17 minute read
OG NEWS
A RELUCTANT CHOICE!
I started at WGHS in Year 5. I loved the School and all it had to offer and I have certainly made friends for life. However, in Year 12, I found myself not enjoying studying and feeling quite unhappy. After much discussion and deliberation between myself, my parents and teachers, I reluctantly left WGHS and enrolled at Leeds Art University, to undertake a BTec Level 3 course in Art and Design. I was full of trepidation and wondered whether I had done the right thing. However, despite my initial reticence, I was taken completely under the wing by the staff and students there, which helped me to settle in quickly and throw myself into the work.
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In January 2019 I chose to specialise in fine art, (I’m sure this will have shocked Mrs Varley!!). It allowed me to create large pieces of expressive art work whilst still using my written techniques for research and analysis throughout. However, after some debate regarding my preferred subject choice for university, my tutors and I decided I would be better placed on the 3D design course. After the summer break, I joined the 3D course. The briefs were far more interesting and required much more analytical thought and brain power which I enjoyed!
I am pleased to say, I have received the highest marks possible for all my work and the photos of my penultimate project were showcased in a short pop up exhibition.
During the past few months I have been researching university courses and putting together my application. I narrowed down my course choices to interior architecture or just architecture and my universities to Derby and Lincoln.
After visiting and falling in love with Lincoln, I didn’t visit Derby, however, I received unconditional offers from both but chose to accept a place at Lincoln to study interior architecture starting September 2020. I am now undertaking my final major project at Leeds which is entirely self-designed and which will be in an exhibition later on year.
My time at WGHS genuinely made me who I am today. Whilst I didn’t really want to leave WGHS, I now know it was the right decision. The support, understanding and advice I received from my teachers, especially Mrs Varley, Ms Doyle and Mme Djokovic (or Djoko) were second to none and also the reasons I enjoyed Art, English and French so much. Whilst it took me some time to figure out exactly what area I wanted to focus on, the belief the teachers had in my ability has given me confidence to try different things and I am now excited to be finishing my Art Foundation Course and looking forward to what Lincoln University brings.
Thank you WGHS.
Francesca Mills (OG, 2018)
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In Memory of Minha
Hi, my name is Faiq and I had the pleasure of joining QEGS in the Upper 6th years. Living in Bradford, I can certainly say the early morning trains to Westgate were worth it! I was fortunate enough to enjoy 1st XV rugby, Mr Mason's ‘interesting’ but well thought out analogies when explaining A level Chemistry to us, but most importantly, I have made some friends for life along the way. It truly is an honour to be a part of such an esteemed community.
As I venture onto start Medical School at the University of Liverpool, I have the pleasure of recalling some great camaraderie between the QEGS and WGHS boys and girls in what was already tough times due to the pandemic. Last year on the 16th of April, my family suffered a tragedy in the loss of my cousin, to cancer at the tender age of 18. Minha was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer two years ago and despite many challenges during her journey, she faced them with optimism, fearlessness and most importantly, always smiling. She was ready to tackle her university years despite her deteriorating health. A moment that stands out for me is finding her looking for portable oxygen cylinders to aid her breathing. She never thought she wouldn’t make it to September. After her death, the impact she left on me was immeasurable. I decided it was only right if I honoured her life. Macmillan Cancer Support were integral in her palliative care at home. Especially during a pandemic, they were essential in providing Minha's medication, her oxygen support, and answering any queries her Mum Sadia had when she was worried for her health. Their presence was emphasised during the national lockdown.
I decided running would be a fantastic method of honouring her life and raising money for Macmillan. There had been a social media trend during the national lockdown to run 5km and donate £5 to a charity of your choice. I decided to take a little twist on that and make a challenge for me and a couple of friends. Minha's battle with Cancer lasted 734 days to be exact. It was then I posed the idea to 5 close friends to run 5km every day for a whole month in hopes of raising money for Macmillan. After the news spread, I was overwhelmed with support, and many friends wanted to also participate and take part. Before I knew it, I had 57 runners/walkers/ cyclers doing 5km a day for a whole month. This included friends, family and teachers also! I remember on day 3, having my body riddled with aches and pains, but remembering the importance of driving through, just as Minha did. With an initial target of raising £750, this was achieved within 2 hours of the challenge starting, and it eventually picked up regional attention on the news, making it to the BBC! After a long, gruelling, but rewarding 30 days, we ended up raising £12,067, and running over 8000km! It was truly a humbling experience.
A year on from her death, I am still reminded of how importance resilience is, and how far positivity can take you. It also made me realise how important the QEGS community is. Without it, this amazing feat we have achieved would not have been possible. I don’t think words will suffice how grateful I am to the help I had from all the teachers, boys and girls who ran and helped in raising an amazing amount for such an amazing organisation! Minhas legacy has become a focal point in Macmillan’s Cash Appeal sent out at the start of this year, in hopes more money will be raised to go towards bettering the lives of people who suffer with this terrible disease. Once again, I thank this amazing community, and look forward to seeing it flourish even further in the future.
From left to right Aminah (Minha’s cousin), Minha, Faiq with Ryan, (Minha’s brother Ahad), Faiq’s brother holding Amaan, (Minha’s brother)
Faiq Aziz (OS, 2020)
THE RUNNERS
Boys from QEGS who ran - all are from the Class of 2020
Adam Priest
(Head Boy) Patrick Maher Amai Ganjam Oliver Appleyard Ed Booth Luke Smith Harry Duke Harry Longworth Jack Cherry Ryan Taylor Tom Noble Will Gatus Ibrahim Shamchiyev
(left in year 11) Stevan Balac Max Wotton Tobi Irelewuyi Will Joyce
(left in year 11)
Girls from WGHS who ran - are all from the Class of 2020
Abbey Brooke Ella Riding Lola Allison Rebecca Coe Alex Middleton Eilidh Lee Lucy Morrell Olivia Shuter Sophia Walker
Teachers
Mr Rees Mr Pesterfield Mr Higgins Mr Barker Dr Clark Mr Fraser Mrs Palin Mrs Armson Mrs Eggleston Mrs Fitzsimons Mr Stiff Mrs Allen Dr Brunt Mr Becker Mr Head
OG NEWS CHRIS, KATE & JET’S ADVENTURES
In November 2020, I began walking the UK coastline; a walk that will take me from Inverness to Swansea and the best part of 2 years. So far, I have walked around 700 miles over 8 months, wild camped over 220 days, spent an entire lockdown living in the woods, slept rough in cities, woken up to many a beautiful sunrise and met thousands of amazing people.
In August 2020, I decided to take a solo trip up to the Scottish Highlands and explore the North Coast 500 route, wild camping along the way. On the last night of my trip, I ventured down to the bottom of the Whaligoe Steps, just south of John O' Groats, where I met a kilted man pitching a broken tent in howling winds at the bottom of a huge cliff. I was intrigued and asked if I could camp next to him for the night. As it turns out, he was just over 3 years into an epic odyssey, on a mission to walk the entire UK coastline, including all of the islands, alongside his devoted hound, Jet, who he adopted along the way. The walk was both a personal quest to find happiness and to raise money for the veterans’ charity SSAFA, who had helped him through struggles after leaving the parachute regiment. We stayed in touch; by October we were an item and by November I had committed to joining him on the walk full time.
There are so many highlights I could describe about the journey so far: the awe-inspiring scenery, the phenomenal kindness of strangers, the excitement of constant adventure, connection with nature, discovering some of the untamed beauty of our coastline, learning the skills of surviving a life in the 'wild' and gaining a much greater insight into the history and geography of the British Isles are just a few. I think what I love the most though is the sense of freedom. This walk has now become a lifestyle and one that is completely liberating. We dictate our own schedules; there are no alarm calls, no set places to be at a set time, no commutes, no deadlines, no meetings. We work for ourselves and when I say 'work', I mean working hard for the basic things that this walk has stripped us back down to: food, water, shelter and promoting the charity and we enjoy every minute of it. We walk as far as we please each day and if we happen upon a beautiful, secluded place to camp, we stop and take full advantage of it. All of the clutter, white noise, trappings and stress of my past everyday London life have dissipated. Instead, there is space, endless variety, a far deeper appreciation for what and who is around me and an excitement every morning as to what adventures and discoveries the day ahead may hold. Living this way energises me in the most positive way.
Alongside all the positives, there have been some seriously challenging aspects, some are the smaller everyday challenges that have become a new 'normal' and others have been grander in scale.
The hardest thing for me when I first joined this walk was trying to navigate my still ongoing work commitments alongside the major and sudden upheaval of switching to a life outdoors. Before this, after 10 years teaching and leading in schools in East London, I had quit full-time teaching to concentrate on developing my career in training teachers. I was working with schools in various places around the country, had government contracts abroad to train English specialists as well as a national contract in England creating online educational videos to support learning during lockdown. When I joined the walk, I thought I would be able to juggle both. I thought I would be able to carry a laptop, get WiFi when needed and take time out every so often to fulfil work commitments elsewhere. How naive I was! I very quickly realised that this walk was indeed a full-time endeavour and that to commit to it properly, in the way I wanted, I would have to transition out of all my other commitments and essentially leave behind the career I had been forging for the last decade of my life. To leave something I had worked so hard to build over so many years was a difficult decision to grapple with and the transition wasn't easy. Education and adventure travel were my two biggest passions and, whilst previously, I had been taking steps to build a life which balanced both, to do this walk, I knew I would have to make a choice. Deep down, I knew that life as a fulltime adventurer was my ultimate calling. I have always loved travel and a big part of that was instilled in me at school - from my love of French and Spanish which I then went on to study at St Andrews University.
The reason I hadn't pursued it as a career always really came down to the fact that I thought I would need some serious savings in the bank to make it happen, or at least maintain work somehow alongside, in order to fund it. Chris set off on this with just £10 in his pocket and 2 days of rations. There have never been any sponsors or support teams and he had been on the move, every day, for over 3 years! Meeting him showed me that this kind of thing can be done without savings or a back-up plan. He was living proof that I could have this life with no financial backing and without months spent dedicated to planning and preparation. I began to realise that, often, those reasons perhaps become excuses or security blankets that we create in our heads because of the fear that comes with plunging headfirst into the depths of such an unknown like this. I realised by main fear was about letting other people down but I realised that, in the end, if I didn't do this, the only person I'd really be letting down would be myself. In the end, I decided to take the same plunge he had done: a leap of faith that I could make it work and it's been the best decision I ever made. I truly believe now that when you follow your heart and trust your instincts, it can only lead to good things!
Another major challenge was coming into this walk from the comforts of a house with central heating straight into the start of a brutal Scottish winter. Whatsmore, this particular winter was to entail another 3.5 months of lockdown.
Kate Barron (OG, 2004)
Editor’s note
Kate’s blog’ Kate Walks the Coast’ can be found on Facebook. Kate, Chris and Jet will feature in a forthcoming BBC documentary which will be aired in September 2021. Charlie Charlie One, all serving and former members of the regular and reserve armed forces are requested to email Cath Worsley cworsley@wgsf.net with contact details to aid the development of an Old Savillians’ and WGHS InTouch military network. The intent would be to connect currently serving and former serving members, from both the regular and reserve Services, encompassing all ranks, to develop a network that would both support ongoing military careers but also foster the shared values embodied by the Foundation. The initial aim would be to start informally, and then look to host an annual dinner at an appropriate venue if enough interest is generated.
Writing from her home in France...
With the latest FR lockdown and curfew, I feel my world shrinking. With my son’s help, I have had four books published, so I keep on writing under the name Elizabeth Laughton Corney.
Beth Corney (OG, 1944)
Editor’s note
Beth’s books can be found on Amazon. Thank you Beth for sending your cheque to support the WGHS Bursary Fund.
Charlie Charlie One
Major Tom Buck (OS 2006), MBE, Royal Marines
OG NEWS My room, your room
I have just graduated from the University of Cambridge, where I completed an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Girton College. Girton College is really beautiful, and I've had the most special years of my life spent living and studying there. The college was founded in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge, and the first in Britain to offer higher education for women. It wasn't until 1948 that the University allowed the women of Girton College to receive official University degrees. The college later became coeducational in 1976.
Baroness Hale of Richmond, the President of the Supreme Court in the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2020, attended Girton College from 1963 to 1966. Incredibly, we both lived in the same room at Girton! She came to visit Girton to have an interview with me, for a segment in Cambridge Alumni Magazine called "My Room, Your Room". As soon as I met her, she was instantly welcoming and insisted I just call her "Brenda". She is also from a small place in Yorkshire, and we talked a lot about our time at the University. She was one of six female undergraduates studying law which had 110 men, and although she felt outnumbered, she was confident and ended up graduating at the top of her class with a starred first. We had very similar experiences at the University; my class of 256 maths students was only 16% female. My parents, and my teachers at Wakefield Girls' High School, instilled a confidence in me that will stay with me forever, and although the degree was tough and being a minority in a male-dominated subject made it harder, I excelled there and would relive it again in a heartbeat.
Read Maisie’s full article here... www.cam.ac.uk/cammagazine/myroomyourroom/ladyhale
Maisie Muir (OG, 2017)
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OUR 2021 BIG LAP OF OZ
Growing older, it’s happening to us all, all the time. We rarely notice it, it happens so gradually, but time passes so faithfully, you can quite literally set your watch to it! 20, 30, 40...
Then 2020 happened. And COVID. And being locked down at home. I don’t know about you, but as life slowed down, time slowed down. Ability to travel freely was suddenly no longer an expectation, but a privilege, depending on where you live in the world.
I moved to Australia 9 years ago, with my (now) Australian husband, and have visited England every year since being here, until now. I was planning a trip back home in June 2020 for my 40th birthday, but had to cancel with no idea of when a trip back to the UK would be possible again (it still isn’t). I know there are many Old Girls around the world in the same position as me.
The long Melbourne lockdown provided the perfect opportunity to plan a different kind of adventure, and we decided to do a 12-month lap of Australia in a caravan. As soon as domestic travel restrictions eased at the end of February, we left our corporate jobs, rented out our home, and set off.
We are now 3 months into our big adventure and we are appreciating every moment, much more than we would ever have done pre-COVID. We’ve seen so much wildlife: kangaroos, koalas, emus, wallabies, dingoes, wedge tailed eagles, seals, dolphins, whales and many more. We’ve woken up to cliff views, beach views, outback views, forest views. We’ve walked, run, swum, snorkelled, dived, climbed, laughed and played. We’ve made new friends, chatting by the fire as the sun went down and the stars came out.
If you are interested in following our adventures around Australia, you can find our weekly videos on YouTube and photos on Instagram. Just search for “Staycation Oz”.
Hannah Thorne (OG, 1998)
If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it’s lethal ” Paul Coelho
