Wycombe Abbey Gazette 2022 - 2023 by Wycombe Abbey

Gazette 2022/2023

Headmistress’ Welcome W

elcome to the 2022-2023 edition of the Gazette; this year has been one of both success and challenge, and our School community has much to be grateful for as we reflect on all that has happened.

The start of the Autumn Term was marked by the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We reflected on her extraordinary life of service and duty through a series of services in Chapel before we resumed our usual programme of activities. Numerous conferences have been hosted at Wycombe Abbey throughout the year including the Management Conference - now in its 33rd year - the Leadership Summit and Model United Nations (MUN). We have been treated to a fantastic range of music, drama and sport this year and you can read about these activities in the pages ahead. The grounds of the School always look amazing, particularly in the Summer Term, and we enjoyed them most recently as a community on Dove Day, GlastonAbbey and Seniors’ Day. We have continued to make excellent progress on implementing the School’s Strategic Direction. We celebrated the opening of Big School, which marked the end of a lengthy period of renovation.

It is wonderful to see the space in its newly restored glory. The first stage of works on the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) began over the summer and we look forward to seeing it finished in the Spring Term 2024. We have worked hard on our plans for the Innovation and Design Centre (IDC) as we continue to consider how we can best embed innovation and creativity in all aspects of the curriculum. This building is a statement of our intent and responsibility to prepare girls for a rapidly changing world. Our international family of schools continues to grow, and we are working towards the establishment of new Wycombe Abbey schools in the Middle East and South East Asia. I am looking forward to strengthening the relationship with our international partners as our global community develops. Wycombe Abbey Seniors remain an inspiration to current pupils and we are extremely proud of this network of women. Several Seniors have spoken at School this year, including Professor Dame

Sarah Springman (Principal of St Hilda’s College, Oxford) and Soma Sara (Founder of Everyone’s Invited). In June, Wycombe Abbey Senior and former Council member Dame Sue Carr was appointed Lord Chief Justice – the first woman to hold the position. I am also pleased to share with you that two Seniors, Sarah Judd and Dame Juliet May, have recently joined the School’s Governing Council. Finally, I must mention Caitlyn Scott-Lee (UV), whom we tragically lost earlier this year. This was an extremely difficult period for everyone, but the support, love and care shown within and across the community was deeply moving. We came together for a service with Caitlyn’s family in May to reflect on her life and celebrate the unique and special individual she was. I hope that you enjoy reviewing the highlights of another year at Wycombe Abbey through this issue of the Gazette. Mrs Jo Duncan Headmistress

For more from the Headmistress, follow on X (Twitter) and Instagram @WA_Headmistress

Gazette 2022-2023

Contents

School Awards and Achievements

Academic Excellence

Creative Vision

Physical Endeavour

Developing Confidence

Faith and Service

Community Engagement

Gazette 2022-2023

School Awards and Achievements

School Awards and Achievements School Positions

Scholarships 2023

Gazette 2022-2023

School Positions 2022-2023

Head of School Harriat Bishop

Deputy Heads of School Ella Eastwood and Pia Mathur

Heads of Houses

Airlie

Megan Lee

Barry

Evie Easterbrook

Butler

Liza Kashirina

Campbell

Jade Law

Cloister

Laila Hall

Pitt

Acada Lue-Fong

Rubens

Laila Pervez

Shelburne

Ella Brett

Wendover

Megan Ward

Chairmen of Clarence

Motunrayo Majekodunmi, Georgia Gray, Anna Trusova and Ari Akpata

School Awards and Achievements

School Prefects School Sports Captain

Victoria Fearnhead

Charity Prefects

Annette Cheah and Ayla Ongko

Music Prefect

Claudia Woo

Drama Prefect

Phoebe Francis

School Artist

Maya Baker

School Almoners

Arolape Benson and Poppy Breeze

Lower School Prefects

Chiaka Ajoku, Anoushka Berenzweig, Martha-Jack Fraser, Alisha Hossain, Emily Lu and Amelia Smith

Upper School Prefects

Sibella Bryceson, Anna Coomber, Matilda Davis, Lara El-Khoury, Hannah Wilkinson and Caitlyn Woo

Lower Sixth Prefects

Lara Martin and Mia Ven

School Officers Head of Orchestra

Charmaine Tung

School Pianist

Sharen Chu

Head of Choir

Claudia Leung

MUN Secretary General

Argia Servaes

MUN Deputy Secretary General

Anna McMullan

MUN Secretariats

Amelie Czekalowska, Irina Mitu and Kaysha Thomas-Williams

Debating Officers

Amelie Czekalowska and Kamilla Marosi

Digital Officers

Sharen Chu

Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Dara Laoye

Poet Laureate

Rose Evans

Sustainability Officers

Phoebe Richardson and Penny Stokes

School Librarians

Hana Saada and Nicola Stansfield

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme Officer

Zara Saada

School Photographers

Samaira Gill and Halima Jawed

Wellbeing Officers

Sophie Dutton and Olivia Idle

Gazette 2022-2023

Scholarships 2023 Wycombe Abbey is pleased to announce the award of the following Scholarships for September 2023. 11+ Academic Scholarships and Exhibitions

13+ Academic Scholarships and Exhibitions

Amelia Hettiarachchi (Walpole Scholarship) (The Manor Preparatory School)

Christabel Cheah (Wycombe Abbey Open Scholarship) (Singapore International School, Hong Kong)

Martha Thomas (Open Scholarship) (The Manor Preparatory School)

Darcy Ryan (Barnes Scholarship) (Danes Hill School)

Hannah Davies (Academic Exhibition) (Pembridge Hall)

Anushka Balaji (Academic Exhibition) (Godstowe School)

11+ Music Scholarships

Natalie Chan (Lancaster Scholarship) (Wycombe Abbey)

Jiyuan Li (Music Scholarship, Violin and Piano) (Kensington Prep School)

Mia Krishnan (Dove Scholarship) (Wycombe Abbey)

Yuqing Gao (Music Scholarship, Violin and Piano) (Eversfield Preparatory School)

13+ Music Scholarships

Isabelle Sun (Music Scholarship, Violin and Piano) (Kensington Prep School) Boya Daisy Zhang (Music Scholarship, Piano and Violin) (Solihull Preparatory School) Phoenix Zhou (Music Scholarship, Violin and Piano) (Repton Prep School)

School Awards and Achievements

Elizabeth Lok Yi Lui (Music Scholarship, Percussion and Voice) (Diocesan Girls’ School) Natalie Poon (Music Scholarship, Clarinet and Piano) (Hong Kong International School)

16+ Music Scholarships Francesca Cockcroft Choral Scholarship ( James Allen’s Girls’ School ( JAGS))

Gazette 2022-2023

Academic Excellence

Academic Excellence Wycombe Abbey Sixth Form Visit France

Wycombe Abbey Geographers Visit Iceland

Upper Sixth Pupils Travel to Salamanca and are immersed in Spanish Culture

A visit to Rome and Florence for Wycombe Abbey History of Art Pupils

Reading Week 2022

LitBit: Improving your Literary Fitness

Wycombe Abbey's Conundrum

Sixth Form Physics Conference

Simona Botti, Professor of Marketing at London Business School, speaks to the Computer Science Society 17 Industrial Cadets Gold Award

Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE talks to the Fourth Form about Saving Lives through Problem Solving 20 Wycombe Abbey Classicists watch Medea at the Theatre

The Power of Competitions

Upper Fourth Kathleen Wilkes Essay Prize

Hackathon 2023

The Dove Award

Wycombe Abbey Pupil is named Overall Winner in the Lancaster University Modern Languages Essay Competition

Wycombe Abbey Computer Scientists visit the National Computer Museum

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey Sixth Form Visit France

ourteen Sixth Form pupils arrived bright and early at St Pancras Station on Saturday 15 October, as we boarded the Eurostar headed to Paris. We arrived at Gare du Nord and dropped our bags off at the left luggage and headed to our first visit of the day, the Musée d’Orsay. Having been challenged by Mme Nott to produce a short presentation on various landmarks and artists over the course of the weekend, this proved to be a wonderful starting point for each of the locations we visited. We were blown away by the beautiful paintings that we came across; among them we saw some of the most celebrated artwork by the world-renowned artists, Cézanne, Monet and Van Gogh. Following a much-needed dinner, we watched La Cantatrice Chauve at the Théâtre de la Huchette, a favourite of Mme Nott’s, which proved to be a highly amusing and captivating play exploring the consequences of a breakdown in communication. On Sunday, we headed off to the 6th arrondissement where we met our wonderful tour guide Delphine. She showed us the Latin quarter and provided us with a very memorable experience of the history of that area. That afternoon, we visited the Musée Rodin where everyone was thrilled to see the widely celebrated

‘Le Penseur’. We then embarked on a fun adventure quest activity starting at the Louvre, and ending with sunset at the Eiffel Tower, a truly mesmerising view! On our last day, we had some free time in the Marais area before being treated to a lovely lunch by the Gare du Nord. It was a truly unforgettable trip, both Mme Nott and Mme Figueira were exceptional trip leaders, not only providing us with comedic commentary but also managing to get us to the right places. We would like to thank all the staff who organised the trip, we are so grateful for the opportunity, and we are highly envious of those who will get to experience it next! Anoushka, Lara and Poppy LVI

Wycombe Abbey Geographers Visit Iceland

n the Autumn Term, 49 girls and six staff travelled to Iceland for five nights to explore the fantastic geography of this wonderful country. The itinerary was actionpacked and provided us with an opportunity to see so much of the area. As soon as we stepped off the plane we were whisked off to where the North American and Eurasian Plates are pulling apart; for all of us who have learnt about this in our lessons, seeing a plate boundary in real life was quite amazing! We spent the first few nights in a fishing village next to the sea; the views were stunning and the weather was great, which made the trip even more enjoyable. Over the six days of the trip, we were able to appreciate the fire, ice and water of Iceland, this was especially the case when we visited the Lava Centre which gave us great insight into how volcanoes and hot spots work. We passed E-15 and saw the area that was impacted by the eruption in 2010, it was really interesting to see the mud pools that are created as a result of the geothermal activity. The erupting geyser was an amazing sight and one we will never forget. Following that we were able to relax in the natural hot spring at the Secret Lagoon.

Academic Excellence

A highlight of the trip was seeing a new lava field created by an eruption that took place within the last year. We were so lucky to be able to walk near the cooling lava and see the extent of the eruption. We also thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Inside the Glacier Experience, walking 50m under the ice. The drive up the glacier in monster trucks was particularly fun! Iceland is characterised by its beautiful waterfalls and fast-flowing rivers. We were thrilled to see several impressive falls and even go behind one of them; this was a great experience, although a little wet.

Finally, to get a better view of the whole country, we took part in the Fly Over Iceland Experience. This was great fun and showed off just how amazing Iceland is. This really was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we came home with so many memories as well as learning a lot. For so many of us, it gave us an appreciation for the natural world and opened our eyes to the amazing geography that you can see. Frances (UV), Kate (LV), Radha (LV), Issy (UV), Samaira (UVI) and Scarlett (UV)

Upper Sixth Pupils Travel to Salamanca and are immersed in Spanish Culture

his year, the Spanish Department decided to cast aside the shadows of the pandemic and reinstate a language immersion trip for our hispanists in the Sixth Form. Electing Salamanca as our chosen destination was a very straightforward task. It is a vibrant city; welcoming, understated yet beautiful, safe and well-kept. Together, with the prestige of its long-standing university, one of the oldest in Europe, Salamanca is the ideal place to learn Spanish, full of a charming, rich and illuminating culture. Language immersion is unquestionably the most effective way to enhance comprehension and communication skills in any given tongue. Our pupils benefited greatly from being hosted by caring and dedicated local families who work for Lola Languages, our language school provider. The programme for each day was a perfect blend of academic lessons and cultural visits. The climb to the gothic towers of the cathedral and the breath-taking views of Salamanca, the scrumptious tapas tour and the thrills of the flamenco workshop, were just some of the highlights enjoyed by all. But perhaps, for Mrs Woods and myself, the most rewarding and memorable aspect of the trip was to find our pupils so enthralled by a city that welcomed them with open arms and gifted them so many wonderful memories. Preparations are already well underway for our next trip to Salamanca, scheduled for October 2023. Everyone in the Spanish Department is truly delighted to have such an enriching and fulfilling extra-curricular offering now established at Wycombe Abbey. Sr Fuentes Olea Head of Spanish

This was a truly amazing trip which allowed us to improve our understanding of Spanish as well as showing us a varied TAPAStry of Spanish traditions and culture but also opened our eyes to what is a beautiful, historic and impressive city. Phoebe

The idea was to be fully immersed in both Spanish language and culture, and we gained so much of this through staying with host families who fed us traditional Spanish dishes, showed us Spanish TV and, most importantly, spoke nothing but very fast Spanish to us. Bella

Gazette 2022-2023

A visit to Rome and Florence for Wycombe Abbey History of Art Pupils

uring the Easter break, History of Art A level pupils visited Italy for a week’s tour of museums, architecture and culture to fully understand some of the world’s most famous pieces of art. We started off the trip with an early flight from London to Bologna, before taking a coach to Florence, where we had a relaxing first day visiting the Palazzo Vecchio and the Brancacci Chapel. The remaining days in Florence were packed with lots of tours around museums such as the Uffizi and the Academia Gallery, where we saw Michelangelo’s David. We also spent time looking at artworks in the Medici Palace, the household of one of the patrons we have been learning about on our A level course. After spending three days in Florence, we headed to Rome by train and were blown away by the differences in atmosphere between the two cities. We had the opportunity not only to take a private tour of the Vatican where we saw the iconic Sistine Chapel, but also to look at stunning pieces outside our A level curriculum, widening our knowledge and satisfying our cultural appetite.

The trip not only helped us with our revision, as the experience of seeing works on paper is starkly different to seeing them in the flesh, but it was also a really fun experience that was spent enjoying amazing views, eating delicious food and looking at beautiful art. One of my favourite parts of the trip was when we would sit in a circle in museums, despite stares from security guards, and learn from each other as we discussed everything we knew about the Renaissance period and the different links between the works. Megan LVI

Academic Excellence

We also spent time looking at artworks in the Medici Palace, the household of one of the patrons we have been learning about on our A level course.

Reading Week 2022

or Reading Week this year, the Library and other departments across the School planned a huge variety of events and activities, ranging from hot chocolate with an audio book (courtesy of Biology), a book club to discuss Circe by Madeline Miller (courtesy of Classics), a literary treasure hunt in Geography and daily links to podcasts and articles from the Psychology Department, as well as many, many more contributions. We also even managed to organise deliveries of new books to each of the boarding houses to ensure that the selection available would entice everyone to sit down and read. Mr Lenton’s LitBit podcast, which is designed to improve your literary fitness in five-minute segments, became a daily feature throughout the Week, as he released episodes featuring staff members discussing books they have particularly enjoyed.

We also held a number of exciting evening events during the week which included our annual English Poetry Declamation Final. The author Kate Weston delivered a fantastic talk to LV on her book Diary of a Confused Feminist and poet Tabitha Hayward delivered a poetry workshop to a select group of Sixth Formers, inspiring them to continue writing and sharing their poetry in our community.

Reading, both for pleasure and for academic enrichment, is vital to ensuring that our pupils achieve their full potential and we hope that this week has reminded everyone of the power and, potentially lifelong impact, of a good book. Mrs Hannah Rogers-Green Head of Libraries and Teacher of English

LitBit: Improving your Literary Fitness

egularly reading and discussing poetry is one of the perks of being an English teacher and it is a real joy to see such interest from the pupils of Wycombe Abbey, many of whom also write their own poetry. This year we launched the English Department’s very own podcast: LitBit. In pre-Covid times, LitBit was launched as a paper-based initiative designed to share examples of great writing from a range of forms and genres, posters being plastered

on walls to prompt thought and reflection. Now, in a series of five-minute episodes, we hear from staff and pupils as they read poems and extracts of prose or drama, offering a tantalising taste of literature. With the podcast showcasing the power of performance, we hope to proclaim the beauty of the written word to as wide an audience as possible, inspiring others on their reading journey. Mr Sam Lenton Head of English

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey's Conundrum

n recent years, the Wycombe Abbey Mathematics Department has run monthly puzzle competitions for pupils. Owing to their popularity, we launched the quiz to a much wider audience outside School and attracted more than 300 participants world-wide. As these competitions have grown, it became clear that a new online platform was needed to enhance them and Conundrum was born. The site was built by Monogram, the developers of the School website, and was made possible by a donation from a former parent. With this investment, it will be possible to run bigger and better competitions moving forward, providing enrichment and extension to pupils at Wycombe Abbey and to the wider community. Quizzes have been released throughout the year with many children taking part around the world.

Mr David Vaccaro Director of Learning and Innovation

Sixth Form Physics Conference

t the end of November, A level Physics pupils assembled in the Clarence Common Room to hear from several Upper Sixth pupils presenting on topics including Nano-satellite Design, Bio-inspired Soft Robotics and a Comparison of General Relativity and Quantum Electrodynamics. Articulate and wellprepared, the presenters were universally engaging, and all talks triggered a range of questions from the audience, leading to stimulating discussions and extension.

A supper of pizza and ice cream was well-received before the final address from our adjudicator, Dr Sophy Palmer from Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. Sophy gave a glimpse into the cutting-edge science and research that is carried out at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, including the unmissable Diamond Light synchrotron. She was hugely impressed by the standard of the talks and gave encouraging feedback and advice to the speakers before awarding prizes to her selected winners. This experience came just before the university interview season and served as a timely boost to the confidence of the Upper Sixth at this time in their academic career. We are very grateful to Sophy for giving up her time to be with us for this event and for passing on her thoughts and advice, and congratulate all pupils who took part for their hard work and for their thoughtprovoking presentations! Mrs Sue Buxton Director of Science and STEM and Head of Physics

Academic Excellence

Simona Botti, Professor of Marketing at London Business School, speaks to the Computer Science Society

ear the end of the Summer Term, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) branch of the Computer Science Society was delighted to welcome Simona Botti, Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to deliver a greatly anticipated talk linking AI and consumer behaviour. Her talk was based on a research paper that she had recently published regarding the ways in which AI could affect our behaviour. Topics such as losing control, feeling replaced and alienated were discussed. Simona's touch of humour made the talk all the more relaxing, welcoming and interactive!

In the end, Simona concluded that AI, despite its uses and potential, should be considered thoroughly before use, since humans may not be able to fully identify the risks that AI could pose. We were really happy to see so many girls showing great interest during the talk, and we cannot wait to introduce more inspiring speakers in the future! Mr Adrian Porter Head of Computer Science

Gazette 2022-2023

Industrial Cadets Gold Award

Residential Workshop

n a two-day residential workshop based at MechSpace, the student hub for those studying Mechanical Engineering at UCL, six members of our team set out to continue to develop our Industrial Cadets Gold Award project. This nationwide competition is designed to help students in the UK reach beyond the curriculum by working on a real-life engineering problem to produce an innovative solution. For this workshop, the aim was to produce a solution for a heat exchanger. On the first day, we refined our initial ideas considering a multitude of different designs, evaluating each one to produce the optimal solution. Our idea was to allow the thermal energy from waste hot water, such as showers and dryers, to be recycled during the process of heating clean cold water, lessening the overall amount of energy required. In our original design, we took some inspiration from the bees on the School grounds - the heat exchanger would allow hot and cold water to flow past each other in alternating honeycomb-like cells for the energy transfer to take place. However, this would prove impractical when considering the dimensions of the prototype. In fact, one of the main problems we encountered was the slowing down flow rate of shower water. To combat this, we incorporated a mechanical pressure valve that would lengthen the duration of time the hot

Academic Excellence

and cold water are in contact with each other.

In our original design, we took some inspiration from the bees on the School grounds - the heat exchanger would allow hot and cold water to flow past each other in alternating honeycomb-like cells for the energy transfer to take place.

After finalising our design, we agreed on constructing two models - a functional model used to gather data that would prove its efficiency, and a scaled down, nonfunctional, model in order to visualise the structure of the inner workings. On the second day, we focused on the latter, since it would be more feasible in the time we had left. The next few hours were spent learning how to use a piece of software called Fusion where we sketched and printed the parts for the model and, in succession, researched and refined the theory and calculations behind the functional model. Emily LVI

Awarded ‘Most Innovative’

t the end of June, six of us participating in the Industrial Cadets Gold Award attended the celebration event held at the University of Bath. The Industrial Cadets Gold Award is a nationwide STEM competition that offers students insight into future career paths by giving them a chance to work on a project in industry. We have been working on this project since the start of the academic year and have designed a heat exchanger that could be installed under showers which recycles heat energy from wastewater to heat up cold water. More information on our product can be found on page 18. The day started off early with us leaving School at 6:15am. After arriving, we were given a display board to put up details about our project alongside other schools. The various companies that mentored the schools were also present at the event and we were encouraged to have conversations with them. We used this opportunity to explore different career paths in engineering, ranging from aerospace to civil engineering. After fascinating conversations with the companies, we attended a talk on engineering by a professor at the university, where we were given insight into the different branches in engineering. We then spent the next hour visiting other schools’ display boards and learning about their projects. It was interesting to see what others came up with, especially when the group next to us also

designed a heat transfer system. After lunch, we cast our votes for the People’s Choice award and the prizes were announced at the end of the day; we were awarded ‘Most Innovative’ for our project. All in all, the Industrial Cadets Gold Award was a programme from which we benefited a lot. At the end of the project, we learnt so much about working as a team as well as gaining hands-on experience in industry. Finally, we would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Buxton who gave us so much support throughout the project. Abigail LVI

After fascinating conversations with the companies, we attended a talk on engineering by a professor at the university, where we were given insight into the different branches in engineering.

Gazette 2022-2023

Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE talks to the Fourth Form about Saving Lives through Problem Solving

n March, pupils in the Fourth Form were treated to a lecture by Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE, a mathematical modeller who is regarded as one of the 100 most influential scientists in the UK. The presentation started with the provocative question: 'What is the point of Mathematics?' Sine, Cosine, Pythagoras and Algebra just don’t seem that important. Professor Chamberlain talked us through his rich and varied career, and the answer to his question became clear. Put simply Mathematics can save lives and make the world a better place. He described how his model led to the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier, and that more recent work will help to prevent an AI apocalypse. His calculations also led to a method to free safely sailors trapped in a sunk submarine, a rescue that had previously been deemed impossible. Drawing on the inspiration of Muhammed Ali he concluded that to a Mathematical Modeller 'Impossible is nothing'. A sense of social justice ran through Professor Chamberlain’s talk and he is justly proud of being a role model for young black Mathematicians, who are still under-represented in both universities and industry. He recounted the discrimination he faced at school where a careers advisor replied to him saying that he wanted to be a Mathematician with the observation that he “looked more like a boxer”. He is on a mission to promote Mathematical Sciences to those from under-represented groups, and as outgoing President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and incoming President of the Mathematics Association, he spends considerable time on educational projects to widen participation. This outreach work led Nira Chamberlain to introduce our School to the wonderful Dr Angela Tabiri, founder of FemAfrica Maths whose inspirational work was recently featured in Nature.

In 2021 Nira spoke at Wycombe Abbey about the Black Heroes of Mathematics and during his talk described the work that Dr Tabiri does to promote STEM careers to girls in her home country of Ghana and across Africa. This has led to a fruitful collaboration between Wycombe Abbey and the African Institute of Mathematical Science, with 30 of Dr Tabiri’s students from the Girls in Maths and Science Programme (GMSP) regularly attending Wycombe Abbey’s Maths Society events, as well as Dr Tabiri giving lectures to our pupils. In return, I have also given Masterclasses for the GMSP and taught for one week at a residential course at the AIMS centre in Accra. Angela was able to join us (virtually) in the audience for Professor Chamberlain’s return visit. In the spirit of widening participation, we were delighted that Professor Chamberlain’s talk was also attended by children from local state schools, with a large contingent from Wallingford School and Cressex Community School in High Wycombe. It is very much hoped that they enjoyed the talk and that they felt inspired by Professor Chamberlain’s story. Having given the long list of real-world problems he has solved and the manifest enjoyment he has had working on them, I think few left the talk in any doubt about the crucial role that Mathematics plays in the world. Mr David Vaccaro Director of Learning and Innovation

Wycombe Abbey Classicists watch Medea at the Theatre

eing avid theatre-goers themselves, the Classics Department are always keen to enrich pupils’ understanding of ancient drama. In February, we took a group of UV-UVI pupils to watch a bewitching new production of Euripides’ Medea at Soho Place. The trip gave pupils studying Greek and Classical Civilisation a better understanding of Greek tragedy, though the modernised performance broke the fourth wall and saw us almost become part of the chorus. Hattie (UVI) said, “This production of Euripides’ tragedy was thoroughly enjoyed by all; the cast’s performance was spectacular and though some of us were familiar with the plot, it had us hanging on the edge of our seats. Sophie Okonedo gave a stunning, powerful performance and Ben Daniels was phenomenal in the multitude of roles that he played. Thank you so much to the Classics Department who organised such a wonderful trip and the Wycombe Abbey classicists really recommend this performance!” We look forward to our next theatre trip to immerse ourselves fully in the classical world. Miss Rachel Franks Teacher of Classics

Academic Excellence

The Power of Competitions

his year we have been exploring Wycombe Abbey’s Academic Qualities of Risk Taking, Resourcefulness, Determination, Reflection and Development, which we promote as the characteristics which underpin creative and critical thinking. Anyone listening to the Headmistress in Mark Reading or School Meetings would have been struck by the vast array of pupil achievements covering all areas of School life, but particularly prevalent was participation in a myriad of academic competitions. Some of these announcements were exceptional achievements in highly prestigious external events, but equally striking was the enthusiasm for our internal competitions, including the newly launched Kathleen Wilkes Essay Prize, which was open to all pupils in UIV. The large number of entrants contrasts sharply with other schools, where involvement is normally restricted only to so-called ‘scholars’ or the most highly attaining. But why is this involvement in competitions so important? It should first be noted that competitions have nothing to do with being competitive. Indeed, arguably the most important aspect about competitions is that the result does not really matter. Success is a bonus, but a good attempt is still to be praised. Taking part in competitions provides opportunities to use our academic qualities. The questions asked in essay competitions are quite literally impossible to answer fully. Pupils therefore need to overcome the initial trepidation that comes with tackling something outside of their comfort zone. It is also well known that winning entries will often not be the ‘best’ but rather the most interesting and those with the most authentic voice.

Despite the ever-increasing popularity of these problem-solving challenges, the most common academic competition at Wycombe Abbey probably still remains ‘the essay’. The derivation of the word is from the French 'essayer', which means to try, pointing to the fact that although the challenge is high, the expectation is not to produce perfection, but rather as good an attempt as possible. In any competition, it is of course a simple theorem that most entrants will not win, but even this fact points to an opportunity to learn. The way in which competitions lead to improvement is perhaps most familiar in sport, where we can all think of examples where a team will reflect on a disappointment, and through hard work in the gym or training ground will see them come back stronger. In a similar way academic competitions can be a catalyst for development and growth. Mr David Vaccaro Director of Learning and Innovation

The need for resourcefulness and determination is perhaps most clearly seen in the various Computing, Mathematics, Science or Linguistics Olympiads where pupils are confronted with problems to solve that are both difficult and unfamiliar. While pupils are drawn to these by the delight and satisfaction they get from the challenge, they are also developing invaluable skills in ingenuity and flexible thought.

The large number of entrants contrasts sharply with other schools, where involvement is normally restricted only to so-called ‘scholars’ or the most highly attaining.

Gazette 2022-2023

Upper Fourth Kathleen Wilkes Essay Prize

his year saw the second running of the Upper Fourth Enrichment Lecture Series. Pupils attended lectures in which they were introduced to different topics in order to stretch them further beyond their studies. The talks were delivered by members of the academic staff and have been very well received. Running alongside this programme was the Kathleen Wilkes Essay Prize, a prize named after a notable Wycombe Abbey Senior, philosopher and educationalist, Kathleen Wilkes (C102, Pitt, 1963). To judge our essay competition, we were fortunate enough to secure the services of Felicity Conway (C160, Wendover, 1986), Chair of the Seniors' Consultative Committee. She said ‘I was delighted to be given the opportunity to help judge this year’s Kathleen Wilkes essay competition for the UIVs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries and I was impressed with the overall quality of the writing, and the effective way in which research was used to develop and support their arguments.’ The winners were as follows: Highly Commended: Ashley, Elisia, Tracy, Angel and Mati. Honourable Mention: Carlota for her very well considered essay on whether art is diminished by the actions of the artist. It was a

thought-provoking piece of writing that considered not only the actions themselves but also their motivation and impact. Honourable Mention: Olga’s well-argued essay on the point of education. This essay stood out for its excellent use of research in support of her broad range of points which led convincingly to her conclusion. Runner up: Emma who wrote about the very topical subject of whether there should be limits on free speech. This essay had a captivating start which drew the reader into the arguments she used to explain and challenge her position. Winner: Annika for her inspirational and imaginative essay on what London might look like in 100 years’ time. This essay seamlessly combined Annika’s imagination and optimism for the future with the results of her research into the history of London and the potential of current innovations and initiatives. The excellent structure, the depth of the research and good use of quotes together with bibliography, produced a very compelling and effective piece of innovative and academic writing. Mr Luke Wildgoose Head of Upper School

Hackathon 2023

n June, Wycombe Abbey hosted its first joint hackathon with Harrow School. It was a fun evening filled with food, socialising and some challenging coding! Once Harrow arrived, we were given a bit of time to socialise and introduce ourselves. After being split into our mixed school teams, consisting of two LVIs and two LVs, we were given time to discuss our team tactics and come up with a creative name. During the hackathon, the programmers were given one hour to solve five programming challenges of increasing difficulty and value, worth respectively 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 points. As soon as the timer started, the room fell silent as the teams were having their initial looks at the set of challenges. After reading the questions, whispers and aggressive keyboard sounds began to penetrate Fisher Library, as each group started to discuss possible solutions and distributed the tasks of coding tactically amongst the group.

After an intense hour of coding, all solutions were submitted to Wania, Co-head of the Computer Science Society, who marked the solutions using sets of test data, testing the functionality, the validation, and the efficiency of each programme. Following the break, everyone was called to their seats for the announcement of the winners. The results were as follows: Winners: Ctrl + S Runners Up: Team 3 2nd Runners Up: Control Alt Defeat Winners of the best team name prize: Control Alt Defeat Overall, I found the hackathon to be a great experience where I could meet keen fellow programmers and collaboratively approach coding challenges. It was a fun way to practise my coding skills and reinforce my passion for the subject! Alex LVI

Academic Excellence

Through the Dove Award, we hope pupils will appreciate how much they have grown throughout the year and feel prepared to embrace the next stage as they enter Upper School.

The Dove Award L

ower Fourth (LIV) is a significant step up, and in many ways a unique year. Just two examples are the move into the new community of a Senior Boarding House and gaining more independence over study with free periods. These new experiences and challenges are a vital part of shaping our pupils into flourishing individuals and LIV reflect on these as part of the Dove Award, a scheme run through our tutoring programme. It is structured across three Pillars: Community, Flourishing and Learning. Joining a Senior Boarding House and tutor group means adjusting to new communities. Through the Pillar of the Community, pupils reflect on how they interact with both the local and global communities they are part of. Part of this is engaging in fun tutor group activities such as a film-making workshop, the annual Bonfire Guy making competition, and projects related to Black History Month and International Women’s Day. It also consists of year group activities such as a trip to Bletchley Park in the Autumn Term, and an outdoors Team Building day in the Spring Term. Through reflection on their engagement in these activities, pupils see how they embody the School Values of Trust, Encouragement, Mutual Respect, Dynamism, Excellence, Innovation, Service and Balance. The Pillar of Flourishing is about developing to become the best version of oneself, both physically and mentally. This takes

place through discussions and activities during weekly tutor times. This year, sessions have included mental wellbeing, growth mindset, the practising of kindness, listening skills and empathy, and how to maintain healthy digital relationships. Through the Pillar of Learning, pupils reflect on the increasing academic challenge of LIV and strive to take control of their own studies. The central activity is completing a substantial piece of supercurricular work and reflecting on how the School’s Academic Qualities of Risk Taking, Resourcefulness, Determination, Reflection and Development have been employed through this. The Award culminates in a Dove Ceremony in the Summer Term, in which we recognise and celebrate projects which exhibited excellence in one or more of the Academic Qualities, as well as other pupil successes. The following is just a small selection of the

many exceptional and wide-ranging projects we saw this year: a research project on the James Webb Space Telescope, an essay on the development of Christian hymns, a design for a bird box, a tote bag created from raw fabric, a soufflé, a research project on the Haenyeo (‘Sea Women’), a transcription of violin solos by ear, and a research project on the impact of WW2 on women’s fashion. The LIV is a transformative year, readying pupils for the next major phase of their education. Through the Dove Award, we hope pupils will appreciate how much they have grown throughout the year and feel prepared to embrace the next stage as they enter Upper School. Mr Alec Howells Deputy Head of Lower School

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey Pupil is named Overall Winner in the Lancaster University Modern Languages Essay Competition

aving recently participated in the annual Lancaster University Modern Languages in Schools Prize, it was a wonderful surprise to find out that I had been named overall winner in the essay competition.

The judge for Poppy’s essay said, ‘This is an excellent essay, well done! You have a clear structure which is easy to follow and you are making relevant points for the topic.

I entered the French language category by submitting an essay entitled What are the values of speaking several languages in the modern professional world? The word count for my essay was limited to a maximum of 500 words, and so I had to embrace the challenge of putting forward my ideas in a concise manner, whilst still trying to incorporate sophisticated language into my writing. I found the task of writing this essay enormously interesting and rewarding, as it encouraged me to consider the importance of language-learning as a skill practised not just in the classroom, but also within a formal employment setting. The title provoked me to explore a wide range of benefits associated with speaking several languages in the modern professional world, including the ability to build strong relationships with clients and colleagues; the reduction of translation costs; and the promotion of diversity and inclusion within the workplace. I very much enjoyed writing the essay for this competition and would highly recommend it to any Sixth Form Language pupil, especially those considering studying Modern Languages beyond A level. You can read my essay below. Poppy LVI

Quelles sont les valeurs de parler plusieurs langues dans le monde professionnel moderne? Il est certain que la valeur de parler plusieurs langues est une des plus importantes questions auxquelles nous devons faire face dans le monde professionnel moderne. Bien qu'il soit préférable pour la plupart des gens de pouvoir converser avec les autres dans leur langue maternelle, il est vrai que les langues créent des barrières de communication entre les gens. En fait, selon une étude de Holmes, les barrières de communication pourraient coûter aux entreprises environ 37 milliards de dollars chaque année. Il est donc essential que les gens apprennent de nouvelles langues, pour qu'ils puissent interagir. Premièrement, l'une des raisons les plus convaincantes de parler plusieurs langues est que cela aide les entreprises à garder leurs clients à l'échelle mondiale. Afin que les entreprises puissent satisfaire leurs clients, elles doivent comprendre leurs besoins ; en apprenant la langue d'un client, une entreprise peut communiquer plus

Academic Excellence

efficacement. Si l'entreprise comprend la culture du client et la façon dont son produit ou service le concerne, elle pourra fournir un service plus nuancé au client. Dans un deuxième temps, il faut dire que les coûts d'une entreprise dans le monde professionnel seraient considérablement réduits, s'il y avait des personnes capables de parler plusieurs langues. Les prix élevés de la traduction d'informations dans la langue cible, comme la traduction des détails d'un produit ou la communication avec les clients, peuvent être évités lorsque les gens parlent des langues différentes. Par conséquent, l'apprentissage des langues peut même aider une entreprise à économiser de l'argent. Enfin, l'apprentissage de nombreuses langues contribue à promouvoir la diversité et l'inclusion sur le lieu de travail. Le rôle d'un directeur au sein d'une entreprise est de créer un environnement sûr, dans lequel les employés peuvent travailler de manière confortable et efficace. Si les directeurs comprenaient mieux la langue et la culture des employés, ils les feraient se sentir plus appréciés et inclus au travail - ce qui

faciliterait une communication plus forte et une résolution des problèmes plus rapide. Selon le recensement de 2021 en Angleterre, près de 9 % des résidents n'ont pas l'anglais comme première langue, et cela n’est qu'un exemple d'un pays où tous les habitants ne parlent pas la langue principale de leur pays. Sans l'ombre d'un doute, les lieux de travail du monde entier sont de plus en plus divers, et nous devrions donc accueillir des cultures différentes, en parlant plusieurs langues. En guise de conclusion, il est évident qu'il existe de nombreuses valeurs à parler plusieurs langues dans le monde professionnel moderne. Parler plusieurs langues permet de mieux communiquer avec les clients et les entreprises du monde entier, de réduire les coûts de traduction, et de promouvoir l'égalité et la diversité sur le lieu de travail. Il semble que l'apprentissage des langues soit l'un des meilleurs moyens de surmonter les barrières culturelles dans le monde professionnel moderne, pour que les gens puissent travailler ensemble dans la paix et l'harmonie.

Wycombe Abbey Computer Scientists visit the National Computer Museum

n April, we travelled to the National Computer Science Museum in Bletchley. After arriving at the museum, we were briefed as to what the plan was for the rest of the day. My group’s first session was an informative talk about the different types of data storage, as well as the evolution of computers and technology over time. We were all intrigued by the rapid development of the computer from the late 17th century to the present day. The session was concluded with a fun activity where we worked together as a group to order different pieces of technology from oldest to newest. The second session of the day was agreed by all to be the most enjoyable. We were taught about the difference between robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is shaping our future. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about how software such as ChatGPT operates. After the morning sessions, it was time for some lunch before beginning the final two sessions of the day. My group navigated ourselves around the museum using the iPads we were given and answered questions as we did so. It was a great way to learn about the decryption machines

used in the 20th century. Our final session was an interesting talk on Colossus, EDSAC and the WITCH. Colossus is a set of computers developed by British code breakers in the mid-20th century to aid the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. Overall, I think everyone learnt something new from the trip and personally, I found everything on display at the museum intriguing, giving me something to look at whenever I wasn’t immersed in a session. Serena LV

We were all intrigued by the rapid development of the computer from the late 17th century to the present day.

Gazette 2022-2023

Creative Vision

Creative Vision Lower School Art

Creative Writing and Bunting for the Coronation

School Poetry Competition

Writing for World Book Day

Upper School Art

A Level Art

Wycombe Abbey at the Edinburgh Fringe

Senior Production of The Government Inspector

UIII play: The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza!

Fourth Form Play: The Ash Girl

Lower Fourth Compete in the Declamations Grand Final

South East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition 2023

The Wycombe Abbey Orchestral Concert 2023

Photography Competition

Gazette 2022-2023

An Artistic Year Lower School Art

Charlotte, UIII

Ella, UIII Alyssa, UIII

Georgie, UIII

Maria, UIII

Creative Vision

Lily, UIII

Vivienne, UIII

Vera, UIII

Hazel, UIII

Victoria, UIII

Grace, UIII Amelie, UIII

Gazette 2022-2023

Lower School Art

Elsa, LIV

Ottilie, LIV

Alessia, LIV

Zoe, LIV

Creative Vision

Sophie, LIV

Sasha, LIV

Iris, LIV

Evie, LIV

Beatrice, LIV

Tess, LIV

Yvonne, LIV

Gazette 2022-2023

Creative Writing and Bunting for the Coronation

o celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, pupils in the Lower School took part in two competitions to get their creativity flowing whilst engaging with this very special event. Firstly, there was an optional essay competition with pupils writing a brief piece about the King and the Royal Family. Congratulations to Sophia (UIII), Sofia (UIII) and Victoria (UIII) who were runners up, and well done to Penney (UIII) for her detailed review of King Charles III’s life securing first place! The submitted pieces were proudly displayed on our regal notice board.

Creative Vision

The second competition was all about bunting! Every member of Lower School took part in this activity during tutor time, where they were given a template and asked to show off their best artwork to celebrate the special event. There was great effort from all, with some tutor groups picking themes such as national emblems, crowns, flags, castles and even corgis! Prizes were awarded to Ella (UIII), Maria (UIII), Natalie (LIV) and Mia (LIV). Mrs Sally Harbour Head of Lower School

School Poetry Competition The English Department’s poetry competition was once again a huge success, capturing the imagination of the girls. As always, the judges had an extremely challenging job in selecting the winners for each of the categories. They were as follows: Senior: Chloe (LVI) Intermediate: Cice (LV) Junior: Penney (UIII)

In Search of Authentic Local Cuisine O Merlion, mesmerising, appetising! Your succulent body, a cornucopia fit for a king (but will do too for this humble otter). Shall I first poach your fillets? Or deep fry your scales? Or savour your eyes fresh out of their sockets? Where to begin, perhaps this plaque Can tell me where my feast should start.

I see your face on mugs, magnets, merchandise,

But wait -

But nothing with a plate of rice. I am dismayed.

It says here you are “Uniquely Singaporean” Half-fish, half-lion,

Do you nourish or nurture? Are you even real?

Half seen by Sang Nila - maybe he was mistaken.

Or are you totally tourism spiel? I leap up on you to take a bite.

But your foreign admirers don’t mind his 1299 error. They grin and hug, selfies galore

Wah piang! Your flesh is coarse and dry!

As out of your mouth so much water pours.

Gritty cement, tasteless as your gaudy red eyes. You don’t deserve this grand pedestal! Back into the water I dive. I grab an unassuming ikan selar And relish its true-blue Singaporean flavour. Chloe LVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Animals They are not uncivilised, they are not savage;

To the elephants that march with grace and with might,

Their cultures and customs are not for you to ravage.

To amber eyes of sly foxes that emerge at night.

Their skin may be different, their religion not the same,

So do not call them animals, or beasts,

But their hearts beat with compassion, their souls burn with flame.

Just because of the way they dress, or speak.

They are not barbaric, they are not cruel,

The world is a beautiful tapestry of colours and beliefs,

Their foods and festivals are not for you to ridicule.

A mosaic of people sharing each other’s joys and griefs.

Their way may seem strange, their practices may be scary,

Our diversity is a strength, a treasure to behold,

But they are not “animalistic”, is it such a crime just to vary?

A story of humanity waiting to be told.

They live in harmony with the earth and the sky, With every creature great and small, passing by:

Cice LV

From the delicate butterflies, with their colours bright That flit and flutter in the sun’s warm light.

Flight The robin sang sweetly until the days were bright

As swift as the breeze she flew

His perfectly curved claws grasped the snow so white

The blue looked like rippling water dews

It glistened and shimmered just like an orb

The colour so dazzling, it blinded eyes

Or maybe, just maybe like a silver, dazzling sword

That night she took flight into the skies

The robin flew elegantly then stopped mid-flight

The nightingale, her marvellous hues

On the branch she quietly hang So calming and gracefully she sang Melodies filled the sea of green Such a marvellous scene The bluebell’s song of freedom rang These hummingbirds are so rare One minute poised in mid-air Happily in their own world The skies turning pale gold They merrily glided in pairs

Creative Vision

Penney UIII

Writing for World Book Day

n World Book Day. the English Department organised a treasure hunt, with clues to titles of books being spread across the School. We also held a creative writing competition where pupils wrote a description of a library or other reading space. The quantity and quality of the entries from a range of year groups were not only beautiful descriptions of the physical spaces, but also some thoughtful and emotive descriptions of what reading and libraries mean to the pupils. Many described them as a place of escapism, wonder, and safety, and the English Department staff really enjoyed reading them all. The Lower School winner was Sanvi (UIII), for her evocative description of a snowy day spent reading her favourite book, Private Peaceful, and the Upper School winner was Alice (UV), for her inventive take on the task, a description of an idyllic train journey spent reading a novel.

Lower School Winner As snowflakes glided down from the sky like ballerinas twirling around the white landscape, I collapsed onto a bench, weary of the day’s lessons and excitement. The frigid air caressed my cheeks as I rubbed my hands together, yearning for a warm fire to bring the colour back into them. Shuddering, I slowly reached into my bag and my fingers fumbled around all my books, seeking the precious treasure I kept safely bundled away. I smiled as my favourite book emerged in front of my eyes. “Private peaceful”, I whispered and brushed off the dust covering the perilous title. I fingered the spine, preparing my itching mind to delve back into the book of war and love. Carefully turning over the first page, excitement filled my veins as my eyes dug deep into the words, relishing the beauty and importance of each and every letter. My stomach danced with the swaying trees as the extraordinary descriptions bloomed in my mind, vivid with colour and action.

Laughing as Michael Morpurgo narrated the loving memories that Tommo and Charlie shared, a wonderful sensation tickled every nook and cranny of my body. Pulling my coat around me closer to the point where it was hugging me tightly, I dived back into the book. The plot carried me deeper and deeper into the story. Suddenly in a blur, the pages whizzed past and the last chapter came into my view. Having read the book so many times, I prepared myself for the most heart-breaking and sorrowful ending. As I read, my vision suddenly became blurred before releasing salty tears which slithered down my face. Holding the book close to my heart, I smiled while tears still trickled down, creating a metaphorical rainbow inside of me. What a serene place to read a book... Sanvi UIII

Upper School Winner A train carriage holds an enticing magnetism, I find the slow motions of strangers coaxing my attention from the novel. I fold it shut, allowing the pages to bind together, once again masking the depth and lyricism they encrypt. My gaze now rests upon a broad man opposite me partially obscured by a newspaper to which he is transfixed, posture stiffened, unleashing occasional, low grunts. Delicate slumber submerses the couple to my left; a head balanced on a shoulder, fingertips interlaced, forming a portrait of ease and tranquillity. On the other side of the carriage, subdued conversations overlay one another, creating a thrumming euphony that listlessly intertwines with the collisions of wheels and track. Gently, I trace the bonded pages of the book, remarking how age and sunlight have

instilled themselves in the form of a rich, bronze frame. Soon I concede to the hypnosis of the landscape, evershifting beyond my carriage window. Undulating hills hold anonymous towns in their folds; the foliage thins and unfurls; lines of trees dissolve into an earthly blur under the train’s pace. Yet it is the smooth fusions and divergences of the clouds that really entrance me: elongating, milky streaks and great, white puffs whose outlines have been emboldened by the sunlight, a metamorphosing veil across the sky. The train begins to decelerate, hedges and trees reclaim their intricate forms; I lift the novel, feeling the veiny twists rising from its spine, and place it into my bag. Alice UV

Gazette 2022-2023

Upper School Art

Allegra, UIV Amalia, UIV

Elleta, UIV

Katya, UIV

Creative Vision

Eva, UIV

Kelly, UIV

Louise, UIV

Isabella, UIV

Grace, UIV

Lucy, UIV

Stella, UIV

Helen, UIV

Gazette 2022-2023

Upper School Art

Allegra, UV

Annie, UV

Arinade, UV

Ariana, UV

Ava, UV

Creative Vision

Ashleigh, UV

Beatrice, UV Bella W, UV

Cathy, UV

Cosima, UV

Cara, UV

Bella Z, UV

Gazette 2022-2023

Upper School Art

Dana, UV

Creative Vision

Issy, UV

Nancy, UV

Maria, UV

Sally, UV

Isabella, UV

Zenia, UV

A Level Art

River, UVI

Maya, UVI

Motunrayo, UVI

Victoria, UVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey at the Edinburgh Fringe

n the summer of 2022, 13 Lower Sixth girls trekked up to a sunny Edinburgh to visit the Fringe Festival. Accompanied by Mr Harrington and Mrs Woodward, we stayed for five nights and performed our very own play. However, this is only the end of our Fringe story, as you can imagine it began months prior to these performances. It has always been a dream of mine to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This is no surprise, with its promise of three weeks of hundreds upon hundreds of productions and even a potential sighting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. So, when the School supported my plea to direct a show, words cannot describe how overjoyed I was. At the time it felt like years away, little did I know quite how quickly the months working towards it would pass. I searched through many plays, toying back and forth between them but eventually settled on DNA by Dennis Kelly. A dark, angsty comedy about teenagers felt very appropriate for the occasion.

Creative Vision

Though I have been in School plays before, I have never directed; it certainly came with many new challenges to overcome, but also taught me irreplaceable lessons for life. The cast worked extremely hard juggling the extensive number of rehearsals alongside the stresses of Lower Sixth. However, it was all entirely worth it in the end and each of the three performances in Edinburgh went amazingly well with every member’s talent displayed. They did me very, very proud. We had great turn outs on each night and one evening a professional reviewer visited. He was an editor in chief of Broadway Magazine, sitting in the audience for our

We had great turn outs on each night and one evening a professional reviewer visited; an editor in chief of Broadway, sat in the audience! play! We were thrilled with his 4-star review and honoured he chose to come. While in Edinburgh we also had the opportunity to explore the city, walking through the vibrant streets, watching other Fringe shows and eating delicious food before coming back, absolutely exhausted. I have already heard how many of the cast plan to return to the Fringe next year whether in a play or just to watch, and I know for a fact that I can join them in that wish. It was wonderful and for me, a dream come true. Phoebe UVI

Senior Production of The Government Inspector

t was one of the highlights of the School year: The Government Inspector; a Senior Production not to be forgotten! With girls from Upper Fifth to Upper Sixth taking part, the cast created a show that was funny and engaging.

The play follows a corrupt Mayor who leads an equally corrupt group of government officials. Very quickly, the plot thickens and it is revealed that the eponymous ‘Government Inspector’ is travelling incognito and is to inspect the Mayor and his town. The characters are quick to react to this news and jump to the conclusion that a not-so-impressive clerk Khelestakov, who has gambled all his money away and is stuck with a bill at the local inn, is the Inspector. The story follows Khelestakov as he takes advantage of this case of mistaken identity and cheats and swindles the inhabitants of the town out of as much money as possible. For many of us, it was the first time we had acted together as one group and for some pupils, it was their first-ever performance. At first, we were all apprehensive as the play required a high level of subtlety and comic timing to really make aspects of it hit the perfect note. The pantomime timing was tricky in parts, but the cast did very well and the audience went away with smiles on their faces.

During rehearsals, there was a process of development where we had time to learn our parts and bring our characters to life. It now feels quite a long time since we started the whole process, but rehearsal time went by like a flash and we were suddenly backstage for our first performance. When we stepped on stage, it was a relief to find that the audience laughed at the right times and seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. Characters really came into action when the lights went on and it was incredible to see how the cast came together and acted their hearts out. But a Wycombe Abbey production is never just about the performance, it combines the whole development in front and behind the scenes, the excitement of trying on costumes for the first time, pizza dinners between rehearsals, the cast jokes and backstage conversation, and, of course, trying to perfect the slapstick comedy on stage. This play is truly one to go down in Wycombe Abbey history and won’t be forgotten. Ella and Anna UVI

Gazette 2022-2023

UIII play: The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza!

t the end of the Summer Term, Upper Third performed in The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza, a show that we will all remember! The play started with four narrators, ready to take on the challenge of performing all of Greek mythology with somewhat of a modern twist. The idea of using Wikipedia is put to one side, and they start with the story of Cronos and his children. They looked at each myth in detail, with a series of comedic events which entertained the crowd. Each class was assigned three scenes to prepare and perform, everyone being able to choose which kind of role they wanted. I performed in Orpheus and Euridice as Orpheus, a demi-god totally in love with a mortal (Euridice), which his father Apollo did not approve of.

Creative Vision

Our first rehearsal together was in the Spring Term. Even though, we didn’t finish the whole performance in the slot, it was still nice to all be together. Then, during show week, we had rehearsals almost every day, which included a tech rehearsal on Monday, a dress rehearsal on Tuesday, and one last rehearsal on Thursday morning, before opening night! There was nervous excitement as we waited to go on stage. As it was the first time performing at School for most of UIII, we all tried our best to project and made sure we let the audience laugh along with our jokes. The whole cast did well at putting the scenes together and it turned out amazingly well leading us to a successful show week! The most exciting parts for us were the costume fittings and being backstage

waiting for our cues to perform. The costumes were made with so much detail and when we tried them on for the first time the experience became all the more real. Being backstage was chaotic but fun; waiting in the wings definitely gave me and many others a huge adrenaline rush, as well as seeing the audience for the first time! As well as being on stage, I loved seeing all my friends and the progress they had made, not only with developing their characters, but also in terms of their confidence in their performance. This was an unforgettable first experience and a great way for the whole year to bond together! Vera and Maria UIII

Fourth Form Play: The Ash Girl

he Fourth Form play was written by Timberlake Wertenbaker and is about a girl named Ash Girl who dreams of going to the ball to meet a prince. With her mother dead and her father away, she lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. When the invitation to The Ball arrives from Prince Amir, Ash Girl can’t bring herself to believe that she, like her sisters, can go. She meets the Fairy in the Mirror who teaches her that an individual can ultimately determine their fate through their actions. At the ball she meets Prince Amir and falls in love with him, but she quickly leaves him as she needs to get back home. Throughout the play, Ash Girl is haunted by the seven deadly sins who lurk in the background and tempt the character to commit sins. It is a play that explores the beauty and terror in growing up. I found this experience exciting and rewarding. It gave us all a unique experience that you wouldn’t get in regular drama lessons. From the moment I auditioned and was cast in the production, I felt a rush of excitement and anticipation. As rehearsals began, I found myself immersed in a world of creativity and collaboration. The entire cast and crew came together with a shared passion for storytelling, and it was truly inspiring to witness everyone’s dedication and talent. The stage came alive with stunning costumes, enchanting set designs, and mesmerizing lighting effects, creating a visually captivating atmosphere. The audience’s reactions were amazing, and the energy motivated us on the stage. Being involved in the play was a transformative journey that allowed me to explore the depths of human emotions, discover personal strength, and connect with my peers. My role as the Fairy gave me the chance to use my imagination, explore the limits of my creativity, and motivate others through the power of narrative. It was a privilege being a part of a production that engaged viewers in a realm of wonder and fantasy. The memories, friendships, and personal growth that I gained from this experience will forever hold a special place in my heart, reminding me of the transformative power of the arts and the indescribable joy of being part of something truly magical. Abbey UIV

The entire cast and crew came together with a shared passion for storytelling, and it was truly inspiring to witness everyone’s dedication and talent.

Gazette 2022-2023

Lower Fourth Compete in the Declamations Grand Final

ver the course of this year, all Lower Fourth pupils developed their public-speaking skills through a series of poetry declamations hosted by the Classics, Modern Languages and English Departments. Winners from each department gathered to perform at the Grand Final on Thursday 20 April; it was wonderful to hear pupils reciting poetry in English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish and Latin. All the pupils did a fantastic job conveying the meaning of their poems with clear, thoughtful and emotive delivery. Special congratulations go to our overall winner, Clemmie, who performed in Spanish Sólo tres letras by Gloria Fuertes. Flora was named Highly Commended and performed Gefunden by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in German. Mrs Rachel Franks Teacher of Classics

All the pupils did a fantastic job conveying the meaning of their poems with clear, thoughtful and emotive delivery.

South East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition 2023

n Tuesday 14 March, I competed in the South East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition with my piano trio. Selina (LVI), Gwyn (UV) and I had the privilege of performing Shostakovich’s Piano Trio no. 1 in C minor at St George’s Church in London, a stunning venue with impressive acoustics. We also enjoyed performances by 14 other finalist groups ranging from the Junior to Senior categories, and ended up being the joint winners of the Senior category alongside North London Collegiate School. I was particularly proud of my trio because

Creative Vision

this was the first time Wycombe Abbey had won the challenging Senior category in 11 years, and with it being my fifth and final year taking part in the competition, I thought it was the best conclusion possible. We wholeheartedly hope that we have inspired younger generations of school musicians to form their own groups and take part in the joys of playing chamber music. Wing-Hei UVI

The Wycombe Abbey Orchestral Concert 2023

eld at St Mary’s Church in Marylebone, the annual Spring Term Orchestral Concert was once again a huge success. It felt more special than ever before, not only because it was the first School concert held in London since the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because I personally experienced it as both a Clarence soloist and a member of the Symphony and Chamber Orchestra.

storytelling of Faure’s Pelléas et Mélisande by the Symphony Orchestra. Of course, I can’t forget my own performance of the Dvorak-inspired New World Piano Concerto (arranged by my own piano teacher Mr Lenehan), as well as the memorable experience of playing Shostakovich’s Waltz in the combined orchestra, where all the string performers of the night came together as one ensemble.

Both challenging and rewarding, all performances required hours of preparation and dedication, so I am glad all the hard work paid off.

The church was filled with anticipation and excitement. Lucinda (UVI) led with a trumpet concerto by Haydn, then Claudia (UVI) sang an operatic aria from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. After Chamber Orchestra’s exciting performance of Britten’s Simple Symphony, Sinfonia played an extravagant dance by Dvorak. The night continued with Iris (UVI) performing an exhilarating violin concerto by Khachaturian, Wing-Hei (UVI) on violin and Jocelyn (UVI) on Cello in the fiery duet by Handel-Halvorsen, and a touching

All the Clarence soloists were thankful for the opportunity to showcase our talent in front of a live audience, alongside orchestras that provided beautiful accompaniments to our pieces. The feeling of accomplishment set in as the audience erupted into thunderous applause. Both challenging and rewarding, all performances required hours of preparation and dedication, so I am glad all the hard work paid off.

Undoubtedly, I hope the concert was an unforgettable experience for everyone – one that reminded us of the joy that comes from working together as part of an ensemble, as well as the power and beauty of making music. Charmaine UVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Photography Competition

Eleanor, LIV

Mia, UIII

Claire, UIV

Creative Vision

Freya, UIV

Zi, UIV

Abi, LV

Hannah, UIV

Gazette 2022-2023

Photography Competition

Chloe, LV

Alisha, LVI

Creative Vision

Alice, UV

Sylvia, UV

Sky, LV

Nicole, LVI

Rayo, UVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Physical Endeavour

Physical Endeavour A Year in Sport

Performance Programmes

Sports Leaders

House Games

Sports Captains Reports

Lacrosse

Netball

Swimming

Squash

Gymnastics

Athletics

Cross Country

Tennis

Cricket

Dance

Badminton

Rowing

Girls Go Gold

Tennis Tour to Portugal 2023

Gazette 2022-2023

A Year in Sport I

t has been another exciting and challenging year for Sport at Wycombe Abbey. We have updated our Key Stage 3 curriculum to include exciting new units of work focused around inclusion in sport and supporting female athletes. This year we held events such as the Girls Go Gold Conference, the Highlights Dance and Gymnastics Show, our annual Sports Awards, hosted the re-arranged U19C Lacrosse National Championships, boosted our levels of participation with an increased number of recreational clubs and we have had some exceptional performances in regional and national competitions. 2022 – 2023 saw us crowned District Netball Champions at U19, U15A and B, U14B and U12B, as well as both the U19 and U14 qualifying for the Regional round of National Schools. We were crowned County Lacrosse Champions at U19, U15A, U14A, U13A and B and U12A, as well as three pupils gaining their international caps representing U21 Wales, U18 Wales, and U18 Scotland in the recent Home Internationals. We have also had exceptional results in Equestrian, Swimming, Athletics, Sailing and Fencing.

Over the past academic year, the PE Department has run several very successful trips. Pupils in the Fifth Form travelled to Maryland, USA on a Lacrosse Tour to watch the Lacrosse Women’s World Cup and play in the Women’s World Festival. We competed in The Independent Schools’ First Snow Ski Championships and the British Schoolgirls’ Ski Races, both taking place in France, and over the Easter break we took a group of girls to Jay Peak Ski Resort and Boston, USA as well as a group of keen tennis players to a pre-season camp in Portugal. We are excited to be planning trips to South Africa, Canada and Portugal again next year. Mrs Sophie Bryett-Windle Director of Sport

2022 – 2023 saw us crowned District Netball Champions at U19, U15A and B, U14B and U12B, as well as both the U19 and U14 qualifying for the Regional round of National Schools.

Physical Endeavour

Performance Programmes

he updated Performance Programme was launched in September and opened up to the whole School. Following the application process, 51 athletes were invited to join one of the three programme tiers – perform, aspire and develop. Each tier offers different levels of support dependent upon where the athlete is in their sporting journey. To facilitate the physical aspects of the programme’s support, we have welcomed a new full-time Athletic Development Coach to work with our Performance Programme athletes, our Performance teams, and contribute to the overall athletic development of our pupils across the PE curriculum. On the Performance Programme, we have athletes competing across 13 different sports at county, regional, academy and national levels and this year a number of our athletes have joined Talent Pathways in their sport. Our sailors, Allegra (UV), India (LIV) and Pippa (LIV) have all been invited to join the RYA Regional Training groups, with Pippa invited to join the GBR Development Team and India invited to join the GBR racing team. All three have recorded some fantastic results this year: India qualified to compete in the European Championships in July and Pippa qualified for the Foundation Sailing Trophy with the GBR Development Team this summer. Our lacrosse players have been competing for their countries this year – Ginny (UVI) was selected for the Wales U21 squad that played in the Home Internationals in April and travelled to Prague to play in the

European Championships this summer. Megan (LVI) (Wales) and Poppy (LVI) (Scotland) were both selected for their country’s U18 teams that played in the Home Internationals in April and Emily (UV) was offered a trial for the England U20 National Academy in June. Also in April, Serena (LV) won the U15 Big Five South African Golf Open and was placed second in the Midlands U16 girls Amateur Strokeplay Championships organised by England Golf. Annabelle (LV) continues to go from strength to strength in the pool and our riders have competed well this year with Allegra (LV) placing third out of 80 riders at Royal Windsor. Mara (LV) topped the leaderboard to win an Eventing competition in May.

As we move into our next academic year and sporting season, we are looking forward to continuing to support and follow the progress of our current Performance Athletes, as well as welcoming new pupils to the programme. With the updates this year, our programme is in a strong position to support our pupil athletes, through dedicated Strength and Conditioning sessions, in-school lifestyle mentoring and workshops with a leading sport psychologist (Moonshot Series and Performance in Mind), on their journeys to the top of their sports. Mrs Alison Earnshaw-Punnett Head of Sport Performance

Gazette 2022-2023

Sports Leaders Sports Leaders has been a very popular choice this year for our Lower Fifth, with 48 pupils signing up to complete their Level 2 qualification. This has been a huge testament to their commitment, dedication and enjoyment for sport. Each of the leaders have planned and led successful sessions for their peers, alongside

numerous district and community events. The Level 3 course has a smaller cohort, and they have been diligently dedicating their time to completing their volunteering hours with Horizon, a local sports club for young people with disabilities. A big congratulations to our outgoing Level 3 leaders, who have been incredible

advocates for the Sports Leaders qualification and role models for the School.

Sports Captains shoulder numerous responsibilities that contribute to the smooth functioning of the competition. Sports Captains are responsible for assembling their teams by selecting the most suitable athletes from their House. This crucial task demands a keen eye for talent, fairness, and the ability to create a balanced team capable of excelling in various sports disciplines.

different backgrounds to find common ground and develop lasting friendships. For the major Sports within the School (Lacrosse, Netball, Swimming, Cross Country, Tennis and Cricket), pupils compete in House Funals which allow for the whole School to come and support their chosen competitors. For all sports played across the year, including Sports Day, points are accumulated and go towards the coveted House Shield which was given out at the end of the year. This year, the winner was Butler.

Miss Ricki Stevens Teacher of PE

House Games In the realm of School spirit and healthy competition, few events can rival the excitement and camaraderie generated by House Games. This annual interHouse competition sees pupils from the Senior Houses engage in a year-long series of sports tournaments, encouraging teamwork and a sense of belonging. At the heart of this extraordinary event are the dedicated Sports Captains, whose leadership and commitment play a pivotal role in making House Games a resounding success. These exemplary pupil leaders are chosen for their dedication, passion, and ability to inspire their peers. As representatives of their respective Houses,

At the heart of this extraordinary event are the dedicated Sports Captains, whose leadership and commitment play a pivotal role in making House Games a resounding success.

Physical Endeavour

Throughout 2022 - 2023, Houses have competed in a variety of sports such as Football, Trampolining, Rounders and Ultimate Frisbee. These types of competitions have allowed pupils from

Miss Lucy Smith Teacher of PE

Sports Captains Reports Lacrosse Lacrosse in the Spring Term was as fast paced as ever with training and Saturday matches all preparing us for the build-up to National Schools. This eventually led to a busy few days for our teams and coaches who all headed off to Aldershot to participate in the tournament. Our 1st and 2nd teams had some great matches on the Saturday morning but unfortunately the 1st team narrowly missed out on progressing to the Championship. However, the Sunday saw a great effort with the 1st team being crowned Division 1 Champions and the 2nd team reaching the final of Division 2. The U15s played some fantastic lacrosse, progressing through to the Championship Division and narrowly missed out

on reaching the quarter finals and the U13s were also crowned Division 1 Champions. The School had the exciting task of hosting Nationals for the 3rd and 4th teams after the weather cancellations, and it was great to see so many staff and pupils out supporting the teams. The U14s were also rescheduled and unfortunately faced a tough group early in the day so did not progress through to the last 16. It is always a busy term for Lacrosse, but we want to congratulate everyone on all the effort they put in and are proud of the great season we have had this year. Megan and Amelia (LVI) Lacrosse Captains

Netball Netball continues to flourish at Wycombe Abbey as a popular and much enjoyed sport. A high number of girls participate in a range of teams and showed exceptional passion and enthusiasm. Every week there has been a training session and match available for each team, as well as additional shooting practice for anyone who would like to improve. All our teams have done very well in the District Tournaments, with particular praise going to the U12B, U13A, U14B, U15B and U19A teams who all won this competition. In addition, at the County Tournament, the U14s became County Champions and the U19s finished as Runners-up which qualified them for the Regional Round of the National Schools Competition. We would also like to congratulate the U16A who finished in the top eight in the region in the Sisters N Sport National Cup. We are very excited about the next season of Netball and hope that it can be as successful as this season! Anna (LVI) Netball Captain

Gazette 2022-2023

Swimming The Swimming Team has seen great success this year in the pool, with the continuation of Extra Swimming, a strengthened relationship with Wycombe District Swimming Club, and most importantly the efforts of our swimmers in the many galas we entered. We placed 2nd in combined teams in the Wycombe Abbey Invitational Gala. In the ESSA Qualification Gala, juniors placed 1st in both freestyle and medley relays, intermediates placed 1st and 2nd, and seniors placed 2nd and 3rd in the freestyle

and medley relay respectively. Intermediates placed 3rd and combined teams placed 4th overall in the Wycombe Abbey Swimming League. We also entered the Bath Cup and John Nalson Relays, where we placed 6th in the freestyle relay and 3rd in the medley relay, which was a huge achievement for the whole team as this was the best the School has ever done. Grace and Charmaine (LVI) Swimming Captains

Squash Squash at Wycombe Abbey is continuing to grow each year. An environment fostering and encouraging all abilities is what brings so many squash players to squash club, to train and grow their love for the sport. The club is open to all year groups whether that be for those who want to play for leisure or train for matches and towards the national schools’ finals at the end of the year. Squash club on Mondays and Fridays allows pupils from different year groups to interact with each other whilst training and participating in match play as well as improving their technical skills. The growing participation in squash meant that we had many friendly fixtures with the U14A team playing their first ever match against Winchester House and winning. We also entered six teams into the national schools’ tournament, with the U18A team coming 6th in the country and the U14A team placing 2nd in the Plate competition! Well done to all players who represented the School this season! Lara (LVI) Squash Captain

Physical Endeavour

Gymnastics Our Gymnastics Squad has grown significantly over the year with an influx of keen, talented and confident UIIIs, to complement existing members, allowing both the competitive and development teams to flourish. Our first competition of the year was the ISGA 2-Piece in November, where the team placed 3rd overall. The team also demonstrated excellent composure and teamwork at the second competition of the year, ISGA 4-Piece, narrowly missing out on a medal. In March, the whole Squad worked together to develop a group routine for the Highlights Performance. This was

a brilliant opportunity for all our gymnasts to display their hard work over the year and a fabulous way to showcase their talent to the wider School community. The Summer Term was full of new skills and preparations for the Dove Day display where we successfully wowed the crowd once again! Miss Siobhan Clare Resident Tutor

Athletics In Athletics, Wycombe Abbey dominated the County Finals, with the Junior and Inter squads securing an impressive first place, qualifying for the Regional Finals. Wednesday competitions have become a regular highlight, providing our Juniors, Inters, and Seniors with opportunities to perform in a competitive environment and improve their personal bests. Our teams have consistently finished at the top of the league table, demonstrating the success of our athletes as both individuals and as a team. Athletes across all year groups have achieved countless personal bests and school records in training sessions and competitions and have continued to excel throughout the season. With particular recognition going to Monique (UIV) and Mylah (UIII) for their 1500m performances, and Alice (LIV) and Flo (LIV) for their throwing successes. There were a number of great performances at the external competition held at St Mary’s Ascot, preparing lots of our athletes for the Individual Championships on 10 June. It was an excellent day at the Individual Championships, where athletes performed to an exceptional standard. We saw success both on the track, in the pit, and in the throwing cage as Alice (LIV) threw the Hammer as the first Wycombe Abbey Junior. This was a perfect opportunity to practise events as we looked towards the Track and Field Regional Finals on the 19 June. This was a hugely successful day, with the Inters team securing an impressive score and finishing in first place, sending them to the National Finals for the first time in years! The Juniors finished fifth in the County, which is an excellent achievement, with many PBs and great performances on the day. In the summer, the Inters team travelled to the National Finals where they competed against the top athletes in the Country. They performed exceptionally well and showcased their talent on the biggest stage to date. We finished in seventh place overall, which is an incredible achievement and a perfect way to end this Athletics season. A massive thank you to all the coaches who have played a huge part in helping our athletes achieve individual triumphs and remarkable team victories. Liza (LVI) Athletics Captain

Gazette 2022-2023

Cross Country After a challenging, but exciting team performance in the Cross Country Cup during the Autumn Term, we were looking forward to taking a large number of our athletes to compete in the Individual Cross Country Championships in February. The event took place on a challenging course at Stowe, with treacherous hills that put our athletes’ endurance to the test. Among the excellent performances,

Alice (UIII) deserves a special mention as she displayed incredible determination and finished an impressive 10th, securing a spot in the highly anticipated National Finals held in March. Mylah (UIII) also ran an exceptional race, finishing 11th and earning a spot as the first reserve. Alice battled through a muddy course at the National Finals; showing her skill and tenacity and ultimately placing 123rd with

a commendable time of 15 minutes and 8 seconds. We have been very impressed with the dedication of our athletes, as some of them train with our external coach, Alan Hewson, in the winter to prepare for the Cross Country races and Athletics season. Miss Ricki Stevens Teacher of PE

Tennis This year has been an extremely successful one for tennis at Wycombe Abbey, with a particular highlight being the Aberdare Cup team’s performance in the prestigious National Schools’ Finals in the summer of 2022, after winning the group’s stages at County and Regional level. Furthermore, the Senior Tennis Team were Regional finalists, along with the U13 and U15 Division 1 and 2 teams. The competitive nature of tennis was substantiated by the end of year LTA Ranking coming in at 6th in the country – a wonderful achievement. However, there was also plentiful opportunity for recreational tennis, with high numbers of girls from all year groups choosing to play in squad training and friendly matches. Of course, the Tennis experience cannot be fully complete without the Portugal Tennis Training Camp at Easter, this year proving to be as successful as usual with a high standard of play, considerable improvement and bountiful fun! Honor (LVI) Tennis Captain

Physical Endeavour

Cricket Numbers have grown at training across all year groups this season. U12, 13, 14 and U15 have been practising technical batting and bowling as well as match play in their PE lessons and squad training sessions. The senior team recently played the inaugural Cricket Captain’s Challenge Cup against a staff team to finish up the season. The seniors narrowly lost by 4 runs. Cricket has also made its way into the House Games competition, and girls have enjoyed playing in the sun. Other highlights have included matches against Downe House and Beaconsfield CC as well as making great use of the equipment and the nets we have at School. Cricket at Wycombe Abbey will certainly continue to excel. Pip (LVI) Cricket Captain

Gazette 2022-2023

Dance On the last weekend of the Spring Term, over 70 pupils took part in the Highlights 2023 Dance Show. The performances were so special because the girls haven’t been able to put on a Highlights show for several years due to the pandemic. All year groups were involved, with performers ranging in the ages from 11 to 18. Our four Dance Captains from the Upper Sixth each choreographed their own pieces and led rehearsals from October. The audience watched several solos, duets and group

Badminton The Badminton Club has attracted many more players of all levels throughout the year. The courts are regularly utilised, often at full capacity, with members practising during their weekly sessions. The team spirit is high, with pupils enthusiastically playing with various age groups. The girls form their own teams and compete in a friendly environment. So far, most of the competitions have been within School. Starting from September 2023, the plan is to increase friendly inter-school competitions and increase participation even more. Gabrielle (LVI) Badminton Captain

Physical Endeavour

pieces choreographed by the dance teachers. The pieces included many different dance styles, including ballet, tap, modern, contemporary and street dance. We hope that the success of the show encourages other pupils to take up dance during their time at Wycombe Abbey. Isabella (LVI) Dance Captain

Rowing Since September, the numbers at rowing have been steadily increasing, with Monday land training sessions at full capacity. The rowing machines in the gym have also proven to be popular and are often in use. Water sessions have been taking place every Saturday, with added Wednesday sessions starting up again in the Summer Term. This year we have really been focusing on our technique whilst also dedicating specific sessions to endurance and sprint training. We are hoping that these fundamental skills will lead us to become a competitive team in which we can start entering competitions. The growth in the team this year has been great to see, and I am really looking forward to the season ahead. Stay oar-some! Kate (LVI) Rowing Captain

This year we have really been focusing on our technique whilst also dedicating specific sessions to endurance and sprint training.

Gazette 2022-2023

Girls Go Gold

t the beginning of the School year the grounds were busy with sporting activities, talks and lectures as Wycombe Abbey hosted 26 schools and over 400 staff and pupils at the annual GSA Girls Go Gold conference. Girls from schools across the GSA community were invited to take part in numerous sporting activities and attend lectures. Sixty Wycombe Abbey pupils attended the whole conference, but all pupils in Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth were also invited to attend the keynote speakers. Sue Anstiss, co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective, gave an inspirational and thought-provoking talk on The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport; taking us through a brief history of women’s sport and posing questions that challenged the audience. Girls came away asking ‘Why?’ ‘How?’ and ‘what do we do next?’. Professor Greg Whyte, Olympian and Sports Scientist, examined some key physiological differences between men and women and how these differences impact athletes’ sporting potential and abilities. Greg also shared stories from his work with Comic and Sports Relief. He has assisted with 37 different challenges since 2006 and helped to raise over £60million for charity. He is a true inspiration for the pupils. Greg’s message to the girls was that nothing is impossible if you prepare well, train effectively and have the right support around you, something that we strive to achieve at Wycombe Abbey for all our pupils and staff.

Away from the keynote speakers, pupils were treated to a carousel of practical activities and seminars which continued to challenge them in a range of skills and concepts from a rugby session to a lecture on TV sports presenting. The conference closed with a panel discussion and questions from the audience. This part could have continued well into the evening with the girls eager to find out more from the experienced and impressive array of presenters. Questions were asked about the path taken to get into their current job role, what lessons they have learnt throughout their careers and what advice they would pass on to the next generation. One message that was repeated by all was that our pupils and this generation of female athletes have an exciting path ahead of them. Sport is changing; female athletes are receiving professional contracts, technology is developing, the need for sports scientists is ever expanding, equality in major sporting competitions is regularly being raised and discussions around clothing, figure and the female body are becoming more commonplace and accepted. We were excited to host this event, and hope that this has inspired all the young women in our community to continue to develop their passion and love of all that sport has to offer. Mrs Fiona Gee Girls Go Gold Event Coordinator and Assistant Director of Sport

Physical Endeavour

Tennis Tour to Portugal 2023

ith a focus of developing our tennis skills, practising our teamwork and making memories, 32 Wycombe Abbey pupils and five members of the PE Department had the luxury of staying at the Ria Park Hotel and playing tennis at the Vale do Lobo Tennis Academy for a week in the Easter holidays.

A particular highlight was watching two pupils, Imogen and Emily, play an exhibition match against another touring school. They won the tie break 10-4!

Every day started with a brisk walk from the hotel to the Tennis Academy centre, with a focus to beat our record walk time and securing 10:05 minutes on the last day of the Tour. Once we arrived at the Tennis Academy centre, under the guidance of their skilled coaches at 5 Star Tennis, the players took to the courts with unmatched enthusiasm and determination. The girls started their morning with a supreme body and skills warm up, demonstrating their athleticism in fun drills whilst being hyped up by a fantastic music playlist.

During our down time in between tennis sessions, we offered the girls different opportunities to spend their time. We relaxed around the hotel pool, played a competitive game of beach rounders and indulged in a sweet treat at Maria’s Beach Restaurant. In the evenings, we had a variety of activities, including a quiz and talent show, with every night ending with a ‘Hotel Order’.

Each day, a different skill was focused on to help girls to develop consistency in their tennis. Serves started each match with power and assertiveness, our newly steady groundstrokes helped to keep a rally going, and we attacked each rally with intention through the well-executed volleys, smashes and lobs. At the end of the week, the girls played a doubles tournament with a partner of a similar ability, matched and paired by the coaches after the tennis they watched throughout the tour.

As our tour drew to a close, it was evident that the impact extended far beyond the tennis courts. The pupils connected both on and off the courts, celebrating not only the sport of tennis but also the development of their skills that can be used across a variety of sports and the growth of friendships across different year groups. The pupils returned home with a renewed passion for the game, excited to bring their new skills into match play against their peers in both lessons and fixtures. Miss Lucy Smith Teacher of PE

Gazette 2022-2023

Developing Confidence

Developing Confidence Co-curricular Activities and Trips 2022-2023

Pupils ‘Run the World’ for Two Days

Wycombe Management Conference 2023

Communications Conference

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Upper Fifth visit the Trenches

Ski Trip to Vermont, USA

Wycombe Abbey Conservationists Visit Peru

Excellent Results for Greenpower Society

Highlights from a Year in the Careers Department

Work Experience: an Opportunity to Work with our Local Community

Wycombe Abbey Pupils Celebrate Women of the Future

Medical Conference at Wycombe Abbey

Public Speaking at Wycombe Abbey

Chess at Wycombe Abbey is Thriving

Debating at Wycombe Abbey

Wycombe Abbey Pupil wins Atherton Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit

Flourishing@Wycombe

Gazette 2022-2023

Highlights were the mobile planetarium for the Astrology Society, a dance class with the Indian Society, a drumming band for the African Society and a rug making masterclass with the Art Society. to the historic Rock Soc concerts with Harrow and the Caledonian Society balls with Eton College, Fifth Form can look forward to regular annual social events with Eton and Radley once again.

Co-curricular Activities and Trips 2022-2023 S

eptember saw the launch of our Co-curricular Activities and Opportunities brochure. This document shares how each element of our programme links to our School values, vital when reflecting on the importance of such activities throughout the School journey in preparation for the future. The School recognises the power of the soft skills developed through co-curricular activities, which was the area of focus for the annual Prep Head’s Lunch presentation which took place in June. This focus emphasises the understanding we have of activities outside the classroom being a fundamental part of academic success.

Pupil led societies continue to be popular and the inaugural ‘Societies’ Sunday’ received a positive response and will become an annual event. It was a chance for societies to re-engage pupils and for girls to experience a number of different sessions to decide whether to become a regular member or simply enjoy a one-off session and explore something new. 28 sessions were held across the site, many of which were run by pupils and linked staff or pupils had requested additional budget for a specific activity or speaker. Highlights were the mobile planetarium for the Astrology Society, a dance class with the Indian Society, a drumming band for the African Society and a rug making masterclass with the Art Society. Societies

Developing Confidence

for British Sign Language, Feminism, Film, Chemistry and Body Positivity have been created this year, demonstrating the broad range of pupil interests and appetite for exploration and group discussion. A revamped Socials calendar has been created. Lower Fourth enjoyed their first social opportunity with Ludgrove School, who hosted us for a dinner and disco and returned the following term to join us for a competitive quiz night! Following the Lower Sixth Management Conference, a black tie Summer Ball was enjoyed with RGS High Wycombe. Outdoor crazy golf, air hockey and a live DJ were highlights of the evening and this partnership will continue for future years. In addition

Weekends are special in a boarding school community. They give the opportunity to relax and have fun with friends in our School grounds, boarding houses or visit exciting places locally. The introduction of themed Saturday nights in Houses have been a highlight with hampers delivered filled with treats for evening entertainment such as pamper items, jewellery making, art projects, sweet treats and cultural themes. Girls demonstrated their poetry, singing and grass blowing skills at an open-mic night, giving the opportunity for some casual performances in a relaxed atmosphere to showcase upcoming performers. Some Sixth Form finished the year with a certificate in self-defence having completed a course across a few weekends following their request. We have enjoyed making the most of our beautiful School site with the introduction of outdoor giant board games, swing ball and badminton sets scattered around at the request of the pupils as well as another popular ‘Camp Out’ in tents. The games sets have been enjoyed throughout the summer for relaxation and revision breaks! Our rolling residential and academic day trips programme has gathered momentum following the post-Covid relaunch. All ages have had the chance to attend overseas residentials with highlights being modern language homestays in Salamanca, ski racing in Flaine, conservation along the Peruvian Amazon, recreational skiing in America, a

Pupils ‘Run the World’ for Two Days cross-curricular Jersey experience, outdoor education in Dorset, science in Japan, Iceland geography sightseeing and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. The return of House Outings has been welcomed across the year groups, with Lower Sixth Mons helping to plan end of term House treats such as go karting, theatre trips, meals out and Thames River cruises. It is during events such as these where memories are made which will stay with the girls for years to come. Our programme allows every pupil the chance to try something new and exciting whether it is linked to a current area of interest or placing them far from their comfort zones. No one participates in co-curricular activities without making mistakes as that is a natural part of improving any skill. With careful reflection, this can boost confidence and resilience, supporting everyone through the highs and lows of any challenge, whether in the classroom or outside. Challenge yourself, enjoy the process, have fun and keep going! Miss Hannah Lowther Head of Co-curricular Activities and Trips

Esteemed Chair, fellow delegates… Let us celebrate the success of WASAMUN 2023!

ycombe Abbey’s Annual Model United Nations Conference showcased the excellence of our Fifth and Sixth Form MUN delegates.

On 20 – 21 January 2023, 170 pupils from eight schools (Harrow School, Dulwich College, Reading Blue Coat School, Wetherby Senior School, Oakham School, RGS High Wycombe, Norwich School and Wycombe Abbey) congregated at our home conference and spent two days emulating committee consultations of the United Nations. Each pupil, representing a diplomat from a different UN country, engaged in a series of high-level debates across the weekend and worked alongside each other to discuss world issues and come to peaceful solutions. Matters on the agenda included current and historical disputes concerning disarmament and international security, human rights, and pressing issues for the Security Council. Alongside enriching and stimulating committee sessions, delegates enjoyed the social events of the weekend. Pupils mingled at a mocktail drinks reception, followed by a Diplomat Dinner on Friday, then danced the evening away at a black-tie Highland Ball. Delegates networked over a formal lunch on Saturday and listened to the inspiring words of the Secretary General, Argia (UVI), at the WASAMUN Closing Ceremony. The weekend was a wonderful opportunity to develop knowledge of important issues in our world, to enhance life skills in research and communication, and to make lifelong friends. WASAMUN 2023 was a triumph thanks to the pupils involved who demonstrated diplomacy, integrity and passion throughout. Miss Lauren Monteil MUN Coordinator and Head of Psychology

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Management Conference 2023

n the first two days of March, the Lower Sixth participated in the Wycombe Management Conference hosted at School. Together with RGS High Wycombe, we were able to have a taste of the world of entrepreneurship and business management by running our own ‘businesses’ and tackling real life obstacles along the way. Each team consisted of both Wycombe Abbey and Royal Grammar School pupils, working tirelessly together to maximise profits while keeping worker and customer satisfaction high. This goal was easier said than done as we put our heads together to attempt to solve the endless stream of challenges coming our way.

Over the course of the conference, we also had the opportunity to listen to engaging speeches by our keynote speakers, who consolidated their combined decades of experience into invaluable lessons to learn from. Lord Bilimoria shared his story of building Cobra Beer from the ground up – a journey that was far from easy and required resilience, a good team and a great deal of luck. Peter Higgins followed this with practical advice on becoming an entrepreneur, sharing his thought processes and business strategies while setting up Charles Tyrwhitt with his business partner. Finally, a Wycombe Abbey Senior, Catherine Wyman (C291, Wendover, 2014) spoke about the company she works in, The Technology Partnership (TTP), and her exciting work in developing cutting-edge solutions for the challenges in eyecare. Having gone to Cambridge after graduating from Wycombe Abbey, she was part of the Royal Air Force as an Officer Cadet, before joining TTP and becoming the Head of Eyecare - a career journey I found particularly interesting. The Mentors must also be thanked for their compelling answers in the panel discussion and advice during the simulation. They have played a key role in being the eighth member of our 26 teams. Having been on the winning team of the conference, I can safely say that we had our fair share of struggles to deal with, but we reaped the benefits of our hard work. Although no one in the team had any experience in managing a business before, we trusted our gut instinct, as well as each other, in making decisions under pressure. We all displayed the crucial skill of being able to express our thoughts coherently and listening to each other’s opinions, before deciding our next move. Our score card over the four quarters of the

Developing Confidence

I believe that the conference has prepared us by equipping us with the skills we would need in the future. simulation clearly showed that we had ups and downs in terms of decision making, but we managed to learn from our mistakes each time and improve to eventually place first on the score card. Being faced with unfamiliar situations will be a familiar position in our daily lives – after all, uncertainty is the only certainty there is. With so many of us hoping to become entrepreneurs ourselves, or to pursue a career in the business world, we have now learnt the importance of collaboration in unfamiliar situations. I believe that the conference has prepared us by equipping us with the skills we would need in the future. Before long, our generation will rise to take the place of those we currently emulate. No matter the job we hold in the future, be it a conventional or unconventional career path, we have all learnt much from the Management Conference. A special thanks to all the members of staff from Wycombe Abbey and RGS High Wycombe for making this event possible through their tireless planning. We look forward to becoming mentors ourselves, sharing our stories and remembering the days we attended ManCon, in the years to come. Chloe LVI

Communications Conference I

n the first few weeks of the Lower Sixth, we had the opportunity to experience the Wycombe Abbey Communications Conference. Our day began with an introduction from professional journalists Chris Maughan and Emma Nelson, who gave us invaluable advice on how to navigate the world of media – whether it be taking part in live TV interviews or dealing with a Twitter crisis. We were given advice and tips that would only be offered to professionals elsewhere and everyone listened with intent, furiously scribbling every word to help us with the afternoon’s task – a live simulation! With the year group split across 13 teams, we stepped into the role of running the Communications Office for an ice-cream company called ‘The Fabulous Cow’, Thrown into a live simulation and being told we’d need to tackle a number of different PR crises, groups began navigating the advanced technology that we had been supplied with to make the immersive experience more realistic. We split our groups into three, with pairs assigned to tackling Twitter, emails and messages from angry companies and customers

threatening to tarnish our company’s reputation. Teamwork was required to keep on top of the seemingly never-ending tasks, and although at times it felt stressful, it kept us all on our toes as we wondered what the next crisis would be. In the afternoon we took part in simulated TV interviews, with professional camera crews and equipment, and individual feedback from the journalists themselves. I can truthfully say that it was one of the best days I have had at Wycombe Abbey. A much-loved activity for my year group, there were many good things to be said about this day, with praise such as ‘Being able to hear about such a relevant and important subject regarding the media and journalism first-hand was invaluable’ and ‘I’m certain I will use the skills I obtained in the near future’, Overall, all Lower Sixth are extremely grateful for such a brilliant opportunity. Laila LVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Duke of Edinburgh Award

ur DofE provision has continued to flourish with our expeditions almost back to normal post Covid-19. Congratulations to Jasmine, Hana and Zara (UVI) who have all completed their Gold Award this year. Zara and Hana collected their Gold Award from Buckingham Palace. By coincidence, Miss Blunt was there as her father was being presented with a special DofE award for long service.

Bronze Qualifying expedition, June 2023 Despite the hot weather, DofE was still an enjoyable experience where we all bonded and learnt new skills which we could use in the future, for example, reading maps and cooking our dinner using trangias. Although there were a couple of nettle stings and bug bites, we kept ourselves entertained by singing acapella. Near the end of our journey, we were hit with a thunderstorm which was a pleasant surprise, especially after the scorching hot weekend we had. Overall, the DofE expedition was an amazing way to get out and spend time with friends and I would recommend those in younger years to take part. Many thanks to Ms Strange for organising the trip along with all the other staff. Kate LV

Going for Gold in Yorkshire, Easter 2023 Thirty girls who have all been working towards their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award this year returned from an exciting expedition in the breath-taking Yorkshire Dales. The trip to Yorkshire took place over four days and three nights, during which time the participants hiked over 50 kilometres, carrying all their necessary supplies and camping gear. The challenging terrain and unpredictable weather conditions were a true test of their endurance, navigation skills, and teamwork.

Developing Confidence

Both the assessed groups passed their assessment with flying colours and the four practice groups successfully completed their training and practice expedition. The expedition got off to a great start as the stunning scenery of the Dales, including rolling hills, limestone cliffs, and sparkling waterfalls, provided a welcome distraction from the physical demands of the journey. Along the way, the girls had the opportunity to develop their navigation skills, using maps and compasses to find their way across the challenging terrain. They also learned important camping skills, such as setting up tents and cooking meals. Moreover, when the girls encountered challenges, such as being circled by a herd of rams or only being able to see several metres in front of them due to the severe weather, they were able to persevere and finish their expedition with a smile on their face. The Gold DofE trip was an incredible experience for everyone involved. A huge thank you to Mr Porter who organised this trip and all the staff who accompanied the girls: Ms Strange, Dr Dawber, Mr Woods, Mr Simonot, Ms Clarke, Mr Chilton, Mr Haughton and our two external volunteers - Mrs Ward and Mr Abbott. Liza LVI

We are sorry that Mrs Werren has left School this year as she has been our DofE Award Verifier – quietly working in the background to verify awards. Mr Adrian Porter DofE Manager and Gold Co-ordinator and Head of Computer Science

Upper Fifth visit the Trenches

he ‘Trenches Trip’, as it is affectionately known, is a Wycombe Abbey institution, with many Seniors often saying it is one of their favourite memories of their time at School. After an unwelcome disruption of several years due to the pandemic, September 2022 saw the return of this beloved trip, with 102 pupils and staff visiting the battlefields and memorials of Belgium and France. After mustering at 4:30am, two coaches set off for Ypres in Belgium, led by our favourite guides from Anglia Tours. Day one saw pupils exploring a German trench system, visiting Essex Farm where McCrae was inspired to write In Flanders Fields, and Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest Commonwealth war grave in the world. That evening, after a much-deserved visit to a Belgian chocolate shop, eight girls took part in the poignant Menin Gate ceremony, laying wreaths on behalf of Wycombe Abbey.

On day two we set out for the Somme. Groups walked across noman’s land to wait in the sunken lane before setting forth for the summit of Hawthorn Ridge, home to a huge crater caused by an exploding mine on 1 July 1916. One coach headed to Ulster Tower, while the other visited Newfoundland Memorial Park. Both ended up at the Thiepval Memorial, taking part in an act of remembrance before doing what the men listed on the memorial could never do: return home. Mr Neill George Head of History

Gazette 2022-2023

Ski Trip to Vermont, USA

uring the Easter holidays 39 pupils and six members of staff embarked on a trip across the Atlantic for sightseeing in Boston, skiing in Vermont and shopping in New Hampshire. The trip started in Boston as we started our sightseeing by following the Black Heritage Trail, spotting landmarks crucial to the abolitionist movement. Highlights including the Lewis and Harriet Hayden’s underground railroad safe house and the John Coburn safe house. We then continued to follow the Freedom Trail, seeing the site of the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party. Many girls were excited by this as they have been studying the American Revolution in their UIV History studies. The tour ended at the impressive U.S.S. Constitution warship where the girls learnt about life on the ship and the history behind it.

Developing Confidence

After Boston, we travelled up to Jay Peak Ski Resort in Vermont. Over the next few days girls enjoyed either learning to ski for the first time, or perfecting their skills in advanced lessons. In the evenings, girls took part in many activities such as an ice hockey match, an indoor waterpark, quizzes, karaoke and many lovely dinners. To end the trip we held a mini prize giving with the following girls being recognised for their achievements over the week: Spirit of the Mountain - Maya Most Fun Moment - Dottie Most Adventurous - Amelie Most Improved - Ava T Queen of the Mountain - Ava B Mrs Fiona Gee Assistant Director of Sport

After Boston, we travelled up to Jay Peak Ski Resort in Vermont. Over the next few days girls enjoyed either learning to ski for the first time, or perfecting their skills in advanced lessons.

Wycombe Abbey Conservationists Visit Peru

ver the Easter break, a group of 11 Lower Sixth pupils travelled to the city of Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazonian province of Loretto. Flight delays meant that we immediately transferred from the airport to our home for the next 12 days; a boat moored in a channel off the main Rio Amazonas. The aim of the expedition was to collect biodiversity data that supports the conservation work carried out by the local indigenous community.

forest. We monitored the populations of mammals and game birds, recording those seen on the trail as well as setting up camera traps. The final survey was to record the variety of lizards found in the

Highlights included catching piranhas, spotting sloths, and paddling a canoe along the channel.

Pupils, staff and our guide, lived on the boat and carried out multiple surveys between the hours of 6:00am and 11:00pm. Smaller auxiliary boats were used to study the populations of fish, birds, dolphins, fishing bats, frogs, and caiman. Highlights included catching piranhas, spotting sloths, and paddling a canoe along the channel.

forest. We were left in wonder by the skill of the guides as they spotted these small animals, camouflaged on the trees.

The land-based surveys meant braving the ever-present mosquitoes and entering the

Alongside this work, we had lectures exploring the ecology of the Amazon and

the development of community-based conservation in the area. It was also interesting how the research group had been investing in green energy to lower their impact on the environment. We also had the privilege to visit three local villages to learn about their life and how they sustainably use the forest for food and other raw materials. These visits also featured a football match and dancing with the children, followed by a craft market. The pupils on the trip must be praised for their resilience and good nature, particularly when dealing with delays in our travel plans. Mr Matthew Whiteley Teacher of Biology

Gazette 2022-2023

Excellent Results for Greenpower Society

hroughout the year, Greenpower Society has been filled with success and exciting opportunities. We started the year off with a triumphant victory at Dunsfold in September, where we proudly claimed the trophy and secured gold medals for Best Kit Car in the categories for participants aged over 16. This achievement and the overall performance last season earned both of our cars a spot at the International Finals held at the renowned Goodwood motor circuit. It was an extraordinary opportunity for our two youngest drivers in UIII, as they got to navigate a large track for the very first time! Back at School, as part of Societies Sunday, we organised a driving session that proved to be a tremendous success, attracting numerous new members eager to take the wheel. We set up a tight circuit on the tennis courts at Daws Hill, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. In the workshop, our focus this year has been dedicated to restoring our oldest car, Phoenix. After stripping the car to its basic frame, we skilfully constructed a more aerodynamic car body, decorated with an awesome hand-painted fireball design. In addition, remarkable progress has been made in our newest project: the creation of an entirely new car from scratch.

Developing Confidence

Through meticulous planning, sawing, filing, and riveting, we have successfully created the essential framework of the car’s main body. We are eagerly looking forward to continuing our work on the project! Next year, we hope to gain company sponsorship for our team and create a website to showcase who we are, what we do, and our achievements. Overall, the year has been filled with notable achievements and exciting prospects for the future of Greenpower Society. Alisha LVI

Highlights from a Year in the Careers Department

ur aim in the Careers Department, is to encourage and inspire pupils as they consider the variety of options open to them in their future careers. This year, we have hosted a range of speakers at our various events, organised work experience placements, facilitated workplace insight day opportunities and ensured access for all our Upper Fifth pupils to independent careers advice. Always a highlight of our calendar, we were particularly delighted to hold our annual Careers Seminar event in person this year, for the first time since 2019. On a November evening, we welcomed 23 different speakers, including Seniors, parents and local professionals to share a meal and then speak to pupils about their career journeys – the highs and the lows! Pupils from Upper Fifth to Upper Sixth were able to choose two different talks to attend. A huge variety of careers were represented, with speakers from the UK Space Agency, Investment Bankers, Entrepreneurs, Diplomats, Medics, Architects and a whole host of others in between. Pupils, staff and speakers alike enjoyed the chance to come together and discuss the career possibilities. In addition to the Careers Seminar, we have also enjoyed hosting Career Spotlight evenings over the course of the year. These smaller, more focused evenings are optional for pupils to attend and ensure plenty of time for questions and discussion. We began the year with a focus on Modern

Languages to tie in with the European Day of Languages in September. Other evenings across the year have focused on Classics and Geography. Seniors continue to play a big part in our careers programme and we are always grateful to those who are so willing to come back and give their time and advice to inspire future generations. We are thankful to be developing relationships with several local organisations that kindly accept our pupils on work experience placements. Placement venues included care homes, a special needs playgroup, a hospice and a local nursery school. We have very much enjoyed the opportunity to give back to some of these organisations over the course of the year. More information about our work experience is on page 78. Getting out to visit workplaces is really important and we aim to facilitate as many visits as we can across the year. A highlight was a group of girls attending the Women of the Future Ambassador’s Reception in London. This annual event was attended by over 100 female ambassadors and aims to inspire girls alongside providing plenty of opportunity to network and the chance to gain advice during a CV surgery. In June, a group of five pupils attended an Introduction to Medicine Day at the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust – this day offered the chance to gain some real insights into life as a Medic.

In addition to in-person events and activities, we are constantly in touch with pupils to offer a whole range of virtual experiences and opportunities. We have recently seen pupils taking part in live online career challenges with organisations such as Digdata and Morgan Stanley. These opportunities allow pupils to experience a real-life challenge and to receive feedback. Throughout the year we also welcome external experts into School. In the Autumn Term all of our Upper Fifth pupils have the opportunity to attend a 1:1 meeting with an independent careers’ advisor, we also offer communications skills workshops, enterprise challenge days and advice and guidance on writing CVs. We also continue to work with a variety of Seniors and parents to organise individual work experience placements during the School holidays. There is always something happening and it’s wonderful to nurture the ambition of our pupils as they look towards their futures. Mrs Alison Kiln Head of Economics and Enterprise and Head of Careers

Gazette 2022-2023

Work Experience: an Opportunity to Work with our Local Community

ince the pandemic, the Careers Department has been working hard to ensure pupils can once again access vital, in-person work experience opportunities, enabling them to gain insights and real-world encounters as they consider their future career options. We are grateful to the network of Seniors and parents who often assist us with facilitating these opportunities. Work experience is particularly key to the application process for pupils hoping to study Medicine. Over the past two years, we have been delighted both to establish new partnerships, and also to renew some existing relationships, with a variety of local organisations. Our LVI pupils hoping to apply to study Medicine now have the opportunity to attend weekly, local work experience placements allowing them to gain valuable, in-person experience in different settings. Our local work experience hosts include care homes, a hospice, a special needs playgroup and a nursery school. Staff at these organisations kindly give their time to support our pupils over the course of the year. To grow these relationships and enable our pupils to show their appreciation, we have begun a series of visits to support our partners. To date, these have included providing musical entertainment at two of the care homes and organising an art workshop at the nursery school. These initiatives are pupilled and a wonderful opportunity to thank our placements hosts. We have also been able to donate a piano to one care home, enabling both residents and staff to enjoy the gift of music. 'Thank you so much for the piano! That really is very kind of you. It’s getting lots of love and many of our carers play each day to the residents. It’s been wonderful hearing music throughout the day.' Work experience supervisors have some very positive comments to share about our pupils and the girls attending these placements find the experience hugely beneficial. This is reflected in some wonderful feedback we received from a hospice patient earlier this year:

Developing Confidence

‘This week the participants [in Chair Yoga] were treated to something rather special. Last week, Ariel had noticed that the room we exercise in had a piano. So instead of listening to our teacher’s usual playlist Ariel played the piano for us instead, and wow, what an amazing talent she has! I can’t believe the energy and time she put into it, to make it all come together. She played for the whole hour and it was beautiful - I

Over the past two years, we have been delighted both to establish new partnerships, and also to renew some existing relationships, with a variety of local organisations.

noticed all the staff members even came to listen behind the glass doors, it was a very special moment, and really made my day. Please can you send my gratitude and heartfelt thanks again to the two girls, Ariel in particular for her beautiful impromptu piano ‘concert’. What a wonderful, unselfish thing to do.’ We look forward to organising more placements and visits and express grateful thanks to our work experience partners: Ryeview Manor Care Home, Shelburne Lodge Care Home, Butterfly House Hospice, Marlow Opportunity Playgroup and Bowerdean Nursery School. If you would like more information or to offer a work experience opportunity, please contact me by emailing scottb@wycombeabbey.com Mrs Becky Scott Careers Administrator

Wycombe Abbey Pupils Celebrate Women of the Future

n 23 May, we attended the Annual Reception for the Women of the Future Foundation at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Women of the Future is an informal community of influential women determined not only to build professional and personal relationships with one another, but to be advocates for an exciting new generation of business leadership talent. Upon arrival, we thoroughly enjoyed a private tour of the Lord’s Museum and the Pavilion. It was fascinating to learn about the history of cricket and particular individuals who have had a profound impact on the sport. We particularly enjoyed listening to a talk from the founder, Pinky Lilani CBE, who empathised with the message of showing kindness in all future paths and actions. Also, we listened to talks from Joana Baptista (business analyst at Mckinsey), Carlotta Zorzi (Shopify), Varinda Kooner (Senior Manager at TSB), Cheryl McCuaig (Chief Information Officer at TSB), Kate Miller (Chief Communications Officer for England and Wales Cricket Board) and Toni Thorne (Vice President at JP Morgan). We found these talks uplifting and empowering as we all start to consider our future careers. In the latter part of the event, there was an ambassador networking event with over 100 Women of the Future representatives. They came to discuss their professions and routes to their careers which was extremely inspiring. We particularly enjoyed talking to women working in the public sector, finance, and journalism and it has encouraged us to look into other opportunities too. We found the networking and CV surgery incredibly useful and insightful. Thank you very much to Mrs Kiln and Mrs Scott for organising the event. We all look forward to hearing about their future events in addition to telling others about this empowering foundation for women. Anna, MJ and Amaya LVI

Medical Conference at Wycombe Abbey

ycombe Abbey recently held the annual Medical Conference with Harrow and Radley. The evening consisted of an excellent standard of medical presentations from all schools, followed by a lovely dinner. It was fascinating to learn about a variety of topics presented in such great depth and with much passion. The evening started off with drinks and introductions and then the presentations commenced with two speakers from each school. Radley covered the topics of acute strokes and potential Alzheimer’s treatment, with Harrow discussing calcification and anaesthesia. The talks were engaging, detailed and intriguing. From Wycombe Abbey, Kamilla and Ari offered passionate talks on placebo and sickle cell anaemia in great depth. All presenters answered the audience’s challenging questions with composure, and a big well done to those who participated. Congratulations to Radley’s winning presentation on strokes. It was an invaluable opportunity for pupils to come together and collectively discuss our passion for medicine and science. Amelie UVI

Gazette 2022-2023

Public Speaking at Wycombe Abbey

he ability to speak to an audience is a skill which all our pupils are likely to require at some point throughout their life. We place great emphasis on the development of oral skills in our pupils, and the Debating and Public Speaking Society is one such avenue through which we encourage this. In our weekly Monday training sessions, alongside developing the argumentative skills required for debating, we work on the core skills required to present effectively. This could be analysing speech structure and signposting, incorporating rhetorical devices, or just developing the confidence to stand up in front of an audience. There is also a dedicated Junior session for the UIIIs to build up their confidence speaking in front of others before they join the senior sessions. This term, we entered the two English Speaking Union competitions: ESU Mace and ESU Churchill. ESU Churchill is a public speaking competition in which teams of three prepare a five-minute persuasive speech, whilst also chairing and questioning a speaker from another team. We entered two teams this year, Cice (LV), Abila (LV) and Aubrey (LV), and Mable (UIV), Catherine (UIV) and

Annika (UIV). Cice made an emotive and impassioned speech about returning the Elgin marbles to the Parthenon in Greece; and Mable gave a weighty and vivid speech on the impermissibility of torture. Both teams received high praise by the judges and progressed to Round Two of the competition where they then progressed to the Regional Final. ESU Mace is a hybrid debating/public speaking competition in which teams of three prepare speeches for a long form debate on a prereleased topic. This term, Mia (LVI), Lily (LVI) and Megan (LVI) spoke in favour of banning the use of digital manipulation in all forms of advertising. The team were highly commended by the judges and progressed through to Round Two which was held at School. Well done to all our pupils who have challenged themselves to speak to an audience this term, we look forward to seeing many more speeches in the new year! Mr Alec Howells Teacher i/c of Debating and Public Speaking

Chess at Wycombe Abbey is Thriving

ycombe Abbey Chess Club continues to thrive and had its first-ever fixture this year; an away match against Eton College. As the team set off with nine pupils from Lower Fourth to Upper Fifth, there was excitement and nerves about playing against a different school. For many, it was their first over-the-board tournament. The match started well for Wycombe Abbey, with a Captain’s performance from Emma leading to an early victory. Following this, there were wins from Annabelle and Isabelle, putting the team in a 3-0 lead. However, things gradually evened out, and

by the end of the second round of matches, Eton had achieved a narrow 9.5-6.5 victory. Despite the result, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and hard-fought fixture, with many games that could have gone either way. To complement the Chess fixtures and inspire the team, we welcomed Chess Grandmaster, Malcolm Pein, to School for a Chess Simul. We also invited our fellow competitors from Eton College and saw a very fun and enriching evening for everyone. Malcolm played around 20 games simultaneously, and though he beat the majority of pupils, Co-Head of Chess Society, Emma (LVI), managed to trap his queen and he was forced to resign! The evening ended with a brief talk on the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chess, where Malcolm kindly shared his experience working with both Kasparov and Deep Blue as well as his first-hand interaction playing with AlphaZero. Co-Head of Chess Society Megan (LVI) said, ‘Seeing chess become not only increasingly popular as a game but also as a medium for discussions about technology is amazing. As Heads of the Society, Emma and I will be organising more events in the next academic year to further promote the game to more pupils.' Mr David Vaccaro Director of Learning and Innovation

Developing Confidence

Debating at Wycombe Abbey

ebating has become a very popular extra-curricular pursuit at Wycombe Abbey, with our weekly Monday training sessions now needing to spread across several rooms to fit everyone in! Pupils are learning to argue a motion from any side of the debate, whether they personally agree with it or not. Skills-based sessions focus on developing key competencies such as point-generation, signposting, and rebuttal, whilst practice debates give pupils a chance to bring this all together. Regardless of the focus of a session, priority is put on everyone getting a chance to stand up, take the floor, and speak in front of others. It is no secret that speaking to an audience for the first time can be very intimidating. Junior Debating is a dedicated session for UIII, in which pupils can build up their confidence speaking in front of others, whilst also gaining a grounding in all the core competencies before they join the senior sessions. We are excited to be expanding our provision to introduce a dedicated session for Sixth Form and more advanced debaters. An exciting part of debating is taking part in the many competitions on the UK school debating circuit. The type of competition we most frequently enter follows the British Parliamentary style. Debaters compete in teams of two and for each debate are assigned a role to play: proposition or opposition; opening or closing half. The motion is released 15 minutes before the debate begins, meaning there is very limited time to prepare for the five-minute speeches each debater must give advocating their side. To make things even more challenging, teams are

not allowed to access any resources in this time beyond their own brains! In November, we entered the LSE Juniors and LSE Seniors competitions; run by the London School of Economics SU Debating Society. Each competition was a full day of debating, consisting of four rounds and a final. Teams debated motions on topics as varied as whether proselytization should be permissible, whether fiction should always be published anonymously, and whether the payment of ransoms should be prohibited. All our debaters did themselves proud, persevering throughout a long day and significantly developing their skills. We were delighted to see several successes recognised. In LSE Juniors, Yvonne (LIV) broke through to the Gold Final, placing in the top four teams, whilst Maya (LV) and Priyasha (LV) ranked joint 10th best speakers in the competition. In LSE Seniors, Neda (LV) and Celina (LV) emerged victorious as Novice Champions.

In the Spring Term, five teams took part in the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD), this year organised by the Cambridge Union. A range of debating topics were covered throughout the day, from whether we should establish quotas for women in parliament to whether we should ban zoos. A special congratulations to one of our Upper Fourth teams, Annika and Vivienne, who broke through to the Regional Final and then to the National Final. Two of our Lower Sixth debaters, Megan and Mia, were very busy this year, entering two British Parliamentary competitions and finding success in both. The pair broke through to the Bronze Final of LSE Schools and then to the Gold Final of UCL Schools. They also ranked very well individually with Mia taking 4th best speaker on both occasions and Megan taking 6th and 8th. Mr Alec Howells Teacher i/c of Debating and Public Speaking

All our debaters did themselves proud, persevering throughout a long day and significantly developing their skills.

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey Pupil wins Atherton Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit

he Atherton Award aims to recognise and celebrate entrepreneurial spirit in young women. It runs in schools across the UK and pupils aged 11+ are encouraged to apply. 2023 was the inaugural year for the competition at Wycombe Abbey. It was launched in the spring and we had a range of entries from across the School. The winner of the annual prize receives a trophy, £500 towards the next phase of their journey, and a day of mentoring with Amber Atherton or someone in her network. Rebecca (UV) was one of the lucky recipients to win a sum of money to develop her idea further. See below for her remarks on the award. Initially, this product was intended to be an abstract idea, a mere conceptual design, which was my entry for a computer science competition hosted by Intel. However, after having the opportunity to communicate with some of the associates at Intel, who encouraged me to look further into this idea and pursue its possibilities, along with my flourishing interest in artificial intelligence engineering, these factors inspired me to develop this idea and work towards physically manufacturing and marketing the product. The product itself is an energy generator that utilises artificial intelligence technology, in the form of data analytics, and is intended to provide support to those who have been impacted by the current energy crisis, and the resulting rise in the cost of fuel. The product regenerates electricity from recycling heat energy emitted from electrical appliances (which would otherwise be lost to the environment as useless output energy). In the long term, the implementation of this product within a household will not only decrease their energy consumption, directly reducing their energy bills, but would also reduce the demand for fossil fuel consumption, overall benefitting the environment. I am currently in the early stages of my product milestones, hoping soon to complete the process of concept

Developing Confidence

The product itself is an energy generator that utilises artificial intelligence technology, in the form of data analytics, and is intended to provide support to those who have been impacted by the current energy crisis, and the resulting rise in the cost of fuel. refinement and detailing. However, as this is an innovative product, I am still attempting to overcome an array of design challenges and provide corresponding improvements to the given difficulties. Making use of the resources available to me at School, I have designed prospective prototypes using Fusion 360 (a computer-aided design software) and 3D printed the first concept model. From a financial perspective, after careful consideration and extensive research, I have come to the conclusion that it would be greatly beneficial to take

advantage of the Wycombe Abbey Seniors' network; where it could potentially be open to be funded by former pupils who are also interested in reducing the impacts of the rising cost of living crisis, as well as the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. Moreover, apart from using School connections, I have also contacted other financial support companies, and specifically Grantify – a UK government cooperation which provides grants for tech-based projects, and they have expressed their interest in providing financial support for this innovative invention. With the money, which I have gratefully received from the Atherton Award, I believe that it would be advantageous to use it to produce a small number of minimum viable products, post design refinement, as well as further feasibility, and market research. This will not only permit me to evaluate and validate my previous ideas but will also provide me with the opportunity to gain an insight into the market’s reaction to the given product. I would like to thank the School and members of staff for their ongoing support and encouragement, and I am fascinated to discover the potential trajectory of this product in the future. Rebecca UV

Flourishing@Wycombe A s the academic year ended it was as good a time as any, to think back upon some of the many things that have helped to shape our experiences this year. Reflection is an important part of our Flourishing@Wycombe programme and this year we have taken the time to reflect upon three main themes: meaning, exercise and humility.

Through tutor times, Chapel, podcasts and termly guidebooks we have thought about how we can bring these ideas into our lives and how they can help our wellbeing. In a school where our Chapel is at the heart of our community, both geographically and figuratively, meaning was a natural focus for us, and we were able to consider the different ways that we can bring meaning into our lives. Similarly sport and PE are central to life at School, so it was a pleasure to think about how sport and exercise help our mental wellbeing as well as physical health. In the final term of the year, we thought about humility. A somewhat underrated virtue, we have taken the time to consider how humility is not the antithesis to confidence and ambition, and how it can help us understand our place in the wider world and encourage us to view the world with a healthy perspective. It has been a real pleasure to spend time with many pupils and staff this year recording the Flourishing@Wycombe podcast and thinking about what it means to flourish whilst we are at School and beyond. It was great to hear Phoebe’s (UVI) sage advice about how to settle into new environments, how to overcome homesickness and how her love of drama has given so much to her time here at Wycombe Abbey. The drama theme continued later in the Autumn Term as we spoke with Miss Hoyle in preparation for the staff panto and members of the audience after the show. It was lovely to hear about the joy that the play brought to our community.

A number of podcasts this year gave us the opportunity to reflect upon how the hobbies and extra-curricular activities that pupils engage with help them to flourish. It was wonderful to hear Mrs Bryett-Windle and Victoria’s (UVI) reflections upon what sport has brought to their lives and equally, being able to celebrate the joy of chess with Mr Vaccaro, Megan (LVI) and Emma (LVI) was a real joy. This year we also had the opportunity to record podcasts with people from outside the School community. It was a privilege to discuss activism and the impact of rapid fame and success with Soma Sara, founder of Everyone’s Invited, and to discuss how to develop wellbeing in young people with author and CEO of ‘Teen Tips’, Alicia Drummond. The Parenting the Teenager programme continues to go from strength to strength. We have had some excellent talks this year and have enjoyed supplementing our speaker programme with written updates throughout the year. This year we have heard from external speakers such as Elaine Halligan, Andrew Hampton, Tanya Goodin and Dr Emma Ross, as well as from some of our own staff including Mr Cadman, Mr George and Mr Vaccaro. These talks have covered topics from the perils of perfectionism to the growth of AI in education, from teenage friendships to supporting pupils with learning enhancement needs. I have greatly enjoyed learning from our various speakers and look forward to seeing many of our parents at next year’s talks. Mr James Jones Deputy Head (Pupils)

You can listen to the Flourishing@Wycombe Podcast on Spotify.

Gazette 2022-2023

Faith and Service

Faith and Service Chapel Report

Roman Catholic Confirmations

Charity Report

Gazette 2022-2023

Chapel Report T

he Chapel at Wycombe Abbey is often referred to as being at the heart of our community and this has certainly been the case this year. In the first week of this academic year, we received the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Chapel immediately became the place where the whole School community gathered to pay their respects. On the morning after the Queen’s death was announced we held two services for pupils and staff. The following day, a service of proclamation, to give thanks for the new King, was held. A book of condolence was available in the side chapel for messages to be written, the overwhelming theme of which was everyone’s gratitude for the many years of service that the Queen had given. During the Autumn Term our House Chapel Services reflected our School values. Each House was given one of the values as their theme and they used this as a basis for a ‘thought for the day’ along with singing an anthem that reflected the message of their service. We were also fortunate to have an excellent speaker at our Remembrance Service this year: Wing Commander Ben Sharp from RAF High Wycombe (Space Command) joined us and reminded us of the importance of good character which is often produced through sacrifice and service. Other guest speakers during this term included Peter Higgins (Mary’s Meals), Rev Ross Mungavin (Curate St James, Gerrards Cross) and Rev Dr Ellen Clark-King (Dean of King’s College, London). The Autumn Term finished with an array of

Faith and Service

wonderful Christmas carol services showing off the very best of our choirs, readers and musicians. We began the Spring Term with our first pupil-led celebration of the Lunar New Year and learnt about the history and customs of this festival. We also started a new set of themes for our House Services that would spread across both this term and the Summer Term. Each House was given an ‘Inspirational Bible Character’ that might help us learn more about God’s people, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as how their faith had shaped their lives. Mr Wildgoose also led a very moving service on Holocaust Memorial Day. Ash Wednesday was observed by offering the Imposition of Ashes to all. Rt Rev Dr Alan

Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, and very good friend of our School, led our first Sunday in Lent and gave us an excellent talk about discerning between what is right and important and what we should not waste our time being concerned about. The term ended with an excellent service led by the newly formed Neurodiversity Society who used the passage in 1 Corinthians 12 to illustrate the uniqueness of each individual and how this is to be celebrated and respected within society. Our Summer Term brought much celebration to Chapel. Mrs Tidbury led a fantastic ‘thought for the day’ on 4 May (Star Wars Day) reminding us of the importance of working together as a community to make sure we all feel we

belong. We also held our annual Gospel Singing event led by Geraldine Latty with our own gospel choir: Phire. The evening was filled with the whole School community coming together and singing in harmony to a wide range of songs from both the pop and gospel genres. Fifteen of our Roman Catholic pupils ranging from Upper Fourth to Upper Sixth received the sacrament of Confirmation at St Augustine’s, High Wycombe. The families, friends, and supporters of the candidates packed the church and returned to Big School for afternoon tea. Our thanks to Dr Fernandez who led the classes to prepare the candidates for their special day. Our final service of Evensong this year was held as a celebration of service to others. As our partnership with our two School elected charities came to an end, we were delighted that Nikki Khoram from Ripple Africa and Diana Chadwick from the Rape

and Sexual Abuse Support Service were able to join us. They told us about how the money we have raised over the past two

Each House was given an ‘Inspirational Bible Character’ that might help us learn more about God’s people, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as how their faith had shaped their lives. years is being used to fund their work and were very grateful for the donations. We also watched a film depicting a wide

selection of the fundraising and volunteering that some of our pupils are involved in outside of School. There are a wide range of pupils and staff who enrich our Chapel services with their time and talents. Our thanks go to our School Almoners, House Sacristans, choirs, musicians, and members of the Music Department. Our School Almoners have been Poppy and Arolape. Our House Sacristans this year have been Marissa (Airlie), Yau Yau and Evie (Barry), Amelia (Butler), Chiaka and Jade (Campbell), Poppy and Nicole (Cloister), Allegra and Acada (Pitt), Natalia (Rubens), Valentina (Shelburne), Arolape (Wendover). Rev Penny Nash Chaplain

Roman Catholic Confirmations On Sunday 7 May 2023 the following girls were confirmed by Rt Rev David Oakley, Roman Catholic Bishop of Northampton: Barry Clélia (UIV) Lucia (UIV) Butler Lucy (UIV) Cicely (LV)

Pitt Allegra (LV) Margot (LV) Valentina (LV) Isabella (LVI) Sylvia (LVI) Elaine (LVI)

Rubens Annamaria (UIV) Matilde (UIV) Alexandra (LV) Shelburne Emmanuelle (LVI) Niamh (UVI)

Gazette 2022-2023

Charity Report T

his has been our second year supporting Ripple Africa in Malawi and the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Service (RSASS) in High Wycombe. Our Bonfire Night stalls were followed by various bake sales and House raffles. The Head Girl Team brought back the extremely popular Staff Strictly, where five pairs of dancers and the equally talented judging panel entertained everyone. Shelburne Housemistress, Miss Phillips, ran the London Marathon, with a sweepstake to guess her time. Although our parents’ charity fundraiser event was cancelled, the silent auction had already received bids, and many people donated their ticket prices, allowing us to raise an incredible £9,274. We were able to give Ripple Africa £14,995.00 and RSASS: £14,442.84 for the two years. Voting for our 2023-2025 charities took place in May, with a clear majority of votes going to Mary’s Meals and the Wycombe Refugee Partnership.

In addition to our whole School elected charities, money was also raised via three mufti days for our Dove Charities: the Melanesian Mission and Central Aid. Other mufti days went towards Mary’s Meals and Switchboard. Our School community also donated to the Red Cross’ Syria/Turkey Earthquake Appeal and pupils collected items for various causes including the One Can foodbank, where some of our pupils volunteer. Cloister and Rubens made hampers for Great Ormond Street and Cloister also donated to the Christmas Shoebox Appeal. Mia (LVI) organised a stationery collection for students seeking asylum in High Wycombe and Natalia (LVI) collected books for a school in the Philippines. We continue to host a swimming session each week for Horizon Sports Club, an organisation teaching children and young adults with disabilities to swim. Our Sixth Form pupils volunteer with

Faith and Service

the swimming sessions in the Davies Sports Centre and these have continued to flourish this year. Our Upper Sixth pupils said goodbye to their swimming participants at the end of Spring Term and Lower Sixth pupils have now started their year with this amazing organisation. Our pupils really enjoy these sessions and immerse themselves in them with much enthusiasm. In June, we dedicated an Evensong to a celebration of giving. This gave us a chance to acknowledge the many charity projects which our girls have chosen to be involved with outside School. Our thanks go to our Charity Prefects: Annette (UVI) and Ayla (UVI) for their organisation over the year and for running a hamper raffle for the charity Mind during Mental Health Awareness Week. Together with our amazing House Charity Representatives, they have exemplified the ethos of Giveback in our community. Mrs Julia Hyde Assistant Chaplain

Gazette 2022-2023

Community Engagement

Community Engagement Partnerships at Wycombe Abbey

Dove Day 2023

Wycombe Abbey Fireworks Night 2022

Wycombe Abbey Celebrates World Book Day 2023

Everyone’s Invited Founder and Wycombe Abbey Senior, Soma Sara speaks to girls in School Meeting 100 Professor Tanya Byron speaks to pupils, parents and staff in the Headmistress’ Christmas Lecture

101

Wycombe Abbey Pupils Visit the Mayor of High Wycombe

101

Swimming Galas: Working with our Community

102

Staff Panto 2022

103

Imaginarium: A Wycombe Abbey International Schools Art Exhibition

104

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

105

From the Seniors’ Office

106

From the Development Office

107

Supporting Wycombe Abbey

108

Big School at Wycombe Abbey opens after Extensive Refurbishment

109

Restoration of the Shelburne Pew

109

Pupils, staff and alumnae enjoy hearing from Wycombe Abbey Senior, Professor Dame Sarah Springman DBE 110 One Year On

111

The Wycombe Abbey Houses

112

Staff Leavers

123

Gazette 2022-2023

Community Engagement

Partnerships at Wycombe Abbey

artnership work has grown this year at Wycombe Abbey. We have developed great relationships with ten local primary schools, all within a five-mile radius of Wycombe Abbey. For four consecutive half terms per year, we send groups of Sixth Form pupils to these schools each week, so that they may contribute to those schools in whatever way is deemed of value by the host school. In practice, this varies widely, but commonly includes listening to reading, assisting classroom teachers in lessons, helping with lunchtimes and playtimes, plus a range of other activities. The qualitative testimony of senior leaders and teachers in our primary school partners has been exceptionally positive. Similarly, the broad but profound benefits of service to our pupils are absolutely critical in the Wycombe Abbey setting for multiple reasons. We have begun developing our provision in this area by seeking opportunities for primary schools to come into Wycombe Abbey (we hosted a Drama Day for Castlefield School in summer 2022, which involved their entire Year 5 cohort and was devised and run by our own Sixth Form pupils) and by trying to identify ways of leveraging specific skills that our pupils have – eg in drama, music, sport, or languages – in order to offer different types of benefit to primary school pupils. By the end of a pupil’s time in the Sixth Form, they will have contributed roughly 40 hours of service to local primary schools and each year our community collectively contributes over 2,000 hours.

We have also developed relationships with six state schools, mostly in London. Four members of staff each have a day per week allocated to this purpose and they routinely provide both teacher and applicant support in their area – mainly STEM – both in-person and remotely. A key principle of these partnerships has been to work with these schools little-and-often over sustained periods of time. This has yielded great success, in terms of successful applications to highly selective institutions and programmes, but also in terms of embedding expertise in these settings including in one school, the importation and embedding of Creative and Critical Thinking as a part of their formal curriculum. A natural development of the work we have been doing with secondary schools is our project to create an online higher education support offering. This work, generously funded by a donation to the School, involves using Canvas to host a suite of short videos and resources to be used by prospective applicants to highly selective university programmes. The inherently massive scalability of this project is exciting and we look forward with anticipation to all of the impact that it may have. We are also pleased to have been shortlisted for the Independent Schools of the Year Award for Outstanding Educational Partnerships 2023. This is a great achievement and testament to the hard work staff and pupils dedicated to their partnership work. Dr Neal Carrier Director of Sixth Form and Head of Partnerships and Bursaries

Gazette 2022-2023

Dove Day 2023 A fter a year of hard work and in true Wycombe Abbey style, we celebrated the end of the academic year with Dove Day at the end of June.

The day began with a beautiful Chapel service led by our School Chaplain, Rev Penny, and we were delighted to see so many parents join us for this service. As the doors of Chapel opened and pupils and parents spilled out, guests grabbed some food and drink and gathered around to watch the first instalment of entertainment. In the arena we were first treated to a wonderful gym display demonstrating incredible feats of athleticism and grace. Then the competition heated up for Tug-of-War with each House cheering on their team as they battled it out for pride and glory. The ever-popular Dog Show followed with pets taking part in categories including waggiest tail and best trick. It was not just outside where the action was taking place, in Fisher Library there were LAMDA performances, an Art Exhibition in the Performing Arts Centre, Design Technology and Cookery displays, and information about our vision for a world class campus in Big School.

Before long, everyone was on the move to the House Marquees. It was lovely to see parents, pupils and staff all sitting down together to enjoy their picnic in the beautiful Wycombe Abbey grounds. After a leisurely lunch, Chair of Council, Peter Warren, took to the stage to give a speech praising the hard work and resilience of pupils, staff and parents that has been shown over the last year. The Headmistress, Mrs Duncan, also spoke about the importance of community that days like Dove Day enshrine. She said ‘It is wonderful to have the School community together to celebrate the end of the academic year and all that has been achieved since September. As you are aware, this year has not been without its challenges but the community has shown its strength throughout, in the last term in particular, and I am grateful for the support, care and compassion that has been generously offered to me and others during this time.’ She went on to restate our School values and explain how important they have become and shared a poem by Rosalie in Upper Third.

Finally, the Head Girl Team spoke about a few of their highlights from the year and reiterated how important the School community is and how special Dove Day has become for so many. Deputy Head of School Liza said, ‘Everybody here plays such a vital part in reinforcing the sense of belonging and unity which is at the core of our School’. Head of School Laila, reflecting on meeting Seniors at Seniors’ Day, also said, ‘For us, this event further highlighted the strong sense of community that encompasses Wycombe Abbey and the strong friendships that are built here and have proven to last lifetimes’. After the speeches, the Review Show started and showcased highlights from the year’s productions and performances. The day ended with a joyous set from Concert Band. Named after our founder Dame Frances Dove, Dove Day is a very special and unique event that many pupils, staff and Seniors have enjoyed and relished over the years. We are already looking forward to the next one. Ms Rebecca Conroy Communications Manager

Trust is for the honest and strong, Dynamism the ones who belong, Excellence to aim up high Encouragement to reach the sky. Service to always embrace, Balance to keep us in place, Innovation to fight for the right, Mutual respect to shine the light, These are the pearls Of Wycombe girls. Rosalie (UIII)

Community Engagement

Gazette 2022-2023

Photographs from Dove Day Weekend 2023

Community Engagement

Gazette 2022-2023

Wycombe Abbey Fireworks Night 2022

t was wonderful to host our annual fireworks display on Wednesday 2 November; we were delighted to welcome pupils, families and staff from the Wycombe Abbey community to this event.

In the lead-up to the day, Lower Fourth pupils from each Senior House created bonfire Guys in their House colour. Some of the final pieces were quite substantial in size, and the Headmistress, Mrs Duncan, judged the winners based on their interpretation of the House colour theme and quality of presentation. The winner was Angry Birds by Barry, followed by Campbell’s Ribena carton and Wendover’s dragon. The Guys were displayed in Big School for everyone to see on fireworks night, along with their House stalls. There was an excited buzz in Big School as this was the first School event to be held there since the completion of the renovation project. Pupils and families took part in a tombola, lollipop lottery, a hamper raffle and bought clothing and jewellery. Overall, £3,185 was raised and this will be split equally between our whole School elected charities: Ripple Africa in Malawi (our focus this year is on their education projects) and Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Service in High Wycombe where money will go towards art therapy. Money was also raised to help the Bee Society by selling the famous Wycombe Abbey honey! Despite the rainy weather, the fireworks didn’t disappoint, and it was an excellent way to end the evening. We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this special event happen. Ms Rebecca Conroy Communications Manager

Lower Fourth pupils from each Senior House created bonfire Guys in their House colour.

Community Engagement

Wycombe Abbey Celebrates World Book Day 2023

uring the week of 27 February, World Book Day Celebrations took over the School. This year, we had a ‘mystery’ theme, with displays in the libraries of beloved mystery classics as well as newly published books. Even the Catering Team got involved and did a fantastic job of decorating the Main School Dining Room (MSDR) on World Book Day itself with crime scene tape, as well as providing delicious cupcakes with World Book Day toppers! The Scholastic Book Fair came back for another visit and pupils really enjoyed being able to visit an on-site book shop and browse exciting titles. There was a fantastic range of books on offer from classics such as Jane Austen’s Persuasion to the recently published The Davenports by Krystal Marquis. Like last year, we managed to raise over £2,000 in sales, and we will again be donating our 60% commission to a local primary school so that they can buy new books for their school library. It was wonderful to see pupils excitedly browsing the shelves throughout the week and it proves that reading really is still valued. On World Book Day itself, pupils and staff dressed up as a literary character of their choice. The costumes were all fantastic and it was brilliant to see everyone, staff included, making such an effort. The UV made a particularly wonderful effort this

year, with the whole year group dressing up as characters from Louis Sachar’s novel Holes. Other notable costumes included characters from Twilight, the Sherlock Holmes series, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. Our prizes for best costume this year go to Beatrice and Natalie in LIV, for their costumes of Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong from Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens. A new initiative this year was the Book Giveaway. The Library, along with members of staff, donated books that they no longer wanted and these were placed in the Courtyard Café and outside MSDR for pupils to browse and take. This was a huge success and nearly all of the books have gone to a new home! It was wonderful to see how enthusiastic pupils were at being able to find a new book to read. The Library also ran some exciting

competitions: a writing competition where the story was to be set at Wycombe Abbey and a poster competition to advertise World Book Day. The winning story was by Ava in UIII and the poster competition was won by Amelie (UIII); the runner-up was Ayomide (UIII). The World Book Day tutor time quiz was also a success, with LIV Rubens, UV Cloister and UVI Wendover all winning treats for their form. It was another fantastic World Book Day and I hope that it has reminded everyone of the joy that reading can bring! Mrs Hannah Rogers-Green Head of Libraries and Teacher of English

Reading by Wycombe Abbey’s Poet Laureate, Rose (UVI) Reading begins as codebreaking. ABC; “a very good place to start”. We start with sound, phonetically unpicking The configuration of lines and dots which at first appears as art. Then letters metamorphose into words. Year 3 or 4, we are no longer simply codebreakers. Words hold more meaning than sound, and in reading this is transferred. At this stage, we could be called interpreters. And then beyond simply seeing. Seeing the picture painted by the author. We begin to understand. Animal Farm isn’t just a book about pigs, Jane Eyre is more than a nice love story, tragedy is a warning. And then we become readers.

Gazette 2022-2023

Everyone’s Invited Founder and Wycombe Abbey Senior, Soma Sara speaks to girls in School Meeting

t the beginning of November, Wycombe Abbey Senior and founder of Everyone’s Invited, Soma Sara joined us in our first School Meeting in the newly refurbished Big School. She introduced the whole School community to Everyone’s Invited and its mission to expose and eradicate rape culture with empathy, compassion and understanding, and led us through her journey of setting up this platform. Soma started to share her experiences on Instagram in June 2020, and since then she has had an overwhelming response from others who have resonated with her story. Everyone’s Invited then became an anonymous space for survivors to share their stories.

Soma commented that the questions that they had asked were some of the best that she had ever heard from school pupils.

After School Meeting, pupils in UIV and LV attended a further talk and Q and A session with Soma. They questioned her about her work as an activist, how they can be upstanders and challenge rape culture themselves and heard how she dealt with the backlash of tackling such an emotive subject. At the end of their session Soma commented that the questions that they had asked were some of the best that she had ever heard from school pupils, and that they had a real understanding of this topic and grappled with it maturely and sensitively. The pupils reported that they found the session inspirational, important and thought-provoking. Wycombe Abbey is committed to ensuring that this is not a one-time conversation about rape culture and its effects. It is a topic that is woven into the Wellbeing curriculum and one that will continue to be explored with our pupils in many other areas of School life. Miss Sophie Blunt Head of Wellbeing

100

Community Engagement

Professor Tanya Byron speaks to pupils, parents and staff in the Headmistress’ Christmas Lecture

he Headmistress’ Christmas Lecture took place on Friday 2 December, and we had the privilege of welcoming Professor Tanya Byron. Professor Byron is a British psychologist, writer and media personality who specialises in working with children and adolescents. With many of the Sixth Form psychologists having recently read The Skeleton Cupboard, a book she wrote detailing her training as a psychologist, it was fascinating to hear from her in person and make something of the voice behind the pages. Her talk was gripping and interactive, with the odd quick-witted comment keeping everyone fully engaged and entertained. She talked about the importance of failure and emphasised that there are some lessons you can only learn through not succeeding. Professor Byron touched on her own experience with ADHD and how

that has hindered the way she learns and manages her day-to-day life. However, her emphasis on learning to adapt your lifestyle to fit you, instead of the other way around, was particularly insightful. She managed to present a veil of vulnerability whilst expressing a presence of strength and I am sure many of her words hit home with the audience. Professor Byron’s intellect was evident but so too was her humour and willingness to talk about whatever it was we wanted to hear. With the help of the audience’s suggestions, she created a theoretical case, for a client which the audience pitched in to create. She illustrated and talked through the complexity of client cases and the influences that both nature and nurture have on our behaviour. Her apparent enthusiasm for her career, and her desire to help, was inspiring and contagious. It was certainly a

talk many people thoroughly enjoyed and the discussions subsequent to the lecture amongst pupils showed the fierce impact her words had had on many. It was a truly fascinating night and Professor Byron’s impressive charisma made the Headmistress’ Lecture one to remember. Megan LVI

Wycombe Abbey Pupils Visit the Mayor of High Wycombe

t the invitation of the Mayor of High Wycombe, Cllr Hussain, our Heads of Senior Houses and the Head Girl Team were given a fascinating opportunity to learn more about the mayoralty and its role in the local community and beyond. The Wycombe Abbey girls had many questions, which the Mayor was able to discuss over refreshments in his parlour.

In addition to learning more about the valuable charitable projects that the Mayor supports, the girls discovered the important ceremonial role the Mayor plays in the local area, particularly on occasions such as the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the forthcoming coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. They also had the opportunity to sit in the ‘weighing chair’, which is used at the beginning and end of the mayoral term of office to determine how wisely the Mayor has been using public funds! This is a tradition dating back hundreds of years and High Wycombe is, perhaps, the only mayoralty that still carries out the ceremony. Many thanks to the Mayor, Cllr Hussain, the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Rana and all the staff at High Wycombe Town Council for making this visit possible. Dr Stephen Goward Deputy Head of Sixth Form

Gazette 2022-2023

101

Swimming Galas: Working with our Community

t the start of the Spring Term, 12 Level 2 Lower Fifth Sports Leaders hosted two swim meets: the Primary School Gala and Disability Schools Swimming Gala. These are always excellent events, and the girls and PE Department thoroughly enjoyed working with these schools in the community. These events give pupils the opportunity to develop their communication, teamwork and self-management skills. They spent hours meticulously planning the event, creating invitations and curating a great warm-up playlist; they were eager to ensure that it ran smoothly. As always, there were small challenges that arose during both galas, but the leaders put their problem-solving skills to the test, quickly coming up with a solution to keep the event running smoothly. The Primary Schools Gala is a highly competitive event, as the winners from the boys’ and girls’ sections respectively, are awarded a place in the County competition. With seven schools in attendance, it was great to see the array of talent on display and more importantly, the immense support for all swimmers from every school. The Disability Schools Gala was equally exciting, with the winner’s shield to contend for.

102

Community Engagement

Upon reflection, the leaders have said how much they valued the experience and how rewarding it was to see the end result of all of the hard work they put in. It was pleasing to see each of them grow in confidence throughout the planning and delivery of the galas; they should be very proud of their achievement! Well done to Frida, Kate, Sofia, Fiona, Sophia and Isabelle for their hard work in leading the Disability Gala and well done to Jane, Leanna, Sky, Morade, Melody and Daisy for their excellent efforts in leading the Primary Schools Gala. Miss Ricki Stevens Teacher of PE

! e s i r p r u

Staff Panto 2022

ince I started working at Wycombe Abbey in 2010, I have been lucky enough to blend my love of English with my love for drama and performance. I have had the chance to direct numerous plays with our incredible pupils, who have embraced the opportunities to get out of their comfort zones and explore storytelling through physical theatre and puppetry. The surprise staff panto has been a long-standing tradition at Wycombe Abbey. Once upon a time, it was scheduled at the end of the Spring Term under the crafty title of ‘Healthy Eating Lecture’. Unsurprisingly, the girls cracked this code fairly quickly and so we then had to come up with new, more likely scenarios such as a whole School trip to watch Vernon Kay at the Wycombe Swan or an ‘in house’ production of The Nutcracker. The Surprise Staff Panto 2022 is the third show I have written and directed. A cast of over 60 staff signed up to be part of A Christmas Carol, and I can honestly say I have never had more fun in my whole career. Whether I was teaching the cast to wiggle to One Direction’s Best Song Ever or show a Maths teacher how to be more menacing, the panto did not fail to put a pep in my step as we completed the ultimate surprise for our girls. Special praise and panto Oscars should go to the following people: Miss Blunt was the ‘tight fisted, hand to the grindstone’ Scrooge. Known for her warm smile and big heart off stage, it was delicious to see her embrace the darkness of Ebenezer Scrooge which she did with great aplomb and stage presence. Mrs Duncan was also flawless in her performance as Charles the charity worker; word perfect and clearly at ease with a rowdy audience before delivering some great one-liners. The Cratchit family were also fantastic and reminded the audience of the

importance of standing up for yourself. Mr Porter, however, was the audience’s favourite as the sweet natured, limping, Tiny Tim whose Christmas wish was to walk through the Chilterns like a big boy. This production was written to generate joy and fun for those involved and those watching. We wanted to find the perfect blend of teasing the School and some of the quirks that make us magnificently Wycombe, but more importantly, as Director, I wanted the staff to have an opportunity to show the girls just how important they are to us. To do this through the medium of a bold, bright, funny show seemed the perfect vessel to sum up what we all hold so tightly to our chest while in this incredible school; and that is the community which binds us and is forever the lode star in our lives here. Thank you to every single person on stage and off stage who made this show possible, not least of all the ever-graceful Drama Department who supported every request and idea that I had. We hope that the Surprise Staff Panto 2022 is a lasting memory to our girls and one which reminds them that amazing things can happen when you push yourself out of your comfort zone. Miss Cat Hoyle Housemistress of Rubens

Gazette 2022-2023

103

Imaginarium: A Wycombe Abbey International Schools Art Exhibition

t the end of the Summer Term we were excited to share the 2023 Wycombe Abbey International Schools Art Exhibition: Imaginarium. This exhibition spans five schools, our School here in the UK and our sister schools in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

to photography and detailed digital illustrations amongst many others. Children from all five schools were encouraged to develop their own styles and embrace the artistic process and journey to discover their own talents, whilst pushing their thinking about creativity and innovation.

Art is a vibrant subject at Wycombe Abbey UK, offering a wide range of activities beyond the formal curriculum. The girls are exposed to artistic techniques and skills, and are involved in many projects and discussions about the role of art in society.

Headmistress, Jo Duncan said, ‘This collaboration across the Wycombe Abbey International Schools is an example of the Wycombe Abbey spirit of creativity and imagination. The exhibition serves as a wonderful reminder of brilliant talent from around the world and encourages all children to develop new skills and explore their passions.’

Pupil artists from all of the Wycombe Abbey International Schools, ranging from Year 1 to Year 13, have explored many different techniques over the year to produce pieces using a range of techniques from acrylic painting, textiles and ceramics

104

Community Engagement

Ms Yael Marwah Wycombe Abbey International Executive Coordinator

Pupils engaged in activities from Courageous Conversations to TED Talk-style presentations to a Culture Fair.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

quality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at Wycombe Abbey this year has erupted with activity, bringing to light some of the most important concepts in our society today. The EDI Committee came together once every half term to discuss ways in which we could intertwine these important concepts into everyday life. With all the activities and events that happened this year, School became very engaged with ideas such as culture, identity, neurodiversity, and feminism. Starting in September, the Sixth Form Classicists went to see one of the most famous Greek Tragedies, Antigone. It portrayed ancient family relationships along with modern racial and cultural influences which appealed to the audience greatly. Later, Upper Sixth Chinese pupils Jocelyn and Claudia researched variations in opinion and attitudes in different cultures as part of Reading Week. By early October, Tori, Dara, Martha-Jack, Arolape, Laila, Anjali, and Chiaka produced an engaging talk on the involvement of the Black community within our culture for Black History Month. Following this, pupils from all years continued to join in activities for Black History Month during tutor times and after School. In the Spring Term, EDI played a crucial role within the many societies at School including Modern Languages, Identity, Neurodiversity, African, and Hong Kong. Neurodiversity Society led a powerful and informative Chapel service highlighting the

beauty in variation and difference within our society. These societies put together events such as Diwali, Concerts, Career Spotlights, meetings, and talks for the School community. Later, the Classics Department organised a trip to Soho Place for Upper Fifth and Sixth Form Classicists to see the Medea. This proved to be an extremely powerful play regarding culture and relationships and was very much enjoyed. Further into the Spring Term, departments around School got involved in all kinds of fascinating activities. The History Department hosted an essay competition with the question ‘Was there ‘enlightenment’ in Europe between 1650 and 1800?’ The Maths Department organised a talk led by Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE with the topic ‘Saving Lives through Problem Solving’. The Modern Languages Department put together a poetry declamation competition for the Lower Fourth. In early March, everyone came together to produce, organise, and deliver the much-looked-

forward-to EDI Week. Pupils engaged in activities from Courageous Conversations to TED Talk-style presentations to a Culture Fair. Distinctly, this was a huge success and pupils around the School became evermore curious and absorbed into the role that EDI plays at Wycombe Abbey and in society, highlighting the significance of being exposed to other cultures and how much our School values this. There have been so many amazing opportunities for EDI this year and the School has thrived with the awareness and significance of EDI, and with the prospect of a new and jam-packed year of more events and meetings to come. Indeed, with the help of everything that has happened regarding EDI this year, it has never seemed so interesting and important at Wycombe Abbey as it does now. Dr Christina Tsaknaki Teacher i/c of EDI

Gazette 2022-2023

105

From the Seniors’ Office I

was delighted to join Wycombe Abbey as the new Alumnae Relations Officer back in December and it is an honour to be a part of both the School and Seniors’ communities. It has been heartening to see how important the Seniors are to the School community. This was particularly evident when we launched a new video in February called We are Connected, which showcases why Seniors play a vital role in the lives of current pupils and how significant the Seniors’ network is in keeping our alumnae connected with each other. One way in which Seniors are engaged with Wycombe Abbey life is through the Mentoring Programme, where a Senior is matched with an Upper Sixth girl to share experiences and give useful advice to the pupil regarding her university and career goals. We completed this year’s programme at the end of the academic year and received extremely positive feedback from both mentors and mentees who found it valuable and enjoyable. We also enjoyed hosting our two main Seniors’ events this year, the Seniors’ Carol Service in December and Seniors’ Day in June. The annual Carol Service was the first Seniors event to be hosted in the newly reopened Big School, before everyone headed into Chapel for the service. Seniors’ Day took place on a gloriously sunny day, which complemented the marquee setup and Wycombe Abbey grounds perfectly. Guests enjoyed lunch followed by tours of their Houses and Big School.

For more information about the Seniors network, please visit our website.

106

Community Engagement

Events like these provide the perfect opportunity for Seniors to catch up with friends, reconnect with classmates they have lost touch with and make new connections. It is essential for us to keep the Seniors’ community thriving and connected to one another, so we will look to host year group reunions at School and introduce an annual event in London starting in September. We are also encouraging Seniors living in other countries to connect with each other and this year we have seen a reunion in Singapore and two drinks receptions in Hong Kong. I am looking forward to another exciting year ahead for the Wycombe Abbey Seniors’ community. If you’d like more information about the Seniors’ Office, please contact me by emailing seniors@wycombeabbey.com. Mrs Niki Kilminster Alumnae Relations Officer

From the Development Office

s made clear in the School’s Strategic Direction 2020 - 2025, it is our ambition both to support more pupils on bursaries and to pursue our transformational site development plans; aims that can only be fully achieved through the generosity of our parents, Seniors and friends. As we continue to build momentum around bursary provision and delivery of our vision for a world class campus, we want to express our gratitude for the support we received last year from many members of our Wycombe Abbey community, helping us to foster a culture of philanthropy and emphasise the importance of collective giving. To continue this pursuit of excellence in academic, recreational and pastoral care, we asked all Seniors and current parents to support the School’s Annual Fund in one of three areas: area of greatest need, bursaries or living and learning facilities. As a result of our two appeals, one in the winter and one this past spring, donation totals more than doubled from last year and the number of gifts tripled. The Clarence Leavers Appeal, an invitation for parents of Upper Sixth pupils to donate their deposit back to the School, was equally successful, generating even more than last year with a total of £58,750 towards the Annual Fund.

The School also hosted some fundraising events this year, one of which was organised by the parent of an Upper Fourth pupil. Over the spring Short Leave, 16 parents and their daughters spent the weekend on an outing that highlighted their love of cars during the first Wycombe Abbey Car Enthusiasts event. The participants raised £3,700 towards bursaries and we hope to make this an annual tradition for years to come. If any parent would like to volunteer to take over the organisation of this event for next year, please contact the Development Office. The fun-filled weekend also included racing cars such as Ferraris and McLarens at

the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold and go-karting races in Maidenhead. It was very competitive for both the girls and the parents! We are delighted by the enthusiasm of our volunteers who help make events like these happen, and we look forward to continuing our momentum in this coming year. If you would like to speak to us about how you can support the School, please email development@wycombeabbey.com. Ms Kellyn Caldwell Development Officer

Gazette 2022-2023

107

Supporting Wycombe Abbey

he School has benefitted for many years from philanthropic support, through gifts at all levels, from our wonderful community of Seniors, parents and friends. This generosity enables a number of projects beyond what could have been funded by the School itself, helping to strengthen Wycombe Abbey’s ability to provide a world class, future-focused education that allows each girl to flourish in her chosen path. A culture of philanthropy is driven by the power of collective giving, and Wycombe Abbey relies on these unrestricted donations to the Annual Fund for three key areas: Area of Greatest Need, Bursaries and Living and Learning Facilities. Together, your support helps us to deliver outstanding learning and boarding experiences for our girls. Area of Greatest Need - allows the School to direct funds towards the areas of greatest priority and support a broad range of projects. Bursaries - we wish to ensure that a Wycombe Abbey education is available to more girls who would benefit from an education here, no matter her family’s financial circumstances. A successful bursary

programme ensures that the School community reflects different perspectives and lived experiences. This is something that all pupils will benefit from as they make their journey through School and into the world beyond. Living and Learning Facilities - Wycombe Abbey is recognised as the leading girls’ boarding school in the UK. High quality, fit-forpurpose facilities that benefit our current and future pupils is an important element in enabling us to remain in this position. It helps create an environment for our girls to pursue academic excellence and for our staff to provide outstanding teaching, enabling each of our pupils to flourish and fulfil their potential.

Giving Societies Wycombe Abbey’s two donor societies, the Dove-Bowerman Society and 1896 Society, recognise members of our community who demonstrate the ultimate commitments to the School. The Dove-Bowerman Society, named after two remarkable Wycombe Abbey women, celebrates those who have pledged to leave a legacy to the School. A bequest ensures that the next generation of pioneering women will receive exceptional opportunities that will prepare them to reach their fullest potential. The 1896 Society honours the support of leadership donors, who invest in Wycombe Abbey’s future and inspire others to give. All donors who make commitments of £100,000 or more are invited to join the 1896 Society. Gifts can either be made as a single donation or staggered over a number of years. Naming opportunities are available to donors of this society, and they are recognised on our Honour Board which is in Reception.

We are thankful, as always, for your support of Wycombe Abbey in whatever capacity. For more information about supporting the School please email development@wycombeabbey.com or scan the QR code.

108

Community Engagement

Big School at Wycombe Abbey opens after Extensive Refurbishment

n Saturday 19 November, members of the Wycombe Abbey community gathered to celebrate the re-opening of Big School and to thank Wycombe Abbey Senior Mrs Patricia Thompson CBE (Henchley, C88, Campbell, 1958) and the Thompson Family Charitable Trust for their support towards the project. In 2018, Mrs Thompson pledged a generous donation for the renovation of Big School and the refurbishment took approximately 18 months to complete. To mark the occasion, Mrs Thompson unveiled a plaque made from wood salvaged from the old pews in Big School. Pupils, staff, Seniors, members of the Governing Council and local dignitaries, including the Mayor of High Wycombe, were in attendance. Speeches on the significance of Big School and details of the project came from Mr Peter Warren (Chair of Council), Hattie (Head of

School), and Mrs Thompson. After a seated lunch, Mr Mark Mackenzie Crooks (Bursar) led a tour of the Shelburne Pew, which was carefully restored over several months by specialist carpenters in the Wycombe Abbey Estates team, Mr Colin De’Ath and Mr Kelvin Pearce. Big School is used for all important whole School gatherings including the weekly

School Meeting, Carol Practice, Whole School Singing, exams and general School activities and events. The Ante Room, adjacent to the main room, will be used for smaller events and as a gathering space before entering Big School. Mrs Sian Rees-Evans Head of Communications

Restoration of the Shelburne Pew

s part of the Big School renovations, the Estates Department undertook the ambitious feat of restoring the Shelburne Pew. We are incredibly fortunate in Estates to have the talent of our Maintenance Joiner, Mr Colin De’ath at our disposal, who, with our highly experienced carpenter Mr Kelvin Pearce to assist him, has restored the Shelburne Pew to the glorious centrepiece it had once been.

To assume this impressive task, Colin recycled the teak wood from the original Big School pews, meaning that the Shelburne Pew is now steeped in School history with pupils having used the original pews for seating over the last 125 years. This extensive and intricate work was achieved thanks to Colin’s commitment to the project and outstanding attention to detail, as well as undeniable craftsmanship of the highest order.

Different techniques were considered before the method of steam bending was chosen. Steam bending was the most appropriate process as it exposes the wood to steam to render it pliable, meaning the heat and moisture from the steam softens the wood allowing it to be bent and stretched from straight timber, into the curvature of the Pew which, once cooled, hold perfect and precise shape, with no damage to the surface, leaving an elegant and smooth, classic façade. For reference, this process is used in the production of traditional wooden lacrosse sticks, musical instruments such as the violin and wooden furniture such as the Windsor chair. Colin De’ath has been with us at the School for ten years and we are all in awe of his gift for the creation of oftentimes fine, bespoke pieces, no more so than with his most recent offering with the Shelburne Pew. He is a true master craftsman, and we are delighted to be able to share this with you. Mr Bran Karavla Facilities Manager

Gazette 2022-2023

109

Pupils, staff and alumnae enjoy hearing from Wycombe Abbey Senior, Professor Dame Sarah Springman DBE

e were thrilled to welcome Professor Dame Sarah Springman as a speaker for the Carrington Award Sixth Form programme. A Wycombe Abbey Senior (C128, Rubens, 1974) Sarah went on to study Engineering Sciences at Girton College before reading for an MPhil at St Catharine’s, Cambridge and later a PhD (Magdalene) in Soil Mechanics. She was the first female Research Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge, before moving to Zurich to take up the role as the first female Professor of Civil Engineering in Switzerland, and the first female Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in western Europe. At School, Sarah excelled at sport and, whilst pursuing her academic career, she became a champion triathlete representing Britain and Northern Ireland, winning 21 European Union triathlon championship medals, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Sky Sportswoman of the Year. Previously Rector of ETH Zurich, Professor Springman took up the role as Principal of St Hilda’s College, Oxford in 2022. We were delighted to feature her as our headline Interview in the 2021 edition of the Seniors Supplement alumnae magazine.

110

Community Engagement

During her talk to the Sixth Form, Sarah covered her journey from Wycombe Abbey to her studies at Cambridge and then to her career in civil engineering consultancy and academia. She also touched upon her involvement in sports politics, lobbying for triathlon and her own deep involvement with the sport, giving some fantastic anecdotes and lessons she has learned along the way. She imparted valuable advice to the pupils about how they might approach the decisions they make in the future - to push boundaries, be positive, learn from failure, and make things happen.

One Lower Sixth pupil said, ‘It is really inspiring hearing someone who has been to Wycombe speak. I feel quite excited about my next stage now. I found this evening really motivating’. Thank you to Professor Springman for coming back to School to speak to our pupils and guests with such a motivating and inspiring talk. Ms Clare Flynn-Scarcelli Director of Development

One Year On W

hen I sat down to write this, I couldn’t quite believe that it had been a year since I’d left Wycombe. So much has happened this year and yet it feels like no time has gone by. I spent a relaxing summer back in Hong Kong (for the first time in two years!), reconnecting with family and friends. In October 2022, I began studying Medicine at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. After spending seven years at Wycombe, adjusting to the harsh realities of university life was a bit of a shock to the system. As somebody fairly resistant to change, I felt slightly overwhelmed, as I did when I first arrived at Junior House (and most definitely did not beg my mother to pull me out of school and send me on the first flight home). Oxford’s traditions are an acquired taste, from punting in summer term, being ‘trashed’ with shaving cream, flour and confetti after exams (or raw eggs, pickles and pasta sauce if your friends are cruel), to staying up all night to hear the Magdalen bells on May Day. Surprisingly, these reminded me of Wycombe’s traditions: how we would scream the Charterhouse Carol, belt out a ‘tuneful’ post-HappyBirthday ‘she’s a jolly good fellow’ and eat our body weight at the MSDR pancake station on Pancake Day. The Corpus Christi community is extremely welcoming, with doting college parents, our cosy Junior Common Room and an unexpectedly-aggressive college tortoise called Fox (who has, as I have been told, been banned from the annual inter-college Tortoise race previously for ‘unruly’ behaviour).

as one of the most memorable academic experiences in my life.

Additionally, I love that university gives me the avenues to explore academic interests that I did not know anything about, such as embryonic limb development, and bore my humanities friends with countless fun facts such as that a Parkinson’s patient can ride a bike? Or that you can actually die a of a broken heart (look it up: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy)? One of the coolest things about higher education is that you get opportunities to interact with leading thinkers in their fields. Hearing from Peter Agre, a Nobel prize winner who discovered aquaporins, definitely ranks

All in all, this year has been both turbulent and eye-opening, simultaneously challenging me and allowing me to grow. I wish the outgoing Clarence cohort the best of luck with what will undoubtedly be one of the most unforgettable years of their lives.

One of the things I’m most grateful for is the fact that I’ve been able to stay in touch with my friends from School who have become a vital part of my support system in this new environment. I am grateful to Wycombe Abbey for allowing me to form such important and close friendships that I will treasure for a long time. Living with my friends at School allowed us to see the best, the worst and the weirdest in each other. It has also equipped me to deal better with the everyday tasks of university life (perhaps more so than some of my peers). In one memorable incident, a friend asked me one month into the autumn term: ‘what are the small blue and green squishy things and where in the washing machine do I put them?’

Ms Catrina Yang Senior (C348, Barry, 2022) and Head of School 2021 – 2022

Gazette 2022-2023

111

The Wycombe Abbey Houses

Junior

e were thrilled to welcome a new and excited group of UIIIs to Wycombe Abbey in September 2022. The year began with the annual Headmistress’ picnic where we explored Wendover Woods and Go Ape. It was a fantastic start to the year and an opportunity for our pupils to get a taste for risk taking and adventure that we hope will stay with them throughout their time at School. It is fitting then that in our final week in Junior House we enjoyed our Junior House Outing to Rush Trampoline Park. Be it swinging through the trees or bouncing on trampolines, our girls reach the highest of heights! It has been wonderful to see Junior House pupils taking part in a multitude of activities this year; some of our favourites have been Laser Tag and Roller Discos and, whilst the list of off-site trips is long, I know that many pupils will take fond memories of trips to the ice skating rink, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Caversham Lakes. There is always plenty of fun to be had in House as well; whether it is enjoying a Saturday night movie, taking part in quizzes, honing our Connect 4, Uno and Dobble skills or enjoying one of the many impromptu dance shows, the girls have really made the most of their time this year and have brought fun and merriment to everyone associated with the House. Whilst it is no surprise, it is always impressive to see the amazing array of talent in Junior

112

Community Engagement

House, from music and sport to drama and creative writing. One highlight this year was the amazing rendition of Revolting Children in House Shout, which led to a request for a performance on Dove Day. It was truly special to see the whole House together on the stage. The UIII play The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza by Don Zoldis provided another opportunity to take to the stage. Girls rehearsed tirelessly for this throughout the Spring Term and it was wonderful to be able to see the fruits of their labours in the final performance. In preparation for joining their Senior Houses, we have been eager to help them broaden their horizons. Older pupils regularly visit the House and UIII have been able to get to know older pupils through these visits, the Lower School Quiz and combined tutor time activities.

As the Wycombe Abbey year drew to a close, it was a real pleasure to be able to do something special as a year group and a House, and our three-day PGL residential in Dorset was just the thing! From loud singing on the buses, to the teamwork shown in raft building, to the general sense of adventure, it was with great pride that we were able to reflect upon how far this year group has come and how special they are. This year’s Junior House girls are bubbly, resilient and have the keenest sense of fun. I wish the girls continued success as they move to Senior Houses in September. Miss Lucy Crampton Head of Junior House

Airlie

am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to take on the role of Head of Airlie House this year. The sense of community and warmth lies at the heart of our House and is the aspect I will miss most as I move into Clarence House next year. This year has been an incredibly successful year for Airlie with a plethora of successes in inter-school competitions and with the House activities. In October, we were delighted to be able to hold our House dinner to celebrate our community and create more memories together. One of the highlights of the Autumn Term was when Airlie won the House Commendation shield; something that has not happened for over half a decade!

These events were undoubtedly memorable parts of the year, but what stuck with me was the supportive atmosphere throughout the House. The relationships between pupils and staff really helped create such a lovely space to return to after busy days at School. Whether that be through conversations during Toastie Wednesdays or Fruity Fridays, these small interactions with members of the community hold an incredibly special place in my heart.

In the Spring Term, we took second place in House Shout with our cover of Troublemaker by Olly Murs, where the judge commended us for our energy and dynamism. Seeing lots of hours of practice result in such an achievement was incredibly rewarding for everyone in House and has definitely motivated everyone to aim for first next year!

As I step down as Head of Airlie and embark on a new chapter in my Sixth Form journey, I will never forget all the laughs and giggles in House Order, all the fond memories I have made with every member of House, and all the love and support Airlie has given me as my second family. Megan Head of House

Gazette 2022-2023

113

Barry

s is customary, the atmosphere in Barry has been vibrant this year. The ever-increasing community spirit between year groups has been wonderful to see and has helped motivate us to achieve lots as a House throughout the year. Barry pupils have been successful from the get-go, with the Autumn Term seeing first place in both House Dance (for the first time in 27 years!), and in the Lower Fourth guy making competition for Bonfire Night. We also raised a considerable amount of money for charity on Bonfire Night, with thanks to our Charity Representatives Abigail and Honey, who did an amazing job at planning the raffle and stall. Abigail is also House Artist, and it has been lovely to see each girl presented with handmade birthday cards all throughout the year made by either her or another accomplished Barry artist. We ran our first Chapel Service in the Autumn Term, in which the impressive public speaking skills of the speakers were displayed. As usual, the term ended with the much-anticipated House Christmas party, involving themed dress up and fun party games, with the giving and opening of Secret Santa gifts at the end.

In the Spring Term, Barry’s enthusiasm continued to shine, and we worked hard on our performance of Taylor Swift’s Love Story in House Shout, led by Yau Yau the House conductor. The soloists, Natalie and Flora (LIV), showed huge courage when standing up and singing in front of the School and they both did us proud. We were fortunate enough to be paid a visit by the families of some Barry pupils, who came in to House to cook food and bring treats to celebrate Lunar New Year, allowing others to learn more about the culture of those around them. We wrapped up the term with a House Outing to Top Golf in Watford, where even here Barry demonstrated remarkable and surprising talent, along with Miss Clarke! The Summer Term proved our time to shine with regards to sport, and we reached the finals in House Games for both cricket and tennis, having been less lucky earlier in the year with netball and lacrosse. Our Sports

114

Community Engagement

Captains Tilly and Marta did an amazing job all year round, organising and managing all our teams each week. Barry girls supported one another during exam periods, and Ms Hurribunce put together regular treats including ice cream and breakfasts to boost morale. Summer is an especially exciting time for the Lower Fourth, who are assigned House Daughters from Upper Third pupils who are set to join Barry House in September. Integration happened throughout the term, with UIII visiting House regularly and eagerly being met by Barry pupils of all ages. Sports Day offered an additional opportunity for bonding and integration, as the UIIIs were called upon to represent their Senior House. For House Innings at the end the year, we came together as a community once more, playing rounders and enjoying an outdoor cinema. Yet again, the Barry House Staff’s unwavering support and kindness have been so greatly appreciated. To recognise this, we

came together to create kindness boxes full of notes of appreciation that were given to each member of the team, in consciousness that our thanks is often not demonstrated adequately day to day. Unfortunately, we bid a farewell to Mrs Clarke, part of our domestic team; we wish her all the best as she starts the next stage of her life with her husband in Norfolk. It has been an honour to be given the role of Head of House for Barry this year - I have learnt and gained so much and am extremely grateful for all the help from the LVI Mons, Ms Hurribunce and the House staff. I have loved being a part of such a wonderful House, and hope that everyone lucky enough to still be part of the community are able to enjoy it just as much as I did. Evie Head of House

Butler

t is hard to believe that our time in Butler House is coming to an end. Being a part of the Senior House has been one of the best parts of my boarding school experience and I will forever cherish the memories we have made along the journey. The focus on House spirit and emphasis on community mean that everyone is involved in House activities, and there is genuine excitement to participate in every aspect of School life, from Whole School Singing to Sports Day. The Autumn Term got off to a great start with our House Dinner, filled with entertaining music pieces and speeches as families had the chance to socialise together. We launched the Butler vs Barry bake-off which involved dorms competing against each other across the Houses to make delicious desserts, carefully judged by the staff. A highlight was our first colourful Diwali party organised by a group of girls from a range of year groups with the help of Miss Sunil, including belly-dancing, henna, and cultural art. Pumpkin carving in House Family groups, Cluedo and quiz nights kept us entertained as in-House activities, in addition to regular toastie and fruit-themed snack nights. We had a blast at Bonfire Night raising money for charity through a games stall, as well as a bake sale later in the term to add to the funds. Lots of fun in the snow added to the festive excitement, finishing with the infamous ‘Butler Bop’ and

gingerbread house-making ahead of the Christmas break.

sports, GlastonAbbey, Dove Day, and a Thames River boat cruise to finish the year.

In the Spring Term, Butler had a clean sweep and our most successful term to date! The House won the Commendation Shield, House Games Cup for lacrosse and netball, and House Shout competition with our rendition of Coldplay’s Viva la Vida. Every Butler team made it to the semi-finals in both lacrosse and netball with first house taking the win in lacrosse. Although it was a shorter term, we managed to keep in touch as House Families through breakfast together, board games sessions, and a fun evening of bowling and pizza for our House Outing.

As a House community, we are sad to say goodbye to Miss Lowther as our Housemistress, but wish her all the best on her travels around the world as she takes a year out from teaching. On behalf of the whole House, we want to thank her for everything that she has done for us along with all the other Butler staff. We are beyond thankful for her unending support and her efforts to make our School experience so special.

As we approached the end of the Summer Term, it was fun to welcome the Junior House girls into Butler during their weekly visits with outside games and activities, and we thoroughly enjoyed taking part in summer

Finally, we want to wish Miss Monteil a warm welcome as she becomes Housemistress in September, and we can’t wait for her to be a part of our Butler community. Liza Head of House

Gazette 2022-2023

115

Campbell

ur theme for this year was Integration. Our focus has been to build better rapport between and within year groups and encourage appreciation of traditions from different cultures. As ever, the Autumn Term was an especially busy one. Continuing the tradition of having Monday activities for younger girls with the Lower Sixth, we started off the year with an intense but fun game of Articulate. A special mention must go to the Sport Captains Grace and Khiyati, who have led Campbell to bring back the Swimming Shield once again – a very proud moment for us as a House indeed. Our talented dance captain, Zahirah, also worked very hard with Upper Fourth for the annual dance competition, winning for the first time in too many years. Having served as the Housemistress of Campbell for 13 years, it was undeniably sad to let Dr Yuasa go, but we wish her the best for her future endeavours. In the Spring Term, we welcomed Ms Dorme as our new Housemistress. We held a very successful House Dinner, raising over £600 for our School charity. One of this year’s highlights has to be dumpling making with Lower Sixth to celebrate Lunar New Year. For Mental Health Awareness Week, we

116

Community Engagement

held our own Courageous Conversation, where we would talk about times when we have struggled. At the end of the term, we went into London together and had a delightful time eating delicious Japanese Tepanyaki at Benihana’s. As the weather was getting hot in the Summer Term, we decided to bring back Cooking with Mons once again, this time making ice cream mochis. The House also came together as a community for Sports Day with wonderful enthusiasm and it was a wonderful opportunity to support each other and showcase our House spirit! Although I look forward to the opportunities ahead, I will always cherish the memories and friendships I’ve made in Campbell. As I transition into Clarence next year, the warm sense of community and the amazing support from the House staff will be the things I miss most about Campbell. Jade Head of House

Cloister

have loved every minute of my five years here and I will never forget them as I move on to Clarence. It was a great pleasure taking over the Head of House role from Laila after she became Head Girl, an amazing achievement for her and we as a House are so proud. The Lower Sixth will miss the Cloister tightknit community so much, the girls and the wonderful staff. Thank you for everything!! During the Autumn Term we had a very successful Bonfire Night charity stall, raising just under £400, alongside the Lower Fourth’s amazing guy, the alien from Toy Story. Lower Sixth started to introduce hot chocolate with Mons, which was a lovely way to chat with everyone in the House even though we weren’t in mixed aged dorms anymore. Coming into the Spring Term, the flowers started to bloom, and the nights started to become lighter, brightening everyone’s mood. In February we held our annual House Dinner in which we had Mexican themed food and a fun filled raffle with lots of prizes donated by parents. The evening was a perfect opportunity to celebrate our community and create more memories as a Boarding House. We had a very successful Spring Term coming first in House Netball Funals and second in lacrosse after a very tough match to Butler. One House favourite was the mocktails in

the evening, where everyone would come together and enjoy, with fun music playing, giving everyone a time to relax. A favourite moment of the House was the news of a new baby for our Housemistress, which we are all so excited about and of course we will always be happy to babysit! Our House outing in the Spring Term to Laser Tag, which was a competitive, cheerful night with Team 2 being victorious, was also another favourite moment. Lastly, this term LIV became House Mothers to our incoming UIII, which will be a great opportunity for them to bond as well as time for UIII to integrate within the House. To all the new pupils entering the Cloister family, we hope you have the best five years, and to those whom we are leaving behind, we will miss you. Amaya Head of House

Gazette 2022-2023

117

Pitt

e’d never imagined that leaving Pitt for Clarence would be so difficult. The memories and joy we’ve experienced in Pitt will always be a part of our lives, and we’ve truly treasured every moment of our School life here. We started off the academic year with a bang. While we welcomed the 16 new girls joining Pitt in the Fourth Form and Lower Sixth, we were also very lucky to welcome Mrs Maddison and her lovely dog, Arnie, as our new Assistant Housemistress after Mrs George left on maternity leave, alongside Miss Harris, our Resident Tutor for the year. Upper Fourth made all of Pitt incredibly proud with their showstopping performance in House Dance, amazing everyone with the pop themed performance to a medley of ABBA, the Spice Girls, Shakira and more, returning triumphant in second place. Although they just missed a spot on the podium, Lower Fourth also did a fantastic job in the creation of a Minion Guy for Bonfire Night and raising more than £200. An amazing black tie House Dinner was held in the refurbished Big School, where Gwyneth’s piano skills amazed us all. Celebrations and festivities for Christmas soon followed, with the whole House joining in the decorating of the Christmas tree, a surprising and exciting game of House Cluedo (the winner was never revealed…) and endless baking nights with Miss Wells of crumble, yule logs and gingerbread.

118

Community Engagement

In the Spring Term, Pitt came together to prepare a Disney medley for the annual House Shout Competition with special thanks to Anabel and Caitlyn for arranging the music. We danced and sang to Rapunzel, Toy Story, Princess and the Frog and Mulan. Although we were robbed by Butler, House spirit was high, especially as we were decked out in yellow sunglasses, wigs, and skirts. Our House Inning was a wonderfully organised chocolate making and decorating session in Big School with professional chocolatiers that made the experience even more entertaining! We combined our artistry and marketing skills to become Wycombe Abbey’s newest chocolate entrepreneurs, advertising our companies to Miss Allen, and the chocolatiers. The most memorable presentations ranged from promises of Fairtrade schemes to the health benefits of gold flake chocolate. Summer Term, although packed with exams, is always a highlight of the academic year because of how many fun events the Pitt House staff organise for us. Food-related activities have always been popular, and this term was no exception! We welcomed the

summer weather with sweet treats such as DIY fruit smoothies, ice cream, and cookies. Wednesday Risotto and Fruity Fridays have been a wonderful opportunity for all year groups to connect in the kitchen, and for Lower Sixth to offer any help and advice. To relieve exam stress, a group of puppies visited Pitt and playing with them on the grass outside was delightful. The spirit in which the girls in House tackled challenges and bumps along the year has been impressive to say the least. I’ve been so proud to be a part of Pitt and live amongst these wonderful people and will surely miss it when we depart for Clarence. Janelle Head of House

Rubens

ubens has had the best year. The girls are brighter, bolder and more daring than ever, and the ratio of Percy Pigs to pupils continues to fall in favour of our pink piggy mascot. It has been a year of teamwork, triumphs and total joy as the girls all continue their journey within the pink palace. Highlights of the year include our House outing to Bluegrass, House Shout and end of year trip to see Moulin Rouge! in London. I can say with absolute certainty that there will never be anything more rewarding and important than being Housemistress to these incredible young people, who have the brightest futures ahead of them. The girls are at the heart of everything we do in Rubens and it is their individual skills, talents and humour that give the House a family feel and make the sisterhood a very real, visceral thing for the boarders and day girls. Mia (LIV), Emily (LVI), Bea (UVI) reflect on their time in Rubens and what being a Rubens girl means to them: ‘As soon as I found out that I was in Rubens, I immediately jumped up out of my chair. I was so excited to be in such a nice House, with a great colour too! Everyone is so nice and helpful, and it feels great to be part of such an amazing community. From House games to Sports Day, to in-House activities, there are countless ways of how you can get integrated with the Rubens pink family. Especially as a day boarder, I have found that interaction and getting involved in House is a key part to feeling a sense of belonging. For me, the best thing about joining a Senior House is that you have a lot more independence, and it is a great opportunity to build life-long bonds and friendships, not only with your year group but with older girls as well. Rubens is such an amazing community and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.’ Mia, LIV

‘Percy pig’, ‘underfloor heating’ and ‘the best dogs’ are phrases that may crop up when playing word association with the starter word of Rubens. But more often, you’ll hear us being described as a family, and such a warm, pink environment. It’s what I love about Rubens – it’s the people, it’s the teachers, it’s the open and friendly vibe that just engulfs the whole place. Rubens has genuinely become a home away from home for all of us, thanks to the incredible House staff who knit our community together. Without them, I’m certain that my transition into Sixth Form would not have been this smooth, with the unfaltering pastoral support, especially from Mrs Thomas, Mrs Cox and Mrs Pearce, our matrons. Both Miss Hoyle and Miss Rowley deserve special mentions for helping us step into our roles of responsibility, guiding us through our first experiences of A levels, and just being brilliant as per usual. And, of course, Mrs Compton’s consistent optimism and willingness to set time aside for us has made me appreciate having such a fantastic tutor. I’m really looking forward to what this year has in store, and I know it’ll be that much easier with so much support at hand.’ Emily, LVI

‘Rubens is more than the pink tie, stunning facilities, and the relief of arriving home after a long day of lessons. To me, Rubens is special. It’s the community and ethos that welcomes you as soon as you walk in the doors – from arriving as a timid 12-year-old in my second year, I quickly came to the realisation that some of my best memories would come from the family I’d just entered. One of the most amazing things about the Rubens family is the pure nature of the girls: compassionate, loyal and caring. From growing up surrounded by friends both above and below me in the School, my family tree really made me feel like a valued member of this complex Wycombe Abbey bubble that can be easy to find yourself lost in. Feeling included and part of a sisterhood ultimately has made my experience at School so special. Whether it be walking in the doors to be greeted by a hot chocolate, a Labrador, or a rather pink common room filled with Percy Pigs, Rubens feels like a home, not a House, and never fails to put a smile on my face!’ Bea, UVI Miss Hoyle Housemistress of Rubens

Gazette 2022-2023

119

Shelburne

his year in Shelburne has been as eventful as always! We started the year with the traditional hot chocolate with the Mons, getting to know new girls and catching up with previous friends. The Bonfire Night celebrations were a sight to behold, with the gorgeous fireworks display and charity fundraising, for which we chose to run a face painting stall, which was extremely popular. To round off the term, we had the various Christmas celebrations, including an incredible staff pantomime, where Miss Phillips was spotted taking up a role, and an inter-House/inter-year Daws Hill Christmas quiz which was a great way to get all of the Daws Hill Houses together! While certainly chilly with a couple of bouts of snow, the Autumn Term was one to remember. In the Spring Term we held our Shelburne Dinner, where parents came along for delicious food, a charity raffle, and a bit of entertainment from the girls. Always an enjoyable evening, it was lovely to see parents and girls interact, meeting new families and bringing the Shelburne community ever closer. The end of Spring Term was packed with events with everyone taking part in House Funals for netball and lacrosse, either playing or cheerleading, and Shelburne smashed it as always, despite the various last-minute injuries. The final few days of term contained our House Outing, which was dinner at Wagamama, and some heated bowling competitions ended with ice cream sundaes to cool off. Finally, we competed in House Shout, placing second with our performance of Best Song Ever. It had everything: singing, instrumental solos, impeccable choreography and angelic voices!

120

Community Engagement

We said goodbye to Miss Taylor during this term as she left for Downe House, but we welcomed Miss Phillips as our new Housemistress and Miss Tay as Assistant Housemistress, the newest addition to the Shelburne family! The final term of the 2022-2023 year was a lovely way to end the year and start off summer. The introduction of the karaoke machine in House was a massive hit, and you can often hear a rendition of a musical or Disney song echoing throughout House. With the weather improving, Daws Hill Rounders became a weekly occurrence, and we even held a House Family Sports Day after redoing the big family tree to begin a new chapter of our House families. The Junior House girls came regularly to participate in activities to integrate them into the House and the new House Mothers and

Daughters were assigned. To finish off, we had the long awaited Sports Day and our House Outing to go-karting! Our time in Shelburne has been nothing short of wonderful, and we will all immensely miss the House we have come to consider a family! Dorm feasts and chips and dips are memories we will cherish forever as we remember the last five years. We wish all the new pupils entering the Shelburne family the best of luck and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have. Ella Head of House

Wendover

endover has always been more of a family than a House and this year no more than ever. I am sad to say that my time in Wendover has come to an end but so proud to count myself a part of this strong group of friends. The year seems to have passed by quicker than any yet, but it has been packed full of House traditions, late night laughter in dorms and memories that we will all keep with us for a long time to come. The hours spent in House are always the best part of any week with Daws Hill Rounders, McFlurry Mondays, and the new-found love of Connect 4 being a continual source of amusement and energy amongst our busy lives. It’s the small quirks and connections built through living with people that bring such a unique element to the relationships we form here. Building on pre-existing friendships and welcoming new girls to the joys of Wendover has been a pleasure. We all share an immense sense of pride and satisfaction when we can celebrate each other, whether that be cheering on Upper Fourth in House Dance or staying up in the Autumn Term to surprise the House with Fairies. Everyone in this House should be

incredibly proud of all they achieve on a daily basis – I certainly am. Wendover has always been a strong House, a House that holds a remarkable sense of grit and resolve, but with such closeness comes a natural heartbreak with the loss of someone fundamental to our community. The tragic passing of Caitlyn has ricocheted through the House and in the name of Wendover, we also remember the name of Caitlyn and the love she brought and shared with so many. Each year the House is underpinned by the empathy and instrumental commitment of the staff, and this year is no exception. Wendover staff really do embody everything we represent, and I am forever grateful for all that they do for us. The past five years have been characterised by the love and enthusiasm they inject into the House, and I count myself lucky that I had the opportunity to get to know each one of them.

Saying goodbye to Wendover is not an easy thing but being able to represent the House this year has been a privilege. I admire everyone I have come to meet through my time here and cannot wait to follow the achievements of Wendover in the years to come. Megan Head of House

Gazette 2022-2023

121

Clarence

his year has been a rollercoaster of emotions for all of us. With our year group finally being reunited for our final year in School, we all got to experience our last memories of Wycombe Abbey together.

The School year began with a whirl of emotions. The experience of being thrust into predicted grade exams combined with the feeling that we were entering the next stage of our lives after moving out of Senior Houses was exciting and daunting. From learning how to manage work alongside cooking for ourselves, gaining a new-found independence, to finalising our UCAS applications; the Autumn Term was unforgettable. While there were many daunting events, with many people submitting to UCAS and sitting interviews, the fun and laughter never stopped in Clarence. Being able to visit people in the evening that were not in our Senior Houses strengthened friendships which will last for the rest of our lives. One of the best memories I will have of my time at Wycombe Abbey has to be my final Christmas Carol practice in Big School. I will never forget being able to sing the Charterhouse Carol with my friends for the final time. Even though the idea of A levels approaching was never forgotten during the year, this did not stop the fun in Clarence. Many 18ths were celebrated and the sense of community

122

Community Engagement

only continued to strengthen as the year progressed. Throughout the year many events were also put on within Clarence, whether that be the Clarence bar on a Saturday evening, watching the World Cup in the Common Room, or just having a cup of tea with House staff. A particular highlight of the Summer Term was the puppy visits during the exam period, which definitely helped us all relax and have a much-needed cuddle! Even with A levels beginning in the Summer Term, we all treasured the security and safety of our final moments at School together. I am so grateful to be able to finish my Wycombe Abbey experience in Clarence, with this year being my favourite and most special year at School. The House staff have been so amazing all year, and I have been able to discover forever friendships. I will miss Wycombe Abbey as I move on to the next stage of my life, and I am so happy that Clarence was able to make my School experience so positive. I wish them all the best of luck for Clarence and the House staff next year! Georgia Clarence Chairman

From the higher education perspective, Clarence are going on to study a huge range of subjects from Anglo Saxon, Norse, and Celtic to Zoology, from Aerospace Engineering to Visual Arts and Film, all at a wide range of world-class institutions. The United States is once again a popular destination and will account for approximately 15% of our leavers this year. University College London is again our most popular destination, closely followed by the University of Oxford, both perennial favourites at Wycombe Abbey. We, of course, wish all of our leavers the very best in their next steps and we look forward to seeing all the wonderful things that they will achieve. Dr Neal Carrier Director of Sixth Form

Staff Leavers

Alec Howells Deputy Head of Lower School, Teacher of Computer Science and Religious Studies

eacher of Computer Science and Religious Studies, Deputy Head of Lower School, Head of Debating and Public Speaking. Alec Howells joined Wycombe Abbey in September 2017 as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) at the start of his teaching career.

He brought a love for learning to both the Computer Science and Religious Studies Departments. He introduced some interesting, cross-curricular themes such as the ethical issues of Artificial Intelligence and digital art. He introduced our now very popular Hackathons to the School, also with inter-disciplinary themes such as poetry generation. He has run our entry each year to the BEBRAS, computational thinking competition and encouraged the pupils along the way. This last year we extended our entry to include the Oxford University Computing Challenge. He has helped grow the numbers of Computer Science pupils taking up GCSE and A level. He also encouraged our Computer Science Society to flourish every week, organising activities and speakers. He took on our annual Lower Fourth trip to Bletchley Park and turned it from a computing trip to a much more dynamic cross-curricular themed project, with pupils reflecting more deeply on what they had learned. The pupils will remember him as a dedicated and kind teacher with a wide range of knowledge, who

was always keen to help them, whether it be simple binary conversions or the intricacies of Dijkstra’s graph searching algorithm. As a form tutor and House tutor, he has supported pupils in Airlie, Butler, and Wendover, and has given up his time to take part in the musical life of the School, playing the guitar in Stage Band. He has taken on additional responsibilities such as organising Caledonian Society balls, numerous trips, the Debating and Public Speaking Society, and becoming Deputy Head of Lower School. He has achieved much during his time here, regenerating the Dove Award with its focus on the School Values and Academic Qualities – which are perfectly exemplified in Alec. Not content to be an excellent teacher in two subject areas, Alec would spend a lot of his spare time studying for a Bachelor of Divinity. We wish him every success at the Oporto British School in Portugal. Mr Adrian Porter Head of Computer Science

Gazette 2022-2023

123

Aya Yuasa, Head of Boarding and Campbell Housemistress

r Aya Yuasa first joined Wycombe Abbey as a pupil in Campbell House and then returned to the School as a teacher in 2008. A true polymath, Dr Yuasa taught in the Music Department and worked in Clarence House before taking up the posts of Housemistress of Campbell and teacher in the Learning Enhancement Department. Whilst Aya remained an avid supporter of music in School, frequently performing in concerts on an array of different instruments, it was increasingly in the learning enhancement and pastoral life of the School that Aya had the biggest impact. Her deep knowledge of SEND needs allowed her to support a wide number of pupils and made her an excellent source of advice and guidance for staff. Having been a “Campbell Girl” herself, her devotion to the House and caring for those pupils lucky enough to have her as their Housemistress made her, in the words of a former Campbell pupil ‘a true legend’.

As Head of Boarding, from September 2019, Aya played an important role in not only supporting colleagues and pupils within the boarding community, but also in helping the School navigate the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Her fearless work ethic and determination were exceptionally important in planning for pupils to quarantine in School, and to support those who needed to isolate. Throughout this period her good warmth and good humour were greatly appreciated by those around her. We wish Aya all the best in her new role, as Assistant Head (Personalised Learning and Wellbeing), at Queenswood School and we look forward to welcoming her back to School as a Senior! Mr James Jones Deputy Head (Pupils)

Binit Shah, Director of Digital Learning

init has been an exemplary Maths teacher and Director of Digital Learning, the latter post being an especially challenging role to hold when taken up midway through a global pandemic; Binit rose to the challenge. Alongside his enthusiasm has been an unwavering determination to share his ideas and upskill those around him and, gradually, we are all becoming more adept with our School systems. Alongside Binit’s digital role, he has also been an excellent Maths teacher – the department has benefited from his cheerful, enthusiastic and positive presence and many girls have developed a love of the subject.

124

Community Engagement

But it’s not only been pupils who have learnt from Binit, he was also a successful mentor to new members of the department in recent years, helping to train the next generation of Maths teachers. We wish Binit all the success in the future and best of luck on his next adventure. Mr Nick Woods Deputy Head (Strategy and Operations)

Charlotte Radcliffe, Teacher of PE

harlotte joined Wycombe Abbey as an Early Careers Teacher (ECT) in 2021 after completing her PGCE training at Dr Challoner’s High School. She has been a real asset to the team, bringing enthusiasm and laughter into the department and all her lessons. Charlotte threw herself into boarding school life; taking part in several activities and trips and has left a lasting impression on her UIII tutees. The pupils reach out to her as she is relatable and has proved herself to be an excellent listener.

Charlotte has grown and developed over the two years into a confident and knowledgeable teacher and we wish her the best of luck as she takes on her new role of Teacher of PE at Abbot’s Hill School. May her future endeavours be filled with endless possibilities, personal fulfilment, and continued success. Mrs Sophie Bryett-Windle Director of Sport

Georgie Taylor, Head of Geography and Shelburne Housemistress

iss Georgie Taylor joined Wycombe Abbey in September 2018 as Head of Geography and successfully ran the department for four and a half years. Her love for the subject and passion for creating travel opportunities for pupils were hallmarks of her time here at School. Doing only one role at a time, however, was never Georgie’s approach to School life. Miss Taylor quickly established herself as someone who wanted to involve herself fully in all aspects of the School community. As Head of Global Opportunities, Georgie overlooked exchange opportunities for pupils and exciting events such as the School’s Culture Fair. Alongside her notable contribution to the academic side of life at Wycombe Abbey, Georgie was equally at home playing an important role in the School’s pastoral

provision, and was appointed to the role of Housemistress of Shelburne House in September 2020. She has a natural affinity for boarding and provided a warm and caring atmosphere for the pupils of Shelburne over the past three years, whilst always being keen to contribute to a number of wider boarding initiatives. Georgie epitomised the whole School ethos of boarding life and contributed to an array of extra-curricular activities and trips from hockey and MUN to ski races. Her willingness to give her time to provide opportunities for others has helped enrich the lives of pupils at Wycombe Abbey. We wish her all the very best in her new role as Assistant Head (Sixth Form) at Downe House. Mr James Jones Deputy Head (Pupils)

Gazette 2022-2023

125

Hannah Lowther Head of Co-curricular Activities and Trips, Butler Housemistress and Teacher of PE

ince joining Wycombe Abbey as a Resident Tutor in September 2014, Hannah has amassed an incredible number of different job titles and a wealth of experience. She has been an Admissions Executive, the Assistant Housemistress of Shelburne, a teacher of PE, the acting Housemistress of Shelburne and most recently the Housemistress of Butler, as well as being the Head of Co-curricular Activities and trips. She has approached all these varied roles with creativity and the sort of energy levels one would expect from someone who swam the channel!

Throughout her different roles, boarding has remained a constant for Hannah. As an Assistant Housemistress and as a Housemistress she has worked hard to not only provide care and support for each individual girl, but also to develop a strong sense of community amongst the pupils and

staff in her House. Be it organising for the House to publish a book for charity or winning the House Shout trophy each year since the competition returned to School life, Hannah has urged her charges to make the most of each opportunity they are given; this is something for which Butler pupils will remember her fondly. Hannah’s energy and sense of adventure made her an excellent person to help re-launch the School’s programme of trips and excursions in recent years, and her own plans for next year of travelling through South America and canoeing in Antarctica, are perfect for someone with a love of travel and excitement. We wish her all the best for her travels! Mr James Jones Deputy Head (Pupils)

Jenny Werren, Teacher of Chemistry

enny joined Wycombe Abbey as a Teacher of Chemistry in 2014, bringing her own brand of enthusiasm for ‘All Things Chemistry’ with her. A highly dedicated and well-loved teacher, she has taught every year group and will always take the extra time to ensure that every pupil is individually looked after. In addition to her teaching role, she has been an UIII tutor, run the annual Salters’ Chemistry Competition, CREST Awards, Junior and Senior Chemistry Activities as well as being involved in Sixth Form extension opportunities, Olympiads and Challenges. She has shared her Flourishing ideas through workshops, taught bespoke Carrington Chemistry Electives, is the DofE Award Verifier and is an active member of the Staff Wellbeing Committee and more recently the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

126

Community Engagement

Committee. Her enthusiasm ensures that she is always a willing contributor to School events such as STEAM Olympics, Crosscurricular Projects and most notably the recent Giant Science where she ruled the stage running a sequence of eye-catching chemistry demonstrations. She is a regular at Dove Day and often has a Great Dane by her side! Jenny will be greatly missed and will always have a Wycombe Abbey connection: she was married in the Chapel and her daughter Heather was baptised there too. She will continue to be a teacher of Chemistry on her move to Stowe School and we wish her, Stuart, Heather and Blaze all the best for their future. Mrs Zoe Edwards Head of Chemistry

Neal Carrier, Director of Sixth Form

eal joined Wycombe Abbey in September 2019 as Director of Sixth Form. In 2021 he became Head of Partnerships and Bursaries, working to re-establish our partnerships programme post-Covid. His knowledge of Higher Education and US universities was a real asset to all of us, and pupils and staff alike benefitted from his experience. In addition to his role in the Sixth Form, he worked hard to reintroduce our partnership visits, facilitating Lower Sixth

volunteering sessions at primary schools, which was an incredibly valuable experience for all involved. Dr Carrier has led our Sixth Form team with dedication and wisdom, and has grown our partnerships provision enormously. His expertise will be missed, but I wish him well as he embarks on an exciting new career within educational consultancy. Mrs Jo Duncan Headmistress

Zoe Edwards, Head of Chemistry

oe arrived at Wycombe Abbey as Head of Chemistry in 2007. A whirlwind of energy with a phenomenal work ethic, she has tremendous ability to inspire motivation and determination in her pupils, which has led to so much success for them. Zoe’s honesty and deep-rooted sense of what is right never fails her and she has thrown herself wholeheartedly into building an incredibly strong team of teachers and technicians. The quality and quantity of practical work in Chemistry is astonishing and the large numbers of pupils who choose A level Chemistry reflects their enjoyment and appreciation of the hard work of Zoe and her team. Zoe has nurtured, supported and encouraged not only the girls but also the staff in the Chemistry Department, enabling them to flourish and develop professionally.

In addition to her devotion to all things chemistry, Zoe has also embraced many STEAM activities and events, most recently performing some entrancing demonstrations at Giant Science. As a Sixth Form tutor, Zoe has been a positive influence on so many pupils, giving sound advice and guidance during this crucial stage of their school career. Zoe has coached huge numbers of would-be medical students both in Wycombe Abbey and with partnership schools; there are many medics now who owe her a great deal for helping launch their medical careers. The Chemistry Department has gone from strength to strength under Zoe’s leadership and she will be greatly missed. We wish her every success and happiness as she moves on to new adventures. Mrs Sue Buxton Director of Science and STEM

Gazette 2022-2023

127

Marion Bonnefoy

arion Bonnefoy sadly leaves Wycombe Abbey after eight years. She graduated at the Paul Bocuse school of Culinary Artes in France and our girls have benefited from a wealth of experience and knowledge. Mrs Bonnefoy in her teaching enjoys explaining the chemistry behind the ingredients, she delivers excitement for her pupils, wants to provide a sense of wellbeing, encourage healthy eating and most of all promote a sense of adventure with food. She has developed key life skills with the younger years, and by teaching the Leiths course to Sixth Formers has encouraged a love of cooking and respect for ingredients

and techniques. Her way is to make pupils question and understand by learning from mistakes as well as to judge their timings. Marion Bonnefoy is an excellent teacher and an experienced chef, and has been instrumental in the planning and development of our new state of the art Cookery room. Wycombe Abbey is sorry to lose her magical presence. However, she moves on to think about her own career within the world of cookery and I am sure her skills, experience and sharp business mind will be put to good use. Miss Kay Williams Head of Art and Cookery

Julia Hyde, Assistant Chaplain

128

Community Engagement

ulia has been an exceptional colleague, a guiding light, and a caring presence in our School community. It is with both sadness and gratitude that we say goodbye to her and her husband Andy who has been our lead gardener. During the past two years Julia has uplifted our spirits and made an impact on the lives of countless individuals.

House and going on endless field trips with the Geography Department. She has been an excellent role model for both staff and pupils with her attitude of going beyond what has been expected of her and her genuine acts of kindness. She has reminded us of the importance of faith and encouragement, even on the darkest of days.

Julia has been utterly dedicated to her role within Chaplaincy and, as Head of Charity for Wycombe Abbey, has raised a record amount for our School charities. Julia’s duties have extended far beyond the title she held; at a moment’s notice she has filled positions such as being an Upper Fifth tutor, Assistant Housemistress of Cloister, assisting with evening activities in Junior

We will miss Julia and Andy from our community and the support they have both given to others. We wish them joy and happiness for whatever the future holds for them in Derbyshire. Rev Penny Nash Chaplain

We also say farewell to Clare Flynn-Scarcelli (Director of Development), Katherine Stark (School Receptionsist) who leaves after 21 years' service and Caroline Darling (Resident Matron). The Support and Boarding staff are an important part of the Wycombe Abbey community and we wish all our leavers the very best as they move on to pastures new.

Gazette 2022-2023

129

wycombeabbey.com

Registered Charity No. 310638