SCHOOL LIFE
Whether it’s the heady mixture of adrenaline and nerves from performing at Swithun’s Live, the energy we feel when dancing with friends or the calm that comes from practising breathwork, these are all activities and emotions that contribute to our wellbeing. In July, we held our first Wellbeing and Grit Festival to reinforce in all our students that wellbeing has many different components such as human interactions, physical activity, relaxation and resilience, and that we flourish when we include a mosaic of activities in our lives. Indeed, although we dedicated a single, specific day to wellbeing this term, we try throughout the year to encourage activities and attitudes of mind to help all our students to flourish.
We know that thinking of others is positive for everyone involved so we have a weekly partnership programme with local schools which culminates in several whole days in the summer term when our U5 students organise a ‘play in a day’ and a sports day in addition to providing hands-on help with grounds and maintenance work. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others’.
Research shows that spending time in nature boosts physical and mental wellbeing. We have a beautiful campus, and our students spend a lot of time outdoors, but we are aware that sport doesn’t always allow time for the appreciation of nature so this term we have encouraged thoughtful time in nature through activities such as encouraging younger students to look out for hedgehogs and sixth-form biology students to breed and release native butterfly species.
Making time for fun in our daily lives is another important component of a healthy lifestyle, hence the end-of-term ice-cream van and trips, the excitement of the hammocks in High House Garden (they herald the arrival of summer!), the water fights and the visit of the petting zoo in addition to the upper sixth ‘dressingup’ week. Although we take education seriously, we believe that joy comes from developing a sense of perspective and never taking ourselves too seriously.
Finally, a moment to reflect on positive accomplishment. We know that wellbeing comes also from setting ourselves a target, working towards it and achieving it, or perhaps not succeeding first time, changing the way that we work and then enjoying success. I sometimes ask students how they would describe St Swithun’s and ‘friendly and encouraging … where you can try new things’ are phrases that often come up. I see multiple examples of endeavour, not quite getting things right first time, encouragement from friends, trying again and finally succeeding. I hope that this environment of support and challenge continues to help all members of our community to enjoy high levels of wellbeing.
Jane Gandee MA (Cantab) Headmistress
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT
Academic Enrichment thrived again this term. There were 52 students involved in leading academic enrichment clubs and there were also 87 student-led talks from across all year groups. The number of student-led academic enrichment clubs is 20, and these vary from Biology Research Club, to Law Society, Women in Literature Society, Languages from Scratch and more. Students also attended valuable and insightful talks from 37 external visitors, covering topics such as coding, medicine, archaeology, modern languages, women in engineering, astrophysics, journalism and more. One of our visitors this term was best-selling author Thomas Harding.
BATTLEFIELDS TRIP
L5 students enjoyed a very interesting, and slightly damp, trip to the WW1 battlefields of France and Belgium, including visiting the memorials of some students’ relatives, and enjoying the interactive exhibits of the Sir John Monash centre and the Passchendaele Museum.
CAFÉ DE EUROPE
Our languages department held a café de Europe for Open Day in June, which visiting families enjoyed.
This summer, students embraced the challenge and adventure of the Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions in warm temperatures, showing great teamwork and resilience. Gold award students attended a celebration at Buckingham Palace, meeting HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH
DRESS-UP WEEK
For the final week of U6 lessons, tradition dictates that each day has a different dress-up theme. This included all pink, something beginning with the first letter of your name and a Ms Gandee day.
FOOD TECH
Students have mastered a wide variety of culinary disciplines in the food tech classroom this term. Here, M5 are exploring the functional properties of setting agents in their food preparation and nutrition lessons.
JILL ISAAC FESTIVAL OF SCHOLARSHIP
St Swithun’s School was honoured to welcome the Mayor of Winchester to our annual Jill Isaac Festival of Scholarship—a celebration of academic curiosity, creativity and independent learning. This event provides students with the opportunity to present projects they’ve pursued beyond the classroom, and it is a testament to the ambition and imagination thriving within our school community.
St Swithun’s
KILLS NOT HILLS –DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE FROM WWI LETTERS
Five L6 students brought to life First World War letters written between a young Hampshire army officer in the trenches and his wife in Winchester, who had attended St Swithun’s School. We are grateful to the Nabarro family for so generously sharing these letters with us. This was a moving and eye-opening performance.
Towards the end of term, L4 students took part in a full week of trips and new experiences. This year they enjoyed rides at Paulton’s Park, visited Southampton Art Gallery, Hinton Amper and Winchester for a history and geography trip, as well as taking part in a first aid course.
LOWER 6 BIOLOGY TRIP
L6 biologists had a successful field trip in Dorset, including visiting Kimmeridge Bay where they carried out a survey of the effect of abiotic factors on periwinkle and limpet distrubition. They looked at Longworth mammal trapping and surveys of psammosere succession at Studland Bay.
LOWER 5 ACTIVITY DAY
MUN AT MARLBOROUGH
L5 enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon of mini-games and team races.
M5 students attended the inaugural Marlborough College MUN where they represented Brazil on a variety of committees ranging from Women’s Health to pandemics, nuclear weapons and the Russia-Ukraine war. Particular mention goes to Tomi B who won best delegate in her committee, Women’s Rights, and Jessica C who came third in her committee on the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
MUN AT WINCHESTER COLLEGE
16 students went to Winchester College to debate President Trump’s proposed tariffs and the impact these might have on the global economy. There was some thoughtprovoking discussion followed by an enjoyable dinner together.
PSYCHOLOGY WALK
The U6 psychologists enjoyed taking their revision outside. Paired with a member of school staff, they walked around the back field to ‘teach’ some of the topics they have been finding most tricky to revise.
ALUMNAE Q&A FOR SIXTH-FORM
Sixth-formers heard from a range of recent St Swithun’s alumnae about university life with an informal Q&A session. The visitors’ degrees included Natural Sciences at Oxford, Physics at Exeter, Medicine at Nottingham and Fashion Design at Bournemouth Arts.
RELEASING BUTTERFLIES TO THE SCHOOL FIELD
Biology students witnessed the full life cycle of butterflies this term, and finally had the joy of releasing them to the school field.
SCHOOL LIFE
TEXTILES
This term in textiles, students showcased their creativity with a beach-themed project, designing and making charming coastal-inspired keyrings.
GCSE textile candidate Ruke U collected a prize for Young Talent of the Future for her innovative design at the Graduate Fashion Awards 2025 in London.
TEAMBUILDING DAY FOR UPPER 4
U4 students embraced the challenge of working together through obstacles and different activities, finishing the day by scaling a tightrope upside-down.
NEW FOREST WATER PARK
Day houses enjoyed a trip to the New Forest Water Park as their end of term outing, a great evening to unwind and cool down.
CLASSICAL CIVILISATION REVISION
A perfect spot to relax or revise, all year groups have enjoyed our hammocks again this summer.
MIDDLE 5 BBQ
All year groups enjoy a variety of end of term treats, and M5 thoroughly enjoyed their garden BBQ on a warm evening after school.
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME
At the end of the summer term, the U5 community service programme, now in its seventh year, marked the conclusion of the school’s partnership activities for the academic year as Upper 5 students worked directly with local primary schools, collaborating on A Play in a Day and A Day of Sport, whilst also providing hands-on help with grounds and maintenance work.
Over the course of the 2024/25 academic year, more than 600 pupils from eight local primary schools have taken part in enrichment activities led by 130 St Swithun’s students and staff. From drama and art to reading support and PE, the programme delivered over 150 hours of weekly enrichment, underscoring the school’s commitment to shared learning.
STUDENTS TEACHING SPANISH AT LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL
L6 students visited All Saints C of E Primary School to teach Spanish as part of our partnership programme.
MAJOR INDOOR SPORTS FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT
We are embarking on a significant development of our indoor sports facilities to inspire more girls to get active.
Phase one involves the construction of a tensile roof over four tennis/three netball courts, which will be re-sited from their current position, as well as a strength and conditioning suite, changing facilities and a spectator gallery. In addition, there will be improved parking facilities next to the swimming pool building with EV charging and a new direct entrance to the car park from Alresford Road
Phase two will include the building of a new sports complex adjoining the swimming pool building, to include a fitness suite, flexible studio spaces with a dance studio, a café and new changing facilities.
This project is a key part of the school’s ongoing commitment to provide a complete education to girls - empowering all students to excel whether in the classroom, on the sports pitch or in life. Building work has already begun over the summer holidays.
CELEBRATION ASSEMBLY
In our end of term celebration assembly, students were awarded certificates for a wide variety of accomplishments. The girls warmly thanked the departing teachers with speeches, and we ended with the school dance jointly led by our current and incoming head girl teams.
SCHOOL LIFE
UPPER 5 LAST DAY
To celebrate our U5 students before they departed on study leave, the year group gathered to sign yearbooks and shirts, enjoy afternoon tea and reflect on their time at St Swithun’s.
SPEECH DAY
Thank you to those who joined us in celebrating our U6 leavers on the last day of term. After drinks and breakfast canapés in the gardens, we enjoyed heartfelt speeches, prizes and an inspirational talk from alumnae Dr Claire Trant.
VALEDICTORY SERVICE
In true St Swithun’s tradition, Lower 4 students handed orange roses to each of the departing Upper 6th during the Valedictory Service at Winchester Cathedral This event marks the very end of the school year, and the whole school community joins to celebrate our students. The choir sang ‘I remember’ and ‘Irish Blessing’ during the service as a fond farewell to our U6 students. We wish them the very best for their future.
GCSE/ A-LEVEL ART EXHIBITION
Our skilled art GCSE and A-Level students showcased their creativity in an impressive end-of-term exhibition.
BEBRAS CODING CHALLENGE
Girls at St Swithun’s School have excelled in the latest Bebras Coding Challenge — an international initiative that promotes computer science and computational thinking amongst students of all ages. Our students rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and of particular note was:
Seren U achieved a perfect score in the Novices group, earning a gold award, the title of Best in School, and ranking in the top 10% nationally.
Elin Z, from the more advanced Trailblazers group, also received a gold award and the title of Best in School in her category.
GREENPOWER AT CASTLE COMBE
Our Greenpower team headed to Castle Combe to participate in the Renishaw heat and race their own kit cars. Beryllium came 13th out of 65 cars overall and 13th out of 20 in the scratch-built class. Neon came 33rd overall and 17th out of 44 in the kit car class. We are looking forward to the Dunsfold Heats in September.
VISIT FROM DR SIMON SINGH
St Swithun’s had the honour of hosting a lecture by Dr Simon Singh, the renowned physicist and bestselling author of popular science and maths books. Dr Singh’s entertaining lecture covered themes ranging from cryptography to cosmology, The Simpsons to conspiracy coincidences. Dr Singh is currently focussed on his work promoting the importance of maths education and supporting talented students to study maths at a high level, via his organisation Parallel. He was hosted for dinner by a group of L6 mathematicians, who took the opportunity to enquire about topics from chess to Fermat’s Last Theorem.
INSPIRING STEM TRIP
U4 girls attended the Inspiring STEM event at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. During the day, the three groups participated in a range of challenges and activities set by a wide range of exhibiting companies and had the opportunity to find out more about careers and the varying educational routes that people have taken to get to where they now are in their professions.
MATHS TOURNAMENT
A celebration of mathematics, logic and problemsolving brought together 10 teams from a variety of girls’ schools. They competed in a relay round, investigation and group challenge.
MICRO-TYCO SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE
A team of sixth-formers from St Swithun’s combined scientific and entrepreneurial knowledge to proceed to the final of the Micro-Tyco Sustainability Challenge. Top teams from all over the country were selected to pitch their project in front of a panel of judges in London, and our students were one of seven to be selected. The three students reflected on the opportunity: “This has been an incredibly enriching experience. Although we did not win the competition, we gained essential skills in collaboration, presentation and innovation, and we were able to apply our scientific knowledge and research abilities beyond the classroom! We hope to continue this journey and that our innovation will have a real impact on Sustainable Development Goal 3.”
CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES
Part interactive theatre, part surreal sideshow, this one-of-akind experience blended comedy, short foreign-language films, captivating installations, and unexpected encounters. Thank you to all who attended the performance.
HOT CHOCOLATE CONCERT SUMMER CONCERT
Our Summer Concert (the final concert of the school year) was held in Harvey Hall. It featured solo performances from the winners and runners-up from our junior and intermediate categories of this year’s house music competition, as well as some group performances by our ensembles.
M5 students performed in an informal hot chocolate concert in the music school.
MUSIC SCHOLARS’ CONCERT
At our final scholars’ concert of the school year, Alina J opened the evening with an impressive performance on a traditional Chinese instrument called the Guzheng. Amongst many captivating performances was the U4 vocal group, who sang a traditional Welsh folk song in four-part harmony directed by one of our U6 girls, Natalie W, who is planning to study music at university and hopes to pursue a career in choral conducting.
FOUNDERS’ DAY CONCERT
To celebrate our 141st birthday, our musicians performed in Harvey Hall at our annual Founders’ Day concert.
WELLBEING FESTIVAL
St Swithun’s Wellbeing & Grit Festival was a day of trying new activities and exploring our wellbeing.
The festival opened with a performance, Q&A and autograph session from The Entitled Sons. A talented band of brothers, The Entitled Sons delivered an energetic musical set and shared their advice and stories on bullying and mental health.
Girls then embarked across the five different zones around the school grounds. In the positive emotions zone, they enjoyed zorbing, inflatables, vision boarding, journaling and visiting the animals at the petting zoo. Meanwhile, the relaxation zone featured calming activities including breathwork, charcoal yoga, perfume making and hypnotherapy, and the active zone included a Swithrox course, sensory walk and dance session.
National pop artist and author of Be Yourself and Happier: The A-Z of Wellbeing, Will Young, gave an inspiring talk and took part in a Q&A hosted by sixth-form students. “I wanted to tell the girls that we are all so brilliantly unique and that there is nobody else like you in the world. The students listened so well, and the panel asked some excellent questions.”
Our last zone was positive purpose and giving back. Here, girls prepared beautiful flower arrangements and delivered them to a local care home. Vicki from St Catherine’s View care home thanked all involved and said, “It was great to see that these were extremely well received by the residents – and the families in the homes visiting today. They have really brightened up the home.”
The event was impeccably organised by Dr Helen O’Connor and her team, and it was a great occasion to relax and celebrate everybody’s hard work this term.
CRICKET
Our U13 cricket team beat Cape Cornwall School in the School Sports Magazine U13 National Cup quarter-finals at home, and finished in the top four schools in the country for that category.
HOUSE COMPETITIONS
There were many competitive house sporting events this term. Students supported their house in a variety of activities including swimming, tennis and badminton, as well as a few non sporting events such as debating. The final scores were close, but the top three houses were Caer Gwent, Davies, and our winning house this year was Venta.
We enjoyed a fantastic evening celebrating our students’ dedication, teamwork, and sporting success at this year’s Sports Awards Night.
SPORTS DAY
Sports Day was a great success – congratulations to all those who took part and thank you to everybody who attended. We are delighted to commend the following girls who broke school records:
Flora E – new L5 80m hurdles record holder
Isla E – new M5 800m record holder
Amari M – new U4 long jump record holder
PARENT-PUPIL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Thank you to everyone who played at our first ever Parent-Pupil tennis tournament. There were fantastic rallies and big smiles. Not to worry if you missed out this year, the event will return next summer.
4. 5. Le Roy refurbishment End of term garden games afternoon 1. 2. 3. Boarders visit from farmyard animals Birthdays in Le Roy High House treat night
