St Swithun's spring 2020 newsletter

THE NEWS

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER SPRING 2020

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SCHOOL LIFE

This morning, the first day of summer term, I looked out of my kitchen window, which overlooks the furthest, hilliest lacrosse pitch, to be met with the sight of rabbits playing in the spring sunshine and a flock of pheasants pecking at the grass. But of course there were no cars streaming into school and no students scurrying to class.

What is most on my mind at the moment, apart from the inevitable holes being dug by the rabbits on all our pitches, is how to keep in touch with everyone in our school family. We teaching staff have been giddy with excitement at the thought of re-establishing contact with our classes. We love our subjects, but we wouldn’t be teachers if we didn’t want to share that joy with others.

Some of us are also grappling with a sense of loss. We put great thought, energy and heart into helping our students achieve the best possible understanding of their subjects and we want them to show off what they can do when it comes to public exams. We also want them to experience the correlation between hard work and success, and to feel pride when they get their results. It has been hard to accept that this cannot happen in the same way this year.

However, education is about more than certificates, and this newsletter reminds us of the many other skills and characteristics that our students acquire through classroom learning and through co-curricular activities. The term may have been cut short, but we managed to pack a lot into it.

I am always particularly impressed by those events and activities that are led largely by students such as the Olivier Awards. I hope that all of our students will have had the opportunity to be an instigator or an organiser of something during their time at St Swithun’s. Even when we are not physically at St Swithun’s there are ways in which they can contribute to our co-curricular life and I am looking forward to seeing the innovations that this term brings.

Jane Gandee MA (Cantab) Headmistress

1 Some students became Dementia Friends as part of our programme visiting nursing homes.

2 Sixth form French students attending a talk given by Faïza Guène, the author of their A level set text Kiffe Kiffe Demain.

3 A workshop for our dancers with James Wilton Dance.

4 Junior science club.

5 Law society on a trip to the Courts of Justice.

6 Knitting pouches for orphaned joeys in Australia following the bush fires.

7 L6 students celebrating the Eve of St. Agnes.

SCHOOL LIFE

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SCHOOL LIFE

WORLD BOOK DAY The school celebrated World Book Day with a variety of events. Our Extreme Reading competition demonstrated just how far St Swithun’s girls are prepared to go to show their commitment to a good book. The Reading Room club seized the opportunity to hold an official launch party for our Harry Potter Room complete with amazing themed baking from the boarding houses and our very own Sorting Hat session. Form groups decorated their form room doors to resemble a book and we also launched our St Swithun’s Literary Canon which is a diverse and creative reading list for our students.

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Our Yemen chameleon, Pascal, passed away during the spring term after a long and happy life. His beautiful headstone was painted and signed by students and is now placed within the school grounds in his memory.

The biology department has replaced him with Woody and Buzz, our new Russian Dwarf Hamsters.

NEASDEN MANDIR GCSE RPE students visited the impressive Neasden Mandir (Hindu Temple) in London to see first-hand what Hindu worship is like. The building itself is magnificent, made 25 years ago from 5000 tonnes of Italian marble, expertly hand-carved in India and shipped to London to be fitted together by thousands of volunteers over a three-year period. It’s certainly not typical London architecture! A guided tour of the building included a chance to watch a 10-minute arti ceremony before students learnt more about the world’s oldest religion at the ‘Understanding Hinduism’ exhibition.

SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE All sixth form mathematicians as well as the whole of U5 Div1 took part in the national Senior Maths Challenge, with our students winning 10 gold, 11 silver and 18 bronze certificates. Michelle N L6 qualified to sit the British Mathematical Olympiad, a paper tackled by the best 1000 school-aged mathematicians in the country. Christine L, Seungju H and Fanyi W U6, Lily S, Isa Y, Daisy L and Kate W L6 and Katie Z and Sakurako H U5 all qualified for the Senior Kangaroo competition, an examination for the next 3000 school-aged mathematicians in the country.

SCHOOL LIFE

PASCAL

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SCHOOL LIFE HISTORIES OF THE UNEXPECTED – A TALK BY DR SAM WILLIS AND PROFESSOR JAMES DAYBELL This term we welcomed Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell from the acclaimed podcast Histories of the Unexpected to St Swithun’s for a night of humour, curiosity and history. Described by Dan Snow as ‘history as you’ve never seen it before’, their talk demonstrated how everything, even the most unexpected, has a history and links together in surprising ways. We were taken on a thrilling journey through time, whizzing from the history of the hand, to the Titanic to Charles Darwin’s interest in the study of the smile. Discovering the unexpected links between seemingly unrelated topics and objects was fascinating. We learnt how prehistoric cave art links to our present day signature, and created our own sailors round-robin in order to commemorate the evening. The interactive and engaging nature of the talk, from smelling a replica of 18th century perfume salvaged from the Marie Celestia to the personal stories woven in, was exciting for every member of the audience, even those with no previous interest in history. The exhilarating and thought-provoking evening has hopefully inspired everyone to look more closely at the many snippets of history surrounding them every day.

Written by Jessie H L6

INSPIRING CONFIDENCE IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL - A TALK BY JAMES SHONE I felt very privileged to attend a motivational talk by James Shone from the charity I Can & I Am in January. It was genuinely inspiring to hear about his recovery from major brain surgery and how he dealt with losing almost all his sight. His talk inspired us all to ‘inflate balloons of self-belief ’ and to have confidence in all that we do. It can be easy for all of us to feel that things are against us and to lose motivation, but James demonstrated that by keeping positive and determined we can achieve anything.

Written by Jessica R L6

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BOARDING LIFE

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1 Boarding indoor climbing trip 2 Hillcroft table football competition 3 Hyde Abbey with fortune cookies for Chinese New Year

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4 Le Roy baking 5 Boarding scuba diving trip

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OUT AND ABOUT

ICELAND In February half-term, 46 intrepid geographers took a very delayed flight to Reykjavik to study the wide variety of geographical features in Iceland. After stocking up on expensive Icelandic snacks the group headed to a geothermal power plant before visiting the extremely windy ‘bridge between continents’. We were fascinated by the different terrain but we were not big fans of the slightly eggy smell that the hot springs gave off.

On the second day we ventured out to the secret lagoon, a geothermally heated pool, where we enjoyed a swim before heading to Gullfoss waterfall. We then slid down the icy hills at Thingvellir National Park and spent the evening warming up in the hotel’s heated pool!

Our final day included visits to many waterfalls, a stunning glacier walk carrying our pickaxes through the crevasses and we were thrilled to get a glimpse of the northern lights to end a magnificent trip.

Written by Ellen L L6

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OUT AND ABOUT

VENICE In February five history of art students, three art students and two teachers visited Venice as part of the art history pre-u course and to gain inspiration for art projects. The trip was packed with photography, note taking and sketching. Our first visit was to the Accademia museum, which houses purely Venetian art and gives a fascinating snapshot of early Venetian life. We then moved on to the elaborately-decorated San Marco Basilica.

We visited many of Venice’s churches on day two. Outside San Zanippolo, we drew the surrounding areas and some gondolas whilst sitting in the sunshine. After a stop at the Santa Maria de Miracoli church, nicknamed the cheese church due to its veined marble, we ate pizza in a local square.

On our final day we headed to the Grand Canal to view Peggy Guggenheim’s private collection of modern art including works by Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

Although we were constantly note-taking and appreciating the views of the city, the amazing Italian food cannot go unmentioned. Our personal favourite snacks were the fritelli (doughnuts) either filled with cream or dried fruit and gelato.

Written by Georgia H and Izzy A L6

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THE ARTS

ARTICULATION I was lucky enough to win the school round of this year’s ARTiculation competition, speaking about Vincent van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night. Not only did I enjoy the opportunity to express my excitement about this work of art, I was also able to improve my public speaking skills. I was one of three participants who progressed to the Regional Final at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. I achieved 2nd place, just missing out on the win that would have placed me in the national final. However, I have discovered a passion for public speaking.

Written by Lucy M L6

HOUSE MUSIC COMPETITION This term the whole school celebrated the musical achievements of the year during the finals of the St Swithun’s House Music Competition. The first rounds took place at the end of the autumn term, with over 100 entries from across the houses. Each of the fifteen finalists bravely overcame their nerves and performed with maturity and finesse in front of a very supportive audience. There was a wide variety of instruments represented including drum kit, marimba and harp by girls from L4 to U6. The adjudicator, pianist and former BBC Young Musician of the Year, Anna Maryland, gave very positive and encouraging feedback to each of the performers at the end before announcing the eventual winners: Olivia P L5 (junior on harp), Alex D L6 (intermediate on piano) and Agnes W U6 (advanced on piano).

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THE ARTS

CABARET EVENING The beach was the theme for our cabaret night in January and despite the wet weather outside, Harvey Hall radiated with laughter and applause.

We witnessed stunning aerial silks and dancing, and listened to music from the eccentric Tom Lehrer and from our own beautiful choir, soloists and pianists.

Mrs Hall and Mr Gates teamed up to produce some melodic singing and the staff choir arrived on stage in flippers. A band jam performance was another one of the iconic suprise teacher acts.

Written by Rosie C U6

MUSIC SCHOLARS AND EXHIBITIONERS’ CONCERT In February we were treated to performances by a selection of our music scholars and exhibitioners. A flute duet, a Mendelssohn Octet and many stunning solos were the highlights as our finest musicians showcased their musical talents to a large audience in Harvey Hall.

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THE ARTS

OLIVIER AWARDS The St Swithun’s Olivier Awards has been an event that I’ve looked forward to ever since receiving my first nomination for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe four years ago. Having the privilege of hosting and presenting the evening with Freya W U6 was such a delight. We had a fantastic turn-out of nominees, friends and family all showing their support. The atmosphere was incredible.

The evening featured some stunning performances including a sneak-peak of Junior Drama Club’s upcoming play The Keeper, a nostalgic reprise of Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof and C&P pieces that displayed the great potential we have at St Swithun’s. This year we devised a new category, Best Staff Actor, which of course went to Mr Hammel for his phenomenal performance in both the Finlay and Christmas Assembly videos. This was a truly enthralling evening and a great opportunity to celebrate our performers’ achievements and talents.

By Emily B U6

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Our 1st X worked extremely hard this season, adding in early morning practices and wall ball sessions from January, all with the focus on doing well at Nationals.

On the way, key wins at the South Schools Invitational and Top Test tournaments laid the foundations for later success. Led by captain Tallulah J U6 and supported by vice captains Maddie T and Siobhan T U6, the team focussed on converting their attack possessions to goals.

The season culminated in a thrilling top eight finish at the National Schools Lacrosse Championships, including an epic win over rivals St Mary’s Calne.

Our 2nd and 3rd X’s were both quarterfinalists at Nationals, whilst our U15A team won their Division 1 Championship behind the strong leadership of Lucia W and Charlie K-S M5. The U14A’s only lost three matches all season, with Rania A L5 a consistently strong performer.

Several of our teams were unable to compete at this season’s National Schools Championships owing to terrible weather, but they are even more determined to succeed in next year’s competition.

SPORTS

LACROSSE SEASON REVIEW

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SPORTS

NETBALL SEASON REVIEW Our U14A netball team were crowned county champions and came 3rd at the regional finals, just missing out on a top two place that would have secured progression to the National Schools Finals. The same team finished in the top four in the SnS National Cup. The U16A team had similar success, also making the top four of the SnS National Cup, missing out on a place in the final by one goal. They were also county runners-up and qualified for the regional finals at National Schools.

The U16A, U15A, U14A and U14B teams were undefeated in all friendly fixtures and our U12A team qualified for the national final of the SnS Plate competition. The majority of our teams have improved win/loss statistics compared to last season including the 1st and 2nd senior teams. The U13B team improved the most, winning 80% of matches compared to 42% last year.

Sophie K U5 was selected for the U17 England netball squad to compete at the Netball Europe Championship.

She won a gold medal along with her first caps. Sophie is also a key member of the Surrey Storm U19 squad.

Emily BG M5 and Tabitha G L5 were selected for Surrey Storm’s junior age groups.

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SPORTS

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1 Skiing at the British Schoolgirls’ Races in Flaine 2 L5 enjoying their debut football match 3-6 House netball and lacrosse.

Congratulations to Caer Gwent for winning both

St Swithun’s School, Alresford Road, Winchester, SO21 1HA 01962 835700 office@stswithuns.com www.stswithuns.com Registered Charity Number 307335