Issue 7 | Summer 2018
Work hard, play hard Feature profile by Anna Shekhdar (Class of 1997) a Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Doctor for the Cornwall Air Ambulance and Expedition Doctor
Being true to yourself An interview with Helen McGarrity nĂŠe Betts (Class of 1993) a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Alumnae working in medicine A glimpse at the careers and achievements of our alumnae working in medicine both at home and overseas
a note from... I am delighted to welcome the whole of the St Helen’s community – current pupils and parents, alumnae and their families and staff – to this exciting edition of Profile which turns its focus on former pupils who have pursued careers in medicine and related professions. St Helen’s has long enjoyed a fine reputation for educating young women who have gone on to study STEM subjects at university. This year alone sees six UCAS applicants for medicine, three for dentistry and six for other related courses, and more than one-third of the year group are applying to read degree courses in STEM subjects. They and many others will be inspired by reading the Profile accounts of the lives and careers of those who have walked this path before them. Our alumnae have carved out extraordinary careers for themselves which reflect their open-minded approach to new challenges and to finding new ways of helping others. One or two have done so in truly astonishing ways and Anna Shekhdar (Class of 1997) has even made it to the summit of Everest: I am very pleased to discover that a ‘Girl in Green’ has made it to the top of the world! St Helen’s remains committed to encouraging its students to be open to a wide range of HE courses and careers and the great strength of the School is that this academic ambition and aspiration is complemented by a whole-hearted belief that what ultimately enables success is what goes on beyond the classroom. Our co-curricular programme is expanding steadily and all girls participate in it in some way, either through sport, music, drama, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, CCF or Phab. The character traits which are nurtured by such activities are those which make the difference and which enable our alumnae to contribute to their communities and to society with selfless generosity. We are currently finalising Our Vision for the next two years which includes the Masterplan for the estate. This includes provision for science and drama, and more large, flexible and stimulating classrooms, all of which will facilitate outstanding learning. Exciting times for us all. I wish you all a very happy and successful summer. Dr Mary Short, Headmistress
dates for the diary Please contact the Development Office or visit www.sthelens.london/Events for more information.
Alumnae vs Girls Lacrosse Match Saturday 8th September 2018, 11.00am–12 midday The Centre, St Helen’s School Alumnae parents and friends of St Helen’s are invited to watch our newly formed first team open the season against our alumnae. This will be followed by our annual Big BBQ on the same day. Please contact the Development Office if you are interested in playing in the alumnae team.
The Big BBQ Saturday 8th September 2018, 12 midday-3.00pm The Centre, St Helen’s School Following our alumnae vs Girls lacrosse match, alumnae are invited to a fun afternoon reunion with outdoor activities, rounders and a fantastic BBQ.
Futures Evening: Careers in the Public and Not-for-Profit Sector Wednesday 3rd October 2018, St Helen’s School Parents and alumnae working in the Public and Not-for-Profit Sector are invited to meet our Year 10-13 students interested in a career in this field.
Calendar Sale Saturday 1st December 2018, 11.00am-2.00pm, St Helen’s School
Carol Service Monday 10th December 2018, Holy Trinity Church, Northwood
Class of 2018 Festive Reunion Wednesday 19th December 2018, Venue TBC
Class of 2018 Certificate Collection Friday 4th January 2019, 2.00pm-4.00pm Reception Area, St Helen’s School
Alumnae Ambassadors' Dinner Invite only – Tuesday 8th January 2019, 7.00pm-9.00pm Dining Room, St Helen’s School Alumnae Ambassadors are invited to our annual dinner, where alumnae who offer outstanding support to our School and its community are recognised and thanked for their contribution. For more information visit www.sthelens.london/Alumnae-Ambassadors
Work hard, play hard 4 Feature profile by Anna Shekhdar (Class of 1997) a Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Doctor for the Cornwall Air Ambulance and Expedition Doctor
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Alumnae working in hospitals
Being true to yourself 8 An interview with Helen McGarrity née Betts (Class of 1993) a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
10 Alumnae working in practice 12 Alumnae in medical research 14 Alumnae in healthcare overseas 15 Alumnae studying medicine
16 Supporting Our Vision together 18
News
cover photo Cover image of Anna Shekhdar (Class of 1997) taken during a Scottish winter training residential week at Glencoe in the Scottish Cairngorms during her diploma in mountain medicine in February 2006. Anna is not only a Consultant in Emergency Medicine but also a Doctor for the Cornwall Air Ambulance as well as an Expedition Doctor. Her ethos is ‘work hard, play hard’ and she has created a career that suits her skills and her passion for people, adventure and the great outdoors perfectly. Turn to page 4 to read more.
Abbreviations used in this issue: DFFP Diploma of the Faculty of Family Planning • DFSRH Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare • DIMM Diploma International Mountain Medicine • DipPalMed Diploma in Palliative Medicine • DPD Diploma Practical Dermatology • DRCOG Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists • FHKAMOG Fellow, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynaecology • FRCEM Fellowship of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine • FRCOG Fellow, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists • FRCP Fellow, Royal Colleges of Physicians • FRCPC Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada • FRCSGla (Tr&Orth) Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, Glasgow in Trauma & Orthopaedics • MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery • MBChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery • MD Doctor of Medicine • MRCGP Member, Royal College of General Practitioners • MRCOphth Member, Royal College of Ophthalmologists • MRCP Member, Royal Colleges of Physicians • MRCPCH Member, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health • MSHPEd Master of Science in Health Professions Education • PGDip Post Graduate Diploma • SCE(Resp) The Specialist Certificate Examination in Respiratory Medicine
Feature profile
Work hard, play hard Alumna Anna Shekhdar (Class of 1997), talks about her career as a Consultant in Emergency Medicine and her passion for people and adventure. Alongside her work as a Consultant Anna also works in retrieval medicine as a Doctor for the Cornwall Air Ambulance, whilst continuing to fuel her desire for travel and adventure through her work as an Expedition Doctor. Her ethos is ‘work hard, play hard’ and she has created a career that suits her skills and her passions perfectly.
I left St Helen’s in 1997 following a great summer on tour with the school lacrosse team down under in Australia. It was now time to knuckle down and embark on a five year Degree in Medicine at the University of Bristol. I certainly signed up to the “work hard, play hard ethos” that seems to go along with the medical profession. My University days were some of the best of my life and I met a fantastic group of lifelong friends and colleagues many of whom I still work alongside today. I chose to pursue a career in medicine as I found the human body and how it works, or sometimes doesn’t, fascinating and I also liked the sociability aspect that working with people promised. I chose the University of Bristol as, in addition to offering a well-regarded course, the extra-curricular activities on offer seemed to suit me well and I would be able to continue with my lacrosse and other sports alongside studying in a great city. The thing I love most about my job as a Consultant in Emergency Medicine is
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the fantastic people I work with both in the Emergency Department and in the pre-hospital field, working with Cornwall Air Ambulance. The doctors, nurses and paramedics all work as hard as they can to deliver excellent care with compassion to people when they are at their most vulnerable. That in itself is a real privilege as patients put their utmost trust in you. However, medicine is a lifestyle not just a job. With the job also comes great responsibility and sometimes it can be hard to maintain a good work life balance. Choosing to Specialise in Accident and Emergency Medicine to many may seem a rather odd choice, with shift work including lots of night duties and unrelenting numbers of patients to see with a variety of conditions. However, for me it works. I am challenged daily and can truly say I feel my job is a worthwhile one, even when I wish I had a little less of it! Since becoming a Mum to Sam, who is now 4 and recently baby Jack, work life balance has become even more important. Shift work can be quite
useful for spending more time with your kids but that lifestyle also gets rather tiring! I'm now fortunate to be able to work part time in a fulfilling career, whilst focusing even more of my energy on being Mummy to my two lively boys. One of the other fantastic opportunities medicine has afforded me is to travel. I have always had an adventurous streak and a passion for travel, likely through both nature and nurture! Growing up in the Shekhdar family there was never a dull moment and the enthusiasm for life and the opportunities it throws up conveyed by both of my parents, as well as the school, influenced me greatly. I was keen to get involved in Expedition Medicine even as a student and designed a special study module to attend a wilderness medicine training course in Chamonix. Since then I have been fortunate to travel to the Inca Trail, The Great Wall of China, Iceland, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Mount Kilimanjaro and Morocco accompanying charity treks and cycle rides as the Expedition Doctor. With the trips being slightly off the beaten track you find yourself fairly immersed in the culture of the local people and the whole experience really puts life back at home into perspective. Having needed to hospitalise one trekker in rural China I can really appreciate the excellent facilities provided by the NHS! Following my passion for the mountains I signed up for a post graduate diploma in mountain medicine a further opportunity to explore the great outdoors with residential weeks in Snowdonia, The Scottish Highlands and the Swiss Alps to learn essential mountain skills. The most incredible expedition I have been part of though was in the spring of 2007 to the Himilayas. I was extremely fortunate to be invited to climb Mount Everest, and on 24th May our team reached the top of the world, certainly my most extreme achievement to date. Probably the highlight of my career was the six months I spent working in retrieval medicine for CareFlight Queensland with the Royal Flying Doctors. Whilst still at medical school I had travelled with my family to Brisbane, Australia to meet my Dad, Jim Shekhdar, “The Bold man of the Sea”. I was the fortunate one who got to fly out with the TV crews, courtesy of the Rescue helicopter, Careflight Queensland, to greet Dad one day off the coast on his epic trans-pacific ocean solo row, from
South America to Australia. I took the opportunity to make a few informal enquiries about the rescue helicopter and vowed to myself that once I had enough experience I would apply for, what seemed to me, to be a dream job. In July 2008 I moved out to Australia for six months to work for CareFlight Queensland rescue helicopter. On arrival we had a fantastic training week, based just south of the Gold Coast, including practising underwater helicopter escape techniques in case the helicopter came down in the water on a retrieval mission, and winching out of the helicopter in case of the need to retrieve patients from treacherous places where the pilot was not able to land. The Gold Coast was a fantastic place to work and live and the team of paramedics and aircrew I worked with were incredible. After working and surfing for three months on the Gold Coast I was asked whether I would mind moving up to Townsville in the Northeast part of Queensland. As an opportunity to experience tropical Queensland and work doing missions for the Royal Flying Doctors Service this seemed far too good to miss. There were many memorable missions during this retrieval job but the one which most affected me was the transfer of a critically injured four year old who had been in a car crash with his Dad in remote Northern Queensland. He had numerous injuries including severe chest injuries requiring us to drain a lot of blood out of his chest prior to flying. The hour flight back to Townsville, transfusing him with blood into his vein as it continued to come out of his chest cavity, will remain vivid in my memory. How rewarding though that following four operations, by a fantastic team of surgeons, this little boy walked out of hospital only three weeks later. I now continue my passion for retrieval medicine working for the Cornwall Air Ambulance and over the past six years the service has developed dramatically. We now provide critical care at the scene all over Cornwall prior to transferring patients to the most appropriate facility for their treatment.
It is a real honour to work for such a great charity and what better way to truly appreciate our beautiful county of Cornwall than from the air! The best thing about this job to me though is the great team of paramedics and pilots I work with. The friends I made at St Helen’s whom I have stayed in contact with are those that I played lacrosse with. The great experiences provided by the dedicated sports teachers whilst I was in senior school, including two overseas tours, really bonded us. I thrive working as part of a team as reflected in the career path I chose and St Helen’s gave me the first exposure to that feeling. In addition to the team sports at St Helen’s teaching me the importance of working together to achieve the best results, my days at school also taught me many other important life lessons. The enthusiastic teachers, who led by example, taught me that you get out of life what you put in. I remember when I was 13 not being able to choose between a multi activity residential week away to Skern Lodge and a trip to Disneyland Paris, organised by our inspiring French teacher at the time. Understandably my parents could not fund both trips but agreed that if I worked to pay for one trip, then they would pay for me to go on the other. I chose the least expensive to fund myself and got myself a Saturday job. I loved both of the trips that year and somehow having earnt the opportunity myself made it all the more special. This ethos has stuck with me throughout medicine and I do truly believe that working hard and playing hard is the way to get the most out of life. A fulfilling, if sometimes hectic, career in Emergency Medicine, with as much retrieval and expedition medicine on the side as I can fit in, certainly gives me this opportunity. Anna Shekhdar Class of 1997 MBChB, FRCEM, DIMM Medicine, University of Bristol Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Doctor, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Expedition Medic
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Gillian Rose (married name Edmonds) Class of 1973 MBBS, MD, FRCOG Medicine, The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London Consultant Gynaecologist, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust, London I am currently a consultant gynaecologist at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. After leaving St Helen’s following A Levels, I trained at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London. Once qualified, I chose to specialise in Obstetrics (the care of women in pregnancy and childbirth) and Gynaecology (conditions affecting female reproductive organs). I gained Membership and Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a Doctorate in Medicine (MD). The speciality is a unique mix of medicine and surgery – always challenging and rewarding, which allows me not only to practise
Gillian Rose with a patient
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therapeutic treatments but also to perform operations. Later in my career, I focused solely on gynaecology, so that I could also be a wife and mother to my three sons. There have been many opportunities to contribute to academic research alongside my clinical work to develop new treatments. My MD thesis was in endometriosis and I currently run a specialist endometriosis clinic (a condition where the lining of the womb/uterus is found growing outside the uterus causing possible pain and/or subfertility), as well as being part of a multidisciplinary team managing patients with complex disease. My work also includes a general gynaecology clinic and operating list and I have a national referral centre for women who have reproductive developmental disorders (e.g. they are born without a uterus and vagina) and we also see children and adolescents with gynaecological complaints. My approach in the NHS and private practice is very holistic. I believe it is important to consider the whole woman, not just their symptoms. Management should not only include medical and surgical treatments, but also consider lifestyle and psychological interventions and so communication skills are essential. My aim is to make a difference to the quality of life for women with gynaecological problems and I find this very rewarding. When a patient jumps up at the end of a consultation, thanks you and gives you a hug – then you know why you come to work! My message is to believe in yourselves and follow your dreams. I remember the careers mistress at St Helen’s suggesting I wasn’t academic enough to be a doctor and that I should apply to read zoology at University instead. If I hadn’t believed in myself or followed my dreams then I would not be doing what I do now.
Cordelia Mckechnie performing surgery
Cordelia Mckechnie (née Cole) Class of 1990 MBBS, MRCOphth Medicine, United Medical and Dental Schools of Guys and St Thomas’ Hospitals BSc Immunology, London University Consultant Ophthalmologist, Barts Health NHS Trust & Health Education and Deputy Head, School of Ophthalmology, London “I can now see and read my son his bedtime stories!” said a recent diabetic patient of mine who had not been able to read to his young son for two years. I love being able to restore sight to my patients and improve the quality of their lives. Medicine is exciting and challenging, each day is different and there are many opportunities to develop your medical skills, as well as other areas that you may be interested in such as research, training and management. I am working as a full time NHS consultant in ophthalmology with a specialist interest in surgical retina. It took me twenty years to become a consultant with many years of exams in between. In my third year at medical school I intercalated studying Immunology and that is when my interest in eyes began, as I was able to
Emma Husbands Class of 1996 MBChB, MRCP, FRCP, DipPalMed, PGDip Ethics Cancer and Palliative Care Medicine, University of Dundee
research and publish on the eye. After house jobs I realised that I loved surgery. Ophthalmology seemed to tick all the boxes in regards to being very delicate surgery and also an area that I found fascinating. Interestingly when I came back to a school reunion at St Helen’s one of my classmates could see why I had ended up a surgeon as she remembered that I was good at needlework in class! St Helen’s taught me to be organised and work hard but also to have other interests to keep a healthy work-life balance (I still play tennis at a local club). If I had not studied medicine, I would have wanted to be a school teacher. Luckily I have been able to pursue my passion for teaching by being involved in training junior doctors for the last five years, working with Health Education England and running ‘training the trainer’ courses at The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, which even took me to Indonesia last year. I currently have the opportunity to study for a MA in medical education which means that I can pursue two of the things I love together – helping patients and teaching/training.
Consultant Palliative Medicine, Gloucestershire Clinical Lead End of Life Care, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust When I left St Helen’s over twenty years ago, I didn't plan to do what I do now but in all honesty, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. For the past eight years, I have been a Consultant in Palliative Medicine, based in Gloucestershire. I work across hospital and community services supporting people with life-limiting conditions. My job is hugely diverse – part detective, teacher, peacemaker, negotiator, manager, budget holder, counsellor to name but a few – no two days are ever the same. The variety is one of the things I love and I have learnt that you really do have the ability to make your career the way you what it to be. My job allows me to make a real difference to people’s lives, at a time
that is as tough as it gets and I can honestly say that inspiring confidence in the face of uncertainty is one of the most important things that I do. People often feel that my work must be incredibly sad but being able to ensure that people can live as well as possible, until they die, is something I take the positives from. Death is a part of life and accepting this fact doesn't make it happen any faster or bring it forward. Life is uncertain and making the most of every day is a great life lesson for everyone of any age. I work with a number of charitable organisations as well as the Royal College of Physicians, where I sit as a question writer on the specialty examination board. As clinical lead for End of Life care across Gloucestershire, I work with our local clinical commissioning group to influence practice and policy making, to help optimise services but also to support societal change towards being more open about death and dying. Medicine is not a career for the fainthearted but it is one that can give you huge rewards. It offers a good structure to your early career path, as well as job security as people will always need doctors. If any of you are thinking about a career in medicine or professions allied to it my advice would be to go for it and give it your all.
Emma Husbands as part of her work with the Dying Matters Coalition
I definitely recommend medicine as a career as it is fulfilling and there is never a chance to get bored, but it does require focus, hard work and sometimes long hours! I also couldn’t do it without the support of my husband who helps with looking after our two children.
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Feature interview
Being true
to yourself
Q: How would you summarise your career path and your role today? A: I studied Medicine at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1999. I then went on to work in Glasgow and the West of Scotland for my pre-registration year and for my Basic Surgical Training. Initially training was very broad, covering different specialities, until I passed my MRCS exam (Member of Royal College of Surgeons) in 2004, after which I was able to pursue my chosen speciality, Orthopaedics and Trauma. I worked as a middle grade doctor in Orthopaedics for a further two years and in 2006 I was appointed as a Specialist Registrar on the Glasgow rotation. In 2010 I passed my FRCS Trauma and Orthopaedics exam (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons), hopefully my last ever exam! I then went on to specialise further in hand and upper limb surgery, finally finishing my training in 2014, when I was appointed as a Consultant. I am currently working at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Glasgow as a hand and upper limb surgeon. The Jubilee is very different from most hospitals as it is the flagship hospital for reduced waiting times in key elective specialties and serves people from all over Scotland, including the islands. We conduct outreach clinics in places like Shetland and Inverness, as well as provide video conferencing clinics for patients in remote areas, following up with the required surgery back in
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Glasgow at the hospital. Part of my role also now involves teaching medical students applied anatomy and clinical examination skills, so my job is quite varied. Q: How did you decide on your specialty? A: I decided that orthopaedics was for me in my third year at university. I was on a hospital placement in Orthopaedics and it just clicked with the way that my mind works. I had actually almost applied to read engineering at university before deciding on Medicine and in many ways orthopaedics involves many of the same skills as engineering. Part of our training involves biomechanics and an understanding of the materials and implants that we use. Q: How did you cope with the challenges of training to become a surgeon? A: During surgical training you work very hard and have to study for your exams on top of that. I found it really important to have an outlet outside of medicine. For me this is sport. During my early career I was playing lacrosse a lot (in fact too much according to some Consultants but I didn’t listen to them). Now I love mountain biking and I have started playing tennis again. Q: What do you love most about what you do? A: Of course I love operating but the best thing is seeing the patients back at the clinic after their treatment and seeing how their pain or limb function has improved. Quite a lot of the procedures I do are very small
Picture courtesy of Golden Jubilee National Hospital
Helen McGarrity nĂŠe Betts Class of 1993, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
procedures but they can make an enormous difference to people’s quality of life. Q: What is your proudest achievement? A: Getting my Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). I was only a year away from finishing my training when I became very ill and had to take almost two years out from my career for treatment. As a result I am now partially deaf and I get tired easily. It was quite a struggle to come back to work and complete my training after all of this but it made it all the more of an accomplishment when I did get my CCT. Q: How do you manage stress? A: For me, organisation is the key to managing my stress levels. It is so important to work well with all of the different teams in theatre, on the wards and in clinic to ensure everything is in order. I like things to run really smoothly and to make sure that everything is in place well ahead of time. Q: Do you come across many women in your profession? A: There are not many female orthopaedic surgeons and I work in a department with 15 male consultant colleagues. Orthopaedics can be a very macho environment and some of the men don’t always know what to talk to a woman about but we can normally find common ground. One of my colleagues is a keen baker so we swap bread recipes. It also helps that I can chat about the rugby and the cycling! Q: What do you think is the most significant barrier to women looking to become a surgeon? A: I think that the biggest barrier is your own beliefs. Some female colleagues’ feel that they have to be better than and prove themselves more capable than the male trainees. This definitely isn’t the case and probably only makes their lives harder, not just with the doctors but with the nurses and other health professionals too. One of the best tips
I was given as a trainee was to be myself. I have found that my (male) colleagues respect me more for being quiet, calm and not too overconfident in my abilities. Actually the most important lesson you learn in medicine is to know your limitations and to know that it is OK to ask for help when you need it.
You need to be really calm under pressure and be able to think quickly on your feet in an emergency. It also helps to be a perfectionist, as we all strive to do the best job we can. You also need to be very organised and prepared as no one in the theatre team likes surprises.
Q: What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the next generation of women entering surgery?
Most importantly you need to be able to communicate with the patients. You could be the best surgeon in the world but without good communication skills you can’t make the correct diagnosis or help the patient choose the best treatment for them as an individual.
A: I think that there needs to be better opportunities for part-time training and for job sharing to allow women to be able to take time out to have a family or to look after their children if they wish to. I have friends who are on part time contracts but in reality they just end up doing the same amount of work as their full-time colleagues. Q: What are your thoughts on work-life balance? A: With any career you will need to make sacrifices. I had a significant life changing illness during my training and it definitely helped to put things into perspective for me, although I had no regrets about how I had lived my life up to that point. I have always, since school, made sure that I did things that made me happy such as sports and travelling. You can have the best career in the world but at the end of the day happiness is more important than accolades or status. As a result of my treatment I get quite tired so I have reduced the hours I work so that my husband and I can still do the things we enjoy together like spending time with our dog, sports, eating out and travelling. Q: What skills do you think are most important to be successful as a surgeon? A: This may seem obvious but surgery is a technical speciality so you need to be good with your hands. Different areas of surgery require different technical skills. I am an orthopaedic surgeon so I could use power tools in one operation and a microscope in the next.
Q: What advice can you give other women who want to pursue a career as a surgeon? A: Look very carefully at the area of surgery you wish to go into. It’s also good to look at the lifestyle of consultants and ask yourself honestly if that is a life that you can see yourself living. Q: Do you think your time at St Helen’s informed your career path? A: I would say that two of my teachers had a really significant impact on me in very different ways. Mrs Hewitt who taught me maths, used to tell us that “manners are more important than maths”. She was quiet and unassuming but commanded respect and obedience from her class, whilst showing us kindness in a caring way. I hope that I come across to the people that I work with in a similar way. Mrs Fenwick, my sports teacher, initiated my interest in so many of the things that I love to this day, especially my love of the outdoors. In fact most of my friends through life have been made on the sports field or on a trail somewhere. Helen McGarrity née Betts Class of 1993 MBChB, FRCSGla (Tr&Orth) Medicine, University of Glasgow Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, NHS Scotland
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Amita Varma (née Patel) Class of 1995 MBBS, MRCGP, DRCOG, DFFP Diploma in Practical Dermatology, Diploma in Postgraduate Education, Guy’s, King’s & St Thomas’ School of Medicine & Dentistry General Practitioner and Executive Management Lead, Andover Medical Centre, Islington & Islington GP Federation I was never one of those children who had a burning desire to be a doctor. In fact, the only reason I did science A Levels was because my parents had said it would keep my options open. However, I am so glad I did because, in truth, I love medicine and can’t imagine doing anything else. Being a doctor is like being a detective. A patient presents a problem and it is our role to find out what is going on and then find a way to treat it. However, there is so much more to medicine that we don’t really consider. We sometimes don’t realise ourselves the impact we have on a patient’s well-being by being kind, compassionate, open and honest. This is one of the reasons I chose general practice. In general practice, there is an opportunity to develop a long-standing relationship with your patient. The role of the General Practitioner (GP) is also evolving and as a result we are doing a lot more medicine in the community than we did before. We also see a large amount of mental health problems and guiding a patient through this difficult time can be incredibly rewarding. I make it sound idyllic but being a doctor also has its challenges. There is the initial journey to actually qualifying and then there is the ‘doing’ of the job, where all the learning really takes place. I remember my first call to an emergency where a patient was in
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acute heart failure. I could feel the fear as I saw the patient sitting forward, struggling to breathe. I was thinking what do I do? Thankfully the nurse on the ward helpfully suggested I listen to his chest and then something kicked in and I got on with it. Time has flown by and it is now 17 years since I qualified as a doctor. After my house officer year, I went travelling and then joined the vocational training scheme to become a GP. During that scheme, I trained in accident and emergency, paediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology and care of the elderly. After a further year as a GP registrar, I qualified as a GP. Two years after qualifying I took over from a failing GP practice in Islington with a colleague. It was a steep learning curve but by the age of 30 I was the managing partner. I have worked hard nurturing our practice but it is no longer my only role. Being a full-time GP can be mentally exhausting and I needed to have a better balance in my career. I also wanted another challenge. I therefore joined the Islington GP Federation and I now sit on the Executive Management Team. In this role I have been involved in designing and setting up a community gynaecology service across two boroughs, I:HUB which provides GP out of hours care for patients as well as being involved in work that focusses on reducing variance in the borough, GP resilience and working at scale. This role allows me to work flexibly so I still have time to pick my children up from school, which for me, is really important.
Amita Varma with a patient
So would I choose medicine again? Absolutely! I could not imagine doing anything else.
Amita Varma with the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP when he visited the Andover Medical Centre in his constituency in February 2017 to hear about issues affecting the practice and its patients
Molly Byham (née Calam) Class of 2001 BMBS, MRCGP, DRCOG, DFSRH Medicine, University of Nottingham Bachelor of Medical Science, University of Nottingham General Practitioner, Church Street Practice, Tewkesbury I am currently a GP in Gloucestershire. My journey to this point started during my teenage years when we were always encouraged at St Helen’s to explore career options through voluntary work and work experience. I found myself time and time again being drawn to settings where people had health problems. Similarly at school I was fascinated by human biology and knew that I wanted a degree that would lead to a vocation at the end. After five very happy years at Nottingham Medical School, I did an elective in Paediatrics in Cape Town. I spent my junior doctor years in the Oxford Deanery and particularly enjoyed posts at the John Radcliffe Children’s Hospital and in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. I also had a memorable stint at a rural hospital in Uganda which made me realise just how much my love of medicine came down to communication, as I tried to deliver healthcare in a second language and with very limited resources! Having lost my own father to a brain tumour during my last year at St Helen’s, one of the roles where I felt most fulfilled was during GP training at the Sue Ryder Hospice in Cheltenham.
but also to pursue special interests as I have done in women’s health, family planning and palliative care. Having studied and worked in so many areas of medicine I found it difficult to single out one hospital based specialty and to let my knowledge of other areas slip away. As a mother of two small children, I also wanted a career which would enable me to have the flexibility required to enjoy family life. The true beauty of general practice is the opportunity to have ownership of patient’s care over many years and to look after several members of one family, which really helps you to understand patients as individuals. My brain is always stimulated and the tissue box on my desk is in daily use as people speak to me from the heart. Every consultation is so varied from a three year old skipping through the door to patients with complex comorbidity towards the end of life. It truly is an honour to have trained and become a GP and I would recommend this sector of medicine to anybody fortunate enough to have the opportunity.
Molly Bytham with a ward sister during her time in Uganda
Being a GP enables you to retain a broad base of knowledge and contact with every type of patient
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Kate Young Class of 1998 MBBS, MA, MRCP BA Medicine and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Medicine, Imperial College, London Postgraduate Diploma in Oncology, Institute of Cancer Research, London Clinical Research Fellow in Gastrointestinal Oncology, Royal Marsden Hospital, Institute of Cancer Research NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) My interest in oncology began when I was at St Helen’s. I started working as a voluntary nurse at Mount Vernon Hospital when I was doing my GCSEs and A Levels. Then, at Cambridge, I developed an interest in the science behind the subject which has stayed with me and taken me down this career path.
I currently work as a Clinical Research Fellow at the Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) in London and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). My research particularly involves pancreatic cancers and is focused on using new molecular technologies to study subtle differences between patients’ cancers to see if we can establish why these differences affect how their disease behaves and their outcomes. Many factors may account for these differences, for example molecular and genetic differences (the DNA and RNA present which control how a cell grows and divides), differences in how the immune system responds to the cancer, differences in the environment immediately around the cancer in the pancreas, known as the tumour microenvironment, and differences in the micro-organisms which colonize a particular patient, known as their microbiota, so there is a lot to study! I split my time between the lab at the ICR and the research office or seeing
Shivani Bailey (née Arulanandam) Class of 2001 MBBS, MRCPCH Medicine, Imperial College, London BSc in Medical Sciences with Paediatrics, Imperial College, London Currently undertaking a PhD, University of Cambridge Research Training Fellow, University of Cambridge, PhD Fellowship from Action Medical Research
patients at the RMH, working four days a week as we have two young children (Jack, 8 and Tom, 5). I am thoroughly enjoying my current role as it is hugely varied and enables me to spend time thinking about the science but also to keep my hand in clinically, treating patients and devising/running clinical trials. Balancing a career in academic medicine with a family is hard work but I believe that the workplace is changing, becoming more flexible. I hope for those girls currently studying science at St Helen’s that the situation will continue to improve, as we simply cannot afford to lose the contribution they may make to whatever field they choose to go into. It is an exciting time to be in oncology with innovations in immunotherapy and molecular technologies making their way through to the clinic and benefiting patients and I would not hesitate to recommend it as a medical specialty to any trainees.
I went into Paediatrics after Foundation training and undertook an additional year in a rural hospital in Limpopo Province, South Africa, with the charity Africa Health Placements. It was a fantastic experience that I benefited from personally and professionally. Being able to work and travel abroad is one of the many benefits of a career in Medicine, and I am glad I took the opportunity to do so. I am currently a Paediatric Registrar and will be returning to specialty training in September 2018 and then applying for nationally-competitive posts in the paediatric oncology training programme. This is where my passion truly lies – treating children with cancer and helping them and their families through what can be the most challenging time of their lives. This passion also drives my determination to be involved in paediatric cancer research. Children with cancer
I’m currently in the final year of my PhD at the University of Cambridge, having won Action Medical Research’s Research Training Fellowship in 2014. My research focuses on targeting cancer-causing microRNAs (short pieces of genetic code) in malignant germ cell tumours, a type of cancer that affects children and young people, as well as adults. Although I am working on one particular cancer type, my work is more a test of a new principle in cancer treatment, as germ cell tumours happen to be an excellent paradigm for trialling microRNA-based targeted therapies.
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Shivani Bailey during her time working with Africa Health at a rural hospital in South Africa
Banu Rudran Class of 1999
MBBS, MRCP, SCE(Resp) Medicine, Imperial College, London BSc Medical Science and Neuroscience, Imperial College, London PhD, Queen Mary, University of London (expected December 2018)
Cancer Research UK Clinical Research Fellow & Honorary Respiratory Registrar, Barts Cancer Institute (BCI) & Barts Health Trust I am a senior registrar in Respiratory medicine, having taken a break from my clinical training programme to complete my PhD.
Kate Young in the laboratory
have their whole lives ahead of them and I strongly feel that we should ensure that they live these years well and free from the burden of treatment-related side effects. Following on from my PhD, I hope to continue to be involved in cancer research and would like to move into early phase clinical trials, particularly in paediatric brain tumours, alongside resuming clinical training in paediatric oncology. The time I have taken out of medicine to pursue research (and for two lots of maternity leave) means that I am still at quite an early stage of my career in medicine and medical research, despite being nearly 36. Balancing academic medicine with family life is not easy, but my husband James (also a doctor) does his fair share, which makes things much easier. I will always be grateful to St Helen’s for fuelling my love of Science, encouraging me to pursue a career in medicine, and particularly for instilling in me the belief that hard work and dedication can open any door. There is a lot of failure before there is success in Science, and sometimes not a lot of that either, but if the work is worth doing, that will keep you going. My advice for anyone thinking about a career in academic medicine would be to find a mentor early, and to speak to as many people in the field as possible.
My BSc project during my medical degree was my first experience of laboratory research. I worked in Professor Dominic Wells’ group in the Gene Targeting Unit at Imperial on a project in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I learnt techniques such as western blots and immunohistochemistry and my project was well received. I had enjoyed working on this project so much that when I was invited to continue the work on a summer studentship I immediately accepted. This resulted in the offer of a PhD position, but as I had not yet decided on my clinical speciality, I did not at that time pursue it. I moved on with my clinical training, making sure I had a good breadth of experience to inform my decisions. As I progressed with my training I found Respiratory Medicine offered me the right balance of acutely unwell patients, long-term disease management and a plethora of practical procedures. As a result I became interested in lung cancer – a disease with high mortality and a relatively low research spend. I wanted to be able to contribute scientifically to the development of research to directly benefit my patients. I found out about Professor Marshall’s work on integrins at Barts Cancer Institute, and together we developed a project investigating the role of a specific integrin αvβ6 in lung cancer. I successfully applied for grants from the Rostrees Trust and the British Lung Foundation with which I obtained the preliminary data for a successful application for a Cancer Research UK Clinical Research Fellowship to complete my PhD. To date the highlights have been presenting and winning a prize for my work at a national and international conference, increasing collaboration in lung cancer research at Barts Cancer Institute by setting up an interest group, and conducting science outreach work with schools. On completing my PhD I will return to complete my final clinical training year prior to applying for consultant positions. Ideally I will be a lung cancer physician with ongoing laboratory-based research. I am very grateful to all my former teachers at St Helen’s, but particularly Mrs Quinton, Dr Young, Mrs Zoltowska, and Miss Kergon for their guidance and belief in my ability.
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Elaine Ng Class of 1990
Sonia Wai Man
MD, FRCPC, MSHPEd Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada Master of Science in Health Professions Education, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA Paediatric Anaesthesiologist, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada I am a paediatric anaesthesiologist which means I am a medical doctor who provides anaesthetics to children. In general, the main purpose of anaesthesiology is to provide anaesthesia so that the patient is unconscious, tolerates the surgical procedures and wakes up pain free. In essence anaesthesiology involves the application of knowledge in pharmacology, anatomy and physiology alongside the implementation of procedural skills. I am not sure what inspired me to pursue medicine from such a young age, however, it seemed like a good fit for me and the more I learned about medicine the more I realised it was the right career path. After completing my A Levels at St Helen’s I moved with my family to Canada where I went to medical school in Toronto and specialised in Anaesthesiology and then Paediatric Anaesthesia. Throughout my career I have taken every opportunity to further my practical experiences and contribute to medical education. Aside from working as an anaesthesiologist, I also teach with simulation technology, which means using computerised mannequins to stage a simulated environment where learners can practise the management of various medical conditions and teamwork skills, such as clear communication and leadership. This gives students an opportunity to learn and practise their skills before they have to work with real patients. I have also had the opportunity to participate in several short term medical missions overseas in places like Peru, Jamaica, and Ethiopia. The most significant was a month long trip to Rwanda as part of a program to increase the number of local consultant anaesthesiologists in the country. Before the program started Rwanda only had one anaesthesiologist (at my own hospital in Canada there are 40!). Relatively speaking mine was a small contribution to the training program but opportunities like these have given me the chance to see and experience first-hand vastly different parts of the world and contribute to enhancing global health. My advice to anyone wanting to pursue a career in medicine would be to make sure that medicine really is your passion and for the right reasons. No matter what, it is also essential to keep up your extracurricular activities as this is what will help you to maintain balance in life.
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Lai Wai Man Sonia (née Sonia Wong) Class of 1998 MBBS, MRCOG, FHKAMOG, DPD Medicine, The University of Hong Kong Consultant Obstetrics Gynaecology, St Paul's Hospital, Hong Kong I currently work as a Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in St Paul's Hospital in Hong Kong. I studied as an overseas student at St Helen's School where I was a boarder. Boarding life at St Helen’s definitely helped me to develop into the bold, independent and optimistic person that I am today and prepared me well for the challenges university life and medical training had in store for me. I studied for my MBBS at the University of Hong Kong and graduated in 2003. This was a tough year for Hong Kong as the medical system was badly hit by SARS and it was difficult to get a training post. However with determination I managed to secure a posting and pursue my dream to become an obstetrician and gynaecologist (OBGYN). The medical training in Hong Kong is very tough and we had to complete seven calls (shifts) a month (with each call lasting for 30-36 hours) as well as undertake yearly professional examinations. With such incredibly long working hours we were trained to be strong and resilient, whilst the close contact with patients, as a result of literally living in the wards whilst on call, taught us to be caring doctors too. Numerous times during those long and dreadful nights on call I thought of giving up but the satisfaction I gained from delivering babies alongside the gratitude I have received from patients has kept me going. I became a specialist OBGYN in 2010 and this year I have started working in private practice. Life as a doctor, no matter where you are, is never easy. Yet, this is a truly rewarding job. When you see the newborns smiling at you, or when your patient holds your hand so hard with gratitude after their recovery, it is all worthwhile. My advice would be to follow your heart and keep going!
Sophie Talib
Madeleine Graydon
Class of 2013
Class of 2015
Fourth Year Studying Medicine, St George’s University, London
Third Year Studying Medicine, University of Cambridge
I guess I always wanted to be a doctor. From a young age I assumed that was what I was going to be; having been in and out of hospital all my life, it seemed only fitting. My reason for wanting to study medicine was personal. But like many others, I wanted to learn about the intricacies of the human body, how it adapts to stress, what can go wrong and how we as health professionals can manage disease. My aim is not to simply treat patients but to be able to guide them through their medical journey and provide them with reassurance. I'm currently in my fourth year of medicine, and took a year out to intercalate in Neuroscience at Imperial College. It's been a wonderful experience so far, particularly now that I've had more clinical exposure. St George’s University teaches really well, mixing up the clinical, theoretical and anatomical teaching from the first year. It's also a very small university where everyone knows each other, which makes it a very friendly learning environment. For the keen medics out there, I'd say grab some early clinical exposure before applying. It really shows your dedication to the career. And even if it's not specifically clinical, it can teach you certain skills that universities appreciate – this is what I spent most of my gap year doing. Secondly, apply to universities with favourable selection criteria. Whilst all the universities are standardised in their teaching, some universities favour UKCAT, others BMAT, some look at GCSEs while others may prefer a range of subjects. Also keep up with your hobbies; they’re a really good break from the studying and keep you well rounded.
I am now completing my third year of medicine, meaning I’m almost halfway through my six-year degree. My medical course is split into three years of pre-clinical medicine – which is essentially learning all the scientific theory – and three years of clinical medicine. I’ve enjoyed the life of a science student for three years, learning anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology and biochemistry (to name a few) but I am now looking forward to starting my hospital rounds next year and getting to see some patients. Undeniably studying medicine involves a lot of hard work but it’s also been great fun and the solidarity among fellow medical students is one of the best parts. To all those really keen to study medicine my advice would be to not be discouraged by the prospect of how much work people say it is – there have definitely been some tough times but I have never regretted my decision!
Ria Gaglani Class of 2017 First Year studying Medicine, Imperial College London Only after throwing myself into lots of work experience and volunteering, did I realise that I wanted to become a doctor. The idea of your knowledge and expertise making a difference to someone’s life is special. There are multiple professions that do this, but in my opinion there aren’t as many that are as intellectually stimulating and as challenging as medicine. Imperial College is more traditional in teaching than most medical schools and the first two years are predominantly lectures and labs, with minimal patient contact. In the later years medics undergo clinical placements at either hospitals or GP surgeries; something I am really looking forward to. I’ll admit that this first year can feel a little demotivating at times, sitting in a lecture theatre when you’ve come to medical school super keen to meet and examine patients. However, my view on the academic side of medicine has changed and I now appreciate the research aspect much more. Medics really do follow the “work hard, play hard(er)” motto. One of the biggest challenges has been the sheer volume of content to learn for exams and although the actual content isn’t incredibly difficult to understand; it is the amount that there is to learn that is overwhelming. I’ve definitely had to adapt my way of revising as a result. My advice to future medics would be to be realistic and believe in yourself. If you have the grades, experience and genuine passion accompanied by the qualities required to become a doctor, then back yourself. It is so easy to doubt yourself but you need to remember that although medicine is one of the most competitive courses to get onto, it is not impossible. I have no regrets in reading medicine; it’s a lot of hard work but it is worth it.
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Supporting Together Thank you to all those parents, alumnae and friends of St Helen’s who have supported the School this year with a gift of time, expertise, advice or funds. Hundreds of parents and alumnae have volunteered to help the School in various ways, including providing support to our students as they begin to explore the wonderful array of career opportunities on offer to them, guiding our alumnae as they take the next step towards entering the workforce, as well as giving generous donations to our Development Fund. We cannot thank you all enough for your support and we owe so much of our success to those who invest in our School and our students, current and future.
Computer generated image of the new School of Music due to open in Autumn 2018
We believe strongly that every gift, whether it be financial or a gift of your time, makes a difference. We have exciting plans for the School and its place in our community not just for today, but also for the future, and none of this is possible without your support. We look forward to working with you all in the next academic year to achieve all that we possibly can for our students of today, for our daughters and for future generations of young women.
Thank you for taking the time to put me in touch with Sallyann (an alumna). Following an interview last summer, she offered me a three week internship and has invited me back this summer for an additional two months. I am so grateful for this opportunity
Dr Mary Short, Headmistress
Kaira Shetty (Class of 2015), Sociology, University of Nottingham – interested in a career in media production and broadcasting
Mary Rose Seldon
A lasting legacy Mary Rose Seldon was a former pupil at St Helen’s School (from 1939 until 1947), as was her mother, Eva Seldon (née Morley). Despite the challenges of schooling during the war, Mary Rose became Head Girl, whilst developing and nurturing her passion and aptitude for music. She went on to attend Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and then to teach music, firstly at St Helen’s for a year before becoming Head of Music at the Mary Datchelor School. Mary Rose’s connection with St Helen’s never faltered. Initially she helped her mother with running the Old Girls’ Club and then took on the role of Secretary of the Club herself until 2000. In 2016 Mary Rose sadly passed away. She very generously left a lasting gift to St Helen’s to support the new School of Music. The recital room will be named in memory of Mary Rose Seldon and her outstanding contribution to the school, our girls and of course to music.
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2016/17
in numbers
Over
£65K
70
donors
4
in
Supporting...
38
one new Sixth Form Bursary Place
current and former parents
raised
by over
Including...
29 alumnae
23 & 83
aged between
different countries
enhanced music facilities from donations between £5 and £40,000
one big thank you All figures are taken from donations received between 1st September 2016 and 31st August 2017.
Making a difference The following projects have been supported with gifts made in 2016/2017: • New Music School Construction • 3D Printer for D&T • Accelerated Reading Programme for Years 7 and 8 • A Baby Grand Piano for the Music Department • Carnegie Books for the library • One Sixth Form bursary place Information on the projects supported during the 2017/2018 academic year will be reported on in due course. While my annual donation is small, by supporting St Helen’s consistently I know that I am ensuring that other girls will have the same opportunities I was fortunate enough to have.
one 3D Printer for D&T
For more information on making a gift to the School or leaving a legacy please contact Zoe Baines, Development Director, via development@sthelens.london Alternatively you can visit our website via www.sthelens.london/Support-Us
www.sthelens.london/2016-Projects
I spoke to Anisha (an alumna) and she was really lovely. She has put me in contact with a number of her colleagues who are hopefully going to help arrange for me to do a 4-6 week placement over the summer! Kate Fallowfield (Class of 2016), Psychology Student, Bristol University – interested in a career in advertising and marketing
Elizabeth Cragg née Schram (Class of 1987)
Computer generated image of the new School of Music due to open in Autumn 2018
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News
Shivani Ananth Congratulations to Shivani Ananth (Class of 2016) who has been elected the Oxford Union 'Librarian' – their archaic term for Vice President, the second highest rank in the Union. Shivani is currently in her second year studying History at Oxford University and has thrown herself into life at the University. After serving on the Oxford Union Committee for four terms, Shivani was elected to the second highest rank in the society, a position also held by the likes of Boris Johnson and Simon Stevens. In this role, she has interviewed some of the Union’s incredible speakers such as Paul Giamatti, Ellen Pompeo, the Wombats and Ben Miller, to name a few.
Neil Elder Congratulations to Neil Elder, a former English teacher at St Helen’s (2003 – 2009), who this year won the Cinnamon Press Debut Collection award for his poetry collection The Space Between Us. The Space Between Us is a poetry collection that explores the gap between aspiration and reality, appearance and truth, the said and the unsaid. Neil’s trademark irony and dry humour peppers the collection too. This prize comes just a couple of years after winning their award for the best poetry pamphlet of the year with his poetry collection Codes of Conduct. Neil may be remembered by alumnae as the driving force behind the St Helen’s Lecture Programme. He also established the Andrew Motion Poetry Cup, our very own school poetry prize awarded to a student annually at Speech Day. Details of how to buy a signed copy from Neil can be found here neilelderpoetry.wordpress.com or from CinnamonPress.com
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Shivani is also a fantastic debater and was asked to deliver a second paper speech at the Union's weekly debates. She debated on the motion 'This House Believes Britain Should Be Ashamed of Churchill', and spoke as first speaker proposition, which is the same position Malcolm X spoke all those years ago. She spoke against Churchill's grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames, as well as Professor John Charmley amongst other experts.
Sallyann Keizer Congratulations to Sallyann Keizer (Class of 1988) who along with her team was awarded the BAFTA for Pre-School Live Action at the British Academy Children’s Awards 2017. This BAFTA was awarded for the production of the CBeebies program Our Family, which follows the lives of eight young children and their families. Sallyann is the Managing Director and Executive Producer of Sixth Sense Media Limited, a company she founded in 2000 to produce mainstream Children’s and Factual content to entertain, educate and inspire children. In 2015 Sallyann also founded the Happynesshub a new online resource empowering people to live healthier and happier lives. With an inaugural 21-Days to Happiness Package, a free online resource with daily films, writings and exercises, the Happynesshub community is rapidly growing, and fast becoming the place to visit for those seeking to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. www.happynesshub.com
Sallyann Keizer (middle) with her team receiving the BAFTA
from the development office
Guest speakers Class of 1968 – 50 years on Class of 1998 – 20 years on
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Alumnae vs Girls Netball Alumnae Ambassadors' Dinner
Donor Drinks 20 18
Joanna, who currently works as Global Event Director for AstraZeneca, spoke about her fast paced, exciting and very international career in events management; while Amrita, who runs the Spiritual Ecology Youth Programme at St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in London, gave a truly thought provoking talk which made us all think about ourselves, our actions and how we can work together to bring about real and lasting change in our society. Emma, delivered an engaging and entertaining talk on her experience undertaking 25 jobs before she was 25; with Jennifer speaking about her career journey to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health and her current work with the amazing Kabor Project working with women in Sierra Leone. Thank you to Sheetal Patel (Class of 1990), a Specialist in Orthodontics at Moor Park Specialist Dental Care, who came in to talk to our Reception girls about taking care of their teeth; and to Elle Kaye (Class of 2010) for running a Year 7 to Year 9 workshop on taxidermy as part of the St Helen’s University Programme.
Staff Reunion
Thank you to former parent Rose Gledhill for once again coming in to talk to our Year 12 students about networking and starting to develop their all-important skills in this area.
Futures Network Breakfast with Year 12 Futures Network Breakfast with Year 12
Class of 2017 Festive Reunion
Thank you to Joanna Lawlor née Twining (Class of 1994), Amrita Bhohi (Class of 2007), Emma Rosen (Class of 2010) and Jennifer Davis née Sheridan (Class of 1979) for coming back to St Helen’s to speak to the Sixth Form as part of the Sixth Form Lecture Programme.
Amrita Bhohi
Futures Evening Careers in STEM Class of 1993 – 25 years on
Jennifer Davis
Joanna Lawlor
Rose Gledhill
Sheetal Patel
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St Helen’s School Development Office Eastbury Road Northwood Middlesex HA6 3AS +44 (0)1923 843327 development@sthelens.london www.sthelens.london Registered Charity No. 312762.