St Swithun's spring term 2023 newsletter

THE NEWS

The spring term was one of contrasts. The driest of February’s preceded a wild and wet March, which led to many of the national lacrosse tournaments being cancelled and re-arranged at short notice. We employed a lot of flexible thinking to try and ensure that our teams could enjoy these important end of season events.

Safely out of the weather, we all appreciated contrasting styles of music at our second rock concert of the school year, our spring concert and our iconic Cabaret evening. Elsewhere, our traditional, ‘sponge the teacher’ stall attracted large crowds during Fundraising Thursday whilst our initial Firewalk proved a spectacular sight in early March.

I had never taken part in a Firewalk previously, but true to my 2023 commitment to saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, I was happy (sort of) to take off my socks and shoes and walk barefoot across burning embers. ‘It’s all about the physics: wood is a good radiator and a poor conductor of heat. Provided you don’t dawdle, there is nothing to worry about’ they said. More importantly, it was all about raising money for charity and overcoming an entirely rational fear of getting burnt. Our sixth formers participating in the gold Duke of Edinburgh award rose to the challenge accompanied by staff and parents, and encouraged by friends.

I am proud to report that we raised over £2500 for our Bramston Bursary Foundation and our three school charities; Kids for Kids, HART and Planned Parenthood.

Fundraising and thinking about others has been a theme this term. In addition to Fundraising Thursday, our annual opportunity for our students to use initiative and imagination to organise money-making stalls, one individual has impressed us all with her determination. Maya, in U4, has worked tirelessly to raise money for victims of the earthquake that caused such destruction in Turkey and Syria, Having gained sponsorship for her trip from major companies, she spent Easter taking supplies to turkey. She has been a genuine source of inspiration to our community through her initiative, compassion and determination.

This term, we look forward to celebrating our 139th birthday and to marking the King’s coronation in May. Later in the term, we will enjoy events such as our production of the Fairy Tale Courtroom which takes a close look at some of our most familiar fairy tales.

Jane Gandee MA (Cantab) Headmistress

1 Swithun’s gets snow

2 Culture day

3 Inter-house pancake day race

4 Junior Drama club

5 Purple Day bake sale

6 U4 Trestle masks

7 Scholars guard recital

8 The Tempest rehearsal

9 Trip to London

ST SWITHUN’S MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES OUTSTANDING RESULTS IN EDUCATION PERFECT GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.

The MFL Department at St Swithun’s is thrilled to announce an excellent performance in the Education Perfect Global Championships. Out of 2,532 schools worldwide, St Swithun’s finished 44th, a highly pleasing result for the students and faculty alike.

Isabella E L6 and Eloise C U4, demonstrated dedication and skill by achieving the coveted elite award. Isabella ranked 125th and Eloise 205th in the individual global rankings, with both students scoring over 10,000 points in the competition.

The Modern Languages Department also congratulates the students who secured a total of 55 awards across all years, ranging from credit to bronze, silver, gold and emerald.

YOUNG HUMANITARIAN MAYA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO ASSIST EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN TURKEY AND SYRIA

Maya C U4 decided to act and help the victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Born in Istanbul with family and friends all over Turkey, Maya has been deeply affected by this disaster and was determined to do all she can to assist.

Maya has already raised over £500 via JustGiving and sold bracelets this term to fellow students and staff members to raise money.

To ensure a successful aid mission, Maya secured sponsorship for her journey from a business in Istanbul and sourced the best value blankets, tents, food, and other supplies to take to the earthquake zone. Her journey covered over 1400km and was a two-day drive, with the latter part of the journey crossing the mountains into the disaster zone.

Maya says “I believe that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference in the world. I am supporting a country so close to my heart and my family. It’s important to show people they are not alone, and we are here to support them.”

ARTICULATION

Siena C L6 took part in the southern finals of the annual ARTiculation contest at the Ashmolean Museum in March. She gave an insightful and confident presentation on Ai Weiwei.

Dr Jim Harris thanked Siena for her choice of artwork, which he described as ‘strange and difficult’. He highly commended Siena for so brilliantly taking the artwork apart and putting it back together again, adding that he had loved the fact that Siena had started by focusing on the materiality of the work and then bringing this back to bear on the work. He additionally stated that in doing so, Siena had helped us understand more about Ai Weiwei - a difficult thing to do but which Siena had managed particularly well.

CULTURE DAY

In January, Culture day was held in Harvey Hall. It brought together the school community and was an opportunity for students to embrace and show off their culture. The student-led event was diverse with stalls from, China, Nigeria, Italy and France to name a few. Instruments such as the Guzheng were played, henna stalls and various cultural foods were shared as well as other cultural activities giving a flavour of the 18 cultures represented in school. Students running a stall were able to choose the activity and different aspects of their culture to present, creating a more personal feel. The prep students joined in the fun with many of them bewildered by the variety, and some identifying with the different countries represented. The event was a success with many of the students feeling seen and others educated with a profound respect and appreciation of other people’s ethnic backgrounds. It truly was lots of fun and it’s a great school tradition.

By Tobi A L6

SWITHUN’S PUPIL REPRESENTS THE UNICEF UK YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Sixth form student and head girl Jamie S U6 undertook the trip of a lifetime this term as she travelled to Geneva as one of the three representatives of the UNICEF UK Youth Advisory Board (YAB), between 6-8 February.

Jamie was selected by her peers on the board to represent the group, and UNICEF, at the meetings with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. These meetings were a critical part of the UNCRC Periodic Review Process, during which the UK Government is reporting on how children’s rights are respected in the United Kingdom.

Jamie said, “I am honoured and grateful for the opportunity to represent children’s views across the UK and Jersey. I hope the UN Committee will consider our perspectives and make appropriate recommendations to the UK government.”

SPEAKER SERIES

Dragica Kostic Perovic, Chief Engineer at Ricardo, shared her insights on her career jour ney in engineering and highlighted both the challenges and rewards of being a female in that field. With topics such as gender barriers and achieving success.

Dr Polly Stoker gave an enlightening discussion on ‘Approaching Evidence in Classical Studies’. She emphasized the importance of analysing primary sources critically and demonstrated various methodologies for examining historical evidence.

Dr Simon Sandall explored ‘Early Modern Witch Hunts’. As well as shedding light on the historical period, his talk raised questions about how and why women faced this sustained persecution.

STEM WEEK

In honour of National Science Week in March, all academic departments across the school presented a STEMrelated cross-curricular programme. There were a variety of exciting workshops and activities for students to explore within STEM subjects themselves.

The biology department held an extremely popular rat dissection, in which students discovered the interior anatomy of a mammal under the expert supervision of instructors and specialists.

Dr Mason enthralled the audience with an amazingly intricately woven stor y of The Plague’s progress as it spanned countries, presenting comprehensive information on the disease’s history, geography, culture, and development over this vast historical time period.

Students in U4–U6 were invited to a careers speed networking event focused on discussions with professionals in science, technology, engineering, or math. The purpose of this gathering was to get our students excited and inspired about potential STEM job opportunities.

Medical Society welcomed Ms Fitzgerald, executive NHS director, who spoke about the wide variety of current careers in the NHS. She outlined her own career and how analytical and creative skills, combined with resilience, were invaluable to working within the NHS. She emphasised the importance of valuing non-clinical and support staff.

The chemistry department put on a spectacular chemical show and demonstrated a variety of exciting activities. Students celebrated the end of STEM week by launching paper air rockets and competing to see who could get theirs to travel the farthest.

Rat dissection

Chemistry show

Chemistry show explosion

Careers speed networking

Chinese New Year Celebrations

Easter festivities

Earlsdowne enjoying time with housemistress

Le Roy dining

Hillcroft softplay

Pancake day at High House

Hillcroft softplay

Inter-house lacrosse

Chinese New Year celebrations

High House bonding

The correct use for a yoga ball

Le Roy with their pet tortoise

THE ARTS

MUSIC SCHOLARS AND EXHIBITIONERS’ CONCERT

We were treated to a wonderful set of performances at this term’s music scholars and exhibitioners’ concert. Our musicians performed in various small chamber groups, ranging from duets and trios to larger chamber groups. At the end of the evening Baroque Ensemble gave a fantastic performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.4 in G.

SPRING CONCERT

The Spring Concert was a resounding success, with a packed Harvey Hall. There were outstanding performances from Hilary C U5 and Marharyta D M5 playing the Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto with String Orchestra and a wonderful debut performance from the newly-formed Swing Band. Concert Band opened the evening with Rocky on Broadway arranged by Roszell. The concert came to an end with Concert Orchestra’s performance of Norwegian Dance No. 2 by Grieg and music from Mission Impossible by Schifrin, cheered on by the large supportive audience.

SWITHUN’S LIVE 2!

We were thoroughly entertained by our second rock performance of the year, Swithun’s Live 2! Which featured bands from St Swithun’s and Winchester College. Throughout the evening, there was a wonderful atmosphere, with hits like One Way or Another from Blondie performed by the L4 band and Jolene from Dolly Parton performed by The Morrows, being greatly appreciated by the audience.

CABARET

We held our popular Cabaret Evening, organised by Music Officer Lareina Y U6 . She put together a wonderful celebration of music and dance, highlighting the diversity of musical styles and cultures in the school. Highlights included a performance of traditional Chinese instruments and duets by U6 pupils of songs by Summer Walker and Benny Anderson. The night ended with a performance of Sunayama arranged by Chilcott, sung in Japanese by the Chamber Choir.

THE ARTS

HOUSE MUSIC FINALS

There were some superb performances at the House music final this term, enjoyed and warmly supported by the rest of the school. Rebecca Gilliver, principal cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra, gave words of advice and wisdom during her adjudication. Caer Gwent won the House Music Shield after receiving the most points whilst Leqi S U5 was given a trophy for becoming the overall winner.

FIREWALK

Sixth Form students and staff took on an incredible challenge earlier this term to support the school’s own charity, the Bramston Bursary Foundation, alongside three charitable causes close to their hearts. The daring feat, a fire walk, raised funds for the foundation, Kids for Kids, Planned Parenthood, and HART. 35 brave students and staff, including the headmistress Jane Gandee walked across hot coals, to raise money and awareness for these important charities.

FUNDRAISING THURSDAY

The spring term ended with an afternoon of fundraising activities to support the four school charities. The whole school, students and teachers alike, came together to support the causes. The girls managed to raise £2,660 doing a range of activities.

CRICKET

The U15 have fought hard in three separate rounds to become the Champions of Hampshire in the ECB Indoor Girls Cup. The final, played at the Ageas Bowl was an exciting event with a superb team performance throughout the day. The girls lost the first game by a few runs but the team lifted their heads and batted and bowled with maturity. Throw in some superb athletic fielding and tactical awareness and the team ended up as champions. They will now go on to play in the regional final.

LACROSSE

Team orange lacrosse relished the National Schools Lacrosse Championship. The 1st X, captained by Emily BG (U6) finished second in their pool and qualifying for the Championship Division. The team fought hard in the seeding matches in the morning, with a spectacular 3-3 draw against eventual runners up Moreton Hall. The team advanced to the round of 16, falling to semi-finalist Caterham.

The 2nd team went, going undefeated on day 1, before heading into day two in the championship division. The team advanced through to the quarter finals with a 5-2 win over Berkhamsted.

The 3rd X finished second in their morning pool with four wins and a close loss to Putney High, advancing to the quarterfinals. The 4th X also competed in the U19C tour nament and represented #TeamOrange with a plomb.

The junior teams also had successful nationals’ campaigns and we were particularly proud of our 14B and 13B teams who competed in the A team tournaments. The 15As advanced to the division 1 quarter finals and the U13As went undefeated in morning pool play to win their pool and advance to the round of 16.

The 14As were our most successful team, after winning their pool after a close final game against QAS, the team won their quarter final 4-3 in a dramatic come from behind fashion, advancing to the national semi-final, where they succumbed to eventual champion Caterham.

NETBALL

Our U14 squad won the National Cup and came 5th in the country at National Schools Netball final. The team saw off the West Midlands rivals, King’s School, Worcester by beating them 20-9.

SPORT

HOUSE SPORT

The winners of our spirited inter-house sport were Mowbray for junior lacrosse and Caer Gwent for senior netball.