primary School Education at the Martin Luther Universtaet Halle in Wittenberg. This was followed by a PGCE at Brunel and an MA in Primary and Early Childhood Studies at Roehampton. Joining St Catherine’s in 2009, Mrs Kelly has over 25 years of experience of teaching girls.

Whether the girls are creating comets using dry-ice and household ingredients like starch and vinegar, exploring the organs of the human body through virtual reality apps or learning about plant life-cycles outdoors in our Cottage Garden, Mrs Kelly encourages the girls to enquire, investigate, analyse and report their findings.

THE CAT’S CAR CLUB

Mrs Kelly tells us that ‘recent studies have found that girls at singlesex schools were 85% more likely to take Advanced Mathematics than girls in co-ed schools, and 79% more likely to study Chemistry. This is why it is so important to give the girls a sense of enjoyment and freedom to discover science from an early age to help them establish aspiration and a sense of ‘I can do this’’

Embedding this interest at an early age is critical. Many of our recent alumnae who were taught by Mrs Kelly in Prep School are now studying STEM at university including: Medicine at King’s (Natasha Oh), Chemistry at Durham (Emily Turner), Neuroscience at Exeter (Esme Goodridge), Human Sciences at Oxford (Thalia Edwards), Dentistry at Cardiff (Annalisa Willmott) and Computer Science at Southampton (Louisa Taylor). Early inspiration counts!

St Catherine’s was awarded the Primary Science Quality Mark in 2022, recognising excellence in Science Teaching.

Our enthusiasm for all things automotive and engineering continues this year as we invite parents, friends and alumnae to become Founder Members of The CAT’s Car Club. By joining the club, our generous donors are supporting the next kit car build project and enabling us to continue to run the hugely successful Engineering, Design & Technology Sixth Form programme for a second year. This year the girls have built a Westfield car based on the Lotus 7. This activity sits alongside their A Level studies as one option among many for enrichment.

Our first meet will be at the famous Goodwood circuit on 3rd November, where members will have the opportunity to see the completed Westfield; can choose to take a spin around the track in it; and can hear from some of the girls who have been involved in this exciting project. They will also be able to bring their own cars and enjoy the thrill of high-speed laps at this prestigious venue. It promises to be a fabulous event!

We are reliant on the generous support of our philanthropic community to enable us to purchase the next kit car and The CAT’s Car Club will invite new membership annually to make this possible. If you would like to learn more about becoming a Founder Member of The CAT’s Car Club then do please get in touch. There are still places available for our morning at Goodwood and we would be delighted to welcome you.

Please contact jane.pink@stcatherines.info for further information.

Girls are naturally curious – we encourage their interest through hands-on experiments in science.

Maren Kelly, Head of Prep Science

Every year, as part of our Australian Exchange Programme, U4 pupils are partnered with a pupil at St Catherine’s School in Melbourne to stay with their family and attend the School for the Spring Term. Their exchange partners then return to St Catherine’s to spend the Summer Term here in Bramley. The exchange sadly had to go on hold during Covid years but began again this January. We were delighted to hear that Former Prep School Deputy Head, Fiona Thomas had taken the time to visit this year’s exchange girls in Melbourne, where she now lives. Fiona wrote …

I was delighted to be able to meet up with Caitlin, Lily, Amber and Nina at St Cat’s Melbourne on a very warm day at the end of February - the temperature was 30+ outside!

All four girls were very pleased with the ‘care package’ of penguin bars, twiglets and English chocolate I had brought back with me from my time in the UK!

It was lovely to chat with them; they looked very happy and were buzzing with enthusiasm as they shared with me, places they had been to, things they had seen, and the plans for where to take their new Melbourne friends when they come to the UK. They even expressed pleasure with the new (and early morning!) rowing experiences.

POLLY BROOKS MBE (PREVIOUSLY MILLER) (DERBY) (1990)

Did you see the recently aired TV dramatisation Bali 2002

The mini series told the story of five survivors of the 2002 Bali bombing atrocity, one of whom was Polly Brooks (Derby) (1990). In the dramatisation she is played by Bridgerton actress Claudia Jessie.

Aged 29, Polly was married in Shalford to husband Dan, with her best friend from St Catherine’s, Annika Linden (1990) (pictured bottom left) as bridesmaid. Five weeks later they were all in Bali with friends when a bomb exploded in the Sari Club killing 202 people. Polly barely survived, but lost Dan, Annika and all her friends.

Polly, who was airlifted to a hospital in Brisbane, had burns to 43% of her body and needed 11 operations. She subsequently set up a charity, Dan’s Fund for Burns, which continues to raise money to support burns survivors, and buy much-needed equipment. To date, they have raised more than £2.5million and donated Meek Mesher machines, which expand donor skin before grafting, to seven hospitals. The charity also installed the first full-time clinical psychologist in the main London Burns Service, prompting the NHS to roll out psychological care to patients nationwide.

Annika’s fiancé Mark Weingard set up a philanthropic foundation in her memory, The Inspirasia Foundation. In 2013 he opened The Annika Linden Centre, which is home to three exceptional disability organisations, ensuring many critical services for people with a disability in Bali.

In 2019 Polly came back to St Catherine’s to give the End of Term Lecture. Pupils and staff were fascinated to hear her inspirational story of resilience and her determination to help other burns victims in Dan’s memory. Polly was awarded an MBE for her work in 2020. We are delighted to report that Polly married current parent Paul Bentley on 29th May. We wish them every happiness.

CREATIVE CIRCLES

CREATIVE CIRCLE CONNECTIONS

Imagine our delight when, having placed two parents joining us for a Creative Circle with Philip Friend on a shared workbench in the Culinary Arts Studio, we discovered that they had been at St Catherine’s together!

Michelle Taylor (Heneghan) (1997), and Rebecca Coleman, (1998), were reunited over a hot stove and Philip’s fabulous Sticky Sesame Chicken recipe. Both Michelle and Rebecca now have daughters in Prep School and are experiencing life at St Cat’s as parents.

While Michelle has gone on to a career in Human Resources and Rebecca in Law, they found themselves reminiscing about their time as students, and the teachers and girls that they remembered. It’s fair to say that the wonderful facilities available to the girls

in the Art & MakerSpace are a world apart from those available in the 1990s - although the spirit and enthusiasm of St Cat’s girls for culinary experimentation and invention remain the same!

Creative Circles were established to provide opportunities for us to invite parents and alumnae into the Art & Makerspace @ The John Palmer Centre, where they can explore and create. If you would like to find out more about joining a Creative Circle and supporting the Creative Arts at St Catherine’s, please contact jane.pink@stcatherines.info

[1] Rebecca Coleman

[2] Michelle Taylor (Heneghan)

[3] Rebecca (centre) at School

CAROLINE BAARTMAN (CASTLE)(1982)

On Saturday 29th April Caroline Baartman (Castle) (1982) came back to St Catherine’s for only the second time since leaving School. Caroline joined St Catherine’s U3 in 1975 in Ashcombe. Her father worked for Esso and travelled around the world so she boarded for all seven years in the Senior School.

After living and working all over the world, she now lives in The Netherlands with her family. Caroline has two children - Amy and Rob, who both came back for the visit to the UK.

Caroline has stayed in touch with her best friends from her school days, and the day after her visit to us, she met up with them, recreating their 1970s photo which she sent to us (both images pictured right).

[1] Helen Stay, Marie-Claire Wilson (van den Broek), Corita Metelerkamp (Standen), Valerie Young (1982)

[2] Corita Metelerkamp (Standen), Caroline Baartman (Castle), Sara Mawdsley (Gillard) & Valerie Young (1982)

The friends you make at school are so deeply rooted: we have been friends for 48 years!

Caroline Baartman (Castle) (1982)

We are always interested to hear your news, big or small! Have you graduated, qualified, changed jobs, got married, had children, set up a business, volunteered for a charity, run a marathon, been published, exhibited an artwork, retired or taken a gap year to travel the world?

All news of weddings and obituaries can be found under the Association section on the school website: www.stcatherines.info/association/events-news

WEDDINGS

Sophie Phillips (Former Staff)

Marian Jimenez (Current Staff)

IN MEMORIAM

Josephine Belton (Pearson) (1946)

Sally Griffin (Harvey) (1955)

Susan Lewis (Horth) (1955)

Margaret Dale (Bushel) (1962)

Polly Derby (1990)

Francesca Wyllie (2012)

Natalie Chopra (2013)

Amy Price (2013)

May they rest in peace

Fiona Campbell (Former Staff)

Gareth Floyd (Former Staff)

Liz Hayward (Former Staff)

Rosemary O’Brien (Former Staff)

MEMORIES OF ST CATHERINE’S

Our back page features a 1987 Lacrosse team photo from our School Archive. Can you name them all for us?

2023 was a momentous year for us, as St Catherine’s made history at the National Schools Lacrosse Championships by being the first school to ever win U19A, U19B and U19C competitions in the same year.

Our Non Nobis newsletter Issue 38 featured a 1952 photo from our School Archive of girls visiting the Houses of Parliament. We were delighted to receive a letter from Joan Crouch (Elwin) (1954) who reminded us that it was a photo from her album she had donated to the School Archive, so that was why she is the only one not named in the photo! (Second from left front row.)

Joan wrote:

The occasion was an after exams trip for the U5 and L6 girls. Day girls wore blazers over their dresses and boarders wore their suit jackets. The lady in the centre was Mrs Nugent, the wife of the then Conservative MP for Guildford. After the visit to the Houses of Parliament we had a picnic in St James’ Park. It was 71 years ago!

At St Catherine’s we run five Senior U19 teams and all of them entered Nationals (the only school to do so). Our 4th team and 5th were in the U19B (2nds tournament) and certainly stood up to the challenge.

The importance of these opportunities is to retain girls in sport through Senior School. Girls continue to play throughout their Sixth Form years because there is always that end goal of nationals that continues to excite and motivate the girls of all levels. Throughout the season, girls talk about ‘nationals’ as the pinnacle, but the training, competition and camaraderie during their journey is what brings about unique friendships and ambition and maintains fitness. The challenge of a national competition, regardless of what team you represent, ultimately means that the majority continue to play at university and beyond. They develop an understanding that it’s not about the label of the team you play in, but about the enjoyment from competing and the social cohesion that team sports bring.

BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR DATA AND OUR FUNDRAISING PROMISE

We take your personal privacy seriously. We have a Confidentiality and Data Privacy Policy that is available on the St Catherine’s School website under ‘School Policies’. Communications we send might include publications, surveys, appeals and event marketing and may be sent by post, telephone or email. We will never release your details to any third parties for their use for marketing purposes. We are committed to high standards of fundraising, being open and honest, respectful of you and accountable for the support you give us. We adhere to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Codes of Best Practice and as a charity are registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Our Fundraising Promise and Vulnerable Adults commitments are on the Development section of the website. If at any time you would like to change your preferences, please call Dawn Pilkington on 01483 899751 or email association@stcatherines.info Thank you.