St Catherine's School Magazine 2017

St Catherine’s B ra m l e y

MAGAZINE 2017

A few words from the Editor Once again, it seems mere moments since the publication of last year’s Magazine: a testament to the sheer range of activities and events both inside and outside the classroom at St Catherine’s, many of which are reflected within these pages.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all contributors to the Magazine and I hope its pages capture many unforgettable moments of another exciting school year.

I would also like to thank Mrs Anderley Wade (co-Editor and Graphic Designer) for her magnificent creative input; Sophie Thompson and Alex Jones (Magazine Prefects); Mrs Jacqui Sadler (Prep School); Mrs Dawn Pilkington (Association); Ms Pippa Carte and Mrs Fiona Hayward (Development).

Photographs that preserve that special moment are crucial in any magazine and I would like to thank Miss Jasmine Andrews for her presence at so many school events, capturing the magic of each in her exceptional photographs.

Let Us Go On…….

Mr Philip Friend - Editor

FRONT COVER: Senior School Production: West Side Story - February 2017 INSIDE FRONT COVER: Prep House Gym - November 2017 INSIDE BACK COVER: Chesil Beach, Dorset: L5 Geography field trip 2017 BACK COVER: Prep School Production: Peter Pan - July 2017

CONTENTS PREP & SENIOR SCHOOL 2

PREP SCHOOL

SPEECH DAY

78 WELCOME

66 FAREWELL

79 CHARITIES, CLUBS & LIBRARY

108 COMMUNITY 110 DEVELOPMENT

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82 FORMS 96 MUSIC 98 DRAMA 99

ART & DT

102 SPORT

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114

SENIOR SCHOOL 8

TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

8 Zambia 14 Charities Board 13 Debating 14 Teen Tech 18 Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 20

SCHOOL HOUSES

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FROM THE ARCHIVE

126 82

ASSOCIATION 114 ASSOCIATION REPORT 118 ASSOCIATION NEWS

28 DRAMA

122 ASSOCIATION CHOIR

31 MUSIC

123 THE LONDON NETWORK

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42 TEXTILES

124 ST CATHERINE’S PRESENTS

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125 END-OF-TERM LECTURES

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

50 BOARDING 52 SPORT

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126 ASSOCIATION REUNIONS 128 TRAVEL AWARDS

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GUEST SPEAKER EMILY REVESS I would like to start by saying congratulations to each of the prize winners and by giving a warm welcome to the students, parents, governors and teachers.

I was very honoured when Mrs Phillips asked me to speak today. I am acutely aware that I am a lot younger than many of the previous Speech Day speakers, however as a proud ‘Old Girl’ myself, I hope to impart a little wisdom to you all in the Hall and watching in the Auditorium today about following your own path.

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SPEECHDAY AMP – Mr Mayor of Godalming, Ms Revess, Governors, Honoured Guests, members of the St Catherine’s Association worldwide, colleagues, parents, girls - both here and in the Auditorium: welcome to St Catherine’s Speech Day 2017.

Are we alone in a slight sense of déjà vu? We both felt that as we sat down to write this.

When we met here last year, the people had spoken about membership of the EU. This year, they have spoken about Strong and Stable leadership. They weren’t as keen on it as the Leadership thought they would be! I don’t want to be too political, but since this is a speech that is also going to talk about money, we may as well get straight to the dinner party taboo subjects! We will come to money later on. And, of course, this is not a dinner party!

First Politics. The recent Green Paper on Education - Schools that Work for Everyone - set out Theresa May’s first government’s clear ambition that independent schools like this must take financial leadership in helping state schools develop. However, with 95% of Surrey State Schools being rated by Ofsted as Outstanding or Good, there is understandably not much hunger our there to be ‘helped’. Indeed nothing could be better designed to irritate our colleagues running those excellent schools. Nonetheless, in May the possibility of primary legislation to enforce such relationships looked perilously close, adding an unnecessary edge of menace to what should be a far more positive sharing of skills and resources across schools in any area. Then, General Election, no outright Conservative majority. No more talk of more grammar schools and no White Paper.

For now.

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NJB - However, we have a longstanding link with Gosden House School, a state-funded Special School for Children with Complex Learning Needs half a mile up the A281. This relationship exists and continues to flourish through partnership, not legislation. The very first children to take swimming lessons here walked up from Gosden House in 1999 and they have been coming ever since. Long before anyone told us to offer such things.

This year our youngest pupils enjoyed Bramley Arts Day with Gosden; teachers have undertaken training together - for example a valuable INSET on dyscalculia, led by a colleague from Gosden, for teachers from local schools alongside our own. Such initiatives benefit children in both schools.

IT and grounds work have been offered as neighbourly support. Chloe Baker in the Lower 6 did her work experience week there, and was a complete hit with staff and students; 14 Upper 4 girls spent two days on a restoration project in Gosden grounds in June, and 6 Upper 5s have been there for a few days this week. Several specific ‘sharing’ moments are already planned for next year; our partnership will grow. * * * * * * AMP - 2016-17 is well documented for you in today’s programme. Particular highlights were: the record breaking outcomes of the current Lower 6 in their GCSEs last August. Much hard work - girls and staff - richly rewarded. Next year’s Upper 5 now face the ‘Hand of Gove’ GCSE revisions, not in huge number for us at first, as we stick with the IGCSE specifications for now, but in the new national gradings which have been imposed, 1 up to 9, and some reprogramming of expectations is in hand. In the new grading system, it has

I would like to start this speech by encouraging the girls, to spend their time trying to identify what they are passionate about. I implore you to go and find out what makes you happy and fulfilled. Go and find what intrigues you and stimulates your passion. Then, if you work hard enough, you might just be able to make a career out of it.

I spent the past seven years volunteering and working as a gender equality campaigner. I’ve just started a new job as a Policy Advisor in the Cabinet Office in Westminster. For those girls who don’t have the privilege of taking Mr Gladwell’s politics class, the Cabinet Office supports the Prime Minister to ensure the effective running of the UK government. I began this new role the week of the election, so as you can imagine it has been quite the baptism of fire!

When I left school in 2010 with A and AS Levels in Economics, English, Politics and a deep hatred of Maths much to the disappointment of Mr Friend, I began doing internships in politics and public affairs, including with our local MP, Anne Milton. I continued to gain experience before the inevitable ‘gap yah’ travels to far-flung beaches to celebrate my newfound adulthood.

During my undergraduate degree in international politics at UCL and then my masters in politics at LSE, I volunteered for a number of women’s charities, including one that supported female survivors of human trafficking and another that helped survivors of domestic violence.

I also worked with political parties and organisations to engage young women in politics.

These roles opened my eyes to the difficulty that some women face to have the same access to the social, political and economic freedoms I had enjoyed my entire life. I had left St Catherine’s with a firm belief that I could achieve anything I wanted in life. It was a shocking revelation

SENIOR & PREP SCHOOL

been declared that the top grade, 9, will be awarded to many fewer papers than was the A*. Pass mark boundaries and Grades 7 and 8 will be set at what may seem alarmingly low percentage marks by current standards.

Girls will adjust to this. As for the Grade 9, in School we will award only up to Grade 8 for school assessments. Government intention is to recalibrate what success looks like at GCSE nationwide and a good run of Grades 8 and 7 will be it! Forget full line ups of A* or 9s. An occasional grade 9 will be, in the words of the Chairman of the Independent Schools Council, a nice surprise on the day, but like icing on a cake, only good for you in moderation.

when I realised the barriers that prevented other young women from believing the same thing.

I began doing some public speaking about the work I was doing to engage young women in social and political issues.

One of the first major speeches I gave at the age of 21 was at a youth leadership conference in Johannesburg, South Africa on stage with Sir Bob Geldof and Kofi Annan. Another highlight was launching a project against modern slavery with the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, in the House of Lords.

During my Masters studies at LSE, I came under increasing pressure to decide which direction my life would take. I rejected several lucrative offers of employment, including one from Google, however I knew in my gut it wasn’t for me. It was an agonising wait for my parents, and at times I thought about just settling for what others perceived to be a ‘good job’ because of the pressure.

Forget targeting perfection, therefore; focus instead on excellence of scholarship and effort. Much healthier.

NJB: In October, the long awaited inspectors called in week 1 of a pilot of a new inspection framework. Girls and staff rose to the occasion, delighting in showing them every aspect of St Catherine’s. In the words of one inspector, ‘I couldn’t even go to the loo without one of the Prep School girls offering assistance!’

The girls’ pride in their school is always strong but it was really genuine and impressive in that week.

Record numbers of responses to the girls and parents survey were also highly supportive and contributed to an excellent report of which we are proud. Thank you.

Some findings are worth repeating today: Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary and they enjoy a strong rapport with their teachers and peers. Teachers create an ambience of encouragement in which learning thrives….

There is an instilled culture of celebrating success with each other in a friendly but respectful environment.

AMP - In other news - as the girls like to say - the Band of the Welsh Guards gave an unforgettable St Catherine’s Presents … alongside Concert Band, whom you heard this morning, after a workshop afternoon the young musicians won’t forget. The Prep School Harvest Festival in Godalming enchanted us as always: the first of the termly collaborations between Prep Music and Drama which have been ambitious, creative and inspiring this year. Senior House Art was adjudicated by Lily Palmer, daughter of the late John Palmer, former Headmaster, and marked appropriately the 20th anniversary of the opening of the John Palmer Arts Centre. West Side Story in February was a superb whole school musical.

SPEECHES

Magnificent soloists, dancers, chorus, technical crew, and band almost all drawn from the pupil body. February into March means National Finals for winter sports. For lacrosse: the U19B and U15A teams won national champion trophies, and in Netball, the U19s were national plate finalists, and U16 and U12 Surrey County Finalists, beaten only by small margins by great opposition.

Sophie Tamblyn was made captain of England U19 Lacrosse team for the Home internationals and will play again for them in the U19 World Cup in Guildford in two weeks, along with fellow national caps, Flora Burdett, Imogen Walker and Molly McLean who will represent their home nations. In the Prep School, teams made it to National Finals in Athletics, Biathlon, Gymnastics and Swimming.

The Charities Board Fashion and Talent Show took its traditional place immediately after Sixth Form Mocks in March and raised a wonderful £5,500 for one of our ‘best friend’ charities, Afghan Connection, and a new one - World Bicycle Relief, which captured our imaginations in an Assembly earlier this year. Meanwhile, Anna Litvinenko, ranked 7th lady in GB for Ice Skating, and came 3rd for Great Britain at a Senior International Competition in Bulgaria. Hannah LoeffenGallagher returned from the ski season as 1st in the English Female U18 category in the Slalom, Giant Slalom and the Super G and the 1st English U18 overall in the English Championship FIS races in Bormio,

1. The Governors, Headmistresses, SMT & Guest Speaker Emily Revess (2010) 2. Guest speaker (alumna) Emily Revess

It was only when I was delivering another speech later that year, that my future boss emerged from the crowd and asked me to come straight in for an interview at an international consultancy. I spent a year working in London and Johannesburg on some really interesting client accounts including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF, specialising in public policy and social impact. During that year, the Huffington Post listed me as one of the top 15 gender equality campaigners worldwide.

What you might consider as the right job may not be what others perceive it to be. I am absolutely thrilled to be working now at the heart of politics in Westminster, however I would never have got to this job if it were not for my passion for gender equality.

Last year, I spoke at a St Catherine’s London Network event about the importance of role models. If your interests don’t necessarily align within the role models available to you, go and find your own. If you don’t know what you are passionate about or what you want to do yet, go and speak to people and try things out. Find your own role models and ask their advice.

The girls sitting in this hall are some of the brightest and most ambitious students in the country. Be proud of your achievements so far and I implore you to leave this school excited and inspired about the opportunities available to you next.

Dream big, be bold and follow your passions.

ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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NJB - The St Catherine’s Association launched The London Network in the spectacular venue of the Leadenhall Building or ‘Cheesegrater’. Our host was Prep School Parent, Tracy Meller, the first woman partner of Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners. Senior School parent, Rosemary Squire - co-founder of the Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd and CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment Group, gave the inaugural address as the Chair. Our guest speaker today then reflected on the need for women to create strong careers networks.

Big thanks go to parents who are Champions of the London Network aimed at supporting our young alumnae in their careers.

1 Italy. Claudia Lance Jones has represented England in cross country running and has been selected to run for England in the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas this summer. This term, Cariad Norris won the U13 Welsh Championships in Athletics and Olivia Okoli represented U21 GB in Mannheim, Germany, last weekend, and ran the 100m in a PB of 11.62 seconds.

She will also represent GB at the European Youth Championships in Italy as the No 1 runner later this month. The support of senior athletes inspired the U13 athletics team who came back from national championships last week in 5th place out of an original 636 teams, whilst last Friday the U13 Rounders team came 2nd in their Nationals.

NJB -The U6 Leavers’ Recitals included the largest ever number of individual and ensemble performances. You can hear some of these again this afternoon. The whole year group sang as a choir which you will also hear again later on today. Middle School Concert saw 84 girls in the Intermediate Orchestra - combined Middle and Prep.

School - filling the auditorium stage and making the building ring.

Two weeks ago, in just 3 weeks, after their AS Levels, the L6 gave us a joyous Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. What better way to demonstrate an all-round education?

As recognised by the inspectors: ‘By the time they leave school, girls are able to think critically, have high aspirations and a self-belief that there are few things that they cannot achieve.’ * * * * * * AMP - Next come some ‘one-off’ projects of the year to whet your appetite for visiting the specific exhibitions on your programme: those are the new initiatives that our

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colleagues just can’t help themselves from adding to the mix: GSA’s Dads4Daughters campaign was launched at the Philanthropy Board’s Dads and Daughters Charity Dinner in late January. Young alumnae have answered a questionnaire about their experience of gender bias in the workplace and we shared the findings with parents. Several parents responded with written pieces which we then published. The project is demonstrating its work in the Speech Hall Library today from 2pm and I believe there is also a questionnaire for the Mums to complete.

NJB - We celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Upper 4 Exchange with St Cat’s Melbourne, last week. A particular welcome to the Australian parents who are in the audience, Mr and Mrs Robertson and Mrs Rogers. Memories of the exchange and what it has given to the participants are on display in the Lower Atrium, as is another archive exhibition created for the recent reunion of the Golden Girls - alumnae of the 1940s, 1950’s and 1960’s.

AMP - Mrs Meredith’s September assembly on the wisdom of hindsight has led to a publication - Letters to my Younger Self. Find it on the Community area of the Website. A collection of reassuring words for girls of all ages in both Schools from their older peers, it is recommended reading for parents and girls alike. It is truly delightful.

The Senior PTA generously funded the digitization of the School’s earliest Archives up to 1960. Call in to the Speech Hall Library to see the demonstration. Anyone can access all the material.

In August, the U6 Drama group - Pulse - are taking a devised piece to the Edinburgh Fringe. The work has emerged from the Two Chairs Project on interfaith and intercultural understanding, led by Mrs Townley in conjunction with Professor James Hodkinson of Warwick University. The group perform a working rehearsal today in the Senior Drama Studio.

In the Prep School, thanks to a parent, Sarah Thomas, we held our very first Emergency Services Day. Given recent tragic events in London it seemed a very fitting time to shine a reassuring light on the superb service given by paramedics, A&E teams and fire

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Jane Garvey, joined us to celebrate 70 years of Woman’s Hour, the Radio 4 programme she co-hosts. Shortly afterwards, Annabel Lewis (U6) informed me that she had emailed Jane directly, asked if she might interview her, and coolly been offered not just an interview but a visit to Broadcasting House to watch the programme go out live!

Ms Garvey’s advice had been, if you ever want to do something, just ask for it. Very St Cat’s, Bella. I was impressed!

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SPEECHES

4 crews. One girl in PPII piped up as she sat donning a bright yellow helmet in the cab of the fire truck, ‘Can girls be firemen?’ The response from four rather burly firemen a resounding, ‘Yes.’ * * * * * * * AMP - This week we sent you a reminder of our 2016 presentation which rounded off the Vision for St Catherine’s which I launched in 2006 with my former colleague Kathleen Jefferies. We were pretty nervous! Today we are proud to present the School’s new Strategic Plan. We have called it Create the Future. No great school can stand still. The St Catherine’s wheel turns. We continue to be ambitious for the School and the education we provide while remembering that our job is to enable our pupils to reach their full potential, thrive in their lives and play their part in society.

To realise our next ambitions as quickly as we would like to, we need your help. Such support has been at the heart of St Catherine’s for over 130 years. The School was founded with philanthropic support the first Board raised £4000 in gifts to create the school in 1885. £1,000 was donated to build the Chapel. Next the Speech Hall in 1935, then the Centenary Building in 1985.

(You can actually view the page from the school ledger for the Speech Hall in the Speech Hall Library today.) You can also view a fascinating timeline of our History in Buildings in the Lower Atrium, too. In our more recent history, £2.1 million of support came from the School community, making our 2006 vision a reality more quickly than we had ever anticipated possible.

Parents also supported us by investing in

our advanced fees scheme. The result, the superb Anniversary Halls in which we sit today.

So what are the School’s next needs? Two major projects form the backbone of the plans. They support and enhance two significant existing strengths of the School: the Sixth Form and our Science, Maths and Technology departments. Each deserves a space in which to function that is designed and equipped for 21st century learning.

NJB - Our Sixth Form students are role models of academic focus and achievement, extra-curricular commitment, leadership and loyalty.

They inspire younger members of the School - right down to the Pre-Prep girls. Younger girls watch keenly and anticipate their turn to gain the privileges that go with being at the top of the school: working in the Speech Hall Library, enjoying the Common Rooms or becoming boarders in the ‘CB, Unit or BP’.

Our first priority is new Sixth Form boarding accommodation and a wonderful Common Room space for all Sixth Formers.

The fully collegiate Sixth Form community is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of St Cat’s. The Sixth Form live and work together, preparing for university life and for careers which will span the globe.

Our highest proportion of boarders is in the Sixth Form where it has been 40 – 50% of every year group since 2000.

AMP - Boarding sets us apart from our local competitors, too. Our School is, if you like, a village, not an office block. It is the place where people live: resident academic staff and pupils, staff families and often their pets. This in turn adds a significant benefit to the whole School community, not just the boarders. Their home from home is welcoming 24/7 and the opportunities on offer to everyone extend into the evenings and across weekends.

The arrival of the Speech Hall Library has provided state of the art study space for the Sixth Form. A brand new Sixth Form building on the site now occupied by the quaintly named ‘Unit’ and the ‘vertically challenged’ Barbara Platt building is the final piece of the Sixth Form jigsaw. We are calling it, very simply, ‘6’! * * * * * * NJB - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are key components of a broad, dynamic, contemporary education.

They are already major strengths in both Schools. However, the fabric of their 1970s senior school home - West Block - is tired and starting to look like a decidedly shabby next to its near neighbours. As for the ICT porta-cabins, tucked in between the Long Run and Chapel - well, we think it’s high time to make Senior IT and Computer Science more visible! Key areas of study require forward looking spaces for experimentation and discovery.

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The Headmistresses Awards Awards Jazz Band provide lunchtime entertainment ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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The second big project will therefore be a new STEM Centre to be created where West Block stands at present. It will house Physics and Biology Labs, Maths Classrooms, a new School Library and Digital learning space, the Computer Science Department and IT. Also included will be larger tutor room spaces and meeting rooms for our school houses. We are calling it the CATalyst.

We are delighted that the STEM development is in fact already underway with a complete refurbishment of the Prep Science Lab. Thanks to a generous benefactor, by September 2017 we will see a bright, spacious new science facility in Upper Court. By September 2018, to begin our CATalyst Campaign, an additional Senior laboratory will be added to the Millennium Building through the conversion of Room M3.

A third project, more modest in scale, but equally valuable to the education of the girls, will be an extension to the John Palmer Centre to bring Textiles alongside Art, Ceramics and DT, and create a larger dedicated sixth form art studio. We have called it the MakerSpace project.

AMP - For the two major buildings, we will work out from this corner of the senior site - the A281 and Station Road junction by Budgens. To help you envisage this, a model of the Senior School site is on display in the Lower Atrium. The Governors, Development Director, Pippa Carte, Foundation Office staff and senior colleagues warmly invite you to visit the Create the Future display and to take a wander beyond West Block, too, following the signs down The Street!

Please do go and look at the sites and the model in the Lower Atrium.

The School’s finances are robustly secure.

Registrations have never been higher at all levels. Fees remain competitive and the governors are committed, along with both of us, to keeping increases as low as possible without sacrificing standards. The power of the St Catherine’s community, represented by the now firmly established St Catherine’s Association, is significant. We are ready to make another bold move, and this time we can look around us here and know with confidence that it has been done before!

We therefore invite you to help us deliver the very best educational experience for your daughters.

Please join the community of support at whatever level feels right for you. Stand in the garden in the corner of the site and imagine the two buildings in place and you will instantly see why we are so very excited

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about the plan. It has been a long time in the gestation. The more help that you can give us, the faster we can do it. As the aunt of a boarder and the mother of a boarder, we have both pledged a gift to the first Campaign - for the 6 Building. * * * * * * NJB - Our thank-yous and farewells begin with heartfelt tributes to some long-serving governors who have given far more to the School than will be easily summarised here or perhaps ever known to parents and girls: Mr Mark Way, architect governor, and Mr Tim Kendall, Chair of the Estates and Buildings, and Mrs Miranda Greenway, Chairman of the Academic Committee and a Class of 1960 alumna. All three Governors become Members of the Company and we will continue to see them at AGMs and other functions. Helen Bowcock steps down as a governor but has kindly agreed to remain an Advocate fo our Bursary Fundraising campaign.

Staff leavers this year range from those who have been with us for a relatively short time, perhaps just a term or a year: Margarita Perez Garcia (Head of Spanish); Deborah Owen (Lacrosse coach); Mary Harding (Prep Office Junior); Sonja Bork (Languages assistant); Romy Wilkin (Class of 2013 Lacrosse coach); Our Gappies team of 2016 - Alexandra Hindmarsh, Claire Downes, Sophie Joubert, Alana McIntyre, Grace Naughton, Samantha Cleland; Emily Buckett (PE); Anna Mester (German Maternity Cover); Mark Darlington (Business Manager); Hélène Favre Bulle (Musician in residence); Jean Reid (Classics); Lucy Grant (Lacrosse Coach); Joe McHardy (Music).

AMP - After two years, we say farewell to Alex Penson (Estates), Laura McLardy (Fine Art), Chloe Abbott (Trumpet teacher), Hilary Collett (Gap student) ; Genevieve

Griffiths-Burdon (Prep. School) and Sarah Phillips (History of Art). Mrs Phillips you may recall made national news when she refused to allow the axing of her subject, A Level History of Art. With the Arts Establishment at her back, and galvanised

by GSA colleagues, she set about organising a successful national campaign and was engaged by Pearson to write the new specifications for this September.

Those with up to 5 years’ service are: Rachael McCann (lifeguard/sports club receptionist); Stephen Pink (IT Senior Technician); Janet Glover (Dance Waiting); Rebecca Wade (Pre-Prep teacher); Amy Gillman (Prep. PE); and Tyrone Smith (Facilities and lettings Coordinator).

NJB - We would like to make special mention of Lucinda Norman and Charlotte George, Boarding Housemistresses of Bronte and Keller, each for four years, who move on this year to new challenges. We thank them in particular for their brand of full time care for our boarding pupils aged 11-13 and 15-16. Value Added at St Catherine’s is at its absolute highest in the boarding community, something the ISI inspectors reviewed very closely just to be sure! They and the other boarding housemistresses have this term worked to define what we are calling the Four pillars of boarding: Fully Qualified and Expert Boarding Staff; Fabulous Facilities open all the time; Flexible and Affordable Boarding; Friends for Life, and Foundations for the Future.

Nick Morgan, French and German teacher, Acting Head of German, Head of Additional Languages – languages other than MFL – senior chess club leader, and custodian of assorted national flags and the flagpole itself leaves us after 6 years.

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Families picnicking on Speech Day Art Display

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AMP - Cathy Lamb, Head of curriculum ICT relocates to Australia to be closer to her family after 7 years tenure during which we have seen the steady introduction of coding modules to all Middle and Senior School ICT teaching, not to mention competitions and a variety of activities to promote Computer Science as a subject. Janet Charlesworth in the Prep. School departs for a complete change of scene and challenge in Guangzhou (Gwan-joe), China, after 9 years as a dedicated class teacher of PPI and PPII. Nine much longer-serving colleagues leaving this year have given, between them, 153 years’ service to this School in a wide range of roles. In the Visiting Music Team, Elena Krivenko (Piano) and Sally Rolls (Oboe) retired earlier in the year; Yvonne Akehurst (Cat Club Supervisor); and Krystyna Latuske, (Fees Administrator) retired after 17 years.

In Modern Languages, Head of French, Lucy Strong, Class of 1987, steps out of teaching here after 16 years; Judy Corben retired in October after 22 years on the admin staff, the last 15 as Senior School Registrar. She is known to many in the room as the first face of their St Cat’s Journey.

Chris Peskett retires this year after 26 years in many roles: teacher of Food and Nutrition, Bronte Boarding Housemistress, Head of PSHE, Housemistress of Ashcombe House and subsequently part time teacher. Almost a whole career.

Turning to our Senior colleagues, Heather Bryn-Thomas, teacher of Maths and School timetabler, former Housemistress of RB, School Administrator, Director of Studies, latterly Chapel Warden and Director of UCAS and Higher Education has filled her 14 years here to the brim with dedicated service and time for everyone.

NJB - We say a fond farewell to Jill Cochrane, Deputy Head and Head of Pre Prep, after 15 years of outstanding service. Jill has been there to encourage our youngest pupils (and their parents) and, indeed, me as well, from

their very first days at St Catherine’s. Many girls will be sitting here today remembering their time in Mrs Cochrane’s class. She has undertaken her duties as Deputy Head with the utmost professionalism and been a hugely supportive colleague to us both. We wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement.

Finally, Christine Silver retired at Christmas after 28 and a half years at St Catherine’s: Maths teacher, Ashcombe House Tutor, Head of Maths, School Administrator and finally Business Manager, Mrs Silver’s skilful management of the School’s finances established practices that continue and further underpin our confidence for the future. To them and all the staff leaving this year, we say farewell and thank you.

AMP - The biggest group of leavers today, though, are the Class of 2017. The last year group to be born in the last century, the first to move into the Sports Hall, the last to enjoy - endure? - assembly in the Speech Hall, and the first to see their whole Sixth Form career in the Sixth Form Library, occasionally to make it look somewhat more, how shall we say, ‘lived in’ than it should! - and to brand it the SHLib! Among them are the ‘Lifers’: Ellie Bacon, Lucinda Batcheler, Lauren Beavis, Isabella Bourne, Sanmarie Grobler, Anne-Claire Holden, Courtney Johnson, Joanna Phillips, Alice Pink, Izzy Rust, Jasmin Sharpe, Annabel Strong, Olivia Trimming and Katie Vega.

As is my tradition, I offer all the leavers some quotations to inspire and steady them on their way. First, I chose some wise counsel from their Head of Sixth Form in her presentation at the Leavers’ Lunch: ‘Pray for courage and wisdom, not things. Remember that it is what you do rather than what you have that defines ultimately your character.’ I also gave some thought to your parents who might like this: When you have teenagers it is important to have a dog so that somebody in the house is pleased to see you!

SPEECHES

Finally, from your own musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - an outstanding production from start to finish, accomplished in just two weeks - some memories kindly supplied by co-director Claudie Gilchrist, self-confessed devotee of all things Musicals. Would you join me up here, Claudie, to provide a more credible New York accent than I can muster?

– and she did: ‘If you have education and intelligence, so much the better. But remember thousands have reached the top without any of these qualities.’ Then a mantra that most of us in the Staff Room live by: ‘If I can’t take my coffee break something within me dies.’

And finally, some careers advice which I love. Imagine you are reading from the book, ‘How to succeed etc…’: ‘How to handle a disaster. Should you be the cause of a disaster, which is really disastrous, we suggest your best bet is to review the first chapter of the book How to apply for a job’! * * * * * * NJB - How do you distil all that a School really stands for? What wins a special place in the heart? A regular activity or a fleeting moment? A particular sense of belonging or a specific achievement? Public recognition, or simply knowing deep down that something you’ve contributed behind the scenes and maybe no one knows about has made a difference to someone?

Inspection reports can only deal with a part of it. You have to live it to know it.

Put simply, the best moments here are captured in a single word: ‘Unforgettable.’

AMP - Jasmine Andrews, our school photographer, specialises in capturing so many of these magical moments in her wonderful photographs. Anderley Wade, our graphic designer, makes them sing, on our website and in our advertising. And Gillian David, Marketing coordinator, has drawn all the threads together in our new branding and adverts. You will have seen one on the front lawn today as you drove in which will be used to promote us at the World Lacrosse tournament later this month and although it is not obvious features Arie Pearson. We hope you like the concept.

NJB - No doubt, this afternoon mobiles will be out snapping away and capturing activities throughout the afternoon. Please visit the exhibitions and then choose your favourite area for the 2pm sessions.

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AMP - As afternoon becomes evening, ‘selfies’ of friends for life will be snapped at the Leavers’ Ball. Cherish these ‘unforgettable’ moments: ‘the time of your lives’. We most certainly do.

‘Let us go on…’

ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

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SENIORSCHOOL ZAMBIA Sophie Thompson (L6)

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n July 2017, a group of 23 L6 girls travelled to Zambia and Botswana with Mrs Arrick, Mrs Berry, and Miss Kirrage for three weeks. During our time in Zambia the trip was split into four different phases: acclimatisation, our project, the trek, and rest and relaxation. The project was the most time-consuming part of our trip, which we completed at Chisyabulungu School.

Having acclimatised in Livingstone, we travelled seven hours to Chisyabulungu.

When we arrived, we were greeted by many children, who all ran alongside our bus as we drove up. We had a small welcoming ceremony involving traditional Zambian dances and some traditional English singing from us, including Reach for the Stars and We’re all in this together from High School

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Musical. The children were amazing dancers and singers, and they had been preparing for weeks to impress us, so it was an extremely special moment for all of us.

The school was composed of several classrooms, a dining area, a pump, a garden, and the headmaster’s house. We camped on site at the school for the week we spent there. During our time, we helped to build a new pre-school classroom. It was hard work mixing cement and carrying bricks by hand, especially in the Zambian heat, but having seen the need for an extra classroom it made our work worth it. As well as building we helped to paint an open area with trees and animals. It was a truly humbling experience for all of us and we were all extremely touched by the goodbye speech given by the Headmaster at the end of our stay.

We also enjoyed playing with the children at the School. This was definitely the favourite part of the trip for most of us.

We played football with all the children, as well as classic English games like Duck, duck, goose and Ring-a-ring-a-roses. We played hand clapping games and taught them the continent song; this was especially touching as the same evening we heard the children walking home singing it. They even taught us some Tonga and their games. We had the opportunity to go into the classroom and teach some of the children, and their determination to learn and their eagerness were incredible to all of us.

During our trek, we stayed in two local villages where we were thoroughly welcomed and experienced the local

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culture. We also were able to stay on an island called Nampene Island. The island was beautiful, with small built areas for us to rest and relax, which was another highlight for many of us. Another highlight was a lunchtime cruise down the River Zambezi where we saw hippos, crocodiles and elephants. We had the opportunity to go into the Livingstone markets where many of us haggled and were determined to get some good deals and get rid of any remaining Kwacha! Another treat was going to Botswana for a two-day safari, where we had two game drives and a river game cruise. As a surprise, Mrs Arrick had organised a trip to an elephant sanctuary for orphans. We were able to feed and stroke the elephants, and found it amazing that we were able to get so close to the elephants.

Overall, it was a magnificent trip which we all enjoyed so much. We are all so grateful to Mrs Arrick for organising it, especially as it took a whole year to plan but was extremely worthwhile.

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SB Chisy: St Cat’s last day SB Chisy building 5 SB Chisy children

SENIOR SCHOOL

After we had completed our mornings of lessons we were given the opportunity to explore the city and visit some of the main Valencian attractions. We started with a walking tour of Valencia, followed by a trip to the beach, shopping in the local market, two trips to the cinema, a cooking class with Chef Nando, a trip to the Museum of arts and sciences and even a trip to the museum of rice! However, I think it is safe to say our favourites had to be the dolphin show at the Oceanografico and the many trips for Churros!

A visit to the country itself is undoubtedly the best way to improve your spoken language and we benefited hugely from this trip.

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10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AUSTRALIA EXCHANGE Amelia Haywood, Emma von Schoenberg, Gaby Ahl, Katie Creswell, Emma Robertson, Izzy McDonald, Chloe Rodgers & Julia Thompson 2

VALENCIA 2017 Upper Six Spanish Students

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n New Year’s Day 2017, eight U6 Spanish students wearily got out of bed to catch a flight to Valencia, a city on the east coast of Spain. We spent the week staying with host families in groups of two or three. We enjoyed having the opportunity to chat in Spanish with our family at mealtimes and learn more about the culture of Valencia, including the celebration of Epiphany and Los Reyes Magos. This event marks the day when the Three Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus, and for most Spanish families, it is more important than Christmas Day! We joined in the festivities by watching the procession of the Kings, called la cabalgata, and eating the traditional cake, el Roscón de Reyes.

On Monday morning to Thursday morning we attended classes entirely in Spanish at Taronja School. These lessons were on a range of topics from free time to the environment, and involved many exciting activities such as going onto the street and asking the Spanish public their opinion on controversial topics like bullfighting. We all enjoyed the lessons as they were interactive and fun, and we loved the enthusiasm of our teachers.

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Playa Paella Australian Exchange April 2017 in Bramley Australian Exchange January 2017 in Melbourne

We celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Australia Exchange this year. As part of the celebrations, in Melbourne they held a breakfast party and in Bramley we held a traditional Afternoon Tea. An account of this year’s exchange follows:

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e know you are all excited to hear about what happens on the Australian exchange, both ‘down under’ and back on home soil. It is safe to

TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

say that the whole experience has been incredible and very much a part of all the exchange girls’ lives that they will treasure and talk about forever.

From the moment when we first handed in our applications we knew the whole process was not only a massive challenge but the opportunity of a lifetime.

How many people can say that they did an exchange the other side of the world for three months at the age of 14! After the excitement of being selected for the exchange, we had a few weeks until we found out our exchange sisters, who we quickly managed to track down on social media. Not only was it exciting for us to make contact with our exchange, our parents were also making new friends! This was going to be as much of a journey for them as us. Emails and messages bounced across the world and it was soon upon us that we had to pack our bags, and leave our comfort zone for three months. We never looked back!

From the moment we arrived in Melbourne we were embraced by our host families and kept busy for literally three months with visits to beach houses, pool parties and BBQ’s, the Melbourne Open, an Aussie family farm, Sydney, Noosa, Melbourne City. The list goes on! It is difficult to know how we fitted in so much around the intensity of rowing training that we did. The excitement and drive for the rowing was to perform well in the School Girls Championships, which we were all really proud of, especially competing for St Catherine’s Melbourne.

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ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

School life was very different; finishing the day at 3:30pm was very strange, but the rest was needed after the early mornings to train on the river. St Catherine’s Melbourne is very similar to St Cat’s Bramley in the ethos and friendly family feel, but it is squeezed onto a much smaller site. Packed lunches were a novelty and getting trams and trains was very different to the usual drive to school. We embraced new subjects and made many more friends within school.

Being part of such wonderful families; exchange sister, siblings and parents, was an amazing privilege and we have definitely made friends for life. The departure date came around far too quickly, did we even have time to miss home? We said our goodbyes to our families for three months, and it was difficult to know who cried the most. But in two weeks we would be recharged and ready to be reunited with our exchange sisters and show them around our home turf!

As they stepped off the plane after the most horrendous delay, we did not want them to stop, so most of us decided that fish and chips on Brighton Beach was a good place to start the English dream. Even though the Aussies had been told that this beach did not even have proper sand, they had no clue that it was entirely just pebbles.

As the three months began all the Australian girls can remember is it started off freezing cold, and waking up with frost on their windows! But weather aside every weekend all of the families were very busy, starting the first week fitting uniforms, guided tours of school and settling into school life.

The next weekend we all spent some quality time together in Bath. We hired a lovely apartment and had heaps of fun visiting all of the old Roman baths and even got to bathe in one. We have to admit we did look quite funny all walking around with our umbrellas and beanies with the UK flag

on them! Before we knew it, that weekend was over and we could not wait to start the second week of school!

We then went into London for shopping, which was amazing. I will never forget walking into the Victoria Secret and we were all standing still looking in awe at the four story shop with its glass staircases. That weekend we also went to Thorpe Park which was a lot of fun.

In our time in England, we have seen Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, The Shard, a boat trip down the Thames, the London Eye, Portsmouth Harbour and Wimbledon Lawn tennis. And some of us were lucky enough to go on fantastic weekend trips to Paris, Barcelona, Prague, Sweden and Devon (the sun even shone).

We also went into London for a day and saw the Colonel’s Review of the Trooping of the Colour, and got to see Prince William on a white horse, and later that evening we went up to Wembley for the Summer Time Ball. Imagine that: seeing Prince William in the morning and Shawn Mendes in the afternoon!

So as you can see we have been flat-out visiting England, and Europe, and have all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The whole exchange has been a terrific experience, which has enriched us with independence, knowledge and maturity.

We all have memories and friendships to share forever and thank all of those that made this journey so magical.

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ACTIVITIES WEEK

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ctivities Week is an exciting time for girls, allowing them to let off steam following their examinations as well as giving them opportunities to experience areas that are new for them or, in many cases, to step outside their comfort zone.

Upper 3 started off the week camping at Lasham before heading back to school for some exciting musical activities that included working on extracts from the musical Cats. The girls also enjoyed a day of LARP (Live Action Role Play), which has proved so popular each year during Activities Week.

Lower 4 girls spent the week in Manchester for an action-packed programme of activities that included a tour of the BBC studios, including the BBC newsroom, with some girls reading the news and delivering the weather forecast.

The girls also enjoyed learning about the architecture of Manchester and visited Old Trafford football ground. A visit to the

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ST CATHERINE’S 2017

L5 in Rouen U4 raft building in Somerset U4 potholing in Somerset Ski Trip to Serre Chevalier

TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

National Space Centre in Leicester on their way back to school rounded off an excellent week.

Upper 4 spent their week in Somerset with exciting outward bounds activities.

The Lower 5 girls spent the week in either France, Germany or Spain, putting into practice the language skills they had learned.

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A selection of accounts from the girls follows:

Izzy Johns & Evie Burrowes (L5)

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he L5 French students went on a trip to Rouen in France for Activities Week. We stayed with French families in twos and threes to practise our French conversation and immerse ourselves in French culture. This was quite nervewracking as some of us still could not actually form sentences in French! However, by the end of the week we all became more confident and we got to know our families really well.

We all had such a great time, visiting some interesting sites such as the Joan of Arc Museum and the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as seeing some beautiful places such as Honfleur and Monet’s garden.

L5 Spanish students

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his year, 56 girls and 6 staff went to Madrid for their Activities Week trip. It was a fun-packed week with something for everyone. Highlights included rowing on the lake in the Parque del Retiro, visiting the Reina Sofia art gallery and looking round the Palacio Real. We also had day trips to the historic towns of Toledo and Segovia, soaking up the culture at the gothic cathedral and the Alcázar.

There was also the opportunity for a bit of retail therapy in some of Spain’s renowned clothes shops, and the froyo – frozen yoghurt - was a particular hit in the heat.

We spent the four evenings of the trip with host families. They were very welcoming and accommodating. It provided a great opportunity to practise our language skills and it expanded our knowledge of Spanish culture and cuisine.

The week went by really quickly and before we knew it we were on the plane home. ¡Lo pasamos bomba!

Sofya Boruleva (U4)

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uring Activities Week, the U4 year group went on a trip to Somerset for a week of fun and challenging activities. We were split into six groups and took turns with caving, climbing, coasteering, mountain biking and raft building. Some of us have never tried these, so we had to overcome our fears and just have a go! I have asked my classmates about

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the difficulties they came across and they were happy to share their experiences with me. For example, one of my friends was particularly nervous about trying caving for the first time as the idea of crawling in narrow passages between the rocks scared her as she is claustrophobic. However, she had very supportive people around her and the small spaces did not seem quite as bad as they kept moving. Her group kept encouraging her and they sang songs to make the whole experience more fun. She said: “If I did caving again, I would not be as worried because the places that seemed small at the beginning were in fact bigger and I found being in tight spaces better than I thought I would”.

Coasteering was also a part of the Activities Week that required a few people to step out of their comfort zone. A girl in my group told me: “I never pictured myself jumping off cliffs into the ocean. I have always been scared of heights but I guess there is a first time for everything.” What motivated her the most was the fact that the water was so refreshing on the hot day and it made her look forward to taking off from the rocks. The instructors were also very comforting and persuading, helping her each time when she was unsure of jumping.

Others who were frightened of heights found climbing a challenge, especially as the task was to ascend natural rocks which is far more difficult than scaling up an indoor climbing wall. Nevertheless, every group worked hard as a team to help everyone climb up as far as they could by pulling down on the ropes and saying where there

were good places to hold on or step on to.

Many people who I asked told me that they would be more confident when they do rock climbing again as they know that their team will always be there to help.

I was quite afraid of mountain biking as I have only rode a bike a couple of times beforehand and only on a straight path. The instructors taught me a lot of useful skills that allowed me to enjoy the activity and they were always ready to offer assistance when I was a little wobbly. I was placed into a group with people with the same ability as me and this made me feel much more self - assured.

Everyone found the trip very exciting and it was a great team-building experience.

I think that we have grown to know each other as a year group and we are pleased to have tried something new this year.

WORLD BOOK DAY Mrs Laura Bainbridge

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he highlight of Book Week is World Book Day, Thursday 2nd March, and the Senior School saw a vibrant array of Book Character outfits once again. The theme for Book Week was a Historical one, based on the life of Queen Victoria. The whole school assembly on the Monday was taken up with the life of Queen Victoria, with her loves, likes and legacy explored in detail by Mrs Bainbridge. There was a quiz for the girls in the library on the life of Queen Victoria, with a small prize awarded if all the answers were correct.

Many of the costumes on World Book Day had a Historical book theme. Leading the way from the staff this year was Mrs Hay as ‘Cleopatra’, with an amazing wig and make-up and Mr Worthen as ‘Robin Hood’, sporting his bow and arrow very professionally. These were closely followed

by Mrs Ashby as an ‘Evacuee’ with gas mask, and Mrs Strong as ‘Charlotte Grey’ from

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World Book Day World Book Day Queen Victoria ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

1 the French Resistance. Mrs McQuade was a beautiful Spanish princess.

Bel Casciani Govan led the way for the girls, as an elegant and regal young Queen Victoria.

We had a great Margaret Thatcher donned with wig and clutching the iconic handbag of course! There were some great groups; such as Noah and his Ark surrounded by his animals, a great set of Harry Potter characters, with Lucy Price showcasing the best outfit there. There was a lovely trio of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Three little Pigs.

There was also Alice in Wonderland and Queen of Hearts characters, as well as a scary Skulduggery Pleasant. The Smurfs and Minions also put in appearances, as did Greek Goddesses, Winnie the Pooh, 101 Dalmations Thing 1 and Thing 2, Sherlock and Dr Watson. There was also an older Queen Victoria who came to visit for the day. I am not sure who she was though!!!

Jasmine Andrews is to be thanked for the excellent photos she took which are currently on display outside the library for all to enjoy viewing.

There was also a Book Fair during Book week and Historical Fiction and Biography books were on sale for the girls to buy in the library. There were the usual competitions too; short story and book mark.

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4 There is still a ‘Historical Fiction and Biography’ book display in the library for girls to borrow from to widen their reading interests, with some modern Historical authors featured like Lucy Worsley, Mary Hooper and Eve Edwards.

CHARITIES BOARD Christie Brooks (L6)

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he Charities Board, is made up of a group of girls from the Sixth Form who organise a variety of events throughout the year to raise money for many different charities including Afghan Connection, World Bicycle Relief and for our link schools in Kenya and Vietnam. We had a particularly productive year, making lots of money for each charity respectively.

2016 started with the annual jumble sale in late September, where a variety of items were sold including, clothes,

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shoes, accessories, books, homeware and children’s games, all of which was kindly donated by members of the St Catherine’s community. The event was very popular, with many local residents coming to the event and enjoying tea and cakes after the sale. The event raised £800 for Afghan Connection, a charity which we support regularly, which was set up by alumnae of the school, Sarah Fane.

In late November, Charities Board held the Sixth Form Charity Ball, which included dancing and a three-course dinner. The event was extremely popular as we had nearly 220 members of the Sixth Form and dates come on 22 tables. Everyone had a very enjoyable evening, enjoying delicious food by the catering team with much dancing at the end of the night.

The main event for Charities Board was The Fashion Show with St Cat’s Got Talent, which raised over £5000, including a kind donation to double the money raised. The

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World Book Day: Maggie Thatcher Fashion Show Fashion Show Fashion Show World Bicycle Relief

TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

cat walk included well-known shops such as Fat Face, Bollé, Baby Gap, Belles, Boux Avenue Pyjamas and Sports Locker. Many of the girls walked down the cat walk wearing the items that some of the shops donated for the show. There was a range of clothing from sportswear, to pyjamas, evening wear, to traditional Nigerian clothing and a selection of wonderful GCSE and A Level Textiles works.

The St Cat’s Got Talent Finalists also performed on the night in front of three judges, Miss Cox, Mr McHardy and Mrs McLean. There was variety of talent, including singing duets and solos and some amazing dance routines. The winners this year were Helena Foord and Emilie Hart (L6) who performed a wonderful duet with the piano singing Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. Congratulations to our winners and to everyone who performed: it was a great, entertaining evening enjoyed by all.

Our final event of the year was the Sports Day held the day after the end of the Summer Term. This event allows over 60 children in Years 3 and 4 from St Peter’s Primary School in London to enjoy our sports pitches, sunshine and a delicious school lunch. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day, and this brought this year’s Charities Board events to a close.

On behalf of Charities Board, I would like to say a huge “thank you” to Mrs Arrick who dedicates a lot of her time and has helped organise and oversee all the events.

Charities Board would not have been as successful without her! Charities Board would also like to say a massive “thank you” to the Estates Team for enabling us to run these events smoothly and the school community for their continuous support and generous donations this year. The charities we have supported are very worthy causes and deeply appreciate our on-going support. Charities Board look forward to another successful year!

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PHILANTHROPY Amy Feakes (U6)

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rom September 2016 Philanthropy Board grew with the new arrivals of the Lower Sixth who were full of enthusiasm and ideas for the year ahead.

We got straight to work planning our new event this year, the Mother & Daughter Tea Party for U3 and L4. The event was in aid of Action Against Hunger and £700 was raised. Alumna Harriet Ellison came to speak at the event to inform us about the charity. The girls and mums had great fun with many games, cakes and a photo booth. Our second event of the year was the Father & Daughter dinner. The Dinner raised around £3000 for School Club Zambia, a charity the school regularly supports. The night included a fun and competitive quiz, a raffle and the auctioning of a number of large gifts donated by the girls and local companies. The night ended with many of the Dad’s joining the girls on the dance floor to all the classic dance anthems. We would like to thank all the parents who supported us over the past few years and we hope to see you at our next event soon!

Philanthropy Board joined up with Charities Board this year to hold the annual fun sports for St Peter’s, Lambeth.

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DEBATING & PUBLIC SPEAKING Ms Laura Robson

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he annual Rotary Youth Speaks Competition was entered again this year and we had two Intermediate teams and one Senior team.

The first intermediate team, consisting of Marie-Louise Kelly, Victoria Epshtein and Grace Taylor (L4) won their initial round, with Marie-Louise being named Best Chairperson. This meant the team progressed to the regional round and again the team won through, taking 5 of the 6 trophies on offer: Best Team, Best Chairperson again for Marie-Louise, and Best Speaker for Victoria, and of course the individual winners trophies. The team lost out in the finals but are the most decorated public speaking team in the county, and though they did not make the final national round, Victoria was awarded Best Speaker for a second consecutive time. A really special thank you must go to Kayla Ellington (U4) who stepped in at the last moment to replace a poorly Grace Taylor in the regional round and completed her duties as Proposer for the Vote of Thanks with skill and maturity.

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St Catherine’s girls with children from St Peter’s Primary School, Lambeth Intermediate Winners St Catherine’s The Ellison Trophy, for public speaking and debating Father & Daughter Dinner ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

SENIOR SCHOOL

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Thanks must also go to the other two teams that competed and who gave very spirited performances, especially Darcy Pellowe (U3) who spoke with passionate engagement on the topic of imaginary friends. Well done to all competitors: Christine Spanellis (U3), Darcy Pellowe, Eleanor Morris (U3), Lexi Reina (L6), Anisha Page (L6) and Lara Scadding (L6).

Again this year, St Catherine’s hosted the Oxford Schools Competition and 46 teams from London and South descended on descended upon us. With so many visitors the school seemed more like a university college and there was a really great atmosphere. It’s a great experience for the girls to debate at this high level and hone their skills, and though our teams did not break to Finals Day, they did make it into some of the top debating rooms.

The Cambridge Schools Round was also a huge regional round which was held in London this year, and comprised of 67 teams. Phoebe Drummond (U6) partnered Annabel Barker-Lomax (U6) for this competition and though they did not break to Finals Day, the motions debated were challenging and extended the girls, they were: • •

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T H regrets the existence of the tabloid press.

THB that environmental policy should be decided by unelected environmental experts rather than elected politicians.

THW pay reparations to the descendants of slaves.

Two teams of public speakers also entered the ESU Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition, with Eva Smith (U5), Lucy Bergin (L5) and Annabel BarkerLomax (U6) winning through to the second

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round on the topic of the relative merits and drawbacks of the asylum policy and procedure. Annabel was key speaker in this competition and was highly commended by the judges for her impassioned performance, whilst Eva Smith picked up the Best Questioner Award. The girls went on to the regional round and missed a place in the final by one point. The second team that entered, comprising of Tabitha MacLachlan (U4), Sofya Boruleva (U4) and Yana Preobrazhenskaya (U4) also performed with aplomb and were the youngest speakers at the competition, challenging the older competitors admirably.

In other news, we are delighted to announce that Annabel Barker-Lomax has been elected as both a Youth Counsellor for Guildford and Waverley Borough; and as a UK Member of Youth Parliament, after a competitive hustings. She is required to garner student views on what matters locally. This will then accumulate in a debate in the House of Commons later in the year.

We are very proud of Annabel’s achievement in this field and know she will make an excellent ambassador for local students, delivering their concerns in an eloquent yet forceful manner.

Finally, we say goodbye to our outgoing debating Prefects, Emily Stannard and Claire Lloyd Davies; thank you both for all your hard work in supporting the younger girls as they develop as public speakers and debaters, and ‘hello’ to our new Prefects, Phoebe Jowett and Natasha Nixon, we know that you too will do an excellent job in promoting this valuable discipline within the school.

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Public Speaking Trophies Thames Valley Water

TEEN TECH Charlotte Bailey, Emma Baldwin, Carolina Campbell, Ogo Elumelu, Annie Horan, MarieLouise Kelly, Charlotte Naughalty, Isabella Peterson, Grace Taylor, Zoe Young

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n November 2016 ten L4 girls went with Mrs Byrne to Surrey Sports Park to attend Teen Tech. When we arrived we were given an engineer to help us throughout the day and lead one of the two groups. His name was Philip and he had worked in a variety of jobs throughout his life and it was very interesting to hear about his different experiences. He was retired and had been volunteering at a number of the Teen Tech events and was very knowledgeable.

The event itself was hosted by Maggie Philbin, who presented the TV programme Tomorrow’s World from 1983 until 1994.

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She also hosted many other shows about science and engineering. She was very inspirational and made us think a lot about having a career in science, engineering, or technology.

The first two challenges we had to complete were to draw a scientist and complete some multiple-choice questions.

We had lots of fun creating a type of scientist. We were amazed to see how most people drew female scientists whereas a couple of years ago, only three people there believed that a female could be a scientist!

For the multiple-choice challenges we were asked questions about what we wanted to do in our future in the world of science, tech, and engineering. At the beginning many people did not want or were not sure about a career in these things, whereas at the end several views had changed.

INSIGHT ZONE There were many stations and stalls that we could visit. We visited companies such as Xtrac, who provides technical support services, progress reports, parts lists, service manuals and technical bulletins. We also got the chance to put together a gear after learning about all the parts.

We also spoke to a representative from CGI who had a robot which you could talk to. We asked it to dance, hold up right arm, follow us….. We all found it interesting to see how much technology is developing.

At the Technics Group stand we saw a machine that makes maps. One machine used a rod which you then had to walk around to help make the layout and the other one would spin around quite quickly and made a digital layout. We then looked through a tablet and iPhone onto a sheet of paper and it displayed the layout of the house as a three-dimensional image.

At the JVC Kenwood display we learned about how the company started. We took part in a quiz that consisted on all the things we had discovered about JVC Kenwood and

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

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at the end of the day Carolina Campbell won free wireless JVC Kenwood headphones from this stall.

We also visited GlaxoSmithKline’s stand where they displayed a range of items including toothpastes and skin creams. We tested the strength in our arms by using a device that you held down by your thigh and you have to squeeze in order for it to tell you your strength in kilogrammes. GSK then showed how skin creams are made.

Finally we went to the EDT stand. On this stand we had to try and get a bulb, which was represented by a tennis ball, to the top of a tower represented by a cone. We spent 15 minutes using ropes to carry the ball to the top of a tower. After spending a little bit of time trying to do this, we figured out the tactics that worked best for us ie) keeping the ropes very taut and moving as a complete group.

INVENTION ZONE This is where we had to invent something in our group. We were given many different large pieces of paper with different jobs on them, such as creating, advertising and designing. Once we had finished our planning, in our groups we had

to choose two or three people to advertise the product in 60 seconds!

As a team we decided that our product would be a disco ball that tracks your mood to play the right music, so if you are sad it will play music from a happy playlist, for example, but also if you say “disco ball, drop”, it will lower down and drop many sweets from a compartment and you will be even happier! The main thing that we struggled with as a team is coming up with a name that shows what it does and its appearance!

So we came up with the name, the Emoti Glitter Sphere, because it tracks your emotion, every disco ball is glittery and of course it is a sphere! When Carolina and Zoe were advertising our product they had to include the price, where you can buy it and what it does. We all agreed that our product would be £40 and you could buy it online.

We were thrilled that we won the Best Gadget award for our invention.

CHALLENGE ZONE In this zone we first went to the Thames Valley RepRap station. At this station we were able to design our own simple key rings with our names on them. We then printed them using a RepRap 3D printer.

The 3D printer melted coloured plastic then painted it onto the printing surface like a glue gun. It then built up the layers of plastic. The people there also showed us models they had printed of themselves.

They did this by scanning their head and shoulders then 3D printing it. This surprised us because we previously did not know how a 3D printer worked.

We then went to the Thames Valley stand who are the main local water company. We used a cartoon town map and arranged pipes for the water to travel

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Thames Valley Water Hoe Valley Visit ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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SENIOR SCHOOL

through. When there were rivers or train tracks, we had to find a bridge to cross it.

The pipes led to various building structures such as a housing estate, industrial estate, and others things like a school. And once it was checked, water flowed through it and, as we did this in two teams, the water had to fill up little jars first. In the end it was a dead heat.

IDEAS WALL Throughout the day, there was an ideas wall: people could write down ideas that they thought would change the future to make it safer, easier, quicker or more fun.

After the last activity, the Mayor of Guildford came to judge. Lots of people had really good ideas that were mentioned, including one of Marie-Louise’s idea, which was to use monitors in cars that detect how much alcohol you have had.

However, Annie’s idea won the whole “ideas wall” competition. This is a great achievement because there were 310 people there and most people put several ideas each onto the wall. Annie knew that low sounds could put out flames due to the frequency of their sound waves so she said that this could be used from drones to put out forest fires or fires in buildings without seriously harming the environment or damaging the rest of the building by using water.

Annie won the chance for a company called Willmott Dixon Construction Limited to come in to talk to us and the chance for our group to go to one of their construction sites in Fleet. We visited the Hoe Valley Construction Site in March and had the opportunity to learn about a variety of jobs in the construction industry and how complex it is to design and create buildings.

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CAREERS Mrs Sue Weighell - Head of Careers

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ew initiatives in careers this year have included Sixth Form girls attending the St Catherine's Association London Network events, a Cyber Security Careers day for L5 and welcoming students from local schools to our Careers seminars.

LONDON NETWORK U6 students benefitted from attending the two London Network events organised by the St Catherine's Association.

Girls were selected based on written applications and interviews. They made the most of this opportunity to discuss careers related matters Alumnae and Parents and their advice. All girls enjoyed the experience and developed their networking skills making a variety of useful contacts, some of which have already resulted in work experience offers.

2 CAREERS SEMINARS Radiography, Dentistry, and Physiotherapy were just some of the Medical Professions included in the very well attended seminar “Exploring Medical Professions”. The seminar “Studying Languages at University” gave the opportunity to hear from Lecturers from King’s and Surrey, as well as current undergraduates. This year the series “What can I do with a degree in ….?” featured Business and Economics, and Politics.

U4 LECTURE The weekly Upper 4 lecture programme featured a diverse range of speakers including Head of Climate Change and Energy at the World Wildlife Fund, Head of Consulting for National Security at BAE Applied Intelligence, a Physics Lecturer from University of Surrey and, recent Alumna and Pilot, Rachelle Rogers.

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U4 Lecture - Rachelle Rogers Medical Careers Lecture London Network October 2016 L5 Cyber Day

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

This was held on the 4th February 2017 at King Edward’s school in Witley. This round was much more difficult as this time we had to make a three course meal for under £15. I was unfamiliar with the cooking facilities at King Edward’s school – where equipment was kept and the appliances. It was a huge challenge, but the experience was very enjoyable and although I didn’t place, I was up against some very talented young chefs, some who were much older than me.

I enjoyed the whole experience and was proud of my achievements.

SCUBA DIVING Ms Pippa Carte - Development Director

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L5 CYBER DAY Cyber security Challenge UK, a Cabinet office backed organisation, held a careers event for L5. The day included a technical problem solving challenge as well as the opportunity to meet professionals in the industry from organisations including the National Crime Agency, Vodafone and the Bank of England.

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ROTARY CLUB YOUNG CHEF COMPETITION 2017-18 Thalia Edwards U4

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n 13th November 2016 I represented St Catherine’s in the first round of the Rotary Club Young Chef Competition. In this round there were five other U4 students from St Catherine’s, and students from other, nearby schools. We had to make a two-course meal, either a starter and a main course, or a main course and a dessert for two people, costing no more than £10. The judges took into account a variety of criteria when judging. These included the cost of the dishes, planning of recipes, healthy choice of recipes, table decorations, including flowers, cloth and menu, tidiness of work area, hygiene, range of skills demonstrated and the taste and presentation of the final dishes. There was a wide range of food made and I managed to come second – which meant I went through to the next round of the competition.

his year saw 10 St Catherine’s pupils achieve their full PADI Open Water qualification under the instruction and care of Simon Gray of SMG Scuba. A further 4 girls also completed their PADI Open Water Referral course in readiness for their ‘open water’ training. All girls excelled in learning the theory of diving and understanding the use of equipment.

They got to grips with their buoyancy in the School pool and practised key skills such as mask removal, controlled emergency ascents and the sharing of air. Such rigorous preparation is key to being a safe diver and being able to really enjoy the underwater world! Those with their full qualification are now ready to dive to 18 metres and we look forward to hearing of their diving adventures in due course. An account from some of the girls who took the course can be found on page 63 (in the Sports Section).

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London Network May 2017 Thalia’s entry in Young Chef Scuba Diving - open water Scuba Diving - celebrating PADI completion

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TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD Anisha Page (L6) BRONZE 92 girls from the U4 completed their training and their practice expedition for Bronze in June at Sayer’s Croft in Ewhurst and they will be completing their assessed expedition on the weekend of 23rd/24th September next term. They will walk in 14 different groups and camp at the girl guide camp site in Tilford, Heron’s Wey. Many of these girls work in charity shops for their volunteering section but they also help with local Brownies and Guides, in Sunday schools and with sports activities through the sports leadership scheme.

SILVER 56 girls from the U5 completed training and a practice expedition on the South Downs. Their assessed expedition is during Activities Week and we travelled to the Forest of Dean on the 3rd July and stayed in St Briavel’s Castle overnight. The three-day expedition was completed on the Welsh

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borders and this gave girls a taste of the kind of conditions they will experience if they go on to Gold. In March, 68 of the L5 enrolled for the Silver level of the award and have already completed their practice on the South Downs. Many of the girls help at Bramley fete for their volunteering section and contributed a number of popular activities, including face painting. This year they won a tug of war competition against a group of Bramley ladies.

GOLD Altogether 38 girls are completing their Gold expedition section this summer in Mid Wales. They have learnt from a range of experiences on their training weekend in the Brecon Beacons in November and their practice expedition on Dartmoor in April so are well prepared for the challenges of the wild camping and trekking in the remote conditions of Mid Wales. At this level girls are able to help with running the award for their volunteering section and this year there are 8 award leaders supporting the Bronze and Silver participants.

3 An account of the Gold D of E follows: In the summer holidays, U6 went on our final expedition for our Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We set off very confidently, knowing exactly where we were and with dry feet. This did not last long as we promptly found ourselves wading through knee deep bogs and falling off collapsing stepping stones into rivers. My group did wild camping for the majority of the nights. This was everyone’s first experience of it and we all had a really good time: there is something special about being the only people for miles with the sun setting on a lake! We took full advantage of the lake going for a swim in the eveningthough slightly regretting it as we realised the full extent of the freezing temperatures!

We may have fallen into rivers, not packed enough food and not had enough sleep (particularly because we had 4 people in a 3 man tent!), however, I think that there is not one person who would have

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Gold D of E - Dartmoor Buckingham Palace presentation Gold D of E - Dartmoor Silver D of E at Bramley Fete

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1 preferred to stay at home. The landscape was absolutely stunning and it was so much fun to work as a team in such a beautiful environment. We have learnt so much from this trip, and every other expedition so far.

We have become closer as a group, more organised and supportive of each other and overall developed together as team. In fact, I have enjoyed DofE so much that I almost feel sorry that I am now finished!

We are so lucky that school offers the opportunity to go all the way up to Gold and for this we are very thankful to Mrs Arrick and everyone else involved.

Amy Feakes (U6)

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would like to say thank you for all the great Duke of Edinburgh experiences, it was great to end on such a fun day in London, along with Freya and many other St Cats Old Girls (Kirsty Coates, Katie Standen, Hannah-Mei Grissly, and more!!). It was a really nice occasion, with some great speakers, our dignitary of Jay McGuiness, who won Strictly Come Dancing two years ago. A few of us (myself, Kirsty and Katie) also got to speak to Prince Edward which was great, and it was nice to see how enthusiastic he was about the D of E Award.

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A MISGUIDED PERCEPTION: PSYCHOLOGY AS A ‘SOFT’ SCIENCE Alex Jones (L6)

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‘soft science’ has a dictionary definition as being one that ‘deals with humans as its principal subject matter, and is therefore not generally considered to be based on rigorous experimentation’. Essentially, such a label has negative connotations of being overly subjective, not susceptible to the academic discipline of hypothesis testing and falsification, and therefore a waste of a student’s valuable time. The competitiveness of university places and future careers adds to the pressure to choose ‘sensible’ or ‘relevant’ A Level options, and as a result I’m sure we all know someone who has dismissed Psychology without a second thought.

It is true that, compared to the Natural Sciences such as Physics and Chemistry, Psychology is a relatively young subject.

After all, the first ever British publication to use the word ‘Psychology’ was ‘Elements of Psychology’ by J.D. Morell in 1853, which is remarkably recent. However, the subject has grown rapidly, and A Level Psychology was launched in 1972, by 2013 becoming the fourth most popular A Level choice.

So why study Psychology? Throughout history people have struggled to understand human behaviour, often attributing external factors such as demonic possession or broad categorization such as lunacy to explain unusual or undesirable behaviours. There was often no link assumed between the brain and the mind, with behaviours, which we now know to be caused by the physical structure and functioning of the brain, attributed to other organs – hence the adjectives ‘liverish’ and ‘splenetic’ which remain in our language.

Even lunacy is related to the phases of the moon.

TRIPS, VISITS & FEATURES

Psychology was the first attempt to gain a true scientific understanding of human behaviours. As a result we now know far more about the functioning of the brain as a physical organ, and how its neural networks underpin mental faculties. Psychology provides insight into the many complex factors behind intelligence for example, or memory, or criminality – or even something as basic as why some people can resist eating the last chocolate biscuit whilst others can not!

Psychology is not confined to a narrow scope – every aspect of human behaviour is relevant and a topic for discussion and investigation. It is not just used in a clinical context, but is relevant to our everyday lives, helping us to understand who we are, and why we behave the way we do, individually and in collective groups. It can be applied in the workplace, for example, in human resource activities like interviews or when marketing people attempt to visualize a customer’s thought process. Essentially, Psychology can be applied any time you do anything at all.

Psychology is a social science, but it still has experimental methods, and the subject itself has various requirements that support the idea of individual experiments being scientific. There are many famous experiments in the field, which have been independently tested and replicated and are underpinned by the rigorous principles of science, leading to useful discoveries. In a clinical setting, advances in Psychology have helped explain previously misunderstood psychiatric disorders such as Autism, which has in the past been blamed on ‘cold and uncaring parenting styles’, which is entirely false.

Academically, the reality is that Psychology is one of the hardest A Levels to gain an A* in, with just 5.2% of all A Level students achieving one in 2016. It is clearly not a soft option. Of course, difficulty in a subject is subjective – for some people Maths is simple and French is unintelligible, while for others the reverse is true. But Psychology is a varied subject, which encompasses some Maths, but also Biology and English in the form of essay writing skills.

Psychology is a wonderfully thoughtprovoking subject, providing a bridge between statistics and essay writing, and qualitative and quantitative data, all with a focus on humanity itself. It is a true science and as the world of technology advances rapidly, increasingly blurring the lines between human and artificial intelligence, Psychology has never been more relevant.

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Tug of War at Bramley Fete Gold D of E Award Ceremony St James’s Palace ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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HOUSES ASHCOMBE Ashcombe House Captains - Beth Titford & Chloe Baker (L6)

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he Summer Term finished with a bang, and with Ashcombe winning many of the races and sprints in House Athletics and Swimming. The House pulled together, with almost every girl competing in at least one race, and everyone on the poolside and on the fields cheering on and supporting their peers. The red ribbon and face paint made another appearance, and the atmosphere of camaraderie was evident.

We finished the day with a very respectable 3rd place overall, having come 2nd in the House Relay. There was even more success to be had in the pool, as we came 1st in the Swimming Relay trophy, which placed us 4th overall. Very well done to everyone who competed in both Swimming and Athletics, and many thanks to the, incredibly hardworking, House Sport Captain, Emily Good, who managed the whole event.

On top of Ashcombe’s achievements in sport, our general knowledge seemed to be of top quality in the Summer Term.

The Middle School House Quiz team won their competition. Academically, Ashcombe managed to gain 5th place in the Merit Cup; well done to everyone who worked hard and received Merit marks. The scores are always very close between the Houses,.

Alongside this we came 4th in the Work Cup. This is a cup that combines all the effort scores across the year groups and then gives each house a total effort score. Again, the marks for this are always tight between the houses so well done to the entire House for working so hard. Ashcombe’s Autumn Term began with many netball matches and the House Art competition. There were a variety of entries from all aspects of Art, with many from Textiles and DT, as well as ceramics

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pieces. The art work was all extremely impressive and selected from a range of years, bringing a breath of people’s hard work into an exhibition. Thank you to the Sixth Form Prefects for putting up such an amazing display of Art work.

The House Drama competition was again thoroughly enjoyed by the whole House. It is such a memorable event which combines all aspects of the Theatre and connects everyone in the House, working together to create a play. The theme was the Human Rights Act, and we were given the ‘Protection Against Discrimination Act’.

The ingenious plot was set in an Airport, enabling many characters from all walks of life to be presented on stage. Well done to all those who performed and thank you to the amazing Tech Crew who allowed it to run so smoothly. We especially thank Angela Doran, House Technical Theatre Captain, who stage-managed the production.

Public Speaking has always been a strong point for Ashcombe House, with many girls putting forward very strong arguments for difficult motions.

The compelling and highly intelligent arguments of all the participants resulted in a Senior School Win! Huge congratulations go to Kayla Ellington, who won Best Middle School Chairperson, and Anisha Page for Best Senior Speaker.

Throughout the Autumn Term there have been many House Netball matches, with two teams of Middle and Senior school girls competing each week. The House Sport Captains, put a lot of effort into rotating the teams and making sure that many different girls got to play each week. To add to the Autumn Term successes, Middle School also won the House Lacrosse competition. This is an amazing achievement, and we would like to congratulate those who played and to the Sports Captains for once again being so organized and putting together such

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3 a talented team! It is clear that Ashcombe have a well-rounded ability in a number of different activities, ranging from our achievements in Swimming to Debating to Drama. This was recognised through our 3rd place standing in the Folley Cup, a cup awarded to the house that has shown the most consistency in the house activities.

Finally, we would like to thank the U6 leavers for the victories and impressive placings we managed to gain through their leadership. We wish them the best of luck for the adventures that lie ahead of them.

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Ashcombe U4 relay team House Drama Ashcombe spirit

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MERRIMAN Merriman House Captains - Cat Tiplady & Sasha Narraway (L6)

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nce again, Merriman have had a very successful year, and we would like to congratulate everyone on their individual and group achievements.

We started the year off with a bang with Agatha Greenway winning the L5 Essay Competition with her essay on the scientific solutions to climate change. We kept the writing flair flowing with Katie Walker achieving 2nd place for the Sixth Form Essay Competition. Merriman girls were able to showcase their hard work in the annual House Art Competition. We would also like to thank Ellie-Ming Ratzke for organising such a beautiful display.

Whilst we did not win the overall debating competition we were proud to see Mo Aig-Imoukhuede (L4) win the best questioner award for her pressing questions on the topic of free lunches in school. Hannah Wei was the epitome of commitment and perseverance in music and so was awarded the U3 Music Practice prize.

Commitment was also seen from Isabella Done (U4) as she won the Best Junior Actor award for her comedic role as the teacher in our play this year. Later in the term we were able to celebrate with the Middle School Netball Team for winning the InterHouse Netball tournament, congratulate the Middle School Lacrosse team for placing 3rd, and celebrate with the Senior School

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1 sports women for putting up a good fight in both netball and lacrosse. To end the first term, we held our annual Merriman Christmas Fair. With our numerous stalls, we managed to raise over £2,200, for our charities MACS (the UK national charity for supporting children born blind), the Za Ma Limi charity, a charity that Sanmarie Grobler worked with during the previous summer, and the Dan Eley Foundation. We would like to thank the whole school for their support.

We moved into the Spring Term with excitement and energy for the busy term ahead. A great achievement was made by Merriman in our win of the Wendy Griffiths Mathematical Challenge Trophy, for the second year running. A big thanks goes to Emily Wyllie (U6) for all the hard work and extra time she put into the House Singing Competition this year and she rightly deserved to win the Rose Trophy for the best conductor. Phoebe Beggs (U5) and Natasha Chang (L6) individually won all of their squash games, leaving us with the title of Best Senior Squash Team. We also congratulate Hannah Swinney (U6), Emily Benkert (U4) and Hannah Paul (L4), whose originality shone through in their trio gym routine, winning the Roberts Cup for courage. As always, Merriman girls were dedicated to their studies this term, and this was reflected in our win of both the Merit Cup and the Work Cup. Despite having some apprehension about the forthcoming exams, Merriman girls contributed to the house with extreme gusto, which lead us to multiple victories in both Senior and Middle School tennis, with both teams coming 1st. We also congratulate our Senior Rounders team who placed 3rd despite the ever-looming public exams. Anna Beggs (L6) won the Sailing Cup for demonstrating passion and commitment to the St Catherine’s sailing team.

4 In House Chess the Seniors performed well, coming 1st, and this winning streak carried on for the Seniors in House Quiz, also coming 1st .

On Speech Day a team of Merriman girls and their parents participated in the annual egg race, and their innovative design led them to a win.

It was a great pleasure to win the Merit Cup again in the summer term and to be the runner-up for the Work Cup. Finally, we would like to say a huge thank you to the last year’s House Captains, Sanmarie and Claudia, for their ongoing and enthusiastic commitment to house and their never-ending support for the lower year groups. Sadly, we are saying goodbye to Ms Mester, who will be missed by all for her dedication to the house.

After a year full of achievements, we are all looking forward to the year ahead! Thank you and well done to all!

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House Gym Merriman Christmas Fair House Gym Merriman Christmas Fair ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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MIDLETON Midleton House Captains - Helena Foord & Ella Reeves

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idleton’s school year got off to an excellent start with the House Art Competition; there were some fantastic pieces of art on display and AnnMaree Quaynor’s exceptional curation of the pieces was highly praised on the night. We came second in the competition, which was wonderful, and two of our brilliant artists, Catrina Gell and Helena Liu, won individual awards for their stunning pieces. Just a few weeks later came the excitement of St Catherine’s Day, when all Midleton girls were either selling brownies and mince pies for charity, or getting muddy on the lacrosse pitch. Although we did not come away with the best results, Midleton had a great house day and it was lovely to hear the Midleton chant being sung so passionately!

Throughout the Autumn Term we were rehearsing for the House Drama Competition, in which we performed a play on child slavery. We rehearsed under the directorship of Olivia Okoli, Talia Shehadeh and Gemma Taylor. We had a marvellous stream of new actors coming into U3 and we were delighted to showcase their skills in this year’s drama production. The inclusion of a range of different years made the event very special and it was a perfect end to the Autumn Term.

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After a relaxing Christmas, Midleton was raring to go for the Spring Term. The two main activities of this term were the House Music and House Gym competition. Our House Music was a particular success for Midleton as we placed second overall with Imogen Morgan’s beautiful arrangements of The Sound of Silence and Reach for the Stars. Imogen making the whole process of learning and performing these songs so much fun, ...

... and even those girls for whom music can be a challenge enjoyed being a part of something which they knew would be a memory for life.

In the House Gymnastics, the L6 and U5 also did a brilliant job in choreographing all of the routines. A special mention goes to Lorien Stapleton for once again showcasing her amazing gymnastic skills and performing a fantastic solo routine.

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As the final term of the year commenced we prepared for a sporty term in which we had House Competitions in rounders, tennis, athletics and swimming. Midleton performed particularly well in rounders, in which the Seniors came second and Middles came first. We carried on this success to swimming in which we came first and athletics in which we came second - a fabulous end to the year!

The last day of term was a sad one for all involved as we had to say goodbye to our U6 prefect team who have been wonderful in leading and inspiring the house this year.

A special mention goes to Talia and Gemma, our House captains, who will be sorely missed and we wish the U6 all the best in their future endeavours. We would like to thank all the tutors this year for being such good role models to the house.

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Midleton cheered on to victory in the House Swimming House Lacrosse Imogen Walker House Athletics

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MUSGRAVE Musgrave House Captains - Saskia Walker & Jess Roberts (L6)

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usgrave House has had an incredibly enjoyable and successful year, involving all members of the house thanks to the amazing leadership of our last house captains, Jasmin Sharpe and Sophie Lee. The House Drama this year was a real highlight, with girls participating in acting, tech and set design. The house embraced the challenging theme (Human Rights Acts) and created a spectacular production based on the gender pay gap, showcasing all the dramatic talent which Musgrave has to offer.

Sophie Lee, Jasmin Sharpe, Alice Pink and Millie Bysh wrote an amazingly powerful, informative piece, enabling us to win third place. The combination of the smooth transitions, flawless tech and brilliant acting skills left a lasting and memorable impression on the judges.

During the Autumn Term, we competed in a series of House netball matches. We fought hard throughout the weeks, and although having rarely played together, our natural cohesion was clear. Due to our positivity and enthusiasm we progressed to the final.

St Catherine’s Day was a memorable day all-round, with all year groups coming together to represent the House. Musgrave showed a tremendous amount of House spirit and teamwork in House lacrosse. Both the Senior and Middle teams performed fantastically and consequently made it to the final, emphasising Musgrave’s immense sporting skills.

The following term began with weekly rehearsals for House music, a highly anticipated house event for all girls.

This year Millie Bysh, Lydia Joshua and Sophie Naughalty produced their own arrangements of Mrs Robinson and Seasons of Love. Throughout the term they led, taught and conducted the house. The final performance, complete with actions, was a huge success, resulting in 3rd place, a position which we were very happy with, as it demonstrated all the hard work we had put in throughout the term.

House Gym is a favourite amongst all the girls, especially the L6 who lead a variety of groups such as rhythmic, aerobics, cheerleading and trio. All the girls enjoyed practising and perfecting the routines throughout the term, and each performance was full of energy and House spirit. We were thrilled to achieve 1st place, as it was so well deserved.

In the Summer Term, many girls played rounders and tennis each week for the house. Great fun was had by all and to top it off the Seniors proceeded to the tennis final.

On Speech Day, Musgrave girls and parents formed a team to compete in the egg race.

Their aim was to safely catapult an egg as far as they could, using their own design made from scratch. It was an extremely amusing event, and whilst having a cracking time we were still able to come 2nd.

On the last full day of the school year, the highly contested House Athletics and House Swimming took place. Swimming started the day, with many girls racing in a lively and enthusiastic atmosphere.

Following the annual house picnic the majority of girls took part in either track or field events in the athletics; a great way to end the year. Every girl is encouraged to

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House Athletics House Athletics House Athletics House Drama

take part, and with so much house spirit, there is no need to be nervous.

Throughout the year we have supported a variety of charities and successfully raised over £1000. All the girls enjoy getting involved; baking cakes for cake sales, selling breast cancer badges and helping to organise our annual Easter egg hunt.

Overall, Musgrave has had a wonderful year, excelling in many activities. We have managed to place highly in many events whilst bonding and growing as a house, so we are really looking forward to facing the challenges next year.

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RUSSELL BAKER Russell Baker House Captains - Natasha Lewis & Josephine Wakefield

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ussell Baker has had such a thrilling 2017 and we would love to thank Annie and Georgia, along with all the girls in RB for their amazing efforts. It started way back in September when we won the House Art competition - thanks to Saoirse and Lana who put together a fabulous display of RB talent. The year just got better after that! Our success continued throughout the Autumn Term, and we won the House Drama competition in December.

A huge effort was made by absolutely everyone and our hard work paid off to earn us the title! Huge congratulations go to the directors, Ailsa and Lexie, as well as House Captains, Georgia and Annie, for such a wonderful and engaging play.

Music was definitely one of the highlights in the Spring Term, and we are so grateful to Jo and Katie for inspiring all members of the house to work so hard. Our fab ABBA medley and set piece, The Boxer, ticked all the right boxes with the judges, earning us the House Music title. The awards kept coming, as we accepted yet another win in July‌.House Athletics champions!

We really could not have done it without the wonderful U6 team who worked tirelessly throughout the year, as well as every girl in RB who competed for us this year.

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House Drama Happy House Music Prefects House Art House Athletics

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We were particularly proud of Lucy Bergin who was awarded Best Individual Speaker.

The final week of term provided yet another sporting challenge, this time for our athletes in the House Athletics competition. We were delighted to secure another House Golden Mile Trophy, and are proud of our ongoing success in the relays.

In the House Swimming competition our keenest swimmers took to the water and demonstrated their prowess, achieving 5th place overall.

Over the course of the year the girls in Stoner House have raised nearly £1200 for a variety of charities: 1

STONER Stoner House Captains - Connie Burdett & Libby Gilbert

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s always Stoner has had a busy and exciting year filled with an enormous array of activities including success in the annual House Art competition, an incredible House Drama performance with outstanding technical theatre and numerous successes on the sports fields.

Stoner started the year raring to go and welcomed Mrs Earnshaw-Punnett into the House as the new U3 and L4 tutor.

The Autumn Term began with the very first house event of the year, House Drama.

The theme was based around the Human Rights act in which Stoner had the task to create a play around Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The dedicated drama team of Octavia McGleughlin, Amy Feakes and Helena Fitzsimons wrote a captivating, original piece of theatre in collaboration with Rita Spektor and her technical team. The play saw some excellent performances with special mentions going to Connie Burdett for her role as Monna, Sofya Boruleva as the lawyer and Lucy Bergin as Shami Chakrabarti. We were extremely proud to be awarded Best Technical Team for our inventive use of lighting and staging. House Art was also completed in the Autumn Term in which many of our girls contributed towards the display. Annabel Barker-Lomax won an individual Middle School prize for her piece of work and the final overall display looked amazing.

Stoner’s strength on the sporting front aided our victory in the Senior Lacrosse competition held annually on St Catherine’s day. The Middle School also played some excellent lacrosse showing commitment, house spirit and great teamwork throughout the day. The House Netball Competition saw further participation and support from

many girls within the House. The Senior team played particularly well and came third overall. We were also thrilled to be awarded the much coveted Work Cup at the end of this busy term.

During the Spring Term the whole House was involved in House Singing led by the Upper Sixth Music Prefects. The theme for House Singing 2016 was Simon and Garfunkel and we performed Homeward Bound. We also performed a mash-up of Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men and It’s time by Imagine Dragon. The arrangement and musical accompaniment was put together very carefully, showing much dedication. As a House, we are so grateful for everyone’s input, and despite not being placed, we were proud of our performance.

Practices for House Gym were also going on during the Spring Term and each event was led by girls from Lower Sixth.

Each House chose music from an allocated country and Stoner selected music from Spain. A special mention goes to Izzy Lamb (U3) who gained first place in the Solo section. We were all so proud of her impressive routine and performance.

The Summer Term came next and the excitement of the rounders and tennis competitions was infectious in Stoner.

The Seniors began fantastically, scoring first place for the second year in a row in rounders. The tennis matches proved to be very tough and several girls played in multiple matches. They played incredibly well and did Stoner proud throughout every closely-fought minute.

Additionally, the House Quiz provided entertainment and intellectual stimulation for all members of the House and we were delighted to come third in the Middle School competition. Stoner also enjoyed taking part in the House Chess competition, again coming third overall. Well done to all those who participated! The Lower 5 had their own inter-house debating competition and we were all impressed with the team.

• We started the year off with an U3/ L4 Halloween-Themed cake sale, which raised £123 for ‘Make a Wish’ • U5 held their annual Hot Chocolate sale on St Catherine’s day and raised an impressive £460 for the charity ‘Railway Children’ • Our House Communion Collection totalled £337, which the House Captains decided to donate to the charity ‘Action Against Hunger’ • In the Spring Term, L5 held a very successful cake sale and raised £142 for ‘Compassion in World Farming’ • At the beginning of the Summer Term, U4 were inspired by the work they had done on mental health and decided to sell cakes to raise money for the charity ‘Young Minds’. They raised a total of £130 We would like to extend our best wishes for the future for the outgoing U6, and thank them for their constant support and enthusiasm for Stoner, as well as being such excellent role models. We will miss you!

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ARCHIVE

SENIOR SCHOOL

THEN & NOW Fiona Haywood - Foundation Office

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t Catherine’s is lucky to have some wonderful memorabilia in the archives. The School was founded in 1885 and we hold material that stretches right back to those early days – the original documents of the Foundation Council, the register of the first pupils as well as many photographs of past pupils and staff. Thanks to the tireless work of Richard and Rosemary (née Munn) Christophers and to Elisabeth Reed (née Newnham) before them, the archives are remarkably well organised and catalogued compared to many schools.

The archive lives in multiple large grey metal cupboards in the Foundation Office – rather dull on the surface, but open a door and you can lose yourself. You might explore photos of a 1908 School report,

Sixth Form Common Room 1932

SPEECH HALL

Speech Hall 1935

The Speech Hall in 1935 (originally known as the Jubilee Hall) was built to celebrate the School’s 50th anniversary and the Silver Jubilee of King George V. It bears little resemblance to the Sixth Form Common Room in 1932.

Speech Hall Library today

The Speech Hall Library – refurbished in 2013 - is now the Sixth Form Study Centre.

FROMTHEARCHIVE tunic clad girls playing lacrosse from 1912, a hand painted Leavers Ball dance card from 1923, or discover an old school boater. Our history comes alive with a 1943 letter from a boarder to her mother with a map of how to get to her friend’s dorm without being detected at night, school wartime memories by alumnae and a 1950s photo album of a school trip to Switzerland.

The Foundation Office has long been keen to bring this fascinating history alive to the current and past pupils. We regularly produce displays and articles, most recently on the timeline of the School, who the girls’ houses are named after and multigeneration St Catherine’s families, and we always take out all the relevant memorabilia for alumnae reunions.

Thanks to a donation from the St Catherine’s Senior School PTA we have now been able to digitise a selection of our archive material. This currently includes material up to 1960 and new material, including more photographs, will continue to be added.

Visit www.stcatshistory.info to explore highlights of the School’s history from 1885 to 1960.

If you have photographs or memories of School to share, please do send them to us and let us know, in the case of photographs, if you’d like them returned to you.

We welcome all additions to our archives, which provide an invaluable social history of School life.

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1925

Today

1964

The School Dining Hall used to be in the main building in, what is now, the Library. Girls would queue up in the corridor and be given a yellow number indicating where they would sit. A teacher should sit at the head of each table and serve the girls their meal.

Number 1 was always the headmistress and so you knew you had to be well behaved during lunch if you got number 2! Once a week was French lunch when the girls were only allowed to speak in French.

In 1964 a new Dining Hall was built. The girls were still served at their tables and the cafeteria system was not introduced until 1978.

Now the dining hall has foldable, removable seating so the room can be transformed into a function venue with a marquee liner.

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1975

SWIMMING POOL

Outdoor pool 1967

In 1960 Headmistress Miss Stoner opened the open air swimming pool. In 1974 this was covered over with an enormous inflatable air dome and in 1979 a more permanent fixed frame exterior was built.

The swimming pool (the same one from 1960) is now incorporated into the impressive 2011 Anniversary Halls development.

Swimming Pool today

TENNIS Summer Tennis lessons in 1915 (below), the tennis team of 1932 (right) and lunchtime tennis practice 2017.

PREP SCHOOL CLASSROOM Prep School lessons in Church House in 1960 (above) and today (left).

THE ARCHES

The iconic St Catherine’s arches seen in 1950 (left) and today.

Girls returning for reunions like to gather for photos in the same spot. The Year of 1997 came back for their 20 year reunion in June 2017 (below).

Lacrosse at St Catherine’s in 1921, 1952 (left) and today (right).

LACROSSE

ST CATHERINE’S STAFF

Mrs Charlotte Russell Baker, Headmistress from 1885 – 1925, with her staff of 1921, considerably smaller than the staff of 2017 (below).

ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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DRAMA

SENIOR SCHOOL

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We all knew we had the potential to have a great show, but I think as soon as we had opening night, we really started to understand just how magical this show was.

Mrs Sally Gallis

DRAMASCENE 4

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SENIOR SCHOOL

Mrs Sally Gallis - Director of Drama

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his year was brought to a dramatic high point with the infamous hit musical that is West Side Story. As usual, auditions started in the preceding summer term, to allow us to hit the ground running with rehearsals in September.

This year's musical auditions had a very different ambiance after the quite ridiculous laser zap guns and air guitars in Forbidden Planet! There were many immediate ‘goosebump’ moments where lead roles fell into place and the tingles certainly began as Mr Greenfield and I held the singing auditions - once again being bowled over by the talent in the room. When the time came to begin rehearsals in September it certainly wasn't for the faint hearted, with enormous focus needed on the demands of the gangs, the inspiring musical numbers (led by the effervescent Mr Greenfield and ably executed by the orchestra) and the challenges of Jerome Robbins’ choreography (ably conducted by the mostwonderful Miss Helen Wilson) all keeping the production team and girls literally on their toes and sometimes knees! Mr Fowler and the technical crew, under the expert Stage Manager’s guidance of Rita Spektor and Rose Annabel also once again outdid themselves with the technical demands of the production. We all knew we had the potential to have a great show, but I think as soon as we had opening night, we really started to understand just how magical this show was.

The final run played to sell-out audiences. Never before have we had a waiting list for tickets, which was testament to the high praise being spread through word of mouth after each show. Big thank yous must go to Sophie, Sanmarie, Izzy, Lauren, Rita, Lana, Adanna, Joanna, Imogen, Gemma, Katie and Millie, all in U6 for their major contribution to the extra-curricular life at St Cat’s. Sophie, Sanmarie, Izzy and Lauren deserve extra special mention as they have all taken part in every Drama production and House Drama event since they started at the school.

1. Shrank (Daisy Holder) warning the Sharks, led by Bernado (Izumi Magee), before the Rumble 2. The Shark girls during the finale of America 3. The Rumble (Beth Titford and Izumi Magee) 4. Maria (Connie Burdett) and Tony (Lauren Beavis) 5. Emily Bagley preparing for the stage 6. Putting on the final touches 7. The promotional shot for the Edinburgh Fringe Project: Two Chairs

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I would personally like to also say a huge ‘thank you’ to our Marvellous Mums this year who have once again been a wonderful help in assisting with costumes and make-up.

During the Spring and Summer Terms practical examinations took place in the Senior School Studio and Auditorium.

The U6 devised two very different pieces of theatre; a piece in the style of Theatre of The Absurd, called Disconnect which highlighted the way in which technology is having an impact on modern society and A Liberal Perception, a hard-hitting piece of Expressionism which illustrated the human struggles of three literary figures in American Naturalism. The AS groups performed two extracts from The Ash Girl, by Timberlake Wertenbaker and Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff. Both these scripted pieces were in the style of Berkoff’s Total Theatre which brings together all of the actor’s heightened physical and vocal skills with all elements of staging and tech to create pieces which take influence from Artaudian, Kabuki and Greek Theatre styles. The level of expertise necessary to achieve this was extraordinary. We were very proud of all the Sixth form for their superb level of work this year.

After a hugely diverse range of Devising in the Autumn Term, with styles ranging from Expressionism to Physical Theatre and Epic Theatre, the U5 then produced Bouncers (John Godber) and Kneehigh’s Hansel and Gretel. As ever, the girls rose to challenge of completing two hugely important coursework assessments back to back with commitment and creative passion and we would like to congratulate them for their many achievements this year. The visiting moderator picked out particular girls this year and described them as “professional, highly creative and ready for a career in the arts”. As teachers of this subject, it makes Mrs Grizzelle-Lang and I incredibly proud that the talent and enthusiasm is recognised by others in this way.

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LAMDA has once again gone from strength to strength with the good Captain Katie Solly at the helm. Results this year have been excellent and once more demonstrate the performance talent that we have at St Cat’s and the skills and talents of our staff.

This year, as part of our Live Theatre Component at GCSE and A Level, the girls were able to see a vastly different array of work encapsulating a mixture of styles and genres, starting with Rattigan’s “Deep Blue Sea” with Helen McRory in the lead role, “Things I Know to be True” by the incredible physical theatre company Frantic Assembly, “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time”

by The National Theatre Company, and finally culminating in the beautiful National Theatre Company’s “The Glass Menagerie”

by Tennessee Williams which will be the A Level set text next year. The cohort were also lucky enough to get the chance to work with two leading practitioners: Maggie Bain from Frantic Assembly, who inspired the L5 and U6 to create the most beautifully sensitive physical theatre and the L6 had the opportunity to partake in a workshop led by the actress, Annie Sutton who has worked with the legendary Steven Berkoff. The girls gained a wealth of knowledge and practical expertise in the Total Theatre style which they were able to apply to their incredible practical work.

The House Drama competition was another roaring success. Mrs Phillips’s suggestion of the stimuli being The Human Rights Articles, was a gamble which paid off beautifully – allowing the girls to delve deeply into issues prevalent in society, forcing them to undertake meaningful research and handling the topics with necessary sensitivity. Russell Baker were crowned overall cup winners and received

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1 Best Creative Design for their highly stylised, thought-provoking and slickly presented piece based on Article 10 – Freedom of Expression. Ashcombe won Best Script, Best Senior Actor went to Tash Lewis, while best Junior Actor went to Isabella Done. Finally, Stoner received the accolade for the Best Technical Team. Congratulations to all those who won in the various categories and to everyone for their creative approach to such a daunting task that basically involved devising an entire original play from scratch.

In the Summer Term Joseph! was superbly directed and staged entirely by the L6 girls, after completion of their AS exams.

It certainly was a colourful show with many humorous moments, and was fantastic to see the entire year group really pull together to create a professional looking piece of theatre. Well done to the girls for their team work and collaboration on this project.

The glorious sunshine meant that our home grown LARP (Live Action Role Play) day in Activities Week was based outside in our beautiful grounds. The four “factions” of Trolls, Goblins, Wizards and Fairies worked through a series of activities and challenges over the course of the day culminating in a performance from each faction adjudicated

by The Baron, The Goddess of Creativity and her minion, Lozenge - the Wizards being victorious! This is a wonderful day for all and again, gives the girls the opportunity to see their teachers in a completely different vein and for the staff to let their hair down after another full-on year of super teaching.

We do hope that you managed to see our fabulous Middle School Production of Kenneth Grahame and Alan Bennett’s The Wind in the Willows. Miss Batt and Miss Parkinson expertly took the helm from Mrs Grizzelle-Lang’s initial vision in October. Our Senior School Production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible will be our next Senior School Production which will be performed in February.

Our 6th Form Drama group, PULSE took an originally devised piece to the

2 Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.

The trip was a huge success. Not only did the girls get the opportunity to showcase their work to paying audiences every day but also fully immersed themselves in what it is to be part of a professional Theatre Company, by promoting and producing the show. We were incredibly proud of their achievements. Thanks to Mr Fowler and Miss Cox for accompanying us and helping to make the experience memorable.

We once again say a fond ‘ciao-fornow’ to Mrs Grizzelle-Lang but hello to the newest member of the DramFam with the happy arrival her second child. Her physically small but metaphorically large shoes will be filled for the next academic year by Miss Danielle Batt who will be expertly taking up a teaching post in the department. We are also excited to be joined by Tansy Parkinson as Assistant Director and Producer in Residence who will be assisting with all things production based.

Well done to all who participated in this year’s many Drama activities!

1. The L6 production of Joseph!

2. The L6 production of Joseph!

3. Hannah Watson running the lighting for West Side Story

SENIOR SCHOOL

MUSIC

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MUSICSCENE Catherine Burne & Helena Michels Music Prefects

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his academic year has been absolutely packed once again with a wide variety of concerts and events ranging in styles from the Jazz Café to the Carol Concert.

The year began with the Scholars and Award Holders concert which was a very successful event, show-casing the talent of top musicians in St Catherine’s, and kicked the year off to a fantastic start! The organists also had their own separate opportunity to showcase their musicianship in our Top of the Stops concert to celebrate the renovation of the Chapel Organ.

Throughout the year, various Informal Concerts took place, organised by Miss Hayley, including one in the Autumn Term just for U3. These are excellent opportunities for musicians of all abilities to perform in a relaxed atmosphere in the Lower Atrium with a small and a-ppreciative audience!

In October, Concert Band had the unique opportunity to take part in a workshop held

by The Welsh Guards, and later the chance to perform alongside this renowned group, in the first St Catherine’s Presents... event of the year. Tickets were completely sold out and the audience were treated to a stunning programme.

GCSE musicians were very fortunate to have various workshops throughout the year with the professional trio Trifarious, who worked with them on their composition coursework and performed the finished products.

In the week after half term, a new event called PianoFest took place, which was a

week of piano-related events, concerts and open teaching organised by Miss Hayley. As part of this, the Music Department hosted another Jazz Café evening, featuring a Jazz Trio and a range of well-known instrumental and vocal pieces, which were loved by students and parents alike. The evening had the atmosphere of a secluded London Jazz Club and had a professional feel to it.

PianoFest week drew to a close with a stunning Keyboard Sectional Concert.

This was the first of four sectional concerts throughout the year, with the String, Vocal and Woodwind & Brass sections having opportunities to showcase their musicians at various points throughout the year.

In early November, Cantores travelled to Winchester to sing their annual service of Choral Evensong in the Cathedral. The Cathedral provided stunning acoustics and the setting was perfect for the girls to perform in. The choir also had another opportunity to perform together outside school later in the term when they helped raise money for Watts Gallery through carol singing at one of their weekend events.

The end of November saw the St Catherine’s Day Gala Concert – the biggest musical event of the Autumn Term. As usual, this event was packed with both high quality performances and a full audience, which was definitely appreciated by all the musicians. The concert involved all the major ensembles, from Upper Three Choir, which performed for the first time, to the Symphony Orchestra.

The Autumn Term ended with not one but two Carol Services, since we were unable to use Guildford Cathedral this year, owing to their building works. The Middle School

2 Carol Service in the Auditorium and the Senior School Carol Service in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, both set the scene for Christmas, and all the School’s choirs took part, together with our school organists, Brass Ensemble and Recorder Consort.

St Catherine’s musicians were invited to give a concert at Cranleigh Arts Centre in January to help them raise funds. We enjoy performing in different locations as well as in our own facilities, and we also had the opportunity to put on concerts at Guildford Institute and for our friends at Blunden Court at various points throughout the year.

Throughout the first half of the Spring Term, a small group of musicians were working with Mr Greenfield in collaboration with the Drama Department on our production of West Side Story. The orchestral score is of a professional standard, yet this did not deter us, and the week of performances before February half term was certainly one of the highlights of this year.

Chamber Music is very popular at St Catherine’s, and a wide variety of ensembles rehearse each week in the Chamber Music Programme coordinated

by Mrs Loya. The Chamber Music Weekend in March gave these ensembles the opportunity for some extended coaching before they show-cased their pieces in the Chamber Music Concert.

1. Intermediate Orchestra perform at the Middle School Summer Concert 2. The Jazz Band get the audience on their feet at the Jazz and Rock Concert ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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In mid-March, the annual Association Choir Concert was held in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, featuring Mozart’s Requiem, Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro and Guilmant’s Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra, showcasing Imogen Morgan’s outstanding organ skills. The Association Choir Concert brings together many ensembles including the Association Choir – which comprises alumnae, parents, staff and friends of the school – Senior Choir, Middle Chamber Choir and Camerata. The music was performed to a very high standard and the standing ovation received from the audience was very well deserved.

This year, we had over 90 entries in the Godalming Music Festival and achieved an impressive set of results, with many trophies and certificates won. The prestigious Jubilee Trophy was awarded to the St Catherine’s Music Department for its many achievements in the Festival. Adjudicators spoke highly of St Catherine’s musicians and gave some valuable advice which was definitely beneficial. We are particularly grateful to Mrs Loya and Miss Hayley for all they do to coordinate the festival entries.

As the Spring Term came to a close, the A Level Music students – Imogen Morgan (organ), Joanna Phillips (violin) and Emily Wyllie (voice) – performed their examination recitals in front of a large and enthusiastic audience. The stage was shared with members of the U6, who also had the opportunity to share their musical talents, and the entire year group came together as a choir to close the evening. The audience very much enjoyed the occasion and was honoured to have the chance to witness such high-quality performances by these girls in their final year of St Catherine’s.

To wrap up the Spring Term, the muchanticipated House Music Competition took place in the Auditorium. Every girl was involved in this huge event and the House Choirs were fully rehearsed and conducted by the House Music Captains. Competition was fierce between Houses since standards were all sky high but Russell-Baker took the competition trophy with their stunning performances. Later in the evening, parents

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1 had the chance to enjoy the performances by all six House Choirs and the Upper Three Choir, accompanied and conducted by the Music Prefects.

Over the Easter holidays, a small group of singers had the opportunity to perform Bach’s St Matthew Passion with The Bach Choir in the Royal Festival Hall. St Catherine’s also played host once again to the Jennifer Bate Organ Academy, with young women organists from around the country coming together for five days of workshops and masterclasses under the watchful eye of Jennifer Bate herself.

The Senior School Summer Concert took place very early in the Summer Term, featuring all the large ensembles and Senior Choirs. Three highlights of the programme were solos from our U6 Music Scholars Joanna Phillips (violin) and Gemma Taylor (viola) accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra, and Katie Taylor (percussion) accompanied by Miss Hayley. This is always an emotional occasion for the U6 as their last major concert together, and this year was no exception! However, it was by no means the end of this year’s programme of musical events…

This year’s Jazz and Rock Concert was better than ever, and Mr Young has to be thanked for all he puts into this spectacular event! The Auditorium was with packed students, parents and teachers, all singing and dancing along to the large range of music performed by the Jazz Band and other musicians. Jazz Band had a particularly busy month, as they had also performed at the Prep School’s Fair a few weeks before.

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With school exams out of the way but public exams still ongoing, the Middle School Summer Concert gave the opportunity for students in L5 and below to take the lead, with all the Middle School ensembles performing. The Intermediate Orchestra formed especially for the occasion, featuring young musicians from the Prep School performing alongside Senior School girls in U3-L5. Middle Cantores and other Middle School musicians also had the opportunity the following week to perform in All Saints’ Church, Witley, together with three of our organists (Imogen Morgan, Emily Nott and Annie McChrystal) in a concert to raise money for church funds.

After a morning of musical entertainment by Concert Band, Jazz Band and Brass Ensemble, the final concert of the year was on Speech Day, featuring our U6 Scholars and Award Holders and a selection of chamber music. The climax of the concert was Henrietta Fooks’ performance of Gluck’s famous aria Che faro senza Euridice accompanied by Camerata. All that remained was for our intrepid musicians to venture forth on their tour of Slovenia!

MUSIC TOUR TO SLOVENIA Catherine Burne & Helena Michels Music Prefects

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he 2017 Music Tour (14th-18th July) proved to be an action-packed whirlwind tour of Slovenia, where a lot of fun was had by all. Musicians from Camerata, Concert Band, Senior Choir and

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Jazz Band were joined by several organists in what proved to be one of the most memorable experiences of our musical career at St Catherine’s. Arriving in the picturesque town of Bled, and having dumped our bags in our hotel rooms, most of us headed straight for the luxurious pool. The testing of the slide was of course, top priority and having exhausted all the ways descending it, from backwards to upside down, we watched a spectacular fireworks display over the lake from the comfort of the jacuzzi. After a delicious buffet, we had a short rehearsal before collapsing in our rooms.

The next day, Uros, our wonderful guide, took us on a brief walking tour around the town and led us to St Martin’s Church, where we would be performing that evening. We then went on a toboggan ride down the mountainside, which proved very popular.

Next, some opted to visit the castle and the cake shop whilst others discovered the fantastic Slovenian ice cream stalls around the lake. Afterwards, we collectively took a boat trip to the island and were blown away by the stunning shimmering lake and the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

A rehearsal at our venue followed and this soon led to a quick supper before heading back to the church for the evening concert.

This consisted of performances by Camerata, Senior Choir, Concert Band and three organ solos by Annie McChrystal, Emily Nott and Imogen Morgan. It was wonderful to play with the beautiful acoustics and everything went very smoothly despite the organ miraculously turning off quite suddenly in the middle of one organ piece! To celebrate, we returned to the hotel in time to watch a fireworks display over the lake from the outdoor jacuzzi.

On the third day, we travelled to Postojna and visited Predjama Castle where we learnt about a Robin-Hood-like character named Erasme who was rumoured to have had his hideout there, and about the various torture mechanisms used in the castle dungeons.

We then travelled to Postojna Caves, the second largest cave complex in Slovenia being just over 24km long; after a chilly train

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ride and a walking tour through these caves, Senior Choir gave a short recital of Lift Thine Eyes and Maria Matrem Virginem in one of the larger cave spaces in the complex, lit by chandeliers. The acoustics were absolutely phenomenal and made the performance particularly memorable. We transferred to Škofja Loka and gave a concert in the Municipal House where all the ensembles performed including a smaller version of Jazz Band, with Bel Casciani Govan as their lead vocalist. This concert was particularly exciting as it was filmed for private Slovenian television and the audience members were very appreciative and would not stop clapping even after our encores!

Our last day saw us travelling to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and, after a tour of the famous castle where the tour guides acted out its history to great effect, Uros showed us around the main part of the town. We split off into smaller groups and found some lunch in some of the beautiful restaurants by the river. In the afternoon we explored the market and had a few rehearsals before singing for the evening mass in St Nicholas’ Cathedral. This led into our concert, when we performed for the final time on our trip. We had a lovely three-course dinner in a restaurant across the road, which brought our time in Slovenia to a close. The next day we travelled back to school, tired, but having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

A fantastic time was had by all, and we would like to thank Mrs Loya, Mrs Deakin, Mr Young and Mr Greenfield – and indeed Mrs Hannant for all her hard work behind the scenes – for making this such an enjoyable music tour.

WELSH GUARDS Katie Vega and Gemma Taylor (U6)

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n October 5th, the Band of the Welsh Guards visited St Catherine’s and the Concert Band. We started the afternoon with a joint rehearsal and workshop, where we had the opportunity to play both our repertoire and a new piece

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with the band. Playing with such a fantastic ensemble was hugely valuable: the players and their conductor gave us some very useful advice, and boosted our confidence in performing.

Before a meal with the band, we were given a seminar on the work of the Welsh Guards and the other musical groups affiliated with the military. It was a fascinating talk, giving us insight into a musical career that many girls were not aware of as an option.

In the evening we were honoured to perform with the band, playing music including ‘Colonel Bogey’, written by Kenneth J. Alford, the grandfather of our very own Mrs Bryn-Thomas, which Mr Young conducted with the original baton of the composer. The Concert Band then concluded the first half with their own performance, before the Welsh Guards took over for the second. Their performance was spectacular, covering many different styles of music and including some virtuosic solos.

It was not only musically inspiring, but very entertaining, especially their rendition of ‘Mr Sandman’, complete with a barbershop quartet, handbells and boomwhackers!

Overall, the Concert Band loved the day and will remember it for many years to come (especially being able to try on the iconic bearskin hats!). We would like to thank Mr Young for making the day possible and look forwards to performing again as we keep in mind the advice we were given.

1. All members of the tour outside St Nicholas’ Cathedral, Ljubljana 2. Emily Wyllie & Henrietta Fooks perform Rossini’s Cat Duet at the Vocal Sectional Concert 3. The toboggan ride, with views overlooking Lake Bled 4. Imogen, Emily and Annie at the organ in St Nicholas’ Cathedral, Ljubljana 5. Wind Band performing at the Woodwind & Brass Sectional Concert 6. Joanna Phillips conducts the U6 Choir at the Leavers’ Recitals 7. Welsh Guards Concert

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ART

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Mr Alex Perry-Adlam – Head of Art

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his year the girls have gone on another creative adventure in the Art Department. They continue to astound me with the sheer inventiveness of their work and the dedication and passion they show for their art. There has been a diverse range of projects in the younger years, from imaginary insects to beautiful watercolour landscapes. From coiled ceramic bowls to portrait etching. The project that stood out this year was U4 animation. This was a new project and has quickly become a favourite among the girls. The use of humour shone through and there were some beautiful props and sets made.

In the examination years there continues to be an amazing amount of work created to a very high standard.

The L5 have been working on Landscapes and started with a great trip to the Watts Gallery. The U5 produced some fantastic ceramics and then produced very personal exam projects.

The 6th form artists have produced some inventive and very personal work that shone out in the gallery during the summer term. This continues to be the flagship display each year and is an inspiration to the younger years.

The photography in 6th form this year has been excellent. As a group they are passionate and skilful and this led to a display of work in the summer that was advanced beyond their years.

The quality was superb and this was blended with some very mature ideas to create work that was eye catching but thought provoking.

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As a group they are passionate and skilful and this led to a display of work in the summer that was advanced beyond their years.

Mr Alex Perry-Adlam

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Emilie Hart L6 Keyi Xue L4 Wendy Ju U6 Emily Turner U5 Gemma Foster U5 Tamsin Dodsworth U5 Courtney Johnson U6 Katie Walker U6

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Chloe Baker L6 Denise Chan U5 Emilie Hart L6 Fran Buffoni U5 Katie Sercombe U5 Josie Wakefield L6 Mimi Edwards U4 Claudia Shehadeh U5 Josephine Bache L4 Alice Rotova U5 Sally Parker U6

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SUMMER SHOW Saoirse Reid, Art Scholar (U6)

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t has been so nice to see the development of the Art Department and the work that the girls have produced over the years that I have been at St Catherine’s. The younger girls showcase their creativity with colourful and dynamic works, incorporating different techniques and theories to create stunning works that catch the eye and show a great understanding of modern techniques and different media. This year’s GCSE exhibition shows great talent. It is such a pleasure to see all the different styles and ideas that the girls have developed over the years showing off their personalities and interests. Their artistic skill alone is impressive to see, showing incredible technicality and vibrant use of media. This year’s AS and A2 students have worked tirelessly through their art coursework, producing original paintings and sculptures, and presenting difficult and interesting ideas. It is always interesting to see all the new ideas that girls come up with to reach out to the viewer and convey their thoughts. I hope that for all students their time in art will help bring them to the places they want to go to in the future.

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Courtney Johnson U6 Serim Hur L6 Maya Vere Nicoll L4 Tamsin Dodsworth U5 Tiffany Mok U5 Denise Chan U5 Jasmine Nelson U5 Fran Buffoni U5 Catrina Gell L6 Katie Walker U6 Wendy Ju U6 Annie Horan L4 Tiffany Mok U5 Emily Turner U5 Sasha Jackson U5

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n 29th of September, the L5 GCSE art students went on a trip to Watts Gallery in Compton to help us gain a better understanding of landscapes for our coursework that we would be completing throughout the year. We learnt about Mary and George Watts who lived there originally and each were artists with very different techniques. Mary used terracotta to create her pottery and also to decorate a local church while George mainly painted on canvas. We visited the gallery where many pieces were kept and completed a few quick sketches of George's artwork.

After a tour of the gallery, we had a workshop on mixing pigments and stretching canvas which are skills that none of the students had tried before. It was interesting to learn new techniques that we could use in our landscape projects and seeing George's pieces inspired us as many of his paintings linked to our ideas. We also tried some sketching of the surrounding woodland and painting some landscapes in the workshop with an artist who advised us on how we could improve our techniques. It was great to do some sketching outdoors as it was a new experience to many of us and some of the techniques that we learnt throughout the day inspired us: for example, using a potato sack as a canvas which I am sure we would never have dreamt of trying!

This was an excellent experience to begin the art course, and gave us the opportunity to try something new and get inspiration from amazing artists which we had not learnt about before.

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Mrs Lorna Crispin - Head of Textiles

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gain our students across all year groups delighted us with another fabulous range of creative, practical outcomes. The new projects for the L4 and U4 were enjoyed by the girls with imaginative and original designs. William Morris inspired a variety of floral images for their vases which made for a stunning display on Speech Day. The new style U3 bags showed strong embroidery skills and the U4 bodices demonstrated their ability not only in developing wonderfully creative techniques, but a high quality of construction in the finish as well.

The U5 produced some outstanding work this year and all succeeded in reaching the topmost grades. Mrs Noy reports ‘I am delighted with the results. Using inspiration from decorative sources, the Impressionist movement and shorelines, the girls have submitted an exciting array of coursework, with wearable pieces showcased at the annual charity fashion show. A wonderful testament to their hard work. The examination questions gave students a variety of starting

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points including Detail, Body Armour and Architecture. Some of the students used their own personal interests to develop their selected brief, including Annalisa Willmott, who interpreted the tapetum lucidum as a stunning sculptural piece featuring retinal tissue found in nocturnal animals.’

All the girls worked consistently throughout the course to achieve their potential and all deserve a mention here for their wonderful outcomes; Daisy Barnes, Isadora Easun, Felicity Goldsmith, Elizabeth Llewelyn, Alice Rotova, Katy Sercombe, Lizzie Sturges, Abi Vanstone and Annalisa Willmott. A fantastic effort. Well done!

Tilly Peterson excelled in her hard work and motivation in Sixth Form producing a beautifully inspired ballerina dress for her coursework and a creatively conceived sculptural pod for her exam.

It is a pleasure to see the girls succeed with such high levels of achievement and enjoyment of the subject. Well done to all of them, and we wish them every success in their future studies.

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1. Katy Sercombe (U5) GCSE Embroidered bodice detail 2. Lizzie Sturges (U5) GCSE Harem pants embroidery detail 3. Annalisa Willmott (U5) GCSE Embroidery inpired by Opthalmics 4. Felicity Goldsmith (U5) GCSE Belt detail 5. Katy Sercombe (U5) GCSE Skirt with embroidered belt 6. Lizzy Llewelyn (U5) GCSE Little girl’s embroidered dress 7. Felicity Goldsmith (U5) GCSE Appliqué and embroidered dress 8. L4 Appliqué panels 9. Tilly Peterson (L6) AS pod ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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1. Tilly Peterson (L6) AS Embroidered ballerina dress 2. Cecilia Cardozo (L4) Silk painted vase 3. Lucy Grove (L4) Silk painted vase 4. Claudia Craik (L4) Silk painted vase 5. Daisy Barnes (U5) GCSE Bodice embroidery detail 6. Alice Rotova (U5) GCSE Embroidered mask 6 ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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L4 Vases as displayed on Speech Day Lizzy Llewelyn (U5) GCSE Embroidered dress detail Lizzy Llewelyn’s (U5) GCSE Embroidered dress in the Fashion Show Lizzie Sturges’s (U5) GCSE Harem pants in the Fashion Show Tilly Peterson’s (L6) AS Ballerina dress in the Fashion Show

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U4 Embroidered bodices inspired by butterflies L4 Silk painted vases Isadora Easun (U5) GCSE Embroidered bodice detail Abigail Vanstone (U5) GCSE Embroidered cushion Emily Thompson (L4) Appliqué panel inspired by Matisse

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DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

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The girls have completed some exceptional pieces of coursework this year. A wonderful array of creative projects!

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Mr Alastair White – Head of D&T

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DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

Mr Alastair White – Head of D&T

MIDDLE SCHOOL U3 – The range of colours and designs for the ‘Funky Frames’ and the Steady Hand Games was amazing. The girls are so creative in their designs that it really is a pleasure to see. They have all mastered the basic use of the computer Aided Design and it was lovely to see them working so hard with this technical piece of software.

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L4 – Once again the different styles and designs for the clocks and the jewellery boxes were extremely impressive. These projects require a huge amount of skill and accuracy to produce, yet the girls rose to the challenge and produced some outstanding work.

U4 – The light picture designs and updated mirror projects were finished beautifully.

The complex electronics in the light pictures can be a real challenge. The accuracy needed to make the mirrors perfectly needs a huge amount of concentration. All of the projects this year were excellent.

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AS REPORT The AS projects this year were all incredible: Abi Holmes built a circular desk aimed at students, Jade Golder created a multipurpose multi-media table, Rose Buchanan manufactured a semi-circular coffee table for use in a dental waiting room and Olivia Randell designed a portable tack storage container.

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The AS Course was both informative and interesting with a combination of theory and practical work throughout. Seeing the girls’ designs come to life was both exciting and rewarding for them.

A2 REPORT The A level coursework was very impressive.

Izzy Russell designed a waterfall feature chair, Izzy Rust created a London-themed desk for children to use, and Josie Fitzsimons made a modern storage unit.

The girls worked extremely well throughout the course and we wish them well for their future studies at university.

GCSE REPORT During Speech Day this year the GCSE projects were all on display, and they looked brilliant. The projects were designed with a lot of creativity and they were produced with an amazing level of care and attention to detail. It really was an excellent couple of years for these girls.

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Francesca Oury – GCSE – Compact Make Up Chair and Table 3 & 4. Josie Fitzsimons – A Level Product Design – Drinks Cabinet Jade Golder – AS Level Product 5.

Design – iPod Music Table 6 & 7. Laura Berry – GCSE – Nest of Tables 8 & 9. Charlotte Clancy – GCSE – Modern Coffee Table 10 & 11. Jessica Gardner – GCSE – Unique Sliding Storage Unit Megan Skirrow – GCSE – Childs 12.

Play Oven

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BOARDING

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BOARDING Mrs Lorinda Munro-Faure – Head of Boarding

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oarding at St Catherine’s last year was very busy! We were delighted to receive an award from the Best Schools Guide placing us as the 2nd highest achieving girls’ boarding school. We have looked really hard at what makes boarding here special and have distilled the essentials into the Four Cornerstones of Boarding at St Catherine’s • • •

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Fantastic care by fully qualified teaching staff Full extended access to all of our facilities Great value for money – our inclusive boarding fees are more competitive than other comparable boarding schools by a significant margin!

The friends and networks that our boarders build for life

I do hope that the pictures on this page give a really tangible sense of the fun and opportunities that boarders benefit from.

Boarders get fully involved in all aspects of school life and are noisily present in drama, music, tech club, charities, D of E, sport of all types and much more, being able to fit this all in around their academic studies. Value added scores for boarders’ academic outcomes are something we are all exceptionally proud of in boarding and these were particularly commented on in the October 2016 ISI inspection.

We have run some great cultural and fun weekend trips this year. Highlights were Hampton Court, the Butterfly House at Wisley alongside many others.

Boarders also raised funds again this year during National Boarding Week.

A series of cake sales and a mufti day, alongside a large number of charity

Boarding Bus visit Boarding Welcome Party Summer evening fun in Bronte House Exploring the Boarding Bus Baking for National Boarding Week Christmas Boarding High Table and Nativity 7. Always a warm welcome upstairs!

8. Board games evening 9. Boarders’ party in September 2016 10. 6th Form boarders with Mrs Alexandra 11. West Side Story Rehearsal 12. We all love Ivy Dog!

2 boarding sleepovers raised over £1300 in support of our boarding charity Barnardo’s.

We also had a visit from the Boarding Schools’ Association’s Boarding Bus in June, which is kitted out as a model boarder’s bedroom. It was parked outside the Anniversary Halls for a beautiful summer’s day for girls from Senior and Prep school alike to explore and think about and provided a great talking point for the day.

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LEADING FROM THE TOP! Sophie Tamblyn, Emily Soper & Alexandra Warburton (Games Captains)

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ooking back on St Cat’s Sport has made us realise how much fun we have had and how many amazing memories we have made. Such exposure to so many different sports right from the start, despite the sometimes dreaded weekly cross-country and swimming is definitely something that we feel has given us all the chance to see where school sport can take us, no matter what our goal.

We all believe that we have gained so much confidence from the opportunities we have had over the years. At senior level, the chance to play and make friends with different year groups has been such a

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highlight. No matter what our age, we all have the same responsibility and the same part to play and by getting to know and trust one another we have become not only more confident in ourselves, but also in those around us.

What we have definitely learnt through school sport is that it is easy to judge a whole season’s work on one final result.

However, no matter the preparation and training there are some things that you really can’t prepare for and that is what makes competing so exciting. We would all agree that we would never trade a result for the team unity and development that we have been so lucky to enjoy.

All of our journeys from U3 have been very different; each of us choosing to pursue our chosen sport out of school at club, county and even up to national level.

This has only been possible through the opportunities we have been given through the school and from the PE department, for which we are so so grateful. We feel honored to have had the chance to lead the school and have honestly had so much fun and learnt so much too.

We are so excited to see where university sport can take us and we cannot wait to hear how all the school teams get on in the coming years - no doubt we will be on the sidelines at some point very soon!

A CHANGE THAT BROUGHT SUCCESS Emily Soper (U6)

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oming into our final year competing for St Catherine’s there was definitely apprehension and uncertainty about what was to come. With coaches changing for almost all lacrosse teams new challenges but also excitement lay ahead.

Our staff could not have been more dedicated all year round to working with us, ensuring that we produced the results that we deserved. It has been so nice to work more closely with the PE department this year, building a team with true team spirit and camaraderie.

As Captains one of our main foci this year was to complete a season that we were proud to remember and throughout the year the team have shown their want for success was not only for themselves but also for their fellow teammates.

Each game acted as a building block towards a stronger, more cohesive team.

A game that I personally think encompasses all our hard work throughout the year was the game against GHS at Nationals. Already a big rivalry and having had tough games against them throughout

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the season, it became a significant match for everyone involved.

The team put their emotions and bodies on the line. The fight from both sides showed their passion for the sport and their determination to win.

Although it ended in a draw, this is one of the moments I am most proud of in the season as it showed true team cohesion on and off the field with an impressive display of talent from both teams.

Despite the uncertainty, it was the final season that was all the more special as the hard work put in by both the coaches and players made playing and winning throughout the season all the more fun. I can definitely say that we have learnt there is more to sport than the winning and despite our season not ending in a national title. This season will be remembered for great friends and teammates that pulled together with the coaches to produce some outstanding performances.

LACROSSE U19S: OUR ROAD TO THE HOME WORLD CUP‌ Flora Burdett (L5) & Sophie Tamblyn (U6) FLORA: I decided to trial for Wales as I liked the idea of playing lacrosse at as high a standard as I could. It was suggested I trial for Wales U19 squad: I was very nervous when I arrived, but I found all the girls there were welcoming. After a hard weekend of

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5 training I was pleased to have been selected and have since adored every second. I have played in the Home Internationals twice and in the festival in the summer. Whilst I greatly enjoy playing the games I also enjoy being part of the Welsh squad as we spend lots of time together. The squad is a very committed group of girls supported by a fantastic set of coaches. My ultimate goal is to play in the U19 World Cup in 2019 and then progress to the Senior team, I would recommend trialling if you would like to represent your country, while playing amongst a group of people who love lacrosse just as much as you!

SOPHIE: I have now been part of the U19 England squad for over three years and it has been a major but rewarding commitment. I just missed out on selection for the 2015 U19 World Cup when I was 15 and have found myself in a frustrating age trap whereby I will be just too old next time around. However, I have been lucky enough to have some truly fantastic international opportunities along the way. For me definite highlights include the 2015 World Cup Selection Tour, captaining England to my last ever Junior Home Internationals this year, and defeating the Senior Japan team 12-11 in March. I absolutely love my team and have undoubtedly made some life-long friends.

Although I will be sad to wave goodbye to the U19 set-up in July, I have been invited to trial for Senior England in September and cannot wait to experience this.

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Lacrosse Nationals U19 Games Captains - Sophie Tamblyn, Emily Soper & Alexandra Warburton Sophie Tamblyn Sophie Tamblyn National Champions - 2nd Team

We both have the opportunity to represent Wales and England respectively in the World Cup Festival which ran alongside the Senior World Cup. Despite feeling slightly upset that we are not being whisked off to some exotic location for the tournament, the fact that it was held in Guildford brought so much opportunity for English lacrosse as a whole. With the help of BBC coverage, we really hope that lacrosse will enter more into the public eye during the tournament.

SECONDS LACROSSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

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his season was a complete success for the 2nds! We started the year with a new coach in Mrs Earnshaw-Punnett, who brought with her a fresh approach, which involved improving team work and developing the strengths of individual players on the team. After some team changes following a disappointing loss to the 3rds at Counties, we made the focus of training both having fun and putting in the necessary hard work to turn it around before Nationals. In the run-up we played matches against both 1st and 2nd teams, winning the majority, which evidently boosted team morale.

Then came Nationals, which we went into with a strong game plan to tackle each game as it came and to play in the way in which we had trained. This paid off and consequently we made it to the semi-final having conceded no goals, finding ourselves up against our old rivals, GHS. We had to tackle the mental aspect of this game, which we managed successfully, playing highpressure defence for the whole time. We ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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drew this match, meaning we made it to the final on points where we met St Paul’s. We convincingly won 2-1, conceding our only goal of the day making us national champs!

We want to say a massive “thank you” to the whole team for making our last season so memorable and Mrs EP who put in so much hard work, which was instrumental in helping us secure our Nationals result.

FROM FORMING TO PERFORMING Imogen Peck (U6)

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his year it was great to see so many girls wishing to continue with a competitive school sport, but at a more relaxed level in the 4ths Lacrosse Team. With so many of us, the season began rather slowly and was a little demoralising - especially as the first match of the season is a Tournament in which the 4ths end up playing against 2nd teams,

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including our own! However, we slowly grew as a team throughout the next few months, getting through many highs and lows together and becoming more and more successful. By the end of the season, we had a brilliant team and were able to play strongly against many teams of higher levels. We had a great time at both the South East Lacrosse Festival and Nationals towards the end of the season, showing what we could achieve as a team. We could not have done all of this without the leadership of our coaches, especially Miss Vickers and Mr Berry who supported and coached us at every match. Good luck to the 4ths next year!!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Alex Cant (L5)

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e have had an excellent lacrosse season this year, with many highs. We started the season in high spirits after the lacrosse tour which was a great bonding experience for the team. With many important tournaments looming, everyone was training hard, determined to get some wins.

The season started well, with mostly strong wins at the Saturday fixtures. With the Surrey Lacrosse Tournament approaching, the team was working hard on developing attacking and defensive play. We came out with a win, which really encouraged and motivated us to work hard in preparation for Nationals. This was a proud moment for our team as we had not won it since U3 and also the Bs won, as well making it an extra-special day. By March, we had come on a long way as a team, working together all determined to succeed at Nationals.

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With Regionals and Nationals ahead, we were confident that if we played well and worked hard we could achieve a win.

Our first knock of the season was in the Regional final, in which we narrowly lost to Putney High, a team that we had previously beaten during the season. Despite some post-match tears it made the team even more determined for the Nationals where we played some of the best lacrosse we had played all year. The National final could have gone either way with a 2-2 draw after the whistle was blown. With great teamwork and determination from both the attack and the defence we scored the golden goal, making us National Champions. It was an extremely close game and they were a strong side, so being crowned National Champions was a very proud moment for the team, as we have been working towards it for the last four years.

All of this would not have been possible without the support and coaching of Mrs Alexander and Miss Grant. We were sad to see Miss Grant leave as she was a big part of the team and was so encouraging and supportive throughout the season.

Although it will be sad to split up our team, we are all excited for our transition into the Senior teams.

GROWING AS A TEAM – U14 LACROSSE & NETBALL Aya Magee (U4)

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he lacrosse season started with many tough training sessions. We have endured more training sessions, including early Tuesday mornings: although cold, they have benefited our team significantly. In training sessions we have been focusing on more tactical work around the goal and in midfield which has improved our team work and communication.

This season we competed in Nationals and Counties. In the County tournament we played strongly, winning all our matches in our pool. In the semi-finals we played against Putney High, fighting hard and winning the match. Our competition in the finals was GHS and even though we did not come out with a win we were extremely proud and were ready for Nationals.

In Nationals we came in the top section of our pool, meaning we went through to the knock-out stage. For the first round of knock-outs we met St Swithun’s and won on an excellent goal. In the quarter-finals we met Bedford Girls’ School, but after playing our hardest we lost. This year has been an incredible experience and all of us have enjoyed every moment of it.

During the netball season we trained hard through the wind and rain, practising our ball skills and improving our team work.

Shooters worked on their accuracy while the defence worked on communication. At the start of the season we travelled to Condover Hall for a weekend which allowed us to bond as well as play what were to be hardfought matches. Jess Brocklebank (U4) was awarded a prize from pro-netballer Pamela Cookey for Player of the Tournament.

Our Team played in the County Netball Tournament where we came second in our pool by one point. In the semi-finals we played GHS, unfortunately losing after a close game; however, this helped prepare us for Nationals, during which we won five games before losing the next match closely.

However, this still qualified us in first place.

In the next round we were met by Alleyn’s School, and after fighting with everything we had, we narrowly lost this match 13-9 which unfortunately knocked us out the competition.

This year’s netball has been enjoyable and fun, as well as a lot of hard work: but we loved every moment of it.

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STRENGTH AND DEPTH Miri Watson & Meg Wilkes (U4)

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his year has been a good year for the netball and lacrosse B teams and we feel have come such a long way since the start of the year. We welcomed into the sides new team mates who joined the school and from the beginning of the netball season we bonded as a team.

Everyone was supportive, with the captains leading from the front in an encouraging way.

In early September our performances during the netball tour to Condover proved the strength in our team. In lacrosse we were thankful to have multi-skilled players, and were proud of the depth of talent that we carried between us. Indeed, we were very privileged to play as a team together.

We had many mixed results during our season, coming up against many challenging teams in both netball and lacrosse. Although there were some defeats, we put up a good fight, bringing in several triumphs. In netball we played as a strong team and our strength in match situations grew throughout the season, resulting in many victories. We faced a few disappointments but encouraged each other and enjoyed all our matches. We had players that all brought different skills and qualities to the matches.

We feel we were very united and our teamwork went from strength to strength throughout the season. We found new methods of tactics and as a team learnt lots of different coaching points from both sports. We have enjoyed playing and working in such supportive teams.

1. Lacrosse Nationals U19 - Emily Wigmore 2. Lacrosse Nationals U19 - Holly Manser, Claudia Shehadeh & Laura Biggs 3. Coaches for U19 Lacrosse Nationals ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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1st TEAM NETBALL: OUR STRONGEST YEAR YET! Sophie Tamblyn (U6)

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t can be safely said that netball this year has been competitive, rewarding and so much fun. For me, throughout this season I was very aware that it may have been the end of my netball career and so I really wanted to make the most of every second.

We really did have such a closely knit squad. This, along with the often uncontainable enthusiasm of Miss Cox, meant that we all looked forward to every practice which undoubtedly contributed to our rapid progress. Fitness became a fairly central feature for us this year and as much as we may have dreaded our Thursday interval sessions, they were definitely something that helped shape our success.

We soon realised that our strength lay in our ability to sustain a high standard of play over long games. In such a way, the ISNC Tournament was where we really flourished.

This national knockout tournament takes place throughout the season and consists of 60-minute games which are always played indoors – this is where the early mornings really did pay off! Following an early defeat to a top seed in September, we found ourselves in the Plate Competition and really came into our own as the season progressed. We played a number of intense matches in which the strength and depth of our squad enabled us to pull through time and time again. Unfortunately, we narrowly lost in the final of the competitions.

However, I can truthfully say that I have never enjoyed netball anywhere near as much as I did this year. We really did reach a new height in terms of commitment and level of play. I know I can speak for the whole team in saying that ...

... the tears which fell at the end of the final were not for the loss of the trophy but for the end of a fantastic year and team.

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1 I know we would all like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has supported us and especially to Miss Cox. As your first ever 1st team we hope you loved it as much as we did!

TEAM COHESION – STILL PART OF IT ALL! Josie Fitzsimons & Anne-Claire Holden (U6)

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eing part of the 2nds this year has been such a rewarding experience; not only was the team able to hold its own against a number of 1st teams that we came up against, but we had such big personalities within the team that we were able to form fantastic relationships off court as well. Over the course of this year, it has been incredibly gratifying to watch every single member of the team really come into their own and establish themselves solidly within the squad.

Although training in the freezing cold and pouring rain is no-one’s cup of tea, we pushed through every week, working on our fitness and ball skills as much as possible to hone both areas and allow us to become the best we could be, as a collective team. After all this hard work throughout the entire

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season, each of us was very excited to show what we could do when it came to Surreys.

The weather for the County Tournament was nowhere near ideal, but in true St Cat’s spirit, proudly wearing our blue and yellow ribbons, we gritted our teeth and played hard, putting everything into every match we played. A shaky start soon woke us up, and we finished our round of pool matches strongly. After coming out on top last year, we wanted to continue the school’s winning streak in the U19B’s tournament, so we carried on playing our own consistent and effective style of netball in the quarter final, putting us through to the semis.

Even though we were unable to progress to the final, we all ended up thoroughly enjoying the day, with the best aspect of it clearly being the support that everyone gave each other both on and off court, which is exactly what made the 2nds such a strong team this year.

All of our achievements would have been impossible without the support from our coach, Miss Cox, who was key to helping us progress individually as players, and so to her, we would like to say a massive “thank you” for her care, positive attitude, and fantastic sense of humour this season!

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ABOVE & BEYOND Mia Thompson

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n the 2016/17 Netball season we got straight into the Surrey County Academy Squads. The trialling process consisted of two whole days of ten-minute match play, with a cut at lunch. However, as we were both in the Surrey squads the season before, we could advance to the second day straight away. It was a tough day as every second you were on court you had to be playing your hardest, as you never knew when the coaches were looking and it was important to make a lasting impression. Once the afternoon matches were over we left and were emailed a few weeks later, telling us we had been selected for the county and development squad.

The academy training sessions lasted two hours in the evening, which was longer and later than we are used to.

We always began our sessions with some activation in which we were taught how to do by a physio in one of the first sessions.

After this we had fitness circuits and then drills. Usually, there was gameplay at the end of each session which pushed our skills further because there was a very high standard due to the mixture of girls training with us. This has helped us in our school netball when we have come against different teams, especially more physical teams as we have adjusted to play against all types of players.

We had a few sessions which were focused solely on strength and conditioning; this included learning the ‘right’ techniques when doing exercises given to us, which would help strengthen our muscles and prevent injury.

We have learned a lot from the experience not only in our technical skill and gameplay but also in our fitness and tactical

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It has been very helpful to be surrounded by such a high standard of players as this allows us to push ourselves constantly.

PLAYING 3rd & 4th NETBALL Libby Gilbert (L6)

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his year 3rd and 4th Netball team have been extremely fun, with strong team spirit bringing us all together. We trained hard all season leading up to the U19 B team tournament which we entered as a 3rd team. We worked on movement around the circle and transition from defence to attack in the run-up to the tournament. The team played extremely well considering we were a 3rd team, coming in the top four of the plate competition. Sixth Form netball remains competitive but also fun, and it has been thoroughly enjoyable.

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ISNC 2017 - U19B Surrey Tournament 1st Netball Team 2nd Netball Team 3rd Netball Team 1st Netball Team - Surrey Finals 4th Netball Team U16 A Netball Team U16 B Netball Team

EN ROUTE TO SUCCESS Jessica Dodsworth (L5)

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he U15 A Netball Team has had a very eventful season. It started off with the ISNC National Tournament. We went into the first round feeling excited about the opportunity and how this would be a great way to kick-start our season. The match against Roedean started strongly and we quickly gained a convincing lead.

As the hour-long match progressed, our fitness levels meant we were able to maintain and even increase this lead, meaning we won 71-9.

We progressed to the second round against Bedford expecting a harder opposition. We did not get complacent and played strongly throughout the game.

We put up a tough fight and at the end of each quarter the score was very similar. In the end, we had more stamina and pulled ahead, winning 44-31.

The third round was against Chigwell, another strong side. We trained hard, anticipating the match and ready for a fight.

The score line was also very close during this match, and the other team was very physical. This was a particularly challenging game, especially because of the tough indoor surface.

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All elements of our game were put to the test, especially our fitness and decision making. We kept disciplined and overall won 45-36.

Very excited that we had got this far, we made it to the National quarter-finals.

This was against Bromsgrove, our toughest opponent yet. We had a lot of support from parents, teachers and sixth-formers, as this was a home match. It started off very close, but Bromsgrove started to pull ahead. The gap began to widen, with the other side in the lead, but we kept our heads up, and were all very proud of our consistent discipline and sportsmanship, even against such a physical side. Overall the score was 36-53 to Bromsgrove, and so we were knocked out of the tournament.

However, we are all extremely proud of our achievements, as we are in the top 8 schools in the country!

Later in the season we travelled to Epsom College for the Surrey Netball Finals.

We lost our first two group matches, but managed to pull through and win our next three against Alleyns, Lingfield Notre Dame and JAGS. This meant we qualified for the semi-finals by 1 point. We then met GHS, our old rivals, and after a tough game, they came out with a win. It was still a great day as we are now in the top four teams in Surrey.

Overall, we have had an amazing and very eventful season, and are all very proud of the outcome of our efforts. We cannot wait for next year!

1. ISNC March 2017 - Plate Runners-Up 2. ISNC March 2017

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U12 NETBALL Bonnie Russell & Sienna Richardson (U3)

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he U12 netball has seen a successful year throughout all the teams. The teams have won many matches and have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. From the A-H teams everyone has put in a great amount of commitment and effort, trying to improve their skills and game play.

This year the A squad has been given lots of opportunities including The Schools Magazine Cup. We did well in all of these events, coming 2nd in Surrey and getting to the semi-finals of The Schools Magazine Cup. Excellent coaching from Miss Cox and Miss Buckett has made our experience even more enjoyable and fun, but it was not all fun and games: at the start we were all very anxious before the trials but that anxiety soon eased off when we were greeted by friendly coaches. Furthermore, the A squad is extremely excited for Condover later this year and for what is to come.

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The B squad has had an equally successful season, winning almost all the matches they played and they are improving putting pressure on the A team players. The B squad has been a great influence to the A players, improving all the time while the A players have to stay hot on their feet. The B squad has terrific enthusiasm and they are looking forward to their future in netball.

The C squad have been a massive attribute to sport this year and have consistently tried there hardest. The skill gap has been narrowing over the course of the session between the B and the C team.

The D, E, F, G and H squads have improved a lot as some of them had never played netball before St Catherine’s. The standard of netball has grown dramatically over the past year, seeing players moving up through the teams with everyone having put in an enormous amount of effort.

Overall, the U12 teams have had a very strong start to our secondary school netball journey and would like to thank all the netball teachers that have encouraged, taught and helped us throughout the season.

ATHLETICS: DASHING TO THE FINISH Bryony Bovell & Amelie Attenborough (L4)

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his year U3 and L4 enjoyed a variety of athletics events, and have even broken some records, some of them have stood for over ten years. One of our greatest achievements was competing in the ESAA Cup Final, where we came 5th out of 567 schools. St Catherine’s has not reached the final for ten years so this was a massive achievement for all of us. We also had good representation at the National Prep Schools Athletics in Birmingham, we all tried our hardest and the best results came out with a few of us reaching the podium.

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6 with Elinor Gadd and Grace Davison placing 3rd and 5th. The O13s performed some good floor routines and completed some strong handspring vaults. The U15s, undeterred by the disadvantage of only competing with four teammates instead of five had an excellent day, competing on all pieces. In the group routine the team placed 3rd and Chelsea Foote received 2nd place individually. We were pleased with this result as we had worked very hard to perfect our group routine (created by Lorien Stapleton from the U15 team) as well as the new set floor sequence.

CRICKET CLUB REPORT Molly McLean & Larissa Gaunt (L5)

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1 There have been many highs and lows along the way, but every experience prepared us for the next competition.

As well as the huge amount of fun we have in taking part in these events, hard work and determination are necessary; it is difficult to master all the different elements of athletics and it takes time and commitment to do so. The mental side is just as important as the physical side - it is impossible to succeed without both.

Whether you are running 100m or 1500m metres, throwing shot put or javelin, it is that final push that really counts.

On the track you may be losing by 10m but that last bit of effort is what can sometimes make the difference. In athletics it is not about your position but achieving your personal best. Our teachers have been helping us to achieve these and we all owe them a massive “thank you” for all the effort they have put in to help us.

We have to train hard and sometimes for no particular reason it might not go well on the day. The hot summer made athletics challenging on occasions and left us tired and sunburnt! The support from the team and the teachers, encourages us to keep trying even when things do not go as planned. There is nothing better when running a race, than to see a crowd of bright yellow vests cheering you on - they help you strive for that final push. When we have all of these elements working together, it gets us across the line!

FINISHING ON A HIGH Chelsea Foote

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he U13, U15 and O13 Gymnastics squads began the year well, with the former placing in the top 3 and the U15s achieving 1st place at the Surrey Tumbling Competition, setting all of us in good stead for the Surrey floor and Vault.

Unfortunately, due to injuries, Evie Lamb was unable to compete for the U15 team at this event allowing two others to compete in her place. Overall the teams did well, achieving some high individual scores with the U15s placing 3rd.

ISGA was the final competition of the year, with the largest number of schools participating. Despite the hard competition, the U13s placed in the top

n the Summer Term Mr Matthews kindly offered his lunchtime to run a cricket club once a week to teach a few of us and to remind us of our St Cat’s roots. We agreed to meet every Tuesday lunchtime to start what we soon realised was a very fun and enjoyable series of sessions, introducing us to the world famous sport.

In the first week we learnt how to bowl, which was very different to what we were used to in rounders, so this was a bit difficult to grasp, but luckily Mr Matthews taught us well and we soon got the hang of it after a couple of flung balls.

In the next few sessions, we were taught to bat as well as practising our existing skills, which we gained from rounders. We did this by playing games such as French cricket, and continuous cricket, where you have to try and not be bowled out whilst running back and forth between the cones. We

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Athletics lesson Chelsea Foote - House Gym

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1 enjoyed these as they included both batting and fielding skills, which improved our cricket skills further and helped us become more familiar with the game that many of us had never played before.

At the beginning and end of every session we all stood in a circle and Mr Matthews randomly threw to us in order to test our reaction and catching skills, which was actually quite difficult! Whilst doing this we tried to recite the ten ways to get out in cricket, which included interesting ones like unsportsman-like behaviour. We always managed to forget at least one!

Cricket club this year has been a great lunchtime activity, and has been a fun way to introduce ourselves to the male-dominated sport, which we hope to increase our knowledge in and continue to develop our play. Mr Matthews has been a excellent coach and we have greatly enjoyed the sessions we have had so far. We hope to continue the club in the Autumn Term so that we can improve our skills and achieve a standard where we can play matches!

HANGING ON TO SPORT! Alice Pink (U6)

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or some people, traditional school sports will never quite work for them, often leading us to search outside the curriculum to a wider variety of sports. It took me until I was 14 to find a sport which really clicked for me. However, as soon as I started climbing I knew I did not want to do anything else.

Climbing is a sport that allows you to put your complete trust in someone else while pushing yourself to your limit, challenging your mind and body.

As I started climbing relatively late in comparison to many other climbers my age, I have only started competing in both lead climbing and bouldering competitions in the last two years. Training with the development squad at Craggy Island,

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2 has allowed me to represent them at a variety of competitions such as the Youth Climbing Series, Junior British Bouldering Championships and Blokfest series, as well as many other competitions at local centres.

My proudest achievements this year have been placing 9th overall in the Senior Women’s category in the Blokfest series, placing 4th in the Female Elite category at the Red Spider annual competition and taking part in my very first competition with children competing from all over Britain.

As well as climbing allowing me to take part in many competitions ‘on plastic’ (indoors) I have also been lucky enough to get experience outside, such as doing sport and trad climbing in the Dolomites and climbing in various locations across the UK. Climbing centres are vastly expanding at the minute, particularly in response to the news that climbing will be included in the 2020 Olympic Games! This means that climbing has become increasingly accessible to all types of people with most centres catering for all levels and ages. I cannot recommend climbing enough to anyone as a fun activity for the family or a competitive

sport and would encourage everyone in the younger years who is struggling to ‘find their sport’ to keep looking!

JUMPING TO SUCCESS Anna Holmes (L5)

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he equestrian team has had a very successful year, and there are still many competitions to come. The members of the team range from ages 8-17 with pupils from the Senior and Prep school. All teams are of mixed ages, and it is a great way to get to know other students in different years. The team is very supportive of each other and is noticeably one of the most supportive team at NSEA competitions. None of the members could compete without the support of parents, who take time out of their day to transport horses all around the country, and often spend days, and occasionally nights, at competitions.

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Alice Pink Alice Pink Equestrian Team

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The championships in October are one of the highlights of our year. To qualify for this the team needs to come 1st/2nd out of approximately 20 teams, and individuals have to come 1st/2nd out of approximately 80 competitors against the many prestigious schools in our area. We have already qualified two individuals, and three teams for National Championships, and 4 individuals, and 5 teams for the plate championships in December coming 3rd6th in qualifying competitions.

Back in January the 90cm team were crowned Surrey Champions and also individual champion. Representing Surrey against all the other County Champions from all over England, Scotland, and Wales, we were unable to keep our reigning reserve champion title that we gained last year, but we still managed to come in the top 15 and gain 7th individually. Well done to everyone who has brought back outstanding results this year, and a big “thank you” to all the parents and organisers of the riding team who put in a lot of effort to allow us to compete. Good luck to all the girls competing at National Championships and we hope to come back with many National placings.

SWIMMING Emilia Eaves (L5)

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n the summer of 2016, I swam in the Welsh Nationals for the first time. I had qualified for seven events and although I was nervous I was also extremely excited.

The gala took place in Swansea, as it does every year, and the races were spread over a week. Once I had completed the events, I was thrilled to have achieved five personal best times, as since the swimming season had finished a month in advance I had been training by myself for two hours each day at Surrey Sports Park and did not know what to expect. Although I did not get into the

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1 finals for the events I competed in, I did come very close in the 50m backstroke race, which for me was a huge achievement for my first year at Nationals.

Since I was so close the finals this made me even more determined and focused for the next year so I increased the hours of training I was doing to 12 hours a week, including sessions before school, with an additional hour of land training in order to push myself as best as I could. Initially, the extra hours of training were a shock as I was forced to be more organised and disciplined when it came to doing my homework as soon as it was set, as well as finding time to take part in other sports such as lacrosse and tennis, but I quickly established a routine that worked for me.

In preparation for the 2017 Welsh Nationals I was committed to train hard throughout the year. However, I was heartbroken when in May I had developed an injury as the event approached. This meant that I could not train properly leading up to the Nationals in the summer.

After going to the physio and undertaking

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South East Regional Swimming Championships House Swimming

my exercises I was hopeful that I would recover in time for the event. I had already qualified prior to the injury but was not sure I had enough time to get back to the fitness level that I needed to be at. I made it through half of the week and, much to my huge disappointment, my injury had come back. Although this was a massive set back at the time, I realise now that injuries are a part of sport and are often inevitable: of course, there is always another year and another chance!

SOUTH EAST REGIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Alexandra Thurston (U4)

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competed at the South East Regional Swimming Championships in High Wycombe in April in the 50m, 100m and 200m fly events. This had been my goal all season since September. The region comprises about 75 clubs from Dover to Oxford and approximately 20 swimmers qualify for each event. I was competing as a 14-year old in the 15 age group.

The cut-off for qualifying times for the championships was the beginning of April.

I did not have a brilliant start to the year

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1 in the Surrey championships in February as I succumbed to a virus that affected my training and race performance. I did manage to get my 50m fly qualifying time and recovered sufficiently for the 200m fly where I came 3rd in the county but did not get the qualifying time I wanted. This meant I had to get those crucial times at a further two galas in Crawley and Aldershot in March. Which I did! I was so happy as it made all those weekday 5.30am starts worthwhile.

Swimming at the South East Regionals was exciting but also nerve wracking. I was the only girl to qualify in my age group from my club, Haslemere, which was daunting.

My best race was the 200m fly, although it is also the most gruelling - and to swim in the final with your name announced to loud music was something I will not forget.

I swam as hard as I could and I achieved a 3-second PB. Although I came 8th there was only a small margin of tenths of a second separating me from the two racers ahead of me: it is often so close.

I had a memorable weekend and achieved PBs in all my races. Next year I hope to qualify for more races at the South East Regionals and get my first national time

SWIM TOUR TO LA SANTA, LANZAROTE Miri Watson (U4)

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n the summer holiday, 34 girls and four members of staff embarked on a swim tour to Club la Santa in Lanzarote.

Every morning and afternoon, we would all go to one of the three 50m swimming pools for a coached training session. The sessions included;: endurance, technique, speed, triathlon drills, video analysis and preparation for swimming galas. All of the

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2 training meant we were able to work at improving our strokes and our times over 50m, 100m and 200m.

As well as swimming, we completed a track session to work on running technique and also completed in an Aquathlon in teams, which consisted of 1km in the pool and 2km running. It was an enjoyable event which everyone loved.

On top of the swimming training, we took part in many other fun activities including Zumba, hula-hooping, cycling, yoga, kayaking, paddle boarding, open water swimming in the lagoon and trampolining. Everyone thought these activities were great, with Zumba being a biggest hit. In addition to the activities, there was also a leisure pool, which we all loved playing in as well as participating in a diving and synchronised swimming competition.

The whole week was so much fun, with the extra-curricular highlights being the Zumba, with everyone including the teachers joining in, and the mountain biking that had a quick smoothie stop in the middle! It was such a great week and we would like to thank Miss Vickers, Mrs Moore, Miss Buckett and Mr Moore for taking us and making this a great tour.

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Swim Tour - La Santa, Lanzarote Swim Tour - La Santa, Lanzarote Padi Open Water Padi Open Water

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PADI OPEN WATER Emily MacGregor & Alyssa Davis (U4)

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his term five girls from U4 took part in the PADI Open Water Diver course. It is a 5-week course which enables you to scuba dive anywhere in the world up to 18 metres deep. The course consists of theory sessions and also practical sessions in the school swimming pool.

During the theory sessions we learnt about the components of the scuba kit needed to dive and the knowledge to dive safely and successfully. In these sessions we also watched fun and informative videos that taught us what we needed to know, helped us to complete four knowledge reviews and complete the final examination needed to pass the course.

In the pool sessions we practised the skills that we saw in the videos, learning how to scuba dive using the equipment correctly. We learned putting together the kit we needed for diving and helping out our partners/buddies prepare to get in the water.

We enjoyed the experience as it was unlike anything we had done before! It was an amazing course and we would really encourage other girls in the school to participate. It is an incredible opportunity that you do not want to miss out on as it is a life-long certification recognised all over the world!

HOW OUR SCHOOL SPORTS OPPORTUNITIES HAVE GROWN Honor Ashby & Robyn Stannard (U3)

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aving enjoyed sport at primary level, we were excited to arrive at a school where sport was available to us several times a day, every single day.

Alongside our timetabled PE and Year Games lessons, we have been able to attend additional practices and matches before school, after school and during the lunch hour. We are so lucky to have so many members of the PE department, all of whom provide hours of coaching and support for us as teams and as individuals.

Lacrosse was new to both of us and we cannot believe the progress we have been able to make in such a short space of time: we have developed our stick work, our team work and our match tactics. Our netball skills have gone from strength to strength, especially in terms of our distribution on the court. Rounders has been the team sport of the summer and we have particularly focused on taking risks in our match play.

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Jokar Tournament 2016 Jokar Tournament 2016 Anna Litvinenko competing

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2 Sport is, without doubt, the best way to make friends at school. You get to spend so much free time together, working to achieve good results, and having huge amounts of fun too.

REWARDING SUCCESS Anna Litvinenko (L6)

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had the amazing opportunity to attend the Sport Godalming Bursary Awards night with two fellow St Catherine’s athletes, where we were given a generous bursary to contribute towards helping us progress in our sports to the fullest potential. I am a competitive figure skater and often travel abroad for international competitions, where I can qualify for major events, such as World Championships. These competitions are also important because they provide vital experience of competing with the best athletes in the world, which is inspiring and pushes me to work even harder. Without any funding, I would not be able to attend these events, therefore I am extremely grateful to Sport Godalming for their continual support in helping me achieve my dreams.

During the event, we were also interviewed, which was ...

... a great chance to share with the community what we have already achieved in our sport and bridge the connection between athletes and the community.

There has always been an extremely positive and supportive atmosphere at these events and I feel very lucky to have had the chance to go. Sport Godalming is a remarkable organization that is not only involved with helping individual athletes, but also aids many different sports teams in the community of all ages and levels, encouraging people to improve skills and maintain a healthy active lifestyle. Their work is remarkable and I feel so privileged to have their support; I hope that one day I will be able to do something so valuable for the community and for local athletes.

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as it always welcomes new members. We would also like to thank Miss Grant for organising the matches this year and for her continuous support and commitment to the team.

SAILING Laura Biggs (U5)

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DRIVING TO SUCCESS! Sophie Vallis (L6) & Daisy Walsh (L4)

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ver the course of the year, the golf team at St Catherine’s has grown significantly with many new members joining. We have participated in several matches, which we have won convincingly and has encouraged more people to enter the matches. Whilst Golf is a fairly niche sport at St Catherine’s, it allows a great opportunity for those who do not wish to continue with team sports to thrive within a sport and is a great way to develop not only physical skills but mental skills too.

Sophie recently became the girl’s Junior Captain at Bramley Golf Club, and on the Captain’s Day, drove in front of approximately 100 members with a strong 200-yard drive. She was also the runner-up in the handicap trophy of the Junior Club Championship.

Daisy Walsh (L4), another member of Bramley Gold Club, and a key player in the St Catherine’s golf team, has had many successes this year, winning the U14 Cranleigh tournament and contributing the most points towards our win against Guildford High School in a recent friendly match where we won by 17 points.

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Both of us recently played in the Ladies’ Club Championship, which was a great opportunity to play with more experienced players. Jess Brocklebank (U3) has also contributed to the success of the team this year, winning her section in the Cranleigh tournament. Alex Epshtein, had the exciting opportunity to play golf with the Phelps brothers, otherwise known as the Weasley twins from the Harry Potter films, and came 3rd in the tournament, which was a great achievement.

Although the team continues to succeed, we encourage anyone who has an interest in golf or who already has experience playing golf to join the team,

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t Catherine’s sailing team has had some great achievements this year. Our first event of the season, Surrey Schools Christmas Regatta, got us off to a flying start. Some great placings from all sailors meant we won the team competition and went away with the trophy once again despite the more unpopular cold winter conditions. In the summer St Cat’s was represented again at the Surrey Schools Regatta with a large number of boats, including toppers, oppies and fevas.

The winds were strong but, as ever at Papercourt, very shifty which presented difficult conditions; however, this would not affect the performance of St Cat’s! Some very skilful sailing resulted in fantastic placings, not only in the individual classes but the overall handicap too. Our main rival RGS could not catch us, meaning we had won the title of Surrey Champions yet again!

Later in the term the Itchenor Schools Week saw further success for the girls. The 2-day feva event had a packed start line of 105 boats with a few girls experiencing

SENIOR SCHOOL

LIFE BETWEEN BRAMLEY & THE ALPS Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher

I 4 sailing on the sea for the first time.

Nevertheless, St Cat’s achieved some fantastic placings. The 420 event was a fierce competition, with many advanced racers taking part. The light winds meant there were fewer races for the sailors to prove themselves; however, we achieved 1st and 3rd place in the overall competition. This is an incredible achievement, especially since this was the first time the girls competed in 420s.

It is safe to say St Cat’s has had another strong year of sailing and we would like to thank Mrs Hermitage and Dr Duckworth for their continuing support and dedication to the team.

OLIVIA OKOLI – EUROPEAN U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS

t has been a challenging but rewarding year on the slopes. This winter I decided to continue ski racing as a representative for Great Britain. I travelled through the mountains of Europe as I competed in ski races for the English Championships in Bormio, Italy, the British Championships in Tignes, and several other regional FIS races in France, Italy and Switzerland. Although my ski training season was severely curtailed by AS level work, leaving me short of training for the last races, I managed to combine both ski training and racing throughout the season and the demanding first year of A-levels.

My typical day in the Alps was undeniably gruelling, starting on the slopes at 7 am, training for hours in the freezing cold, and then powering through fitness sessions in the afternoon.

My evening started with a couple of hours of technical ski prepping, then only able to start my schoolwork when the other skiers took a nap or relaxed. I managed to juggle ski training and school work during my weeks away by aspiring to be pro-active and organised to catch up on all the work missed.

Miss Millie Marsh - PE Department

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livia was selected to represent Team GB in the European U20 Championships this summer in Grosseto, Italy. Olivia was selected to run in the 100m and 4 x 100m relay. In the 100m Olivia won her heat and placed 2nd in the semi-final, gaining her a place in the 100m final where she was placed 4th with a time of 11.86. This was a shame as her heat was 11.65 which would have been enough to win the final.

Team GB finished 3rd in the relay final with a time of 44.17. The winning time was 43.44 and 2nd 44.03 so very close! A Bronze medal for Olivia and the youngest in the relay team; completing the final leg was an exciting time for her.

Following on from her successes this year Olivia has gained an athletics scholarship to study Medicine at Harvard University. We look forward to following her success through the years and will be watching for her name as a future Olympian!

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ON OUR OWN.......BUT TOGETHER Tamara Curran, Sophie Hanna & Maddie Glynn-Jones (U3)

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hen you compete as an individual athlete in sport you may think that it is you, on your own, as a solo performance. However, this is not the case.

We have learnt that you must put everything you have into your solo performance in order to gain the best possible team result. This team motivation drives every athlete to gain the placings they will need for a good team result. You are there to put your all in for the team, and even in an individual sport you can work together to gain top spots.

In swimming you strive to achieve your personal best in each individual event; this way the team can win the gala. In a relay you swim or run as fast as you can to put the team in the best possible position.

When you are running a cross country race, you help each other and draft one another to support each other all the way over the finish line. In triathlon it is also about being individuals when racing, but in the end it is the team result that means the most. You just have to keep working together whether you are taking a turn, pulling someone else in the swim, or drafting on your bike.

As an analogy, in the Olympics, everyone competes for themselves but the main result that comes out is the team result. This has taught us all to give everything we have in our races, all the time, so that we do not let the team down. It teaches us to look out for one another when someone is struggling in any sporting event.

It has also taught us to keep pushing over the line to gain placings, even if we are having a bad day, because even just a few places can effect a result.

So even though you are competing in an individual sport, this does not mean you are on your own. It is the combination of the team that produces great results.

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Triathlon -Sophie Hanna Emily Turner & Trinity Kershaw Emily Mueller & Amelia Haywood at the Fevas National Olivia Okoli – European U20 championships Skiing - Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher English Championships ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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FAREWELL

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FAREWELL Chloë Abbott

Chloë Abbott

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hloë leaves us after two years in the Music Department as our trumpet specialist. Throughout that time, as well as encouraging her individual students from strength to strength, she helped to coach Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, Prep School Wind Orchestra, and Brass Ensemble.

We wish Chloë every success as she leaves us to pursue performance opportunities abroad.

Matthew Greenfield - Director of Music

Yvonne Akehurst

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vonne Akehurst retired as our Cat Club Lead Supervisor at the end of term. We thank her very much for her eighteen years of service and for providing such an important provision, which has flourished under her leadership. Yvonne was always keen to ensure that girls were well looked after and had a ‘home from home’ experience at Cat Club giving girls time to relax and unwind at the end of their busy school day as well as a chance to get on with prep if need be. Yvonne is now able to spend more time with her family and take the opportunity for far-flung travels around the world.

Katriina Boosey

number of our Baby Cats Classics concerts as part of our outreach programme. We wish Kati every success as she continues with her private teaching and performing.

Matthew Greenfield - Director of Music

Sonja Bork

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onja joined us in September 2016 as a German language assistant from the Freie Universität Berlin, studying English and Biology with a view to becoming a teacher. She had also just finished her Master of Education in August before she joined St Catherine’s School.

Sonja provided our Sixth Form linguists with invaluable extra oral practice, as well as meeting with small groups of fifth form girls to prepare them for the challenges of the IGCSE exam. Her enthusiasm and positive attitude worked wonders and our students were really appreciative of all her support and encouragement.

Since February, Sonja has been completing teacher training at a senior school (Gymnasium) in Berlin, which she is really enjoying.

It was a real pleasure having Sonja in the department and we wish her the very best of success with her future endeavours!

Nick Morgan – Acting Head of German

Naomi Bartholomew - Prep Headmistress

Katriina Boosey

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ati leaves us after four years in the Music Department as our recorder and early music specialist. We are grateful for her contribution to the Chamber Music Programme in particular – not least her fine coaching of the Baroque Ensemble this year, which led to their success in the Godalming Music Festival. Kati was also a stalwart member of the tenor saxophone section in Jazz Band, and performed in a

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Heather Bryn-Thomas

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eather Bryn-Thomas joined St Catherine’s as Housemistress of Russell Baker House and teacher of Maths in 2003. A clear understanding of the link between the academic and pastoral elements of a girl’s school life has been a constant feature of her professional career, as has her quiet and caring demeanour, absolute hallmarks of her work on any project and part of the secret of her success.

By first training always an excellent teacher

of Mathematics, she relished her teaching at all levels, enjoying striking successes with the most able Further Mathematicians and equally with those for whom Maths was a serious challenge at IGCSE. Many have benefited from her readiness to spend hours with individual pupils to build understanding and, subsequently, confidence.

As RB Housemistress, Heather nurtured the house loyalty and spirit she inherited from Miss Vinen, always visible at house competitions cheering on the teams or performers. Herself a former captain of lacrosse and cricket at Roedean, on St Catherine’s Day she would occasionally wield a lax stick in a practice session between matches in the orchard! At School plays and concerts she was a regular presence supporting every girl and delighting in their talents and progress.

A career-long school timetabler building well over 30 in total - Heather took up that role at St Catherine’s in 2004, another responsibility carried out with the same blend of precision and eye for detail, alongside care for girls and staff.

Timetabling is as much an art as it is a science and the best school timetablers think about the human element of the days they create, not just finishing the task. I have known Heather persist for two days to make particular patterns work that others would have resolved with a quick and less satisfactory ‘fix’ far sooner. The mathematical ‘elegant solution’ was always Mrs B-T’s aim!

In 2007 Heather was promoted to Senior Management as School Administrator and then to be Director of Studies in 2012. In the former role, a memorable highlight for me was her creation of the 125th Anniversary Service at Guildford Cathedral with its opening procession of 125 candles born by our smallest girls, closely supervised by 125 of their sixth form peers, followed by a special liturgy of thanksgiving for the life of the School. In the latter role she oversaw the restructuring of the school day to enable some private study time for all year groups in ‘Period 7/House Study’ and access to ‘clinic’ opportunities for one-to-one tuition with staff. This enabled girls to tackle any lack of understanding quickly and without sacrificing extra-curricular time to lunchtime meetings with staff which always felt like more of a punishment than a boost. Asking for individual help has become a norm and a wise thing to do, and carries no stigma.

She also created the two now very well established lessons for Upper 4: PPPE– a taste of A Level subjects Philosophy, Politics, Psychology and Economics - and the U4 Lecture, a first introduction to thoughts about careers, featuring guest speakers as well as staff lecturers on all manner of

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career areas, what the career challenges ahead of them will be, how to blend family/ motherhood and a career and how to make up your own mind about the best path for you and live your own life.

Her last pre-retirement career move was to another new post, that of Senior Teacher, i/c UCAS and Careers, working closely with Mrs Susan Weighell as Head of Careers. Together they established a wider team of senior staff overseeing the UCAS process, working closely with the Sixth Form tutors, and set up the now very lively links between Careers Education and the Association Office which ensures that our pupils have access to a wealth of information on careers and networks of contacts with the alumnae and parent bodies. This busy role she complemented with that of Chapel Warden for two years and as her swansong masterminded the revision of the hymn book, a huge team effort that will be completed finally in 2018. If asked to pick out a favourite from these many contributions to St Catherine’s, I suspect that she would say the role of Chapel Warden underpinned her enjoyment of them all and that Chapel remains a most special place for her, where, for a brief year, she was joined by her late and very dear husband, John, who served as Eucharistic Chaplain in 2011-2012 during the interregnum between ordained chaplains.

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We wish Heather every happiness in retirement, where family, and grandchildren in particular, beckon, and we know she will remain an active member of the St Catherine’s Association and a guest at many school events into the future. This, therefore, is thank you and au revoir, not farewell.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Emily Buckett

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mily joined St Cat’s as an NQT to further her career. She came from Caterham School where she had been a pupil and then returned to complete her ITT. Emily was quick to settle into the department, showing endless enthusiasm, energy and a love of netball, both coaching and playing. The girls responded positively to her enthusiasm and knowledge. Emily was fully involved in all aspects of school life, being U4 Musgrave tutor and on the boarding team. She has been a fantastic teacher, role model and colleague over the last year, showing a great depth of skill, passion and love for her subject.

After her first term Emily decided a holiday to travel around Australia would be well-deserved. This was to our detriment because she fell in love with Australia and has now embarked upon a year abroad with the option to live and work out there. We wish her every success with this next stage in her life. Good luck!

Mrs Nancy Moore – Director of Sport

Emily Buckett

Janet Charlesworth

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ith a passion for guiding girls and parents through their first year of school life, Janet brought dedication and a breadth of experience to the Pre-Prep department for the last nine years. Remembered and adored by her ex-pupils, Janet had a hands on, nurturing approach which encouraged her class to strive for success and enjoy their early learning. Janet took on many areas of responsibility for the school such as Deputy Head of Early Years and Mathematics Coordinator. Her thorough and systematic approach always left no stone unturned and her eye for detail and precision kept her organised and constantly prepared.

Her classroom was always a beautiful and creative learning environment for her class and she was generous with her time and skills to ensure class life ran smoothly.

Heather Bryn-Thomas

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incredibly grateful parents who were so pleased that their daughter began school with Mrs Cochrane. Those girls who had been through her care and were about to leave U6 also her gave a very fitting send off with their rendition of ‘My Way,’ at Speech Day. We will miss Jill’s tremendous sense of fun and energy, her wisdom, support and friendship and we wish her every happiness in what we are sure will be a busy retirement with her two young grandchildren and much involvement in the local community.

Janet Charlesworth

Naomi Bartholomew - Prep Headmistress

Verity Crawford

V In the staff community, Janet will be remembered for her spirit and sense of fun. Leading exciting Bockett Farm trips, organising educational themed days for her year group and supporting Nativity productions, Janet’s bottom once featured in a memorable performance of the visiting theatre company ‘Blunderbus!’ A fitness enthusiast, she enjoyed running and fitness events both in and outside school. Also a keen traveller, she has set her sights on exciting horizons, taking her skills in English teaching to China for a new adventure. We all wish her well and she will be missed.

Rachel Churchly Cook - Prep Form Teacher

Jill Cochrane

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rs Jill Cochrane retired at the end of the summer term after fifteen years of outstanding service as Deputy Head, Head of Pre-Prep and inspirational PPI class teacher.

Jill built the Pre Prep from a single form entry department to a two-form entry integral part of the Prep School, housed in the purpose built Trinity Court which she helped to create. Her knowledge and understanding of the Early Years is, in my opinion, unparalleled and, as such, she has done much to train and develop staff as well as representing and championing the Early Years sector locally and on the national GSA Education Committee. A number of colleagues have chosen to train and enter the teaching profession due to their experience of working alongside Mrs Cochrane. She nurtured and led our strong existing Pre Prep staff team with true expertise.

Jill also entertained us all with her superb nativity plays, which are the stuff

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of legend, whilst undertaking her duties as a member of the Senior Management Team with professional dedication and commitment. But it was the girls who were at the heart of all Jill did; from the moment a girl arrived for her taster morning to starting school in her super brand new uniform, Jill was there to welcome and inspire and to lead that young girl on the start of her ‘educational journey’.

Jill’s classroom was always such fun to be in; it always looked amazing and on more than one occasion I found Jill on her knees looking at a wall display to check what it would look like through the eyes of a PPI! Much well deserved praise and thanks went to Jill at our Open Day, especially from

erity Crawford, St Catherine’s alumna (Class of 2012) spent three terms with us as Office Junior in the Senior School on a post-university gap year. She threw herself into the role with aplomb, demonstrating excellent administrative skills, a great sense of teamwork and tact and sensitivity where necessary. As a fellow Durham theologian, I particularly enjoyed having her in the office next door for an occasional philosophical chat! We wish Verity all the very best for the future.

Claire Wyllie - Director of Staff

Hélène Favre-Bulle

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élène joined St Catherine’s for one year as our Graduate Musician in Residence and immediately made the role her own with her exceptional skills as an accompanist and her warm rapport with students and staff alike. As director of Middle Chamber Choir and accompanist for the Assocation Choir, she was instrumental in the success of the Assocation Concert

Jill Cochrane

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Hélène Favre-Bulle

performance of Mozart’s Requiem, and as Assistant MD for West Side Story, her skills in rehearsing the vocalists and in the orchestra pit helped to ensure the success of the show. We are sorry to see Hélène go, and wish her every success with her future musical endeavours.

Matthew Greenfield - Director of Music

Gap Students Alex Hindmarsh, Sammy Cleland, Grace Naughton, Sophie Joubert, Alana McIntyre and Clare Downes

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he Gap team for 2016 were a great bunch who gelled as a team from the outset and brought their own sense of energy and fun to every area where they worked. The Gap role is highly varied and it is very important that these girls hit the ground running when they arrive in the middle of a grey UK winter. These ladies did all this with style and a will to do whatever was asked of them. They left us at Christmas 2016 and are now all very busy with their various uni courses. We wish them all the best.

Lorinda Munro-Faure – Head of Boarding

Charlotte George

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harlotte has been an invaluable member of the Biology department who will be sorely missed by the other biologists and the rest of the staffroom. She has always undertaken all of her responsibilities efficiently and promptly with an eye to detail and has inspired her students with her love of Biology. Her sense of humour and appreciation of all things biological has made her a fun person to be around as well as a reliable colleague. Her coordination of both Biology Challenge and Biology Olympiad over the past four years has been very efficient and the logistics for the competitions have been very well organised. Charlotte has fully embraced the introduction of iPads into lessons and has been the ‘go-to’ person when the department has been faced with IT troubleshooting issues. Furthermore, the science department benefited from her versatility in taking on U4 Chemistry in 2015-2016.

Charlotte balanced her role as a Biology teacher with her primary role as Fifth Form Boarding Housemistress in Keller House and it is clear that she was highly respected and loved by the girls and has an excellent rapport with them. “Mama G” injected much colour and comfort to the Fifth Form common room, making it a homely and welcoming place where girls could relax and socialise, especially over Bake Off. Charlotte isn’t just an Eco-coordinator but practices what she preaches by up-cycling old furniture to supply useful and aesthetically appealing furniture for the boarders. She has been the girls’ surrogate parents, academic mentor and definitely the Science prep help person in boarding! Her husband Craig’s pancakes will also be much missed .

It has been a pleasure working with Charlotte over the past four years and we wish her every success in her new post, teaching Biology, at St Mary’s Ascot.

Claerwen Patterson- Head of Biology & Lorinda Munro-Faure - Head of Boarding

Amy Gillman

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e said farewell to Miss Amy Gillman after four years of committed teaching. Amy was an excellent all-round PE teacher who had a particular passion for Gymnastics.

She inspired many girls to develop a love of the sport and the girls, under her care, flourished and blossomed and achieved excellent results.

Amy was still actively involved in training and competing in gymnastics herself and along with her gymnastics partner, Chris, treated us to a memorable and impressive display when they performed their sports acro routine as part of our House Gymnastics Competition.

Amy was modest about her achievements with not many people knowing that she and Chris had won many national level competitions together including becoming British Veterans Champions.

Towards the end of her time with us she took on additional responsibility for the organisation of our extra-curricular

Charlotte George

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Amy Gillman

activities programme and proved herself to be efficient and forward-thinking when undertaking this role.

Amy has now taken her love of PE and teaching to the next stage of her career as Head PE at Eaton House School in Clapham.

Her sense of humour, love of chocolate and bourbon biscuits will be missed by staff, girls and parents and we wish Amy all the best for the future.

Jane Cowx - Director of Prep Sport

Lucy Grant

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ucy joined the PE Department as a graduate for one year to support the lacrosse team and impart extensive goal keeping knowledge to the girls. Lucy slotted very quickly into the department and showed a number of strengths, taking on endless tasks with enthusiasm and commitment. She gained confidence as the first term progressed and this enabled her to take on the challenge of the 1st lacrosse team. She led with maturity and commitment, instilling confidence in her team and doing herself proud at Nationals.

Lucy was also training with the England lacrosse team in the build-up for the World Cup team selection. Unfortunately she did not make the team but she was the first goalie for England Senior in the Festival Tournament.

It has been a pleasure to work with Lucy over the last year. She is professional, enthusiastic and passionate about everything she does and we wish her the very best of luck in her next step.

Mrs Nancy Moore – Director of Sport

Genevieve Griffiths-Burdon

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enevieve joined St Catherine’s as a teacher in September 2015.

She brought with her a wealth of experience and expertise to the Prep School, particularly in her specialised curriculum area of English in which she led throughout the Prep school as subject co-ordinator.

Her commitment and passion for Literature enabled her to coordinate annual events ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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Elena Krivenko

Joseph McHardy

GCSE course in its own right, but retaining ICT so that all girls have an appropriate skill level.

Cathy also served as Ashcombe tutor before she stepped back to become mother to Alex and then Tilly. She is returning to her native Australia to be nearer to her family and we wish her well in this new venture and her search for some new challenges.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Anna Mester

such as World Book Day, Out of the Book Week and the School Magazine. Genevieve’s love for teaching and commitment was evident in her dedication to her LII, and all the girls that she taught, providing excellent pastoral care. The happy news came that Genevieve was expecting her first child and after one academic year she left to go on maternity leave. Genevieve has decided to dedicate time to her daughter, Arabella, and we wish her all the very best for the future.

However, we are delighted that she will maintain links with the school as one of our occasional supply teachers.

Rebecca Gunther - Prep Form Teacher

Elena Krivenko

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fter over 14 years’ dedicated service to St Catherine’s Music, Elena Krivenko left us at the end of the Spring Term to continue with her own private teaching. Elena is a fine concert pianist in her own right, and the numerous girls she taught throughout her time here benefited from her experience. We are grateful for all that Elena put into her piano teaching, thank her for all that she contributed to the Department and wish her every success for the future.

Matthew Greenfield - Director of Music

Laura McLardy

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aura had a brief but impactful time in the Art department at St Catherine’s.

She inspired the girls with her conceptual art practice and alternative ways of viewing what art could be. She developed some very good projects in the GCSE classes and there was some excellent pieces shown in her final summer exhibition. We wish her well for the future.

Alex Perry-Adlam - Head of Art

Cathy Lamb

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athy joined St Catherine’s in September 2010 as Head of ICT from Cardinal Vaughan School in London.

She brought to the role a dynamism and enthusiasm for all things ICT and Coding and presided over 7 years of change in the ICT curriculum.

Her mission was to revamp Sixth Form ICT in response to what the girls needed and what the GCSE short course had not provided. However, such was the success of the IGCSE short course in ICT which also taught so many important concepts and ideas that the Sixth Form course became redundant and emphasis moved to the support of Careers and the need to prepare the way for Computer Science to become a

Joseph McHardy

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oe joined the Music Department as Director of Chapel Music and put his skills as a fine choral conductor, organ teacher and academic practitioner to use immediately. He led both Senior Chamber Choir and Middle Cantores to victory in the Godalming Music Festival and directed the Association Choir in a very secure performance of Mozart’s Requiem. We were very sorry to see Joe leave us after only one year in post, but are delighted by his prestigious appointment as Director of Music of the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.

Matthew Greenfield - Director of Music

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Cathy Lamb

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nna joined us in autumn 2016 and integrated herself immediately into life here at St Catherine’s, both in the boarding community as well as in her capacity as MFL teacher, covering Elodie Nevin’s maternity leave. A passionate polyglot, Anna had previously studied experimental and theoretical psychology at Masters Level, and used her breadth of skills to teach a diverse range of subjects throughout the school. Indeed, such was her enthusiasm for languages that she devoted the Easter holiday to perfecting her Mandarin skills in China.

It was a pleasure having Anna in the MFL department. We will miss her good humour, dedication and passion for language teaching. We wish her every success and happiness at Worth School.

Nicholas Morgan - Acting Head of German

Nicholas Morgan

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icholas Morgan brought a huge amount of enthusiasm to our MFL department. His commitment to German and French, his cultural knowledge and his grammatical rigour all made him a remarkable teacher, and he inspired many students over the seven? years he spent at St Catherine’s. Always eager to try out new teaching strategies, he adapted quickly to the advances in the use of technology

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Nicholas Morgan

in the classroom and was dynamic in his approach to teaching and learning. He was also generous with his time, spending hours motivating and helping pupils outside lessons and organising hugely successful trips to Berlin, for the L5s, and the Rhineland, for the Fourth Form.

Nick embraced every aspect of the school. He was a very valuable member of the boarding team for many years. He was also Head of Additional Languages and ran Chess Club, Sign Language Club and Scuba Diving. For the latter, he followed a course himself and led by example, showing the girls that it is always important to challenge oneself.

We were very sad to see Nick go but the time was right to widen his career experience in a different school. We wish him all the best in his future teaching career.

Dr Elodie Nevin – Head of German

Lucinda Norman

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ucinda arrived at st Catherine’s in 2013 and took charge of the ceramics area of the the department. As an accomplished practitioner she inspired the girls with her inventive and bold projects and ideas. She took ceramics outside the JPC and helped her classes create some wonderful installations around the grounds of the department. She built on the reputation of the art at the school and left the department with four years of excellent sculptures behind her.

Lucinda worked in Boarding throughout her time at St Catherine’s. For the last 3 years she worked as Bronte Boarding Housemistress, a vital role with our youngest boarders, where her brand of kindness and clear boundaries were appreciated by all who worked with her. Her creativity was a feature of many weekend Boarding activities and artwork overseen by her decorates many areas of Main School Boarding. We will miss her and wish her well in her new role Alex Perry-Adlam - Head of Art) & Lorinda Munro-Faure - Head of Boarding

Lucinda Norman with Charlotte George

Deborah Owen

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ebs joined the PE department for a term in September to support the changes within the lacrosse staffing. We knew she had excellent lacrosse knowledge but it was also a pleasant surprise to see how talented she was in gymnastics. She was also very quick to pick up all aspects of her role and she was dedicated to all her teams, with enthusiasm and passion. Debs threw herself into all aspects of school life, also being part of the boarding team. It was a pleasure to work with her Debs and we wish her every success as she starts her internship at PWC. Thank you and good luck!

Mrs Nancy Moore – Director of Sport

Margarita Perez Garcia

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argarita Perez Garcia joined the Spanish Department in September 2016 as Head of Department in succession to Kate Hawtin who became Head of Sixth Form. A dynamic and energetic teacher of Spanish, she had a particular passion for encouraging reading in the target language and championed the relevance of literature for learning languages effectively and quickly. This was something that she had researched extensively and endorsed in her teaching at all levels. Her enthusiasm for the opportunity to lead this department was palpable and we all felt for her when, for family reasons, she had to depart very quickly to relocate to New Zealand for January 2017 where her partner had secured a prestigious post at the Victoria University of Wellington.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Chris Peskett

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rs Christine Peskett joined St Catherine’s in 1991 as Miss Komor, initially as teacher of what was then known as Home Economics, and as boarding housemistress of Bronte House.

As a member of the Food and Nutrition Department, Chris was an invaluable colleague, not only as an excellent class teacher, but as someone whose enthusiasm for her subject instilled a passion for cooking in many students. Her wellorganised lessons ran smoothly even in the heat of the kitchen. It takes a special kind of calmness to cope with sixteen U3s cooking at once and Chris had that calmness and purpose in her teaching. GCSE and A Level students recall her thorough but kindly approach. She was also integral in helping deliver the Rotary Club Young Chef Competition to all U4 students in the last few years and many have gone on to represent the school in the district finals.

Alongside her teaching Chris also organised the L5 First Aid Babysitting course, taken by Duke of Edinburgh students as a skill and then also as a handy way of earning pocket money. Current students report how valuable they have found this. She took part in a variety of school trips, and was for many years the main organiser of the annual jumble sale before handing this over to the Charities Board, and was always on hand to help out at school plays and concerts.

Generations of Bronte boarders will remember a calm, kind and consistent presence in their housemistress for 11 years. Then came marriage to Neil and Miss Komor became Mrs Peskett and left the boarding staff team to settle in East Sussex. A promotion on the academic side of school life followed, to Head of PSHE ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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Sarah Phillips

Sarah Phillips

S Chris Peskett in succession to Mrs Meredith, and once again Chris was playing to her pastoral strengths. Building on the well established PSHE curriculum, she added a thread on Financial Education and study skills/revision guidance to the PSHE schemes of work and when Ann Williams went part-time in 2005, she was appointed School Housemistress of Ashcombe House, a senior role she greatly enjoyed with its opportunities to make a significant difference to the lives of the 100 girls in her house.

When afflicted with breast cancer in 2012, from which she recovered fully after surgery and chemotherapy, she paused to reflect and decided to take on a part-time teaching role and it is from that that she retired in July 2017 after 26 years’ service to the School. During her illness, the girls of Ashcombe were a great support, with imaginative gifts and a beautifully made woolly hat in Ashcombe colours to keep morale high when she lost her hair during the chemo. As a role model for girls, she remained an inspirational, positive, determined, measured and optimistic force who drew the admiration and affection of girls and colleagues alike. We have been lucky to enjoy her gentle sense of humour and supportive affection for her students for a further 5 years until retirement.

Chris is missed greatly by the whole community to which she gave so much over so many years and we wish her every happiness in her retirement.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress assisted by Nicky Genzel, Head of Food & Nutrition

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arah Phillips joined St Catherine’s in September 2015 from Godalming College and at once it was clear that we were lucky to have with us not only a highly qualified and experienced teacher of History of Art, but a teacher of national influence in her subject area. Her lively and committed teaching was respected and admired by all her students and even in a short tenure, she inspired several to study the subject or allied subjects – most notably architecture – at university. A study trip to Amsterdam was quickly initiated and numerous memorable visits to London galleries. Sarah believed in the power of the internet to provide access to her subject but that nothing was a substitute for encountering great works of art ‘in the flesh’.

Michael Gove’s decision, as Secretary of State for Education, to axe History of Art A Level saw Sarah catapulted into the national limelight as the heroine of the hour who used all her networks and contacts to stand firm against this movement. National press headlines followed, and an outcry from the Art establishment, such that Ofqual – the exam qualifications authority – was forced to relent, a moment of great pride for us as a School. A new exam board took on the management of a new specification, the latter all written and presented by Sarah.

That she would then find herself asked to take on a wider role as Principal Examiner with Pearson was the nation’s gain but our loss and we were sad to see her depart in July for these new challenges in which we wish her well.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Stephen Pink

S

tephen arrived fresh from college in 2011 and spent 5 years in the IT department, during which time he went from inexperienced teenager to qualified and confident IT professional.

He thrived here and contributed much to school facilities and the Bramley staff community - and only once did he completely delete the school library system!

An aficionado of fast cars and bass guitars, Stephen had a dependable and sociable reputation and in later years he branched out to participate in school concerts and activities week, with great results. Stephen bought his design skills to bear on iPad video projects and digital design projects for the School, which persist beyond his departure, as testament to his excellent creative talent.

He now rightfully heads to his first deputy management role in IT at Tomlinscote School, Frimley.

Mr Dan Raymond - Director of Digital Technologies

Laura Preuth

L

aura Preuth joined us from the Universität Osnabrück in January 2016. We have strong links with the institution and were delighted to welcome our fourth German assistant from the university. Laura worked assiduously with our students from L5-U6 to help prepare them for the oral examinations. She also cotaught in other lessons from U3-U4, bringing valuable cultural contributions to our teaching, and took on duties in boarding.

Always cheerful, helpful and friendly, she was an excellent asset to our school and we wish her all the best in the continuation of her teaching degree in Germany.

Dr Elodie Nevin - Head of German

Jean Reid

W

e are exceedingly grateful to Jean Reid, good friend of St Catherine’s, who has spent a year with us teaching our students A Level Classical Greek.

Jean taught at St Cat’s between 2008 and 2010 before leaving to have her two sons. She has maintained her contact with the School throughout her official absence, by regularly contributing to Explore (the School’s Christian Union).

Her expert knowledge, her unerring good humour, and her generosity of spirit in the giving both of her time and her resources make her the ideal colleague. I sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to welcome her back to St Catherine’s again in the future.

Jess Ashby - Head of Classics

Sally Rolls

L

ast November we said goodbye to our wonderful oboe teacher Sally Rolls. Her bubbly, cheerful personality and kind nature ensured that all the girls adored her, thoroughly enjoying their lessons and often achieving Distinctions and Merits for their ABRSM exams. Starting with just a few oboists in the school, Sally

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Sally Rolls

was instrumental in gradually increasing the number of players, as her enthusiasm for the instrument was infectious! For the last few years Sally and I ran the Wind Scheme together and it was an absolute joy to work with such a passionate teacher, who inspired so many children to take up and enjoy playing a wind instrument.

Sally retired from her part-time music teaching after a 22 year association with St Catherine’s and we hope she enjoys her well-earned free-time.

Denise Burt – Head of Woodwind

Christine Silver

M

rs Christine Silver dedicated almost all her career to this school over 28 years in many roles.

Arriving as a part time Maths teacher in May 1988, she was also a stalwart member of the Ashcombe House tutor team for several years. In 1999 she was appointed Head of Maths, driving forward the Curriculum 2000 reforms at AS/A Level and then introducing the IGCSE. The latter reforms built on the firm foundations of the past but raised standards across the board, building the large and successful Maths department we have today where more girls study Maths in the Sixth Form than any other subject.

In 2005 she was appointed School Administrator – at that time a new Senior Management role - responsible for running the events and calendar of the whole School on both sites. The work required efficiency, an eye for detail and hard work.

In 2007 she became the Business Manager – known as the Bursar in other schools – in which role she served until her retirement in December 2016.

As Business Manager, Chris presided over an intense and imaginative period of building developments for the School: the building of the Anniversary Halls, the Speech Hall Library, the Centenary Building Refurbishment and numerous other projects across the site.

The Anniversay Halls in particular, was a large scale undertaking – on an aerial photograph we are reminded daily that it

Christine Silver Silver Christine accounts for about a quarter of the senior school site - and it was also a significant financial investment for the School.

Typically, when asked by the architects if we wanted to halt the progress for a week to have a ‘topping out’ ceremony, Chris declined to stop the builders for a cost of £1,000 per hour for a week. Instead, as the final opening day drew near in 2011, she and I, and Director of Music, Geoff Field, presided quietly over what we dubbed a ‘bottoming out’ ceremony and placed the slates in the bound gravel by the Speech Hall Arch that form the tail of the decorative treble cleff which winds its way around the side of the amphitheatre, the Halls and the revolving doorway. I wonder if my readers who have visited the site are even aware of this witty detail? It was a very Chris moment: working hard and imaginatively behind the scenes to create facilities that would support everyone on site and endure long into the future, and expecting no glory other than to know that what she did was appreciated and would support the education of the girls.

Chris’s love of gardening ensured the appointment of staff qualified to nurture our school setting. Under her watchful eye, beds and boarders have been established and our many beautiful trees nurtured properly, setting off the buildings to best effect. I would particularly like to thank her for her personal generosity in making some significant features of this planting possible.

Alongside all this, in the nuts and bolts of the job, she has brought in all school budgets so effectively that we have been able to maintain our developments whilst also keeping fees as low as possible. Her eye for mathematical detail has been invaluable but through it all has shone her absolute passion for and devotion to St Catherine’s.

Such leadership requires strength and courage as well as compassion.

A strong leader of the Business Department, she restructured it completely to devolve management duties onto other promising colleagues and develop the whole team while also introducing an apprenticeship scheme to encourage young adults locally to train as groundsmen or events managers on the staff here. As a teacher, one of her first actions was to have the lesson bells switched back on in the Business Centre, part of her drive to ensure that her team was brought firmly into the whole school family, a feature of St Catherine’s that other heads and Bursars comment upon and of which we are rightly proud.

Chris is a woman of deep faith and a strong sense of social justice. It was a particular point of pride for her to preside over the developing Bursary funding campaign which now enables girls who might not otherwise have access to a St Catherine’s education to enjoy that opportunity. Her love of the School’s ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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fundamental ethos of kindness and support for girls and staff by girls and staff has motivated her throughout her long career here, yet she is never one to compromise on the need for one and all to pull their weight and do their jobs well. It was fitting that in her final term the School achieved the highest possible rankings for its Compliance and Education Inspections, recognising particularly in the first of these, the work of her entire department, and in the latter, her ongoing passion as an educator.

Above all Chris is an ideas person. If she presented management with a problem, she would just as quickly present several possible solutions. It is this positivity and energy that have also hallmarked her career here and will be greatly missed. In retirement she hopes for much more time with her family – particularly her elderly mother and her three grandchildren – and will be turning her hand to other local good causes. We know we will continue to see her at school events and, as is our tradition with former Business Managers/Bursars, at our AGM where her ongoing eye over the figures will be greatly appreciated. We thank her for all her many contributions to St Catherine’s and wish her a long and happy retirement.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Lucy Strong

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ucy Strong joined St Catherine’s in 2002, initially as a part-time Italian teacher, soon becoming full-time in French and Italian. She became Acting Head of French in 2006, assuming the role fully in 2007. Lucy has also been involved on the pastoral team as Fourth Form Ashcombe Tutor and latterly as a Sixth Form tutor.

In each of these roles, her focus on her

Lucy Strong

individual tutees, their needs and wellbeing, was of paramount importance to her.

Always quietly spoken yet passionate about her love of languages and the culture of both France and Italy, Lucy particularly enjoyed nurturing the next generation of university linguists and took huge pride in the reputation of the combined Modern Foreign Languages Department’s distinguished list of alumnae reading European and World languages at top universities in the UK. Often to be found in corridors or outside the staff room chatting away in French to her A Level students, her focus on engendering confidence to operate in the target language was absolute and added to the department’s reputation for the highest standards of spoken and written French and Italian. Her decision with her fellow heads of MFL to move from the national to the IGCSE was testament to that desire to preserve excellence and the excellent public examination successes of the department are a great credit to her leadership.

During her tenure she established linguistic and cultural links with the MFL departments at the Royal Grammar School, including a joint exchange programme, as well as encouraging sixth form girls to set up their own exchanges or work experience opportunities in Europe.

An alumna of the Prep. School and the Senior School, and a parent of two daughters who are also alumnae, on leaving in July Lucy had been part of St Catherine’s community for a total of 26 years! We thank her for her dedication and wish her well as she takes some time to pursue other interests and to travel.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

Rebecca Wade

Rebecca Wade

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e say farewell to Rebecca Wade who joined the Prep School in September 2013 after attending Exeter University. Beca’s warmth and compassion towards young children was palpable and she created a classroom in which children were happy to take risks and relish in the learning process.

After completing an outstanding NQT year, she undertook the responsibility to oversee displays in the Prep school. Her vibrant ideas, artistic flair and attention to detail created an inspirational and interactive learning environment for the pupils.

As KSI Maths coordinator, she was passionate about the girls developing a love of maths and problems solving through hands on activities. She ably led an interactive and informative workshop for parents, enabling them to gain a better understanding of how maths is taught today and how best to support their child.

Following every health fad that existed, her luminous concoctions, diet tips and funny anecdotes, turned the heads of all in the staff room. She possessed endless enthusiasm for education and her creativity shone through in everything she did. Her positivity, ‘can-do’ attitude and bright smiles will be sorely missed by pupils, colleague and parents alike.

We wish her the best of luck in her new adventure in Canada with her husband and dog, Puddle.

Katie Malins - Prep Form Teacher & Maths

Romy Wilkin

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omy, an alumni of St Cat’s, joined the PE department after graduating to support and coach a variety of teams for the lacrosse season. Romy threw herself back into the busy pace of school life, and was a valuable member of the team. She built up good relationships with her calm manner and her teams responded well to this. We wish Romy to best of luck on her next journey as she starts an internship.

Mrs Nancy Moore – Director of Sport

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Krystyna Latuske

Alex Penson

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r Alex Penson joined St Catherine’s in November 2014 as Apprentice Groundsman and left this June.

Alex is due to complete his Apprenticeship in Sports Turf in the summer and will be working with his father in horticulture.

FAREWELL TO MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY FAREWELL TO MEMBERS OF THE BUSINESS CENTRE Krystyna Latuske

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rs Krystyna Latuske, the school’s Accounts Assistant, joined St Catherine’s in May 2000. Always outstandingly organised, one of her many skills was that she knew every girl’s name and had a great memory of bills! She had a wonderful sense of humour and we don’t think we ever saw her in the same outfit twice! Krystyna retired in March 2017. She retired on the same day as her husband to travel around Europe while, in her own words, “they can both still enjoy it”.

Krystyna was also eager to take up baking in her retirement. We wish her the very best with her retirement – and her baking endeavours!

Tyrone Smith

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yrone joined St Catherine’s in January 2012 as Maintenance Assistant and left in October 2016 when he emigrated to Australia to start a new career in Events.

Throughout his time at St Catherine’s he worked with tremendous energy and enthusiasm, lighting up any room with his joie de vivre and his infectious sense of humour. We were sad to see Tyrone leave, but we know he will have marvellous time in Australia, making as impressive an impact there as he made at St Catherine’s. We wish him every success for the future.

Tyrone Smith

We said farewell in July to four governors and thank them very much indeed for all their hard work and support for the School in the last two decades. All our governors are volunteers and give hours of their time and energy behind the scenes to make St. Catherine’s what it is today. We are lucky to have such a knowledgeable and powerful governing body.

Helen Bowcock Pastoral and Foundation Committees

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elen joined the board in 2013 when she was serving as High Sheriff of Surrey and as such, attended HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on her official visit to St Catherine’s in Feb. 2013. She is a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the county and co-founder and Trustee of The Hazelhurst Trust, a family charity that gives to a number of local causes and to projects in a remote area of Zambia and is actively involved in several other charities. A graduate of Durham University, she subsequently obtained a PhD in Sociology as a mature student. She served on the Pastoral and Development Committees and, although stepping down because of her many other commitments, she has kindly said she will retain an interest in St Catherine’s by being an advocate for our Bursaries Fundraising Programme.

Miranda Greenway Chairman of Academic Committee

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iranda joined the Governing Body in September 2006, and is an alumna of St Catherine’s School, as was her elder sister, Wendy. She read Law at Bristol University and became a member of Gray’s Inn with the intention of becoming a barrister. Instead of this she married Simon and then qualified as a teacher, working in maintained schools in England and International and British Schools abroad.

Miranda became Head of St Ives Preparatory School in Haslemere in 1992 and retired in 2001. She was an ISI Schools Inspector from 1995 – 2006. She served on the Academic and Pastoral Committees, chairing the Academic from 2012 to her retirement in July of this year, to which role her long career in education suited her to perfection.

FAREWELL

Tim Kendall Chairman of Estate and Buildings’ Committee, Pastoral Committee

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im joined the Governing Body in September 2006 after a career as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with CM Parker Browne (now Synergy) where his considerable school experience included acting as QS for St Catherine’s from 1978 until his retirement. He therefore brought with him extensive knowledge of our site and 30 years of its development which made him the perfect Chair for E & B. He will be particularly remembered for his work on the design and building of the Anniversary Halls and several other substantial refurbishments of buildings on both sites, and his absolute eye for detail in all matters relating to health and safety of staff and pupils. He also supported the whole life of the School and served also on the Pastoral and Wellbeing Committee from 2012.

Mark Way Estate & Buildings Committee

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ark found himself a member of the Governing Body in September 2003 when he wrote to Mrs Phillips to lament the apparent passing of an historic wall in the Prep. School! She reassured him that this was temporary and that it would be reconstructed by specialist restorers once the ongoing refurbishment of the Prep. School and creation of new buildings was completed. He was quickly persuaded to become a governor and served for 14 years on the Estate and Buildings Committee. A qualified Architect with over thirty years professional global consultancy experience, he was formerly Group Chairman and Head of Group Research with a large international multidiscipline practice, Director of Skills at the Construction Skills Council and Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Visiting Board responsible for validation of Schools of Architecture. Living locally, he often usefully represented the views of the village community while his rich knowledge of design and construction was also instrumental in the success of the Anniversary Halls project.

Alice Phillips - Headmistress

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group’s UCAS applications has been a real highlight and to see the offers come flying in from a huge range of universities and courses was fantastic.

All of this hard work and enthusiasm is of coursed fuelled by the Sixth Form staple diet of tea and toast. Although we can tell that times are tough for the Upper Sixth at the moment: we overheard one Upper Sixth girl last week shout down the corridor offering to make a friend a cup of tea, to which the friend replied “I’ve just had triple Chemistry, do you have anything stronger?”.

So, as you prepare to leave us, and because we are both massive fans of a list, we would like to tell you the top ten things that we will remember about the class of 2017. In no particular order: 1

TO THE CLASS OF 2017:

10 TOP THINGS…..

Mrs Claire Wyllie & Mrs Kate Hawtin

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he Sixth Form have had a marvellous two years and we would like to cast your minds back all the way to September 2015 and your Sixth Form induction camping trip and two days under canvas. Stopping at Tesco for supplies, mystified shoppers wondering where all the noise was coming from and the industrial sized packets of pasta. And the coach breaking down! But we were very impressed with the way you got stuck in and were prepared to get wet, dirty and muddy with such good grace.

That was the beginning of a very full Lower Sixth year. Settling into the Speech Hall Library, enjoying wearing mufti, the extra freedoms allowed – diet coke runs to Budgens and so on.

Remember your work experience? You had some great placements and we had a lovely day out in London visiting some of you and then hearing some wonderful presentations at the GCSE Certificates Evening.

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Young Enterprise – we were as impressed as ever with the energy and enthusiasm you put into your companies, with some great products and marketing strategies.

And then, in the Summer Term when you took over as prefects and mentors. We know we speak for all of our colleagues when we say that you have been an ...

.. outstanding team whether it was in leading your house, demonstrating your passion for your various academic subjects or enthusiastically getting stuck in with whatever you were asked to do.

You were a pleasure to work with.

And so to the Upper Sixth, where for many of you the first term was dominated

by UCAS, perfecting your personal statements, making decisions about courses, planning gap years…And it can be a stressful time – leaving school and starting your future is one of life’s big changes and we have been impressed with your focus, commitment and maturity in making these decisions. And also with your successes.

Seeing the overall picture of a whole year

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NO. 1: Your incredible enthusiasm. You have embraced all that school life has to offer and have thrown yourselves into all the extra-curricular activities with tremendous energy, whether that’s house activities, music, drama, DofE, sport, charities board.

You have produced two wonderful fashion shows and we will never forget the Dads for Daughters charity auction or the memorable line from the fashion show song, “U6…feels like I’m on a crucifix”. You are, on the whole, pretty well-organised and you like to Get Things Done. Like the Leavers’ Ball, for example, which, at the time of writing, is progressing very nicely and is impressively sorted, although you can sometimes get a little carried away….and we did have to veto the first suggestion of a circus theme complete with live elephant!

NO. 2: How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying - what a fantastic achievement this was. We remember receiving an email from Mrs Kelsall very early in the day saying ‘please sit down before you read this – but just to flag up that the L6 have only got 10 days to do their musical this year’. It was a huge challenge and we all went through moments of panic – but never doubted you for a second!! You worked so hard and what you managed to pull off was quite extraordinary. It was a superb production.

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FAREWELL

5 Some long rehearsals, some stress levels raised but the end result was one of the best sixth form musicals ever!

NO. 3: With the exception of parking, which has not been your strongest skill, point number three is your huge talent. You are outstanding academics, sportswomen, musicians, actresses, artists, debaters, dancers, world class athletes, makeup artists, photographers, leaders, percussionists and the list goes on. This year alone you have taken part in West Side Story, the tremendous Senior Summer Concert, the Leavers’ recitals, given extraordinary performances in debating, National Lax and netball competitions and that doesn’t cover the half of it. Each of you has contributed your unique talents towards making St Catherine’s the special place that it is. So, thank you!

NO. 4: Your great sense of teamwork and your house spirit. You have shown tremendous willingness to get stuck in, to pick up a lax stick on St Catherine’s Day, sing your heart out in the music competition, sign up for the swimming, lead the aerobics in the gym competition. Your sense of team work, camaraderie, house spirit and your enthusiasm for simply having a go is something that we shall always remember and we hope you will too.

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NO 5: Your rather liberal interpretation of the Sixth Form dress code, which does somewhere prohibit the ripped jean as a suitable garment and trying to convince us that your outfit is not, in fact, PE kit but “athleisure” wear…

NO .10 and, finally, the friendships you have formed with one another. Remember those friendships when you all go your separate ways. Remember the love you have for one another and the support you have shown each other because it’s really important.

NO 6: Your ability to sleep in the strangest of places, but mainly in the SHL. One thing we never expected to have to confiscate from there was blankets and pillows!

So, as you embark upon your next great adventure, please don’t forget us. Please stay in touch because we genuinely love hearing from you and finding out what you are up to. Drop me the odd email to tell me how you are getting on at uni or what fun you are having on your amazing gap year!

And come back and see us – you will always be welcome.

We have really enjoyed being your heads of Sixth Form. We enjoyed celebrating your successes; we’ve enjoyed chatting to you in the common room, we have been glad to support you through your challenges. You’ve made us laugh… and we suspect that, before you go, you will make us cry! But it’s been great!

NO 7: Your expedition last summer in Vietnam: your teamwork, mutual support and enthusiasm, working hard for really worthwhile projects and responding well to personal challenges.

NO 8: You occasionally wear some pretty impressive shoes and you can almost always walk in them, although the trend for white plimsolls with smart suits is something we will never understand!

NO. 9: Your strong views on parking. Since passing your tests you have demonstrated an unprecedented ability to turn even the smallest and strangest places into parking spaces and your territorial protection of the use of the sixth form parking “grid” will be much appreciated by future generations too!

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Part of the Class of 2017 World Book Day Leavers’ picnic Leavers’ Recital Leavers’ picnic Leavers’ Recital Boarders’ BBQ Leavers’ Ball

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I was delighted that inspectors highlighted so many outstanding features of the Prep School.

Naomi Bartholomew

PREPSCHOOL Ms Naomi Bartholomew - Prep Headmistress

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he girls and staff have achieved a huge amount over the course of the last year and there is much to celebrate. When inspectors called in October, I was delighted that they were able to see the school in full swing and, amongst everything else going on, we were also in the midst of our preparations for Harvest Festival. I certainly felt that inspectors saw a very wide range of lessons and activities during their short visit and I was so pleased that this was reflected back to us in their report which highlighted so many outstanding features of the Prep

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School. The ‘rapid progress’ made by the girls, their ‘exemplary attitudes to learning’ and the ‘strong rapport they enjoy with their teachers’ were just a few examples of the elements identified of which we are all very proud.

Our Spring Term STEM week was a real success. We were able to share a wide range of exciting activities, both within and beyond the classroom, with pupils from Tillingbourne School. Children were engaged in conducting exciting experiments, creating our first ever radio broadcast and listening to a visiting maths magician. The week was a great success and both girls and visitors gained a considerable amount. As too, when Tillingbourne pupils joined girls in their ‘google expeditions’ gaining a virtual insight into far flung locations and a 3D tour of the human body.

Our Bramley Arts Day and the ‘Big Sing’ event provided further chances for girls to learn alongside their peers from Bramley Infants, Gosden House and Tillingbourne.

Pre Prep girls enjoyed taking part in Easter trails at Holy Trinity church and Form I learnt more about their immediate surroundings on their walking tour of Bramley led by Jill Bryant from the Bramley Historical Society.

Such experiences are beneficial to all involved.

We also invited parents to step into the classroom to attend popular maths workshops. Teachers joined Mrs Wade and Mrs Malins, our Maths Subject Leaders, to share current teaching methods and maths

mastery techniques. Comments were very positive from parents who felt that they gained valuable insider knowledge as to how the girls learnt maths at various ages and stages. Meanwhile, girls reached for their thinking hats at our inaugural House Thinking Skills Event, working closely with team members to solve problems and tackle challenges under tight timed conditions.

Staff and girls completed multiple laps of the sports fields in order to raise funds for Macmillan. The Many Miles for Macmillan event was thanks to Daniella Paul, Maddie Crowe, Darcey Stapleton, Poppy Martin and Sienna Davison who had heard about a group of staff completing the Mighty Hike along the South Coast and who therefore wanted to do something at school to help this worthy cause. Thank you to them for raising the idea and helping in the organisation of a highly successful event. Well done too to Wendy Gibbs, Jacqui Sadler, Sally Manhire, Katie Malins, Jane Pink, Claire Blythe, Debbie Lucas and Nikki Moulton who walked the 26 mile Mighty Hike and who provided inspiration for the girls.

Many other highlights of the academic year are included in the pages that follow. I do hope you enjoy reading all that the girls have achieved. Thank you for your support and encouragement in all that we do.

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Extending opportunities to visitors Beyond the classroom

PREP SCHOOL

WELCOME

CHARITIES Mrs Wendy Gibbs

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ver £12,000 was raised throughout the year for numerous different local, national and international charities including Action for A-T, Cherry Trees, East Africa Crisis, Eagle Radio Christmas, Trinity Bramley, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, One Star Public School India, Royal British Legion, Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, SANDS, St Catherine’s Hospice, Sal’s Shoes and St Peter & St Paul Church Godalming. Harvest Boxes were donated to Salvation Army and just under 100 Christmas boxes were collected by Samaritan’s Purse.

The Prep School held an Emergency Services day, with activities for all ages in order to raise awareness of the work of the emergency services and raise funds for Cherry Trees. Girls explored a fire engine and an ambulance and LIII girls were taught CPR skills.

On the very last day of term the girls left shoes they had out grown on their desks and walked out of school in flip-flops ready for their Summer break. We collected a staggering 500 pairs of children’s shoes to be shipped around the world via Sal’s Shoes charity.

As always we are only able to support these charities due to the generosity of our parents and staff. Huge thanks go to the whole St.Cat’s family.

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CHESS Janane Prakash, Chess Captain

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hess continues to be an active extracurricular activity in the school calendar. Throughout the year girls who participate in Mr. Martin’s Masterclass improve significantly by playing many games including lightning chess and rapid play to improve their speed and nerves.

Every term girls play “Guess the Next Move” which involves thinking through lots of strategy. Girls have enjoyed duelling each other and have been really prepared for big matches.

A highlight of the year was when St Catherine’s girls set records by drawing against Yately Manor - credit to our girls, knowing the strength of this opponent. In April some girls also participated in IAPS Chess held at Aldro. On two occasions we played Edgeborough School (Senior Boys), drawing the first match but winning the second time triumphantly.

Hearty congratulations to the girls who participated in the away match to Bedales, girls as young as PPIII played exceptionally well against the teenagers.

One of our biggest events in the chess calendar is the National Girls English Chess Federation competition, the semi-finals

2 were held in January at our Senior School.

Our “A team” was placed 4th, qualifying for the finals in April. Although the final was a very tough tournament our “A team” were placed eighth in the country! All the girls played exceptionally well and should be proud of themselves. Well done to the “A team”!

Thank you to Miss Bartholomew, Mr. Martin and Mrs Jackson for giving the girls the opportunities to play matches against boys and girls of all ages! Chess develops strategic thinking and the club is well placed to grow in the oncoming years.

PREP SCHOOL LIBRARY Mrs Jacqui Sadler - Librarian

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e started the year in the Prep Library by hosting a fun party to celebrate 100 years of Roald Dahl.

The girls were able to find out their ‘Roald Dahl name’ as well as completing various activities such as quizzes and crosswords.

We had over 100 votes for ‘your favourite Roald Dahl Book’ and Matilda was the overwhelming favourite of the Prep School girls.

Our Librarian Literary Lectures are always a highlight of the year and this years author Elen Caldecott didn’t disappoint.

Award winning Elen’s mystery books are said to be the modern day famous five.

She gave a wonderfully inspiring talk with excellent tips on story writing.

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Many Miles for Macmillan Emergency Services Day Lily at ECF Semi Finals ECF Semi Finals ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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CELEBRATING HARVEST & CHRISTMAS Mrs Jessica Bennett & Mr Matthew Blunt

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BOOK REVIEW Aubrey & the Terrible Yoot

by Horatio Clare

Ophelia Webb

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veryone should know about the Terrible Yoot. The Yoot casts the worst type of spell, it grabs you and makes you feel sad, so sad that you just want to stay in bed. The Yoot fills Aubrey’s dad Jim with sadness and despair and he decides to run away and Aubrey must find him and break the Yoot’s spell and save his Dad. To fight the Terrible Yoot you need help and Aubrey has the best type of help from the magical talking animals of Rushing Wood. I would love to talk to animals and my favourites are Ardea the lanky shanky bignose heron and Hoppy the squirrel that is always happy. Athene Noctua is the wise owl who tells Aubrey about the Yoot, ‘you can run away from the Yoot, you can try hiding from the Yoot, you can negotiate with the Yoot – people have been known to befriend it too – but you cannot kill it’.

So Aubrey’s quest to save his dad Jim is made even harder because in this adventure he knows that the Terrible Yoot will still be there at the end. It’s lucky the Aubrey is rambunctious and with the help of the animals they all work together to control the Terrible Yoot.

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In March a group of girls from St Catherine’s took part in the Awesome Book Awards, a new prize that honours the best new fiction authors for young readers aged 7 to 10 hosted by Cranleigh School. The girls along with hundreds of other children from schools in the South East read all five of the shortlisted titles and voted for their favourite. In May the girls along with myself and Mrs Gunther attended a prize giving ceremony hosted by children’s laureate Lauren Child MBE. All five shortlisted authors were there and the winner was ‘Time travelling with a Hamster’ by Ross Welford. A highlight of the evening was Ophelia being awarded with a prize for her book review that was the chosen winner from hundreds of entries.

Girls that took part were : Lola (LIIE), Ophelia (LIIG), Lucy (UIIJ), Flora (UIIJ), Renuan (UIIL) and Helena (UIIL).

World Book Day – what’s not to love about World Book Day?! The auditorium once again came alive as we celebrated all things books with all girls and staff dressing up as book characters. The Prep School was buzzing all day as the girls tried to guess each others characters and books.

When I decided to celebrate Harry Potter Book Night in February I hadn’t anticipated the number of Hogwart fans we had in the Prep School. The library was the busiest I have ever seen it as we had fun finding out what house we would be in and tested the girls knowledge with fun competitions.

wo important celebrations to note include Harvest Festival and the Carol Service. In the Autumn Term we celebrated Harvest traditions from around the world in The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Godalming, which was lovingly decorated by the PTA. We were lucky enough to enjoy a glorious sunny day where the girls presented poems, songs and spoken word to celebrate customs from many cultures, including Festa Junina – Brazil, the Indian rice harvest in Tamil, Moon Cake Day in China, and the African Yam Harvest. This consistently joyous occasion was highlighted by the girls’ enthusiasm and their brilliant performances of ‘Harvest Praise’, which really invigorated the congregation as they joined in with the girls’ lively singing. Jubilation and rhythm were experienced as LII delivered their lines to ‘This is the Day of Rejoicing’ by John Gharther, whilst there were also moments of heartfelt reflection, as we considered the beauty of this time of year and all that nature yields; Form I’s rendition of ‘Quiet Night Thoughts’ by Li Bai was certainly one of these instances. Major Choir’s moving performance of John Rutter’s ‘Look at the World’ continued the magical atmosphere, and contrasted with the energy of Training Choir’s ‘Harvest Samba’.

As part of the School’s Christmas celebrations, we gathered together for The Carol Service in Holy Trinity, Bramley.

‘The Gift of Christmas’ was our theme, which we relished exploring through

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WELCOME

DANCE Miss Sally Salter Principal of the Dance School

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4 literary representations and the senses of Christmas. Authors, poets and composers ranged from Charles Dickens to Singrid Unset and Pentatonix; the girls certainly have a broad palate of culture! The uplifting atmosphere of the service complimented the congregational carols, which were sung with much gusto and good cheer. In contrast, the calming and contemplative entrance to the service was sung by Saskia Hill and Olivia Williams, and we framed our act of praise by ending with an original arrangement of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ composed and directed by Mr Blunt and Mrs Bennett. This was particularly enjoyed by the girls because in their words, “All the mummies were crying”. As a school we were particularly proud to hear our arrangement played on live radio as part of Eagle Radio’s School Christmas Carols Competition.

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STEM WEEK Mrs Julie Micklethwaite

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ur STEM week this year was an outstanding success. The school was buzzing with activity and the learning was exemplary. Girls arranged in mixed aged groups were totally engaged in their activities whether taking part in the very first St Cats radio broadcast, archaeology, palaeontology, animation and maths workshops.

Girls said of Rob Eastaway, the Maths Magician, ‘His amazing tricks had us all enraptured. Algebra was among the many concepts used in his jaw-dropping tricks.’

Other girls reported, with huge enthusiasm, their excitement of creating a real radio broadcast. ‘As we were so engaged in this work, we all felt like radio DJs. It was an amazing opportunity for us all.’

The girls learned that there is much Science and Maths in archaeology and palaeontology. They experienced a real archaeological dig: first they measured out areas and divided them into sections; they recorded their findings and analysed and catalogued their ‘finds’.

We were delighted to have partnered with Tillingbourne School during the week which further enhanced the girls’ experience.

We were very grateful to Jenni Costello, Mr and Mrs Chaventré for their work on the radio broadcast, to our Senior School prefects, and to all of the staff who led groups.

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Prep World Book Day Roald Dahl 100 years celebration It takes an almighty hand Harvest 2017 Sunday, with six whole days to go!

Prep Carol Service 2017 STEM Week - Fossils STEM Week - Evolution Dance Showcase

e kicked off the year with a Dance Showcase in November 2016. Over 80 of the Prep School dancers dazzled a packed auditorium when performing alongside Senior School groups in our Whole School Dance Showcase. Each class from Grade 1 upwards performed a piece of choreography, celebrating the dance skills they have learnt and providing the girls with the exciting experience of dancing and performing on stage in front of an audience. At the end of the dance performance we held a collection to raise money for Anno’s Africa, a UK based children’s arts charity running educational arts projects for children living in slum conditions in Kenya.

In December the PPI girls twinkled as stars in the Pre Prep Nativity, which also featured some PPII girls as very entertaining tap dancing camels.

The Spring Term saw a selection of our dance students taking part in the RAD South East England Awards day competition which provided an opportunity for the girls to experience a competitive environment within dance. Tara Moore qualified for the Regional Final which was held at the Royal Academy of Dance headquarters in Battersea.

To round the year off, many of the girls worked towards taking their dance exams in the Summer term. We held RAD Ballet and ISTD Tap and Modern exams in which the girls achieved some fabulous results; a pointer to all the hard work they had put in throughout the year.

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Alice and Peyton meeting the chicks Maggie and Hattie picking pumpkins in the cottage garden PPIC in the Pebble Pit Learning about semi-circles Ava gardening in the Pre-Prep garden Adelaide collecting leaves on an Autumn Walk Faye, Freya and Emily enjoying Chinese Day Faye and Lara playing in the Pre-Prep garden Pebble Pit Dog Agility PPI First Day PPI’s last day of term Enjoying the tractor ride at Bocketts Farm Watching the pig race at Bocketts Farm We love chocolate!

Maddie and Adelaide trying to release the penguin chicks from the ice eggs Pre Prep Nativity - Concentration, are we doing it right?

Exploring the cottage garden at Bocketts Farm Meeting some of the animals at Bocketts Farm 17 Pumpkin Picking Day

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Victorian sewing lessons Ahhhh!

What lies beneath Caring for butterflies A fabulous trip!

Oo La La! Catching butterflies Amazing finds Planting independence!

A victorian school day A World of Books!

Sharing the joy of reading French singing in the sun Hunting for insects.

Sticky fingers Exploring tournedos Candy Cane Hunts!

An exciting find We’ve got the racing bug!

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Rosemary & Isabella sample shortbread on Katie Morag day Poppy, Nicola and Malia designed a dinosaur on STEM day Megan making a self portrait in oil pastels Isabella observing plant growth Harriet recording changes in plant growth Finding minibeasts in Fishbourne Meadow Lulu holding a chick PPIII Katie Morag Day Elizabeth with her worry doll Freya searching for different materials outisde Isabella L making Easter biscuits Charlotte and Nicola painting in the style of Alfred Wallis Harriet and Cosima painting a necklace on Egyptian Day Reenacting the Red Sea Alex enjoying ICT class Ella observing seed growth PPIIIR decorated tunics to wear on Egyptian day Learning about marine habitats at Dell Quay Freya and Kitty learn Scottish dancing Katie Morag picnic

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Elsa & Abbie, Form I Christening Charlotte & Elsa baking jam tarts Alice, Olivia, Isla Rose, Bella & Tilly rocket launching, Holmbury St Mary Anna, Emily W, Izzy & Emily R problem solving Cicely, Ancient Greek Day Solving riddles, Holmbury St Mary Emily’s Symmetry monster Emily, Jessica, Mollie & Cassandra on the nature trail, Holmbury St Mary Isla Rose, Violet, Ellie, Rijul & Ischia taking shelter at Holmbury St Mary The Journey, Form I Elsa guiding Emilia around the obstacle course during Problem Solving Elsa’s Symmetry Monster Ellie, Ancient Greek Day Dana shopping at the Christmas Fair Dana’s Symmetry Monster Den building at Holmbury St Mary Form I reach the top of Holmbury Hill Anya holding the Christening Candle Sophie, Anna, Eloise, Coco & Ischia admiring the cakes at the HortEcoCultural Show

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WHAT IS PINK? Anya Paul 14

What is pink? The summer sky, Shimmering in the sunset.

What is red? Blood, As red as love.

What is blue? The night sky, With a glimpse of stars.

What is white? A diamond, On the water’s edge.

What is yellow? Daisies, In the morning sun.

What is green? A Vine, Swinging over the fresh water.

What is violet? A rainbow, Shining in the beautiful weather.

What is orange? Lava, From and exploding red hot volcano.

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What is Pink? A ballerina dress, Dancing in the stage light.

What is blue? A bluebell, Waving in the wind.

What is white? The moon, Glistening in the night sky.

What is yellow? The sun, Burning through the sot summer sky.

What is green? Leaves, Waving on the branches.

What is violet? Neptune, Showing its way through darkness.

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SPOOKY STORY EXTRACTS The power of description and suspense

Ellie Haines The night came and the sun hid behind the sea. I felt a drip of water running down my cheek. A twirling breeze of wind brushed against my legs. I slowly turned around, I had no words! A blustery storm was coming, a big, sky-scraping storm was charging at us. We sprinted and ran. It was almost dark and the storm was settling at last. The dancing stars leapt over the night sky that was as black as a witch’s cat.

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Suddenly I woke up Lucy.

“Lucy, wake up!” Lucy woke, the tent was gone… and I panicked in fear. Where did it go? It couldn’t have gone far.

I heard weird noises coming from the sky as black as fresh coffee. The water was like shiny nail polish. I took one step and I could feel the cold breeze tickling my chin and the mist hugged my legs. The mist was rising like a sea’s waves. The top of my head was just popping out like an island.

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BOUDICCA BATTLE CRIES Scarlett Webster I shall come and get you all, for I am Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe. I will defeat anyone who stops me being ruler of Rome and all the other countries. Fear me because I am much stronger than you. I shall come with no fear.

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Emilia Ballard I am Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni and I will fight for revenge and fight for the slaves of Rome. Any man can live as a slave but I will not. Die or win I will not stand down!

POSTCARDS FROM HOOKE COURT Charlotte Murray Dear Izzy, I am having a fantastic time at Hooke Court.

I am sharing a bunk with Sara. Today we were in role as a Roman soldier and learnt how to make a tortoise with shields. I have enjoyed cooking Roman food, pottage is lots of vegetables cooked over an open fire.

The weather is very sunny, yet last night the thunderstorm woke me up! I liked making onagers, especially when we had to shoot the ping pong ball at Mrs Gunther.

Love Charlotte

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I was whipped by the Romans and I was beaten by the Romans but now I’m fighting for my freedom. If the men like they can become slaves but I will not. For I am a strong British queen, mighty and powerful and I shall never give up.

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FRIENDSHIPS Ava Haynes Sharing special secrets, Secret midnight feasts, She is always there for me, She is like my shadow, Always smiling at me, Our friendship will never end, Always cheering me on when I need it, Always helping me up when my friends never judge me no matter what, My friends always allow me my personal space, Always nice and cheerful, My friends always laugh with me and are fun to be with, Friends for life and forever

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PROSE FRIENDSHIP Based on the novel Cloud Busting

Lottie Harlow Friendship is an amazing thing, like bottled up fun, Nothing can stop it, Numerous legs ups – Yet never succeeding, Eating too much chocolate, Top secret handshakes, I know when she’s happy and when she is sad, Fall outs are fine because make up are the best, making icing sugar that tastes horrible!

Potions that make you ill for a week, she cracks such bad jokes that you can’t help laughing, at midnight feasts so big – there is still chocolate.

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1. Pippa and Ophelia as Centurion and Standard-bearer at Hooke Court 2. Charlotte and Charlotte Murray at Butser Farm 3. Adopt a Chef Inesse, Audrey, Isabelle and Elodie 4. Lola dressed as Mary Anning for class assembly 5. Easter Garden by Martha, Grace and Alexandra 6. LIIG demonstrate how sound travels in Science 7. Team Spirit - LIIE on Sports Day 8. LII’s learning to wattle 9. Having fun on Sports Day - Jessamy literally takes off 10. Tara shows off her Celtic ring 11. Inesse & Beatrice Polar Habitat in a Box 12. Open air theatre trip to see Wind in the Willows in Brighton

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MY SURPRISE HAMSTER Tara Moore Schools Out Scream and shout Run out the door Wait for Mum She is always late!

Finally she’s here – Grinning from ear to ear I love my Mum’s smile It’s like a crocodile I jump in the car We go past Budgen’s Sainsbury’s and more We crash into the drive I can see my hamster Through the window I spring out of the car There she is running On her wheel As fast a cheetah I jump and shout all about Thank you Mum.

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SHAPE POEMS Jessamy Manches Friendship is the most important thing, it makes want to dance and sing.

Friendship is being honest and true and sharing all the good bits about you.

Friendship is listening and being wise and helping with problems no matter what the size.

Friendship is about trust, being honest, reliable, keeping secrets is a must.

Friendship is the most fantastic thing!

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THE TUDOR MASQUE Reviewed by Jessica Moore, Emily Moulton, Polly Rodgers & Eleanor Thurgood UIIJ

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ime was ticking and the Tudor Masque was only minutes away. At the beginning, we all felt nervous because we didn’t want to go wrong, but at the same time excited because in our rehearsals it had been fun and amusing, so we were looking forward to performing it.

During the Tudor Masque, we were filled with laughter from the acts and jokes.

Before our time to shine, we had a couple of butterflies lurking in our tummies while hoping for the best. After we said our lines, we felt thankful we didn’t mess up.

When the Tudor Masque came to an end, we were disappointed that it was all over. As quick as a blink, we were changed again, and back in normal reality.

The terrific Tudor Masque will always be one of our strongest memories.

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Excerpt by Sasha Friend UIIJ

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urriedly, thinking of nothing but my stomach, I bounded home along the main road for whatever food I could get. Fountains of darkness, sprawling within the deserted town, followed me like spies down the street on my way to my house.

After miles of running through the polluted pot-holed town, I finally made it safely to Suez Street, to where I call home, but where everyone else calls nowhere.

Sunrise in reverse mode, dusk fell and so the flickers of the only light left, helped me find my way to my family.

Gloomily, with despair, I strode through to my dirty old haysack, also known as my bed, that was resting on the kitchen floor. As I placed one of the missing planks of wood back, I wondered what the kids in my class would be doing then, and if they even knew who I was.

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THE ACCIDENT Helena Hayward UIIL

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t was a dark evening with a dangerous mist in the air that looked as if it was waiting to smother you. Still, Baroness Kowalsky had insisted on holding a dinner party at her country mansion. There were many rich aristocrats inside, but one elderly couple decided to head out onto the balcony.

“My dear, I must thank you for purchasing this diadem for me,” trilled Lady Margaretta Ellington.

“My pleasure,” mumbled the man beside her.

“Princess Helena, our good Queen Victoria’s third child, has received an emerald diadem from her sister, the Princess Alice, for her fourteenth birthday,” sang Lady Ellington. “Lucinda, Duchess of Oxford, told me so at her musical evening last week,” she continued.

Her husband stayed silent, watching the moths. Water in the fountain rippled as a

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goldfish leapt into the air, only to dive back down again. A deer, standing so still it was like a statue, pricked up its ears as the band inside started to play a tune by Beethoven – or was it Mozart? Lord Ellington couldn’t tell.

“Lord Cavendish is most upset. First his daughter, Elizabeth, slipped under the ice of his country house’s lake last winter and now his niece, Claudia Elspeth Townsend, is going to France for two months to admire the fashions and sights,” informed Lord Ellington. “He is very protective of her since his sister, her mother, died seven years ago.”

Lady Ellington glided inside and he was left alone. He heard a “clink” and looked down; his watch was hanging by its chain from the ivy below the balcony. He leant over to reach it but was too far away. He leant over a little bit more. “I can almost reach it,” he muttered.

No one saw him fall or his body on the ground until Baroness Kowalsky came out - followed by her usual entourage of lords and ladies - saw what had happened, gave a shriek and fainted dead away.

“What an awful accident to have happened to poor Lord Thomas Ellington.”

These were the words society whispered to each other behind their fans or from underneath their top hats. It was a dreadful accident to have happened and it was remembered for years afterwards.

Lord Thomas was buried on the spot where he had fallen, below the balcony. The house was given to Lady Ellington two years later and every night, on the anniversary of his death, she would scatter flowers over the words engraved on his tomb; the words: “Lord Thomas Ellington R.I.P. Victim of the Accident of the Silver Pocket Watch.”

THE WEDDING OF ELIZA & ALFIE WILLOW Reporters: Holly Huxley and assistants for Tatler Magazine UIIL

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he marriage of Mr Alfie Willow, son of Mr and Mrs James Willow of Guildford and Eliza, daughter of Mr and Mrs Edward Wood of “Jampots”, Guildford, took place on the 19th June 2017 at St Catherine’s School Chapel, Bramley.

The Bride wore a chiffon lace, A-line gown with ornate white lace and silk bows. The veil was topped by a silver and diamond tia ra and a satin bow. Her jewellery, a present from her mother, was an aquamarine and diamond heart bracelet; around her neck she wore a delicate diamond necklace. Cream freesias, pink roses and alchemilla mollis made up the beautiful bridal bouquet. Miss Wood was attended by four bridesmaids; Amy, Maria, Fleur and Phoebe and her esteemed

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8 childhood friend as matron of honour.

The service was conducted by the Chaplain, Reverend Dr. Mc Nair Scott, and prayers and readings were read by friends of the bride and groom.

After the service, Kate and Edward Wood entertained the wedding party at Church House cottage garden. Speeches given by the father of the bride, best man, groom and matron of honour were deemed most amusing. Mr Wood showed great affection for his daughter, Eliza, in his moving and tender-hearted words.

Later in the day, the couple left for a secret destination which was believed to be Venice. Mrs Alfie Willow travelled in a kneelength ruby silk dress with cream suede espadrilles.

RAIN Ella Hargreaves Outside the rain falls Roaring, pouring; A giant wall Gnawing at the flooded ground.

It comes down in trickles, Streams, lakes, rivers, seas And drops.

But then it stops.

The sunlight emerges From behind a cloud And shouts its message out, Light dappling the surface Of a pristine lake Playfully running across trees.

And it takes Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months.

But the ground is dry, Cracked and crumbling, Yearning for water again.

Then it comes.

The rain comes again With its loud noises Crashing ahead.

The ground floods.

The process is repeated Again and again Again and again.

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS SETTING Excerpt by Lara-Sofia Civil UIIJ

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ark shadows swept and spread across the forlorn deserted scene.

Howling like a wolf, the wind caused naked trees to bow and creak under the implacable gale. Mournful cries echoed around the barren land as a once happy bird grieved bitterly over the death of its babies. Salt hovered in the air, rolling off the nebulous water. Serrated stone jutted above, meagre compared to the waves. Water waited impatiently for an unsuspecting animal or human to come along, for the ocean to consume and swallow. Gallows hung dominantly, daring anyone to come near to their deadly mineral, hanging rigidly on a post of lumber.

Darkening clouds overwhelmed any white or blue into oblivion.

1. Braving the beach rain at Mont St Michel 2. Sasha and Carina goat grooming at the French farm 3. Winners of the furthest rocket: Hattie and Millie 4. French Fashion show style 5. Flora and Olivia making a grand entrance at the Tudor Masque 6. Polly and Scarlett choosing cheese at the French market 7. Alfie and Eliza tie the knot!

8. Bon marché in Normandy 9. Land Ahoy! Darwin spies the Galapagos Islands ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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500 WORDS Emma Brain LIIIB

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needed to hide. If James found me then he would win, and I could not bear that.

I'm probably way too competitive, but if I beat my older brother then it would finally prove that he isn't better at everything. I could hear him now, calling my full name; I hate it when he does that. Emily Richards.

The gnarled green fingers of the trees were reaching out for me, I started to sprint.

Suddenly I entered a clearing, with a broken down cottage and a well. James was behind me, I could hear twigs snapping under his trainers. In a flash, I was crouching inside the well bucket, and heard him calling me, but he would never find me here. Shifting my position, I felt myself dislodge something, but before I had time to wonder what, I was rocketing downwards. I was going to die! Screaming was never an option, because I hit what must have been the bottom of the well and scrambled out of the bucket. Glancing around I saw I was in some kind of underground corridor with doors leading off it. Shimmying through an open doorway, I observed a sort of meeting room and suddenly felt sick with worry. There was a gun on the table! I tried my mobile. No signal. My mind made up, I snapped a photo of the table and the gun.

All of a sudden heavy footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Panic took hold of me.

These people had guns. They didn't look as though they took kindly to intruders.

Darting into a nearby cupboard, I pulled the door to, taking care to remove the key. Peeping through the crack of light, I observed three men, clad in suits, enter the room and sit down in wooden chairs, which looked much comfier than the cupboard, full of equipment of all kinds. One of the men, who had his back to me, threw something on the table, and the others leaned over it. My heart skipped a beat. It was James' biro!

"I found a boy outside the cottage. I would have brought him in for questioning, but he ran off. Dropped this, though."

I knew James wouldn't miss that pen, he barely used it, but that wasn't the point.

Another man spoke.

"Did he look like a spy, or an enemy?"

"Nope, but I'll tell you who he did look like." The other two craned their necks forward. "Suspect eight."

The third man twiddled his moustache.

"You don't mean…". His voice trailed off.

"Yup," declared the first one, "I do."

The man with the moustache stood up.

"Probably a relative. We need to alert all agents. This could be the discovery that will help us take over the world."

Suddenly, I saw a picture of Suspect Eight on the table. I gasped. He was my father! The man who had found James turned towards the cupboard.

"Now then," he sneered. "Come out now, or you'll be sorry!"

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1930S POSTCARD Alice Turner LIIIB Hello Bertie old chap!

I’m having a spiffing time here in Skegness.

Golly gosh it’s hot here!

Our host is a good egg and makes a spiffing breakfast.

The donkey rides are a jolly good show!

Your old mate, Agnes

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PURE FREEDOM Saskia Hill LIIIK

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o-one noticed, but in the jet black night, I freed myself. Watchful, I slithered out of the iron gates, and into the pitch black mountains of the Himalayas. I thought I would be fearless, but as I sensed the spread wings of an eagle, I cowered in the shadowy darkness.

The foreboding night lasted for centuries.

Galaxies away, I saw the sun rise, and finally I saw the blissful snow-scape I always meant to see. I was finally home.

My enormous paws trudged precisely along the jagged edge of the mountains; mountains, valleys and cliffs; the odourless snow sinking in. A sticky drop of saliva dribbled from my mouth, and gleamed in the radiant sun. I was hungry. But what could I eat? Just as I thought that, the loathsome smell of dead antelope wafted up my nose.

My body hung low, my tail balancing my three hundred pound body. This was my chance. My gigantic body pounced, and scared all the other predators away. I gobbled as much of it down as I could, but it wasn’t long until another snow leopard came, bigger than me. I had to fight.

Crash! Slap! Crunch! When my startled eyes gradually opened again, I was lying, weak and frail, on the snowy floor, having lost to my prey. Life was tough.

That night, the stars blossomed in the sky like I had never seen before. That night, I did not cower in the darkness, but had a luscious dream. Here I would stay, forever.

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EVACUEE LETTER Imogen Tack LIIIB 25 Thames Street London SE2 8NB

Honeycomb Cottage Oak Road Cardiff Wales CA8 5LI

3rd June 1942 Dear Mummy, I was one of the last ones to be chosen. Until a short, skinny lady stepped into the church and smiled at me. Her eyes twinkled in the light. Her name was Miss Muffet and she took me home and gave me an omelette, made with fresh eggs. A week has gone by and I am settling in now, and for my birthday today Miss Muffet gave me a thick woolly coat, it is nice and warm. I wish you were here on my birthday but I hope you are doing ok.

I feel happy on the farm with the animals and Rose so you don’t need to worry.

give up now. Forgetting all my anxiety - I jumper. I caught the trapeze. Relief flooded into me. I felt excited, happy and proud. I did it. I really – bizarrely – did it.

THE BLITZ Lottie Butcher LIII B

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he Lights were out, the night was still, and the faint sound of an ambulance was getting louder and louder. Wait, it was an emergency siren. Suddenly, chaos struck. A mad flurry spread all round the city. An enemy plane cautiously flew above.

I tried to stay silent, my heart pulsing, a mixture of feelings whizzing around my brain. Then the smell came in. a powerful toxic wave of exhaust. Far off I could see a small black dot falling through the sky, then boom! I couldn’t look. The stuffy hot air all around made me suffocate.

Love, Elizabeth

FEAR Elise Armitage LIIIK

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old swallowed me up like a biting, ice monster, its frozen finger running down my spine making me shiver.

Nervously, barely daring to look at it fully, I saw the giant of a pole. My friends, like tiny dots, climbed up it. The dot jumped. She jolted on her harness, dangling in mid-air.

My stomach turned over. A rusty, disgusting taste crawled around my mouth, making me breathe deeply. I shuffled up towards the daunting challenge, placed my limbs on the staples. Up, up, up I went. Wind blew the smell of autumn up my nose as I climbed the last few steps. I was at the top! I clambered onto the platform and looked down. All the joy drained out of me. My red sore hands clung to the pole for dear life. My heart bounded around in my chest, exploding over and over like a grenade. Hearing my own chattering teeth, I realised that fear had gotten the best of me. I tried hard to swallow the lump in my dry throat. I couldn’t

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Georgie completing the Catwalk challenge at PGL Rose mesmerised by flying the Drones LIIIs explore Hanna Peschar Sculpture Garden, using ‘See. Think. Wonder.’

Braving the Giant Swing at PGL In the shed with helmets at the ready!

Creating identity through Primary Sources, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Hanna Peschar Sculpture Garden Waiting for the train on Evacuee Day Jess feeling proud of her biscuit box on Evacuee Day ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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I have loved every minute of this year, the girls have created some hugely moving and unforgettable performances, and I hope that we continue to make great music in the coming year.

Matthew Blunt

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PREPMUSIC Mr Matthew Blunt - Director of Prep Music

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hat a year we have had in the Music department here in the Prep School. We have constantly been experimenting by creating new concerts and a new curriculum. The Director of Music in the Senior School, Matthew Greenfield, took over the teaching of LII Singing lessons, and for our Spring Term projects, contributed some lovely Chinese songs sung in Mandarin. Our Head of Woodwind, Denise Burt, and I took the reins of the Wind Scheme, firstly by writing a new booklet to teach from, and then adding a new structure to the year so that by the end of Form I all St Catherine’s girls will have had the opportunity to play most of the common orchestral instruments. The Wind Scheme was the start of a ground-up rewrite of the music curriculum, from PrePrep to LIII. We took into account the major skills that we wanted a St Catherine’s girl to move into the future with and put together a fun, interactive programme that includes general musicianship skills as well as basic theory skills to aid them in reading music in our Instrumental Schemes.

Part of this change came about in the Spring Term, when the Music and Drama departments came together to create ‘The Journey’. Should you wish to discover more about this fun collabrative and cross curricular project, turn to our Prep Drama page. In this same term, we converted the previous week-long musical festival event into several intimate events spread across the term. The events started with our House

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2 Singing in the first half of term where we put all of the rehearsals within one week of the performance, to keep the girls (and the staff!) on their toes.

The energy that resulted from having such an intense week was a highlight of my year, and the staff were talking about it for many weeks afterwards.

The songs were all based around the ‘Doo-Wop Progression’, a group of chords that made our songs intertwine into one bigger song, a metaphor for life in St Catherine’s. Red House won with a very good rendition of ‘Stand By Me’ by Ben E. King, which they sang with an acapella introduction, commented on as being incredibly brave by our guest judge, Matthew Greenfield. ‘The Journey’, and two separate concerts shortly followed - the Soloists Concert and the Chamber Music Concert. The latter was a chance for the stellar chamber music programme that we have in the Prep School to be showcased

on stage, and for the girls and their teachers to get recognition for their constant hard work all year round. To accommodate all the other music that goes on in the school, we introduced a set of Prep Informal Concerts to run in parallel with the Prep Piano Concerts, where any girl of any ability can perform to their friends and family in an informal lunchtime setting. In the Summer Term concerts we had girls who had been learning for 3 weeks performing next to Grade 5 musicians.

Some things have remained the same in our calendar, and our Harvest Festival, Carol Service and Nativity were some touching highlights of our Autumn Term festivities. The Pre-Prep Nativity was Mrs Cochrane’s last, and so we went out with a bang, with all the music organised and rehearsed by Miss Catherine Luke and myself, and a surprise return of the PPIII girls of 2015 to sing on stage with the Pre-Prep choir for the finale, ‘O Holy Night’. The Carol Service contained a first – an original carol arrangement of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ by myself and Mrs Bennett, including spoken

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4 word and singing to emphasise the message within the words. This song was played

by Eagle Radio as part of their Christmas season which was a great experience for the girls to hear their hardwork in public.

In the Spring Term the Pre-Prep continued to impress with their Spring Service, which had a record number of songs prepared by Miss Catherine Luke, who stepped in at the

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5 last minute to direct the actual service. In the Summer Term our big project was the LIII Production, which this year was Wendy and Peter Pan. The incidental music was a completely original soundtrack written by myself and sung brilliantly by the girls. The performance by the Lost Boys of their march and corresponding tomfoolery was met with much laughter, and along with some poignant moments dotted throughout the play. The girls not only did great justice to the story, but created lifelong memories.

Alongside our annual events, we have extended our outreach within the community. We performed for a group of elderly residents at the Shalford Village Hall and stayed to share biscuits and drinks with the audience afterwards. There were some very technically challenging performances from the girls, and the audience joined in for a rousing performance of ‘Jerusalem’ at the end. We went back to perform at Bramley Fete in the Summer Term, this time collaborating with Tillingbourne School, singing two songs together, a song in sign-

language called Together, and How Far I’ll Go from the film Moana. This led on to us creating a big singing event for this year called the Bramley Community Sing, where Tillingbourne School, Gosden House and St Catherine’s came together for a singalong in the Senior School Auditorium.

We warmed up our voices with a rousing rendition of Swing Low, Oh When the Saints and I’m Gonna Sing all layered on top of each other and led by Miss Elizabeth Bathurst, who brought with her the Fourth Form Choir from the Senior School. We all had learned the sign language song called ‘Together’, which was part of the Sign2Sing charity song-pack for 2017. My highlight was singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ from the Sound of Music with Gosden House, the entirety of Pre-Prep, Major Choir, Fourth Form Choir and Tillingbourne School, and hearing the glorious sound of mixed-voices filling the hall. It was a truly magical event that we hope to recreate next year with more schools.

Our pupils worked alongside the Senior School again in the Summer Term by playing in the Middle School Concert as part of the Intermediate Orchestra. This year we had more Prep Pupils cross the road to perform than ever, and the Prep Jazz Band got a huge round of applause as they finished the first half in style. Performances

by Annabel and Carina Mankabady sideby-side was a testament to the wholesome nature of having such close ties between the two schools.

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Just one more wave - ‘The Journey’ Just one more wave - ‘The Journey’ Performers for Soloist’s Concert Eliza playing at the Soloist’s Concert Starting them young Pankhurst competiting in House Singing ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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By exploring other people’s journeys and discovering more about the world around us we are better prepared for our own journey through life.

India - 10 years

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PREPDRAMA Mrs Jessica Bennett - Head of Prep Drama

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he Prep School journeyed around the world through the performing arts, as part of the Drama and Music Departments’ cross-curricular approach to learning in the Spring Term. Our main objective was to enrich the girls’ experiences during their lessons. We also really wanted to provide the girls with the opportunity to share their practical explorations, if you like “snippets”, of their greater learning. We sought to transform our usual Spring Concert; creative ideas bubbled up through our imaginations and ‘The Journey’ began to take shape in our minds… The rest has been generated by the girls themselves as they have voyaged through their Spring Term topics, discovering the journeys made by Darwin, Shackleton, Marco Polo and those who migrated through Ellis Island. Some of the skills that the girls have explored include Chinese shadow puppetry, physical theatre, script writing, Aborigine dance,

‘call and response’ in Samba Music, and using GarageBand to explore ostinato in Aborigine Music, as well as to create digital mash ups of various musical cultures.

The whole adventure was created and led by the pupils and it enabled them to discover aspects of history, geography, cultural traditions and aspects of the arts that they might not usually learn about.

They now have a better understanding of how certain discoveries were made around the world and they have explored different beliefs, as well as stories and a variety of musical styles. The girls have learnt a new type of independence and ability to take artistic decisions themselves; they have worked as teams to develop and improve their own performance and this freedom has been both exciting but is also a tool to develop their confidence, creative thinking and team work.

The key is that the girls have greater empathy, are intrigued by the rich tapestry of cultures and ideas that the world has to offer and that they appreciate and respect others’ philosophies and traditions. As Lizzie, aged 10 years, fed back to us, “ We have developed our emotional intelligence so that we have a better understanding of how other people feel in the world around us.”

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A party for Wendy on Hook’s Jolly Roger, Wendy & Peter Pan - July 2017 LIII girls wow us with their energy as they dance through Tiger Lily’s Forest, Wendy & Peter Pan - July 2017 Ellie, in role, as part of a physical theatre ship, symbolic of Darwin’s voyage on HMS Beagle, The Journey - March 2017

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This year’s LIII Production, ‘Wendy and Peter Pan’ is adapted by Ella Hickson. She wanted to explore the story from Wendy’s perspective and to show that the world of Neverland is as much for Wendy to enjoy as it is for the Lost Boys and Peter Pan. As Wendy says, ‘I am brave and I am strong and I am going on an adventure’.

This year we encouraged the LIIIs to adopt roles of greater responsibility; they choreographed their own dances, designed costumes, restructured costumes, made props, wrote song lyrics, and they had significant input into the staging of the production. By running a props club, the UIIs and LIIIs contributed to this process and I cannot thank the girls enough for their enthusiasm, dedication and creativity.

Our high expectations of the girls are often superseded by their capabilities - their vision is so mature and with little input, they created some amazing objects and pieces for the production, including the umbrellas that made the Neverland forest, the pirates’ swords and many of the pirates’ and Lost Boys’ costumes. Not only this, but the Shadows’ dance and the pirates’ jig all evolved from the girls’ own work too. One of my favourite elements of the production is the Lost Boys’ Marching Song, which amalgamates lyrical contributions from across the year group, with Mr Blunt’s magnificently creative composition.

The production was full of childhood exploits, pirate fights, fairies with attitude, comedy and charm.

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ART & DT

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1. Paul Klee Cat - Complimentary colours (FI) 2. Watercolour of bird (LIII) 3. Pastel Drawing of Citrus Fruit (UII) 4. Sketching at Senior School exhibition (UII) 5. Visiting the Senior School GCSE Exhibition (UII) 6. Seal (LII) 7. Embroidery (FI) 8. Display of Fruit Paintings (UII) 9. Printed and embroidered purse inspired

by Georgia O’Keeffe (UII)

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Tie-dyed and appliqued cushion inspired by fish (LIII) Wolf (LII) Display of LIII birds (LIII) Modroc Space Alien (LII) Painting of a tomato (UII) Modroc Space Alien (LII) Paul Klee Cat - Complimentary colours (FI) Ready to screen print (LIII) Tie-dyed & applique bird cushion First attempts at Screen Printing (LIII) Reduction Print of Owls (LIII) Horse (LII) Painting of a Kiwi (UII) Experimenting with Painted Surfaces for Collage (UII) Wooden Maze (FI) Screen-printed Fish Cushion (LIII) LIII Fish display Visiting Senior School Exhibition (UII)

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PREPSPORT Jane Cowx - Director of Prep Sport

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port and PE continue to be successful and enjoyed by all girls in the Prep School. Our ethos is to ensure that there is quality curricular and extracurricular sporting opportunity for all girls at their own particular level in the hope that our girls develop into confident and competent sportswomen with a lifelong love of sport. During the year we have achieved considerable success in sporting events at local, county and national level.

We have also provided many sporting opportunities for a huge number of girls to participate in a range of enjoyable physical activities and challenges.

A celebration of a successful year of varied sporting activity in the Prep School Jane Cowx - Director of Prep Sport

Netball has been enjoyed by many girls this year and we have competed in a range of competitions and achieved excellent results. The U10 team won the Rydes Hill Netball tournament and very large numbers of girls have attended netball club and benefitted from the extra training. Twenty Lower III girls thoroughly enjoyed the netball tour to Disneyland Paris, where the girls received specialist training and competitive matches in a foreign country. We competed in The Surrey Netball tournament but unfortunately we didn't make it to the finals and played in the IAPS tournament where we just missed qualifying for the play offs. We had

a great day and we played many different opponents and most importantly had lots of fun. We hosted our annual U10 A-C Netball tournament with all girls in UII taking part and House Netball was a competitive and exciting event with Curie winning in a clean sweep. Our Hockey teams had an exciting year and played many fixtures. It was good to see new members coming along to practice and trying Hockey out for the first time. Our team has grown from strength to strength and players have tried new positions on the field and improved their all round play. The girls enjoyed rounders during the summer term and played many enjoyable fixtures.

It has been a very exciting, successful and busy year for our gymnasts. House Gymnastics was a highlight of the sporting year with everybody in KS2 taking part. There was a supportive and calm atmosphere with a great deal of team work on display. Sophia was awarded the cup for the most improved gymnast and Daniella won the Carter Plate for achievement in gymnastics. In October the gymnastics squads competed in a friendly competition against Tormead, some girls were very pleased to compete a flick in their floor routine for the first time.

In November the U11 and U9 gymnasts travelled to North London to compete in the ISGA Two piece in a successful attempt

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Form I relays on Sports Day Football V Wonersh and Shamley Green School District Athletics Team UII House Gymnastics

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3 to qualify for main ISGA. The U11s had a fantastic day winning as a team with Daniella winning the individual title and Sophia and Maddie receiving individual medals. Towards the end of November, the U10 and U11 gymnasts competed in the annual IAPS event. The U11s finished 5th and Daniella was placed 3rd individually.

During the Spring Term the girls from Form I to LIII development squad took part in a friendly competition against St Hilary's

and Manor House. Many St Catherine's girls were placed in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The U9, U10, U11 gymnastics squads went to the ISGA National Finals which was hosted

by Tormead School, the standard of the gymnastics across the three days was phenomenal! This year was a first for St Catherine's as all girls received medals in every age category. Towards the end of term the Development Squad competed in a floor and vault competition at Prior's

SPORT

Field School. Arabella finished 1st on the beginners floor with Isabella coming 2nd.

Lottie came 2nd in the intermediate floor and Elise came 3rd on the advanced floor.

The Spring Term ended with the Lynx Gymnastics competition. The girls had to compete in five different areas including tumble track, trampette, floor and two different vaults. All the girls received a medal for taking part and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

We have had an outstanding year in swimming. House swimming was a fantastic event and everyone being able to choose their favourite strokes to swim. The atmosphere was amazing, if a little noisy!

Everyone swam their hardest but, Curie pulled through and won the overall title.

Several records were broken and Olivia won the Emma Grainger award and Christina won the trophy for the most improved swimmer. Another amazing highlight of the year was our annual swimtastic charity event. The pool was decorated with bright yellow and blue balloons and the staff made some delicious cake. Everyone gave 110% and we managed to swim 99.6 miles and raise a huge sum of money for Marie Curie Cancer. During the year, many girls swum

HOUSE SPORT COMPETITION RESULTS Swimming

Curie

Gymnastics

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Athletics

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Netball

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SPORTS AWARDs LIII Sports Cup

Sophie Moore

Grainger Swimming trophy

Olivia Williams

The Carter Plate for achievement in Gymnastics

Daniella Paul

The Niemy Trophy for Outstanding Sporting Achievement

ESSA Swimming Team & Biathlon Team

Waller Plate for sportsmanship

Maddie Crowe

The Millie Cant Award for all round effort and achievement in sport

Olivia Williams

Gymnastics cup for most improved gymnast

Sophia Lister

Vaughan Trophy for Sporting potential in LII

Autumn - Martha Robinson Spring - Audrey Hobday Summer - Grace Connor

Pasley Cup for progress in P.E. in PPIII

Autumn - Freya Moore Spring - Kitty Bjornsgaard Summer - Elizabeth Dolden

Pasley trophy for athletic potential

Annabel Francis

Swimming cup for most improved swimmer in PPIII

Laranya Sharma

Swimming cup for most improved swimmer in KS2

Christina Stunt

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successfully in a variety of swimming galas.

Another highlight, was the Guildford High School invitational gala, where the U11 team won the event with a very large margin and the U9 team finished fourth. Two girls and a relay team qualified for the IAPS National finals. Sadly the relay team was disqualified but Olivia finished 6th in the Butterfly and Poppy 14th in the Breaststroke. One of our biggest competitions was the ESSA (English Schools Swimming Association) Championships. In the county round, the medley team of Olivia, Sophie, Maddie and Millie finished in the top two in the county.

The freestyle team of Olivia, Poppy, Maddie and Millie finished in the top three in the county. As a result of these magnificent swims, we managed to qualify for the regional round in May which was tough and very close. We pushed hard and came 3rd in the medley and just missed out in the freestyle. The girls were beaming as we had just won our ticket to the Nationals finals.

Later in June, Olivia, Sophie, Maddie and Millie all travelled to Sheffield to compete.

It was one of the best days of their lives competing at the national swimming centre.

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They took in every moment and proudly finished 4th in the country. The swimming year finished with the Pre-Prep Swimming gala and all girls in KS1 swam with great confidence and composure. Laranya was awarded the trophy for the most improved swimmer and Pankhurst won the House trophy.

Our Cross Country runners have had an exceptional year and this continues to be a very popular extracurricular activity.

Our runners have shown much dedication and have improved tremendously. Early in the Autumn Term we held our first St. Catherine’s event and achieved excellent individual and team results. We competed in events held at Prior’s Field, St Ives and Claremont Fan Court. In March the U10 and U11 teams competed in the Surrey Primary Schools Cross Country Championships at Reigate Priory. The girls

ran exceptionally well over a tough course and congratulations to Poppy, Lottie and Annabel who were all selected to attend elite training with Surrey. Towards the end of the Spring Term nearly ninety girls from St Catherine’s competed in our annual invitational cross country event against six other schools. Our U9 and U11 teams finished first with our U8 and U10 teams finishing in second position. Well done to Emily in Form I who finished 3rd, Martha and Grace in LII who finished first and third, Annabel in UII who finished 1st and Poppy and Lottie in LIII who finished 2nd and 3rd.

At the start of the Summer Term we took U8 A&B, U9A&B, U10 A&B and U11 A&B cross country teams to compete in the Notre Dame relays. The U8s finished 2nd, the 9s 1st, the U10s 1st and the U11s 3rd. We won the overall trophy for the highest placed school at the event.

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4 In October twenty-nine girls from LII - LIII competed in the Surrey Schools Biathlon at K2 in Crawley. The girls had to complete a 50m swim and an 800m run. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event and performed very well especially Olivia who finished first in the swim. The U11 team won to become Surrey Schools Biathlon champions and the U10 team finished second in their age category to become county runners up. Five girls qualified to compete in the British Biathlon Championships in Solihull. This competition is for the best athletes from schools, clubs and independent competitors across the whole of the UK. Our U11 team (Olivia, Poppy and Maddie) finished in second position as national runners up. Martha competed in the U10 category and finished in 39th position. At the end of March, ten girls qualified for the finals at Crystal Palace.

All of our girls competed strongly with many personal best times in both the swim and the run. The U11 A team of Annabel, Olivia and Poppy scored 7530 points which was 153 points ahead of the next team. This meant they finished the day in first place to become U11 British Biathlon Champions.

The B team finished in 14th position and were the highest place B team in the U11 event.

At the start of the Autumn Term Miss Vickers organised the third Action for A-T Charity triathlon at St Catherine’s.

There were 95 participants including adults competing in various distances of swimming, cycling and running. There were three main aims of the day for children to enjoy the experience of competing in a triathlon in a safe and familiar environment, to raise awareness of Action for A-T and to fundraise money for this very special charity.

Seven girls also enjoyed competing in the IAPS triathlon at Dulwich College in Kent.

Each year group participate in an outdoor activities event. The Form I’s took part in problem solving, the LIIs enjoy a morning of bush craft, the UIIs spend the day orienteering in woods near Holmbury St Mary and the LIIIs take a trip to South Water Country Park for water sports.

Our Athletics season began with The District Sports Athletics competition held at the Spectrum. We were proud to finish third out of eleven schools with Isabella, Sienna and Lillie all breaking District records.

Towards the end of June girls from the U9, U10 and U11 teams took part in the West Surrey Athletics event at the Spectrum, despite the hot weather, the girls competed with great determination and enthusiasm.

Special mention to Yoli, Sophia and Poppy who qualified for the National Prep Schools Athletics Championships. Yoli and Sophia both qualified in High Jump, Yoli jumped 1.31m and Sophia 1.25m. Poppy qualified for the 1500m in a time on 5m 35secs. The girls had a great day competing in the National finals in Birmingham and Sophia and Yoli finished 9th and 11th respectively with Poppy finishing in 14th position in a time of 5.03.56. Many of our girls also enjoyed a very friendly athletics match against Tormead and Manor House School and competed

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House Swimming March 2017 British Schools Biathlon Championships - National Champions U11 Netball Tour to Disneyland, Paris Form I House Gymnastics Prior’s Field Cross Country Sports Day 2017 U11 Hoebridge Netball Tournament Lynx Gymnastics Competition winners Claremont Cross Country

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in a variety of throws, jumps and runs.

Sports Day was again a lovely event with all girls competing for their house. In the morning all Key Stage 2 girls competed in a run, jump, throw and a relay, while in the afternoon all Key Stage I girls completed six fun activities and a relay gaining stickers for each event. Everyone participated with enthusiasm and two school records were broken. Martha in LII broke the 600m in a time of 2.03.28 and Millie broke the LIII discus record with a throw of 14.66m. The final results were 1st Curie - 708 points, 2nd Pankhurst - 662 points and third Teresa 608 points.

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LII House Gymnastics ESSA Swimming National Finalists LII Bush craft - fire making IAPS triathlon NPSA Athletics National Finalists U10 Netball U9 Netball Dodgeball V Wonersh and Shamley Green School 9. PPI on Sports Day 10. UII orienteering trip

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SPORTS COLOURS AWARDED 2016- 2017

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Sport

Half colours

Swimming

Ellie Dobson Emily Moulton

Lauren Gregorian Maddie Crowe Millie Steer Olivia Williams Poppy Martin Sophie Moore

Netball

Freya Moody Isabelle Fulker Maddie Crowe Sienna Davison

Darcey Stapleton Olivia Williams Sophia Lister Sophie Moore

Gymnastics

Annabel Francis Cara Mackenzie Clara Hiley Eleanor Thurgood Freya Moody Isabella Sinclair Yoli Meurisse

Daniella Paul Sophia Lister

Cross Country

Olivia Williams Sophie Moore

Annabel Francis Lottie Butcher Poppy Martin

Biathlon

Anna Glynn-Jones Ellie Dobson Emily Moulton Holly Cartwright Maddie Crowe Martha Robinson Natalie Hinds

Annabel Francis Olivia Williams Poppy Martin

Athletics

Annabel Francis Isabella Fulker Olivia Williams

Sophia Lister Poppy Martin Yoli Meurisse

Rounders

Isabelle Hobbs Olivia Watt Olivia Williams

ST CATHERINE’S 2017

Full colours

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COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY ST CATHERINE’S ‘REACHES OUT’ WITH OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMME Mrs Vic Alexander - Outreach Coordinator

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s part of our continuing support for the local community and to reflect the responsibility of the school to support others through our charitable status, we offer a wide variety of activities and events throughout the year, with a particular focus on educational development. It is a privilege for us to be able to open up the wonderful facilities of St Catherine’s and to give of our skills and time to support the local and wider community. Once again, it has been an exciting and busy year and the list is endless. In particular, we are proud of the partnership we are enjoying developing with Gosden House School.

Here are some of the highlights of the year: OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS There have been several visits by people considering teaching as a profession or considering working in a school. Spending time at St Catherine’s in all areas of school life can be an invaluable experience and gives a great insight. This has included placements for teacher training, work experience and career changes. We have also been able to provide equipment for clubs, schools and societies. Our girls also provide their services in a variety of ways such as organ accompaniment at Holy Trinity Bramley Services.

UNITED TOGETHER We are excited to announce our wonderful partnership with Gosden House School.

We have been able to work with them in a number of areas: Grounds maintenance, IT support and advice, donating equipment, opportunities for volunteering and providing them with use of our minibuses.

We also invited Gosden House Drama Group to attend Sixth Form Musical rehearsals in May 2017 to learn from the rehearsals process.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING We have been able to provide teaching for pupils in other educational settings where specialist subject teaching may not always be viable, For example Mrs Ashby taught Latin weekly at Glebelands School, Miss Berry taught Maypole Dancing at Moss Lane Infant School and our PE department with girls in our Sports Leader Group taught a block of lacrosse lessons there which was rounded up with a tournament.

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REACHING OUT We have been able to provide free use of our swimming pool to six local schools and in some cases this has also included providing our specialist swimming coaches to help support their teaching and learning.

We have also provided the school playing fields and car park to Bramley Village events such as the Bramley Picnic and the Bramley Cycling event. Our annual sports day run by the charities board for St Peter’s Primary

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School continues to enthuse many children from this inner city London School who do not have the same access to such extensive and green space! They also love the fish and chips we provide at lunchtime!

Another regular event we support here at school is The Jennifer Bate Organ Academy hosted on an annual basis in April and we continue to award a bursary place each year.

ENDOWMENTS The School donated to the following charities • St Catherine’s pupils raised money for the Dan Eley Foundation – for the “Fresh Start” programme in Waverley • St Catherine’s pupils raised funds for Chisyabulungu Primary School in Zambia.

• During National Boarding Week the girls raised £1,345 for Beds for Barnardo’s • Ashcombe House split their fund-raising between Frensham Pond Sailability, “We Shine”, Riding for the Disabled and Hand in Hand for Syria • Merriman split their fund-raising between MAC, Za Ma Limu and Dan Ely Foundation • Midleton split their fund-raising between St Catherine’s Bursary fund and Child of Hope • Musgrave split their fund-raising between Riding for the Disabled, Against Breast Cancer, Stroke Research, Challengers Play Centre and ME • Russell Baker split their fund-raising between Dan’s Fund for Burns, Brightest Star, Plyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Guide Dogs for the Blind and World Food Programme • Stoner split their fund-raising between make a Wish, Railway Children, Action Against Hunger, Compassion in World Farming and Heads Together • St Catherine’s pupils raised money for World Bicycle Relief • St Catherine’s pupils raised money for Little Princess Trust • St Catherine’s pupils raised money for Meath Epilepsy Trust • St Catherine’s pupils raised money for Gandys Orphans for Orphans • Young Enterprise donated all profits to Future Hope ACCESS TO MUSICAL PERFORMANCES AND LECTURES As a school we have performed in a variety of concerts for many local fundraising events at churches, galleries, and various institutes. We have also entertained residents from local residential homes playing a variety of musical pieces and in the summer we performed in the Bramley Village Fete.

We also invited the local community to attend our “St Catherine’s Presents” events, including a lecture by Jane Garvey, Woman’s Hour presenter.

CATERING SUPPORTING CHARITY FUNDRAISERS The school have been proud to support schools, societies and the village of Bramley by providing catering free of charge or with significant discount, allowing them to maximise the fund-raising at their charity events. This included the Bramley Infants PTA Christmas Ball and the Bramley Rhens Liaison Group.

3 HOSTING EVENTS We have provided the venue and equipment for many events throughout the year, without charge.

Here are a few: • Baby Cats Classics throughout the year.

• French Play in October 2017 was attended by Godalming College and Broadwater School • Jazz Workshop on 2nd November 2016 – Glebelands School and Park Mead School attended free of charge • Careers Seminar – Exploring Medical Profession was held on 1st March 2017. Schools attended were George Abbott, Midhurst Rother College, Rodborough, St Peter’s and Charterhouse.

• Guildford Choristers held a residential weekend at St Catherine’s in March 2017 • Spring Sing Concert was held in April 2017. Pupils from local primary and infant schools attended.

Lunch and snacks were also provided • STEM week in the Prep School with Tillingbourne School invited to take part in activities such as Google expeditions and St Cats Radio Station • The Big Sing, hosted by Prep School • Guildford Classical Association May Talk. Pupils and teachers attended from local state Schools and Colleges • Bramley Arts Day on 21st June 2017 Bramley Infants, Gosden House and Pre-Prep joined in with activities and had a picnic lunch • Godalming Music Festival Concert was held in March 2017 • Godalming Music held two piano duet classes in March 2017 • Performance Anxiety Workshop A huge thank you to every department within school that has contributed so willingly to so many events but especially to our Estates Team who are so supportive and agreeable to help our Outreach programme.

1. The Big Sing May 2017 2. Careers Forum October 2017 3. Jennifer Bate Organ Academy April 2017 ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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DEVELOPMENT

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DEVELOPMENT THE COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT THIS YEAR • Over 85 individuals and families have donated £495,000 • £383,000 has been contributed to the Create the Future Campaign • £5,000 donated to The Annual Fund

ANNUAL FUND 2017/2018 We are raising funds this year for: • Outdoor Maths games for 4-11 year olds • An ‘Artist in Residence’ to inspire creativity • Digital learning language software • GCSE Pod - an online revision guide

• £58,000 donated to The Bursary Fund • £34,000 donated to The Hardship Fund • £5,000 received as a Legacy gift from an alumna

ANNUAL FUND 2016/2017 Your support has improved the girls’ experience of School. Thank you. Here are just a few of the additions to School made possible by your support: • A timp drum for the Concert Band and Orchestra • Photographic lights for external shoots • School mini-bus • Nature Study ‘Chick Hatching’ in Pre-Prep

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Ms Pippa Carte - Development Director

THE FOUNDATION ST CATHERINE’S – A SCHOOL BUILT ON PHILANTHROPY

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t Catherine’s is a charity. Our charitable purpose, in law, is education for girls. Our roots are our Christian founders who had a vision of creating a girls’ school in 1883 and in the same year had secured promises of £4,000 in funding to create St Catherine’s in 1885.

Charitable Objects of St Catherine’s School - to promote and provide for the advancement of education by providing, conducting, governing, carrying on and maintaining in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere, a boarding or day school or schools for girls in which the teaching shall be in with the principles of the Church of England.

We have been true to this since our foundation in 1885. Philanthropic giving has continued throughout the School’s life.

Funds have been raised for School buildings and facilities, for Bursaries and Hardship Funds, the Chapel and the grounds, and for a multitude of charities selected by the girls.

As we do not have a capital endowment, donations are extremely valuable.

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If you would like to find out more about supporting St Catherine’s with a gift, please contact Pippa Carte on 01483 899754 or pippa.carte@stcatherines.info or you can donate on the St Catherine’s website under ‘Development’.

SENIOR & PREP SCHOOL

DEVELOPMENT

THE BURSARY FUND “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

William Butler Yeats

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ould you consider giving a talented girl the opportunity of a St Catherine’s education?

If your daughter is currently enjoying St Catherine’s, or if you were at the School yourself, you can ‘light a fire’ by giving another girl a chance to: • • • •

be inspired by exceptional teachers find and develop her interests believe in her own ability and fulfil her potential.

Giving an education to a girl of exceptional ability, but without the financial means: • changes her life and her life chances • creates a more diverse School community • contributes to the long-term social mobility of a family and • changes the world as educated women take their place in society.

Why is there a Bursary programme?

So that we can offer girls who have shown strong academic ability but whose parents cannot afford the fees, the opportunity to experience St Catherine’s and benefit from an education here. This opportunity changes not only their lives but their contribution to the School enriches the whole community.

1 How are bursaries funded?

They are primarily funded by School fees.

We also fundraise from the former and current School community. The more donations we receive, the more deserving girls we can educate, and the more we can invest in other School projects to benefit all the girls.

How much is given in donations towards Bursaries annually? In 2016/17 £58,000 was given to the Bursary Fund. This represents 16% of the total amount spent.

How are donations to bursaries managed?

We have a designated Bursary Fund – your donation is put into this Fund and released annually as needed to support Bursary students.

How do you find bursary students?

The majority of applicants approach us directly via information on the website.

Some come through referrals from schools in the local community; others are identified through educational links.

Is there a suggested donation amount?

Your gift level is wholly at your discretion. £17,900 would fund a year of a Bursary student’s education, £5,000 just under a term. You can give in one transfer, commit to a multi-year gift or give monthly to fit your financial plans.

How many bursary students are there?

There are c.30 students receiving a bursary.

Bursary awards range from 10% to covering the full fees and additional costs eg. an iPad for school use, sports equipment etc. They are given to girls between 7 and 18.

Can my gift make an impact?

All gifts, large and small, make a difference.

Cumulatively the gifts of the School community, former and current, allow us to support 30 students a year. With your gift, we may have the opportunity to fund more.

Who decides who gets a bursary?

There is a committee composed of governors and senior staff that analyses all bursary applications and makes recommendations to the Governing Body.

Does Gift Aid make a difference?

Yes, tax advantages mean that your gift could cost you a lot less than you first think.

We can claim Gift Aid and you can claim a tax rebate on your donation.

What does it cost to support a student?

This depends on the level of the bursary given but a full bursary in the Senior School would be c. £17,900 per year.

How will I know how my money is spent?

We fully respect your contribution to the Bursary Fund and will report annually on the programme. We share anonymised stories of girls in School as well as news of those girls who have benefited from donors to the Bursary Fund in the past and are now at University or developing their careers.

How is the value of a bursary decided?

Bursaries are awarded based on financial need. The family has to provide evidence of need which includes details of their financial assets and earnings. This rigorous analysis determines the value of the Bursary award given eg. 10%, 45%, 100% etc. Bursaries are reassessed annually.

1. Mrs Gill David – Head of History 2. Bea Stafford-Smith (2012)

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GIRLS SHINING BRIGHT THANKS TO BURSARY SUPPORT Bea’s Story Bea, Class of 2012, former student at Bristol University, Politics and International Relations and now at Saba Consulting.

“I was so happy at St Catherine’s, I was on a Bursary for the Sixth Form. I had a huge amount of support, I had teachers who challenged me and got the very best out of me.

I know St Catherine’s was the making of me.”

GIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION Any gift, whatever its size, is valued and restricted to The Bursary Fund.

“I hope that you will support the Bursary Fund so that St Catherine’s can help more girls to have an outstanding educational experience.”

Neil S, Parent To find out how you can give a girl the incredible gift of a St Catherine’s education please call Pippa Carte, Development Director, on 01483 899754 or email pippa.carte@stcatherines.info

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THANK YOU

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hank you for your generous contributions to the Foundation through single gifts to specific campaigns, regular gifts to the Annual Fund and through gifts given in wills. Over the years you have been asked for your support and we have been overwhelmed by the response of the whole School community.

Parents, alumnae, governors, staff, teachers and the girls themselves have made gifts to the Foundation. It is this generosity that has allowed us to take bold ambitions such as the Anniversary Halls and make them a reality. It has also allowed us, through gifts to our Annual Fund, to enrich the girls’ school experience.

INSPIRING teachers

YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

It is your support that allows us to preserve and grow our philanthropic tradition. Our full vision can only be realised through the help of our friends and supporters.

Whilst we do not have a large endowment to support the School’s development, we do have a financially sound business model. School fees pay for outstanding teachers, quality resources and a learning environment that inspires and stretches all. We have a School masterplan, an accompanying financial model, and strong financial governance. As a charity, we have no shareholders to whom we distribute profit and any surplus is reinvested in our ‘shareholders’ - our girls.

We are truly grateful for each and every gift we receive, regardless of size. Individually and collectively, gifts to the Foundation strengthen the School community. We promise to acknowledge each gift and to respect the wishes of every donor. We would be delighted either to recognise generosity appropriately or to protect anonymity according to your preference.

ASPIRATIONAL facilities

Imagine CO MP LETE D Prep Science

Create

Art and MakerSpace

EXCEPTIONAL students

If you would like to find out more about supporting St Catherine’s with a gift, please contact Pippa Carte on 01483 899754 or pippa.carte@stcatherines.info or you can donate on the St Catherine’s website under ‘Development’.

Extending our current building to create additional spaces full of natural light; for fine art, ceramics, textiles, design technology, and an extended photographic studio. A studio will be reserved for senior girls’ independent work in fine art.

A re-designed Science lab specifically created for collaborative work and experimentation, offering girls aged 4 to 11 the chance to unleash their imagination. The space will match the curiosity of our girls to explore the world around them.

Architects:.......... Labform Cost:.................... £65,000

Architects:.................TBC Due for completion:.2019 Projected cost:.........£1m

The completion dates of these projects are dependent on your support.

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DEVELOPMENT

Create the Future THE ST CATHERINE’S WHEEL TURNS; WE DO NOT STAND STILL. WE ARE AMBITIOUS AND WE INVITE YOU TO CREATE THE FUTURE. St Catherine’s was founded in 1885 and is now an internationally known leading girls’ school. As we have grown, buildings and facilities have been added over successive decades. Most recently the wonderful Anniversary Halls have enriched the girls’ drama, music and sports performance immeasurably. This has been made possible through the generosity of the community.

Our goal now is to ensure continued success by developing the School’s strengths and attracting the very best girls and staff.

The Governors and teachers have prioritised future developments and we invite you to review these. To Create the Future for St Catherine’s we will need the financial support of the whole community.

To discuss how you can donate to Create the Future at St Catherine’s, please contact Pippa Carte, Development Director on +44 (0)1483 899754 or email pippa.carte@stcatherines.info | www.stcatherines.info/development

The Science WonderLab in action

Belong 6th Form - The 6

A modern building to replace the current Unit and Barbara Platt accommodation, creating a vibrant space for day girls and boarders.

To provide generous boarding accommodation, bright bathrooms and a spacious common room.

Architects: ..................IID Due for completion: ..2019 Projected cost: ..........£8m

Experiment

High ACHIEVERS

The CATalyst

A new teaching space dedicated to science, technology, maths, digital learning, independent reading and research. Senior girls deserve an inspirational space that meets their aspirations as the coders, engineers and geneticists of the future.

Ideas will collide, interact and fuse across the sciences as girls experiment and learn.

Architects: TBC Due for completion: 2022 Projected cost: £10m

Independent THINKERS

Social CONTRIBUTORS

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ASSOCIATION Mrs Dawn Pilkington - Association Director

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ur academic year began on Sunday 11th September with a tradition we started in 2014 for the new U3 girls.

To mark the start of their time in the Senior School, the Year of 2023 were asked to sign the Association Record Book. The book is stored in the archive and will be brought out each year for the new girls to sign. We hope that in years to come when they return for alumnae reunions, they will be able to find their names in the Record Book and remember the excitement they felt as they started Senior School.

September also saw alumnae of all ages, current & former parents and staff, as well as friends in the local area, join us on Sunday 25th September 2016 to launch Foundation Day and celebrate the birthday of the School in 1885, when St Catherine’s opened with 11 boarders and six day scholars.

The programme amalgamated some of

the former traditions of Old Girls Day and Association Day, adding new contemporary twists and inviting all Association Members to take part.

The afternoon started with a lovely Chapel Service, led by Rev’d Dr Benji McNair Scott, on the theme of ‘Growth’ and included tributes and the unveiling of plaques in memory of John Palmer, former Headmaster (1982-1994), and former Governor, Lady Calcutt. It was particularly special that Alex Palmer and Lilly Shimell, wife and daughter of John Palmer, and Graeme Walker, brother of Lady Calcutt, were able to join us.

Caroline James (2005), Foreign News Editor with Sky News, then gave a very informative keynote speech on the American Presidential Elections, which she has been covering. She had many behindthe-scenes stories to share and there was a lively Q&A session at the end.

During a traditional cream tea in the Dining Room, Mrs Alice Phillips, along with current and former staff, cut the cake whilst everyone sang Happy Birthday. There was much chat and laughter, catching up and networking over tea. The day was rounded off with tours of the School and the opportunity to view an archive display depicting the history of the individuals who inspired the naming of our current School Houses, thanks to the work of our honorary archivists, alumna Rosemary Christophers (1960) and husband Richard, and Fiona Haywood (Development Officer).

The new model for this day, and the focus on the Foundation date proved very popular with guests and will be repeated next year.

“Thank you for a very good afternoon on Foundation Day which I much enjoyed. It was good to have the opportunity of attending a service in the Chapel again which was looking wonderful and the organ sounded in fine fettle after its restoration.

Caroline James’s talk was interesting and very timely coming just before the first presidential debate. I also enjoyed reading the history of the houses as well as the chapel and organ.”

Former parent

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Our Carols by Candlelight Service for recent leavers was held on Monday 19th December. The evening started with mulled wine and mince pies served in The Aquarium from 6.30pm which enabled everyone to chat and catch up on news before we walked across to the chapel at

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3 7.30pm, forming a candlelit procession as we entered. Chaplain, Rev’d Dr McNair Scott, led a beautiful 30-minute service which included eight carols voted for by the girls and three readings. This event is going from strength to strength as numbers are growing year on year. The service was created with recent leavers living locally, particularly in mind – either, home from university or on their gap years- and it gives them the opportunity to meet up with their friends from school and sing their favourite Christmas carols. However, all members of the Association are also very welcome. Do please come along and join us on Monday 18th December 2017.

The end of the Spring Term sees one of the highlights of the School House Events calendar – the House Singing Competition - and we invited the recent leavers, who often return to watch this event, to an Alumnae Drinks Reception on the 23rd March in the Aquarium. A number of current staff popped in to catch up with our recent leavers. At 7pm we all moved on to the Sports Hall and everyone cheered on their House.

This year the Association Trip decided to travel a bit further afield and in the early hours of the morning of Saturday 6th May

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30 members, ranging in age from 23 to 89, dragged themselves out of bed to meet at Gatwick Airport at 4am. We had an actionpacked weekend visiting the key Roman sites of the Bay of Naples, which many pupils and alumnae who have been on the School Classics trips have already seen. Highlights included seeing the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the towns that had been destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79; but we particularly enjoyed witnessing the amusing moment when Mrs Sophia Ridley, former Head of Classics, had a run in with the local police in the Naples Archaeological Museum because a local tour guide took objection to her leading a group on his turf! Luckily, she managed to talk her way out of a tricky situation and we didn’t need to make a visit to the local police station. In true St Catherine’s style we did have a diplomat and a lawyer in our group who were ready to step in to help if needed.

The weather was glorious and the visit to Villa Oplontis a perfect end to the trip. Everyone really enjoyed seeing the iconic sites, which are synonymous with ancient Roman civilisation, and we left for home feeling that we had a much greater understanding of what Roman life was like.

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“Thank you for organising such a truly wonderful trip, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I thought it was incredible value for money and so well organised and thought out.

I thought the party size was ideal and such a lovely mix of people. All of the places we visited were amazing.

Although it was a lot to fit into a weekend, I thought the timings were perfect for me as I wasn’t away from the family for too long.”

Current parent

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Pompeii U3 Association Book Signing Foundation Day Foundation Day Lecture - Caroline James Pompeii Alumnae Carols by Candelight ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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In May the Association joined the St Catherine’s Prep School May Fair, an annual highlight run by the PTA, for our Family Fun Day. Aimed particularly at those alumnae who want to come back and visit St Catherine’s with their young families, we welcomed everyone at the Association gazebo. The weather was kind and it was a really fun event with lots of stalls and activities to entertain all ages.

Now in its fourth year the Association Rock Choir and Jazz Band was led by Beth Bathhurst and Hélène Favre-Bulle.

Ian Young was in charge of the rock band.

After only four weeks of rehearsals this light-hearted choir and band, made up of 30 members, performed “Best days of our lives” to open the second half of the Rock and Jazz concert at school in May. On Friday 23rd June we were delighted to welcome back over 70 ‘Golden Girls’ who left school between 1940 and 1960.

Following a lovely chapel service our oldest alumna on the day, Miss Audrey Bayliss, 1942 Leaver now aged 91, met one of our youngest pupils, Eva. Whilst on a tour of

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2 the school the L6 also recorded some of the group’s memories of St Catherine’s which we will be adding to our new digital archive.

Reunions like these are a great opportunity to capture a living history for future generations.

Zena Skinner (1944) writes: After a welcome reception, we moved to the Chapel which I have loved ever since I went to St Catherine’s – it really is a special place. There was a lovely service of Thanksgiving and I was privileged to be asked to read the first lesson, a Psalm. This was followed by a musical concert

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ARE YOU

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Join our ‘private’ group, open to all members of the Association. We have over 800 members and share articles and comment on professional working life, leadership and career development.

Visit the School website and click on the LinkedIn logo at the top of the Home page.

6 given by current pupils. Following a delicious lunch, I enjoyed seeing items from the archives which proved very popular with much discussion as to who was who, and can you put a name to the face? We couldn’t name them all, but had a good laugh trying! I’m so happy every time I go back to St Catherine’s, as the teaching, community life and belief in one’s ability helped me to shape my life for the future. Most of the Golden Oldies have been pretty good achievers in their lives and I am sure the present day pupils will also achieve great things in the future.

The wealth of photos from the archive bringing back so many memories while we struggle to remember names!

Miranda Greenway (Johnston)(1960) writes: It was like walking back to childhood and remembering all the fun we had – and the trials! The chapel, just the same, but with a new roof and wonderful sounding refurbished organ. Still a very special place.

Judith Knox (Gordon)(1960) writes: The Golden Girl’s reunion was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and remember historic events, probably now much exaggerated. We were escorted on a school tour by two very patient Association Prefects and the highlight for me had to be the stunning A level and GCSE Art and Textiles displays – we were born too early! The talented musicians in the Chapel were most impressive, the lunch delicious and the company hilarious.

Thank you to the Association team for a wonderful day.

Meeting up with such OLD friends. Seven of us had got together the night before plus some husbands. Yes, we do look a bit different but we are just the same: mannerisms, laughs, senses of humour, loyalty.

Our St Catherine’s alumnae Facebook group is going from strength to strength and we currently have 880 members in the group. Only alumnae can join this social group and the aim is to reconnect with friends, share information and invite you to events. If you have not already done so please join, spread the word and encourage your fellow classmates to join as well.

As the group is private, initial approval will be requested for joining and posting. www.facebook.com/groups/ stcatsalumnae/

A delicious lunch served in the enormous new sports hall, transformed with flowers and carpet, with such a warm welcome from the Association staff.

Tour of the school – lucky lucky girls of today….

And finally…reflecting on how much we gained from being at St. Cat’s, and how much bigger and better it is today.

Throughout the year we were delighted to report in Non Nobis our involvement on many reunions either at school, in the UK or around the world as you will read on the following pages. If you are having a mini reunion either in the UK or abroad, or need help with organising one, I would love to hear from you and please send me a photo as well.

Every year the Association helps coordinate the various travel awards that are available to girls from U5 upwards.

The Association, PTA and the Rosamond Raymond Travel Awards offer funding towards voluntary work and helping a community or environmental project.

This year £2,500 was awarded to seven applicants in Lower and Upper Sixth.

Finally, thank you to my Association Prefects, Katie Vega, Octavia McGleughlin and Izzy Rust, who handed over the baton of office in April to Catrina Gell, Hermione Menges and Lara Scadding. They have worked hard all year and always with a smile, a hard act to follow.

Throughout the year we are always happy to receive visitors and call upon members of our alumnae and former staff at home. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you would like to visit school at any time or for us to call upon you if you are far away or unable to come to school yourself.

We are planning a full programme of events for next year which will include the Association Choir performing in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, an Alumnae Sixth Form boarding sleepover and the Association Trip to Amsterdam to name just a few. Please see dates below.

As always, please keep in touch and let us know if your contact details change. We are always interested to hear what you are doing and to feature interesting stories or careers in Non Nobis. We hope to see you at St Catherine’s in the near future. dawn.pilkington@stcatherines.info 01483 899751 FEBRUARY Wed 7 Fri 9 Thur 8

19.00 - 22.00 Senior School Production – The Crucible From January tickets available www.brownpapertickets.com

MARCH Sat 3 Sun 4

Association History of Art trip to Amsterdam

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19.30 St Catherine’s Association Choir Concert, Holy Trinity Church, Guildford 18.00 – 19.00 Alumnae Drinks Reception prior to House Singing

Wed 28 APRIL Sat 7 Sun 8 MAY

Alumnae Sixth Form Boarding Sleepover

Fri 25

19.30 Association Rock & Jazz Concert

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The Golden Girls’ Reunion The Archive - Golden Girls’ Reunion Zena Skinner (1944) Association Rock Choir The Archive - Golden Girls’ Reunion Association Prefect handover ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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Vivace in Guildford and playing golf. Had a bad health year in 2016, but now almost back to full strength.

1960-69 Leavers ADAMTHWAITE, Judith (now Pymble) (1961)

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ASSOCIATIONNEWS 1940-49 Leavers CROSS, Stella (now Chadwick) (1949) Now approaching 86 I have just stopped playing tennis. Very involved in Totnes Caring Charity for the last 25 years. Go to America every year where I have eight grandchildren (and four more in England) and travel a great deal. Does anyone of my era live in Devon?

1950-56 Leavers ALLEN, Carol (now Hill-Herbert) (1957) Retirement with my husband in a village in Paphos, Cyprus. Visiting family yearly in UK & Denmark.

ANGLIN, Sally (now Weaver) (1959) Retired dairy farmer's wife living very close to " Broadchurch". Two sons in their forties both doing well. Two grandsons.

BUCHANAN, Anne (now Gordon-Johnson) (1952) Enjoying gardening, training and having fun with our Tibetan Terrier pup. Now have four grandchildren and another one on the way.

BURCH, Gillian (now Rudd) (1958) I have now been a widow since 2009. I have three children and four grandchildren. I am in remission after surgery for sarcoma in 2012.

MARSHALL, Fay (now Chivers) (1951) Not writing much at 82 years, but having the occasional poem published. Now living close to family - son, Greek daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter.

CROPP, Mary (now Clements) (1957) My husband recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a lunch party for family.

We play a lot of bowls and spend hours in our garden. We have three grown-up grandchildren in one family, and a 3 year old in the other.

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GABRIEL, Victoria (now Douglas) (1959) My daughter, Emma, was married to Mark in June 2016 at St Mawes Castle, Cornwall. My son, Matthew, wife Sarah and two boys Wiiliam and Ben, live in South Gloucestershire. Last month (June) I thoroughly enjoyed the reunion at school.

Not bad having seven classmates who are still friends after over fifty years!

HART, Ann (now Maughan) (1958) Retired and enjoying it with plenty of gardening and bridge.

HUTTON, Barbara (now Tilbury) (1955) I’ve had three children and fostered two children. I have now retired after a long career in the health sector.

I was Head of Occupational Therapy for six Hospitals and then a Business Manager in the NHS. I now volunteer in a Hospital in Exeter and am actively fundraising for equipment and resources to support the NHS infrastructure. To date, I have raised over £10,000 to provide buddy beds, handheld heart monitors and ECG machines. I am now beginning to fundraise for a blood scanner with a target of £6,500. My drive and determination comes from the need to do something positive after the tragic early loss of my son Patrick.

Celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary this year. I feel very lucky to still be in contact with so many of the close friends made whilst at St. Catherine's.

MACPHAIL, Moira (now Firth) (1959) Retired. Enjoy living in a village and involved in local activities, including needlework, and with four growing grandchildren.

UMPLEBY, Margaret (now Parry) (1956) Delighted to have just been honoured with a BEM for work in the community of Chobham, Surrey. Continue to enjoy singing with

Frank and I still live in Eastbourne. Two of our children live nearby, our elder daughter, Miranda and her daughter Evelyn, both mad about riding horses. Our elder son Guy and his wife and two sons also live near us. Our two younger children live in London. Adam our son is married to Kate. He is a Vicar with six children. Vanessa, our youngest daughter, also lives in London and is a career girl, at the moment, working for a major events company. I am still in touch with Judith Gfeller who now lives in Switzerland.

Also, have met up with Jane Thurston, Gena Taverner and Alison Read at various School Reunions.

CUFFE, Barbara (now Edwards) (1964) Marking A Level for Pearson (Economics) but mainly semi-retired.

GARRETT, Liz (now Chalwin) (1966) Difficult and very stressful last 6 months with family and horses, but hopefully things will be better now. Richard now married, continues to thrive as a consultant in intensive care in Adelaide, Australia. Olivia and her partner are in the throes of an extension, upwards, to their lodge house, just up from the River Hamble, where their yacht is moored. I am still enjoying teaching my private pupils at home, but husband and horses take up the bulk of my time! Also really enjoy being involved still with the Association and helping out at school when I can.

GILDER, Anne (now Hallowes) (1963) Retired but kept busy with my involvement with local church and Preservation Society.

HARDY, Caroline (now Hawes) (1967) Living in Hampshire, I have three daughters and am looking forward to my second daughter’s wedding at the end of July.

HEWITT, Deborah (now Bowen) (1966) I've just this summer retired from my fulltime position as Professor and Chair of English at Redeemer University College in SW Ontario; I'll be teaching part-time still for the next few years, and am also working with a SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) grant on a project called "The place of environmental hope in contemporary Ontarian poetry." A couple of undergraduate students are my research assistants in this project, which is lots of fun! I'll be over in Oxford this September to give a paper related to the project.

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was so good to see everyone, some of whom we hadn't seen for nearly 40 years.

VAUGHAN, Julie (now Bolter) (1979) Continue to work as Chair of Examiners for GCSE Maths; also work on various other Maths qualifications.

WAY, Amanda (now Willats) (1976)

2 Meantime, I regularly see our kids and all four of our grandchildren, presently aged 10, 7, 5, and 4, two of whom live up the road, the other two a 45-minute drive away. This is a great blessing, for which John and I are very grateful.

HOWKINS, Caroline (now Webber) (1964) Now retired but kept busy with family, Church activities, U3A, book group, home and garden.

PETERS, Susan (now Kariuki) (1960) Retired, but very active in local community, U3A, etc.

SCOTT, Libby (now von Kaufmann) (1969) Moved back to the UK in 2014 after 30 years in Africa.

TAVENER, Gena (now Robson) (1961)

combined my trip with an unforgettable cruise in the Arctic.

BOOTON, Sarah (now Cooledge) (1974) I retired as a GP partner in August 2016, a significant birthday having been reached. I am doing some sessional GP work to keep my brain ticking over. Since retiring, I have been able to meet up with my old St Cat’s friends Karen, Tessa and Jen for our thrice yearly lunch. We don't stop talking from start to finish.

Business is doing well and rushed off my feet running Harra Beer Country House.

We see so many great people and just love being down in Devon, just on the edge of Dartmoor. Anyone from St Cat's will get a 10% discount!!!! We close for a well-earned rest between December and mid-March to visit our eldest son, Oggie, in South Africa where he is a helicopter pilot. He married in January 2016 and he and his wife, Lee-Anne, had a honeymoon baby girl called Holly on 1st October 2016 and a little boy, Oliver, is arriving 4th October this year. Doug, in the Merchant Navy, is currently on the catamaran going back and forth to the Isle of Wight, married Faye on 12th August 2017.

They will be based in Bristol area as Faye, having graduated as paediatric nurse, has a job up there. No family plans there for at least a couple of years!

1980-89 Leavers

BUDD, Sue (now Wakefield) (1976)

BLAKELEY, Meriel (now Griffiths) (1982)

Both sons now working, so thinking about more travelling!

Working in the supply and trading division of an international electricity company.

Husband Rob, and children Isobel (15) and Lucas (13).

HODGSON, Jill (now Ashton) (1977) My daughter, Jennifer Ashton (2002), married Richard Thompson last year in June 2016.

FORD, Charlotte (now French) (1984) Working as a vet, teaching veterinary nursing, completing a certificate in veterinary education. Eldest daughter at Cambridge University reading Japanese, middle son just finished A levels, youngest son due to sit GCSEs next year.

I am busy being retired! I am very involved with life in the village here, where a lot goes on, and I'm the only churchwarden. I attend lectures etc at Oxford DFAS (the local branch of NADFAS), and I also spent two years doing church recording with them. I also volunteer with Oxfam. I'm still in contact with Alison Read, and we meet occasionally.

KNIGHT, Julia (now Kilby) (1978)

WARREN, Judy (now Excell) (1961)

I'm happily married and have two grown up children who are finding their feet in London.

Living in New Zealand and loving it. Busy with three boys, 16, 13 and 11. Married to Guy for 25 years. Working as a contractor in Events Management and as a Maths Tutor.

MOLINEUX, Petra (now Billings) (1978)

HATCHETT, Anna (now Sherry) (1982)

Chartered Ecologist and run my own ecological consultancy. Two daughters, both married, and one new grandson, Leon, born in May.

Enjoying life living in Cheshire. Very active with horses at home and also with the local Pony Club. Rob (son) has graduated from Surrey University with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and lives in Guildford. Imogen (daughter) is studying Medicine at Glasgow University.

Retired but enjoying my roles as Sussex Family History Group Vice-President and Friends of Sompting Church Chairman.

1970-79 Leavers BINGHAM, Felicity (now von Oettingen) (1976) Voluntarily retired, enjoying a busy life on a 3.2H small holding in rural South Africa.

I grow organic vegetables for re-sale, harvest honey, breed and show/work/train Dobermanns. I am an active committee member for Conservancy in our area, specializing in eradication of Alien Invasive Plants which are destroying grasslands and taking up much needed water in our drought stricken country. I visit England annually to see my family, and last year

I'm working in my own private physiotherapy practice just outside Birmingham and loving it. I've always been a physiotherapist and completing a Masters in musculoskeletal practice in 2011 at Birmingham University was a move which has since then inspired and stimulated me.

SINCLAIR, Alison (now Paterson) (1977) I have just retired, after thirty years in academic General Practice, so I am looking forward to spending time travelling, gardening, cooking and singing!

STANDRING, Sarah (now Musgrave) (1978) A group of 11 of the 1978 leavers met for lunch this year. There was a great sharing of old memories, photos and catching up. It

GALE, Kate (now Vautier) (1986)

1. The Association team visiting Katharine Lippiett (Langston-Jones) (1934) in Emsworth 2. Mini reunion at the home of Jane Bourne (Thurston) (1961) with Diana Allen (Lee) (1961) & Joan Shenton (1961) ST CATHERINE’S 2017

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HOLDER, Liz (now Hurter) (1980)

PURDIE, Karen (now Leetch) (1983)

PEET, Caroline (now Bushman) (1993)

Working part-time as GP in Billericay.

Teaching English and responsible for debating/ scholars at Stamford School (HMC boys). Husband, Dan, teaches music and plays the viola. Son, James, just finished his A Levels and hoping to study naval architecture at Southampton University.

Daughter, Isabel, just started at secondary school. Both very keen sailors!

Still working in Treasury, albeit part time as most afternoons are taking up taxiing an enthusiastic nearly six year old to various after school activities!

Married to Mike, recently retired GP. Two children, Emily has just graduated with 1st class honours in Law from Oxford Brookes and James has just started at Bristol University reading Physics.

IDE-SMITH, Nicky (now Hemery) (1984) Enjoying being married to Richard, having just celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary, and being a mum to Annabel (10). Unable to work due to long-term chronic fatigue but very involved with Busbridge Junior School as a governor and on PTA committee, plus a regular volunteer at Busbridge Church. Currently enjoying being involved again with horses and ponies along with Annabel who is following in mum's footsteps with a love for all things equestrian!

LLOYD, Pret (now Houston) (1980) Left primary teaching three years ago and since then work in the University of St Andrews library helping students & academics access print & digital resources.

Am about to return to studies (part-time), starting an MLitt in Film Studies this September. Occasionally I travel south to London to see my younger daughter, Fiona, who works in tech PR & tutors Latin; and to Manchester, to visit my elder daughter, Mags, who until recently worked in advertising. She is now travelling solo (volunteering, working, adventuring, holidaying!) for six months in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, and I am vicariously enjoying places I've never even dreamt of going to!

MASON, Nicola (now Clark) (1983) Now switched careers and am a Counsellor in private practice.

Married to Chris for 27 years, four children aged 16 to 24.

MAY, Alexandra (now Gracie) (1983) Married, with two step children living and working in Bath. I have a jewellery shop and website.

NOORDUIJN, Eva (1987) Head of the European Section of the German European School Singapore. Missing Europe, but loving the job. Children now 8 and 10 and doing well.

PRICE, Cathy (1980) I am a research scientist and currently Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging which will shortly be renamed: Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging.

1990-1999 Leavers

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Married to Italian diplomat, just finished 4 years in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and recently moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Have two boys - Nico (6) and Luca (2)

CARRINGTON, Hannah (Willey) (1992)

SPRAGUE, Kate (now Hodge) (1990)

Been in Canada for 8 years and still loving it!

Working part time at a Martial Arts dojo and bringing up two energetic children!

I have been teaching (secondary) since 1994.

CAST, Jo (now Gardiner) (1991) I'm a chartered accountant, working for a practice in Christchurch, Dorset. My husband, Ian, and I have two girls - Evie is 6 and Bella is 4. They go to St Katharine's CE School, which is a great school (even though it's spelt the wrong way!)

COLEMAN, Claire (1995) Still enjoying working as a freelance features journalist in London.

DOBELL, Rhian (now Warner) (1993) Just moving back into London with our 16 year old daughter. Working as a senior healthcare consultant in health and social care transformation.

EASTWOOD, Helen (now Stansfield) (1996) Working as Deputy Head, Pastoral, at The Grammar School at Leeds.

STEWART, Jessica (1995) Running successful business I set up four years ago, about to get married, playing hockey and enjoying family hols.

WATLING, Katie (now Long) (1999) On maternity leave with my second child - a boy, Arthur, now nine months who joined sister, Evie, who is 3. Returning to my career as a GP in September.

2000-2010 Leavers AMISON, Charlotte (now Rowland) (2001) Manager at Contact a Family Wandsworth Grace Phoebe born 12 October 2016.

CREIGHTON, Katie (2006) Working at an advertising agency as an Account Director in Soho.

DUNCAN, Alisa (2004)

Working as a Children's Occupational Therapist in the NHS. Two sons at secondary school.

I am still working at the MTC (an engineering research company) and have been progressing my career. I am now a manager, which is quite a challenge! I also do some STEM outreach activities to try and encourage more women into engineering.

GREENWOOD, Andrea (now Rice) (1991)

ETHERINGTON, Sarah (now Caleb) (2003)

Living outside Geneva in neighbouring France, running an English literacy programme for Anglophone children who are being educated in the local French and Swiss schools. I have two boys, Lucas, 8 and Leo, 6 and my husband, Stefan, works in Geneva. Love living here, spending the winter on the slopes and the summer on the lake, and no plans to come back to the UK.

I married my husband Ian back in May, which was probably the highlight of the year so far! I am currently working at an education centre with the local water company, teaching visiting school children about the natural world, where our water comes from, how we clean it and why it is important to take care of it.

LOADER, Maria-Cristina (1999)

I worked in pharmaceutical marketing for a couple of years post-graduation, before deciding to go back to uni to study postgrad medicine. I'm two years in and don't regret my decision yet!

FAGAN, Caroline (now Deans) (1996)

Currently doing PhD in Infectious Diseases.

MCKEON, Beverley (McKeon-Reynolds) (1992) I am a professor of aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

My husband, Ryan, and I have two daughters.

PAKENHAM-WALSH, Tara (now Oxley) (1998) Still teaching PE at GHS (15th year!)

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SODEINDE, Bola (now Milano) (1996)

GEFFEN, Becky (2008)

HANKING-EVANS, Gillian (now Wilson) (2000) Currently teaching Maths in Bristol & mum of two children.

MCEWAN, Fiona (now Massey) (2002) I'm currently on maternity leave after the arrival of our daughter, so life is very exciting

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ELLIOTT, Elizabeth (2012)

O’HANLON, Megan (2014)

I am currently half way through my 4 years of training to become a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney. I'm loving using my Physics degree every day in combination with the law that I have learnt over the past two years.

Currently finishing my year in industry before heading back to Exeter uni for my final year studying Economics.

I got engaged last year and our wedding is next summer (July 2018).

GOOD, Harriet (2015) Just finished my first year at Durham studying French and Spanish, having taken a gap year to au pair and teach English in Spain, do an internship at a law firm and travel solo around South America.

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JOHNSON, Hannah (2013) but busy at the moment! Other than that, I'm still working within Human Resources in the tech sector as an HR Business Partner.

MORAD, Nadia (2007) Working as Project Leader for the Southern universities network at University of Winchester.

MORRIS, Kat (now McEwen) (2007) Qualified as a doctor from Cardiff University in 2012, and completed first round of Emergency medicine exams in 2017). Got married in 2016.

SAHLSBERG, Hatty (now Lawrence) (2005) I have now been working for NatWest for two years as a Senior Personal Banker, and I have completed my Professional Banking Certificate. My husband and I relocated to Norfolk last year. I am currently on maternity leave as Jack William Lawrence arrived 10 days early in June 2017.

SHAW, Olivia (2009) Now working at Irwin Mitchell in London as Paralegal. About to start solicitor’s training contract.

VAN DEVENTER, Carol Ann (2006) Head of Spanish at St Cat’s!

2010- Leavers BANFIELD, Francesca (2012) Working as a ship broker in London.

BLAKE, Olivia (2010) Currently finishing off an accountancy qualification working for Deloitte as an Assistant Manager in Audit.

CROUCH, Alex (2010) About to start a new role at Charity Challenge who specialise in charity treks.

DAVIDSON, Hannah (2010) Finished my NQT year and continue to work in central London as a teacher of music KS2-5

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I graduated from Durham University in the summer gaining a 1st in Geography. I am about to start a job at Barclays in sales and trading.

JOHNSON, Sophie (2011) I’ve been working at Accenture now for almost 3 years (scary!) as a management consultant, and am living in Balham. I am in the midst of planning to take a 6 month break to go travelling around South America at the start of 2018, so all very exciting!

KILLICK, Emma (2013) Primary school teacher at Cranleigh C of E Primary School.

OSBORNE, Grace (2014) Just going into my 3rd year at Durham university studying Geography, currently spending my summer working at Accenture for 8 week and then at Barclays Investment Bank for a further 7 weeks.

PARK, Ji-Young (2011) Just promoted to a post-MBS position at work!

PILKINGTON, Ellie (2014) Finished 3rd year of five year MEng degree at Edinburgh reading Civil Engineering.

PRICE, Amy (2013) Having graduated from Durham University with a First in English literature, I've taken a year out to work in the House of Commons as a Parliamentary Researcher, and to spend 3 months travelling in South America.

This September I will return to Parliament, working part time whilst also competing an MA at UCL. SHAW, Jen (2012) Student teacher with Teach First and have just completed my first year.

SIMMONS, Rosina (2011)

Have started work at a small animal & equine vets in Derby.

Have moved offices within Atkins, from Bristol to Derby, to take on greater responsibility and build my skills further with nuclear technology.

LOOI-SOMOYE, Remi (2013)

STAFFORD-SMITH, Petra (2015)

Currently on a yearlong placement in USA at St Jude Children's Research Hospital undertaking a placement in research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Lab. Working on understanding paediatric brain tumour (medullablastomas). It's been awesome!

Just graduated from Royal Holloway University with a 2:1 in Digital Film and Television Production. Volunteered for the Para Athletics World Championships in the summer in Press Operations. Looking for work in Sports Broadcasting.

MATTHEWS, Jo (2010)

WALKER, Lucy (2013)

I'm currently working for Crystal Ski Holidays, a company under the TUI group umbrella. In the winter months, I am based in Chamonix, France, where I run the childcare operation across Italy, France and Austria, managing a team of 30 staff and driving success within the team. I also look after all improvements, commercial and website side of the childcare product and implement any changes as a result of this. During the summer, I work in the recruitment campaign for the business finding the right people to fulfil the roles for the upcoming winter season.

About to start PhD at Laboratory of Molecular Biology/University of Cambridge (Newnham College).

KLEIN, Helen (2012)

1. Rosy Morrison (2006) & Carol van Deventer (2006) 2. Feyi Aesanya (2010) with Mrs Jean Arrick 2

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ASSOCIATIONCHOIR Kevin Pegley, Tenor, former parent

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he Association Choir performed just the one piece this year, albeit a major one - Mozart’s Requiem. So we had an easy season. If you could call being coached by the über-qualified Joe McHardy easy.

But Joe wears his considerable musical achievements as lightly as the emperor’s new clothes, making the whole learning and rehearsal process hugely entertaining, and rewarding. He, like his predecessors in the role, very capably combines the necessary energy and expert guidance to lick us motley crew into shape, with the understanding that we are all there to enjoy ourselves. The balance of taking the process seriously enough to deliver a presentable performance on the day, with having a great deal of fun along the way, is fundamental to the enjoyment of singing in the choir.

And I feel we pulled it off again in March. The packed church seemed to enjoy our efforts, buoyed no doubt by the preceding display of brilliance from organist

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Imogen Morgan (U6), playing Guilmant’s Symphony no.1 for Organ and Orchestra, and Camerata’s performance of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro. By the time the choir joined in the party the audience were well warmed up. All the choir had to do was stir.

If you have an ounce of musical leaning, I unreservedly recommend that you come and join us next season, beginning in October. All are welcome, though tenors are particularly sought: we are a small but enthusiastic cog in the large choral machine, enjoying the huge advantage of never having to sing quietly because we are so few — though the choir master may disagree! And bear in mind, when it comes to keeping fit, two hours of singing is equivalent to a 10k run. (Well, in our post-truth world anyway.)

Melissa Boyes, Alto, current parent

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s a Prep School parent with my eldest daughter still only in Form 1, it had been a good 20 years since I had sung in a choir. So it was with some trepidation that I went along to my first rehearsal with the St Catherine's Association Choir. However, I couldn't have wished for a warmer reception from both of the organisers, Dawn and Fran, our excellent Choir Master Joe (or Mr McHardy as the girls know him) and fellow singers, and any nerves quickly dissipated. Rehearsals were relaxed. I bonded with my fellow altos over missed notes and Penguin biscuits during the break, whilst Joe combined a brilliant sense of humour with great focus to make sure that we knew the music really well in time for our performance at the end of the Spring term. The sense of achievement at performing Mozart's Requiem alongside the

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excellent Camerata and professional soloists in front of a packed audience was immense and I would thoroughly recommend other parents (Prep School too!) to join in.

Hannah Pilkington, Soprano, (2012)

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t was great to sing with the Association Choir this year. There were always so many opportunities to perform and enjoy music while at School and it was fun to come back and do so again. It was a nice change to rehearse with the choir and then actually get to sing in the concert after so many years of playing with Camerata instead; although I was very jealous not to be playing the beautiful Introduction and Allegro by Elgar! It was a lovely way finally to perform a piece I have long wanted to sing.

The retiring collection raised over £1,000 for Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST) whose purpose is to be at the forefront of classical music education in disadvantaged secondary schools.

1. Association Choir 2. Camerata 3. Association Choir Prefects

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THELONDONNETWORK Mrs Dawn Pilkington - Association Director

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n the 11th October 2016 we were delighted to launch The London Network, kindly hosted by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, at their new offices in The Leadenhall Building (aka the 'Cheesegrater').

Chaired by Rosemary Squire, co-founder of ATG and now co-founder of the Trafalgar Entertainment Group, the aim of The London Network is to provide a forum for young alumnae and the parent community to come together. Alumnae will be able to seek advice and make connections to develop their careers drawing on the professional experience of current parents.

For parents, this is a chance to offer guidance to the St Catherine’s community, perhaps spot new talent and of course to meet each other in a professional context.

Thank you to all those who attended the very successful launch, there was a real buzz in the room.

We are also very grateful to our career sector Champions who encouraged Association members to attend, effected introductions on the night and provided advice and opportunities to young alumnae and the U6 delegates selected by application and interview to receive invitations to this event. Harrisons Catering very generously sponsored the refreshments for the evening.

“Thank you so much for inviting me to the launch of The London Network last night, I very much enjoyed it. I thought it was very professionally done and loved meeting everyone. St Cats has great potential reach and the network is a fantastic way to harness it for pupils past, present and future.”

Jessica Stewart (1995)

“I also wanted to feed back that the champion set up worked well from my perspective; I linked 10+ people, am confident I can transfer the alumna over from BAE Systems fairly soon and am having a coffee in London early next week with a recent alumna and uni graduate who is feeling a bit lost in the big world of London. All about the networking! “ Elise Russell (Current Parent)

Our second London Network event in May saw nearly 50 alumnae, parents, pupils and staff gather at Imperial College to make professional connections and to provide invaluable advice and opportunities. We would like to thank Shan Morris (1981) for generously sponsoring the venue.

The evening focused on careers in STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Association members in Medicine, Pharmacy, Life Sciences, Law, Consultancy, Human Resources and Media also joined us.

We were delighted to welcome Naomi Climer, the first female President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, as our keynote speaker. She spoke about her early work experiences in a variety of jobs prior to her illustrious career in the broadcast and communications technology industry at the BBC, ITV and Sony. Her advice resonated with many in the room and was relevant for all of the audience at

1. Launch of the London Network 2. Rosemary Squire, Alice Phillips & Tracey Meller at the ‘Cheesegrater’.

3. Elise Russell, Shu Fei Wong (2009), Naomi Climer & Shan Morris (1981) at Imperial.

4. London Network - Imperial College

2 each stage of their careers: ‘Love what you do, look at the periphery, not just at what’s straight ahead and don’t expect your career to be linear and perfectly strategised because, in doing so, you may miss some fabulous serendipitous opportunities!’ The evening was a great success and we’ve been told of many connections and offers that were made as a result of the event.

Later in the summer, we were honoured when Naomi Climer agreed to be Patron to the STEM networking group of The London Network.

“There was a good mix of people there and an informal atmosphere for networking. I really enjoyed the talk.”

Jessica Fuller (2007)

“Very inspiring for young women looking to work in STEM.” Shadi Feiz-Fahid (1986)

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JANE GARVEY Fran Flammiger - Events Manager

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STCATHERINE’SPRESENTS BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS Ian Young - Head of Percussion

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n October we had the great honour and pleasure of hosting the Band of the Welsh Guards.

After an extremely inspiring and productive workshop afternoon with our guests, the School Concert Band and Welsh Guards formed a massed band (around 90 musicians) for the opening pieces of the evening concert to a packed Auditorium.

First, Fanfare and Flourishes, complete with the Welsh Guard’s Fanfare Trumpeters lining the stairway in the Auditorium, dressed in their ceremonial scarlet tunics including their bearskins. This was a spectacle to be witnessed. The second piece was the famous Colonel Bogey March composed by Frederick Joseph Ricketts, who is the late grandfather of our very own Mrs Heather Bryn-Thomas.

As a special treat, Mrs Bryn-Thomas brought

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2 in her Grandfather’s baton for Mr Young to use to conduct the piece, a great honour for him. The rest of the first half programme was played by Concert Band and the second half was a fantastic demonstration of the best of the British military band tradition with virtuosic soloists, a humorous barbershop number, and stirring traditional tunes.

The members of the Welsh Guards complimented our girls on their playing and eagerness to participate. The afternoon’s rehearsal and workshops were appreciated by the girls, who found the whole experience a day of musical inspiration. The concert was a unique evening of musical entertainment from both bands and will be remembered for many years to come. A retiring collection was held in aid of ‘Afghan Connection’ and the ‘Corps of Army Music Trust’.

1. The Concert Band and Band of the Welsh Guards 2. The Band of the Welsh Guards 3. Welsh Guard trumpeter 4. Jane Garvey

n January Jane Garvey, BBC Radio 4 presenter of Woman’s Hour, gave a talk for the St Catherine’s Presents series.

Her familiar voice was welcomed by the audience with its warmth, humour and candour as she underlined the highs and lows of being a woman in 2017.

Jane began the talk by sharing her own story. She had always wanted to be a broadcaster and sent 40 letters to radio stations, receiving only four replies. She began her career as a Promotions Assistant at Radio Worcester. The role required wearing a tight t-shirt and handing out car stickers - in the 80s this was not really challenged!

She went on to be the first voice of Radio Five Live and joined the BBC to present Woman’s Hour in 2007.

When Woman’s Hour was originally conceived in 1947, it was ‘to provide company for the poor wretched housewife’.

Early programmes aired topics such as ‘what to do with whale meat’ or ‘how to hang your husband’s suit’.

This year Woman’s Hour is 70 years old and tackles difficult subjects such FGM and equal pay for women - a step forward from whale meat! Jane encouraged the audience to ask uncomfortable questions, following the lead of Woman’s Hour itself.

Woman’s Hour is a magazine programme and she explained how the links can often be quite comical. She told the story of an interview with Gordon Brown about a forthcoming election, after which the next feed was ‘Is it ever advisable to go out without a bra?’ Mr Brown made a very swift exit!

The average age of a typical Woman’s Hour listener is 52, and yet the items are often more relevant for a younger audience.

Over the years, the programme has clearly been reinvented and it is now not just company for the ‘poor wretched housewife’, it is a voice of the future for all women.

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END-OF-TERMLECTURES Mrs Dawn Pilkington - Association Director

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ach year we invite speakers to give three end of term lectures. We endeavour to make them interesting, varied and highlight a variety of different careers. We appreciate the speakers, the majority of whom are alumnae, giving up their valuable time to come and talk to the girls about a wide range of topics.

AUTUMN TERM Harriet Hounsell (current parent) HR Director John Lewis & Rob Nichol (current parent) Managing Partner Adam&EveDDB

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he December lecture had a Christmassy feel with two of our current parents, Harriet Hounsell from John Lewis and Rob Nichol from Adam&EveDDB advertising agency, talking about the well-known series of John Lewis Christmas adverts. It was interesting to hear from the agency and client point-of-view, how the advert grows from conception to final production, launch, customer perception and revenue generation. They talked through the last 5 years of adverts explaining the different styles and messages chosen and how that all linked back to the John Lewis brand. It was interesting to hear how the distribution has changed over the years from being mainly press and TV lead to the various social media platforms. The girls enjoyed voting for their favourite advert and then seeing the behind the scenes footage. They were surprised to learn that the first ideas from Adam&Eve are pitched to John Lewis in January and filmed in June!

“It was a really fun EOT lecture and so interesting to hear that the ads are not just an entertaining story about a fluffy penguin but created to increase brand awareness, convey a different message each year and ultimately to generate sales.”

SPRING TERM Louise Rumball (2007) Marketing Influencer

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o give the March Lecture we were delighted to welcome back, alumna Louise Rumball (2007). She talked about her career path after university, from qualifying and working as a corporate lawyer, to her leap of faith to set up her own company, Chapter 3, which took her off in a totally different direction, into the world of social media as a marketing influencer. She spoke about the commitment you have to give to set up your own company, but how she does not regret her decision, as she loves the variety and challenges it brings.

“She has definitely inspired us all to dream big, take every opportunity and do the things that you want to and not always what ‘seems’ right.”

Isabelle Rust (U6)

Her company focuses on building brands to reach a wider audience on social media and connect brands to digital influencers and content creators. She analyses, identifies and connects brands to those who are capable of supporting wider campaigns through the creation of authentic and engaging media. She has an impressive CV with clients such as Rebel, Nike and high end gyms such as BXB.

2 He told many amusing stories about his career path from Cambridge Geography student and Footlights Comedian to Marketing Executive at Unilever and then on to stand-up comedian and actor. Nicknamed ‘Desk’ at Cambridge in his first two years by Sue Perkins, a fellow undergraduate who teased him for working so hard, he then decided to balance studies with comedy as part of the famous Footlights in his final year. Nonetheless he gained a First class degree. He gave the girls sound advice about how life is a marathon and not a sprint and to make sure that you do a job that you love. Whilst working at Unilever he and comedy partner Steve Punt worked as a warm-up act for Jaspar Carrott in the 1980s.

Following this success he and Steve were approached by the BBC to have their own show. Unsure what to do, he asked his boss at Unilever. They gave him a sabbatical year, pronouncing him mad not to do it, and the rest is history.

Following an enthusiastic Q&A session, Hugh posed for numerous selfies and signed unending autographs with great patience.

1. Harriet Hounsell & Rob Nichol - Autumn Term 2. Louise Rumball - Spring Term 3. Hugh Dennis - Summer Term

SUMMER TERM Hugh Dennis

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n July there was much excitement and speculation about who Mrs Alice Phillips’s top secret end of term speaker might be.

She wanted to give the School a special treat following an outstanding school inspection earlier in the year, and girls and staff were not disappointed when Hugh Dennis walked into the Auditorium.

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ASSOCIATIONREUNIONS Mrs Dawn Pilkington - Association Director

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ver the past year we have had a number of very successful reunions both at school and abroad. If you would like help organising your own reunion please get in touch and we would be very happy to assist.

YEAR OF 2006 - 10 YEARS Elise Hamer (2006), Lucy Johnstone (2006)

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n October 2016, a large group of the Class of 2006 descended upon St Catherine's School for our much anticipated 10-year reunion.

As we were greeted with a glass of Buck's Fizz we shrieked girlishly at the sight of so many old faces.

The tour of the school in all its modern glory made us incredibly jealous of the current students and the amazing facilities they enjoy but equally proud to have been part of somewhere offering such a world class experience. For a brief moment it felt like a different place - until we got a sniff of the Home Economics and Maths rooms, which smelled the same as they did the day we left!

Next was lesson time where our former teachers kindly agreed to teach us drama,

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netball and baking. Mr. Friend's baking skills were an absolute revelation to us and his chocolate truffles were devoured in minutes!

The drama girls were told off by Miss Hilvert for giggling – just like the old days! - and the netballers were suitably red-faced at the end of their game with Mrs Folley. I suppose not much has changed really!

The day ended with a sumptuous afternoon tea and nostalgic words from Mrs Rose, who read out to us some of the speech she had given us when we left in July 2006. Then on to the pub where a group of ‘SIGOs’ (significant others) joined us to celebrate a fantastic day. Thanks for having us back!

YEAR OF 1996 - 20 YEARS Anna Rutter-Jerome (1996)

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n Saturday 15th October, a group of excited members of Class of '96 reunited at the school to celebrate.

Many hadn't set foot in the grounds for over 20 years. We were kindly guided around the buildings, new and old, by Dawn and Fiona. They had a lot of patience as we were rather slow moving due to reminiscing, reenacting and just catching up on the last couple of decades worth of news.

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It was great to see the big tree and the fish pond still in place, to experience the same smells of the Home Ec rooms and the library and to walk along the corridors and talk about our old classes and teachers.

The most impressive new bits were definitely the gym, the orchestra pit(!) and the 6th form study centre. However, the dining hall's food upgrade and choice just plain blew us away! We then headed to the pub for a well-earned lunch and further catching up. Thank you so much to the staff in the Foundation Office for welcoming us and helping us with the organisation and for the incredibly smart biscuits!

Special mention for effort must go to Helen Stansfield (nee Eastwood) who drove all the way down from Knaresborough and back in a day!

OXFORD

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s part of the Girls’ School Association (GSA) Conference in Oxford in November 2016, Mrs Alice Phillips hosted a drinks reception at the Natural History Museum, for members of our St Catherine's Association community based in or around Oxford.

We were delighted that 16 alumnae of all ages were able to join us. Everyone enjoyed catching up with school friends and swapping stories across the decades about their time at St Catherine’s.

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drink, relaxing in the beautiful sunshine in the Vineyard Hotel gardens. Mrs Phillips sent them a video message, which they found very touching, and Pippa’s photo reels of the School – both past and present – bought memories flooding back.

YEAR OF 1997 20 YEARS

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he sad occasion of their school friend Jill Ferguson’s (1966) funeral, in April 2016, brought together Charmian Martin, Debbie Gauvain (Couchman), Sarah Drury and Sue Lewis-Hinde (Newbigin).

Jill had been an active member of the Association Committee and, in her memory, the four ladies came back to school on St Catherines’s Day, Friday 25th November 2016.

Following the morning Chapel service with current pupils, they had their first taste of cattern cakes, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then it was off to watch the house lacrosse matches, which revived their house rivalry, before a tour of the School.

The reunion finished with a delicious roast dinner in the dining room.

SWISS Judith Gfeller (nee Whitestone) (1961)

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e had a perfect early spring day for our lunch meeting in Lausanne – brilliant sunshine and the mountains on the far side of Lake Geneva looking their best - well, almost! The meal in the elegant Café Beau-Rivage was delicious and we had great fun getting to know each other and exchanging memories of our days at St Catherine’s. It’s hard to realise that for me it’s now more than 60 years since I joined the School! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and look forward to another reunion in the not too distant future.

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BATH & BRISTOL REUNION Rosina Simmons (2011)

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n the 2nd March 2017 five young women met in the Brewhouse and Kitchen. For two short hours.

Rosina Simmons, Philippa Goff (both 2011), Lucy Walker (2013), Helen Klein (2012) and Gilly Wilson (2000) pored over old copies of Non Nobis and photos, and cooed over new pictures and footage of their dear St Cat’s. These sparked many fond memories and anecdotes that were excitedly shared between the five - from the old sports hall, to stories of their artistic, sporty and musical peers. The five of us were delighted to hear news of our teachers, of new baby additions, and the celebrities that have graced the school’s grounds. And of course, it wouldn’t be a gathering of alumnae without the sharing of sage educational knowledge, networking and life advice that is the calibre of any St Cat’s girl.

CAPE TOWN

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hile speaking at a fundraising conference in Cape Town, Pippa Carte, our Development Director, took the opportunity to gather together some of the St Catherine’s family now based in sunnier climes. The gathering included the George family, who relocated in 2014 - Mr and Mrs George, Ella (2016), Rosie (2021) and brother Jack, and alumna Suzy Digby-Smith (1977). They all shared their experiences at School with an early evening

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n June 2017 it was a pleasure to meet and welcome back the Year of 1997 for their 20 year reunion. Melanie Firth (Scotland) did an excellent job of getting in touch and encouraging so many of the year to return.

The weather was perfect and after welcome drinks and a look through the archive display it was off on a tour around the school. As always they enjoyed and were amazed at the new buildings but wanted to spend most time in their old classrooms and areas of the school they remember well. After the tour everyone put down their picnic rugs under the shade of horse chestnut tree and enjoyed a leisurely picnic lunch whilst catching up on everyone’s news.

YEAR OF 2012 - 5 YEARS Flo Elliott (2012) & Millie Parrott (2012)?

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n a sunny Saturday in July, members of the Class of 2012 descended on the Magic Garden in Battersea for an afternoon of catching up and reminiscing with much laughter. In the five years since leaving St Catherine’s we have travelled the world, completed degrees, secured jobs and can even boast of one engagement amongst our cohort! However, while our paths may have diverged wildly since 2012, nothing can bring together a group of ex-St Catherine’s girls like copious amounts of food!

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2006 10 Year Reunion 1997 20 Year Reunion Cape Town Reunion Oxford Reunion Swiss Reunion 1996 20 Year Reunion St Catherine’s Day Reunion 2012 5 Year Reunion Bristol & Bath Reunion

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TRAVELAWARDS NEPAL WITH RALEIGH INTERNATIONAL Ursula Goldsmith (2016)

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s part of my gap year in spring 2017 I took part in a 10 week volunteering project in Nepal with Raleigh International, set up in the wake of the 2015 earthquake. Raleigh works in conjunction with NGOs in five developing countries worldwide, with the joint aims of sustainable development and empowering youth through leadership opportunities.

A Raleigh expedition is divided into three main phases. In Nepal these are: two community phases and one adventure phase. For each I was in a team of 8-12 volunteers and three volunteer managers with as many as seven different nationalities being represented, making for a diverse range of perspectives on various situations experienced and discussions we had.

The trek was actually the most challenging part of the expedition. Each day we would wake up at 5:30, cook breakfast on an open fire and pack up camp by 7:30 for a day of walking. The topography of the ‘Hills’ region of the Ganesh Himal mountain range in which we were trekking lived up to its name in that it felt like that whenever we asked our Nepali guides which way we were going, they pointed up! Daily we walked for between five and nine hours, our bags never weighing less than 20kg, before arriving at our next campsite. It was then a case of setting up our tents, digging the longdrop toilet (loo seats were a distant memory for the entirety), collecting water, having a wash if we were lucky and then preparing dinner.

We would then reflect together round the campfire with cups of tea before getting an early night, ready to do it all over again!

The memories of snow capped mountains at sunrise and vast terraced vistas from altitudes of nearly 3000m are ones I will never forget or grow tired of reliving.

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Despite the breathtaking experiences on the trek it was a relief knowing that during the community phase we were sleeping in one place for three consecutive weeks and had gas canisters on which to cook! My first community was the remote village of Adhikari Gaun in the northerly Gorkha region of Nepal. It consists of around 50 households, home to a lot of goats and children, the latter of which played a huge part in our Adhikari experience. We completed water, sanitation and hygiene sessions at the local primary school on topics such as food hygiene, as well as starting a homework club, to which almost all the children in the village would bring their English and Maths books daily. These opportunities enabled us to bond and feel an integrated and useful part of what is an amazing community.

Our main purpose there however, was being part of Raleigh’s partnership with the NGO Build Up Nepal. This relationship was set up a year ago, building earthquake resistant houses in Adhikari and two other villages in the Gorkha region. Seismic resistant bricks are made by the villagers and it was then our job to work as unskilled labour in conjunction with the trained local stonemasons to construct the houses. The majority of our time in Adhikari was spent pick-axing 75cm deep and 75cm wide trenches for the foundations of three houses.

The work was tough, especially when a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting broke out in our group, but seeing the daily progress and being able to compare the beneficiaries’ temporary accommodation with what we were helping build was extremely rewarding.

I spent the third and final three week phase in Baltar village, with a different team of volunteers carrying on the construction from where the previous phase had left off.

The work consisted of mixing and pouring cement for the floors and in between bricklaying and grouting. We finished the work ahead of schedule, with the roof being the only remaining job, something always completed by the locals.

The village of Baltar was radically different from Adhikari being far less remote and most significantly having very few children. This meant our integration into the community was through our Ammas and Buwas (mothers and fathers) with whom we ate our dal bhat (rice and lentils) lunch and dinner every day. After seven weeks in Nepal we had a small Nepali vocabulary and we were happy to mime, act or dance to communicate, making for some hilarious situations! The women are a strong force in Baltar, having formed a women’s group over ten years ago. We hosted one of their meetings at our shelter and asked them about their views on marriage and the role of women in Nepalese society. The women’s group also own a large speaker which we used on several warm evenings to play Nepali music and (made embarrassing attempts to) dance with the villagers.

After ten weeks in Nepal I fully appreciated what a stunningly beautiful country it is. The biggest lessons; staying calm and relaxed in a situation generally solves the problem and that a lack of common language or cultural differences are no barrier to friendship. I never thought I could feel at home so quickly somewhere so far from England both culturally and geographically, but as the plane took off from the Kathmandu runway I realised quite how attached I had become! Signing up for Raleigh is genuinely the best decision I ever made and I would like to thank the Association and PTA for their generous financial support that made my adventure possible.

St Catherine’s School Station Road, Bramley Guildford, Surrey GU5 0DF 01483 893363

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MAGAZINE 2017