The Tudorian 2015 by Tudor Hall School

CONTENTS Letter from the Headmistress.......... 2–3

Science .....................................................69

Examination Results.................................4

Textiles................................................70–73

Destination of Leavers........................ 5–6

Nanette Godfrey Lectures.............74–75

Drama................................................... 7–11

Women in Leadership.....................76–77

Music...................................................12–15

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award...........78–79

Sport...................................................16–25 Art.......................................................26–39 Careers...............................................40–41 Cookery....................................................42 Dance ................................................43–45 Design & Technology.......................46–49 English.................................................50–51 Geography.........................................52–54 History...............................................55–56 History of Art...................................57–58

THANK YOU TO ALL CONTRIBUTORS FOR THE ARTICLES AND IMAGES

Travel Scholarship............................80–81 Warriors...................................................82 Model United Nations....................84–85 Outdoor Education................................86 Tudor in Three Continents............87–89 Todd Diary................................................90 IIs’ Diary.............................................91–92 IIIs’ Diary............................................93–94 IVs’ Diary...........................................95–96

ICT.............................................................59

Vs’ Diary...................................................97

Languages...........................................60–63

Charity Events..........................................98

Maths.........................................................64

House Events................................. 99–100

Photography .....................................65–67

Old Tudorians............................... 101–103

Politics ......................................................68

Harriet Granville......................... 104–105

EDITORS: Polly Skye & Shanna Wells pskye@tudorhallschool.com swells@tudorhallschool.com PHOTOGRAPHY: Elizabeth Snoddon esnoddon@tudorhallschool.com DESIGN & PRINT: Banbury Litho Wykham Mill Banbury OX16 9UX Tel: 01295 220488 sales@banburylitho.co.uk www.banburylitho.co.uk THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

WENDY GRIFFITHS

OT SCHOLARSHIP AT PARSONS

FROM THE HEADMISTRESS Students who have an interest in teaching often observe that it must be boring covering the same material year after year. Having taught for more years than I care to remember and having been a head for eleven, I am still waiting for a time when I am bored. Educational reform and research ensures that what we do in the classroom never stands still and in leadership the numerous external factors which impact on the role keep me on my toes. However, the single biggest factor that ensures each year is unique is the pupils. I am often asked what makes a typical Tudorian; after twelve years at Tudor Hall I can confirm that there really is no such thing. Our girls join the school as individuals with strengths and enthusiasms that set them apart. Whilst here they develop passions for anything from philosophy to dissection, clay pigeon shooting to etching. In the outside world they follow different courses and focus in on all kinds of careers. That said, I have come to realise that there are traits that stand out amongst Tudorians or that I see as typical: PERSISTENT Carol Dweck of Stanford University published her book Mindset in 2007.This book uses research to show what many of us have known for a long time through our experiences of working with young people, that persistence when faced with academic challenge is critical for success and can outweigh the impact of IQ scores. Currently we are working hard to develop the idea of the ‘growth mindset’ with all our girls. However, I am aware that many Tudor girls have achieved way beyond what might have been expected academically for many years due to their diligence and determination to overcome challenges. This summer our GCSE results with 69.4% A*/A with all girls passing mathematics, science and English, and at A Level 83.4% A*–C is direct evidence of their grit and determination. I regularly witness it when I visit the boarding houses; girls are selfmotivated and are working towards their own individual goals. I recently heard from an OT studying at Parsons in New York. She had just won a scholarship from a designer handbag company. She had been working hard

THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

in a workshop night after night practising the skills required to turn out perfect bags, typifying what we see from our students. ARTICULATE All prospective parents after completing their tour with a Sixth Form pupil comment positively on the natural way the girls engage with them and their daughters. They often assume that a particular student was chosen and trained for the role. At Tudor, guides are chosen because they are available at the relevant time. We know that all our girls will be strong ambassadors for the school. They have many opportunities to hone their public speaking skills. Model United Nations and the Art History competition ARTiculate are obvious platforms. However, it is the confidence built through classroom discussions in subjects such as RS, Politics, Science and English that begin the process culminating in the confident young women who can address the whole school. I can think of only one occasion when the Head Girl has been momentarily fazed and that was when the mystery speaker who required thanking turned out to be Emma Watson. ADVENTUROUS Adventure starts from the first weekend the girls arrive in Todd, when they are whisked off on a residential outdoor experience, and continues long after the girls have left. This year like every other for many years the IIIs climbed Snowdon dressed as fairies raising money for their chosen charity Breast Cancer Awareness as they walked. In the same year they will start the Duke of Edinburgh’s award which will take them through expeditions in the local area to canoeing on the Severn or walking in the Lake District. This year three girls completed their Gold Award and received their award from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at a formal presentation ceremony at St James’ Palace.The Warriors programme, in South Africa, allows some of the sixth form girls to challenge themselves through activities such as skydiving and fire-walking. This year eight girls have taken part and each one unanimously declared it as the best week of their lives so far! The Governors’

REACHING OUT

Travel Scholarship gives Lower Sixth Students the chance to plan and execute a trip completely independently of school and their parents. This year’s trip was to Cambodia. CREATIVE One of the highlights of the school year is the annual Fashion show which showcases the work of the girls in Textiles but focuses predominantly on the work of the public examination candidates. This combined with the extraordinary work in art and photography is an obvious indication of the creative side of our pupils.The varied talents of Tudorians allow us to see creativity in Drama typified by both their improvisation and scripted work, such as the hilarious adaptation by the AS students of Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist. I, along with the rest of the audience, laughed out loud from start to finish. My weeks are filled with opportunities to see the girls perform musically in venues as varied as the school Ballroom to the Royal Albert Hall. Many girls leave Tudor to study the practical arts: art, textiles, photography, music and drama. This year is no exception; four girls left to take places on art foundation courses and, for the third time in a row, one of our students took up a place at Parsons School of Design. High standards demand hard work and in the evenings when I walk around the school I am always conscious of the hard work still going on in a variety of spaces from where senior girls regularly have to be coaxed away to go to bed! ENTREPRENEURIAL Old Tudorians are involved in businesses of all kinds around the world and for many the seeds are sown here when they take up the challenge of being in a Young Enterprise team. This year I was thrilled to receive an email from a girl about to embark on a History degree who had designed a striking range of tableware which she was selling to help fund her studies. Similarly, I was delighted to catch up with an Old Tudorian who had recently graduated with a degree in Geography. She has set up her own business designing bags, which she is having made in India, and

was selling them at our Christmas Fair. SPORTY In the magazine you will read reports of our sporting success this year. I am very proud of all our outstanding sportswomen. Their commitment and enthusiasm ensures that they continue to train and represent their school until they begin their study leave in the UVI, it also ensures that life at Sanfine House is punctuated morning and night with the sound of a hockey ball hitting the backboard of the goal. CARING No one who knows the community as a whole, or our girls as individuals, would fail to recognise the care they show to one another and those in the world beyond. The care can be obvious – such as the application to become part of the school’s charity committee – or it happens when a new girl arrives and feels a little lost. I am proud to see daily examples of the girls recognising the part they have to play in supporting one another. In lessons where girls are finding it hard to grasp tricky concepts, I see others determined to ensure that everyone achieves the understanding needed to succeed. Our community is not immune to the tragedies that affect all families, but I have no doubt that the support that girls receive from their peers and from the Tudor community is unique. I am very proud of the way so many of our girls reach out beyond the school. This is our eighth year sending girls to help young children in Tudor in Three Continents and our sixth year when girls in the sixth form sleep outside in the winter to raise money for Banbury Young Homeless. The efforts of the girls to raise money for our school charity and other specially chosen charities during the Lent period never cease to amaze and delight me. When the UVI girls left this summer, they and their parents asked me what kind of gift they could give the school in thanks for everything they had received. I asked for a sculpture and the one they gave says it all. I have called it “Reaching Out” as it embodies the school motto “Habeo ut Dem” which I see in action amongst Tudorians old and new every day.

BYHP SLEEP OUT

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GCSE RESULTS DAY

EXAMINATION RESULTS Another year of excellent results

A LEVEL RESULTS DAY

We are absolutely delighted with another fantastic year of A level results: 43% of all passes were A*/A and 82.8% were A*–B, our best percentage in five years. The Higher Education establishments at which the girls have secured places are impressive. Of those girls who applied through UCAS, over three quarters confirmed offers at Russell Group universities, including a significant number to Edinburgh, Newcastle, Bristol, Durham and Leeds. The choice of courses is diverse and reflects the independent and aspirational nature of our girls; they include Biomedical Science, Marine Biology, Spanish, Business Management, Estate Management, Geography, Politics, History of Art, Drama, Maths and Psychology, History, Anthropology, Economics, Music, French and Spanish, Philosophy and Politics, and Primary teaching. We also have a girl at Parsons in New York.

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The GCSE results have been equally impressive. 34.1% of all the grades achieved are A*, 69.2% are grade A*–A, 88.4% A*–B and 99.2% A*–C. The girls have benefited from the experience and care of our hugely dedicated pastoral and academic staff who work as a team to assist the girls in developing the skills and knowledge to succeed.

DESTINATION OF LEAVERS

NAME

DESTINATION AND SUBJECT

Jemima Allison

Parsons New York Fashion Design

Sophie Arif

Newcastle Biomedical Sciences

Lucy Ayres

Oxford Brookes Art Foundation

Annabel Bailey

Bristol Spanish

Laura Batt

Leeds History of Art

Isabella Beck

Newcastle Politics and History

Daisy Beor-Roberts

Oxford Brookes Real Estate Management

Isabel Bourdillon

Newcastle Modern Languages

Harriet Bromwich

Liverpool Business Management

Harriet Budgett

Bristol Spanish

Charlotte Campion

Exeter Modern Languages

Alice Collard

Newcastle Politics

Flora-Jane Cunningham

Winchester Childhood Studies & Criminology

Davina Daly

Oxford Brookes Business Management with Communications

Claire Dowling

Durham Geography

Emily Dunlop

Oxford Brookes History of Art

Scarlett Embury

Newcastle Maths and Psychology

Olivia Gaselee

Kensington and Chelsea Art Foundation

Natalie Geary

Nottingham History

Ella Gordon Banks

Southampton Geography

Sophie Hanbury

Edinburgh Geography

Alice Harley

Edinburgh Social Anthropology

Katherine He

Durham Economics

Hermione Hill

Newcastle History

Emily Hockaday

Bristol Philosophy and Sociology

Serena Holbech

Kings Music THE TUDORIAN 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2015

DESTINATION OF LEAVERS

NAME

DESTINATION AND SUBJECT

Eleanor Ingleby

Bristol French and Spanish

Emily Lees–Millais

Edinburgh French & Spanish

Eliza Lindsay

Newcastle Marine Biology

Olivia Lochmuller

Bournemouth Art Foundation

Alexandra Lockyer

Newcastle Biology and Psychology

Jemima Penfold

Stranmills Primary Education

Jessica Perrett

Newcastle Marketing and Business Management

Eleanor Poole

Edinburgh Philosophy and Politics

Imogen Reid

Oxford Brookes Business and Marketing Management

Imogen Skinner

Leeds Drama and Theatre Studies

Sabrina Steele

Newcastle Economics

Abigail Stoneham

Nottingham Trent Costume Design

Octavia Townsend

Edinburgh Geography

Georgia Wedderburn

Manchester History of Art

Adelaide Wickham

Newcastle Marine Biology

Gemma Wilson

Falmouth Art Foundation

APPLYING POST A LEVEL Isabelle Bourne Swinton Hunter Sophie Deakin Alexandra Petterson Rosanna Pruden India Radford Josephine Rudge Sonia Wang Alexandra Watkinson

THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

DRAMA

TALLULAH

An exciting year for the Drama Department

FAT SAM’S CLUB

2015 has had many highlights including the opening of a fantastic new drama studio! The department organised two launch events to celebrate the opening in February: a ‘Play in a Day’ experience for local prep and primary schools, delivered by professional directors at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury; and a full day of performances by events company, Fitzrovia, who created a show focusing on Shakespeare especially for the girls at Tudor. Fitzrovia also presented a special evening performance, alongside some of Tudor’s own drama scholars who performed a selection of monologues and duologues, which delighted the audience of sixth form girls and supporters of the drama studio. This facility has already enjoyed a constant flow of theatrical events and provided Tudor girls with a very special space in which to explore dramatic worlds and create magic in performance. It has been another stellar year for performance at Tudor and the department has increased the number

of performance opportunities for girls to tread the boards in front of an audience. In October, Tudor drama scholars from the IIIs and IVs performed in this year’s Shakespeare’s Schools’ Festival in a triumphant production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Chipping Norton Theatre. As part of the rehearsal process, the girls attended an acting workshop at the theatre with students from Sibford School, organised by tutors at the Central School of Speech and Drama. The Shakespeare Schools’ Festival remains the largest youth drama festival in the country. The girls were able to revive their festival performance for the Well-Made Players’ Evening shortly after half-term. The event, which celebrates the drama work of predominantly drama scholars, commenced with an innovative and exceedingly atmospheric devised drama called ‘Murder in Reverse’, created by members of our Junior Well-Made Players. IIIs’ scholars Isabel Saer and Maud Swanborough performed a duologue from Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ before the girls closed the THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

THE PINK LADIES

GREASE THE MUSICAL

evening with a second showing of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. The department attempted two musical productions in a year for the first time! Our senior production was a fabulous production of ‘Grease’, directed by Mr Christopher. Girls in the IVs–VI performed the highly popular musical in February and were supported by some excellent male actors from North Oxfordshire Academy, Banbury and Magdalen College School in Brackley. Imogen Skinner and Rosie Pruden impressed as the female leads, Sandy and Rizzo, whilst Isaac Stuart certainly got the audience’s hearts racing in his role as romantic lead, Danny Zuko! Lucy Ayres also deserves a mention for her hilarious cameo as Blanche. Congratulations must go to the whole cast and creative team for generating such an uplifting production. The choreography, music and design complemented the acting perfectly, culminating in a superb evening’s entertainment for the audience. In June, the Hall was transformed into Fat Sam’s

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speakeasy as the majority of the junior years performed ‘Bugsy Malone’. With a cast and crew comprising over 100 Tudor girls, Mrs Stephens sometimes wondered how she was going to fit all the cast onto the stage! The girls were magnificent and thoroughly deserved the accolades following the performances. There were some truly outstanding performances and everyone, whether they were on stage or behind the scenes, played an important role. Millie Courtney and Gabriela Louro entertained as Fat Sam and sidekick, Knuckles, whilst Kitty Chetwode as Blousey moved the audience with her renditions of ‘I’m Feeling Fine’ and ‘Ordinary Fool’. However, it is the image of over 100 girls participating in a conga line to the show’s finale, ‘You Give A Little Love’, that will go down in Tudor history as one of those unforgettable drama moments! Amidst rehearsals for both the senior and junior productions, the girls also enjoyed performing at other drama events. For the first time, this year the department hosted drama evenings to provide all the girls in the

A PLAY IN A DAY

BUGSY MALONE CAR CHASE

junior years with an opportunity to exhibit some of their work undertaken in the drama classroom. In the Autumn Term, the IIIs performed their own devised dramas based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, staging these in the round. In the Spring Term, the IIs provided an excellent evening’s entertainment in March in aid of Comic Relief. Having explored Commedia dell’Arte in lessons, they developed and performed their own commedia scenarios, and accompanied their performances with informative presentations on the genre. The Todd Drama Evening in June gave parents and friends the opportunity to see some of the great work that the Todds have undertaken in their drama lessons throughout the year. The programme included examples of shadow puppetry, screenings of silent movies and two excellent, short scripted pieces performed by the girls. The acting was excellent and provided many laughs for an appreciative audience. We have enjoyed two ‘DramaBites’ events this year.

Todd girls took advantage of the opportunity to test their shadow puppetry creations in front of an audience towards the end of the Autumn Term. The work, which supported their focus on storytelling techniques, required them to write their own scripts, create shadow puppets and perform their pieces to an audience. In February, a group of IIIs presented a series of monologues, which they had written themselves, in front of an audience of girls and staff. The exercise was very useful in demonstrating the process of drama. Girls also performed extracts from dramatic texts at both the end of term showcase in the Autumn Term and at Summer Show Day. Audiences have, again, witnessed a high standard of performance work by GCSE and A level students. In November, girls in the IVs and Vs performed a series of Noel Coward duologues and devised work, as part of their practical coursework assessment. The Vs certainly provided the audience with something to think about with their gritty dramas on the dangers THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

SO YOU WANNA BE A BOXER

SUMMER SHOW DAY

of social media and reasons why some people go missing. They dealt with difficult issues with a great deal of maturity and created excellent pieces that were often uncomfortable to watch. In March, the Lower Sixth presented a series of contrasting monologues ranging from David Hare’s ‘Skylight’ to Sarah Kane’s ‘4.48 Psychosis’. The girls also performed an outstanding adaptation of Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’. The Upper Sixth devised and performed a piece focusing on consumerism in modern society, which successfully blended theatrical styles including Brecht’s epic theatre and musical theatre. The Vs’ final pieces included an adaptation of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ and Lorca’s ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’, which were presented for performance in front of a moderator and invited audience just before the Easter break. At the end of April, the IVs’ GCSE Drama students created their own theatre–in–education plays for a target audience of local children, aged between 7 and 10, from Dashwood Banbury Academy. The girls

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SUMMER SHOW DAY

researched topics on the Key Stage 2 curriculum and produced highly original, entertaining as well as educational, pieces on the subjects of Ancient Egyptians and Superheroes. In September, GCSE and A–Level students were lucky to experience an intense and highly charged production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ at the Old Vic in London at the start of the academic year. South African director,Yael Farber, generated a powerful visual display of stylised movement, peppered with extremely naturalistic vignettes in a production staged in the round. Richard Armitage played a brooding John Proctor. In November, girls in the LVI and UVI were treated to a spectacular production of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, performed by the superbly original theatre company, Frantic Assembly, at Birmingham Rep. The production stripped what would normally have been a 3–hour production to one hour and 40 minutes without interval! Set on a northern council estate, the production

AN EVENING OF SHAKESPEARE

THE OPENING OF THE DRAMA STUDIO – THE FIRST PERFORMANCE

quite literally rocked, and Frantic’s trademark physical performance style was received by standing ovations at the end of the evening. The IVs and Vs were lucky to see the excellent fastpaced comedy, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ at the New Theatre, Oxford. This production, which is heavily influenced by commedia dell’arte, provided the girls with an excellent display of physical comedy and improvisation skills. Nick O’Brien from The Stanislavski Experience visited Tudor in the Autumn Term to deliver a workshop to GCSE students from the IVs and Vs. The workshop focused on acting techniques generated by Russian theatre practitioner, Constantin Stanislavski, in order to strive for a more naturalistic style in performance. Drama has enjoyed a number of successes in recent years, particularly with an increase of girls pursuing careers in the theatre post-Tudor. This year continues the trend with Olivia Gough successfully auditioning for the National Youth Theatre and Emily Hockaday

achieving an offer from Oxford Drama School for their foundation course. We are also delighted that Imogen Skinner, who recently achieved an ‘A’ grade in her Drama A level, has decided to undertake a BA in Theatre and Performance at Leeds University. I would like to thank the drama team: Alan Christopher, Susie Lowe, Pippa Phillips and everyone who has continued to support the department and its aims. Our drama prefects have also done a sterling job and our thanks go to Tilly Mould, Lettie Smith and Flora Loder. The girls who have performed in drama productions this year have enjoyed terrific support from parents, friends and staff, without whom the experience of performing would be very different – a big thank you to all those who have attended productions, as well as parents who have ferried girls to and from rehearsals. Finally, to the girls themselves, whose ability to produce something out of nothing continues to astound us all – respect! Justine Stephens – Head of Drama THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

SOLOIST

MUSIC

A very busy year in the Music Department

TODD VOCAL GROUP

As well as the usual programme of internal and external concerts (19 in total), orchestral days, music trips, competitions and festivals there were some very special highlights. September saw the introduction of ‘Musician of the Month’. Nominations are received monthly from the seventeen visiting music teachers and full-time music staff. Girls were awarded a certificate and box of chocolates and advised why they had won the award. The girls gaining the awards have been thrilled. Another new initiative was taking the chamber choir to Castle Quay Shopping Centre in Banbury just before Christmas. The singing was very much appreciated and the money collected was divided between Banbury Young Homeless Project and The Art Room. This year seven of our girls reached the finals of the Banbury Young Musician of the Year Competition. We were delighted to be represented in all three age categories; the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Classes. Our results were as follows: Junior Singing 2nd Place –

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Clara Petrillo; Intermediate Singing Joint 2nd Place – Mary Eckert, Anna Roberts and Jenny Look; Senior Singing 2nd Place – Rosie Pruden; Senior Brass 1st Place – Alexandra Lockyer – winning the R. Webb trophy; Senior Piano 1st Place – Bella Bourne Swinton Hunter – winning the Banbury Charities Trophy. Senior Strings 1st Place – Bella Bourne Swinton Hunter – winning the Jeanette Leport Trophy. Bella also performed in the South East Regional Finals and was asked to play at a special Rotarian concert at Dorchester Abbey. In addition to these achievements, we were delighted that Martha Prestidge has joined the TFO (Television & Film Orchestra), the UK’s first amateur orchestra solely dedicated to performing an eclectic array of music from the world of film, television, radio and gaming at a variety of venues and festivals. Olivia Gough successfully auditioned for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) and was offered a place in the most competitive part of the Choir, the Soprano 1 section.

CONCERT PERFORMANCE

MUSIC CONCERT

This year we hosted another Open Mic Evening with Bloxham School and The Warriner. Emelie Monye in particular, moved the audience with her heartfelt performance of ‘Thinkin’ Bout You’ by Frank Ocean. Also touching was the vocal and guitar duet performed by Molly Nicholson and her brother, George, from Bloxham School. Trips this year included taking all of the IIIs to The Sound of Music at Milton Keynes Theatre and a visit to the wonderful Symphony Hall to see the CBSO’s Guide to the Orchestra with all the Todds and IIs. The girls had the opportunity to explore music from Mozart to Harry Potter. In April, the Music Department hosted over eighty children from eight local primary and preparatory schools as they participated in our annual Orchestral Day. Each orchestral instrument and section was well represented and we had the privilege of hearing not one, but three French horns! We were very impressed by the level of concentration demonstrated by the

children, some as young as Year 2.The day ended with a fantastic concert attended by many parents. Tudor’s chamber choir and brass group were joined by Bloxham School, North Oxfordshire Academy and The Warriner in the Banbury Rotary Concert, which helped to raise funds for the Rotary Club’s “End Polio Now” campaign. This followed Tudor hosting the Crocus Concert on behalf of Banbury Rotary in spring 2014. In May, ten of our strings musicians headed to Oxford for a “Baroque Rock” day run by Oxfordshire County Music Service, featuring workshops, a creative introduction to Baroque music and an informal concert. Miss Kissick, our strings specialist, accompanied the girls and remarked that they all embraced the day and gained a good insight into Baroque music. It was a year filled with hard work and fun, right up to the very last performance of Summer Show Day on the last day of term. THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

CAROL SERVICE

THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

SPORT

A year full of success

1ST XI FINAL

HOCKEY The term started with the 1st XI hockey team returning early to school for a two day pre-season training camp. The first afternoon was spent at Cokethorpe School where the Tudor and Cokethorpe girls had an afternoon of coaching and small-sided game play. Simon Egerton (ex England and professional player in the Dutch league) joined us on the second day and put the girls through their paces before a match against a senior ladies’ team from Banbury Hockey Club. The time spent together was invaluable and set the tone for the school season ahead. Hockey teams from Todd through to senior level trained hard throughout the season and were involved in a big and competitive fixture programme. A number of our new girls picked up a hockey stick for the very first time and it was fantastic to witness their determination and rapid progress. A good number of girls also trained with and

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represented Banbury Hockey Club at junior and senior level. The hockey season was busy and successful. The U14 XI were particularly impressive and achieved the amazing feat of remaining unbeaten in the regular school season beating strong hockey schools such as Bromsgrove School and Pangbourne College. The same team were crowned county champions and went to Wellington College to represent the school and county in the regional competition. The girls played well against some of the strongest schools in the south of the country and really benefited from the experience. At the senior end of the school, the 1st and 2nd XI teams recorded positive results and performed well. They celebrated the end of season with a hockey dinner after which there were speeches and presentations – a fitting finale for the committed and talented UVIth hockey players. In the spring term, both the U12 XI and U13 XI teams came third in their

CARA – BLACK BELT

PRE–SEASON TRAINING CAMP

county tournaments and the new mixed age group practices were a real success; many of the younger girls benefited from be able to train with the senior hockey players. Early into the summer term twenty of our junior hockey players were rewarded with a trip to the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London to watch the GB women’s hockey team take on Japan. It was a ‘secret’ match played exclusively for schoolchildren, with no paying public permitted. With a convincing GB victory it was a great experience for the girls! Following JDC training through the summer and JAC assessment days, the following girls were selected to represent Oxfordshire JAC: Molly Levene (II); Serena Goodhart (LVI); Poppy Mobley (III); Maya Rawal (III); Charli Price (IV); Flora Smiley (III). Serena Goodhart (LVIth) was selected to Captain her JAC (county) hockey team and both Serena and Charli Price (IVs) were part of the Banbury Ladies 1st

XI team that secured promotion into South Women’s Hockey League Division Two for next season. Following JRPC and Tier 1 selection days, Charli Price was selected as a non–travelling reserve for the England Hockey U15 Hipac residential training camp; a tremendous achievement for one of our most talented and dedicated hockey players. HOLLAND HOCKEY TOUR After the success of last year’s tour, we returned to Rotterdam for another excellent sporting experience. The two squads were able to spend the majority of their coaching sessions at the world class HC Rotterdam facility. Both teams were fortunate enough to train with professional coaches, as well as play against junior opponents of an excellent standard.The girls had team meetings each evening to analyse performance and discuss tactics for improvement. We took the girls to watch a Women’s National Premier fixture, seeing many of the Dutch international team players in action. THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

NETBALL

Alongside the hectic hockey schedule, the girls were also able to take time out, with trips including a canal boat tour through Amsterdam and an afternoon of shopping in Rotterdam. The girls’ professional attitude and conduct throughout the tour was excellent, and we look forward to returning in the near future. NETBALL We had another very successful netball season with over 141 matches played. Trials were held at the start of the season for all age groups and were very competitive. Across the whole school the junior and senior teams collectively won over 70% of their matches. It was also good to see our lower teams performing and producing great results, in some cases achieving an unbeaten season. Our netball keeps improving and we offer a full range of A, B, C, D and sometimes even E matches for the girls to play in. The U19s had a really good county tournament. They came second in their section, losing just the one match, and they qualified for the semi-final where they played some excellent netball but just could not match the skills of Headington School who were the eventual winners of the tournament. At the U12 tournament, the Tudor team came fourth in their section. The U15 team had a great tournament, coming second in their group and only losing the one match. They qualified for the semi-final but unfortunately lost. The Senior, U16, U15 and U14 players have all trained with the Banbury Blues netball club which has helped them develop their netball skills considerably. The U13A VII squad had their first experience of a sports tour, travelling to the annual GSA netball festival at Condover Hall in Shropshire. It was a fantastic weekend for the girls, who thoroughly enjoyed the tournament. They met players from 22 other independent girls’ schools, took part in activities such as a high ropes course and question and answer session with England Netball Captain, Pamela Cookey, and gained invaluable playing experience. On the final day of the tournament the girls were pleasantly surprised that they had made it to the Cup tournament. They thoroughly enjoyed the

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experience and were a pleasure to take ‘on tour’! ANNUAL STAFF V STUDENTS CHARITY NETBALL MATCH This year the UVI came on to the court with confidence and determination and were raring to go. From the first whistle the staff were put under enormous pressure by the girls and just managed to stay with them in the first quarter. By half time the girls were growing in confidence and across the four quarters they outperformed the staff and thoroughly deserved their win! CROSS COUNTRY This year has been successful for the cross country squad with a strong core of girls training regularly throughout the year. The U15 girls team came first in the county round of the national cross country cup, second in the regional round and then an outstanding 5th in the national finals. This means that, as a school team, Rose Lord, Lucy Scruton, Jess Miller, Jenny Hannah and Flora Ayres make up the 5th best cross country team for their age in England! This team then ran the rest of their races throughout the year in the older U17 and U19 age groups coming 3rd in the U17 age group at the county championships. Jenny Hannah was crowned county champion individually winning the U15 race. The younger team of Carolina Ortiz De Zúñiga, Molly Levene and Alice Sitwell finished 2nd in the U14 age group at this event. Tudor also competed at the prestigious King Henry VIII relays and the Knole Run finishing 11th and 10th respectively. To add to this, the same team finished 2nd overall in the Wellington College relays. Rose Lord, Lucy Scruton, Molly Levene and Jenny Hannah were selected to run for Oxfordshire at various national inter-county events. The cross country squad were all members of the Banbury Harriers team which finished 2nd overall in the U19 club county Oxford Mail cross country league. LACROSSE It was fantastic to see so many girls on the lacrosse

THE U15 GIRLS TEAM – THE NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CUP

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TENNIS SUCCESS

pitch this year with girls from Todd to the UVIth playing in competitive matches over the autumn and spring terms. Todds and IIs played extremely well against Rendcomb College where they not only had to play in some fierce wind, but also on astro turf which was a first for all of them. The senior teams had another very successful season playing against Stowe School, Rendcomb College, Uppingham School and St Helen’s and St Katharine’s School and managing a few wins. We also welcomed a touring lacrosse team from St George’s School in Harpenden this year. We fielded a mixture of U15 – U18 girls in a competitive and feisty match and hope to continue the link in future years. Throughout the season, the UVIth lacrosse players have been true leaders on and off of the pitch and their sheer determination, athleticism and commitment will really be missed. TENNIS Before exam fever set in, the senior girls had matches SWIMMING GALA

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with excellent wins against MCS and Bromsgrove School. We have had school matches for every year group and have been trying to give every committed girl an opportunity to represent the school. Our advanced U13 and U15 teams have been extremely busy competing in the AEGON competition with much success. The U13B squad won their division and both the U15A and B squads, who played in the same division, had some pleasing results. The talent in the IIs – IVs is exciting and some of our junior players were asked to play in senior competitions. Alongside sixth form students, Verity Taylor and Alexandra Lockyer, Charli Price and Bella Biggart (IVs) played in the 104th Midlands girls competition. In the 2nd pair competition, Charli and Bella were successful in the initial rounds and made it through to the final, an excellent achievement against more senior girls. As the exams took over, we also had junior girls stepping into the National Schools Competition team and after a nail-biting and exhausting 3.5 hours of play, Alexandra

FLAINE

Lockyer, Varvara Kot, Charli Price and Scarlett Cripps beat a very strong team from Loughborough High School. The team then faced Repton College in the Central England group final and, despite losing to an incredibly strong team, this was the most significant tennis match for the school in recent years! ATHLETICS The athletics season got underway with a pre-season training day where over 45 girls began to hone their athletics skills. The girls were split into various groups in a tailored programme of exercises, including plyometrics, upper body circuits, reaction time drills and running technique. We also made use of the synthetic athletics track in Banbury. The groups did sprinting workshops, middle distance runs and various field events. The PE department have made a real effort to push forward the standard of athletics this year. The North Oxon trials were a real success where Tudor Hall had Rose Lord (3000m), Jenny Hannah (1500m), Jess Miller (300m) and Lorna Fleming (High Jump) qualify to compete at the Oxfordshire Schools’ County Championships; many of the other Tudor girls just missed out on qualification and were selected as reserves. An exceptional achievement this season was the Junior and Inter girls’ success at the ESAA Track and Field Cup. A selection of our finest athletes competed at the county round; there were excellent performances throughout the day including: Carolina Ortiz (75m Hurdles), Jess Miller (300m), Lucy Scruton (800m), Octavia Puckett (800m), Blanca Ortiz (Javelin), Rose Lord (1500m) and Jenny Hannah (1500m). The girls qualified to reach the Regional ‘B’ final for the first time in 15 years! The Inter team continued to train hard in preparation for the Regional final and their efforts paid off with some excellent individual performance. We finished 3rd out of the eight schools amassing over 300 team points, a new best score for the school.

year and all of the extracurricular swimming sessions have seen an increase in attendance.The PE department has been focusing on long term swimming development with the junior girls. Using the ‘training to train’ model, the girls have been working through their individual swim development programmes with the intention of beating their target swim times at the swim meets planned for the coming season. This year’s House swimming gala was a great success. Rose Lord set new intermediate school swimming records in the breast stroke event of 33.20 seconds and then in the front crawl of 25.63 seconds – a fantastic effort! Mia Harris in Todd came within one second of the Junior Front crawl record, and has set her sights on this for next year! The swimming gala was supervised by two of our newly-trained lifeguards from the UVIth. Harriet Budgett and Flora-Jane Cunningham completed their National Pool Lifeguard qualification with the Royal Lifesaving Society in March this year. This is the third successful NPLQ course at the school and next year sees the conclusion of the current course with two more girls in the current LVIth. Eight new candidates will begin training in September. SKIING In January, the Tudor Hall ski team travelled to Flaine, France for the 62nd British School Girls’ Races for the seventh consecutive year. This year Tudor entered two teams for the first time, a senior team consisting of Marina Bealby, Alexa Barrow and Issy Cain and a junior team consisting of Jess Carter, Lorna Fleming and Maria Agustsdottir. The girls spent a day race training with an ESF instructor who helped them practise the slalom and giant slalom courses in preparation for the races. Two days of races followed the training day where both teams were very successful; Marina Bealby came 38th overall out of 145 competitors and Lorna Fleming won “Best Skier not in a Ski Club”. Well done to all the girls involved.

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SPRINT

HIGH JUMP

ROUNDERS The junior girls enjoyed their rounders fixtures in the summer term, with a pleasing number of girls committing to practice sessions. Early in the term, the U12s and U13s had fixtures against Thornton College in which the U12s lost their matches but the U13s were successful. The U13s also played Winchester House School and again were successful. In May, both year groups played Headington School. It was touch and go whether the matches would go ahead due to the English weather and although both resulted in a loss they were very close matches and both teams played extremely well. HOUSE EVENTS Throughout the year the majority of girls played in house matches. As usual, these competitions were enthusiastically fought, showing true house spirit! Lancaster House performed particularly well winning the junior and middle school lacrosse and netball,

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plus the senior house hockey. In the house swimming gala, the LVI led by example racking up the double optional entry points and fielding a relay team for each house which added to the excitement of the event. Congratulations go to Lancaster House who won the overall competition. Also in the summer term, the senior and middle school house tennis was won by York, the junior house tennis by Tudor and the junior rounders by Stuart. We had five of the seven year groups competing at our annual sports day at Horspath Stadium in Oxford. For the first time in a long time, hurdles races were back on the programme and the combination of more high quality athletics training sessions and holding the event later in the term resulted in a much higher standard of competition overall with 5 new records set in both the track and field. Lancaster House was the eventual winner.

RUGBY TASTER SESSION

100M SPRINT

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Throughout the school year the PE department has worked closely with a number of local primary schools to offer specialist sports coaching and host a number of tournaments. A number of local schools came together for the annual hockey festival.The coaching carousel started well and all the primary children got stuck in. Unfortunately the weather wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so kind to us and the heavens opened, which resulted in us abandoning the hockey pitch and heading to the sports hall for cover! In the spring term, Tudor again hosted the U11 girls netball festival. We had a brilliant turn out and the day was spent with the girls in small groups doing a number of different skills and drills before playing matches. Also, for the second year running, we held weekly lacrosse coaching sessions for the children at Bishop Loveday Primary School which was really well received by staff and students alike. During the summer term we hosted the Annual

Junior Schools Tennis day which attracted a good number of students from six local primary schools. The day was split into a morning of core skills training and a serve and return activity. The afternoon ended with an exciting tournament and all of the children thoroughly enjoyed trying out their newly-learnt skills. The last primary event was the primary athletics festival in June hosted by Carrdus with the support of the Tudor PE Department. The children competed in a variety of track and field events having a wonderful day. SCHOLARS Early in the year, the sport scholars spent the day at Bolton School for the annual GSA Girls Go Gold conference. The variety of workshops and informative talks was a great introduction to the world of elite sports performance and an inspiration for all.The sport scholars also participated in two practical and interactive nutrition workshops in the autumn term with Mrs Jane Haggarty and the PE department. THE TUDORIAN 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2015

SCHOLAR NUTRITION

VOLLEYBALL TEAM

In the spring term, in addition to strength and conditioning training sessions in the fitness room, we were joined by players and coaches from premiership rugby team London Welsh for a rugby taster session. The scholars thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to try a new sport and were quick to transfer their skills and game understanding from hockey and netball. They made rapid progress and were front page news on the London Welsh website! In the same week, the girls also had a session with a guest pilates teacher. The scholars were taught a range of movements and given the science behind pilates and the reasons why for most elite sportsmen and women, it is now an integral part of their training. In the summer term, our junior scholars took part in three different sessions: using the pool as a recovery aid, tennis service clinic and a hydration workshop. Each term the scholars have set and reviewed personal targets with the support of an individual sports scholar mentor from within the PE department and we have

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been proud of their contribution to school sport and their sporting achievements this year. SPORTS LEADERS This is a new initiative allowing students from the IVs who are passionate about sport to develop their skills in leadership. They have worked through a nationally recognised sports leadership course, which has given them the opportunity to develop confidence in leading sporting sessions with their peers, as well as developing knowledge of living a healthier lifestyle. As a nationally recognised qualification, the award can be a steppingâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; stone to employment, further education or training. These students go on to support the school and local community by assisting in extra-curricular clubs, or in local sporting events hosted at school. EXTRA-CURRICULAR FITNESS The culture of a healthy and active lifestyle has flourished over the year. From girls with their

TENNIS

FITNESS

headphones on jogging round the grounds to groups of girls in the fitness room at school, all of the girls are beginning to understand the benefits of engaging in regular physical activity. Taster ‘open gym’ sessions have been well received. As well as building fitness, the extra-curricular sessions have been important in other ways such as medical referrals following injury/illness and for more cathartic reasons to relieve stress and build self-confidence. Following the basic movement patterns that all the girls learn when they set foot in the gym, girls have developed and progressed, even contributing to the planning of sessions. They have been taught the importance of varying their training and using weights for strength. Many now know how to structure an effective session including maximising their time in the gym. Boxercise has also grown in popularity and the girls have learned the basic punches to enable them to get a good whole body workout.

CONDOVER HALL

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VERSAILLES

ART TRIP

GCSE Art Students travel to Paris

OUTSIDE LE LOUVRE

In March 2015, the IVs Art GCSE group set off for Paris to study French Art: Impressionism and Art Nouveau. French Art was our GCSE theme. We are learning how to use oil paint while studying the techniques employed by the Impressionists, Pointillists, Post Impressionists and Fauvists as well as ceramic work while studying Art Nouveau. Paris enabled us to see first-hand the works of Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Matisse and Degas at the vast number of art galleries dedicated to the French Impressionists in the centre of Paris including L’Orangerie, Marmottan Museum and the Musée d’Orsay. We were fortunate to visit Le Louvre and Versailles, two royal palaces bursting to the seams with French, Dutch and Italian paintings including the Mona Lisa, helping us to put Impressionism into context. While we were in Paris, it was Paris Fashion Week. Designers were everywhere with their models using the wonderful architecture of Paris and even the interiors of art galleries to photograph their latest

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designs against a cultural back drop. We travelled on Le Metro and even visited Le République district where the recent ‘free speech’ demonstrations supporting Charlie Hebdo took place. Although the highlight of the trip for many of us was to see the actual paintings we were studying, we all enjoyed our trip up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The recent terrorist attack had the French police out in force at such an iconic symbol of Paris. The scenes from the top were breath–taking and provided us a lot of wonderful selfies and a terrific photographic record of our visit.

THE EIFFEL TOWER

INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS I am a huge fan of Monet works and to see the world’s biggest collection of them at the Marmottan Museum was amazing. Having looked at his works on a laptop at school you’re not aware of how enormous the paintings are! The trip was so much fun and I would love to go back to Paris in the future. Jessica Carter I managed to get loads of ideas for my sketchbook and information about artists which I could actually remember! Iona Lowe

My favourite museum was the Musée d’Orsay; it had a great collection of famous Impressionists paintings such as Van Gogh ‘s still life: Pink Roses which I love. Michelle Xiaocao One of the paintings that I absolutely loved was the Bras de Seine près de Giverny by Monet in the Musée Marmottan. Charisse Fung

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ART WORK

A selection of students’ work

MILLIE HOLT – TODD CUBISM

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ATHENA ALLEN – IIs

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OLIVIA GOUGH – GCSE

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VARVARA KOT – GCSE

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ANNABELLE NORTON – GCSE

VENETIA JOLLY – GCSE

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HANNAH WATERS – AS

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ISABELLE CAIN – AS

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TATIANA MILLIKEN – AS

TILLY RIGBY – AS

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SERENA HOLBECH – A2

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OLIVIA GASELEE – A2

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ABIGAIL STONEHAM – A2

LAURA BATT – A2

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ART

ATHENA ALLEN

Young Art Oxford

PRIZE GIVING

Young Art Oxford is connected to the charity Cancer Research UK. Each picture and postcard sold is a 100% donation for research into childhood cancers. The competition is organised by local committees and teams of volunteers from all the local schools within each area throughout the country. Each year, once the committee has chosen a theme, children participate in the art competition. This year’s theme was ‘In Your Dreams’. Mrs Craske and Mrs Jones used their art club sessions throughout the autumn and spring terms to encourage the girls to participate. Tudor Hall entered the years 7–9 category and had three images selected. Anna Lord: selected for the exhibition Tia Rudge: selected for the exhibition and highly commended Athena Allen: selected for the competition and first prize winner

The entries for the years 7–9 category were judged by Dr Alexander Sturgis, director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where the selected pictures were exhibited and the prize giving ceremony took place on Tuesday 5th May. Athena Allen was awarded first prize for her beautiful lino print of an owl in flight by moonlight.

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ARABELLA ROCHE

CAREERS IN THE NHS

Girls were given an NHS job role and asked to research a number of aspects of the job

NURSING PRESENTATION

We encourage all the girls to start thinking about careers as early as the IIs, when they complete a half day careers research activity. This year, the girls were given an NHS job role and asked to research a number of aspects of the job, including qualifications and skills, the highs and lows of the job and career prospects. WORK EXPERIENCE With work experience becoming ever more important in a highly competitive job market, we introduce the idea to the girls in the IIIs, who each spend a day at work after their exams in the summer. The Vs then carry out a minimum of a week’s work experience after their GCSEs and all the girls are encouraged to continue this into the sixth form and beyond.

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VS’ WORK EXPERIENCE I was able to combine my work experience with a trip to Spain at Sky School, my brother’s skydiving school in Barcelona. Having met the staff and been given a health and safety briefing where I was told that potentially everything and everyone could kill me, the placement kicked off with a flight over the beach and then out for supper. The rest of the week was spent cooking for large numbers of people, dealing with cash, and helping with the paragliders, with opportunities for swimming and snorkelling in my spare time. Arabella Roche, Vs Over the summer, I had the chance to spend time at two completely different organisations, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Somerset and John D Wood and Co Estate Agents in London. Noah’s Ark, a working farm, is home to a collection of animals, from guinea pigs and rabbits to lions, tigers and elephants. Whilst I was not allowed in the lion and tiger enclosures, I had the

KITTY PACKE

RADIOGRAPHER PRESENTATION

opportunity to handle the domestic animals and learned how to groom Shetlands and feed lambs. At John D Wood I accompanied one of the agents on a viewing trip, which was fascinating; I learned to use the software and used a franking machine for the first time. Kitty Packe, Vs

and even a gym and dry cleaning service – free of charge! The week ended with us working in teams of five to produce an advertising campaign and I am pleased to say that our team won with our pitch for Virgin Airlines. Anna Chambers, LVI

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the summer school run by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, the biggest advertising agency in the UK, with an impressive range of clients including Virgin, Sainsbury’s and Pepsi. During the week we attended talks given by the different departments such as social media, creative and specific accounts, and we were given previews of the new Sainsbury’s Christmas advertisement as well as Pepsi’s “Time Tunnel”. We also found out about their graduate schemes and internships. One of the highlights of the week was a visit to the Google offices in Buckingham Palace Road, which has to be seen to be believed: sleeping pods, games, all types of food imaginable THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

PREPARING THE MEAL

COOKERY

The prestigious Leiths Introductory Certificate in Food and Wine – A First for Tudor Hall

THE LEITHS INTRODUCTORY CERTIFICATE IN FOOD AND WINE STUDENTS

This year saw Tudor’s first cohort of girls complete the Leiths Introductory Certificate in Food and Wine. Harriet Bromwich, Alexandra Watkinson, Sophie Hanbury, Rosie Pruden, Davina Daly and Ella Gordon Banks were fantastic as they honed their skills, met deadlines and produced so much delicious food. The course, which takes two years to complete, covers understanding recipes, time management, menu planning, food presentation, food safety and hygiene. The girls have now gained a solid, practical foundation in cooking as well as an impressive repertoire that will enable them to cook confidently, either independently or in a group. The course opens doors to future employment and, as the girls are now on Leiths List, they will be able to get employment as cooks in roles such as chalet girls. This is a bonus for those looking to have a gap year. The certificate is also a great stepping-stone for any girl wishing to become a chef as it is a fast track to the Leiths Two Term Diploma, a culinary alternative to university. Special mention goes to Davina and Ella for passing the course with merit.

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THE FINISHED DISH

DANCE

This year the dance department has been buzzing

DANCE AND DRAMA SHOWCASE

SUMMER SHOW DAY

In the Autumn term we had the House Dance competition. House dance runs every year; the Todds – IIIs get together in their houses (Lanc,Tudor, Stuart and York) to learn dances choreographed by the IVs from their house. This year was slightly different; in each house there were 3 groups of mixed ages who took on the themes Circus, Continents and Roaring 20s. Rehearsals ran every week for most of the term before the last Sunday of term dress rehearsal where all the last minute adjustments were made and then it was show time on the Tuesday. All the performances were amazing, with well thought out stories, costumes and props. The winners were Lanc with the theme Circus,Tudor with the theme Continents and Lanc with the theme Roaring 20s. The Christmas Dance Showcase was another big

event for the dance department. There were many performances from solos, duos and groups. Tudor’s own dance company, Reaction, performed a dance they’d been working on that had a unique and different style which was enjoyed by all. As if the autumn term wasn’t busy enough for us, the spring term definitely was! The senior musical chosen was Grease. There were regular rehearsals which involved dance choreographed by Miss Robinson and Miss Williams and the audience loved it all. The summer term brought us Summer Show Day; all term our dancers worked hard to perfect their performances ready to perform on the last day of term to the rest of the school and parents. This show was the busiest yet with more dances scheduled than ever before. The dance department runs clubs and lessons in THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

CHRISTMAS DANCE SHOWCASE

lunch and tea times. We have 2 teachers, a ballet and a tap teacher, who come in from outside school to teach girls both styles of dance. There are many opportunities to dance at Tudor, and many girls enjoy

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the ability to choreograph their own pieces in their own style of dance and then perform in front of their friends and family.

REACTION DANCE

DANCE SHOWCASE

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DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY A selection of students’ work

ANNA LORD – IIs

XIN YAO LIU – IIIs

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GRACE CHISM – TODD

MOLLY LEVENE – IIs

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ORLANDA STEPHENS – TODD

POLLY WATERS – IIs

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ROSEANNE WATKINS – IIs

SARA TORO CUADRA – IVs

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ENGLISH

A flourishing subject at Tudor Hall

ALTHORP LITERARY FESTIVAL

First of all, there have been two fresh faces in the teaching team, with Mr Roberts coming in as new Head of Department and Dr Gray as a new member of the IVs English teaching staff. The watchword of the department remains unchanged, though: to fully realise the high academic potential of Tudor girls. To begin with, this year saw the introduction of the Literary Society – a series of 50-minute sessions exploring the rich beauty of the subject in areas outside the curriculum. Literary Society was spearheaded by Mr Field presenting on “James Bond”, Mr Kent on “Dracula”, Ms Skye on “Hamlet”, and Mr Roberts on “Wuthering Heights”. Congratulations go to Venetia Jolly, Charisse Fung, Georgie Stolper and Nessa Zard for being the most stalwart supporters of Lit Soc so far! Shorter sessions have been held throughout the year every Tuesday lunchtime, under the catchy moniker of “English for University”. The range of topics explored has been truly impressive, as can be seen by

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even listing a few: Imagism, Negative Capability, Classicism, Romanticism, T S Eliot, Existentialism, “Paradise Lost”, ekphrasis on “The Fall of Icarus” and messages hidden in metre. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who has come, and particularly our superstar team of core attendees: Jazzy Banister, Nessa Zard, Oli Jowett, Venetia Jolly, Adèle Tumilty, Zoi Moir and Sasha White. Larger events within school this year have included the inaugural IIs’ Debating Competition. Every girl in the IIs took part in a mini–debate in the classroom; the best teams from each classroom went through to the final, held in the Ballroom in November, in front of the whole year group and several members of staff and parents. Congratulations go to all finalists (Annabelle Walker, Jojo Darling, Molly Levene, Jasmine Tumilty, Alice Sitwell and Athena Allen), and especially the winners – Amelia Douglas and Polly Waters. We also invited in the Tiny Giants touring production of “A Christmas Carol” in December, which was

watched by Todds and IIs, as well as Carrdus Year 5 and Year 6, and greatly enjoyed by all. The hat stand that turned round to reveal a skeletal hand and a truly ghoulish ghost was the prop masterpiece, but the girls also loved the after-production Question and Answer session with the actors. Many girls also took part in external competitions, and plaudits particularly go to Adèle Tumilty for being shortlisted for the Deddington Festival Writing Competition, and Grace Sale for making it to the second round of the national Radio 2 500-Word Short Story competition. We think both girls did fantastically well, and hope many more girls will take up the challenge next year. Outside school, the English Department ran a trip to the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham to see one of the best productions of “The Tempest” many of the department staff had seen in a long time. It was mostly for the benefit of sixth formers studying the play, but places were opened up to aspiring girls from the lower years. What was particularly noteworthy was the highly dramatized physical rapprochement between Prospero and Caliban at the end. Some might say the meal beforehand at Carluccio’s was also pretty good! The English Department also took a group to the Althorp Literary Festival this summer to hear Sir Tom Stoppard, Lady Jane Wellesley, Alan Johnson and Louise Mensch talk about their latest books – or, in Sir Tom’s case, one of his favourite books: “Le Grand Meaulnes”. The Tudor girls were inspired by many anecdotes of the day, including how Sir Tom had not read “Ulysses” when he wrote the play “Travesties”, despite filling it with references to the famous novel, or how Louise Mensch won her first contract with a publisher despite not actually having written the rest of the novel, other than the trial chapter she had sent off. Thanks go to Greta Scott, Oli Jowett, Nessa Zard, Emelie Monye, Sasha White, Jazzy Banister, Georgie Stolper, Maud Swanborough and Zoi Moir. A word has to go to our outgoing UVIth: Indi Radford, Hermione Hill, Rosie Pruden, Emily Hockaday, Lucy Ayres, Georgie Wedderburn, Mima Allison, Flossie Cunningham, and Imo Reid. They are an inspiring bunch and we know they will go on to great things. Congratulations to Emily for winning the Ashtons English Prize. Behind the scenes there have been noticeable staff achievements. Mr Field is now driving the school’s

pedagogy forwards in his key role as Director of Teaching and Learning. Mrs Beecham is formally publishing on the TES resources website her PhD– quality research into works of literature such as “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”, “The Miller’s Tale”, Commentaries on 45 Hardy poems, “The Rape of the Lock”, “Hamlet”, “Othello”. Mr Kent and his wife Victoria have been blessed with a baby girl, Lara, although do not talk to Mr Kent about sleep right now! Dr Gray, who before this year had only taught History of Art, has achieved her ambition and is taking up a post with a substantial English–teaching component at Caterham School in September. Ms Skye is coming back into the department full time after 7 years as a housemistress, and we look forward immensely to more of her lively company and creativity. Bob Roberts – Head of English

OXFORDSHIRE BOOK AWARDS

THE OXFORDSHIRE BOOK AWARDS 2014 Ten Todds went to Abingdon School on Friday 16th January to attend the Oxfordshire Book Awards. We listened to and watched the presentations of several prizes: Best Picture Book, Best Primary Book, Best Commended Primary Book, Best Secondary Book and Best Commended Secondary Book. The authors of the Best Picture Book and the Best Commended Primary Book were there: Sue Hendra for her No-Bot, the Robot with No Bottom, and Andy Mulligan for his The Boy with 2 Heads. I have to admit, though I had never heard of these writers before the big day, I ended up going home with signed books from both of them. After the ceremony we went to the book fair. They didn’t just sell the prize–winners’ books there; they sold lots of others. I bought three books: Norman, the Slug with a Silly Shell by Sue Hendra (which she signed) for my sister; Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death by Chris Riddell (again, for my sister) and Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (he signed it). Having a writer to sign my books felt really special. It was a great day and I’ll never forget it. Orlanda Stephens

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GEOGRAPHY

A great year in the Geography Department

LVI CARDINGMILL VALLEY

The year began with the good news that the department had achieved the Secondary Geography Quality mark from the Geographical Association. The SGQM award “recognises quality and progress in geography leadership, curriculum development, learning and teaching”. Fieldwork began with the LVI carrying out their data collection for their examination. We spent a weekend in Shropshire, collecting physical geography data in Cardingmill Valley, Shropshire. The girls were set the task of assessing variables in the river, such as width, depth and velocity. They then applied their skills to present and analyse their data. We then compared the characteristics of two settlements, a suburb of Shrewsbury and a rural hamlet. The next group to collect data were the Vs, who spent a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, collecting human geography data along a transect. They had many variables to measure along a main route out of Stratford, such as noise levels (using a decibel app on

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the school iPads), traffic flows and pedestrian flows. They returned to school to share their data and write up their results. The UVI collected their fieldwork data on site, using the Sor Brook and extended their A/S fieldwork data themselves, using secondary data such as local geology maps. We have welcomed many younger pupils this year with the Geography Game Show and the Winchester House Geography morning. Pupils from Winchester House put together a spontaneous shanty town, made with recycled boxes and card. They had to think about where to site their individual house. Each pupil then voted how to improve the shanty town. Pupils used the iPads and maps to navigate themselves around our school site in search of humanitarian aid. They also used ArcGis to complete a world map of life expectancy. We really enjoyed their enthusiastic response to our activities! In the summer term, we welcomed representatives from the British Cartographic Survey, who led a

ASSEMBLING A SHANTY TOWN FROM RECYCLED CARDBOARD

JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ GEOGRAPHY MORNING

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IVs STUDENTS’ WORK ON THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI

workshop for Bloxham and Tudor’s IVs. The students were asked to map the response to the Japanese tsunami using Japanese maps at a variety of scales. The winning team produced the most detailed and logical response. Well done girls! Several of our UVI girls have applied to read geography at university this academic year and we wish them all the very best with their continuing studies.

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JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ GEOGRAPHY DAY

HISTORY

A year of remembrance

AIM WW1 CONFERENCE

AIM WORLD WAR 1 CONFERENCE In November, a group of sixth formers travelled to London to attend the AIM WWI conference with Jeremy Paxman. We left very early in order to make a stop at the Tower of London to see the ‘Blood swept lands and seas of red’ art installation. Featuring over 880,000 handmade ceramic poppies it was a beautiful sight and well worth the early start. It was really moving to see so many people there. We then headed to the conference where we heard Professor Gary Sheffield from the University of Nottingham speak about both the causes and outcomes of the First World War. After lunch, in the amazing venue of Freemasons’ Hall, Jeremy Paxman spoke to us about some of the aspects of the Great War that he found interesting. He was a very engaging speaker and had many interesting stories to tell. Before we left, there was a short moment of remembrance led by three Chelsea Pensioners and a

bugler. It was a very interesting and emotional day which really brought home how important the First World War is even 100 years on. POLAND TRIP In November 2014, we heard a moving account from Janine Webber, a Polish Jew, who had survived the Holocaust but lost many of her family. Later, in December, the Lower and Upper Sixth travelled to Poland to gain a better understanding of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Upon our arrival at Krakow, we went on a walking tour with our amazing guide, Marta. We started out at Wawel Hill, the seat of the royal castle, which overlooked the city for defensive reasons. It was from here that the Nazi Governor, Hans Frank had ruled Poland in World War Two. Looking around the castle was a memorable experience as each room we toured was decorated with amazing paintings, tapestries and marble sculptures. We also visited the THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

Old Town Square and finished the tour with a visit to Cloth Hall and St. Mary’s Basilica, which seemed the perfect end to the day as we heard the famous trumpeter signal. This is played every hour of every day from the top of the taller tower to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city. The most harrowing experience of this trip was the visit to Auschwitz-Bivkenau. Both of these once functioning concentration camps have now been turned into museums by those dedicated to remembering the atrocities of the Second World War. The first sight both we and the prisoners had upon arrival to Auschwitz was the menacing sign ‘Work sets you free’; this reveals the inhumanity of the Nazis. We saw endless cases of human hair, suitcases, shoes and shoe polish, which had been stolen from Jews to be shipped back to Germany; the Jews had no idea that walking into Auschwitz meant they would never leave again. The most eerie part of Auschwitz for me was stepping into the gas chamber and being overcome by an overwhelming feeling of sadness, hopelessness and disbelief; as we moved to the incineration rooms, these feelings became more acute. We were shocked to learn that the Nazis built Birkenau because Auschwitz’s incineration chambers were not effective enough. Birkenau was bigger than Auschwitz and wooden rather than brick, which made us realise just how cold the prisoners must have been at night in winter. Birkenau was built next to the railway. It took just twenty minutes for over 2,000 people to be gassed to death. Those chosen to live were stripped of their clothes and tattooed with a number. This trip, for all of us, was one of the most moving experiences of our lives. The next day we visited Schindler’s factory, where we learnt more about the invasion of Poland, and the actions of a man who saved so many Jewish people. We also visited Krakow, where we learned how many Jews died from starvation and disease in ghettos; the average number of calories the Jews were allowed to consume per day was under 500. The square had an

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iron chair to represent every thousand Jews who died. It was fascinating to learn about the lives of Jews before and after the invasion of Poland. A visit to an underground museum about the medieval history of Krakow and then Wieliczka Salt Mine completed our visit to Poland. The mine consists of over 200 kilometres of underground passages, connecting more than 2,000 excavation chambers extending to 327 metres below the surface. The most amazing part of the salt mine was the sculptures that the miners had carved out of the native rock salt.These secret treasures, which were absolutely breathtaking, were the perfect end to the trip. Georgina Woodward

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

HISTORY OF ART

DIRTY WHITE TRASH

A cultural year

ARTICULATION

MY JOURNEY TO THE REGIONAL FINALS OF THE ARTICULATION PRIZES The ARTiculation Prize is an opportunity to give a talk about any work of art or architecture that you find interesting. My talk was about ‘Dirty White Trash’ by Tim Noble and Sue Webster; an artwork made in 1998. It shows a pile of rubbish creating a shadow on the wall behind two people drinking and smoking. I focused on the psychology of the image – how and why we perceive things the way we do. Then I spoke a lot about global warming and how endless consumption would be the end for us. Before reaching the finals, I competed in the school ARTiculation competition where a broad range of topics was covered. I was delighted to win, but scared about going to the regional finals! If it wasn’t for the support and help of my advisor, Dr Gray, I do not think that I would have been able to do it. Dr Gray gave me a book about the art works of my

chosen artists,Tim Noble and Sue Webster.This helped me to expand my understanding. I learned so much about shadow art and its origins and I found out a lot about other artists who use rubbish to create masterpieces. What I enjoyed about researching my ARTiculation project was that I didn’t need to be an art student or history of art student to take part. I realised that as long as you have an interest in a piece of work and can show how it influences society, then you can take part. On the day of the finals I arrived early at Modern Art Oxford with Ms Gamble, Dr Gray and my best friend, Georgina, by my side. I was terrified to have to speak first, but this meant that I could enjoy the presentations of the other nine contestants more. I enjoyed meeting Mrs Salisbury, who was organising the whole competition, and the director of the Ashmolean Museum, who was judging. I didn’t win but I had a lot of positive feedback from people. The whole experience was worthwhile, and if I could do it again, I would. Aliyyah Sada THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

ON THE VENICE WATERWAYS

FLORENCE AND VENICE TRIP

During half term, the Upper Sixth History of Art class went to Florence and Venice for our A2 History of Art course. We started off in Florence, visiting the Museo del Bargello and the Uffizi Gallery where we saw ‘Birth of Venus’ and ‘Primavera’, as well as some of our case study pieces. Florence’s architecture amazed us; we managed to climb hundreds of steps to the top of the Brunelleschi Dome where the views over the city were incredible. As well as experiencing these amazing galleries, we had time to explore Florence in our free time, which admittedly was spent mostly buying items from the incredible leather markets and practising our bartering skills! We really enjoyed the Italian street culture, particularly the food and the many hot chocolate breaks throughout the day. We then boarded a very smart train to Venice where we were met by Charlie Hall, our tour guide for the next few days, who gave us a quick tour of Venice. We soon realised why we needed a tour guide, as

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Venice is filled with hundreds of narrow streets and is built on water. We got around by water taxis, where we often sat outside at the back, taking in as much of the sunny weather as possible before heading back to rainy England! Again we had a busy day exploring Venetian architecture including our case study ‘Ca’ d’ Oro’, as well as more famous art galleries including Galleria dell’Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which everyone particularly enjoyed. We finished off visiting the famous St Mark’s Square, which was packed with people in fancy dress getting ready to celebrate the carnival. Seeing the works of art in reality really brought them to life and enabled us to appreciate fully the huge scale and detail of some of the paintings. Claire Dowling

ICT

An exciting year in the ICT Department

SCRATCH PROGRAMMING

It’s been an exciting year in the ICT department. The IVs have been working hard on their Flash animation and movie projects. The IIIs have created apps for iPads and learnt how to write programs using Python. The IIs made their own web sites ‘the hard way’, using hypertext mark-up language.They also took part in a new house competition, to design and produce a House magazine. Congratulations to Molly Levene and Jasmine Tumilty (overall winners and best Tudor magazine), Leyla Edwards, Charlotte MacEwan and Saskia Pougatch (best Lanc magazine), Skye Novis and Mary Pool (best York magazine) and Emily Anderson, Tabitha Markham and Carolina Ortiz De Zúñiga (best Stuart magazine). Todds have had fun creating their own games and animations using a program called Scratch. They have also taken part in an international Computing competition, organised by the University of Oxford. Well done to Emily Newsome and Orlanda Stephens for coming joint first in the year.

Girls coming to our taster lessons were challenged to think like a computer scientist, taking part in the Lightbot Challenge.

FLASH ANIMATION

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IVs PRESENTATION

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES A year of travelling, dance and eating!

LANGUAGE LEADERS

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETS LANGUAGES CONFERENCE In June, twenty IVs took part in the annual Business Meets Languages conference here at Tudor Hall, where they participated in workshops designed to show them how languages can improve their future job prospects. The girls enjoyed designing and presenting a new chocolate bar in the target language, as well as selling products and solving secret service clues using their linguistic skills. Tudor girls performed well and featured in the winning groups for the chocolate presentations. There was also a taster Mandarin lesson to introduce them to this fascinating and useful language. The day culminated in a keynote speech by EU commissioner, Stephen Turkington, who demonstrated the wide range of career opportunities languages can offer.

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LANGUAGE LEADERS This year, six UVI linguists undertook the language leaders programme, which involved learning how to teach languages and putting their skills into practice at Tudor and The Carrdus schools, thus developing leadership, team and organisational skills. Here is what the girls said about the course: I really found it helpful to get a basic knowledge of how to organise myself to be able to teach a lesson smoothly. I learned about different ways to motivate children and make sure that each child is pushed to their fullest capabilities. All this knowledge proved very useful during my interviews at universities where I have applied to train to be a primary school teacher. I also learned how to work as a team and how to best allocate different jobs to different group members so that the children would get the most out of our lessons. Jemima Penfold

MFL TRIP TO SALZBURG

In addition to developing my leadership and team working skills, I was able to learn more about a possible career path that would lead on from the degree that I’m going to be doing. Emily Lees-Millais I found the course a good starting point to learn the basic skills of teaching. I want to be a teacher when I’m older so this has helped learn the style of preparation and practice in the classroom. It was enjoyable to get to know some of the younger girls better. Harriet Budgett SALZBURG At the end of the autumn term, Tudor Hall Germanists headed off to Salzburg in Austria to put their German skills into practice. Activities ranged from visiting the salt mines and Mozart’s house to interviewing local people, learning useful phrases for

shopping and ordering food via lessons from a local teacher and using their German to buy Austrian specialities for lunch and gifts from the famous Christmas markets. Tilly James summed it up: For me, the highlight of the trip was the visit to the salt mines, as the scenery was stunning and the guide really interesting. I also enjoyed ordering local food in German, as it helped me to practise the language and to use it in a practical way. FRENCH AND SPANISH SOCIAL In the spring term, we went to Radley to practise for our oral exams the next term and of course have some fun as well! When we got there the Spanish and French sets were divided and we had some time practising our various topics with the boys, taking turns asking and answering questions. This was really useful for us, improving our vocabulary and getting us used to thinking on our feet. Then, after some delicious supper, we started charades which, though tricky at times, THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

ON THE BEACH IN EL PUERTO DE SANTA MARÍA

proved extremely amusing and once everyone had had turn we followed on with some more language games, which blatantly revealed our competitive streak, luckily resulting in a few wins! This really helped our improvisational skills and definitely improved our knowledge of Spanish and French culture. All too soon we had to head off, saying ‘adios’ and ‘au revoir’ and feeling well on our way to aceing our orals in the summer. Alice Lindsell SPANISH SALSA SOCIAL In the autumn term the UVI and LVI Spanish group was lucky enough to go to Radley for a Spanish Salsa Social. The evening started off with some drinks and chat before we all sat down for some delicious Spanish cuisine accompanied by a quiz, which we all completed in groups, really helping us to start practising Spanish and to learn more about Spanish culture. After supper ended, the dancing started! We all started off with

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partners and our Cuban dance teacher, Ariel, taught us some basic salsa steps, delivering all the instructions in Spanish. Soon enough we were all spinning around the room like professionals (with only a few clumsy feet here and there)! All too soon the evening ended and we duly said ‘¡hasta luego!’, leaving with improved confidence in our Spanish, not to mention our newly acquired dance moves. SPANISH TRIP In April, after an eventful journey, we arrived in Seville where the sun was shining. After meeting our host families, we went home with them for the evening and then first thing next morning we began our programme of activities. Throughout the trip we had fifteen hours of Spanish lessons, went on lots of excursions and practised our Spanish with our host families. Apart from trips to Seville and Jerez, we visited a bullring, saw the whole of Cadiz through the Camera

SPANISH TRIP

Oscura went to a market and ate tapas whilst we watched a flamenco show. Our favourite part of the trip was when we went to the beach in El Puerto de Santa María as it was a beautiful place and we had it all to ourselves. The trip enabled us to improve our Spanish speaking skills and we would love to go again. Adele Tumilty, Oli Jowett and Charisse Fung

FRENCH CAFE

FRENCH CAFE After exam week, the Todd French students were taught how to order food and drinks in French and as an end of term treat, Mme Genot and Mr Harper set up a café, complete with checked table cloths and French music. The girls could only communicate with their waiters in French and felt a great sense of achievement from ordering their snacks and drinks in the language. THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

MATHEMATICS

A year of taster days, treasure hunts, puzzles and competitions

PRIMARY MATHS MORNING

There were drop-in sessions five times a week, including a Saturday Morning Study Group for the LVI. Junior Mathletes involved lots of puzzles, games and problems once a week with girls in Todd and IIs, with Scarlett Embury in the UVI supporting. There were also taster days, treasure hunts, team activities ect and a VOWELESS competition. PRIMARY MATHS MORNING Based on the success of the Primary Schools’ Mathematics morning and the positive feedback from teachers and pupils, Tudor Hall have decided to run their primary Mathematics mornings every year, rather than every other year. This year the local primary schools were as enthusiastic as ever in taking up the opportunity to engage with mathematics in new and exciting ways. The pupils were given the opportunity to attend different sessions, covering two unfamiliar areas of Mathematics. In particular, the pupils investigated what has become widely known as “The

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JUNIOR MATHS COMPETITION

Towers of Hanoi” problem. After some considerable investigation and discussion, many of the pupils were able to determine that some seemingly rather small towers could take many thousands of years to move under the rules of the game. One or two pledged to try and complete it quicker, but this may take some practise and considerable speed! The Mathematics department look forward to welcoming more primary school pupils from the local area into Tudor Hall in September, when more exciting Mathematical problems will await them. JUNIOR MATHS COMPETITION Annie Liu (IIIJB), Ella Taylor–Cross (IIIVR), Molly Levene (IIVM) and Annabelle Walker (IIJKi) took part in the Junior Maths competition in April and made it to the regional finals held in Oxford. They were one of the very few all-girl teams in the country. Rounds included completing a “number crossword” and a very energetic relay race!

PHOTOGRAPHY

ALEXANDRA WATKINSON – A2

A selection of students’ work

TARA O’KELLY – AS

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FLORA-JANE CUNNINGHAM – A2

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OLIVIA LOCHMULLER – A2

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MOCK GENERAL ELECTION Tudor mirrors real life

HUSTINGS

In April, Tudor Hall’s Inglis and Ashtons’ politics sets hosted a mock General Election for the entire school. There were seven parties represented: the Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, UKIP, Monster Raving Loony, Green and Plaid Cymru. The campaign managers from Inglis produced the manifesto for each party, whilst the parliamentary candidates from Ashtons, gave a short brief speech on their policies. After this, the parliamentary candidates answered questions from the rest of the school. There were many successful questions asked by the younger years’ such as, what were the policies each had for Banbury and what parties would go into a coalition together? There were many entertaining and informative answers from the parliamentary candidates. Everyone was asked to vote by secret ballot. The winner of the Tudor Hall mock election was the Conservative Party, which, as it turned out, followed the national trend. Following this, Tudor Hall invited the parliamentary candidates for the Banbury constituency to a ‘hustings’.

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This included: Rosanne Edward (NHA), Dickie Bird (UKIP), John Howson (Lib Dem), Ian Middleton (Green), Sean Woodcock (Labour) and Andrea Leadsom (Conservative candidate for South Northamptonshire). We wanted to ensure that the Ashtons’ voters would be able to make a fully informed vote in the 2015 General Election, which is particularly important given the current ‘participation crisis’. We were joined by Chenderit School for the event. Each candidate had the opportunity to make an opening statement, and then they answered questions from the audience. Fantastic questions were asked both by Tudor Hall students and Chenderit, about the candidates’ policies on nuclear disarmament and the limits of finite resources. The candidates provided informative answers across a wide spectrum of political views. Finally, all the candidates were invited to make a closing statement about their policies to encourage people to vote for them. This was a great educational experience and gave voters much to think about before casting their vote on May 7 2015.

SCIENCE

ECLIPSE OVER TUDOR

This year has eclipsed all others

TRIP TO LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

This year the science department have had many trips and activities, underlined by the sun going into hiding behind the moon. We are also delighted to announce our best GCSE results for many years, with some extraordinary successes from very hard working girls. The year started with nearly half the school taking part in a research project on Scoliosis with Warwick University, who were very grateful and impressed with our girls. Our primary science day went off with a bang and shortly afterwards our IIIs and IVs enjoyed the Explorer Dome. We had lots of screams of delight as animal encounters got underway, with snakes, lizards, insects and lots of fluffy animals. The science department took Tudor to London’s Science Museum where they saw a 3D journey through the body, moving on to the Aquarium afterwards. Within school, the department concentrated mainly on feeding students, in Chemistry with Cake, Doughnut discussions and Physics tea. When not feeding the girls so much they felt sick, Biology dissected things with the same result: hearts, lungs, locusts and rats were all on the menu. For the lunar eclipse, we truly “got lucky”: everyone in the school went outside with a variety of viewing devices, from welding goggles to filters, Amazingly, at

the moment closest to totality, the skies cleared and the sun shone. As the skies darkened, many students really appreciated the magic of the moment. To round off the year, we went to Switzerland with 24 girls from the IVs. This was an amazing experience, visiting the Large Hadron Collider, the United Nations headquarters, The Verbois hydroelectric dam, the International Red Cross headquarters and Museum and Lake Geneva. In true Tudor tradition, during the holiday we sent one of our students as far away as possible (the middle of the Pacific Ocean!) to have some experience of Marine Biology, a link that we had made earlier in the year courtesy of Miss Redrup, who used to work out there. We also linked up with an internet live feed to some scientists diving amongst fish and sharks. Finally, we sadly said goodbye to Dr Proven and Mr Langer and hello to the new baby of Miss Salt, who left us a few years back. Mr Langer had worked at Tudor for 15 years and will be sorely missed. He has agreed to a Physics cup in his name and we are looking forward to choosing the first student to be worthy of it. For 2016 we welcome Dr Wilkes and ten small chirpy yellow visitors (newly hatched chicks). Overall, it was a great year! Ian Robinson THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

TEXTILES

Annual charity fashion show, the highlight of the year

FASCINATORS MADE BY THE IIIs

This year the IIs visited bridal wear designers Ali Webb, whose work they found very inspiring. Much of what they saw helped them with their projects. The IIIs were lucky enough to visit The Clothes Show at the NEC Birmingham in December as part of their fashion illustration project. They loved the catwalk and also enjoyed looking at the various stalls and stands in the exhibition hall. The IVs were blown away by the outstanding Alexander McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. This was followed by a visit to the Zandra Rhodes Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey where they saw work by Thea Porter, one of the key designers behind 1970s style ‘Boho-chic’. All of the trips helped the girls let loose their imaginations and bring new shapes and colours into their work.

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GRACE CHISM – TODD TEXTILES

FASHION SHOW: DESIGNER SOPHIE WALKER

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FASHION SHOW: DESIGNER IMY SKINNER

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MARIA TELLAECHE DE VICENTE – IVs

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GEOFF McDONALD

NANETTE GODFREY MEMORIAL LECTURES The Nanette Godfrey Lecture Series continues apace at Tudor

PAUL DANIELS

The Nanette Godfrey Lecture Series, set up in memory of former headmistress Nanette Godfrey, continues apace, treating girls and staff to the most enlightening evenings by guest speakers. Paul Daniels, the legendary magician and TV entertainer, left his magic tricks behind to share his memory techniques which, over the years, have allowed him to do some extraordinary things including learning his whole show in German in three days and qualifying to be a pilot in a mere week. One of the techniques he taught the audience was the simple way of memorising a shopping list by imagining a room in your house and then replacing furniture in it with wacky interpretations of the items you need, e.g. a bedside table that was transformed into a large pineapple, stressing that all these imaginings had to be ‘utter nutter’. Apart from being an extremely witty and engaging lecturer, we also left with some indispensable information which will be extremely useful to get an edge on our learning.

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JO ROYLE

Close to Remembrance Sunday, Trio Paradis performed music composed by women at the time of the outbreak of The Great War. Names like Cécile Chaminade and Alma Mahler (the wife of Gustav Mahler) are hardly household names; however, their music evoked the turbulent spirit of their times and, when combined with words and images, the performance was moving, but not without hope. Many readers will remember sailor Jo Royle’s intrepid crossing of the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney in 2010 in a boat made of 12,000 used plastic bottles. Five years later, and a matter of hours after her recent expedition to the Pitcairn Islands, Jo shared her experiences with Tudor. Jo had always wanted to be a sailor and combine this skill with her crusade against global warming. Having travelled the globe, she became increasingly horrified at the amount of litter she found washed up on beaches. She knew she had to raise awareness and so her yacht ‘Plastiki’ was born. She also shared her

PROFESSOR HELEN McSHANE

TRIO PARADIS

struggles as a female sailor (she has been refused jobs due to gender) and how she has fought to be taken seriously on merit. The gender divide still exists but thanks to women like Jo, it is diminishing. Professor Helen McShane, Professor of Vaccinology and Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow at Oxford University, leads a programme of research to develop a new vaccine for worldwide medical conditions like Tuberculosis. Helen took time out of the laboratory to explain her recent work in researching and finding new treatments for the Ebola vaccination which have proved so successful in trials that it has been granted licensing to be tested in West Africa promising millions of people hope for the future. We were pleased to welcome Geoff McDonald back to Tudor. Last time he spoke, Geoff was Vice President, Global, of Unilever’s Human Resources department. He made such a deep impression on the UVI that he was invited back to address the whole school. Unilever has found ethical, sustainable ways to

do business and Geoff ’s thesis is that individuals must do the same. Expecting a job because you have a 2:1 is unrealistic in the modern business climate. Applicants need to demonstrate resourcefulness, character and values. Wise words for us all.

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AILEEN KANE, BSA

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Inspiring young women

STEMETTES HACKATHON WORKSHOP

Tudor Hall’s inaugural ‘Women in Leadership’ was held on 25 June. 150 girls from the fours, fives and lower six attended the day-long conference which addressed key issues from what core skills, personality traits and attributes are required for a woman to forge ahead along her chosen path to do women subconsciously hold themselves back and what would you do if you weren’t afraid? These questions, and many more, were addressed by a panel of inspiring speakers including Liz Dixon Smith, Director of Data Projects at the Bank of England, Sez Maxted, Former Director of DRAFT SCB, Deirdre Walker, Head of Dispute Resolution and Litigation for Europe, Middle East and Asia at Norton Rose Fulbright, Anne-Marie Imafidon, Founder of STEMettes, Aileen Kane, Head of Communications at the Boarding Schools Association, and Mairi Eastwood, first female partner of PWC and international leadership coach. A series of workshops ran alongside the speaker platforms and focused on the art of presenting

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yourself, how to set yourself apart in the job market, who do you think you are, there’s no ‘i’ in team and an interactive workshop with STEMettes designing an app to help girls through exam time. As Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, once reiterated, “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests”.

MIRIAM EMBURY WORKSHOP

ANNE MARIE-IMAFIDON, STEMETTES

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

More girls than ever competing for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award this year

BRONZE AWARD

It has been good to reflect on how the awards have helped all the girls involved develop and mature as young women. Through the expeditions, volunteering, sport and skills they have had a glimpse of real adventure whilst building their tenacity and team work. The girls discover that their self-confidence grows as they meet the challenges and work with friends, they have created some truly life-long memories. This year the focus has been on ensuring that girls complete the Awards and see beyond the expedition. The IIIs have volunteered with a charity, whilst the IVs have helped run clubs for girls in younger year groups. Sixth form girls are encouraged to link their volunteering with their future career plans and this is an area that is growing year by year. Walking is offered at Bronze level and walking and

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canoeing are offered at Silver and Gold. This year girls completed Silver awards in canoeing and walking, and there was a Gold walking team. Next year fifteen girls will be completing a Gold canoeing award. The value of the Award is recognised by everyone involved; the photographs speak volumes! SILVER AWARD

GOLD AWARD

BRONZE AWARD

SILVER AWARD

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RAINBOW ORPHANAGE, SIEM REAP

LVI TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP Cambodia

STARFISH SCHOOL, PHNOM PENH

Early this year, we were lucky enough to receive the travel scholarship. Our main aim was to find an orphanage in Cambodia where we would spend half of our trip in July. After much research, we found the Rainbow Orphanage, a non-governmental organisation in Siem Reap, a northern region of the country. We spent six days at the orphanage, where much of our time was spent doing manual labour in the sweltering heat, which was possibly not what we expected! However, it was for a great cause and gave us a real sense of achievement! Aside from this work, we loved being with the children; it was quite humbling to see their optimism despite having so little. By the end of our stay, we were definitely sad to leave. The next part of our trip was spent seeing some of the amazing sights that the country has to offer. Before leaving Siem Reap, we visited the renowned Angkor Wat temple, which was one of the most phenomenal sights we had ever seen. Next, we took an 11 hour bus

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journey to Phnom Pehn, where we saw some wonderful architecture including the Royal Palace and we experienced the hustle and bustle of the famous Russian Market. We also made a trip to the Indochina Starfish Foundation, a school for underprivileged children in the city, which caters for the needs of the families as well as the pupils themselves. We felt it was important to understand some of the horrendous history of the country so we took a day trip to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which outlines some of the unspeakable actions of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. The last part of our journey consisted of two days in Sihanoukville, on the south coast of the country. We were aiming for a bit of a rest after our busy excursion, and this is definitely what we received; we had to stay inside much of the time due to the horrific weather conditions! Nevertheless, we still managed to do some all-important exploring. Overall, the whole experience was totally

ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE, SIEM REAP

extraordinary. It was not just the activities during the trip that made it so enjoyable. The moment we began planning the trip to the moment we landed back in Heathrow was all part of the experience.The complete independence we had in planning and executing this trip, especially being so far from home, made us feel an incredible sense of achievement and is something we will never forget. Cicely Best and Katie Ross

RAINBOW ORPHANAGE, SIEM REAP

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ABSEILING

WARRIORS’ SCHOLARSHIP “The best week of my life”

SOUTH AFRICA – ANIMAL REHAB CENTRE

In February half term I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to South Africa on the Warriors’ Scholarship. The whole concept of the trip was to do activities, which are out of our comfort zone. We set off on February 13th for a 10-hour flight to Johannesburg where it was 36 degrees Celsius. On arrival, our instructor, Ruan, explained the activities in which we would be participating: river rafting for 6 hours, a 2.3 kilometre hike, skydiving, firewalking, visiting some children at the orphanage, a 10 metres bridge jump into a river infested with crocodiles and hippos, visiting an animal rehab centre where we would stroke cheetahs, a reptile centre, a bridge swing 80 metres high, an abseil 100 metres high at Lisbon Falls and caving. We were the first ever Warriors’ group to be able to complete all tasks. For me the toughest challenge was surprisingly not the skydive, but the 10 metres jump off the bridge. We were given a specific technique to do whilst jumping in and if we didn’t

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do the technique correctly, we could easily break our legs or get horrific bruising. However we all managed to jump and I’m very glad I did because the feeling of success was extraordinary. The skydive was the least scary, and the challenge I enjoyed the most, because I was attached to a professional and felt safe. It was truly beautiful, and hard to put into words. The whole trip for me was very beneficial; I learned a lot about myself and discovered that I could conquer my fears and do things that I had never thought I would be able to do. It gave me a massive confidence boost and made me want to take on more challenges. Charlie Brownhill

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

DUBLIN

A busy year for MUN at Tudor Hall

MANCHESTER HIGH

As usual, it has been a busy year for MUN.Tudor girls attended 4 conferences as well as hosting a very successful MUNTH and Junior MUN days at Tudor. MUN has involved girls from all year groups and the contingent of younger girls taking part is growing stronger and stronger. We began the year with a trip to Cheadle Hulme School in Manchester, a very large conference, but always an enjoyable one. The Sixth Form team, led by Alexandra Lockyer, represented South Korea and came away with the award for the best team in the General Assembly. MUNTH (Model United Nations at Tudor Hall) swiftly followed; bigger than ever, Miss Gamble’s last MUN conference at Tudor was a great success. Tudor Hall’s fourth MUN Conference opened, quite literally, with a big bang from the Secretary General’s gavel. In her introductory remarks, Elli Poole strolled down MUN memory lane and recalled the many good times she had experienced at previous conferences. Deputy

Secretary General, Eliza Lindsay introduced Brigadier Ian Rigden, OBE. Brigadier Rigden is head of land warfare and research at the army’s defence academy. He raised the question as to whether we are entering a ‘brave new world’ or an ‘apocalypse’. Throughout the weekend there was a very high standard of debate across all seven committees and resolutions on a variety of topics from the legalisation of cannabis to the issue of women in government Tudor also had a great weekend at Manchester High’s first ever MUN conference.The Tudor team was led by Georgina Woodward and Aliyyah Sada, who did a fantastic job of leading the younger delegates, many of whom were attending their first conference. We came away with three awards, Molly Levene (representing China in Disarmament) and Adèle Tumilty (representing Morocco in Youth) winning commended delegate award, which was very impressive considering their age and the standard of the debate. Georgina Woodward (representing China THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

CHEADLE HULME

in the Security Council) won the highly commended delegate award. In February, 16 girls departed for Dublin to take part in many unique, current and interesting debates at Wesley College in Dublin. In committees ranging from human rights to historical, pupils aged from 11 to 18 attempted to come up with resolutions on how to resolve world issues and incidents. The debating was extremely engaging and it was simply amazing to take part in discussing some extremely topical debates such as the East Africa Food Crisis and bioterrorism. Whilst there were some serious debates, there was still some room for a large range of amusing and comical activities. We also had the chance to do many fun activities such as visiting the Wax Museum, shopping, having pizza and attending the MUN social. At the end of MUN, there was a General Assembly, which involved all pupils involved in MUN debating and attempting to create a resolution to solving an emergency crisis. Many Tudor girls learned valuable

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skills and grew in confidence through this exciting and challenging experience. In June, Tudor Hall held its first ever Mini MUNTH, for the Todds and Twos. We were also joined by Chenderit school. On the Thursday all the delegates were taught how MUN works and given time to research and plan, as a country, their speeches, policy statements and amendments. At the end of the morning, the girls practised a mini resolution about torture, which really got people going and produced a very lively debate. On Thursday 25th June, Georgina Woodward, as Secretary General, opened the event with an inspiring speech about how she started her MUN journey and what it has meant to her. There were very impressive and enthusiastic debates about fat farming in Mauritania and the protection of honey bees. Many of the Todds and Twos so enjoyed taking part that they joined the junior MUN family. The following day, we set forth for an MUN conference at Withington Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; School. After stocking

WITHINGTON

up on bribes, the new delegates were informed of the structure of debates and we were quickly split in to relevant committees and set about putting forward rather radical views from our delegations of Russia and North Korea. From the alliance of the UK and North Korea in the human rights committee to declaring that the world should just give all the nuclear weapons to Russia in the disarmament committee, we truly had a wonderful time. In the afternoon a crisis struck, and delegates had to come up with clauses to battle against the use of herbicides to locate terrorists in Nigeria. Luckily some clauses did pass and the problem was on the road to being solved, although one clause to build Noah’s Ark to save the animals held some objection (unfortunately). Particular congratulations go to Molly Levene, Megha Bawa, Kate Kot and Aliyyah Sada who received the outstanding and highly commended awards; the entire delegation of Russia also won commended delegation overall (and fulfilled our Ambassador’s dream of receiving a glass trophy). Megha Bawa, Alexandra Lockyer, Aliyyah Sada and Georgina Woodward

MINI MUNTH

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OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Continuing to deliver a wide variety of activities for many of the year groups

TRAINING WEEKEND

The 2014/2015 year started as usual with the September residential trips for the Todd, IIs and IIIs. These trips are designed to bring the cohorts together as a group at the beginning of a new school year and to contribute toward their year group development aims. For Todds it is all about team work and bonding as they enter a new school environment together. The Cheddar trip offers them opportunities to help guide each other (and staff) on the rock face or in the caves with a fantastic walk along the top of the gorge and some team building activities in the evening. The IIs travelled to the Gower Peninsula once again, where their activities focussed on developing independence and self-motivation; surfing, rock pool jumping and cliff climbing were enjoyed by all. Finally, the IIIs headed south to the Quantock hills and the Devon coast for some coasteering, kayaking, high ropes, target sports and team games, all of which helped to push the girls out of their comfort zones and face their fears in a

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controlled environment. Throughout the year many of the year groups continued to do a variety of activities, which continue to develop skills outside the classroom. Canoeing, kayaking, zorbing, high ropes and climbing wall day trips have been enjoyed by several of the year groups and their accompanying staff. The IIs have also had the opportunity to stay overnight in their home-built shelter as part of a survival award weekend at Cornbury Park under the supervision of The Bushcraft Company, where they also learned how to create fire and butcher and cook their own food. Alongside all these activities, the IIIs upwards have had the opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award and the sixth form also had the opportunity of an overseas expedition and the Warriors scholarship..

TUDOR IN THREE CONTINENTS

PARACHUTE GAMES

Girls visited India, Guatamala and South Africa

CHENNAI

CHENNAI My trip to Chennai as part of the Tudor in Three Continents programme was one of the best weeks of my life. As soon as we arrived in India we were immediately overwhelmed by the differences in colour, sound and atmosphere; this was made clear to us by our first encounter with Indian roads with the constant sound of honking and the lack of rules and regulations. Our first day was a tour around Chennai, where we experienced the beautiful architecture and magic of the Hindu temples as well as visiting the beach, a catholic church and the emporium. We were all very affected as we drove past the area of devastation where the 2004 tsunami had hit Chennai. We started off our experiences at The Ebenezer Living Word Matriculation School by throwing a party for the boarders, most of whom were orphans with the classic games of stuck in the mud, pass the parcel and hitting a piĂąata. The rest of the week at the school was filled with so much joy and colour as we supplied the children with arts and crafts and as many toys that

they could decorate and take away with them such as yoyos, frisbees and headbands. Our most successful activity was the very English craze of loom bands, with all the kids getting absolutely ecstatic over the idea of making their own necklaces and bracelets. As well as doing arts and crafts, we painted the science lab where Miss Shaw was teaching the older children by the end of the week. Some of us also helped Mr Pountney teach Maths, which was such a hit, that there were children crowding around the classroom attempting to break in in order to be taught by him. Mrs Tandon and some of the Chennai team also taught history, which was very much appreciated. For half a morning on Wednesday, I was lucky enough to be able to experience one of the most humbling things I have ever seen as we went to a school for deaf and blind children. Many of the pupils were very inspiring and created so many memories. All the people we met in India were so incredible that I will never forget them. Lara Yorke THE TUDORIAN 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2015

CHENNAI

GUATEMALA

GUATEMALA At first I was a little apprehensive about the fact that we were the first group from Tudor Hall to visit Guatemala, but the trip completely blew me away. The warm Guatemalan sunshine welcomed us as we went with our guide Vinnissio for a walking tour of the town Antigua, which would be our home for the next ten days. We learned a lot about the Mayan-Catholic background. On the second day we set off for Lake Atitlan, a scenic lake squeezed between three active volcanoes. After a short and bouncy boat trip we arrived at a rustic village and saw a small glimpse of what we had coming when working at the school with some of the poorest children in Guatemala. The streets were lined with beautifully hand woven things to buy and we had the chance to watch a local woman use a loom to weave a scarf and paint with some of the local artists. We then re-boarded the boat and went to another

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town across the lake where we had lunch and then rode on took tooks to visit the Maximon sculpture which is an important prayer point in Mayan culture. Next we visited Iximche, which is a large site of vast ruined Mayan temples; here we saw a ceremony of prayer given by a spirit guide. This consisted of lighting a fire, burning herbs, cigars, wood and candles of many colours, each colour representing a certain thing to pray for. This experience was incredibly interesting and I had never seen anything like it before. We arrived back in Antigua and settled into our new hotel overlooking one of the many volcanoes puffing out smoke, which is a regular occurrence in Guatemala. We went to sleep looking forward to the next day working at the school. After being divided into pairs we entered our classrooms, all slightly daunted by the language barrier. However we settled in very quickly. Working at the school was very rewarding and it was amazing to see such poor children so warm, happy and excited to learn and play.

SPARROW SCHOOL

It became very easy to forget how little these children actually had. During lessons, we were teaching assistants and at break times we played with the children. After lunch there were various activities and we had the chance to host a textiles workshop where the children all decorated a bag and a cap. All the children loved this so much and not one child went home with a frown on their face. School actually finished at 12, but the teachers liked the children to stay on to keep them out of trouble as there was a risk of them being recruited for gangs, which shocked us all to hear. The hardest part of the trip was to leave the children we had grown so close to at the end of the week. It brought tears to our eyes when the children and teachers made us all cards and presents to take home. Bella Fulford PLAYTIME

SOUTH AFRICA

where South Africa is now. For the next five days we worked and helped at Sparrow School; this was definitely my highlight, as it was truly humbling and inspiring to meet the amazing children, many of whom are orphans. During the mornings we all helped out in classes. I was mostly with grades 1 and 3. We assisted with simple maths, handwriting, reading, arts and crafts, helping to make loom bands and decorate the plain baseball caps that we had brought from Tudor. In the afternoons we painted and decorated the new music room and it was really rewarding to see it completed. It was very emotional and sad to say goodbye to the staff and children at Sparrow. In the final assembly the children acted out Daniel in the Lion’s Den and we all danced, sang and played the djembes (African drums) with the children. Saying goodbye to Sparrow and the incredible people involved was definitely one of the hardest things to do. We then drove out of Johannesburg to Mabula to go on another safari; it was really exciting to see elephants, hippos, lions and many more incredible animals in such close proximity. Flying back to Heathrow was definitely sad, but this experience I will always treasure; it was such an incredible, humbling opportunity which I would do again in a flash. Hester Fitzroy Newdegate SPARROW SCHOOL

The trip to South Africa has been running for the last 6 years, but I never envisaged it would be by far the most rewarding experience of my life. Our first day was spent in Gomo, a game park where we were lucky enough to see zebras, giraffes and ostriches. The next day we went to the Apartheid Museum, which was particularly interesting because we were in the heart of where this racial segregation occurred, and the Hector Pieterson Museum, which commemorated the protesting students who were shot by the police. After this we visited Nelson Mandela’s house; it was amazing to learn more about this extraordinary man who contributed hugely to THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

LOOM TO THE MOON

TODD DIARY A fun-filled year for Todd

FIRST DAY OF TERM

The Todds year began with the traditional trip to Cheddar to get to know one another. By the end of the weekend, all of the girls felt part of the team and, although a little anxious to return to Tudor for school work, everybody had found friends. The girls settled into Todd boarding life very quickly and joined lots of clubs; cookery and dissection club were firm favourites this year as well as hockey and cross country running. The swings & trampoline were very popular on dry days, with lots of new tricks being learnt and taught by our daring acrobats! The year whizzed by in a flash with lots of trips and activities at the weekends: a circus skills workshop; a trip to Cadbury’s World; outings to see shows like Wicked and Mamma Mia at the West End; a visit to London to spend time at the Ripleys Museum and the zoo and, closer to home, a great time out at Gifford Circus. We had other adventures on site like the chilly camp out in the Japanese gardens. A wonderful year was had by all!

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RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

IIs’ DIARY

MAKING SMORES

A year full of highlights

CHRISTMAS IN THE HOUSE

The IIs have had a fun year this year. We have been on trips to WaterWorld, Oxford Castle and the Far Peak climbing wall and challenge course with a zip wire. On the trip to Gower we learned more about climbing and abseiling and we learned new skills surfing and dry coaststeering. We also went on a wilderness trip overnight where some of us slept out in a shelter we built. Unfortunately we got very wet as it rained a lot. We also painted pottery, and made mirror covers in decopatch. This year we had three socials with Summer Fields boys; the first one was Scottish dancing which we all thought was great and the we also did a street dance activity and finally a disco.

activities. My favourite one has to be going to see Wicked. We went by coach to the centre of London and watched the show. Although we got back very late it was still a lot of fun. This trip was very closely followed by the Youlbury leadership day. On this trip we stacked crates to climb up, tackled Jacob’s ladder and flew on the giant swing. We did all these activities in groups. All in all, the trips I have taken part in during my time in the IIs have been truly unforgettable. LENT APPEAL CHARITY SCOOT

JASMINE TUMILTY’S VIEW When I was asked to write about my favourite trip this year I had no clue which one to choose. Even though I am a day girl, I still take part in many of the THE TUDORIAN 2014 – 2015

WICKED

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HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT TOUR

IIIs’ DIARY

SNOWDON

Another fast-paced year in the IIIs

SOUND OF MUSIC THEATRE TRIP

We have had a great year in the IIIs with much hard work but also a lot of fun activities and trips. We’ve done things ranging from Aqua Zorbing to visiting Windsor Castle, and below members of the IIIs would like to share with you some of their highlights from this year.

were all split up into teams and chased each other around with laser guns and shot each other to gain points. We did it in a big warehouse room containing lots of big objects to hide behind. After that we went shopping. Ella Taylor Cross

SOUND OF MUSIC THEATRE TRIP

SNOWDON CHARITY CLIMB

In June, the IIIs ventured to Milton Keynes Theatre to watch The Sound of Music. It proved to be a real treat after a week crammed full of exams. The singing was outstanding and it’s fair to say we were all blown away! Sasha White

We woke up and put on our pink bras outside our tops to symbolise that we were raising money for breast cancer research. Then we set off. It was a lovely day so it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We didn’t reach the actual Snowdon mountain until half the walk was over. All of us were rather tired at this point but in my group I had a few eager beavers who were walking ahead (Blanca, Alice and Sonali). When we got near the top there was a bit of snow on the path so it was a little slippery. I was really worried I would fall and slide all the way back down; I didn’t. When we reached the top we had to walk up and

THE BEST TRIP Over the course of this year we have been on so many great trips but I have to say that my favourite this year was when we went Laser Questing. We did this in the last half of the spring term. It was amazing! We

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touch the centre of the pole. After this, we sat down for lunch and put on more sun cream. Annabel Robertsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents came and brought coke and crisps for us to share which was very kind of them. When we reached the bottom, some of us bought ice cream but the rest of us wanted to get on the bus and go back to school

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to a comfortable bed. We stopped half way on the journey at a service station to buy supper which was a relief as all of us were quite hungry! Ella Stocks

IVs’ DIARY

An exciting year in the IVs

CANOEING

As well as making a start to their GCSEs, the IVs have been involved in a huge range of extra-curricular activities and made the most of their weekends to take part in a variety of trips and events. This year’s IVs have entered into the range of activities offered at Tudor with gusto: from sport to music to drama they have worked extremely hard and have achieved some brilliant results. Aside from having successful seasons playing hockey, netball, tennis and swimming the IVs have been busy riding at all levels, shooting, and representing the school in athletics as well as just keeping fit with Pilates, Zumba and have been enjoying any bursts of sunshine by playing each other at tennis. The school musical, Grease, had several IVs giving great performances, as did the GCSE presentations and Speech and Drama pieces. The dancers in the IVs have also been demonstrating their talent at various showcases and the whole year worked hard to choreograph and rehearse the House Dance routines,

working for the first time with groups made up of Todds, IIs and IIIs. Similarly, many of the girls have also worked hard towards their music exams this year, fitting in extra practices into their already busy schedules. As well as taking their exams, the IVs have always been well represented at music concerts this year, giving some wonderful performances and showing how talented they are. The boarders have been taking advantage of the programme of weekend activities to visit the London Dungeons (much jumping and screaming ensued) and to the Birmingham Christmas markets where many sweets joined the tuck boxes. We have also been to see the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at the cinema, been bowling, had dinner at Pizza Express and have been go karting and to laser tag. While these activities have been great it has also been really nice to have some more relaxed weekends; a baking session, spa day or maybe a pizza and movie night have meant that the IVs have also had a chance to unwind. THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

TRIP TO NATIONAL GALLERY

MEAL AT PIZZA EXPRESS

While it couldn’t be called relaxing, D of E has been a really fun part of the IVs this year. The Bronze assessed expedition in the autumn term was cold and rainy but the practice Silver expedition took place in beautiful weather and the girls’ determination was very impressive on both trips. The same spirit has meant that the whole year has been working hard to fundraise for the IVs’ Lent appeal; the girls have organised a cake sale which demonstrated their culinary skills, movie night for the Todds and IIs, a raffle and sweet sale. Several of the IVs were confirmed this year in a lovely service at St Mary’s Adderbury. While very chilly, it was lovely to be able to share this special service with the girls’ families and friends.

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CONFIRMATION

Vs’ DIARY

Another productive year in the Vs

SANTA FUN RUN

The Vs have not only worked extremely hard in the classroom, but also had time for many fun activities. They ran the annual Vs’ Christmas Party without a hitch! In addition to the Christmas party, they held a Hallowe’en party and an Easter Egg hunt for some of the younger years and also played the IIIs at dodgeball. This year we once again ran the Santa Fun Run for Katharine House Hospice, raising £1,000 for the charity. Other activities the girls took part in were: zorbing, games nights, Alton Towers, crazy golf, cinema trips, trampolining and a new found love of pizza making. They are a truly talented group of young women and it has been fantastic to watch them in their GCSE drama performances, the school’s musical ‘Grease’, matches throughout the year and so many school concerts. It has been a fantastically busy year and they have exceeded all our expectations.

OFFICIAL OPENING OF Vs HOUSE

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FASHION SHOW

CHARITY

A staggering £21,716.72 raised this year!

CHARITY DOG SHOW

The Charity Committee has had a very busy year raising lots of money for the school charity, which was The Art Room for the first term and Walk In Her Shoes for the second two terms. The dog show at the beginning of the year was a great success and raised approximately £2,000 for The Art Room. Mufti days raised £151.04 for Walk in Her Shoes. Each year group chose another charity to support over the course of the year, with the aim of raising as much money as possible. The Todds’ Lent appeal this year was for Blue Skye Thinking, a charity that supports research so that all children diagnosed with brain tumours will have a greater chance of survival and a better quality of life post-treatment. The Todds were sponsored to try and ‘loom to the moon’, managing to raise an amazing £426.15 for the charity. This year the IIs have been raising money for the Tusk Trust, a conservation trust for wildlife in Africa. Along with a cake sale, the IIs took part in a sponsored scooter ride and, between them all, they scooted more than six marathons! Overall they raised an amazing £1,630.42! In April, the IIIs climbed Snowdon in fancy dress in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness. With the help of some glorious weather, they made a staggering £2,787!

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After the Nepal earthquake disaster, Tudor decided to run a mufti day with Nepal as the theme. There was a wide array of colours and incredible costumes. Overall, we collected £222.11. In December the Vs dressed up as Santa Claus and joined the people of Banbury to run around the Spiceball Park in the annual ‘Santa Fun Run’ in aid of Katharine House Hospice. At the end of the Lent term, Tudor, and Ashtons in particular, held the annual Fashion Show in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The evening was a huge success. The show began with fascinators designed and modelled by the IIs. It was an incredible start to the evening with many parents coming out to support the amazing work. The Vs and sixth form then showcased their designs on the catwalk – everyone was in awe of their marvellous creations! With musical performances by both Vs and sixth form, the evening’s entertainment went down incredibly well. In order to raise as much money as possible, a silent auction was held, with lots donated by Tudor families. Bids were taken for a whole range of items and experiences including villas in the south of France, and days at Newmarket races. It was a huge success and the evening raised a tremendous £14,500 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Hermione Gee

HOUSE ACTIVITIES

HOUSE MUSIC

The competition rages on

HOUSE MUSIC

At the beginning of the year each house did an activity to help new girls integrate. York and Stuart house held a typically Tudor Hall Domino’s pizza evening that took place in the music school in order for the deputy and senior house captains to get to know the new girls from the IIIs and below, as well as getting their fair share of pizza! The evening went very well as everyone had a lot of fun, getting to know the other new girls, playing a lively game of splat and even learning some Icelandic phrases! The house competitions this year: House Dance, House Music and a variety of House sports competitions including hockey, netball, lacrosse, tennis, rounders, swimming and athletics. House music songs were all based on films: Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Calamity Jane and South Pacific. The winning house song was York. House dance themes: Circus won by Stuart; Continents won by Tudor; Roaring 20s won by Lancaster; most promising dancer won by Clara Petrillo from Stuart.

During house time, the girls also had a variety of activities that were led by the prefects. For example, the girls had to interpret what matters most to them using materials provided and make a totem pole with girls’ achievements written all over them. SPORTS DAY

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HOUSE DANCE

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OLD TUDORIANS’ VISIT

Remembering the happy times spent at Burnt Norton

BURNT NORTON

On a sunny spring day in late April 2015, twelve Old Tudorians met on the front drive of Burnt Norton. ‘Old’ was an understatement – our combined ages would have added up to about 995 – but we were all there because we had spent part of our school life at Burnt Norton, and had a great affection for the house and gardens and had longed to revisit it. Nesta Inglis had evacuated the school there from Chislehurst at the out break of the Second World War, and it remained there and grew and prospered until she moved it to its new premises, Wykham Park, in 1945. We were greeted warmly by Lady Harrowby, the wife of the Earl of Harrowby, whose family have owned the house for many generations, and who rented it to Nesta Inglis for the duration of the war. Two of their daughters are Old Tudorians. Lady Harrowby took us at once into the house through the side door, and up into what is now their kitchen, but which used to be our dining room. We walked up new stone steps, because they had raised its

floor by several feet, to see out of the high windows; but the fireplace, where we used to store our rations of jam and butter, was still there. After Lady Harrowby had signed our copies of her novel, Burnt Norton, she generously allowed us to go wherever we liked in the house, and poke our noses into all the bedrooms upstairs. We were delighted to discover that she and her husband had restored and decorated all the rooms in impeccable taste with lovely carpets and curtains – the bedrooms where we had had six beds in rows were now luxurious spaces with gentle colouring and only one comfortable bed, and the names we remembered for the rooms – Petersham, Blue, Cotswold, Dingle – were still there over the doors. Lady Harrowby took us out into the garden and as we went there was much talk of ghosts (and some of us thought we had seen them too) and of T. S. Eliot’s poem Burnt Norton with the lines: THE TUDORIAN 2014 –- 2015

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For the leaves were full of children Hidden excitedly, containing laughter. Was he foretelling our presence in the garden? The whole day was an inspiring experience: a delight to see the house being so well loved and cared for, and we are immeasurably grateful to Wendy Griffiths and

Julia Huddart for arranging the visit, and for our splendid lunch afterwards in Chipping Campden at the Cotswold House Hotel. Jane Goddard 1946 leaver

THE GUARDS’ CHAPEL CAROL SERVICE

CAROL SERVICE Well over 450 Old Tudorians, family and friends of all ages, gathered at the Guards’ Chapel for the inaugural OTA Carol Service. An idea inspired by Rosanna Sewell had been brought to life by Julia Huddart. Harriet Granville had written to General MackayDick asking for permission to use the Chapel, so close to the hearts of many OTs and present parents. The school links to the Household Division are very strong and we were thrilled when the letter arrived confirming the venue; certainly the former Bursar, Colonel David Wood, Welsh Guards, was with us in spirit. With tickets and ID essential for security, it was wonderful when the service of nine lessons and carols actually got under way with the Tudor Chamber Choir and the Chapel’s own choir making the very most of their evocative surroundings. Under banners that blew at Waterloo the congregation joined extraordinary renditions of O Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark the

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Herald Angels Sing. Serena Holbech sang ’The Holy Boy’ and the OTA Scratch Choir, John Rutter’s ‘Candlelight Carol’. Lindsay Lea James, Head of Music, had contributed so much thought and expertise to make the music very special, even discovering carols sung in the school Carol Service in 1968. Lessons were read by Caroline Pratt (Cross) , Libby Combe (Taylor), Jenny Martin-Smith (Dent), Clare White (Lewey), Flora de Winton (Blackett), Celia McCorquodale and Polly Fullerton as well as by Harriet Granville and Wendy Griffiths; most decades were thus represented. A retiring collection for the Royal British Legion, Battle Back, now run by Colonel Ian Thomas, father of OT Aimee and Bethan, in Inglis, raised over £2000. It was then on to what OTs enjoy most and do best, meeting old friends with a glass of champagne in their hands; the Officers’ Mess in Wellington Barracks proved the ideal location. Harriet Granville

OTA DAY AT TUDOR HALL for leavers from 1963 to 1995

OLD TUDORIANS

My visit to Tudor for the OTA Day in May was the first time I had returned since leaving in 1969. As I stepped into the front hall memories came flooding back. As a new girl in 1964 I was naturally homesick, aged 11 and a long way from my home in South Yorkshire. But there were to be many happy times ahead as I grew in confidence and made good friends, three of whom were with me that day – Harriet Highley (née Aykroyd), Elspeth Shirtcliff (née Riddick) and Caryl Barefoot (née Somers). Wendy Griffiths gave us a warm welcome. It felt good to be back! We enjoyed a garden talk in the ballroom, and were then entertained by some very talented girls in both music and drama. A delicious lunch was followed by a tour of the school. We were taken down “Memory Lane”, asking to see every last corridor and bedroom ... not forgetting the “cowsheds” and even the Japanese water gardens. Since 1969 Tudor has grown so much, but the four of us commented on what a wonderful atmosphere it

still has, and how lucky the girls are with the amazing facilities they now have at their fingertips. The school with its grounds and gardens looked splendid and all the girls we met were charming. Thank you to everyone for making it such a special day for us all. Sarah Evers (née Scott)

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HARRIET GRANVILLE

HARRIET GRANVILLE REFLECTS ON FORTY FIVE YEARS AT TUDOR HALL Deputy Head: 1993 – 2011

WITH PODDY AND EDITH

In 1971, Harriet came to Tudor Hall eager to enthuse girls with the joy of studying History and she leaves having lost none of that passion. Harriet arrived for an interview with the then head, the historian, Margaret Blyth, only to find a baby lying of the floor of the study, crying. So she picked up the baby and distracted her to stop the crying. It emerged that her armful was the head’s granddaughter! The rest, as they say, is history. Or, in Harriet’s case, History. Harriet describes the school she joined as a wonderful happy family. In addition to History, she taught fencing and also Geography to the junior years. She drove fencing teams all over the country in the school minibus, a terrifying vehicle that was eventually put out of action to everybody’s huge relief as she drove over the invisible step up to the gym at a

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prestigious boys’ school. None of today’s layers of paperwork needed to be filled in; you just hopped in the driver’s seat and away you went. Away you went on your own, that is, for up to sixteen hours, helped by a drink at lunchtime if you were on the Basingstoke fencing run. Occasional fencing victories over such notable teams as Rugby and Eton displayed the prowess of Harriet’s fencers. Harriet comments: “The girls liked little trips to Eton.” Younger children sometimes found Harriet alarming: she memorably handed a new member of Todd an atlas, whereupon the child burst into tears! However, older girls soon discovered that Harriet was always ready to help them with her wealth of knowledge and encyclopaedic memory. Very often she had taught their mothers and knew their grandmothers, aunts and uncles. Given her mastery of the two world wars, it seems apt that her birthday is 6th June: D Day! Harriet and her husband Antony always went to the Hallowe’en parties – complete with the traditional Ghost Trail, full of pigs’ ears and gory innards that the girls had bought from a Banbury butcher. All the staff were involved and, although Harriet is thrilled that the school has expanded so successfully, she misses the days when everyone in the staff room and their family was a friend of everyone else and their family. I asked Harriet what she most valued about the school and why she stayed after stepping down as Deputy Head and this is what she said. “The beauty of the school is as compelling as ever. Also, there are all my friends, even though many have now retired or left. I have also been involved in several new adventures. Perhaps most exciting is the ‘We will Remember’ programme which I have run for the last three years, helping primary schools to understand the First World War. In November 2014, Tudor mounted its own exhibition in which Old Tudorians, staff and girls displayed family stories and pictures relating to World War I. The exhibition incorporated Michael Sheil’s extraordinary images from his wonderful exhibition, Fields of Battle 14-18 Lands of Peace. Over the years, I have led many trips to Crakow and Auschwitz, and Battlefields trips to north–east France

CHEERS

WE WILL REMEMBER

and Belgium. A highlight of last year, for me, was commemorating my husband’s grandfather’s death at Ypres, one hundred years later to the day. Many friends of Tudor shared the moment as Canon Laurence Gunner, former chaplain of Tudor, said a prayer over his grave and Graeme McDonald dripped more than a few drams of malt as well. The Old Tudorians’ Carol Service at the Guards Chapel has been another highlight. It’s a place very close to my heart. “Another new adventure is Tudor in Three (now Four) Continents. I have enjoyed many trips to Athipet, near Chennai, to help the Ebenezer Living Word Matriculation College, and to try to develop a link with the St Louis Institute for the Deaf and the Blind. It has been wonderful to see so many sixth formers working really hard to improve the lives of those with so little.” We will all miss Harriet and wish her a long and enjoyable retirement when she leaves in the summer of 2016.

WE WILL REMEMBER

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