Academic Report 2023 - 2024
Introduction
It has been another year of academic success, both collectively and individually. From UIII to UVI, pupils have enjoyed discovering their passions and sharing these with each other. There has been a focus on creativity in the classroom this year, interpreted in a myriad ways. We have also encouraged crosscurricular links, for example through the music and languages concert in the Autumn Term.
LVI EPQ projects, currently pouring into teacher’s inboxes for marking, have been impressive this year. Projects have included topics as diverse as censorship of contemporary art, the impact of Renaissance popes, China’s one child policy, Women’s rugby and the Vietnam War. The girls have learned a great deal about the process of planning, researching, synthesising and evaluating information. They have all given presentations on their chosen subject, in addition to producing a 5000 word essay.
Trips have given pupils a flavour of learning outside school, for example the Easter trip to CERN, which always leaves pupils and staff in awe of the top level academic research undertaken there. At the other end of the spectrum, UIII girls spent time in Jersey during May Long Leave, learning hands-on about conservation work at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, as well as historical visits to the War tunnels and Gorey Castle, not to mention an abundance of ice-cream eating.
Alongside academic enrichment, we should not forget the amazing efforts which both staff and pupils put into lessons every day, in particular when preparing for public exams. We have introduced several overseas exchanges this year; these have inspired both the pupils and staff who have taken part to consider new ideas and ways of learning.
I am grateful to the Heads of Department for summarising the successes and achievements of the girls in the Academic Reports which follow.
Miss Emily Boswell Deputy Head (Academic)
ArtThe examination results last summer were extremely strong with UV gaining 17 GCSEs at Grade 9, two at Grade 8 and A level pupils all gaining A*. All the pupils worked to their strengths by choosing to explore a wide range of mediums including watercolour, oil and acrylic painting, glass, drypoint etching, screen printing, ceramics and tufting. The benefit of being in a boarding community is that the department can offer specialist staffing during evening and weekends and so our pupils have the time to explore, experiment and refine their ideas in addition to timetabled lessons. Our leavers last year have pursued Architecture at Nottingham, Gaming and Digital Design and attended Foundation courses in Scotland and London.
We are working closely with the architects and are looking forward to the new development of the School site. The plans for the IDC have inspired us to trial a more open approach to teaching. UIV were given a white shirt design brief to de-construct and re-design from the same starting point. Dyeing, ruching, quilting and lacing were used to effect as team discussion was purposeful and influenced by knowledge of designers from street fashion to Vivian Westwood and Iris van Herpen, culminating in a fashion catwalk. The LIV have created felted wall hangings and some groups combined free machine stitching and quilting to create jewellery.
Inspired by insects and wings during the visit to the Natural History Museum in Oxford, UIII designed vibrant circular cushions using applique shapes, angelina fibres, quilting, machine and hand embroidery. Painting still life in a contemporary style, influenced by the work of Michael Craig-Martin, has encouraged layering and the use of a warm colour palette.
The examination groups continue to excel, encouraged by workshops in tufting, life drawing, dark room photography and glass gilding. New this year, the LVI have had the opportunity to experience a weekly glass course with our glass specialist Mrs Phipps, experimenting with glass fusion, slumping and lost vegetable casting. This has inspired experimentation and developmental work which will feature in their exhibitions next year.
Our online annual Art exhibition, ‘Imaginarium’, in collaboration with our overseas schools, grows each year and shows a wide range of talent and creativity across the globe. Online meetings mean we can pursue ideas with like-minded individuals to enrich our thinking. Talented Wycombe Abbey musicians created the compositions to accompany the exhibition.
Miss Kay Williams Head of Art and Cookery
LIV portrait
A level glass
Biology
We were delighted to return from the summer holidays to find Laboratory B1 had been beautifully refitted. We are excited to put our newly developed interior design skills into action again as we redesign lab B2 over the summer, where we intend to introduce the first wet/dry lab at Wycombe Abbey. We are aiming to further cultivate a world-class space for teaching and learning and look forward to seeing the results in September!
The 2023 examination cohorts celebrated strong results; they were a pleasure to teach, and we are very proud of their achievements. We welcomed a new cohort of LVI into the Biology department and have been excited to see them fall in love with A level Biology theory. Not least the challenge of the core practicals, where they have developed new skills of dexterity and precision, as well as highlighted limitations and debated currently accepted models. Mr Whiteley has again worked tirelessly with our prospective medical applicants, helping them prepare for admissions tests and running mock interviews, both for Wycombe Abbey pupils and those from a range of other schools.
In both our bespoke curriculum (UIII and LIV) and external examination courses (Edexcel IGCSE and Edexcel B A level), we have continued to work collaboratively with our technicians to develop further the practical provision. Experiments have been fine-tuned and trialled to allow for smoother running of practical sessions. UIII and LIV lessons revolve around the STEM 10 core skills, and there have been many opportunities for extension and challenge, both during teaching and in preparation time. Our labs are now overflowing with beautifully designed and executed posters – we have had to order more noticeboards! – and there have been some brilliant presentations by our Lower School pupils. UIV to UV have concentrated on IGCSE topics and worked through the required practicals to develop their wider scientific skills. We are excited to welcome a large LVI cohort into the department in September.
Once again, we celebrated British Science Week, where the theme this year was ‘Time’. We encouraged our classes to grow as many seedlings as possible and track their progress. We returned from the Easter holidays to find our windowsills full of lush, green leaves and are now busy rehoming the well-tended specimens. LVI completed core practical 7, where they dissected and viewed a locust to locate its respiratory system. Unlike mammals or fish, locusts do not rely on lungs or gills, instead ventilating their bodies via tiny holes in the abdomen called spiracles. These gaps then join tiny tubes (trachea
and tracheoles) which deliver oxygen directly to body cells. These can be inflated with water and viewed under the microscope, where they look like silver bubbles. Dissection is an important skill for our budding scientists and we were again able to offer UVI the opportunity to complete a whole-mammal dissection. B2 was filled with excitement and awe as they learned about the anatomy of the rat – we are fortunate to offer this practical, as it is not widely carried out in schools, and our top medical/ veterinary/biology applicants gain a great deal from this experience.
Both Junior and Senior science activities have continued this year. UIII were able to grow grass heads, make bird feeders and study butterfly specimens to transfer to 3D wooden models, and LVI worked together to extract DNA from onions as well as finding out how the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test works. These sessions offer biologists the opportunity to carry out practical work beyond the confines of the specification. We also offered the opportunity for girls to take part in the British Biology Olympiad and British Biology Challenge, pushing them out of their comfort zones!
Mr Whiteley has officially launched applications for the trip to Peru in 2025 and there has been much excited chatter about the types of creepy crawlies that could potentially be stumbled upon in the Peruvian Rainforest in summer 2025.
Mrs Lizzi Wallace Head of Biology
UV reviewing IGCSE practicals
Chemistry
It has been a busy year in Chemistry with the usual high levels of practical work complemented by the challenge of some of the more demanding, or perhaps more interesting, parts of the curriculum. A lot goes on behind the scenes to make sure practical work runs smoothly including trialling new experiments.
With some UIII using Bunsen Burners for the first time there is always an air of excitement at the start of the year. This was further enhanced as the department trialled using the medium of video to reinforce the importance of lab safety and really tapped into the pupils’ creativity and team work. Some of the videos were excellent and we will be keeping this prep for future years to enjoy. As part of British Science Week, UIII had time to design and carry out their own investigations into jelly setting and what additives affect this process. They learned that bits of pineapple in the jelly hinder the setting.
LV really showed their enthusiasm in the first term with 11 teams of four participating in the RSC Chemistry Challenge to tackle tricky and sometimes cryptic chemical problems. The level of participation, despite it taking part in the evening, was unsurpassed and we had to take over the Courtroom Café to fit all the teams in. Four girls from UIV to UV also took part online in the regional heat of the ‘Top of the Bench’ competition achieving a respectable 9th place out of 60 teams from across the region. Older pupils represented the school too with all Olympiad participants receiving awards including four gold, a silver and two bronze. Wycombe Abbey made its first appearance at the Chemistry Race at University of Oxford where the team of UVI and LVI pupils got a special mention for the first time accuracy of their answers.
The Chemistry department welcomed a new Head of Department this year and pupils have enjoyed several new demonstrations as well as tweaks to traditional practicals. The new chip pan fire demonstration in LIV added some extra excitement to the oxidation topic whilst highlighting the importance of tackling undesired combustion in the correct way. One UIII class tested an alternative method to performing distillation without using water as the solvent. It is quite unusual to see a liquid boiling whilst submersed in another that is not.
UIV have, as usual, entered into the more detailed understanding of Chemistry that goes beyond words and observations into being able to communicate using formulae and balanced equations. This has been complemented by plenty of interesting reactions to practise this skill on. Group 1 metals reacting with water is always popular and investigations into the relative reactivity of a range of metals through a variety of techniques is something of a highlight in the scheme of work.
UVI like to mark the end of their time at Wycombe in a variety of ways and Dr George’s Chemistry class paid the compliment of all turning up as Dr George on their “when I grow up” fancy dress day. Chemistry enhances applications for many courses at University but the department is always pleased to see pupils who intend to pursue the subject directly and this year’s cohort has one pupil who has secured an offer to study Chemistry at the University of Oxford and another choosing Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry at Imperial College London as her first choice.
Mr James Young Head of Chemistry
UIV carbonate testing
LIV chip pan fire demonstration
Classics
It has been another fantastic year for the Classics Department. In the T-block classrooms ‘dead’ languages continue to come alive, and stories of the Ancient World captivate our pupils’ interests and imagination. Back in August, we were pleased to see four of our former pupils go on to study Classical Subjects at University and this year we proudly guided six UVI pupils through their applications for Classics (in fact, Classics was one of the most popular subject choices of this year group!).
The year has been filled with fun and educational activities for all year groups. In September, Classics and Modern Languages combined forces to celebrate the diverse cultures of Wycombe Abbey. UIII pupils were treated to a dinner inspired by many international cuisines and to a special performance of poems and songs in foreign languages by LIV to UVI pupils. The programme included two recitations in Latin and one in Ancient Greek, giving our youngest pupils a flavour of the two Classical languages that they would explore in the months to come.
During the Autumn Term, our UIII Classicists had the chance to read myths from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and come up with a creative response to the myths. We were truly impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness of our pupils’ works, which ranged from impressive artefacts including Midas’ golden throne, Pandora’s box, and Icarus’ wings, to animations, films and even an ABBA-inspired musical! All winners entered the Ovid Competition organised by The Cambridge School Classics Project and we were pleased that one of our girls was the Runner-Up for her short story about Adonis and Aphrodite.
Throughout the year, our pupils have had the chance to explore the Ancient World outside the curriculum. LIV pupils have once again taken part in the Declamations Competition alongside the MFL and English Departments and we were impressed with the Latin performance of Pliny’s depiction of the eruption of Vesuvius, which won the overall competition!
UIV pupils produced a range of projects exploring aspects of life in ‘Aquae Sulis’, modern Bath. LV to UVI pupils were invited to attend talks by two visiting speakers from Oxford University, Dr Elder, who gave a talk entitled ‘Mind your tongue(s): the politics of multilingualism in the Roman World’, and Dr Nelson, who spoke on ‘Gender and Genre’. In the Spring Term, we introduced a new initiative for LVI pupils, the LVI Discussion Group. Each week, we took turns to present pupils with a prompt from the ancient world and encouraged them to discuss it together. We have had sessions ranging from ancient papyri to the influence of Classical art on Christianity and Buddhism. The Classical Literature Discussion Group with Eton College, which was
UIII winners of the Wycombe Abbey ‘Ovid Competition’.
introduced last year, has continued to be a success and we have been impressed by the thoughtfulness and eloquence with which our pupils discussed texts such as Aeschylus’ Agamemnon’ and Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura.
We continue to offer plenty of opportunities for Classical enrichment beyond the classroom, such as our everpopular theatre trips (this year’s visit was to the mythinspired musical Hadestown) and a trip to the British Museum. This year also saw the recommencing of our international trips, with our visit to Greece. 33 keen Classicists from UV to UVI and four Classics teachers headed out to Athens on the first day of October Long Leave. We started our journey from Delphi, the ‘navel of the world’ according to the Ancient Greeks. Pupils and staff alike admired the beautiful setting of the sanctuary of Apollo, the archaeological museum, and the kittens we encountered along our arduous climb. On the next three days, we had the chance to visit Mycenae and Agamemnon’s tomb, ancient Corinth, and – of course –the Acropolis of Athens. The trip ended with a visit to the breathtaking temple of Poseidon in Sounion, appropriately built overlooking the Aegean Sea; the perfect location to enjoy one last ice cream before the journey home.
All of us in the Classics Department feel so incredibly proud of the amazing girls we teach. Their love for Classics and determination to explore the subject beyond the exam specification is inspiring to witness; from the engaging debates that take place in Classics Society or the Classics Book Club, to the great number of pupils who attend our talks, seminars, and discussion groups, it is clear that Classics at Wycombe Abbey continues to thrive.
Dr Christina Tsaknaki Head of Classics
LIV pupils at the Declamations Competition.
Computer Science
Our academic results were excellent last year. Our small group of five A level pupils did well and two went on to study Computer Science at Tufts and Kings, London. Computer Science continues to be a popular option and our pupils prove that it can sit alongside subjects such as History as well as more traditional options, such as Mathematics and Science. This year we have a strong UVI – a group of six with five of them intending to study Computer Science at university. Our IGCSE numbers are good at around 30 each year with 97% scoring 9-7 grades and 88% scoring 9-8.
We continue to enter the very popular BEBRAS (Computational thinking) competition and this year we encouraged many of the high scoring pupils to enter the second round, the Oxford University Computing Challenge. We enter every Computer Science pupil every year as part of the curriculum.
Mr Wong has been developing the Perse coding challenge, a team programming competition, and the pupils have enjoyed working with him to develop their coding skills. He has been introducing new topics in the
Lower School from app building to AI robots. This year we welcomed Mr Doherty, who also teaches DT and is the Director of Digital Learning and he has been working on aspects of AI across all departments. Miss Crampton, Housemistress of Junior House has also helped us link up with DT.
We had an excellent series of talks and trips. LIV visited Bletchley Park to study the history of codebreaking and the birth of the modern computer. Our GCSE and A level groups have visited the National Computer Museum, where they enjoyed playing with AI chat bots and discussing the practicalities and ethical considerations that are developing around these new tools. The A level group enjoyed programming of ‘Snake’ using old BBC microcomputers, proving that sometimes the old ways are more exciting. The Careers department organised an excellent talk on Cybersecurity and there is much interest in this field.
Our Computer Science Society (CSS) has flourished this year with our enthusiastic Lower Sixth taking charge. They have organised a Hackathon with Harrow School and in return Harrow have organised a programming
A Sixth form lesson in CR2
challenge for our girls. A spin off from CSS is AI society and they have organised talks on Artificial Intelligence and “The Intersections of AI and Law”. The new developments in AI will be a theme for the department for the future and pupils are encouraged to think about the challenges and possibilities of this new technology.
We now have a Computer Science Ambassador scheme, linking with the CSS, where girls can demonstrate their commitment to learning more and helping others. We are seeing more girls who study Computer Science take part in the Gold Industrial Engineering Cadet and Arkwright scholarship schemes and this gives them a good insight into the world of electronics and engineering. This year, a LVI pupil was awarded a scholarship in her chosen field of AI and will join a tech company in London for work experience this summer. Another pupil in LVI was accepted on to the Oxford University Qsium (Quantum Information Society) project after a detailed application process.
Reflecting on my 26 years at Wycombe Abbey, I have seen the department develop from the beginnings of the World Wide Web in an era before widespread email.
Google and Facebook hadn’t been invented. Our network only covered two computer rooms and you had to load up a CD encyclopaedia to look anything up. Our biggest achievement was the move away from ICT teaching to Computer Science. I made sure we were early adopters and made many changes to make the subject appealing to girls, when there was such a cultural bias towards boys. Now, the subject is very popular with a large GSCE cohort and a growing A level. Many girls want to study the subject at university and to make it their life-long career. I am very happy to have played my part in inspiring the future generations of computer scientists. I have enjoyed every moment of running the department, made special by our enthusiastic pupils and supportive teachers. Now I am very happy to retire and hand over to Mr Wong and wish him well for the future.
Mr Adrian Porter Head of Computer Science
Harrow joined us for a coding Hackathon
Programming retro games at the National Computer Museum
Cookery
The Cookery Department has had a change in staffing. Mr Dimmock and Mrs Brien, both experienced chefs, are enjoying the challenge of working with enthusiastic pupils. Evening Cookery Club is popular and girls cook a healthy and balanced meal with dishes such as Mongolian beef, chicken yakisoba, paella, rhubarb syllabub and crab tortellini in saffron sauce.
The newly revised Leiths course continues to be popular and the visiting assessor is always delighted with the level of skills shown by UVI, particularly in timings of preparation, presentation and keeping all work areas immaculate. We began teaching the new Leiths course for LVI in September which aims to deliver an exciting, wider cultural cuisine with mouthwatering dishes including shakshuka, tarka dahl with roasted cauliflower, garlic and thyme spatchcock chicken, seabass en papillote, duck breast with plum and teriyaki sauce and prosecco poached peaches. By the end of the course, pupils will be able to show they can produce specified dishes to the required Leiths standard, using professional methods in a timed examination assessed by a member of Leiths Academy.
The Lower School syllabus offers an introduction to a wide range of cooking techniques, such as boiling, blanching, sauteing, searing, deglazing and marinating and best practice in hygiene standards; it promotes the importance of a nutritional and balanced diet. We aim to develop an appreciation and love of good food and encourage a confidence to cook a wide range of culturally diverse dishes independently whilst providing the pupils with a valuable life skill. Their mouth-watering, delicious menus this year have included ramen, poke bowls, bruschetta, carbonara, prawn green curry, poached pear and chorizo quesadilla.
Mrs Horne has continued to deliver Cookery Club and weekend Cookery Activities offering dishes with cultural diversity, ably supported by our RT team. Sessions have continued to flourish with increasing numbers of enthusiastic cooks enjoying a variety of bakes each week, including cupcake quiches and maids of honour tarts. Pesto Christmas trees, red velvet hearts, Halloween and Bonfire recipes were popular and pupils have the option to suggest appropriate themes and menus throughout the year.
Our Christmas Cookie Challenge was enthusiastically supported by pupils and House staff with ingredients delivered to Houses. After some stringent judging from our own Mr Dimmock, Mrs West and Executive Chef Paul from Holroyd Howe, the winner was announced as Pitt who won a £50 voucher to spend on cooking equipment for their House kitchen. Marks were awarded for appearance, the bake and the snap as well as taste.
Our first Parents’ Saturday morning workshop ‘Truffles and Bubbles’ took place in February with Mrs Brien demonstrating the properties of chocolate nibs. crushing to make the chocolate paste, temperature control and adding the champagne to the bowl with pre-tasting! There are more workshops coming, so please keep an eye out for the form in SchoolPost.
Cross-curricular links are popular with Mrs Horne and Mrs Dworkin (Head of German) running a Gingerbread Heart workshop for LV German pupils.
All our recipes are loaded onto Teams and pupils are encouraged to cook for families during their holidays.
Happy Tasting!
Miss Kay Williams Head of Art and Cookery
Courgette Fritter
LIV Ramen
Design and Technology
Design and Technology has been proud to see the current set of GCSE coursework projects finished to an exceptionally high standard and the continued growth and development of the Design and Technology department as increasing numbers of pupils opt for a subject that combines both practical skills and academic excellence. Pupils have really engaged with the exciting opportunities that the coursework elements provide. IGCSE and A level pupils are able to select their own client, generate design ideas creatively and model and iterate their own ideas using all the workshop facilities and new digital designing CAD/CAM software and machinery including 3D Printing and CAD modelling.
The department has had a successful year with the Lower School pupils designing and making a range of creative and innovative outcomes including pewter pendants, wooden joinery storage boxes, birdhouses and plenty of other personal projects too. UIII pupils have been immersed in using the pewter casting furnace, the use of CAD/CAM and have been introduced to the vacuum former and line bending in order to package and brand their products. LIV pupils have been developing their practical wooden joinery skills and have also had the chance to use the laser cutter, 2D Techsoft Design and CAD 3D modelling software Sketchup to design their birdhouses, bat boxes and insect hotels.
Pupils in Upper School have undertaken more sustained project work including the biomimicry inspired lighting project, using a range of workshop and digital processes including the pillar drill, milling machine, wood turning lathe, 3D Printing and CAD software in the form of Autodesk Fusion to create their own desk organiser. IGCSE pupils worked on a range of exciting projects including a solid oak dog bed, resin and oak plant pot holders, an adjustable revision mirror amongst a wide range of other exciting and innovative projects. Well done to all pupils for their excellent perseverance and dedication in completing their projects.
The Greenpower Society has had a busy year with a race meeting at Castle Combe and the Finals at Goodwood. On Society Sunday UIII pupils had their first chance to drive Sprocket Rocket and Phoenix on the tennis court race track. At the Castle Combe race meeting the cars were in fine form and with more races next year, the team is already designing and making their new car for future races. The department has also supported pupils with a range of exciting extracurricular endeavours including the Arkwright scholarship, F1 in Schools and Tycoon Enterprise Competition.
The Design and Technology workshop has been full of pupils creating their own personal projects in the evenings and at weekends and it has seen pupils create some highly imaginative and creative projects including a fantastic bowl made by an UV pupil from plywood and acrylic that was turned on the wood lathe.
Mr Richard Simonot Head of Design and Technology
UV bowl made from plywood and acrylic
Greenpower Society at Goodwood
Solid oak dog bed
Drama
This year has seen a huge array of fantastic productions, trips and workshops taking place in the department and more than 170 pupils have taken LAMDA exams in March and June.
The range of LAMDA certificates being undertaken has broadened, with pupils choosing to pursue exams in Musical Theatre, Verse & Prose, Shakespeare and Public Speaking this year. Results from the Spring term are exceptional, with 84% of pupils receiving a ‘distinction’ and 16% receiving a ‘merit’ from the visiting examiners.
We have had over 30 pupils studying GCSE Drama in LV and UV and an A level group in both LVI and UVI. They have enjoyed a wide range of theatrical experiences designed to enrich both their own stagecraft and devising skills and provide material for their written exam. This included an unforgettably scary performance of The Woman in Black at Aylesbury Waterside and an imaginative reinterpretation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis at The Lyric, Hammersmith. The productions we have been to see this year have provided excellent material for the written exam and sparked very lively discussion in the classroom in lessons afterwards. The impact on both written and practical work has been tangible and, as such, we are already planning a number of future theatre trips for next year, including at least one that is open to pupils from all year groups.
This year has also seen record numbers of pupils involved in productions – by the end of the year we expect the figure to be over 200 cast members.
The Autumn term began with the annual ‘Clarence Play’ which, this year, was written and directed by one of our Drama Prefects. Paranoia was set in a school classroom (and stationery cupboard!) during a ‘lockdown’ drill. The play was both funny and thought provoking and it was wonderful to see the cast really enjoying their time on stage.
In early November, LV pupils performed The Taming of The Shrew as part of the ‘Shakespeare For Schools Festival’ at Watersmeet Theatre, Rickmansworth, Cressex School (for an audience of Year 7s) and LAC Theatre. This is a notoriously tricky text to bring to a modern audience, but the director (Mrs Woodward) and cast found a novel and entertaining way of reframing the potentially unpalatable theme and produced a fantastic ensemble show that brought the text right up to date.
The School musical Legally Blonde was performed by a cast of over 60 pupils in March. The show was a real team effort between Drama and Music, ably assisted by Mrs Lavender from the PE department who choreographed much of the production. It was a massive undertaking with a difficult score, large cast and
Taming of the Shrew
complicated set and costume requirements which involved both pupils and staff dedicating huge amounts of their time, and patience, to creating a spectacular show. Fortunately, we had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented cast who produced something that will live long in the memories of the audience who came to see it. Indeed, many of the tunes could be heard being hummed/sung around the corridors of Wycombe Abbey for several weeks after the last performance.
The Summer Term was equally memorable, with over 40 members of the Fourth Form performing the poignant Goodnight Mr Tom in LAC, complete with a debut from a staff member’s canine companion, and the stunning, energetic UIII Norse Mythology Ragnasplosion which featured all 80+ members of the UIII cohort.
of Drama
Mr James Harrington Head
Goodnight Mr Tom
Legally Blonde
Clarence Play cast in Paranoia
Economics and Enterprise
The 2023-2024 academic year has again seen three A level sets in both LVI and UVI reflecting the strong interest in global economic issues that affect all our lives. We have enjoyed many debates in class on topics as diverse as whether protectionism should be encouraged to whether the UK government’s drive to increase the number of apprenticeships will ultimately lower unemployment. It is pleasing that several pupils have engaged with external essay competitions; we have been impressed by the depth and variety of research that they have completed and their academic ambition. Many LVI pupils are researching economics-related topics for their EPQ or UPP and we look forward to reading their final essays.
Last year’s cohort enjoyed a strong set of results with 84% at A*/A and 100% A*-B, enabling them to take up offers for a range of competitive courses including Economics, PPE, and Land Economy. Combined honours courses continue to be popular choices. This year’s cohort
hold offers for courses such as Economics & Management at Edinburgh, Economics & Mathematics at Edinburgh, and Politics & Economics at LSE. LVI were joined for Future Ready Week by recent Seniors studying at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Durham for a Q&A session with our current LVI; their advice and insight into what the transition from school to university is really like is invaluable.
A small department of two staff, we continue to work hard to develop opportunities for extra-curricular activities in both Economics and Enterprise. Our weekly book club is primarily pupil-led, with girls meeting to discuss suggested texts such as Tim Harford’s The Undercover Economist and David Dharshini’s The Almighty Dollar. Business Tea has continued meeting regularly, with a growing number of LV and UV pupils engaging with this. The pupil leads have run quizzes and given thought-provoking presentations on topics to stimulate discussion, for example on whether a degree is worth it, the economics of school fees and is the Chinese economy
struggling? We continue to encourage girls to take the lead in planning enrichment events; some LVI pupils run a regular weekly Economics Society meeting to facilitate further discussion. They have presented and encouraged debate on scarcity and also considered how to write the perfect essay. For younger years, this year we launched a new Lower School initiative to find the “Economists of the Future”. They were challenged to answer puzzles which made them think about concepts such as sunk costs (whether to watch something different on TV) and marginal gains (how Santa should distribute presents to children). We had some brilliant entries from many students who showed great potential in the subject. The winners were awarded book prizes - we look forward to teaching them in the future!
At the beginning of this academic year, our Tycoon Enterprise Competition team ‘Anectote’ were invited to the National Final at Hampton Court Palace. In addition to winning their age category, they came away as Overall Winners UK, a truly incredible and much-deserved achievement. Following on from their success, this year a further six new LVI companies submitted their business plan and elevator pitch videos to the Peter Jones Foundation and all were successful in securing start-up capital. Products range from custom-printed T shirts, hand-made jewellery, and customisable bags to microwaveable cake mix in a mug, the perfect quick snack! Teams have been supported by a mentor, a Wycombe Abbey Senior, who has both guided and challenged them through the process. We wish them luck in the competition.
Mrs Alison Kiln Head of Economics & Enterprise
Anectote – winners of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition
Having celebrated superb IGCSE English exam results in the summer of 2023, we were delighted to receive further proof of the scale of this accomplishment, with the exam board CIE awarding certificates to four pupils for being ‘Top in the World’. Securing 100% in all English papers is a remarkable feat and these pupils should feel proud of the prestigious accolade awarded to them. We are certainly very proud of them, as we are of all our pupils across all year groups who work so hard to develop their skills. As literature enthusiasts who are shamelessly passionate about our subject, nothing gives us greater joy than seeing pupils inspired to read and discuss a wide range of poetry, prose and drama.
While each year group continues to benefit from the experience of studying familiar favourites, we are always keen to innovate and introduce new avenues of discovery, whether through the introduction of Phil Earle’s When the Sky Falls in UIII or the opportunity to compare Christina Rossetti’s poetry with Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House , in the LVI. With Tate Britain fortuitously hosting an exhibition on ‘The Rossettis’ in September, we began the year with a cultural feast of painting and poetry, immersing ourselves in the world of the Rossetti family and the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This was a superb way to launch the new LVI curriculum choice and there was to be no let-up in the enrichment offering in the months ahead, with the poet Mariah Whelan delivering a lecture and workshop, followed by a hugely popular screening of A Doll’s House , a lecture from a Wycombe Senior and the annual Booker Prize evening.
It has been exciting to see optional curriculum changes being so warmly embraced, with an enrichment book club for LVI pupils offering a further taste of some of the greatest literature ever written. Although the mandatory changes to the IGCSE English Literature syllabus mean we bid a fond farewell to Rebecca and Othello , we look
ahead with optimism to the challenge of new texts and the opportunities these bring. As a department who have always taken a lead in the use of technology, we have continued to embrace the potential of OneNote, Teams and Forms to enhance our teaching and learning, while expanding our use of the online platform ‘Educake’ to support the development of literacy skills.
Alongside our thriving English courses, we have widened our co-curricular offering, launching a new Creative Writing Club, overseen by Mrs Morrisby and Miss Millwood. Miss Pritsou has done a wonderful job coordinating our enrichment lecture series and updating our displays, with the ‘Books of the Year, 2023’ being a particular highlight, representing the favourite books of the past twelve months from each boarding house. With theatre trips to see The Duchess of Malfi, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado about Nothing , alongside our annual visits to Milton’s Cottage and Strawberry Hill House, pupils have had so many incredible cultural experiences to extend their learning beyond the classroom.
Encouraging the practice of regular reading is central to our vision for delivering a world class education, with pupils exposing themselves to a wide range of ideas and perspectives that they can discuss and evaluate with curiosity and conviction. We seek to foster good habits from UIII onwards, with bespoke journals helping to shape the focus of reading lessons and spur pupils on to make time to read widely outside of the classroom. With our ongoing curriculum developments and enrichment opportunities, pupils receive a superb education and we are privileged to play our part in nurturing their passions, skills and interests.
Mr Sam Lenton Head of English
Enrichment Lecture
LV at Strawberry Hill House
Geography
Geographers at Wycombe Abbey have been highly engaged with their academic curriculum, and the department has had many successes over the year.
Last year’s GCSE cohort performed exceptionally well, with 98% of pupils achieving grades 9-7 – a fantastic achievement by them all. Our A level leavers from 2023 performed exceptionally, with 93% A*/B performance and many being accepted to prestigious universities for geography-related subjects. We wish them well, and best of luck to our leavers this year.
UIII have enjoyed an in-depth analysis and understanding of the physical and human Geography of Africa, including analysis of media portrayals of the continent and an exploration of challenges facing many African countries. They also conducted a deep study of the tropical rainforests and used GIS mapping software and virtual reality to explore world biomes, before finishing the year with a focus on the role and impact of tourism around the world. LIV started the year with a study of weather and climate, using this knowledge to help inform them of the challenges facing the Arctic. They then followed this up with a debate project around the future development of the Arctic – a particularly divisive topic given recent global developments in Alaska. They then finished the year by exploring the future of food. UIV studied the impacts of fast fashion on world economics, societies and the environment, before moving onto the topic of climate change. Pupils explored the causes and consequences of climate change on a variety of scales, then examined the various methods of adaptation and mitigation of climate change that countries around the world are employing. They finished the year by exploring population dynamics, and the challenges of supporting ageing and growing populations in both the developed and developing world. We are delighted with the uptake for GCSE, with 62 pupils picking Geography – a record for the department.
Our GCSE cohorts have progressed well with their studies, studying key geographical knowledge such as hazardous environments, rivers and urban environments in LV, and economic activity and energy, along with
the rainforest in virtual reality
development dynamics in UV. Additionally, whilst weather conditions proved challenging, both year groups completed fieldwork at the Field Studies Council, Preston Montford, learning key analytical and fieldwork skills for their exams and beyond. Numbers progressing onto A level Geography remain strong, and we are delighted to see future interest in the subject growing.
A level Geographers enjoyed multiple field trips, exploring the rebranding of Stratford, East London, as well as conducting fieldwork over several days in Nettlecombe, Somerset. They have also enjoyed their studies of the OCR specification, exploring topics such as Earth Life Support Systems, Migration and Disease Dynamics.
Finally, pupils in Upper School and the Sixth Form enjoyed a trip to Morocco in October 2023. We explored various locations throughout the desert biomes and Marrakesh, a truly unique experience. Pupils have also attended various Geography Association lectures, and in-house Academic spotlight sessions. These included talks on hipsterfication, postcolonial geography and Tuvalu’s digital nation strategy, linking the subject to a variety of careers and demonstrating the strength of our cross-curricular nature.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our learning this academic year, and we look forward to providing new opportunities for our pupils through the relaunch of the Young Geographer of the Year competition, along with everchanging case studies and real-world events to teach the girls.
Mr Simon Bannister Head of Geography
Views over the dunes of the Sahara
Exploring
History, Politics and Law
We received an unexpected email from a Wycombe Senior who had recently visited the Killing Fields in Cambodia. She expressed her profound awe at experiencing such a harrowing location. She had never formally studied Cambodian history but said that she vividly remembered a discussion during an A level lesson and felt “it was a full circle moment to see this site in real life”. This discussion left a significant impression on her, highlighting our commitment to engaging pupils with compelling content that resonates far beyond the classroom.
This year, our focus has been on providing pupils with innovative co-curricular opportunities, best demonstrated by Mr. Fitzgerald’s mock trials, each uniquely tailored to Wycombe Abbey. Fisher Library was filled to capacity as 70 pupils and teachers meticulously examined the mafia-like structure of an energy drink smuggling ring. Most recently, ten pupils engaged in a mock trial competition in London, followed by an enlightening afternoon at a prominent law firm where they gained insights into careers in law. Our A level Politics pupils were in their element when they attended the Politics Conference in Westminster. They heard from a range of outstanding speakers and had the chance to put questions to David Davis and Jacob ReesMogg. These experiences have enriched our pupils’ education, offering them practical insights and hands-on learning opportunities.
It is safe to say that our pupil-led History Society has never been so popular. Every week, up to 40 pupils fill our classrooms to learn about topics ranging from Georgian fashion to Joan of Arc. One particularly popular session was Mr George’s lesson on Egyptian hieroglyphics, where pupils wrote their names in this glyphic script on papyrus paper.
LVI historians have greatly benefited from evening enrichment sessions. During the Autumn Term, they studied the intricacies of the Arab-Israeli conflict, impressing us with their nuanced perspectives on challenging and controversial topics. In the Spring Term, they explored the Vietnam War, extending their knowledge far beyond what was covered in GCSE textbooks. Additionally, 20 pupils recently had the privilege of hearing from renowned historian Tracy Borman. She presented a fresh perspective on Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, reigniting interest in a topic not covered since LIV.
As a department, we have relished the opportunity to forge new cross-curricular connections. Dr Lorimer recently revealed her family history in a talk to the French News Club; she spoke about her grandfather narrowly escaping an SS execution squad. To mark Reading Week, Mr George held a talk on Oscar Wilde’s poem, the Ballad of Reading Gaol, treating a poem as a window to the past. A particular
highlight has been the cross-curricular challenge; all departments were tasked with exploring the theme of ‘gold’ in a creative way. During their module on the Crusades, our UIII pupils researched the Islamic Golden Age. Their projects covered art, architecture, education and exploration, among other themes. Their creativity carried on throughout the topic, leading to displays on Crusader castles, a podcast from besieged crusaders, and even a guide to the medieval afterlife. For this same theme, LIV asked whether the Elizabethan era really was a golden age.
In August, we celebrated our highest ever GCSE results, and our A level results were significantly above the national average. With such strong achievements, we proudly sent pupils to study History and Law at UCL and Cambridge, and Politics at Durham, Oxford, and LSE. These results reflect our pupils’ eagerness to seize opportunities and challenge themselves. Looking ahead, we anticipate our highest number of applicants ever, with over 20 pupils planning to apply for History, Politics, or Law next year.
Mr Neill George Head of History, Government and Politics
History of Art
It has been another exciting year for the History of Art department. Congratulations must go to the out-going class of 2023, half of whom achieved an A* in their History of Art A level, and three of whom chose to pursue History of Art at undergraduate level at UCL, St Andrews and Edinburgh.
LVI enjoyed making their own versions of Dutch still life vanitas paintings.
In the classroom, another buoyant group of LVI started their Art History journey by getting to grips with the skills of Visual Analysis. They then dived into courses on Nature in Art and Architecture, looking at artists including Barbara Hepworth, Ai Weiwei and Damian Hirst and then on to the Renaissance in Italy with its iconic masterpieces like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s David . The LVI particularly enjoyed learning about the Dutch Golden Age and the oft overlooked talents of Rachel Ruysch. In her honour, they each created their own version of a vanitas still life, taking particular care over composition and the impact of light and tone.
The UVI meanwhile investigated the Baroque period, with its unique mixture of drama and realism by artists including Bernini, Caravaggio and Velazquez. They then considered the theme of Identities in Art and Architecture through the lens of diverse artists such as Francis Bacon, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. A favourite of theirs was exploring the YBA artist Marc Quinn and his unique conjoining of art history and contemporary meaning in works such as Self , a cast of his own head made entirely from his own blood, and Alison Lapper Pregnant , the first work to appear on Trafalgar Square’s famous ‘Fourth Plinth’.
Pupils have continued to have great success in several national History of Art competitions. A LVI pupil came runner up in the prestigious Girton College Cambridge Humanities Writing Competition. She researched and wrote a contemplative essay on the Terracotta figurine of Leda with the swan in the Girton College collection. Her essay explored the depiction of the figure in the context of the classical narrative, and adeptly compared it to other depictions of nude female goddesses such as
Venus. Another LVI pupil competed in the South-East final of the ARTiculation public speaking competition, hosted by the Lighthouse Gallery. She chose to research and create her presentation on The Jerome Project by Titus Kaphar, a powerful piece exploring the incarceration of young, black men in America’s prison system using imagery taken from medieval religious icons.
The History of Art Society hosted a talk on Caravaggio; Painting, Theatre and Divinity . This was a great opportunity to get a deeper insight into an artist who transformed Baroque art through his emotive and highly naturalistic depictions of religious scenes, but was himself a troubled and violent character. The art historians also joined forces with A level English pupils to visit the The Rossettis at Tate Britian. The exhibition highlighted the value of approaching subject matter through both the visual and literary lens.
Pupils lower down the school had the opportunity to get an insight into History of Art during an assembly on Oscar Wilde to mark LGBTQIA+ History Month. Ms Bowen spoke about the Queer Britain exhibition and the inclusion of the prison door from Wilde’s cell in Reading Gaol. The department also collaborated with LV historians to look at the role of art in Nazi Germany, in particular the so-called “Degenerate” and corresponding “Great” Art Exhibitions. It led to some fascinating discussions about what constitutes great art and whether art can ever be ‘dangerous’ or should ever be banned, questions we should all consider.
Ms Emma Bowen Head of History of Art
UVI pupils recreated Masaccio’s Holy Trinity, one of their favourite works of art from the Renaissance course.
A LVI pupil receives a prize as runner up in the Girton College Humanities Essay competition.
Modern Languages
Modern Languages at Wycombe Abbey thrive, and we are fully committed to providing opportunities for our pupils to learn a range of languages, whether through the curriculum, through clubs, or privately. Having studied two languages in UIII and LIV, at the end of LIV, taster sessions are run to help pupils decide whether they would like to take up a new language in UIV.
We still believe that proficiency in a language is an invaluable asset, and so a GCSE language continues to be compulsory, with many pupils opting to study two or more. We continue to see healthy numbers continuing with languages to A level, or in the case of Chinese, HSK, and were particularly delighted that two UVI pupils received offers from Oxford and Cambridge to study French and German, and French and Spanish respectively. This reflects the very high standards of these departments, and the recognition that studying languages at university will open the doors to a whole host of possibilities career-wise.
Pupils continue to enjoy a rich extra-curricular provision, and trips for Sixth Formers to Spain and LIV pupils to Normandy were particular highlights. Experiencing the culture of the countries and societies whose languages the girls study affords an immediacy and relevance that bring the classroom learning to life. We are delighted that our trip offering is growing and that next year will see trips for LIV, LV and LVI to Spain, France and possibly China.
In the Autumn term the ML Department joined forces with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion society and treated the new UIIIs to an evening of international food, music and poetry in celebration of the diversity of cultures and languages at Wycombe Abbey. Danish, Turkish, Thai were just a few of the languages represented.
Weekly Grammar Clinics in all languages, News Clubs for Sixth Formers, and termly book clubs consolidate the work done in curriculum lessons, providing opportunities for pupils to deepen their knowledge, and to debate and discuss
current affairs and literature. The delight of LVI girls as they research and present on contemporary political and social issues at the ‘Wycombe Hebdo’ French News Club has been a real highlight this year, and the readiness of the girls to engage with debate and discussion has led to a very high standard. This was reflected in the success enjoyed by two LVI girls who debated their way to the National Final of the French debating competition, the Joûtes Oratoires. Reaching this stage is a significant achievement, and we were particularly proud that one of the debaters won a special ‘judge’s favourite’ prize.
Translation is a skill that pupils learn at all ages, and we were delighted to welcome back Dr Higgins from Oxford University who ran a fascinating French translation workshop in October. Hispanists joined forces with Eton Sixth Formers in a literary seminar in November, and Study Days at the British Film Institute for LV and Sixth form French pupils allowed time to explore and analyse aspects of society and culture through film. Pupils continue to enjoy success in external competitions, and a LVI pupil was recently awarded the third prize in this year’s Lancaster Essay Prize for her essay in German on AI. We were particularly delighted with our success in the Advanced Linguistics Olympiad this year, in which two UV pupils and one LV pupil were awarded silver awards, and nine LV and UV pupils received bronze awards. Visiting Language teachers also encourage girls to take part in these enrichment activities, and in May a UV pupil was awarded 2nd prize in the JaLa Champ Japanese Championship for her video.
The provision of conversation lessons for LV as well as UV pupils is now a firmly embedded part of the curriculum, and in the GCSE exams conducted this summer, the benefits were evident. The LIV Poetry Declamation competition has become an annual fixture in the calendar as has that Languages in Harmony concert. Cross curricular links are important to us, and with a resident expert in Art History, the possibilities become even more exciting.
Ms Lucy Nott Head of Modern Languages and French
LVI Spanish trip to Salamanca
French translation workshop with Dr Jenny Higgins
Mathematics
Mathematics continues to flourish at Wycombe Abbey. Single Mathematics A level is the most popular subject choice with double the numbers of other subjects. The popularity of Further Mathematics A level continues to grow. In addition, we have three sets of UV pupils taking the Further Maths GCSE course. This is a testament to the excellent teaching and the enthusiasm of the pupils for the subject.
Outside the classroom, under new leadership by Mr Graham, Maths Society continues to be a popular evening activity. There are more varied activities including board games, combinatorics, cryptography and radio waves with increased uptake in the sessions.
We were delighted to invite into school Professor Jennifer Visser-Rogers in the Spring Term who gave an insightful talk on how she has used Statistics to model real world problems. At the start of the Summer Term, Dr Tom Rocks entertained a varied age audience with his talk on how maths is linked to the sporting world. His interactive talk looked at penalty shoot-outs and world records in Athletics. We have been delighted to welcome pupils from some of our partner schools to these talks.
A number of Mathematics competitions have taken place against other schools, including Eton, Harrow, Oxford International College and John Hampden Grammar School. These prove extremely popular events with the pupils. We also welcomed the return of the Team Maths challenge competition and congratulate our Junior Team
who won the regional round in Oxford, beating rivals Eton! Results in the individual Maths Challenge competitions continue to be impressive with record numbers of pupils qualifying for the follow-on rounds of both the Kangaroo and Olympiad competitions.
Back in the classroom the LIV project on the Golden Ratio proved popular with some interesting, unique and varied posters produced. It was great to see the team work on display.
At the end of February, we hosted a sumptuous Maths Feast for UIII. In teams of four, they competed in three courses including a starter of logic, a main course relay combining arithmetic skill and athletic ability and concluded with a cross-number for dessert. The pupils enjoyed the opportunity to work with others not in their class and all ended the evening ‘full’ of enthusiasm and excitement for the subject.
Dr Iain Wallwork Head of Mathematics
Above: Golden Ratio posters
Maths Challenge
Music
The Music Department is currently undergoing major refurbishment works involving extending and developing the current facilities and it has already offered us some fresh spaces to work in. There is a sense of excitement about the new facilities and opportunities that will be available to Wycombe Abbey pupils from September 2024. This year we have been able to take advantage of a newly revamped academic classroom with bespoke furniture, updated ICT facilities, and new pupil keyboards. This room will become the main GCSE and A level teaching space. There are four new individual teaching/practice rooms, a new Performing Arts staffroom, and a guitar storage room. Additionally, the old music staffroom has been converted into two additional teaching/practice rooms large enough to accommodate chamber ensembles.
We have seen significant cross-pollination between our Academic and Co-curricular programmes. The Wycombe Abbey Competitive Music Festival, held in the first half of the Autumn Term, offered valuable performing experience to pupils preparing for GCSE, A level, and practical examinations. We were delighted to hear 153 individual performances across all year groups in the first round of the competition. We also introduced a House Ensemble Competition. Our London Orchestral Concert included this year’s IGCSE Set work, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, movements I and II , as part of the programme. This provided a valuable opportunity for the current IGCSE cohort to learn the work from the inside.
We have benefited from collaborations with other departments, such as the Languages in Harmony Concert, where we joined forces with the Modern Languages Department to stage an event that included songs in German, Italian, Mandarin, and French, as well as instrumental works inspired by literature in different languages. In the Autumn, we hosted a Shakespeare Day organized by Chiltern Arts, which brought together the Art, Music, and Drama Departments in coordination with two contrasting professional concerts, one of which featured a guest appearance from the Holst Singers, our school chamber choir. The day included an insightful vocal masterclass given by tenor Ed Lyon and accompanist Christopher Glynn for our singers preparing for Music Examinations. We further collaborated with the Drama Department in staging this year’s musical, Legally Blonde. Alongside a strong cohort of singers, a number of our senior musicians were able to have the experience of working with professional musicians in the pit band.
Outside of school, we participated in the South East Schools Chamber Music Competition and were delighted
that our Piano Trio won the Intermediate Category. We also had success in the Bucks Battle of the Bands Competition, with one of our bands awarded a place in the Finals Concert at Wycombe Swan Theatre, where the drummer received a special commendation and the guitarist was awarded the ‘best guitarist’ prize. Our musicians were invited to give a Lunchtime Recital at the Parish Church in High Wycombe, and a number of our chamber performers went to hear a concert as part of the West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival. Our singers also enjoyed joining forces with the Eton College Music Society, provide sopranos and altos for their annual choral concert.
Academic Music has continued to flourish, with 60% of A level Music Students achieving an A* and 100% of IGCSE students achieving grades 8 and 9. We were also delighted to see two of our pupils take up places to read Music at the University of Oxford. Our new classroom has enabled pupils in the Lower School to develop their compositional skills using software such as Musescore. We have taken our largest cohort of 21 musicians through the IGCSE course for the last time, and our new LV Music class has been working towards the Edexcel GCSE Music Course which, with its focus on set works and specific areas of study, offers an interesting and varied specification, providing a strong foundation for those pupils who choose to continue their Music studies to A level and beyond. We continue to see encouraging interest in A level Music with nine pupils studying the subject across the Sixth Form. As the year closes, we look forward to our first Lower School Music Tour, which involves visits to three European Countries, and to returning to our newly refurbished department and facilities in September.
Mr Stefan Reid Director of Music
Poulenc Double Piano Concerto at the London Orchestral Concert.
Physics
The Physics Department at Wycombe Abbey has celebrated another stellar year. Our Summer exam results were exceptional, with over 90% of our A-level pupils achieving A*/A grades and more than 95% of our GCSE pupils securing grades 9-7. These outstanding results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of both our staff and pupils.
During the summer holidays, Dr Dawber led a group of five LVI pupils on a remarkable trip to Japan for the Young Scientists’ workshops in Sendai. The visit included a tour of the Fukushima Power Plant and collaborative work at Tohoku University’s leading research lab. This experience was immensely beneficial for all pupils involved. At the end of March, Lower Sixth pupils visited CERN in Geneva, touring the world’s leading experimental physics facility.
Our curriculum is designed to challenge and inspire our pupils. This year, UIII pupils explored Electricity, Light, and The Particle Model of Matter, while LIV delved into Sound, Forces, Astronomy, and Magnetism.
We strive to make learning enjoyable and engaging. Memorable demonstrations included using Oreo cookies to represent the phases of the Moon and Smarties to explain packets of energy and colour messages, which added a delightful twist to the lessons. Dr Dawber and Mrs Thomas have been running the Junior Science Club, where pupils enjoyed activities such as optical illusions, static electricity experiments with a Van der Graff generator, and making LED Christmas cards. After Christmas, the club built water rockets, aligning with their classroom studies.
In October, our pupils had the exciting opportunity to interact with Moon rocks and meteorites, an event that sparked great excitement and curiosity and LIV pupils launched several experiments into space as part of the MARS Balloon Project.
Our IGCSE curriculum covered Energy, Thermal Physics, Radioactivity, Forces and Motion, Electricity, Astronomy, and Waves. To contextualise learning, we held debates on energy resources and nuclear physics, helping pupils understand the complexities of future energy solutions.
Sixth Form pupils had numerous opportunities to deepen their understanding. Highlights included the UVI Physics Conference in November, hosted by the inspirational flight instructor Mrs Moore-Bridger, and a talk by Vicky Faucet from the University of Newcastle on Black Holes. Pupils also attended a Careers Spotlight, where Edward Eagelton (from the Nuclear Restoration Services at Hinkley Point A Power Station) discussed careers in the nuclear sector. Lower Sixth pupils
organised the School’s Vision for Engineering Pupils (WAVES) conference in March, featuring speakers Sophie Tripitelli from L’Oreal and Joan Omeru from Quantitative Finance Analysts.
Dr Corvan has initiated weekly coding sessions, teaching pupils Python for data visualisation, and hosted an Academic Spotlight on Laser Wakefield Accelerators. Pupils also attended Particle Masterclasses at the University of Cambridge to experience a day in the life of a Particle Physicist. Mrs Buxton has continued to provide enrichment opportunities, including the Bronze and Gold Industrial Cadets (IC) programmes. Gold ICs collaborated with teams in a nationwide competition and spent two days at the University of Cambridge. Pupils participated in the UK Space Design Competition (UKSDC), spending two days at the regional event in London, and a LVI pupil has been selected to represent the UK at the International SDC, at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, in the summer.
Mr Kyles-Brown has continued to support pupils at Westminster Academy as part of our outreach efforts and pupils have also been supporting Paddington Academy, conducting online sessions with Year 10 pupils twice a week, deepening their own knowledge as a result.
Our dedicated lab technician, Mrs Smith, has extended our department’s outreach by working with a local primary school, showcasing some of our equipment and experiments. Oakridge Primary School visited us in June for a day of hands-on experimentation in Forces, furthering our commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists. March brought a delightful visit from baby ducklings, adding joy to our department as we approached the Easter break.
The Physics Department remains committed to fostering an environment where creativity and intellectual curiosity can thrive. We look forward to another year of achievements and innovations.
Dr Darragh Corvan Head of Physics
Fukushima Power Plant
LVI trip to Japan
A piece of the Moon
LVI visit to CERN
Psychology
Following the success of last year’s cohort, it has been wonderful to watch the psychologists flourishing in their learning, and they have been making the most of all the opportunities on offer.
The LVI burst into their new A Level course with enthusiasm. The department was quickly impressed by their commitment and thirst for knowledge around their topics. We were elated to hear about the wider reading that so many girls had completed in anticipation of their new subject. The girls soon delighted to know more about Approaches in Psychology, laying the foundations for the rest of the course by learning about the major branches in the discipline and understanding how the subject has changed across the decades. They were particularly mesmerised by the deep, dark truths of the less ethical research carried out in the topic of Social Influence, and were positively shocked to learn about the works of Stanley Milgram as he investigated destructive obedience. Inspired and thirsty for more, many of the girls have been conducting independent research of their own. Those who entered external essay competitions this year can be congratulated on their nuanced, perceptive entries, and commended for pushing their knowledge one stage further.
Meanwhile the UVI strode into the final terms of their A Level journey with focus and flair. They launched into the year with the new topic of ‘Gender’ as the first of their chosen option units. Both groups enjoyed exploring research into sex-role stereotypes and atypical chromosome patterns, before diving into Cognitive, Psychodynamic and Social-Learning explanations of how humans acquire gender. Also extremely popular with UVI this year were the absorbing Schizophrenia and Aggression units; pupils were immediately intrigued. Both challenging topics demand that pupils scrutinise these complex human phenomena from several different perspectives, and the UVI were certainly up
Examining the brain!
to the challenge! They loved drawing on multifaceted explanations and explored the intricate interactions of both nature and nurture to explain familiar human experience. Girls revelled in revisiting Zimbardo’s work when learning about his theory of ‘deindividuation’ in explaining aggressive behaviour.
The Psychologists have also been immersed in a plethora of Psychology enrichment opportunities, and have been thriving outside of the classroom too. In the Autumn Term, we enjoyed a trip to London for the ‘Psychology in Action’ conference, and a highlight of the day was hearing from Dr Veronia O ’Keane with her anecdotes from her decades in the field as a psychiatrist working with mood disorders and perinatal women. We were thrilled to welcome Dr Jacqueline Phelps to visit the department, and she spoke to the girls about her fascinating PhD research into Bilingualism and Selective Attention at Cambridge University. Later in the year, and back by popular demand, we hosted Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr Guy Sutton with his brilliant ‘Brain Day’. Once again, Dr Sutton stunned the Psychologists with his incredible research and captivating case studies that brought the Biopsychology unit to life. The LVI experienced their first live brain dissection and relished the opportunity to closely examine the brain structures that they have been learning about.
Psychology Society has been extremely successful this year, and Chairpersons Acada and Anjali have injected great passion into running weekly enrichment sessions for the younger pupils. They have covered a wide range of topics, and have loved recreating controlled experiments, discussing psychological theories, and offering lectures from their own independent study. They have been fabulous ambassadors for the subject and we are looking forward to seeing where their successors take the society next.
It has been an excellent year, and the Psychology department has been a thriving hub of activity, both inside the classroom and in the enrichment activities beyond it. We look forward to welcoming the incoming cohort next year, and wish all of the UVI Psychologists the very best of luck in their future plans.
Miss Lauren Monteil Head of Psychology
LVI at the Psychology in Action Conference
Religious Studies
We began the year with a CPD day exploring creativity in the curriculum and as a department we have reflected on various approaches to embedding this within Religious Studies. Along with the other Humanities subjects, we trialled a change to UIII prep, introducing fewer, more challenging, differentiated assignments. The ‘Must, Could, Should’ tasks incorporated creativity not only in the end products but also in the extension opportunities and innovative thinking required to complete each stage. While not everything attempted was a success, creative extension is something that we will take forward into the next academic year.
The UIII have also been enjoying a new scheme of study in the Summer Term, exploring some essential philosophical concepts through a series of thought experiments. From questioning ‘what is real?’ to ‘is it wrong to eat animals?’, these lessons have focused on the process of thinking over generating outcomes and have exposed pupils to ideas that have both challenged and enthused. There has been opportunity to collaborate and create through the UIII revision board games and the LIV Apostles’ Den project, where pupils pitched a proposal for a new Christian Movement to the ‘Mayor of High Wycombe’ (thank you, Mr Wildgoose), showcasing their entrepreneurial and power skills to the full – watch out Peter Jones!
Creativity and thoughtful reflection was also evident in our second trip to Coventry Cathedral. The striking symbols of reconciliation and forgiveness throughout the building gave all LV GCSE pupils an opportunity to reflect on their own values and attitudes in a spirit of unity and hope. The memorial to the London bombings, which includes candles for those who carried out the attack alongside the victims,
was a poignant echo of the words ‘Father Forgive’ that stand behind the altar in the ruins of the original cathedral. For many it was the simplicity and humanity expressed in the Millenium Chapel’s Stalingrad Madonna that drew the most emotional response and pupils relished the opportunity to explore reconciliation creatively in the afternoon workshop.
Recruitment and results at both GCSE and A level continue to be strong and we were delighted to learn that two of our applicants have received offers to read Philosophy and Theology at Cambridge alongside one for PPE at Oxford. LVI pupils benefitted from an enrichment visit to Oxford University, taking part in an Academy Conference examining sexual ethics, liberation theology, freedom and determinism and feminist perspectives within Christianity. Highlights included Julie Arliss’ and Professor Keith Ward’s Big Debate: Kant vs Bentham and Daphne Hampson’s compelling lecture questioning whether it matters that Christ was male. We were also thrilled to hear that one of our A level pupils was highly commended for her entry to the RE:View Cambridge Religion in Film competition. Buoyed on by her success, the department has been exploring ways to use video and podcasts to create accessible study resources across all Key Stages.
Philosophy Society is flourishing, with our committed Co-Chairs presenting and leading discussions and working together to produce a display on the theme of Golden as part of the Spring Term’s cross-curricular challenge. Their idea to use the School’s golden commendation tickets to promote the mean between excess and deficiency in Aristotle’s virtue ethics was inspired!
We welcomed Mr Davies to the department in January and have enjoyed getting to know him and exploring the fresh perspectives that he brings to the team. We look forward to many more creative and successful years ahead.
Mrs Amelia Khan Head of Religious Studies
At the Academic Conference with Daphne Hampson
Pupil art work at Coventry Cathedral
Physical Education
We achieved superb GCSE results last Summer. The curent UV cohort have worked hard on their written coursework and practical component, both of which have stood them in good stead for their written examinations. We are pleased to have two pupils taking A level PE this year.
Sports Events
Our Junior and Senior Sports Award evening was a main highlight. We welcomed Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE and Great Britain Hockey Olympian to speak and present the awards recognising the accomplishments of our pupils. Our Junior and Senior Dance spotlight shows were a huge success, where over 150 girls performed on stage in what was a vibrant and energetic showcase. There was a mix of dance styles, musical theatre and gymnastics!
Sports Trips and Tours
We have recently taken Senior Lacrosse players on a Tour to Prague, a Tennis Tour to Portugal and a recreational Ski trip to Canada, as well as competitive ski trips to Les Menuires and Flaine.
Lacrosse
We finished in the top 16 or higher across all age groups entered in the National Schools competition. The County tournaments were a success with five teams crowned as county champions, and five teams placing second. We have many girls on the England regional talent pathway with two pupils in the U19 England National setup. Several girls will be representing their country at the U20 World Championships this Summer for Italy, Hong Kong and China.
Netball
Highlights in Netball include the U16As reaching the Regional Finals, placing fourth in their group, and only losing by two goals to the eventual winners. District Netball successes include five teams placing first in their respective tournaments and two teams placing second.
Swimming
The Junior swimming team placed seventh nationally in the Bath and Otter Cup which is one of our greatest achievements. The Junior swimmers continue to break records and an UIII pupil has been named county champion in several events. One of our Senior Swimmers has also been selected for Team England as part of the Swim England Youth Performance Squad and has already raced for them in Luxembourg this term.
Squash
The U14, U16 and U19 Squash teams performed outstandingly over the season with the U16A and U18A teams placing sixth in the National Schools competitions. Our U16B team were crowned Plate winners.
Athletics
We have our first round of the Track & Field Cup competition this term and are aiming to reach the Regional Finals for both teams. We regularly host Wednesday afternoon Athletics meets in a League format which has been a great success. Two UIII pupils reached the Cross-Country National Finals which is an excellent achievement.
Cricket
The U13 and U15 Cricket teams started their season early with the indoor county competitions. Both teams progressed through their first round reaching the county finals, and will be competing in the regional competition this term, hoping for a place in the National Finals.
Tennis
Wycombe Abbey hosted the National Girls Schools’ Doubles Tennis Tournament. This is a prestigious event that has run for over 100 years. We entered pairs into all age categories and notably, our U16 Pair 1 finished in third place as did our U19 Pair 1. It was a wonderful day with a high level of tennis on display.
Equestrian
The Equestrian team has qualified for the Team Elite Championships at Hickstead and several of our riders have qualified for the Individual Elite Championships at Hickstead. As well as qualifying for the NSEA Schools Championships in October, they have recently qualified for the British Showjumping for Schools National Finals in August, as a team and as individuals.
We have two sisters (LIV and UV) who compete for Monaco in Show Jumping and are hoping to qualify for the European Championships. In a competition consisting of an incredibly strong international field, both girls rode well and competed in the top 1% of their age group. We await news regarding their selection.
Sailing
Our sailors have been competing and training hard; one LV came in as the second Great British sailor at the Palamos International Optimist Regatta featuring 550 of the top international sailors from 22 countries. In May, she has qualified for the GBR team that will compete at the World Championships in December 2024 in Argentina. Our UV sailor achieved first place with her U17 female boat at the recent RYA Youth Nationals and has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Open European Championships in Portoroz, Slovenia in July, followed by the Junior European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Finally, we were thrilled to open our new golf simulator in May. It is already seeing regular use and is an incredible new facility for the School.
Miss Ruby Smith Acting Director of Sport (Maternity Cover)
The Sports Awards
U15B Lacrosse Team
Libraries
We have had another fantastic year of reading and discussing books in the libraries. In this digital age, it is more important than ever that we promote reading and we are confident that we’ve excelled at that this year.
Our first evening event of the year was our Harry Potter Evening for UIII and LIV pupils. They were sorted into their Hogwarts Houses and got the opportunity to craft their own mandrakes. We were very impressed with their creativity!
One of our biggest events of the year, Reading Week, took place in November. The week began with a literary-themed quiz for UIV, as well as craft activities in Junior Library. Christian Foley, one of the only poets in the world selected to complete a ‘Spoken Word Education Programme’ and Teaching MA at Goldsmiths University, delivered a series of engaging workshops to LIV. By the end of the session, he had them all rapping and performing to an impressive standard! Christian then delivered a performance in LAC to the whole School in the evening and this was hugely successful. Lots of pupils from all year groups attended and it was wonderful to see and hear such an enthusiastic response to his performance!
Joseph Elliott, author of the Shadow Skye series, returned to enthral UIII and, as always, sales of his books proved very popular in our pop-up bookshop. To finish the week, we held another Cosy Day and the Heads of Literary Society hosted a Pizza and Poetry Evening where students met to read and discuss their own poetry.
In March we celebrated World Book Day, which, of course, involved the whole school dressing up! The costumes were wonderful and really showed the variety of reading preferences across the school.
The Scholastic Book Fair was back for the third year in a row and its popularity meant we made over £2000 in commission. We ran a competition to choose a primary school and this year, we are donating all of our commission to High Wycombe Church of England Combined School to help them restock their library.
UIIIs had a wonderful time at our Harry Potter Evening
During the week, UIII enjoyed online talks with the author Laura Dockrill and they loved reading out work that they completed during the session. The author Teri Terry visited the UIV to deliver a talk and inspire them to write regularly. As part of our World Book Day celebrations, we also ran a number of competitions, including a library-themed quiz and an emoji quiz, and, as usual, we had lots of fantastic entries.
Before the Easter holidays began, we delivered sets of the seven books on the Carnegie Award shortlist to very excited pupils and our shadowing scheme began in earnest at the beginning of the Summer Term with weekly meetings to discuss pupils’ thoughts on the books. The scheme finished with a vote to decide on the Wycombe Abbey winner of the Carnegie Award 2024.
As well as all of this, we have been promoting reading to pupils across the School, restocking all of the libraries around the site and running regular competitions to engage everyone with the joy of reading. We’ve just appointed our new School Librarians for next academic year and we’re looking forward to working with them!
Mrs Hannah Rogers-Green Head of Libraries
A group of UIIIs won best ensemble in our costume competition.
Careers
Careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is integral to all aspects of School life. We aim to inspire and support our pupils to pursue their passions and enable them to take the next step in their career journey. Specific careers guidance is delivered through the Wellbeing and General Studies curriculum, and through the Sixth Form Carrington Programme. Outside the curriculum, pupils have a variety of opportunities to meet professionals, engage with external speakers, and to develop employability and power skills, thus fostering attributes and interests that will help them as they look towards their futures.
This year, we have developed and promoted our MyWycombe ‘Future Ready’ pages. This resource features a variety of current courses and opportunities covering anything from life at the Bar to becoming a surveyor, cybersecurity to stepping in to the NHS, engineering to consultancy and drama to architecture. Pupils are encouraged to explore the pages at their own pace and can benefit from virtual and in-person opportunities to engage with employers, on-demand webinars and practical tips and advice on accessing relevant work experience. Regular notices are published on all Teams channels highlighting relevant events and opportunities.
In September, we welcomed UV pupils back to School with a Careers Day beginning with Morrisby online profiling assessments. They then enjoyed a workshop on communication, focusing on how to introduce themselves, how to present well, managing nerves through breathing and exploring the importance of positive body language. Throughout the Autumn Term all UV pupils met with an independent careers adviser to discuss their profile report, to ask any questions and to plan next steps.
Career Spotlights continue to be highlights in our calendar. External speakers allowed girls to hear first-hand from professionals about their different industries including investment banking and finance, cybersecurity, nuclear decommissioning and where studying English can take you (journalism and social media marketing). We particularly enjoyed opening these events to five local Sixth Forms, welcoming their pupils into School.
November saw our annual Careers Seminar evening take place, with 25 different speakers representing a broad range of professions. Medicine, law, architecture, charity work, engineering, consultancy, journalism and marketing to name but a few. Pupils from UV – UVI were able to select two different talks to attend, giving them real insight into different career journeys and the all-important opportunity to ask questions. A mixture of alumnae, parents and local professionals kindly gave their time to support our future generations. One speaker commented; “I was so impressed
by the maturity, intelligence and sheer brilliance of the girls. They were extremely well behaved, they engaged well with the sessions, and they asked excellent questions. And unknown to them, I also learnt a lot from them.”
Pupil feedback was extremely positive with one girl commenting that it was “very engaging and a very helpful insight into the journey of beginning work.”
In March, we celebrated National Careers Week in School. In addition to the Career Spotlight on English, we ran a series of interactive careers workshops for LV, giving them the opportunity to engage in role play and presentations. During the week, we sent out daily bulletins with links to a range of different resources and activities, as well as encouraging the girls to add to our display on ‘dream careers’ in Courtyard Cafe.
Work experience is a key factor in helping pupils decide what they would like to do but also what they don’t want to do! Each year, we work with a group of local organisations who kindly host LVI pupils aiming to study Medicine for weekly work experience slots. Pupils can apply for a placement at a local Hospice, two care homes, a nursery and a special needs nursery. When possible, we enjoy giving something back. This year, a group of pupils went to one of our care homes to provide some entertainment for the residents. In addition to our regular, local work experience, we work with Seniors and parents to host other work experience placements and Insight Days. During October Long Leave, a parent kindly hosted three pupils for an Insight Day at University College London Hospital. This was an invaluable opportunity for girls to experience first-hand a day in a busy hospital.
As this academic year ends, we are busy looking ahead to next year. We are working on plans to engage a team of pupils as Careers Champions, helping input directly into our provision with their ideas and feedback. We look forward to hearing from them and getting them involved in our activities and events.
Mrs Alison Kiln Head of Careers