OGA Chain 2023

OGA Chain 2023 The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, St Swithun’s School cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed are those of the author/subject of the page and do not necessarily represent the views of St Swithun’s School. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any shape or form without prior permission from St Swithun’s School.

Front cover credit: Richard Townshend Photography

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2 Headmistress’ Welcome 3 From the Director 4 Class of 2023 6 Meet the Team 8 Spotlight – Sarah von Schmidt 10 Greenpower Update 12 School News 15 Hong Kong Event 16 Stories from the Archive 18 Introducing the New Head of Prep 20 Spotlight – Zara Rutherford 22 House News 24 Founders’ Day Reflections 26 Old Girls’ Day 2023 31 140th Anniversary Celebrations 32 Spotlight – Zoe Claymore 34 Bramston Bursary Foundation Update 36 In Conversation with our Head Girl – Alice Elkington 38 Gap Year Interviews 42 Spotlight – Caitlyn Bowyer 44 Old School Rules 46 Catching up with Friends – Lucy Parr 48 Catching up with Friends – Rosie Deane 50 Former Teacher Feature – Sarah Goudge 51 Former Teacher Feature – Terry Hemming 52 Upcoming Events 54 St Swithun’s Commemorative Print – in aid of the BBF 56 Join the Community Hub 57 Remembered with Affection 64 BBF Donor Acknowledgements

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If you have any queries regarding the OGA Chain publication, the Old Girls’ Association or the community hub, please contact us using the details below: Kate Lewis Director of development and alumnae Email: lewisk@stswithuns.com Tel: 01962 835734 Rosy Oscroft Development and alumnae co-ordinator Email: oscroftr@stswithuns.com Tel: 01962 835782

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Edited by Kelly Carr

The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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On stage, we were thrilled to have writer, Philip Glassborow, in the audience for all three performances of his moving musical, Welcome to Terezin. The show, both evocative and witty, also incorporated some haunting vocal performances. Similar high-quality ensemble playing was a feature of the Fairy Tale Courtroom where the audience voted on whether the wolf and the witch were really as bad as traditionally depicted or whether they might just be misunderstood.

Meanwhile, the Arts Festival in July was an extraordinary blend of music, art, and drama. I particularly enjoyed the chance to try tightrope walking and to power (by riding a bicycle) the sewing machine that was being used by artist Harriet Riddell to sew my portrait.

Headmistress’ Welcome When I look back at the highlights of this year, the replacement of all 230 windows in our main school building must count as one of them. We first discussed replacing the windows over ten years ago, but at the time, the technology was not in place to replicate the beautiful, curved segments at the top of each frame. Fast-forward, and despite having to individually measure every window, we are now snuggly ensconced behind windows that now open smoothly and that keep out the brisk winds that are so often a feature of life on top of a hill. Whilst the scaffolding was in place for the windows, we also cleaned our stonework and the clock tower in addition to giving the down pipes

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a new lease of life by repainting the gold St Swithun’s lettering and bishop’s mitre.

On the sports field, cricket took a further step forward as we were the only school in Hampshire to have a team in both of the county finals whilst our U15 team reached the last 6 of the Lady Taverners national indoor competition and enjoyed a day out at Lord’s. We are planning a second artificial wicket and some nets for summer 2024.

If you happen to be passing on a warm Saturday morning, do pop in to enjoy some cricket. Indeed, if you are passing on any Saturday morning, please join us to watch some sport and enjoy match tea.

Our music continues to captivate and to inspire. Last year saw both classical and rock concerts. The latter are so popular that we now have two Swithun’s Live events, featuring bands from both our prep school and Winchester College in addition to our own senior school musicians.

As you will know, St Swithun’s was founded on 5 May 1884 which makes next year our 140th birthday year. We are planning several events, two of which I warmly invite you to put in your diary now. On 17th March 2024 at 6.30pm our evensong in Winchester Cathedral will celebrate our birthday and feature a new anthem commissioned for this occasion. On 4th July, we will seek to raise money to support our bursary holders by taking on a physical challenge. More details of these events and of others will follow in due course (also see page 31). In the meantime, you are very welcome indeed to come to visit if you are in the area. Please just drop oga@stswithuns.com a line to let us know so that we can look after you properly. ■

Jane Gandee Headmistress

From the director of development and alumnae Welcome to the OGA Chain 2023.

It has been a busy year at the school, within the OGA and the Bramston Bursary Foundation (BBF), but a hugely enjoyable and rewarding one.

My first year has involved building a new development team (you can read about us on page 6) and filming a video about the BBF with the new chair of the foundation’s committee, Louise Tyson, along with students and some of the BBF recipients themselves – you can view it here: www.stswithuns.com/ about-us/bramston-bursary-foundation.

We have also delivered several events. From a street party in May to celebrate our Founders’ day and the King’s coronation, to a colourful fiesta and auction in the summer term, to help us fundraise the income we need to provide the BBF transformational bursaries.

I have been delighted to meet many former students at both the OG day in 2022 and most recently in September 2023. I hope you have been enjoying our monthly e-News as well as more regular posts on our social media platforms. We love hearing from you and capturing your stories and updates. Thank you for remaining engaged.

This year we were lucky enough to be contacted by an OG’s niece after her aunt had sadly died. We uncovered the story of former student, Margaret Pilsbury MBE, and her extraordinary bravery during the 14th July Revolution in Iraq in 1958. You can read about Margaret on page 16.

Our school community hub remains a central point of information allowing former students to reconnect and also professionally

network with one another, safely and within the school community.

We have recently had a law-focused week at school which has helped current students understand how diverse the professional options are in this sector. Next spring, we are also planning a professional networking event for former students who work in this profession. It seems to be a vocation which is popular at St Swithun’s and so we extend our sincere thanks to Sarah von Schmidt, OG and Partner at Farrer & Co LLP, for being our Spotlight feature this year on page 8.

The school continues to flourish with the class of 2023’s examination results in GCSE and A-levels providing considerable pride. Their results reflect the hard work and dedication of the girls supported and encouraged by the school’s teaching staff.

Please take a look at the results along with other school news on page 12.

The Bramston Bursary Foundation is growing and now has eight recipients. The school continues to partner with Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation, Buttle UK, Hampshire County Council and the Isle of Wight’s children’s services.

to do. There are certainly some reoccurring qualities that go across all generations of our alumnae - a zest for life is one, a sense of adventure is another, a willingness to help and also an intelligent curiosity.

As the school enters its 140th year since it was founded by Anna Bramston and Amélie Le Roy, you can be assured that it is still delivering a high-quality modern education to young women. And thanks to you all, there is a great deal to celebrate.

Please do get involved with our 140th and feel free to join in during this special year. We will keep you posted on all the events via the OGA e-News, the school community hub and social media.

I hope you enjoy reading this year’s publication. ■

Kate Lewis Director of development and alumnae

The number of children needing to access care in Hampshire (2022 statistics) has grown by 39% over the previous two years, to 1,728 children. Nationwide the increase is 2%. The boarding places offered by the BBF have never been more needed by those seeking to access them. Find out more about the BBF and our transformational bursary programme on page 34.

I am constantly impressed by our alumnae and all the interesting things that they go on The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Welcome to the Class of 2023

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Institution

Course

Bournemouth University

Art foundation

Cardiff University

Architecture; medical engineering

Durham University

Classics; geography; health and human sciences; modern languages and cultures; politics; politics and international relations

Goldsmiths, University of London

Psychology with clinical psychology

Imperial College London

Biochemistry

Keele University

Neuroscience

Lancaster University

Psychology and linguistics

Leiden University, Netherlands

Philosophy

London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London

Geography with economics

Newcastle University

Biomedical sciences

Queen Mary University of London

Biomedical engineering

Royal Holloway, University of London

English with philosophy; philosophy

Royal Veterinary College, University of London

Bioveterinary sciences

SOAS, University of London

International relations

UCL (University College London)

Economics; English; French and German; geophysics; linguistics

University of Bath

Psychology

University of Birmingham

Physics and astrophysics

University of Brighton

Biomedical science

University of Bristol

History of art; social policy

University of Cambridge

Human, social and political sciences; medicine

University of East Anglia

Geography and international development

University of Exeter

Classical studies; English; flexible combined honours; geography; law; medicine; psychology

University of Leeds

Medicine

University of Liverpool

Business economics

University of Manchester

Sociology

University of Nottingham

Architecture; classics and English; veterinary medicine

University of Oxford

History and economics; music; philosophy, politics and economics; physics

University of Plymouth

Ocean science and marine conservation

University of Reading

Business economics

University of Sheffield

Medicine

University of Southampton

Medical engineering

University of St Andrews

Biology; economics; sustainable development

University of Warwick

Law with French law

University of York

Chemistry

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Meet the New Teams This year both the alumnae and development and professional guidance departments have new members.

Kate Lewis (centre right), director of development and alumnae: Kate’s previous roles include eight years as the Head of External Relations for Snape Maltings Concert Hall and the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk, as well as senior fundraising roles with maritime charities, the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity and most recently, the Jubilee Sailing Trust. Her main focus is on growing the income and support needed for the Bramston Bursary Foundation to enable girls in challenging circumstances to access the school and unlock their full potential.

Sarah Layzell (centre left), events and engagement officer: Sarah comes from an events background having organised many large fundraisers for sports clubs, schools and charities.

She will be providing the wider St Swithun’s community with opportunities to connect whilst raising awareness of, and helping to fundraise for, the Bramston Bursary Foundation.

Alongside this, she will help to organise careers events as part of the professional guidance programme.

Rosy Oscroft (right), development and alumnae co-ordinator: Rosy has a foundation degree in counselling and used to work as a youth counsellor for various charities. She joins the team for four days a week as well as running her own private counselling practice for adults. Rosy is looking forward to meeting the alumnae being a former student of the Prep school herself and will help grow online networks.

Gwen Heywood-Waddington (left), data research officer: Gwen has worked in fundraising and memberships for the past 15 years for local and international charities as well as professional bodies. She enjoys supporting both the St Swithun’s community and the Bramston Bursary Foundation. ■

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Working alongside the development and alumnae team, are four other members of staff who form the professional guidance department.

Tim Dixon

In addition to teaching geography at St Swithun’s for several years, Tim is also head of student guidance at St Swithun’s. He is involved in university visits and applications, organises CV workshops and interview practice for students and runs the work experience programme. He works alongside the alumnae and development team in the professional guidance department, linking OGs to students in a mentoring capacity via a variety of events.

Victoria Taylor

Victoria joined St Swithun’s last September after teaching overseas for several years at British international schools. Alongside teaching English, she has taken on the role of head of academic enrichment and runs the excellent programme through a combination of outside speakers, student-led research and intellectually challenging activities beyond the curriculum. She also supports students’ Oxbridge applications and is working with Tim to create closer links between academic enrichment and professional guidance.

Becca Hills

Becca joined St Swithun’s in September after teaching in primary schools for five years. She supports the student guidance department with networking and events, communicating with students and parents regarding careers and helping the department with working towards the Quality in Careers standard. She works with the development team to involve alumnae with careers and events, helping current students with their professional development.

Becca also supports the senior leadership team on a day-to-day basis.

Lorna Henley

Lorna joined St. Swithun’s in September 2023 as the housemistress of Hyde Abbey, and prior to this ran four other boarding houses. While this role takes up most of her time, she also works with Tim to coordinate work experience placements. She’s excited about making the work experience programme the best it’s ever been and can’t wait to see what the girls learn from their placements. ■

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Spotlight On...

Partner at Farrer & Co LLP Sarah von Schmidt (Fatchen) V 1989 Did you join Farrer & Co LLP through their trainee programme or did you train elsewhere first?

I joined Farrers as a trainee – and actually had my second interview on my 22nd birthday which must have been a good luck charm! In those days, trainee solicitors at Farrers did sixmonth seats in different teams (they are now four-month seats). I started out in the private client department and very much enjoyed it, but also benefitted greatly from my other seats in the property (doing residential and rural property work), employment and family teams.

Did you always know which sector of the law you wanted to work in, once you had qualified?

One of my university friends, who was also studying history like me, was extremely focused on being a solicitor working for a City firm. For a while, I thought that I also wanted to do corporate law, and I did a work placement with a City firm. Then I re-assessed and decided that working with private clients was what really interested me, especially trust law, which I had enjoyed studying at law school. I also spent a summer vacation working for the Government Legal Service with their tax specialists which also encouraged me to specialise in the private wealth sector. When still at university I asked my tutor if she thought law would be a good option for me. Her encouragement that I had the necessary analytical skills was what I picked up on, somewhat ironically putting to one side her comment that she would trust me to write her Will. It turns out that she knew me better than I knew myself: being trusted to manage people’s estate planning or other highly personal arrangements, sometimes in very challenging circumstances, is a privilege and often very rewarding.

What does a typical day at Farrer & Co LLP look like for you?

I am the Managing Partner for the Private Client & Tax Department at Farrers and so a typical day would usually include a management meeting of some kind perhaps with some of the leadership team in our department or with colleagues from one of our business services teams like Marketing & Business Development, Knowledge, Learning & Development or Finance. Of course, client calls or meetings are a very important - and enjoyable - part of my working week; they can vary a great deal from a formal trustee meeting with many attendees to a one-to-one call with

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Photo credit: Richard Townshend Photography

Sarah on holiday with her sister Claire Thorne (Fatchen) CG 1989 who sits on St Swithun’s school council

a client. We work in client-facing teams and I’ll spend some time on internal catch-ups with colleagues discussing progress on a particular matter or reviewing documents.

I have always enjoyed the mentoring and training aspects of my job, and also still learn a lot from working through legal problems with others – it is very satisfying.

Cultivating relationships to broaden business opportunities for the firm is something that everyone is encouraged to do and a catch up over coffee or at an evening event is a very enjoyable way to keep in touch with other professionals from the private wealth sector.

What advice would you give a current St Swithun’s student who is interested in a similar career path to yours?

First, pick the degree course that you genuinely think you will both enjoy and do well at – this may not be law and that is fine. Many solicitors don’t study law as undergraduates, and it is very normal for applicants for training contracts to have done a non-law degree followed by an extra year at law school. More law firms are offering solicitor apprenticeships too these days and so it is worth exploring these alongside the more traditional training contract route for graduates post-university.

I strongly recommend spending some time looking at the many online resources about the various routes into law as it is important to get on top of the various deadlines and timetables for applications for formal vacation schemes (which most future legal employers will expect to see) as well as for the training contracts themselves and also for law school.

Joining the law society at your university is great as a source of information and also to help you build up your network. Like other graduate employers, law firms want to look for people who are able to work as a team but also very self-motivated with good commercial awareness, strong analytical skills and an open-minded approach. Essentially you need to enjoy solving problems and to be a good listener. There will be some pressures when juggling competing demands on your time, but there will also be enormous satisfaction in a job well done.

Which book or podcast would you recommend and why?

My current favourite podcast is Off Air…with Jane and Fi which I listen to on my commute home and is guaranteed to lift my spirits at the end of the day – and, of course, Fi Glover is another OG. I have also been recommending Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver to lots of friends – it is a modern-day retelling of David Copperfield (which we read at school) set in the Appalachians, and extremely well deserving of the prizes won!

What is your fondest memory from your time at school?

It is so hard to pick just one as my twin sister Claire and I started in the Junior school at age four and left at the end of the sixth form. My fondest memory at the Junior school was being allowed to select percussion instruments in music and march around playing them – I remember the triumph of getting to the special wooden fish instrument first! My fondest memory in the sixth form was being part of a joint production with Winchester College of the opera Carmen. Not only was it an incredible experience to be part of the chorus (the leads were played by professional opera singers) but I made friends for life (including my now brother-in-law of thirty years!)

What traits were you encouraged to adopt at St Swithun’s that are still serving you well today?

I have taken part in various projects considering our values as an organisation over the years and have often reflected on St Swithun’s founding virtues – Caritas, Humilitas, Sinceritas as part of those processes. Understanding the importance of these has certainly served me well over the years whether as a junior solicitor or a senior leader. I know that the school’s purpose to develop strong, independent women is still strongly linked to those virtues and I wholeheartedly agree that kindness and openmindedness should be the building blocks of successful communities. This is very much true of partnerships, and the many longlived legal partnerships in the UK (Farrer & Co was founded in 1701) show that these values also happily co-exist with dynamism, commerciality and striving to do an excellent job for one’s clients.

What’s the most important lesson you have learnt during your career to date?

That is an easy one - to learn how to be a good listener! ■

Sarah with her colleague Sonal Shah, a Partner at Farrer & Co LLP The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Greenpower Update Team Plutonium

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Team Neon

watch all the cars set off. There were around one hundred cars including ones that had travelled from as far as Belgium, Spain and even Brazil!

Written by Rose Wheeler, L6 In October, our three Greenpower teams gathered before sunrise to make their way to the Goodwood race circuit for the Greenpower International finals. Urged on by the beautiful weather - as opposed to the torrential rain of the previous Castle Combe heat in September - the teams unpacked tools, chairs and batteries, and the drivers went out on practice laps.

Team Rubidium

After a highly successful qualifying round, with all cars passing with flying colours, the teams enjoyed lunch and talked tactics for the all-important final race. There was a small parade, in which all cars were escorted by the whole of their respective teams, cheering for and wishing luck to the starting drivers before heading to the pit lane to

The St Swithun’s cars achieved very respectable positions out of 91 cars in total, with Neon coming 69th overall and 33rd out of all kit-built cars, Rubidium coming 70th overall and 35th in the kit-cars group, and Plutonium 73rd overall and 36th in the scratch-built category.

All members of the three teams are extremely excited to research and devise improvements to the cars over the winter in preparation for the new season starting in late spring.

Sadly, this October’s final meant we had to say goodbye to our upper sixth members, Elika, Sophie, and Kristy, who have been our amazing captains for each car this year, as well as sorting out driver allocations, race admin, organising club sessions on Wednesdays and much more. We all wish them the very best in their exams later this school year. ■

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Jane Gandee smiling despite the hot coals

School News Fundraising – Hot Coals Staying true to the value of caritas, 35 brave students and staff, including Jane Gandee, our headmistress, took part in a fire walk in March.

They braved burning hot coals to raise money for the Bramston Bursary Foundation and the school’s three charities for 2023: Kids for Kids, Planned Parenthood and HART. Together they raised over £2,500. ■ Fundraising – Earthquake disaster In February, Turkey and Syria were devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which claimed the lives of over 50,000 people. One of our students, Maya Cheesman (U4), felt compelled to help. Born in Istanbul with family across Turkey, Maya had a connection to the disaster and wanted to support those suffering. She began fundraising by selling bracelets to students and staff and raised over £500. She went on to secure sponsorship to travel to Turkey and sourced blankets, tents, food and other supplies to take to earthquake survivors.

A few months after she returned, Maya was invited to the Houses of Parliament to meet MP Flick Drummond. They talked about Maya’s fundraising work and the work of an MP. Maya’s determination to help others was truly inspirational. ■

Maya selling bracelets at St Swithun’s

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GCSE Results Fantastic GCSE results again this year 32% of results were at grade 9, the highest ever in a non-Covid year, while 62% were grades 9/8/A*, exceeding results in 2019. 79% of results were grades 7/A and above. ■ A-level Results Another year of strong A-Level results 86% of our A levels were graded A* to B and half of our U6 girls achieved AAA or higher. 61% were graded AAB or above and 73% ABB or better. ■

Fundraising – Spring term At the end of our Spring term, Fundraising Thursday took place with a wide range of events across the school. Activities such as a doughnut sale, ‘hook-a-duck’ and the incredibly popular ‘sponge the teacher’ raised over £2,600 for the school’s three chosen charities. ■

The 2022/23 head girl team fundraising The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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UNICEF UK Youth Advisory Board In February our then head girl, Jamie See, travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, as one of the three representatives of the UNICEF UK Youth Advisory Board. Jamie was chosen by her peers on the board to attend the meetings with the UN committee on the Rights of the Child. She moderated the children’s meeting with 40 other young people, where they discussed the importance of recognising the individual systematic inequalities in education.

From the meeting, the UN committee will provide a set of recommendations to the UK government.

Later in the year, Jamie abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth to raise money for UNICEF UK and to celebrate her 18th birthday. Her endeavours raised £1,193 for UNICEF. ■

Jamie in Geneva

Arts Festival With the pandemic putting a stop to many whole-school events over the last few years, this July we were delighted to hold the Arts Festival. It brought together the Prep and Senior schools for a day full of creative endeavours.

The staff band

Students took part in workshops and activities as varied as beat-boxing, willow weaving and stone masonry, to name just a few!

At lunchtime, the students were treated to a lively performance from the ever-popular staff band before exploring the many stalls run by local artists selling their creations. ■

Annabel Josey, U6, enjoying an art workshop

Arts Festival workshops were popular, including weaving sun flowers with willow weaver, Mollie McMillen

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Can you help us celebrate our 140th anniversary with our Hong Kong community?

St Swithun’s OGA is hoping to bring the 140th anniversary to Hong Kong in 2024 and celebrate with our school community based there.

We are looking for former students, parents or staff, who are based in Hong Kong and would be willing to assist the development team with organising an exciting event to bring everyone together.

We are hoping to do this in the autumn term of 2024 and include as many people connected to St Swithun’s as we can, including parents, who are in the vicinity.

If you would be happy to help us organise a jubilant 140th anniversary celebration in Hong Kong, please register your interest in helping via oga@stswithuns.com.

Photo credit: Ryan on Unsplash

Thank you.

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A Story from the Archive Margaret Pilsbury MBE

Margaret’s autograph book signed by Hillcroft juniors in July 1931

Earlier this year we heard from Tessa Pilsbury, niece of former student Margaret Pilsbury, who had several items belonging to her aunt; she kindly asked if we would be interested in adding them to our archive.

Tessa told us that Margaret had lived far from an ordinary life and we were intrigued to discover more about the items and what they could tell us about Margaret.

Margaret was born on 12th January 1914. Her early life began in the north of England, but later she moved south and soon after attended St Swithun’s.

We assume from her autograph book that she was in Hillcroft, as she has several signatures from other Hillcroft members.

Margaret during World War II

After leaving St Swithun’s, Margaret spent time studying at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

It is unclear how long she remained there, and her time may have been cut short due to the start of World War II. During the war we know that Margaret worked as a cypher officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. This took her to Cairo in Egypt but as the nature of the work was quite secret, Margaret never shared much about it and so much about that time in her life remains a mystery.

After the war ended, she lived in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she took a course in personnel management. She then spent some time back in the UK before making her next overseas move to Baghdad, Iraq.

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A greetings card and a YWCA booklet from Iraq

Margaret’s MBE dating from 1958

Margaret’s commemorative Diamond Jubilee plate

In Baghdad, she worked at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) as the general secretary. It was a time of unrest and in 1958, when the 14th July Revolution took place, the Hashemite-led Kingdom of Iraq was overthrown and several royal figures, including King Faisal II and An example of Margaret’s embroidery Prince Abd ad-llah, were killed. History tells us this revolution was brutal with mob violence in the streets. Margaret bravely played a significant role in saving RAF Wing Commander Trevor Andrade, who had been attacked by the mob when driving through the city. He staggered to the YWCA compound, and they took him in. Girls in the compound stopped the mob from entering and Margaret sewed up the Wing Commander’s head which had been cut open. It is for this bravery that she received her MBE – a remarkable achievement. There were also several letters to Margaret from Baghdad, including one from a friend who commended her for her bravery.

After her time in Iraq, she married Edward Rogers and moved with her husband to British Guiana, now Guyana, as Edward was posted there for his job. When he retired, they moved back to the UK and bought a house near the town of Sudbury in West Suffolk, and this was where Margaret decided to pursue one of her passions – needlework – by opening an embroidery shop. We were lucky to receive some samples of her needlework talent in the box of items from her niece.

Margaret was a very sociable member of her community, being a member of the Women’s Institute and a church warden. Other villagers remembered her cycling down the street on her old-fashioned bike, saying hello to everyone as she passed by. The countless letters and cards addressed to her show that she was appreciated by those who met her from all over the world.

A news article about Margaret’s needlework and life story

Sadly, Margaret died in 2005, but her incredible story lives on through her belongings which will be safely preserved in our archive. Margaret is buried in the churchyard of St Lawrence’s in Little Waldingfield, Suffolk, which is the church she served and worshipped at for over 40 years. ■

Margaret in later life with her life-long friend Ruth Stanhope, who she met at St Swithun’s The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Liz Norris

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Meet the New Head of Prep Interview with Liz Norris What made you want to become the head at St Swithun’s Prep?

I wanted to come to a school where the ethos matched my own, where the pupils were at the centre of all that happened and where I felt I could make a difference. My previous two headships have been at girls’ schools in the independent sector and I’ve been aware of St Swithun’s for quite some time. Recognising the difference education in a single-sex environment can make for girls, I was delighted when the vacancy arose and was very keen to apply. Let’s not forget though the wonderful location of St Swithun’s and its history. All of this makes me feel very privileged to have been appointed as the new head of Prep.

What are you most excited about in the new role?

Since being appointed I have been fortunate to spend some time meeting staff and pupils when visiting the school on several occasions. I was also pleased to meet a few parents at the summer open day and at the summer fête where I even met some of the pupils’ dogs. It is obvious that there is a huge sense of community and commitment at St Swithun’s, and I am very excited to be joining the St Swithun’s family.

What are you most looking forward to exploring in the area?

I am new to the area but have already enjoyed exploring the wonderful countryside and villages. My dog is enjoying exploring the area too! Winchester itself is a great city and has so much character and history. My grandparents used to live and teach in the area, and I did visit as a young child before they relocated to Somerset. It feels good to have the family represented and teaching in

the area once more. Everyone we have met has been so welcoming and I look forward to making new connections.

We hear that you are a talented musician and play several instruments – which is your favourite?

Yes, I play the piano, cello and flute. I rarely get to play the flute or cello these days, so I suppose, by default, the piano is my favourite. The piano is one of those instruments that you can really enjoy playing for your own pleasure but can also play to support other musicians or singers. I have always enjoyed being able to play the piano in my schools to support the music department regularly for choirs, concerts and productions.

What is your vision for the future of the Prep School?

Even great schools like St Swithun’s Prep have areas that need developing, and I am looking forward to the challenge of building on all the great work that Mr Brough has done in the last few years. A real vision for the future can only come once I understand more about the school’s current position and the opportunities there may be. Ultimately, I would want St Swithun’s Prep to be the school of choice in the area, for parents to know that here, their daughters will receive the best education, will grow in character, resilience, and confidence, and, importantly, will have lots of fun in the process. I also want parents of nursery-aged children to see that, whether boy or girl, attending our preschool will give them the best start to their education. I am very excited about the role I have at St Swithun’s Prep and look forward to being part of what I am sure will be an exciting future. ■ The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Spotlight On...

Aviator Zara Rutherford HA 2021 You may remember back in 2021, Zara was on the cover of the Chain magazine as she was part-way through the incredible adventure of circumnavigating the globe. We caught up with Zara to see what else has been happening...

It’s been 18 months since you completed your epic journey - how do you feel looking back on it now?

It stills feel very surreal. I’m so grateful to have been able to experience such an amazing journey.

How often do you get to fly now that you are studying at university?

Unfortunately, I’m not able to fly very often. When I do go to fly, it’s usually with friends around San Francisco or on small trips.

You have recently won the prestigious Segrave trophy alongside your brother – how did it feel to win?

Winning the Segrave trophy was a huge honour. Looking at the past winners like Lewis Hamilton and Richard Branson, I find it incredible that my brother and I have won the same award. I’m glad that my brother was able to complete a similar adventure to mine, and winning the award together was great!

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Photo credit: Beatrice De Smet

Sometimes I’ll look at some old pictures and I can’t quite believe I went to all of those places.

Photo credit: Beatrice De Smet

Why were you awarded the trophy and did you meet anyone interesting at the ceremony?

The trophy is awarded based on ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water and in the air’. I met some really incredible people there, for example Paul Bonhomme, a previous winner of the Red Bull Air Race.

You’ve just completed your first year at Stanford. What’s it like studying there and living in California?

Stanford has been great! It’s a lot of work but the flexibility and freedom in choosing your classes allows for pursuing many potential avenues. I’m currently studying a mix of electrical engineering and computer science.

It’s four years in total for a Bachelor’s degree.

What are you planning to do after university?

I’ll probably work on my Master’s degree - I think I will stay in the US for that but I’m not sure yet, it depends which course of study I pursue further.

After that I’m not sure! Working in the space industry would be cool though…

What roles in the space industry interest you?

I’m unsure. Being an astronaut would be pretty exciting. I’m also looking at the engineering behind space equipment such as satellites and rockets as there’s some interesting challenges to solve in these fields. ■

Photo credit: Didier De Broux

California is also great; the weather is always perfect and the food is delicious.

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News from the Houses

Earlsdown

We know that many of you have fond memories of your former school house, so it was time to catch up with what’s been happening in some of them...

What has been the best event for your house this past school year?

Earlsdown (E) - It’s definitely our karaoke night in the Christmas term. The L6 organised a fun evening and every year group performed their favourite songs!

High House (HH) - Winning house drama was amazing - everyone came together and worked really hard to produce a great performance.

Our Christmas celebration was also a big hit with treats, music, quizzes and a whole-house secret Santa.

Hyde Abbey (HA) - Nothing tops our traditional yearly trip to Winter Wonderland. It is always fun, exciting and full of Christmas spirit. Although some girls preferred the Halloween party which was a frightful, but ever joyful mess!

Caer Gwent (CG) - House competitions especially winning senior house sport and house music. We are quite a competitive house so winning house music was definitely memorable and so was putting in lots of effort and fun into our house drama.

Mowbray (M) - Our junior team becoming house lacrosse champions!

If a song could represent your house, which one would it be?

E - Happy Birthday!

HH - Waka Waka by Shakira - it’s also our favourite song to play Just Dance to.

HA - There were two popular contenders among the house. The first was Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls as our housemistress taught us a dance to this song, which the whole house did together. The second, for the younger years in particular, and because nothing tops Disney, is Let it Go. In many ways this reflects how Hyde Abbey is a haven of support which allows you to leave the rest of the day behind.

CG - Lay all your Love on Me by ABBA - this was our house song last year - we all love it and think its liveliness represents us!

M - Super Trouper from Mama Mia.

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High House

Earlsdown

What is your house’s favourite way to celebrate?

E - We love a pizza or Chinese takeout for everything - birthdays, sports and music achievements, or just a weekend treat.

HH - We love having a whole-house celebration which normally involves some kind of cake or food!

HA - Without a shadow of a doubt, food cannot be topped and is in fact something Hyde Abbey prides itself on; for years Hyde Abbey had the most extravagant and foodheavy Christmas suppers. Although our love for food is almost matched by our mutual love for singing timeless Disney songs.

CG - A pizza party.

M - With chocolate or cake - or whatever sweet treat Mrs Nicholls and Mrs Savory bring to the house meeting.

Who is the inspirational icon for your house?

E - Our housemistress, Mrs Clark.

was no hesitation to this question as she truly makes Hyde Abbey a home away from home.

CG - Mrs Abbott, our head of house, due to her diligence and hard work in making the house function and be an enjoyable place.

M - Our housemistresses Mrs Nicholls and Mrs Savory!

What makes your house a great house to be in?

E - We have traditions such as Gaudy and house entertainment which is a great way for all of us to interact in a casual but hilarious way. Everyone is lively and always keen to chat to one another between the year groups.

HH - The community, the food and the fun.

HA - Of course, whilst we believe that Miss Bell deserves to be the answer to this question as well, the best thing about Hyde Abbey are the friends you make and the tight-knit friendships across year groups.

HH - Mrs Wright, our day matron - she does so much for us, she makes the most amazing food and is always there for us whenever we need her.

CG - We have a lot of answers to this question, but most importantly the people in it and the fun we bring to everything that we do. We have a positive spirit and are prepared to put 100% into everything, even if it’s not our forte.

HA - Our day matron, Miss Bell, is a beloved icon we look up to enormously and who always goes the extra mile for us. There

M - Brilliant house spirit - we do really well in house competitions and we are always eating chocolate! ■

Hyde Abbey

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Founders’ Day

Hillcroft’s celebratory cake

May 5th is our Founders’ Day – it is always a day for celebration amongst the St Swithun’s community and this year was no exception. We held a street party to commemorate both the school’s birthday and the new King’s coronation. As well as being a time of great joy, Founders’ Day is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on key historic moments in St Swithun’s history. We’d like to share a few of them with you...

1884 On 5 May 1884 Winchester High School for Girls opened as a day school for 17 students in 3 Southgate Terrace, Winchester. It was founded by Anna Bramston, the daughter of John Bramston, the Dean of Winchester, who was inspired to start with the purpose of establishing a school to provide a ‘sound and thorough’ education for girls in Winchester and its neighbourhood. Not having sufficient money of its own, funds were raised by donations and loans.

Anna Bramston in 1922

Late 1800s

By January 1886, under Miss Mowbray’s leadership, the school had expanded to over 60 students and needed to move to a new building along the North Walls. In May 1889 Miss Lewis and Miss Tothill opened the school’s first boarding house High House, which was located on St Giles Hill, and which initially only had four boarders but grew to be one of the larger senior boarding houses at the school. Hillcroft followed in 1892, with Earlsdown and the first two day houses, Caer Gwent and Venta, opening in 1896. The aim of the latter was to promote greater unity amongst all the houses of the school.

In 1891, the Old Girls’ Association (OGA) was formed; its purpose being to create unity amongst leavers and provide a link between past and present members of the school.

Charlotte Yonge in 1901

In 1899, the Charlotte Yonge Scholarship Fund was introduced by the school in recognition of Miss Yonge’s contribution to the school’s development. This would enable students to continue their education at university and is still awarded to this day.

Hillcroft in 1919

Early 1900s Lacrosse was introduced in 1905 and quickly became the school’s winter sport, replacing hockey. In 1908, new sports facilities were rented on Magdalen hill for lacrosse and tennis, which included a sheltered place for the girls to change. Four years later, cricket was added as a second summer sport to be played alongside tennis. With the outbreak of war in 1914, the school was occupied by the Royal Fusiliers and the East Surrey Regiment, and the girls were taught in their boarding houses.

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WWI soldiers in school

1920s - 1930s In 1927, the School Council changed the name of the school and decided upon St Swithun’s as it resonated with Winchester; St Swithun was the Bishop of Winchester and patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. The following year, the school also adopted his chief virtues of caritas, humilitas, sinceritas as its motto.

Due to its popularity, the school soon became short of space and construction of the new site started late in 1930. The first sod was cut by Anna Bramston, while the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Woods at a ceremony in October that year. The school was officially opened in 1932 by HRH Princess Mary, The Princess Royal.

HRH Princess Mary, The Princess Royal

1942 - 1945 When World War II broke out, the school buildings, including High House and Hyde Abbey, were turned into a military hospital used first by the Royal Army Medical Corps and later by the American Army. Pupils and staff decamped to the boarding houses on St Giles Hill and other houses rented specifically for them. Although the students retained use of the fields for a time, there were few outside matches played due to petrol rationing and subsequent travel difficulties. It wasn’t until 1945 that St Swithun’s was derequisitioned, and school was opened back up after much hard work cleaning and reorganising by the staff and students.

A form room with blackout curtains during WWII

1950s In 1953, Miss Evans was appointed headmistress by the school council and during her tenure she relocated the Prep school, Medecroft, into new buildings in Parkford Road, where it remained for 12 years. June 1959 saw the celebration of the school’s 75th anniversary, at which HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, spoke to many staff and students and watched a spectacular outdoor gym display.

Medecroft

1960s - 2000s St Swithun’s has benefited from new facilities in every decade since the 1960s. In 1966 a new prep school was built on the senior school site and in 1972, Finlay, a boarding house for the sixth form, was constructed. Sadly, a fire destroyed the Prep school in 1974 but it was quickly rebuilt and reopened only a year later. In 1981, the new Earlsdown boarding house was built and in 1984 the school celebrated its centenary with a visit from HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, who was treated to a gymnastics display in the new sports hall which she had just officially opened. A new swimming pool was built in 1994, the Performing Arts Centre in 2003, the new chapel in 2013 and the most recently, the Jill Isaac Study Centre in 2021. ■ HRH Princess Anne

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Old Girls’ Day 2023 Alumnae from the classes of 1973, 1998, 2013 and 2018 returned to St Swithun’s recently to reunite with classmates and former staff. They enjoyed catching up with old friends during the drinks reception in High House garden, and then went on to explore the Senior school before sitting down to a delicious lunch in the Prep school reading space.

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Old Girls’ Day 2023 cont...

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All former students and staff are warmly invited to

Old Girls’ Day 2024

in our 140th anniversary year Saturday 14th September 2024 OGA Chain 2023 30 on

We would particularly love to see St Swithun’s leavers from the classes of 2019, 2014, 1999 and 1974 to celebrate your five, ten, 25 and 50 year anniversaries.

The day will offer opportunities to tour the school with current students, see material from the school archive and enjoy a delicious sit down lunch.

If you are interested in coming, or gathering a group of your contemporaries from school, please let us know by emailing oga@stswithuns.com or call us on 01962 835782.

St Swithun’s 140th Anniversary Celebrations We are looking forward to celebrating 140 years of St Swithun’s next year. Our Founders’ Day is on the 5th May 2024. We are planning several celebratory moments throughout the school year, some of which are listed below. Please do save these dates in your diary if you’d like to come and join in. There will be more information on our school social media platforms and in the OGA e-News, nearer the time. We look forward to celebrating this wonderful milestone with you.

Our celebration events are open to all, unless otherwise stated Sunday 17th March 140th Anniversary Evensong 6.30pm in Winchester Cathedral Friday 3rd May 140th Anniversary School Lunch For students and staff only Friday 10th May 140th Anniversary Founders’ Day Concert, 7.30pm in Harvey Hall Thursday 4th July The 140 Challenge - morning only A range of fun physical challenges for all helping to raise vital funds for the Bramston Bursary Foundation

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Spotlight On...

Garden Designer Zoe Claymore (Des Clayes) CG 2007

On leaving St Swithun’s in 2007, Zoe embarked on a traditional university path and found employment as a social researcher in the civil service. Despite being successful in this, Zoe yearned to be outdoors and have more opportunity to express her creativity, and so in 2021 she made the exciting decision to become a garden designer.

Her love for gardening had been steadily growing for some time; after a difficult period in her life, Zoe found solace in tending and creating her own gardens in a series of rental properties. When she realized how rewarding she found it, she arranged to compress her work hours and started volunteering at Ham House, a local National Trust property.

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After a couple of years exploring different horticultural roles, Zoe settled on garden design as her new career path. Although hesitant to leave her steady job to retrain, Zoe felt that the benefits outweighed the risks and so she took a leap of faith towards her gardening dream.

Since then, Zoe has enjoyed many great successes in a very short period. She designed, grew and exhibited a community allotment for RHS Hampton Court in 2021 and the following year, she completed her garden design studies at Inchbald School of Design, winning the Dean’s Prize for garden design. After her training, she set up her own company and went on to complete a diploma in Horticulture and Landscaping from Merrist Wood College.

However, arguably her biggest success to date is Zoe’s show garden Renters’ Retreat at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this year. Here she created a ‘Get Started Garden,’ sponsored by The Wildlife Trusts. The aim of the garden was to inspire and empower those who rent to grow their gardening ambitions for themselves and the planet. One in three people in England rent, and this rises to one in two in cities like London. Yet despite over seven million rented households having access to outdoor space, many renters feel limited in what they can do with their outdoor areas. Zoe’s garden was all about opening their minds to the various possibilities; it showed those who rent, and their landlords, how to make the most of their space for themselves and for nature.

Looking to the future, Zoe plans to further grow her garden design business; taking on new clients and looking for new challenges.

Excitingly, the portable raised beds she designed exclusively for the show are now available commercially online in a range of sizes. The designs were registered with the Intellectual Property Office, with the assistance of a classmate from St Swithun’s, who Zoe learnt was a patent lawyer from an Old Girls’ event. To learn more about the range please visit The Hampton Collection at www.zoeclaymore.com or see her Instagram: @zoe_claymore for further details.

If you have been inspired to upgrade your outside space, you will be pleased to hear that Zoe is currently offering former students 10% off her consultation service (online or in person) for sessions booked in 2024. To book an appointment and benefit from the discount, please go to her website and book a ‘Garden Guide’ appointment.

Then, on the scheduling page use the code SS24 in the coupon box to redeem the discount at check out. Online consultations can either be booked for yourself or bought as a gift certificate for friends and family (to be redeemed within 12 months of purchase). Happy gardening! ■ Zoe’s design was based on a barren, shady, walled courtyard she used to rent herself. It featured a host of small space ideas to garden without digging into the soil or attaching items to walls. Cleverly, it was also designed to be dismantled and moved with the renter when they left the property.

Renters’ Retreat was a huge success winning ‘RHS Gold’, ‘Best in Category’ and the ‘People’s Choice Winner’ for the ‘Get Started Gardens’. The garden was a ‘must see’ for both House Beautiful and Gardens Illustrated and featured in an article in The Guardian (‘Let them garden’: call for landlords to help tenants and wildlife flourish). Zoe was also seen on prime-time TV, featuring in a segment on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World – you can catch up with this on BBC iPlayer (episode 16).

Underpinning all of Zoe’s garden designs is the desire to create a symbiotic relationship between people and nature. For her, it’s about building connections to nature and creating spaces to nurture ourselves and other living things. Zoe believes that gardens can be immensely beneficial to our mental health, so part of her mission is to inspire people to garden and benefit from the rewards that it brings.

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Bright futures Our transformational bursary programme continues to grow, and now supports eight students in full boarding places, which means that our fundraising needs to keep apace.

The full boarding places provided by the Bramston Bursary Foundation for our recipients are life-changing. They enable girls from any background including those on the edge of social care, to access a St Swithun’s education along with the stability of a home-from-home environment and our tailored pastoral care. It’s the beginning of a journey that unlocks a world

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of possibility for them and vastly improves their future outcomes.

We urgently need regular donations of any amount to be in a secure funding position for the eight girls at the school already and to be confident that we can welcome two more next September 2024.

If you could afford to help us by making a regular donation and would like to play your part in creating brighter futures for these girls, please scan the QR code or visit hub.stswithuns. com/pages/donate.

begin here Or if now is not the right time for you to set up a regular donation, please do consider making a one-off gift or leaving the school a legacy in your will to help us in future. You can download a digital brochure about legacy giving via the ‘how to help’ pages of our community hub at hub.stswithuns.com and scroll down to ‘The 1884 Legacy Society’ section.

Or contact us to discuss how you would like to support on development@stswithuns.com or 01962 835734.

Thank you.

Scan this QR code to help or visit hub.stswithuns.com/pages/donate

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Alice Elkington

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In Conversation with Our Head Girl Alice Elkington, U6 What were your first impressions when you joined St Swithun’s?

I joined St Swithun’s in year one which was quite a long time ago, so I’ll talk about joining the Senior school! When I arrived, the school seemed so big and the older girls seemed like adults, which is funny looking back because now I am one of the older girls and I don’t feel like that at all. But overall, I really liked it; everyone was so friendly and the classes and range of activities were great.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I really like sport, with tennis, lacrosse and netball being the main sports I play. In the autumn and spring term I have Super Saturdays, where we play a netball and lacrosse match against another school and despite the early mornings, I love them.

I also take part in debating, and recently we were debating the law, which was really interesting as it’s a lot more complex than the types of topics we have previously debated.

What is your favourite memory so far?

It’s hard to think of one because I have so many, but one of the most standout memories is the U5 muck up day, when we mess up our old uniform. It marked a transition into having more responsibility and greater independence. It was an opportunity to reflect on how we had all changed over the last five years and how far we had come as a group, making it a really special day.

How did you feel about becoming head girl?

I was quite shocked to be selected but I am really excited. I’m looking forward to making an impact on the school, as that was one of my aims when I applied. I want

to introduce common rooms and make sure that there is more integration between different year groups.

I really enjoy talking to people, and I’m looking forward to representing the school at events like open days and meeting the new girls. Overall, I just want to make a difference, so I am keen to start working on that.

What qualities has St Swithun’s helped you develop?

Leadership is definitely the main quality I have developed over my time here. St Swithun’s has also enabled me to feel free to express my views and find confidence in speaking up. In lessons I feel comfortable sharing my opinions and the environment here makes me feel like it’s completely okay to be myself.

What would you like to do after St Swithun’s?

Firstly, I want to take a gap year which I am really looking forward to because I want to travel to new places. I’d like to go to South America because I study Spanish and it would be fun to put that into practice.

After that, I want to study history at university, which I love because you can relate it to the current world and make connections between so many different areas of history.

Do you have any advice for future head girls?

I would say that when you get the role you should continue to behave how you’ve always behaved. You may feel like you need to change, but the reason you got the role is because of how you’ve behaved in the past and I think you should continue that. It’s important to just enjoy it and to make the most of the opportunities available to you. ■

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Gap Year Interviews Why did you choose to take a gap year?

I chose to take a gap year because I wanted to gain some experience of real life before I attended university. I was also unsure of what I wanted to study and thought that taking a year away from academia would help me figure out what course would be best for me.

What did you do during your gap year?

During my gap year, I completed an Army Officer Internship, also known as a Gap Year Commission. This began with a nineweek course at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where I learnt how to be an officer; I learnt how to manage a platoon of thirty soldiers both in barracks and on operations, as well as the basics of leadership.

At the end of November, I commissioned as a 2Lt into the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and began working full time as an officer in 19th Regiment Royal Artillery. Over the course of the nine months that I spent there, I was lucky enough to experience a wide range of opportunities, from snowboarding in Austria, to subterranean warfare training in Gibraltar, and artillery live firing in Germany.

Would you recommend doing an Army Officer Internship?

I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone that wants to develop leadership skills in a real-world setting, and is interested in potentially making a career as an officer in the Army.

What do you think you’ve gained from the experience?

Through my time in the Army, I have gained invaluable experience in leading people, developed a stronger work ethic, and set myself up for a career as an officer. I have also made lifelong connections and friends from all walks of life. I feel I have grown up a lot over the last year and am now well prepared to take on any challenges that university may present me with.

What’s next for you?

I will be studying English at the University of Exeter, but am able to continue to work part time for the Army as a Reservist in The Rifles. Following university, I hope to attend the Regular Commissioning Course at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst to continue my career as an officer. ■

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Bea Watson CG 2022

Bea on exercise at Sandhurst

Sophie Jennings M 2022 Why did you choose to take a gap year?

For me it was never a question of whether to take a gap year or not, I’d always looked forward to a shot at independence and a chance to explore a bit more of the world. I also thought there would be value in starting university having experienced more of life than I had after finishing my A-Levels.

What did you do during your gap year?

This year I have been lucky enough to do a mixture of things, all of which I’ve loved. I began where I think most of us did - at work full time at my local pub to earn some money!

When the bank account felt full enough, I hopped on a flight to Kenya where I lived and worked with nine other ‘gappies’ at a prep school in Gilgil. After three months and heart wrenching goodbyes to both the children and my new friends, I flew back to England. Thankfully I didn’t have to stay for long and I was soon backpacking around Sophie at Machu Picchu, Peru

Sophie with her friend Daisy on safari in Nairobi, Kenya

Mexico, Guatemala and Peru with my school friends Millie and Maya (and Pippa joined us as soon as her first year of university finished). We spent ten weeks away fending for ourselves and taking in the incredible scenes.

We also did far too much hiking if you ask me! I learnt to love reggaeton and I indulged in local ‘bebidas’ and Central American food, though thankfully I managed to avoid eating guinea pig!

Returning back to reality, home and work was definitely difficult but I enjoyed the security of not having to plan where I would be in three days or having to worry about where I would find my next meal. The predictability of a Winchester night out was weirdly welcomed!

Would you recommend taking a gap year?

I would always recommend taking a gap year if you are able to! I’ll never forget the people I’ve met and the things I’ve been able to do and see.

What do you think you’ve gained from the experience?

It’s such a cliché but the most valuable things I’ll take with me from this year are memories and friendships.

I was extremely fortunate to meet people through my pub, and then I became so close to the people with me in Kenya. I then of course solidified the ‘bestie statuses’ of the girls I went travelling to Central America with.

Taking advantage of having no real responsibilities yet has meant that all I’ve done has been in the name of selfimprovement and fulfilment. I’m not saying I’ve found myself yet but I’m definitely a bit closer than I was!

What’s next for you?

This September I’m heading to the University of Bristol to study English literature. I’m seeing it as another opportunity to make new friends and have more fun, plus, after my brain’s year of rest and relaxation I’m definitely ready to dust off a few cobwebs. ■ The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Gap Year Interviews cont...

Alexandra (Sasha) Wilson HC 2022 Sasha at the Remedy sampling weekend, Manly Wharf, Sydney

Sasha outside Sydney Opera House

Why did you choose to take a gap year?

I was presented with an amazing opportunity to live and work in a different country, and I just knew that I couldn’t pass it up. I was thrilled with my A-level results and felt very comfortable deferring my history of art place at Bristol to take a break from studying and travel the world, as well as gaining work experience that might help me determine a career choice.

What did you do on your gap year?

I moved to Melbourne, Australia for the first six months of my gap year where I completed a marketing internship with Remedy, a drinks company that specialises in Kombucha; a fermented tea drink that promotes gut health.

I was thrown into the world of business meetings, coffee runs and office life with a fantastic team of Aussie colleagues.

Remedy has taken Australia by storm with their drinks and I worked as a part of the marketing team and supported the e-commerce, social media and brand management sectors. I learnt mostly from my colleagues and was given access to Instagram and TikTok platforms which resulted in me creating and directing lots of fun and engaging social media content.

I worked full-time between the main headquarters in central Melbourne and the factory in Dandenong South on the outskirts of the city. The factory is the size of two football fields, and is where all

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the Kombucha is brewed, packaged and distributed from. I spent most of my time there packing orders and packaging PR boxes which would be sent to influencers around Australia and so I had a front-toback view of the company’s operations. After completing the six months of my internship, Remedy gave me the opportunity to travel to different parts of Australia to run public sampling campaigns. I was flown to Sydney and Brisbane to do this and ended up handing out over 30,000 cans of Kombucha - a magical way of exploring different parts of the country and getting a tiny taste of corporate travel.

I bade farewell to Australia with a heavy heart, but knew I wanted to continue

travelling and so I booked a flight to Bangkok to start six weeks of travel in South East Asia alongside my school friends Daisy and Martha. We explored Thailand and Vietnam, which provided many of the highlights of my year, including the Ha Giang Loop, a 4-day motorbike tour through the mountains and lakes of North Vietnam, with breath-taking scenery, delicious home-cooked food and ‘happy water’ (rice wine) to accompany.

What have you gained from the experience?

I have learnt so much. For the first half of my year, I learnt how to completely uproot my life, move across the globe and start a job in a corporate environment. This turned my

world upside down (literally!) and now I feel such a sense of achievement and pride for taking this leap. I also learnt how to live with the feeling of being outside of your comfort zone, as this is often where the most fun happens and the best memories are made.

Would you recommend it to current sixth formers?

Unquestionably and without a moment’s hesitation! I never once looked back and it was genuinely a life-affirming experience.

I would recommend that the girls in the years below grab any opportunities they come across with both hands and go for it!

Although it can be daunting at times, I don’t regret one thing I did! ■

Sasha at Uluru, Northern Territory Australia her group was part of the 1% of tourists to see Uluru during a thunderstorm

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Spotlight On...

Musician Caitlyn Bowyer ED 2017

Slackrr at the Takedown Festival at Portsmouth Guildhall (Photo credit Hannah Mesquitta)

When Caitlyn left St Swithun’s in 2017 she ended up choosing quite a different path from the ones most students take - she decided on music and touring full-time with her punk band Slackrr.

Since the band formed in 2018, they have played over 500 live shows across the UK, Europe and the United States and released three albums, the most recent of which, called Set the Night on Fire, came out in August this year.

Caitlyn didn’t always see herself in a band and after A-levels, she went on to study English and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Shortly after starting the course, she had the chance to join Slackrr playing bass guitar and from then on, split her time between the band and her studies.

The early days were hectic and involved a lot of travel back and forth between Norwich and Southampton, as well as other parts of the

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country where the band was performing. Eventually this took its toll, but not wanting to give up on her degree, Caitlyn transferred to the University of Winchester to finish her studies nearer to home.

This decision paid off and despite being in the band full-time, Caitlyn successfully obtained her degree and went on to get her Masters. Not content with that, she has recently begun her PhD at the University of Southampton.

Life in the band is hugely different from life at university.

There is no hiding that the world of punk is male dominated but even though Caitlyn is the only woman in her band, she hasn’t let it prevent her from finding her place. In the earlier days she would sometimes get comments from gig-goers about how strange it was to see a woman in a punk band but most people she has worked with have been supportive and not treated her any differently. More recently, Caitlyn has noticed that more women are joining the industry, and she is gradually feeling like it’s becoming a more inclusive environment.

Going back to her St Swithun’s days Caitlyn fondly remembers being part of the school band The Morrows and playing in rock concerts at school. Having the opportunity to do this helped her build the foundations to become the successful musician she is today.

Caitlyn Bowyer - live (Photo credit Hannah Mesquitta)

Caitlyn’s advice to girls wanting to play in a band is, “Take every opportunity that comes your way!” In the beginning, her band would say yes to every chance to perform which often meant she’d be travelling hundreds of miles at a time; she might be in Manchester one day and in Cornwall the next. Nevertheless, Caitlyn is convinced that this hectic schedule has paid off by building the band’s confidence and reputation and has ultimately helped them to become successful.

Some of the highlights for the band this year have been playing in the main arena at the Isle of Wight Festival and the main stage in the Empress Ballroom at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, travelling to Florida, USA, to play at The Fest in Gainesville and touring the Netherlands and Belgium.

The band in 2022

However, being on stage didn’t always come so naturally to Caitlyn and she struggled with stage fright and anxiety early on. She felt that the best way to overcome this was to face her fears and be on stage as much as possible. Now, although she still gets nervous before performing, especially with festivals, she enjoys their performances far more and has fun.

You can find Caitlyn on Instagram @cait_slackrr and the band on Facebook at facebook.com/Slackrr. If you want to contact Caitlyn for a booking her email address is: caitbowyermedia@gmail.com ■ The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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School Rules Last year you enjoyed reading these so much we thought we would share some more…

When I was in Hillcroft, fire drills required us to first put on our brown knickers. I couldn’t figure out why but I duly removed my pyjama trousers, pulled on brown knickers and went down the ladder where everyone else had their brown knickers on the outside of the pyjama trousers. Turns out they were to be pulled on over your trousers to hitch them up so one could more safely descend the ladder. I just thought it was another one of those crazy rules the English dream up! It was weird wearing two pairs of knickers at a time!

Late 50s One school rule (which still makes me feel guilty when I break it) was that we weren’t allowed to be seen eating out and about when we were in our school uniform.

During the 60s We were absolutely forbidden from entering other people’s dormitories - no visits no matter who or when - not even when a friend was ill.

Late 70s

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At lunch, if a plum stone found its way into your mouth it had to remain there until you left the room.

Jelly, like all puddings was eaten with a fork.

Late 60s When we lined up for lunch, we were given place tickets and if they had a ‘W’ on, you had to be the server. That meant you did not have much of a break as you were clearing the table after everyone had left. If you traded your ‘W’ ticket for money and the prefects found out you were punished!

Late 50s/Early 60s In lessons with one of the biology teachers, we weren’t allowed to use chapstick. She couldn’t bear it if we applied it and would confiscate it!

Late 70s/Early 80s Oranges had to be eaten in a particular manner - as if the queen were present at the table - whatever that meant! It certainly caused a certain amount of stress when oranges were on the menu.

Late 70s

On my first day I was asked to copy out all the rules and learn them by heart and if we ever broke a rule, we had to write it out one hundred times. If nobody was looking, this could be done by joining several pencils together with a rubber band and thereby writing several lines at once.

On a Saturday night we were allowed to watch TV in Miss Davis’ living room but before entering we had a very vigorous hand cleanliness check; one small mark or spot merited a scrub with the nail brush or no entry and an early bedtime alone in the big empty dormitory!

Late 40s

Late 70s

Juniors were only allowed on the back stairs and seniors and staff only on the front stairs. Straight out of Downton Abbey!

All girls had a white napkin with a silver napkin ring which were kept in a basket in our classrooms and we carried them to and from the dining room. My guardian grandmother thought it ridiculous that children of three years old were trusted with silver and challenged the rule. We were delighted when we were allowed to have colourful napkins and rings of any description… it meant the dreaded dried mash potato was much easier to hide!

Late 60s When we stacked the dirty plates and cutlery, we had to tidily put all the forks on the left of the top plate and all the knives on the right – something I’ve continued to do ever since!

Late 50s/Early 60s The only really silly rule I remember was having to memorise paragraphs from the newspaper as a punishment from prefects.

During the 70s When you visited the headmistress, you had to look at the traffic light system outside her office and only enter when the green light came on.

During the 70s

Late 60s

Headmistress’ study circa 1890

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Lucy Parr – the Friendly Baker

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Lucy Parr V 1988

Catching Up with Friends...

What did you do after leaving St Swithun’s?

I wasn’t sure what to do after university with a philosophy degree, so I went to Le Cordon Bleu cookery school where I studied both classical French cuisine and patisserie.

I didn’t go into food as a career at that time, instead I continued my academic studies but kept cooking and baking as my biggest hobby.

free from milk, eggs, nuts and sesame, with many also free from soya and gluten. Whilst the recipes are allergy-friendly, I’ve always wanted them to appeal to everyone, so I’ve made them easy and straightforward with no unusual ingredients and with a focus on how they taste and look too. A lot of free-from food you buy isn’t very delicious, but it really can be just as good as what you are normally used to.

What happened to change your focus more towards cooking?

It was when my daughters were diagnosed with multiple food allergies - I started to notice they would miss out on so many events and occasions, as food is so central to most cultures and celebrations. I wanted them to feel included, so I started to recreate recipes and make them allergy-safe or ‘friendly’ as we’ve come to call it!

What was your next project after the blog’s success?

I’ve always wanted to write a cookery book, probably like anyone who creates recipes, and last year I took the plunge to go into print. I think many people use cookbooks rather than accessing recipes online and so it broadens who can access the recipes.

There are so many families out there where someone has a food allergy or avoids a certain ingredient out of preference or for cultural or health reasons - did you know that it’s estimated that 48% of consumers say at least one member of their household avoids one ingredient or more? Also, from the feedback I’ve received on how my recipes have helped those on an allergy journey, I knew there was a market for an allergy-friendly cookbook!

This has involved a lot of trial and error, but I used the professional skills I learnt to recreate recipes so that they could enjoy the same as everyone else. When the recipes started to become more successful, I decided to share them in a blog online to help other people in a similar situation - it’s really hard when you have to completely change the way you cook to cater for a dietary requirement. I’ve been writing my blog Lucy’s Friendly Foods for over 10 years now and have over 800 unique recipes that are all

Is there other practical help available for parents of children with food allergies?

My advice for anyone who has allergies or caters for someone with allergies is to first get professional advice from your GP or local allergy specialist, as well as the charities out there such as Anaphylaxis UK, Allergy UK and the Natasha Research Foundation. Also, if you’re looking for cooking help, please look out for my book The Friendly Baker or visit my website www.lucysfriendlyfoods.com - I’m always happy to do what I can so please message me via the website too.

What have you got planned for the future?

I don’t work on my recipes full time, although I would love to! I also work parttime as a team leader for the civil service in a central Government department.

At the moment, I’m still spreading the word about The Friendly Baker, but I also have plans to do demos and lessons in schools to raise awareness on allergies and friendly cooking.

I have plenty of recipes and ideas for more books in the future too! ■

Lucy’s new recipe book Some delicious examples of Lucy’s recipes The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Rosie with her dog Darcey (a ten-year-old rescue from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home)

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Rosie Deane V 1983

Catching Up with Friends...

What did you study at university?

When I was in sixth form, like many other students, I was unsure what my next step might be but after visiting the Monsanto factory at Fawley on a careers day, it inspired me to study chemical engineering at Exeter university. I remember part-way through the course, I was working on an experiment – the fractionation of crude oil – and the smell was so terrible it made me feel ill. It made me realise I didn’t want to work in this field forever and so after my degree I joined a software company as a graduate trainee. However, my degree was where my awareness of the environment and sustainability began.

Why did you return to England?

In 2013, when our children reached secondary school age, we decided to move back to the UK. It was a couple of years later when COP 21 (the 2015 Paris Climate Conference) took place that my attention was focused back once more on environmental issues, and I realised that the climate crisis was critical. I wanted to actively help so I went back to university and completed a Masters in sustainable development and went on to set up my own business, offering climate education and consultancy. My aim is to help others understand the impact of climate change and how we can contribute to net zero carbon emissions.

What did you think of your new job?

It was great! I stayed with the company for 15 years and eventually became a banking systems consultant and project manager.

Over the years, I travelled extensively, including to Lesotho, Portugal, Spain and ending up in Singapore, where I lived for 13 years, met my husband and had children. At this point, I changed to part time working and qualified as a yoga instructor; yoga was something I’d got into in my late 20s and I found it both restorative and easier to fit around my family. During this time, I also volunteered for a Cambodian charity, the Tabitha Foundation, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the rural poor through a micro savings scheme and cottage industry.

I continued to support them after moving back to the UK by joining their Board of Trustees for fundraising activities.

What sort of things does your company offer?

During lockdown, I volunteered to marshal at COP 26 in Glasgow and whilst there, I took part in a workshop called Climate Fresk, which reinforced my knowledge about climate change and empowered me to take certain actions. I now offer Climate Fresk workshops to schools, universities and companies and coach new facilitators to pass on their training to others. I also help companies design and implement tailored carbon reduction plans. I feel there has been a lot of misinformation and a lack of awareness surrounding climate issues but by rolling out this workshop I am contributing to a positive ‘snowball effect’ - the number of Climate Fresk participants has grown from just a few in 2018 to over 1.25 million worldwide in just five years.

What suggestions do you have for readers wanting to do more for the environment?

I would say educate yourself; look at the things you can do in your own life to help change carbon emissions, such as eating less meat or flying less frequently. Another thing to think about is where your money is invested; many pension funds and investments have sustainable funds to invest in now so it’s something worth looking into.

Also think about who you vote for and what policies they have. The UK has committed to achieving its net zero target by 2050 but sadly some of the policies in place to enable this have recently been rolled back. The UK is actually one of the better countries in Europe for carbon reduction but there are other countries in the world we can look to for inspiration, for example, Costa Rica, which has done a lot for its biodiversity, and Bhutan, which doesn’t just measure its economic growth but also pays attention to it Gross National Happiness Index. We need systemic change, which is a hard message to hear and difficult to carry out – but it all starts with re-education, and I am happy to be able to contribute in this way.

To look at Rosie’s website, please visit: www.whatonearth.uk ■

Rosie’s company logo The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Former Teacher Feature Sarah Goudge Sarah taught English at St Swithun’s for over 20 years; joining the school in 1985.

Sarah had wanted to be a teacher since she was a child. She had a brief yearning to be a vet but once she realised it would involve putting animals to sleep, the appeal soon disappeared. She began her teaching career as an English teacher at a mixed comprehensive school in north London, as having been privately educated herself, she wanted to gain some teaching experience in the state sector. After this she worked as a housemistress and English teacher at a boarding school in Surrey before moving to St Swithun’s.

She has many happy memories of her time here. One such memory was taking her A-level English group to Northern Ireland - they were studying Seamus Heaney’s poetry (which incorporates a plethora of place names) and one student had said in the lesson how wonderful it would be if they could see those places: so that’s what they did! Sarah remembers this as being in the time before the days of strict rules and form filling, so they had quite a lot of freedom to run the trip how they wanted. They hired a minibus and were able to explore all the places featured in the poetry.

Another notable memory from her time here was during the late 80s when she was helping as a housemistress in Earlsdown. The

whole school suddenly had to be evacuated as someone had made a phone call saying the IRA had planted a bomb nearby! It turned out to be a hoax, but it was a winter’s night and the shivering boarders had had to wait outside wrapped in their duvets.

Sarah left St Swithun’s in 2007 before retirement age and just after her mother passed away. Since then, she has been involved in lots of different activities but has particularly enjoyed having the freedom to travel the world. She loves talking to people all over the globe and relishes hearing their views on historic political events. Whilst in Nagasaki, Japan, she spoke to a woman who was a child when the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Her understanding of why the Allies carried out the atom bomb attack was that they used the Japanese as scapegoats to show the USSR the military might of the USA. Sarah found this to be quite a different view from what most in the West think and this is one example of why she finds travelling so fascinating. Different people have different perspectives on so many things.

which took place at St Swithun’s! Until the present political situation, she used to travel at least once a year to Russia to see friends in St Petersburg and Moscow. Now she is teaching herself Japanese, as she enjoys the challenge and has made a good friend who lives near Kyoto and who she has already visited four times.

Sarah describes herself as a person who cannot sit still for long. In addition to her travel and language learning she also enjoys music; playing both the classical guitar and piano, and art; before the pandemic she went to classes and enjoyed painting outside. Her plans for the future are to continue on her current path – always seeking new adventures and new things to learn. To finish, she quotes Tennyson in Ulysses: ‘I cannot rest from travel.’ ■

Alongside travelling, Sarah has enjoyed learning languages. She has spent time studying Russian, Spanish and Japanese. She learnt Russian when she was in her 60s and even gained an A* in her GCSE examination,

Kyoto, Japan in early spring 2023

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Former Teacher Feature Terry Hemming Reverend Terry Hemming was Chaplain at St Swithun’s from 1995 to 2007 where he also taught religious studies and English, particularly to overseas students for whom English was a second language.

Terry’s connections with Winchester go back to his early childhood when he attended school at St Cross, although his father also sang in the choir there before WWII. At times, his vocation as a member of the clergy has taken him overseas but there has always been a strong link to ‘home’.

Terry began his career path with a journalism apprenticeship working for the Hampshire Chronicle and went on to teach within the English department at Winchester College. However, when the Chaplain’s vacancy arose at St Swithun’s he applied for the job because he could take on both a teaching and a pastoral role. It turned out to be a good decision and Terry stayed at St Swithun’s for 12 years.

A typical day would see Terry taking assembly in the old school hall (now the Bramston library) with the lower school sitting on the floor until Harvey Hall was built and assemblies moved there. He would teach throughout the day and look after girls in need of pastoral support during lunchtimes and evenings. On Sundays he would hold a church service for boarders in the little chapel up in LeRoy whereas whole school services were held at Winchester Cathedral.

At St Swithun’s, Terry was also in charge of community service which enabled girls to volunteer their time to help others locally.

Some would visit the elderly whilst others would help at primary schools. They tirelessly raised funds for orphaned girls in northern Uganda, which paid for scholarships and gave them an education they would otherwise have missed. This type of work has continued to be close to Terry’s heart and only last week he was contacting new asylum seekers in Andover.

Since leaving St Swithun’s Terry has worked as a locum priest in several European countries; a winter placement in St Petersburg, Russia, a summer position in Naples, Italy, and this coming Christmas he will be based in Athens, Greece.

For Terry, spending time in Greece will give him the opportunity to learn more about the Orthodox church; an interest which influenced his sabbatical study ‘Holy Places’ at Harris Manchester college (part

of the University of Oxford) in 2005. The importance of aesthetic and beauty in the Christianity of the Orthodox church intrigues Terry and is something he tries to bring through to influence his own ministry and his personal travels. One of the best holy places he has ever visited was the fourth century Syriac monastery in the south-eastern Mardin province of Turkey – he clearly remembers sitting above it on a hill, overlooking the Silk Road and listening to the song of nightingales; a once in a lifetime memory.

Closer to home, Terry continues to enjoy the longevity of the relationships he built during his time at St Swithun’s. Apart from during the pandemic, there isn’t a year that passes without him officiating at a wedding or baptism for an Old Girl. The happy working relationship he enjoyed with Dr Helen Harvey (then headmistress) meant he could provide strong pastoral support to both staff and students and he is delighted to still enjoy those connections and friendships to this day. ■

Terry enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Cathedral and the Christmas and Valedictory services were always the highlights for him. He fondly remembers once going with a group of students to Strasbourg with one of the Cathedral Canons to take part in a schools’ conference for which the girls had designed a new cathedral building. Whilst there, they were able to tour the EU headquarters.

Another school trip saw Terry accompanying Richard Brett (then director of music at St Swithun’s) and the school choir to Catalonia, Spain. They sang in many church services and visited the famous monastery in Montserrat, established in the 11th century.

Terry conducting the marriage service of Katie Cramond CG 2005 and Christopher Hill at St Mary’s Church, Twyford on 22 July 2023. (Photo credit: Philip White at Philip White Weddings) The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Upcoming School Events

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Wednesday 31st January – Friday 2nd February

19:00 daily

Friday 8th March

19:30

Wednesday 13th March

19:30

Sunday 17th March

18:30

Wednesday 20th March

19:00

Friday 10th May

19:30

Sunday 12th May

18:30

Saturday 22nd June

09:00

Thursday 4th July

TBC

Friday 5th July

19:00

Saturday 14th September

11:00

School production in Harvey Hall Spring concert Musical cabaret evening Evensong – 140th Anniverary Celebration at Winchester Cathedral Swithun’s Live 2!

Founders’ day concert in Harvey Hall School confirmation service at Winchester Cathedral Senior school open day St Swithun’s Fundraising Challenge Morning Neon Disco and auction in aid of the Bramston Bursary Foundation Old Girls’ Day 2024

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St Swithun’s Commemorative Print in aid of the Bramston Bursary Foundation Anna MacInnes has sketched since childhood and she can usually be found with a pad and pen in hand, capturing life as it unfolds. Anna studied art history at Edinburgh University and then went on to work for Sotheby’s before training under a trompe l’oeil artist in the United States. She has held many UK exhibitions of her work; being most well known for her intricate house commissions but is equally happy drawing at live events (like weddings and birthdays) or designing murals.

Rose MacInnes V 2023, Anna’s daughter, recently gained an A* in her art A-level at St Swithun’s and has now started an art foundation course at Bournemouth University.

Rose is often busy sketching and is currently selling her own range of cards showing the beauty of the local landscape in galleries on

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the Isle of Wight. To see Rose’s work please go to her Instagram page rosemera.art.

We are delighted to share with you Anna and Rose’s latest collaboration – an original pen and ink print showcasing St Swithun’s school and Winchester Cathedral. This enchanting drawing is available to buy direct from Anna and Rose who have generously agreed to donate 20% of the profits to the Bramston Bursary Foundation. We think it would make an excellent souvenir to display at home whilst supporting the BBF’s work here at St Swithun’s.

If you would like to buy one of these prints (as seen below), please email Anna on annaboo@macinnesclan.plus.com and if you would like to look at her work please visit: www.annamacinnes.me ■

Anna and Rose

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Photo credit: inkedin-sales-solutions - Unsplash

Join our Community Hub

Our community hub has been upgraded recently and has a newer, fresher feel. We’ve added many new features to it over the past year, so if you haven’t joined yet, now is the time. One of our most exciting new editions is our networks page: University Networks

Professional Networks

Just like our professional networks, our university networks allow you to get to know others in the St Swithun’s community who have studied at, or are currently studying at, the same university as you. We have networks for 19 UK universities, as well as networks for those studying at medical school or art school and for those studying in the USA, Canada, Ireland or Hong Kong.

Our professional networks provide a place for you to get to know people in the St Swithun’s community who work in the same sector as you. When you join a professional network you can reach out to other members or use the forum to ask for advice or make a request.

In addition to these university and professional networks, we have so many other great features including:

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

● A ccess to our entire community hub network Find old classmates and former staff - there are over 1800 members online from the St Swithun’s community. ● Old Girls’ Association area Read about our amazing alumnae or take a step back in time into the school archive. ● News and events Discover what’s happening at St Swithun’s and how you can get involved. ● Bramston Bursary Foundation page Find out how you can give back to St Swithun’s through supporting our school charity, which enables girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to receive transformational bursaries.

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We currently have professional networks for: Education Technology Law Charity & non-profit Government & public-sector Marketing & PR Business Health & medicine Finance Arts & culture Science

Are we missing the sector you work in?

Let us know and we can create a network for it.

JOIN TODAY

hub.stswithuns.com

Remembered With Affection Elizabeth Joy Hickish (Venn) HC 1950 19th July 1933 – 23rd May 2023 Elizabeth, also known in school as ‘Dibbie’ or ‘Little Venn’ was born in Hampstead. She had two older brothers, Philip and John. Their father George Oswald Venn had joined the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot in WWI and had a distinguished career in the RAF, retiring as an Air Commodore.

When Elizabeth arrived at St Swithun’s, she was following her mother Betty Venn née Stopher, who in turn had followed her own Aunt Clare; they had both attended school in the original building in the city. Elizabeth’s grandfather had been an architect, Alderman and Mayor of Winchester and many of the boarding houses on St Giles Hill had been designed and built by him. Elizabeth started in LeRoy house and later moved to Hillcroft, where her grandmother lived next door in a house called Chilcombe Chine. She often talked about school life in the war. During the heavy bombing at Portsmouth the girls would sleep fitfully in bunks in the corridors and the school day didn’t start until 11am the morning following an air raid. She had very happy memories of school and made some life-long friends.

Elizabeth trained as a nursery and infant teacher at Offley, near Hitchen, at The Froebel Institute which had been evacuated out of London during the war. She loved teaching and inspiring young minds to develop.

After leaving college she worked in two schools near Harrow and enjoyed travel,

skiing and sailing trips. Together with a group of teaching friends she arranged a skiing party to Zermatt in 1957 and whilst away, she met and later married Jack Hickish. Jack was a land agent working at the time for the Marquess of Lansdowne on the Bowood estate in Wiltshire. She embraced life as a land agent’s wife and they soon had four children: Toby, Alexandra, Leo and James. The family moved to another estate near Liverpool in 1971 and finally to Cornwall in 1976 when Jack was appointed as Land Steward to the Duchy of Cornwall.

Alongside a very busy home and family life, Elizabeth returned to teaching and specialised in teaching music to children with a range of physical and learning disabilities. This led to a rewarding appointment as a specialist music teacher for deaf children in Cornwall.

In retirement Jack and Elizabeth travelled extensively, involved themselves in village life, enjoyed entertaining a wide circle of friends and loved visits from the family including their 14 grandchildren.

Elizabeth cared for Jack as he became increasingly affected by Alzheimer’s disease and when he died in 2018, she moved to ‘Garden Lodge’; an annex developed for her at her daughter and son-in-law’s home near Salisbury. She quickly made friends with neighbours and through the local church.

Sadly, she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer shortly after the move but faced the illness with great cheer and fortitude and continued to love life right up to the final few days. ■ Written by Alexandra, Elizabeth’s daughter

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Remembered With Affection

Christine Mary Lainé (Leask) CG 1959 10th May 1941 – 18th November 2022 Christine was born in Lyndhurst but the family returned to Southampton after the war where her doctor father resumed his practice. She went to St Swithun’s in her early teens and enjoyed a successful academic and sporting career, becoming head girl and winning an English-speaking Union scholarship for a year’s sojourn in the USA. There Christine attended The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, travelling widely in the school holidays. During one break, she somehow managed to attend part of the Democratic convention at which John F Kennedy was selected as their candidate, and was introduced to and had a chat with Eleanor Roosevelt. Her transatlantic trips were on the old Queen Elizabeth, but in steerage rather than first class!

Back in the UK she went up to Nottingham university where she threw herself into work and play, not only representing the university at lacrosse but also playing for English universities against Scottish universities at Murrayfield. She read geography and American studies which were just the subjects to persuade Unilever to employ her as a marketing executive. They posted her to various places such as Sheffield (frozen peas), Gloucester (ice cream) and London.

It was there she met her husband Simon, a Chartered Patent Attorney, and they were married in September 1969 after persuading him to come ashore from his old Thames sailing barge.

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They lived briefly in suburban Surrey, which was not to their taste, but luckily Simon had an offer to join a small practice in Cheltenham and they moved to Gloucestershire in 1971. There they acquired a one-time pub in Winchcombe, enabling Christine to rejoin Wall’s Ice Cream.

That lasted until the arrival of their two children, Alexander and Elizabeth, after which Christine turned to full participation in local life. She helped organise fundraising events, became a governor and later chairman of the junior school and was appointed a magistrate, which she remained for over 30 years. She led The Friends of St Peter’s at the local church for many years and helped them raise a quarter of a million pounds. She was also a churchwarden there.

When Elizabeth moved on to Dean Close School in Cheltenham, Christine was soon

invited to become one of its governors. She also trained in upholstery and became so competent that she worked part time for the Landmark Trust, whose furnishing depot was nearby.

Then came the body blow of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2000. It was slow burn and for about a dozen years she could lead a near normal life, taking some longer than usual holidays, perhaps the highlight being the last Royal Mail Ship voyage to Ascension Island, St Helena and then on to Cape Town. Sadly, there is still no way of halting Parkinson’s, and so the time came in 2016 to move to a more modern and smaller house whose floors were level and in which a stair lift could be installed and where Christine could spend her final years amongst the familiar. ■ Written by Christine’s husband, Simon

Neil Taylor (former head of science)

in 1991, when he was admitted to the Royal Society of Chemistry and became a Chartered Chemist.

13th March 1936 – 31st December 2022

Neil loved teaching at St Swithun’s and I have very vivid memories of visiting the school with my father and spending time in his small chemical smelling prep room (he always loved that smell). He would sometimes take us into the lab at weekends and show us some of his chemistry ‘tricks’ which usually fizzed and spluttered! He was

Neil Taylor was born in Prestbury, Cheshire to Lilly and Alexander. He attended Cheadle Hall School obtaining maths, physics and chemistry A-levels.

immensely proud of his pupils and kept in contact with some of them for many years.

I remember when A-level results were published he would be a bag of nerves until he knew that his pupils had done well and then we could all relax!

Sadly, Neil passed away after a short illness on the 31st December 2022. ■ Written by Neil’s son, Mike

In 1957, he did a short period of training work in a laboratory in Helsinki and then completed a year of a chemistry degree at Imperial College, London. Sadly, at this time his father passed away and Neil paused his studies.

National Service in the RAF (1958 -1961) soon followed for Neil and he served in Libya as part of the Meteorology Division.

In 1963 Neil qualified as a teacher at Newland Park College and three years later began working as a science teacher at St Swithun’s. He later completed his Bachelor of Arts degree with the Open University in 1973.

This was clearly a busy time for Neil as he also got married and had four children by 1978! Later in 1982 he married for a second time and had another son, John, in 1986.

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Remembered With Affection

Janet Roberts (former head of PE) 2nd February 1937 – 2nd September 2023 Janet Louise Roberts was born in Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset to Ernest and Winifred Roberts.

Janet’s father, Ernest, died in 1943 when Janet was only six and her mother Winifred died a year later - tragically they both had bowel cancer.

When her parents passed away, Janet inherited their home. Her uncle, Gerald Stone (who was headmaster of the local school) and his wife Hilda became her guardians and they lived together in Janet’s home, along with their 17-year-old son Peter who treated Janet as his little sister.

Janet initially attended school in BurnhamOn-Sea, however because both her mother and Uncle Gerald were teachers, the

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Education department paid for Janet to attend Sherborne School as a boarder from age 11 to 18. There she played hockey, lacrosse, tennis and squash and became school games captain.

After completing her A-levels at Sherborne, Janet went straight to Bedford Teacher Training college and specialised in PE. She qualified as a teacher in 1958 and in September of that same year took her first position as a PE teacher at St Swithun’s School, Winchester, where she remained until she retired in 1997, some 39 years later.

Janet ended her career as head of the school’s PE department, a role she assumed after her life-long friend and colleague Margaret Roberts retired in 1985. As both the St Swithun’s PE teachers were called Miss Roberts, Janet was known as ‘Miss Janet’ and Margaret was known as ‘Miss Roberts’.

The two friends initially lived with another friend but when they had the opportunity, they bought a house together in Chandler’s Ford. They lived there until Margaret died

in 2016 aged 92, having lived with dementia for over 10 years.

Perhaps Janet’s greatest achievement was to play lacrosse for England and Great Britain and to play cricket for her adopted county of Hampshire. Janet travelled to Ireland and Scotland to play lacrosse at international level and in 1970 she toured the USA for six weeks, playing matches in Austin, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

Aside from her beautiful garden and a penchant for nippy sport-cars, most notably a green Triumph TR2 and her beloved gold MG BGT, Janet’s other great passion in life was Labradors.

During her lifetime Janet had a total of 13 Labradors; her first a handsome yellow dog called Jason and her last a black bitch called Penny, whom she rescued some seven years ago and who is still with us today.

Janet and Margaret bred yellow, black and latterly chocolate labs and over the years produced 26 litters. Their puppies went as far as London and even Spain and one litter

Elisabeth Prickett (former German teacher and High House housemistress) Died on 10th March 2023

of five yellow puppies even featured on the Andrex Christmas calendar.

Janet also loved horses and once drove to the Shetland Islands to bring back a Shetland pony, for a school friend who wanted a friend for her polo ponies.

She also worked for Labrador Rescue, vetting both rescued dogs and potential new owners.

Janet was a much-loved link to the pre-war generation. We will all miss her razor-sharp wit and her honest, no-nonsense approach to life.

Janet’s other lifelong friend was Naomi, who also taught at St Swithun’s – the three amigas of Janet, Margaret and Naomi had lots of adventures, including trips to France and one famous canal boat holiday with their dogs, where Margaret hit a ‘submerged object’ and Janet fell into the canal - twice!

As a teacher for almost 40 years, she changed the lives of 100s of young people. As a sportswoman she was hugely accomplished, as were both she and Margaret as Labrador breeders.

Between the 1960s and 1980s Janet regularly spent two weeks of her summer holidays and two weeks at Christmas with Peter and his family. She enjoyed walking the family dogs on the beach and across the golf course.

Written by Janet’s family

After retiring at 60 Janet did voluntary work for Eastleigh Council, including driving a minibus taking older local people to clubs and societies. She finally gave up the role when she realised that she was older than most of her passengers!

God bless you Janet and may you rest in peace. ■

I wish I had known more about Miss Hunkin’s life when she was trying so patiently to teach me German in the lower V. She used to give us hints about her past but I found her stories more intriguing than the language. I kept in touch with her thanks to fellow Peter Symonds’ teacher Andy Stables and his wife Jenny who speaks fluent Russian.

Elisabeth came from ‘a very churchy background’ as she described it, with her father the Bishop of Truro and her brothers and uncle ordained priests; another uncle was a Franciscan Friar. She attended Anglican services throughout her life but her worship also included the Orthodox church, the Franciscans and latterly, the Quakers.

Elisabeth read modern languages at Girton College, Cambridge, including German and Russian. She was intrigued by one of her dons, Prince Dimitri Obolensky, who encouraged her to take up the offer of a job in the press department of the British embassy in Moscow. Later in 1949, she returned to London, where she worked for the BBC World Service, writing articles about life in Russia.

The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Remembered With Affection

She took up the post of teaching German at St Swithun’s in 1955 and was delighted to become the mother figure to a large family of girls when she became housemistress of High House. The possibility of teaching mainly Russian drew her to Peter Symonds College twenty years later.

Whilst she was at St Swithun’s, Elisabeth heard of George Lyward, an inspired teacher of troubled adolescent boys, who had founded a community at Finchden Manor in Tenterden, Kent. It was there that she met John Prickett who had retired as Headmaster of Kent College, Canterbury.

They became close friends and their marriage took place in St Paul’s Church, Winchester, using the Quaker service during which we could all share our memories of our very special teacher and friend.

Elisabeth moved to Tenterden but sadly had only four and a half years of marriage before John died. Elisabeth returned to her house in Twyford after John’s death and lived there, enjoying the community of the parish church and the Friends Meeting House in Winchester, before later moving to the same residential home where her mother Ruth and Aunt Gladys had once lived.

I caught up with Elisabeth once more when she moved to Tegfield House in Winchester.

She relished having a close-knit community around her once again and the staff adored her. She loved exchanging stories about the old days at St Swithun’s and when a carer arrived with tea and cake, they would invariably find us roaring with laughter.

I have barely done justice to Miss Hunkin’s life which requires a large volume. She was a real treasure of the old school and even though I never mastered German, I will always be grateful that I kept in touch with her and shared so many happy memories. ■ Written by Roberta Brockman (Chew) CG 1968.

With grateful thanks to Wendy Barnaby who filled in the gaps.

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John Goodman (former Bursar) Died on 11th August 2023 We are sad to share the news that St Swithun’s former bursar and World War II Navy veteran John Goodman passed away one day shy of his 102nd birthday.

John became bursar at St Swithun’s after leaving the Navy in 1971. He worked at the school until his retirement in 1988 and oversaw the sale of the bottom sports field for the extension of the M3 as well as the rebuild of the junior school after a fire destroyed much of the building in 1974.

John married his wife, June, during the second World War and they were married for 67 years until her passing. He was the father to four children, two of whom Lucy and Fiona, were students at St Swithun’s.

On his 100th birthday, he received a Certificate of Appreciation by the Royal Naval Association in recognition of his distinguished service in the Navy during World War II. Away from his working and serving life, John was a keen hockey player and was an active and longstanding member and Honorary Vice-President of Winchester Hockey Club.

Everyone at St Swithun’s sends our sincere condolences to his family and friends. ■ Written by St Swithun’s staff.

John Platt (former Chair of school Council) Died on 7th January 2023 John Platt lived in the vicinity of St Swithun’s for forty years and two of his daughters, Helen Mitchell and Lucy Platt, attended the school from 1983 to 1988.

John joined the St Swithun’s school Council in 1996 and served for many years, including nine years as Chair of the school Council, a role he filled until his retirement in 2014.

He served under two heads of school, first Dr Helen Harvey and then Jane Gandee, and worked closely with them both and with senior management. He always greatly enjoyed his association with the whole school and the role he was able to play. In particular he had considerable input into the decision to build a new junior school and brought his financial acumen and experience to the process.

Photo credit: Uljana Borodina on Unsplash

In addition to the many Speech days that John attended or chaired, he and his wife Liz also supported many of the concerts, musicals and plays put on by the school, always with great enjoyment.

Throughout his life, John had many interests outside of work including golf, sailing and hockey. He was a strong believer in education and opening up opportunities for others.

His enthusiasm and passion for learning never dwindled. Indeed he started piano lessons at the age of 80. ■ Written by John’s family.

The annual publication for St Swithun’s Old Girls and former staff

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Supporting Bright Futures The Bramston Bursary Foundation is incredibly grateful to all of our former students, parents and staff, and their families, who are supporting our transformational bursary programme through a regular donation or one-off gift. We rely solely on the kind and generous support of the St Swithun’s community to provide an outstanding education to girls in need of assistance. We are currently funding eight places and hope to grow our support to be able to fund ten places from September 2024. We’re also grateful for all those who act as advocates for the foundation and those that volunteer to help with our events.

This year we spotlight and offer particular thanks to the following donors, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous:

Mrs Kaye Adamson Miss Aysel Akhundova Mrs Signe Arkell Mrs Janice Aslin Mrs Rebecca Bantoft Mrs Jill Bath Mrs Corinne Bespolka Miss Susan Biddle Miss Stephanie Biden Mrs Josephine Boal Dr Susie Bristow Mrs Mary Burnett-Stuart Mrs Jocelyn Cannon Mr Ian Carry Mrs Suzanne Ceiriog-Hughes Ms Vera Christensen Ms Maria Constantinou Mrs Lesley Cranham Miss Trudy Curtis Mrs Christine Curzon Lewis Ms Kirsty Dennett Mrs Suzanne Denton Mr John Dick Dr Grace Ding Miss Laura Dixon Ms Cynthia Downie Mrs Briana Edwards Mrs Margaret Evans Dr Caroline Fairley Mrs Christine Frere-Cook Mrs Pru Gayton Miss Jane Gorst Mrs Jean Green Mrs Deirdre Green

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Mrs Josephine Grime Mrs Jennifer Grove Mrs Katharine Hadley Mrs Jean Hamilton Mrs Janet Harland Lord Roger Hickman Mrs Adele Holmes Mrs Gemma Hunt Mrs Sophie Kennedy Mrs Liz Kennett Miss Fiona Kirkham-Wilson Ms Joanna Koenigsberg Mrs Tessa Lawlor Miss Elizabeth Linton Dr Louise Locock Mr Alan Lovell Miss Lisa MacLaren Mrs Charlotte Marshall Dr Prudence Meek Mr Nicholas Melhuish Mrs Grace Miglio-Pearce Ms Jacqueline Monro-Higgs Mr Richard Morgan Miss Linda Neal Mrs Xanthe Neale Miss Sophie Neyroud Mrs Mia Norcaro Ms Nicola Osmond-Evans Mrs Natalie Parks Mrs Sarah Parrish Ms Georgina Perceval-Maxwell Mrs Katherine Phillips Ms Laura Plant Mrs Belinda Powell

Mrs Nicola Ravilious Mrs Elizabeth Reid Mrs Frances Robinson Mrs Louise Rodge Mrs Jane Sanders Miss Rosemary Schofield Dr Robin Sellwood Ms Farah Shammas Mrs Margaret Siggers Miss Georgina Simmons Dr Penelope Sutton Dr Claire Thorne Mrs Victoria Trelinska Mrs Emma Trumbull Mrs Mary Vaudrey Mrs Angela Whitworth Mrs Patricia Willmott Dr Stephen Wimbush Ms J Winch Mr Siu Ming Wong Mrs Janet Woodhead

We also thank the following organisations for their ongoing support: Art History Abroad Charity Escapes Knight Frank LLP St Swithun’s Prep School PTA St Swithun’s Senior School Parents’ Association The Frank Misselbrook Foundation

WE ARE DELIGHTED T O BE S U P P O R T ING

the Bramston Bursary Foundation

The Science Society outing to Avington - 1901

Alresford Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1HA Tel: 01962 835782 Fax: 01962 835779 office@stswithuns.com www.stswithuns.com St Swithun’s School (Winchester) Company Registered in England and Wales Charity Reg. No. 307335 Company Reg. No. 110692