APRIL 2014

Head’s Lines Dear Readers “I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising ’s MUN Success curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, Withington’s Model United Nations team swept the board at Edinburgh’s readiness for sensible prestigious George Watson’s College conference, with all twelve WGS delegates winning individual awards before celebrating the news that the self-denial, and above School had also scooped the top accolade of Best Delegation overall. all, compassion.” Kurt Hahn The Withington contingent, who represented the at the I was reminded of these inspirational words by conference on the weekend of 14/15 March, triumphed against strong Kurt Hahn, the founder of Gordonstoun School, competition from 55 schools from as far afield as Norway, Portugal, Germany, when I read through the first draft of this latest Florida - and even one school from Iran. Seven girls won Best Delegate in version of the Bulletin. The foremost task of their committees, three were Highly Commended and two were Commended, speaking on topical subjects that encompassed Human Rights, Disarmament, the excellent education we offer at Withington Security Council, Politics, the Environment, Health and the Media. is not the collection of qualifications for their own sake, nor the maintenance of our leading Said Withington’s MUN Coordinator, Jane Maher: position in national league tables, though both “The girls were incredible. This was no mean feat - each can be considered useful indicators (amongst committee was made up of almost 50 students so to make many others) of our pupils’ successes. Our foremost task is to encourage the girls to be an impact was very difficult and required some excellent Representing Withington were: Giulia Baggaley Simpson, Caroline Cartmill, diplomatic and strong public speaking skills. The girls Lucinda Chamberlain, Orlagh Fallon, Kavneet Jolly, Penny Jones, Jo Lees, curious about the world around them and their had worked hard ahead of the Conference and prepared Rosy Martland, Sheanna Patelmaster, Vidya Ramesh, Jess Stolberg, Haleh Taghinejadi place in it, to develop resilience to cope with themselves well. This was an outstanding achievement.” the inevitable ups and downs of life, and to be willing to make personal sacrifices and show This latest success follows on from Withington’s victory at the Bath MUN kindness to others in order to make a difference conference last year when the team became the first all-girls school to win in the world. the title, proving, says Ms Maher, “girls can really excel at this activity which has been dominated far too long by Boys’ schools or mixed ones.” The pages which follow are full of illustrations “It is clear that WGS really is a force to be reckoned with on the MUN of the ways in which Withington girls have, this circuit,” she added, “and with the recent Withington Conference - past term, explored beyond the narrow confines WiMUN - attracting girls from Year 7 upwards, we have of examination specifications, challenged a steady stream of talent already developing their diplomatic themselves mentally and physically and, skills ready for the major conferences in the future.” Continues on page 2... The MUN Conferences held annually in Edinburgh and Bath are two of the largest of their kind in the country. ...Continued from Page 1... SUNDAY 9 TH FEBRUARY 2014 above all, worked hard to make a real difference to those who need their help, locally in , at home in the UK and abroad. I hope the girls and their families will enjoy being reminded of their numerous activities and their outstanding achievements in so many fields. Schools cannot afford to stand still and we have recently announced plans to build a new, larger Junior School, and to enclose the The Withington resultant ‘quadrangle’ in order to provide better access and much-needed additional MUN Conference social and exhibition space. I hope to have On Sunday 9th February, almost 300 delegates from 18 some news for you soon about planning schools attended the sixth Model United Nations conference permission and, in the meantime, we are also to be hosted at Withington, the biggest and most successful making plans in conjunction with the council conference so far. Most schools attending were from the for some important traffic calming measures area, but schools from Birmingham, to be introduced around our Wellington Shrewsbury, Chester and Liverpool also took part. Road entrance during the summer holidays. Unlike most MUN conferences, the event was aimed at younger These measures will improve the girls’ safety pupils in Years 7 to 10 - with Withington Sixth Formers taking as they cross the roads around the school. on the roles of Committee Chairs, Heads of the Secretariat, Presidents of the General Assembly as well as the Secretary Stockport Grammar I hope you thoroughly enjoy reading about General. WGS Sixth Form pupils also reported on events School MUN Conference what the girls have been doing this term, throughout the Conference and produced a comprehensive and I should like to take this opportunity magazine about the day. A busy term for MUN began on Sunday to wish you and your families a very restful 26th January, when WGS participated in Opening the Conference, Headmistress Mrs Marks spoke about the SGS MUN conference. Withington had Easter holiday. the value of MUN in encouraging young people to think about four delegations, France, Spain, Jordan and the wider world and the betterment of society globally. Japan. The Withington delegations were The guest speaker was one of Scotland’s top human rights made up of many younger, inexperienced lawyers, Mr Aamar Anwar; he delivered an inspirational speech delegates, for whom this was only their Mrs Sue Marks about standing up against human rights abuses in society and second conference after WiMUN V last Headmistress taking a stand against inequalities, one of the most important summer. The conference was won by China, functions of the UN. comprised mainly of Upper Sixth Formers Withington’s MUN Coordinator, Ms Jane Maher, from Cheadle School. Withington said the standard of debate was excellent. picked up many individual awards, which “WiMUN is all about giving younger pupils a chance to take bodes extremely well for the future. part - and they rose to the challenge, speaking confidently Well done to all! and knowledgably,” she said. In addition, five Upper Sixth girls took on Our thanks go to Mr Anwar for travelling all the way from the roles of Conference Chairs. Glasgow to speak at the Opening Ceremony, and for his MUN Coordinator, Ms Jane Maher said: thought-provoking and inspirational words that fired up the young Conference delegates to speak out with conviction and “They were an absolute credit to passion. As ever, thanks to Mr Mark Morris, Withington’s Site themselves, MUN and Withington.” Services Manager, for his fantastic photography. Organic Inspirations... Career Engineers Manchester Art Gallery was the destination for the recent On Wednesday 22nd January, nine Lower Art Trip for the Lower Fifth girls, whose aims were to Fifth pupils visited Manchester University gather a wealth of ideas and inspiration for their new for an Engineering Experience day. ceramic project entitled Organic Vessels. Even before We were greeted by one of Manchester entering the gallery we were greeted outside by a large- University’s PhD nuclear engineering scale sculpture of an ice cream which began our journey students who talked to us about the of understanding and appreciation for the Portuguese different career paths involving engineering contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos, who has created and his own study and career. After our wonderful site-specific works especially for the gallery, introductory talk we headed outside for a and are well worth a visit! Valuable time was also spent brief University campus tour, including exploring the gallery of craft and design to examine the the library which, amazingly, holds over many ceramic pieces on display. Nothing can compare to 4 million books. seeing artwork ‘up close and personal’ and this experience has certainly inspired the girls in their own designs and Our workshops began with an activity creations as part of this project. involving the inhabitancy of Mars and the problems that human kind would Head of Art Mrs Ruth Fildes face. This was an engaging and hands-on experience which allowed us to develop

ART our problem-solving skills. After lunch we attended our final workshop which involved engineering our own headphones whilst learning about the different aspects of electronic engineering. Finally, our day ended with a question London Scrawling! and answer session which allowed us to interact with current PhD students at the University. Overall, the day was a captivating experience that confirmed all our interests in engineering. With exam papers, sketchbooks and pencils in hand, the artists in the Upper Lucy Owen & Imogen McLean Fifth and Sixth Form embarked on an Lower Fifth exciting and rewarding expedition to London in order to gain invaluable inspiration for their final Art projects. The brisk morning took us to the Victoria and Albert Museum which is billed as ‘The world’s greatest museum of art and design.’ Here the Upper Fifth were taken on a ‘Sketchbook Sculptures’ workshop where they were challenged to draw in unusual ways from the European marble sculptures, whilst brushing up on their knowledge of historical myths and legends. The Sixth Form enjoyed exploring the many, many exhibits from beautiful John Madejski Garden Commission: Travelling to the Wonderland by Xu Bing to Dale Chihuly’s enormous glass chandelier. Jumping onto the Underground after lunch brought us to Bankside, under the imposing architecture of the former power station, which now houses the Tate Modern. Again, the wealth of artwork at our fingertips was somewhat overwhelming, and in many instances a great contrast to what we had seen at the V&A. All of the girls worked feverishly capturing all they could of the British, modern and contemporary art on show. The varied and intriguing sketchbook work produced on the day was a fabulous beginning to each of the girls’ creative and personal journeys for this important project. At lunchtime on Saturday 14th December we met at to set off to The Gambia and at that moment I don’t think any of us fully understood The Gambia 2013 exactly what we were going to experience on our week long trip. We were well equipped with everything from life jackets to bubble blowers for the children in our bags, prepared with lesson plans and design sketches for painting and extremely excited for what lay ahead. Upon arrival we met Mr Lamin Jammeh who runs the projects Withington is linked to in The Gambia and who looked after us for the week we were there. Having arrived after dark the night before we hadn’t really observed much outside of the tourist district of Kolioli and this added to the staggering contrast we found between the levels of development there and in the capital, Banjul, the next day. It was easy to imagine how you could visit The Gambia and never truly see the everyday reality of the country beyond the sanitised façade of the tourist district. We then moved on to the main purpose of our trip and set off up country to the village of Illiassa, home of Mama Tamba Nursery School. This involved getting up at 5am and travelling by jeep, a ferry across the river and finally by donkey cart. We had spent the year in the run-up to our trip fundraising for a new kitchen and storeroom to be built there and had immense fun painting the new rooms and an older classroom, then adding graphics designed to stimulate learning. The next day we were back to teach the lessons we had planned; there were different age groups in each of the three classrooms spanning from ages 3 to 8 and the help of their teachers was greatly appreciated in the making of bracelets, crowns, wooden puppets and musical instruments. We then moved outside to play games beginning with a version of Blind Man’s Buff and ending the Hokey Cokey, which proved very popular! Soon it was time for us to leave Illiassa and travel back across the river by canoe, however, all of us were sorry to leave Mama Tamba and the children who had been incredibly welcoming and friendly. The journey across the river yielded beautiful scenery and wildlife, the highlight being the black dolphins. We spent that night at Tendaba Camp where we all had much appreciated showers. In the morning we headed off towards My Farm, a sustainable farming project. We saw the making of eco-friendly soaps, which many of us purchased as gifts for friends and family. We then headed back to the hotel and the next morning on to the sacred crocodile pool in Bakkau and all, teachers included, stroked a crocodile. The belief associated with the pool is that bathing in water from there can cure a woman of infertility and, if it does, the child conceived must be given the nickname that signifies this. Our final visit whilst in the Gambia was to Lamin’s family compound and then to a graduation ceremony at a computer centre that Withington jointly sponsors. It was very interesting to see how Lamin lives with his extended family and we were all very taken with the 1-month-old baby who is the newest addition to their family. The Gambia trip was an amazing experience into a different culture and way of life. The strongest impression of which, for me, was a striking ability to cope with adversity whilst remaining positive. No matter where we were, from the streets of Banjul to the rural villages, there was vibrant energy. It was an extremely humbling experience that gave a sense of perspective which will last long after the trip is over. Sheanna Patelmaster Upper Sixth 6th Form Seminars This term’s seminars continued to offer Classical Times... an excellent opportunity for our Sixth Form pupils to experience ideas outside the scope of their syllabuses and offer Ancient Theatre in opportunities to develop their knowledge. Drama on and off stage the 21st Century This term we have welcomed researchers The Classics Department were delighted to welcome from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell- back Melvyn Rawlinson who gave his annual Matrix Research; Dr Imanol Arozarena Greek Trip to London, 12th February presentation and workshop on the ancient theatre to introduced the pathways to becoming Celebrating that the tube strike had been called off at the the Third Form. The girls learned about some of the a research scientist; Professor Charles last minute, we set off for a busy day in London with 16 characters and customs of both the Greek and Roman Streuli discussed the Biology of the Breast Lower and Upper Fifth girls. We had been invited down to theatre and made their own masks, choosing between and Cancer and Dr Ina Berg, from the see the King’s College London Greek Play. This college has the tragic and comic characters. School of Archaeology of the University of a history of putting on a play in Greek every year since the Manchester, led a fascinating talk entitled 1950s. This year, Zara Tso (who left Withington in 2012 and Islands of the Mind, which focused on our is in her first year at King’s reading Greek and English) was attraction to islands and explored why starring as the leader of the chorus in Aristophanes’ Wasps. islands are anything but simple constructs. First of all, we visited the British Museum where the girls Dr Cristina Vilela Oxbridge Coordinator were set the task of finding artefacts to support their knowledge of the Ancient Greek world for their Sources for Greek Life paper and then walked back to get the tube to the theatre through increasingly wet and windy conditions. Bank of The play was very entertaining. Fortunately there were Competition subtitles so that we could all appreciate the script but Following their success in the first stage, a there was plenty of visual humour too and Zara was a team of Upper Sixth Economics students, star! We were delighted to chat with her and the director representing the North West of England, afterwards when she admitted that she had forgotten her took part in the second round of the Bank of lines at one point but threw in a line of Greek which she England interest rate challenge vs teams from remembered from the Reading Competition at School! Scotland and the North East of England. Bright sunshine greeted us as we left the theatre but, after Classical Association Their presentation was warmly received dispersing to get tea at Euston, it became clear that all was and showed evidence of careful planning, Reading Competition sound analysis and extensive research. They not right with the transport. All trains to Manchester were WGS took part in the annual Classical Association cancelled due to the high winds and the station at Crewe had to analyse the economy looking at a Reading Competition which was held at Stockport range of variables such as unemployment, had been shut after the roof had blown off, hitting power Grammar School on Wednesday 12th March. Many lines and causing a fire. wage changes, the housing market and schools from the North West sent competitors and international pressures and use these to We then had a long journey home via Birmingham and competition was fierce in the Beginners’ Section decide whether the Bank should change Tamworth, the latter part of the journey taking three hours, (nearly 20 pairs) and the GCSE Latin Section (nearly the interest rate and programme of so that we eventually arrived at Manchester 30 competitors). Lower Fourth pupils Namitha Quantitative Easing. at nearly 1am. The girls were all very good natured and Aravind and Natasha Anson were commended They had to answer a set of detailed and followed instructions, some even managing to grab a little (3rd place in the Beginners’ section) reading a challenging questions from the Bank’s sleep, and we were relieved to bring them all home safely passage from the Cambridge Latin Course about the economists and we were delighted when that night so that three of them could join the French destruction of Pompeii and Lower Sixth Former Vidya they were awarded the runners-up prize – Exchange the next morning! Ramesh won the A Level Greek Section, reading a a cheque for £500, half of which will go to passage from Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Mrs Jo Howling Head of Classics charity and half to the Bursary Fund. Mr Stephen Boddy Head of Economics History Trip French Exchange 2014 Recital Evenings to Helmshore Withington pupils spent the February Half Term holiday on the Two delightful evenings of music were enjoyed PIANO and eighth successful Exchange with the Lycée des Flandres in Hazebrouck, by many proud parents this term - an evening of STRINGS Seventy Lower Fourth pupils, accompanied Northern France. Strings and Piano Music was performed by pupils by six members of staff, spent the day at Twenty-two girls, along with eight boys from the Manchester Grammar of Vivienne Blumfield and Anne Wilson and then Helmshore Mills Textile Museum in the School, entered into the spirit of the Exchange and enjoyed discovering an evening of Piano, Clarinet, Saxophone and Rossendale Valley this term. The trip, which Percussion by the pupils of Ruth Evans, Lynne Tuesday 21st January 2014 French daily life, benefiting tremendously from the experience of spending 6pm in the Arts Centre supports the Lower Fourth Scheme of Work, Racz and Emma Crossley. From beginners to a week with their French host families. Withington Girls’ School Proudly Present THE proved to be invaluable in helping to bring accomplished Grade 8 performers, both evenings Instrumentalists The girls made the most of their week in France and enjoyed some of the Percussion, Clarinet, Saxophone and Piano Recital Evening the to life for the girls. provided a variety of music and instruments being local highlights such as a Treasure Hunt in Lille followed by guided tour The girls were given the opportunity to try performed to the very highest of standards. These of Palais des Beaux-Arts and a return visit to the ever-popular art gallery their hand at carding (with varying degrees early evening recitals are not only a pleasure to La Piscine. They also visited The Louvre-Lens, an art museum in Lens, of success!), see first-hand the only working listen to but also a joy to witness the confidence Pas-de-Calais. water frame in the world, and visit both the and performance skills develop amongst our up- fulling mill and the spinning mill. Engaging Other excursions included a day in Ypres where the party visited the and-coming musicians. and informative guides were instrumental In Flanders Fields Museum; World War 1 French, German and British

cemeteries; a trench and the Menin gate. Mrs Gilly Sargent Director of Music Monday 10th March 2014 in furthering the girls’ understanding 6pm in the Arts Centre of the Mill through a combination of After an extensive introductory lesson, everyone enjoyed sand-yachting knowledgeable tours, useful interactive on the beach at Dunkirk on a cloudy, but dry day. tasks, and valuable Q&A sessions. The visit The group was accompanied by WGS teachers Mrs Yorke Menzies and Halle Youth Ensemble also enabled the girls to see the importance Mrs Anne Humblet and Mr Dan Taylor from MGS. of the geography of the Rossendale Valley On Sunday 9th March I had the pleasure of attending the Hallé Youth **Our French counterparts arrived in Manchester on Wednesday 24th Ensemble Concert at the Bridgewater Hall. The first half was the Children’s in explaining the history of the area. March, and the Manchester host families very much enjoyed the company Choir, Training Choir and Youth Choir, all three choirs giving outstanding of their young French guests, and were very pleased to reciprocate the performances. The second half was the Children’s Choir, Youth Choir wonderful hospitality Withington girls received in France. and a performance of William Walton’s Suite from Henry V by the Hallé Youth Orchestra. This performance was absolutely phenomenal! I sat in the audience, proud of the musicians from Withington who were part of this amazing performance - Sophie Foreman, Amy Brown, Adi Jacobson, Georgia Morley, Maddy Williams and Rosie Dow. Well done ladies! Mrs Gilly Sargent Director of Music Physics Masterclass Swapping Books Geography News On Wednesday 26th March, we took a Geographers trip to Daresbury Laboratory for a Particle for Dancing Bells... continue to have an Physics Masterclass. We attended insightful exciting and varied Krishna Panchmatia is to appear on two national TV shows in India following presentations about Particle Physics given extracurricular a recent dance tour which took the Sixth Form student to Delhi and Agra. by experts about the accelerators at programme. The Daresbury, the Large Hadron Collider and Krishna had been invited to perform Kathak - a classical Indian dance - at Sixth Form have Astroparticle Physics. We were given the two leading TV studios in Delhi with the shows scheduled to be broadcast attended some opportunity to learn about the different across the country over the coming months. One of the programmes, a short thought-provoking applications of Particle Physics, attempt documentary which featured Krishna dancing and an interview, is due to be Geographical to optimise luminosity in particle colliders, entered for an international film award. Association lectures and try a few of the calculations that at the University. The were involved in designing the accelerator Krishna, who travelled to India with her mother Kalpna, then went onto highlight this last term at Daresbury. Agra where she performed her dance at the prestigious cultural Taj festival was the Herbertson Of course, a Particle Physics Masterclass before an audience of around 1,000 people, which included national and local Memorial Lecture would not be complete without mention of Government ministers as well as world renowned Indian singers. titled: , Borders, migration and sanctuary: changing geographies of mobility the Higgs which, with the help of Lancaster presented by Jonny Darling from Manchester University. He was dynamic “I just feel so grateful that I was given this once in a lifetime opportunity. University’s simulation, we all managed to and passionate about the issue of refugees opening our eyes to The whole experience has taught me so much. I met so many incredible discover for ourselves! people who inspired me. I first watched Kathak being performed when I was the problems they face and the way a receiving country like the UK manages the situation. His approach gave a very different view than The Masterclass was rounded off with the ten years old. I really connected with it from the start and the storytelling results of the quiz we had been given at the format taught me so much about our history. It’s very difficult for young the media because the plight of asylum seekers was viewed through a geographer’s eyes. beginning of the day, and we were amazed people to maintain our culture and it would be a real shame for our to discover that we had won both the first Geography offers a holistic viewpoint balancing environmental, social and generation if we lost our heritage,” she said. (Penny Jones) and second prize (Haleh economic understanding of the situation. The sheer contemporary nature Taghinejadi and Teneeka Mai) the former Krishna has been learning the historic Kathak dance for the past seven of the issues Geography covers was well illustrated. We also had the with full marks! years at the Academy of Indian Cultural Education and had been invited to privilege that evening of the School being presented with the Ogden Prize accompany her teacher, the acclaimed performer Kajal Sharma, on the trip awarded to Harriet Macleod for attaining the highest mark in Geography Overall the trip gave us a real to India. She is currently working towards her Grade 5 exam on the dance A Level last Summer. understanding of Particle Physics and was which is performed barefoot with bells and accompanied by traditional Indian excellent preparation for our upcoming trip An enterprising group of motivated geographers in the Lower Sixth have drums, sitars and other instruments. to CERN. set up a Geography Club to hold fun Geography-based activities in the lunch hour to inspire younger girls to appreciate the versatility of the Teneeka Mai Lower Sixth subject. Their first successful activity was a Geography Film Competition. Upper Fourth girls were invited to watch extracts from the filmThe Day After Tomorrow; the link with Geography was the theme of global warming triggering the rapid onset of a new Ice Age. In the film, tornadoes flatten California and the entire Northern hemisphere begins to freeze. Far-fetched maybe, but the special effects showing an Ice Age kept everyone gripped and made for lots of discussion about what living in an Ice Age must have been like. The following lunch hour, teams from each Form battled it out with Geography-based questions taken from events seen in the film. ‘What damage did the tornadoes bring to Los Angeles? How low did the temperatures fall in New York?’ The prize went to UIVX who won a most appropriate inflatable Globe. Future plans are to hold a Geography Treasure Trail and Geography Music Quiz so Lower Fourths and Third Formers also get a chance to put some novel Geography skills to the test. Well done to our enthusiastic Lower Sixth team for keeping Geography on the map! Mrs Julie Buckley Head of Geography Cancer Research Donation Mrs Toni Leden It was with great pleasure that Mrs Marks, Warm Welcomes... Former Withington parent Toni Leden has been appointed as the Vocal Studies Tutor Mrs Fiona Clucas and school’s new Development Director, bringing with her a wealth of Mr Kirk Eckersall her husband, Jeffrey Wynn Davies presented fund raising experience in the charity sector. a donation of £2000 in aid of renal cancer Mr Eckersall has joined the Chemistry Department after Toni, who replaces Clare Flynn, has an impressive track record research to Christie hospital representative, 12 years teaching at School, a 1,300-pupil in fundraising having worked in the charity sector for 24 years. Clare Dickenson. comprehensive boys school with a mixed Sixth Form (where Previous roles have included the post of Director of Appeals at Withington’s former Head of Mathematics, Mr Kal Hodgson, The money was raised at a concert entitled The Christie where she worked on high profile campaigns for was Assistant Head). He was Head of Chemistry and served , organised and performed in eight years - and latterly she worked as Acting Head of Charities Choirs for Cancer as a Head of Year for several years. Along with Mr Eckersall’s the Arts Centre by Mrs Clucas and Mr Wynn at the Central Manchester University Hospitals. teaching responsibilities, he will be leading the Eco-Warriors Davies last term, in appreciation for the care into battle and assisting with Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Formally appointed in February, having ‘acted’ as Development and treatment given to Mr Wynn Davies Mr Eckersall is an active member of Manchester Cathedral Director since December 2013, Toni says she is looking forward when he was suffering from renal cancer. where he acts, among other things, as thurifer. to exciting new projects planned for the future; building on the School’s solid foundation for bursary provision; and Dr Zoe Kenny working alongside Penny Knipe the Development Officer with Withington’s 3000-strong alumni group to encourage even Dr Kenny is providing maternity cover for Mrs Cottam as greater networking opportunities and to expand the existing Teacher of Biology. Dr Kenny formerly taught Science at Irlam career mentoring and University buddy schemes. and Cadishead College. She holds a First Class Honours Degree “I am delighted to be joining the staff at Withington and am in Biological Sciences from Edinburgh University and a PhD in keen to focus my knowledge, experience and skills to lead the Neuroscience from the University of Manchester. Development strategy for the School and contribute to its One of her highlights whilst studying Biology at University, continuing success and reputation.” she said. she says, was an Ecology expedition to Sri Lanka where she Toni - who has been a Trustee of the WGS Trust for the past 18 spent three months investigating the gecko population. A 2nd months - has long established personal links with Withington Dan in Karate and a member of the Shotokan Karate Academy stretching back 100 years. Her daughter, Rebecca Stern, now a in Manchester, Dr Kenny, who has a one-year-old son, also Oxford ‘Recce’ drama teacher, left WGS in 2007 - and her grandmother Marjorie enjoys cookery and art. On Wednesday 22nd January, a group of Gibbons Sankey was a pupil at the school between 1912 and 18 Lower Sixth girls accompanied by Dr “The staff and girls at Withington have such warmth and 1914, making the then long journey from her home in Alderley Vilela and Mr McKenna joined Manchester energy that it has been so easy to settle in,” she says. Edge by a combination of train and horse and carriage. Grammar School, Manchester High School for Toni holds a BSc degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Girls and Loreto Grammar School on a trip to Mrs Nicola Byrne Surrey University. After graduating she worked as a Nutritionist Oxford University. Mrs Nicola Byrne has joined Withington to take up a newly- in Papua New Guinea before going on to work in sales and The girls met with admissions tutors, subject created part-time position as Human Resources Manager. marketing and then the charity sector. tutors and former Withington pupils currently Mrs Byrne, who holds a BA in Business Administration from Ms Leden’s interests include yoga, travel, the theatre, and fitness studying at Oxford. The day provided an Huddersfield University, was previously Head of HR at Liverpool – she took part in the 26 mile Great Manchester Cycle last year. excellent introduction to the University and Football Club and prior to that had spent 17 years in a similar role its demands and opportunities. This was an at healthcare company SSL International. excellent day enjoyed by all involved. Responsibilities in her new post will include a broad range Dr Cristina Vilela Oxbridge Coordinator of HR functions including recruitment, induction, training Farewell and Best wishes to Christine Evans and development and performance management. Mrs Byrne, The Art Department bid farewell in December to part- who has a 5-year-old son, is a keen sportswoman and charity time Art Technician, Ms Christine Evans, who joined the fundraiser. In May Mrs Byrne will be joining a group of 2,000 School in September 2012. An enthusiastic long-distance ladies in supporting the Women v Cancer charity with a 100km cyclist, she worked at Withington in addition to being a night cycle roundtrip starting at Windsor and taking in London’s freelance artist and creative project worker with people landmark sights. suffering Mental Health conditions. She has left to dedicate more time to her own artistic pursuits. Gym Competition and Display Careers 2014 Mrs Nichola Watson is managing the This year’s Gym and Dance Competition on 7th February and subsequent Gym and Dance Careers Department for the duration of Display on the 11th was themed on Superheroes. Withington’s Wonder Girls certainly Mrs Nicki Cottam’s maternity leave. demonstrated strength, agility and courage as they spun, flexed, flew and stretched to Upper Fifth girls are currently finalising the themes from films such asSuperman and Flash. placements for their Work Experience week Encouraged and clapped along by the audience of family, friends and staff, every Junior which is scheduled to take place after the and Third Form pupil took part. The show also featured girls from the Advanced Gym public examinations in the Summer Term. Club made up of girls from the Junior and Senior Schools working together in routines A mentoring scheme provided by choreographed by GCSE PE candidates and Sixth Form pupils. Withington Alumnae has been set up to support students as they make decisions The audience were also treated to a big Rhythmic Gymnastics production number about degree courses and any future featuring virtually every Junior girl. The Juniors have been enjoying Rhythmic career aspirations. Gymnastics this year under the tutelage of Miss Kathryn Gardner, Lower II Form Teacher. On Friday 21st March, Mr James Batham, a partner at the law firm Eversheds, gave an inspiring and informative presentation - Law without Walls - to a group of students from Upper Fifth to Upper Sixth. Mrs Watson said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for our girls and we are most grateful to Mr Batham for generously supporting the School and for contributing to the girls’ development.” Junior Food Matters... On Friday 17th January, the School Catering Manager, Mrs Sheena Cartledge, and Head Chef, Mr Neil Pheasey, gave a presentation about food during Assembly. Mrs Cartledge and Mr Pheasey asked us about our likes and dislikes on the menu and if we had any ideas on how to improve our school food and its organisation. They listened carefully to all our suggestions and discussed them with us. By the end of the Assembly every class felt like they had been heard and that their ideas had been taken into account. Everyone agreed that the lunches were delicious and the kitchen staff very kind. Thank you Mrs Cartledge and Mr Pheasey. By Aanya Khandelwal and Catalina Alvaro, Upper II Lower II’s Trip to Ordsall Hall On the 22nd of January, Lower II went on a History trip to Ordsall Hall. First, we visited the servants’ quarters. This included the kitchens and we got to see where the servants slept. Then we visited the rich side of the hall. This included the Lord and Lady Radclyffe’s chambers, the living room and the Great Hall. We ground spices, found out about Tudor inventions and about Tudor food. Some fun things we learnt were: • The Rich Tudors would have their favourite servant sleep under their bed in case they needed any assistance during the night! • Rich Tudors would bathe once a year! They also slept sitting up so they didn’t choke from disease. • The bigger their ruff was, the more important they were. • The servants had different jobs like spit boy, cook or housekeeper • Servants usually slept 40 to a room and during harvest time it could be as many as 100! We enjoyed this trip because it was really fun and we learnt lots of ‘whacky’ facts. By Maya Davies and Sara Sherwood, Lower II The Music of History The lute is an instrument from the Tudor times and one of Henry VIII’s favourite instruments. There are very few of them now but my guitar teacher, Mr Batchelar, came into Lower II and showed us a lute. He even played some beautiful Tudor music for us! He let me hold it and it was so light compared to my guitar. The end of the lute is bent and this helps the fifteen strings stay in tune. By Olivia Corbett, Lower II Pets Club Assembly A huge thank you to the Senior girls in charge of Pets Club for their informative Assembly presentation. They showed us the hamsters and guinea pigs and explained how to handle them in a safe yet gentle way. They also spoke about how to behave around animals, so as not to alarm them and ensure they do not feel threatened.

Juniors visit Ancient Times Crazy for Colour Tony North from Time Trips visited the Junior School on two days in January, Thank you to Mrs Buckley and LVIJ who amazed and entertained us in first of all transporting Form I to Ancient Egypt, then, on his second visit, assembly for the launch of the Senior Dance Competition. The theme this taking Transition back to Roman Britain. year was Crazy for Colour and the Lower Sixth girls certainly had lots of fun For Form I, sphinxes, pharaohs, scarab beetles and hieroglyphics were the focus performing their dance. They also spoke about how the competition will raise of the day as Mr North guided them in making their own Ancient Egyptian money for the Maua hospital in Kenya, which is run by former Withington pupil artefacts. By the end of the day, they were able to write their own names using Dr Claire Smithson. hieroglyphics. Ancient Egyptian fashions were also on show as some of the girls were able to dress up in plaited wigs and exotic jewellery. Junior Girls’ Half Term Fundraiser Transition thoroughly enjoyed their day learning about Roman Britain. In Two kind-hearted Junior pupils gave up part of their Half Term holiday to help the morning they planned and created their own Roman town and then in raise funds for the homeless charity, Shelter. Sofia Risino and Amelia Thompson the afternoon they designed and made their own weaponry, from shields to - who are both in Lower II - were hoping to collect £20 but were thrilled to find daggers. Thank you to the mums who came in to help. their four-hour stint at their local Aldi store had raised more than £200. The girls had contacted Shelter to tell them of their plans and were provided RSPB Big Schools Birdwatch with leaflets, posters, badges, stickers and collection boxes to help in their One early morning in January, as part of their participation in the RSPB Big efforts. The recent bad weather had prompted them to think about how they Schools Birdwatch, the Junior Eco-Warriors went out into the School grounds could help people in need of a safe and warm place on wet and windy nights. in search of birds, large and small. Kitted out in their wellies and brandishing Amelia said: their binoculars, the girls counted and catalogued all the birds they saw, recording a wealth of raw data for spreadsheet and graphical analysis in their “Aldi agreed that we could collect money in their Stockton Heath shop. ICT lessons. We would like to thank them for their support and the customers for “Sometimes we saw great flocks of birds but at other times we saw one or two their generosity.” birds pecking on the food we set out.” Shaila Mulch Visit to Manchester Cathedral “We managed to discover about 50 birds altogether, from tall crows to tiny On the 26th February, Form I visited the Manchester Cathedral as part of their robins.” Ishika Ruia Religious Studies. We were fascinated by the artefacts, statues and symbols Trombone Tunes and Raspberries that we saw and were intrigued by some of the history that accompanied Anyone walking past the Junior Resource Room one Monday morning in February these. For example, each of the beautiful stained glass windows had a story would have wondered what on earth was happening, as they would have heard the attached to it. whole of the Junior School seemingly blowing a mass ‘raspberry’!... But they were We were interested by the architecture of the Cathedral and how the roof only trying out the technique for getting notes out of a trombone. of the Nave looked like a ship. We had a tour of the Cathedral followed by a The School’s new peripatetic trombone teacher, Mr David Price, visited Junior practical craft activity session where we were able to make a brass rubbing and Assembly to introduce Junior pupils to the idea of learning how to play the trombone. a stained glass window. Mr Price explained that you don’t just blow into the trombone, you have to vibrate Junior Maths Success your lips, like blowing a raspberry. After a noisy interactive introduction to trombone Congratulations to Upper II pupils Lucy Mehandjieva and Zainab Shah notes, many Junior girls got the chance to have a go themselves. Every girl who tried who gained Silver Awards and to Zara Liu who gained a Bronze in the final - and also Mrs Burrows and Mrs Odeyinde - succeeded in getting a ‘noise’ from their bonus round of the National Primary Mathematical Challenge. This truly is a ‘P-Bone’. It was a great way to start the week, putting everyone into high spirits! magnificent achievement. Wes Magee visit Only 523 children in this age group were invited to take on this bonus round, On Friday 21st March, we had a visit from the well-known author and poet on the basis of their marks in the November paper. Of the 523, only 39 Gold, 76 Wes Magee. This was to coincide with the beginning of our Junior School ‘Book Silver and 143 Bronze Medals were awarded. Week’. We really enjoyed performing some of his poetry in our special assembly using plenty of actions. Wes was also able to spend time with each of our classes doing a poetry workshop so that we could write our own poems. Barnardo’s are the REAL winners On 4th March 2014 the Junior School held a penny race for Barnardo’s. Junior Houses Williams and Hunter battled to see who could place the most pennies down the Chemistry corridor. It was an intense race and in the end Williams won. Upper II had the joy of picking up, counting and weighing the coins and they had a production line going in the Junior Resource Room. The total raised was £224. The girls followed up the penny race with a Teddy Bear raffle which raised an additional £100. Earlier in the term, the Juniors had welcomed a representative from Barnardo`s into Assembly and heard about their work with less fortunate children, so the Juniors were very pleased to be able to contribute to Barnardo’s work. Recycling Fashion As part of the PSHCE lessons, the girls in Form I were given the task of designing an outfit only from recycled materials. The results were truly outstanding and we believe we may have some future fashion designers in our midst! Sophie is a published author! Well done to Sophie Wheeler in Upper II, who has been awarded a Highly Commended in the All Write! Competition, a Manchester Children’s Book Festival project for young writers, run and judged by Manchester Metropolitan University. Even more exciting – this earned her the honour of having her story published in the Competition anthology. On 20th March she went with her parents to the Awards Ceremony where she received her certificate and her own copy of the anthology. Junior Drama Showcase Well done to all the Drama Club girls who performed very shortened versions of Annie and Grease on Thursday 20th March. They all had many lines to learn and some had two or more characters to play. They produced very convincing performances which were thoroughly enjoyed by players and audience alike. Bexwyke Lecture On Wednesday 19th March, Lower II attended a lecture about World War I at the Manchester Grammar School. Half of us went in the morning, and the rest joined in the afternoon. There were lots of other schools there, and in the morning we were split into groups. We began by writing diary entries of soldiers in the War, trying to use excellent descriptive writing. After lunch, we went to a classroom where we re-enacted trench warfare with ping pong balls, bean bags and tables. It was informative and great fun! In the afternoon the lecture began, led by a representative from the Imperial War Museum. She gave a presentation with interesting information about the role of women during World War I. All of us had a great time at the Bexwyke Lecture! Katie Hine, Lower II Winmarleigh Hall 2014 Peak Centre Trip Junior School pupils have recently participated in two Art and Craft clubs run by the Art Department. The girls learnt new Despite the inclement weather, Upper II still set off with much When we arrived at the Peak Centre on Wednesday 12th techniques in the popular Painting and Drawing club and they excitement for a weekend away to Winmarleigh Hall. Along March, we were all very curious about what lay ahead. After enjoyed making paper flowers after school. with the assistance of Miss Gardner and Mrs Burrows, an army we walked 250 metres to the Peak Centre we entered the of determined girls battled through a weekend of perishing conservatory and the teachers told us who we were sharing Crazy Chameleons weather; driving rain and high winds. We did a range of a room with. After that we unpacked, made our beds, Pupils looked at a range of exciting resources and watched exciting activities from controlling robots in the ICT room to had some yummy dinner then we all went to bed. interesting videos of reptiles to better understand the shuffling off a tall tower and gliding down the zip wire. The next morning, we all had breakfast and were put into characteristics of chameleons. They then used bright A popular favourite of the Upper II class was the Jacob’s groups for all the activities that we were doing such as arts collage papers, watercolour pencils and fine liners ladder. This involved putting our teamwork skills to the and crafts, archery and we had lots of fun playing outside. to create their very own colourful chameleon! test by helping each other climb up eight bars of very thick In arts and crafts we made flower boxes, decorated wooden wood placed far apart. We had to help each other by giving spoons or sewed felt bugs / caterpillars. Then we made ‘leg ups’ and encouragement to carry on, even when the task our own lunch to eat outside in the beautiful shining sun. seemed impossible. Later on in the afternoon we had a talent show and the Another favourite of Upper II was the sensory trail where group ‘Woolpacks’ won. Then we had fish fingers and chips the whole group was blindfolded and led around a course of with ketchup for tea. After that, we watched a film called tunnels and tyres. The leader at the front had to make sure Ratatouille. Then we went to bed. everybody knew what lay ahead. In the morning we all stripped off our beds so that the On the last night we all danced the night away with an sheets and pillow cases could be washed. Then we had incredibly energetic disco. We most definitely showed that to pack our suitcases, get changed and have breakfast. Withington girls knew how to party! When we were all ready and fine and dandy, we did some circus skills. This included diablo, flower sticks, and a pedal/ The next day we were all very tired, but this did not stop us wheelie thing. Next, we made our lunch – sandwiches with enjoying our activities to come. Eventually our weekend came crisps, juice, fruit and biscuits. Finally, we all went to the to a close, and we all travelled home on the coach. What an conservatory and we walked to the coach, which was waiting Floral Fun! amazing time we had! patiently in the car park. Girls were taught how to precisely cut and fold different cards By Brontë Horsfield and Erin Howells, Upper II We all had lots of fun at The Peak Centre! to construct paper petals. They then added buttons, made leaves and attached pipe cleaners to complete the flowers. By Vaani Jairath and Hannah Sakhdari, Form I To finish the whole bouquet, the girls wrapped the stems in tissue paper and secured the flowers with pretty ribbons. The bouquets were taken home just in time for Mothers Day! Junior Netball Exploits AJIS Netball Tournament Form I’s Very First Netball Match The Junior Netball teams have enjoyed a busy and successful On Friday 14th March, nine Junior girls travelled to Stockport On 5th March, Form I took part in their very first Netball term. Worthy of note are the matches v Greenbank on 12th Grammar School to compete in a really big tournament - the match. Against Pownall Hall, it was a great success. With February – the evening of the extremely high winds. Huge Under 11 North West AJIS Netball Tournament in which 16 Momo and Hannah S as goal shooters and Eve as Captain, tribute must be given to the pupils and staff of both schools schools took part. the team won 2-1. Everyone enjoyed the match, especially as who were not intimidated by the atrocious weather. It was we got to change positions every quarter. After emerging out of the group stage in third place the definitely not a night for the fainthearted and both matches team qualified to go through for a chance to win the Plate. By Eve Beckford, Sophia Lewis and Amelia Khan saw the ball going through the hoop numerous times, Hard work paid off. despite the gales. Jasmin Lane (a Withington alumna [2011 leaver] now Results for the Spring Term: studying Medical Sciences at the University of Swansea and going on to study Medicine at Keele in September - and W D L daughter of Mrs Jayne Lane, Junior School Netball Coach), vs MHSG 2 0 0 gave them some playing tips and told the girls of the day Withington Juniors last won the Plate - in 2004 - when she vs Cheadle Hulme 2 1 2 herself was in Upper II! vs Greenbank 1 1 0 In the Quarter Finals, against King’s Chester, the girls played outstandingly and pulled off a win! In the Semi Finals, vs Terra Nova 4 0 0 against Queen’s Chester, the girls went into the match confidently and were winners and through to the final v Newcastle-under-Lyme. At half time change round the score was level 3-3 with both teams fighting hard to win. The mums spectating were all tense and encouraging the girls to keep on going. With two minutes to go, our defence got the ball and passed it up court and into the circle to our shooter who scored. 7 - 6! With Aanya and Lucy solid in defence the final whistle was blown and the AJIS Plate was Withington’s. Said Mrs Layne: “The girls were overjoyed and collected the Plate and their medals with great delight - all the hard work in training Junior Lacrosse paid off and their determination and teamwork was second It’s been a very successful season for the Withington Junior to none.” Lacrosse Teams, showing excellent improvement in skills and game play throughout the season. At the last tournament of the season the A and B teams both showed what they were really made of, passing the ball with ease and checking with control and accuracy. They played against some really tough, fast and skilled opposition but never looked outclassed; beating the likes of Hale Prep and Bowdon. Withington’s two teams both finished in the top 10, showing a good depth of talent in the teams. The girls’ passing and composure on the ball is a particular strength and shows excellent promise for future tournaments. Well done to all the girls who have competed and attended practices this year. Miss J Richards, Teacher of PE A Midsummer Dramatic Times... Night’s Dream Sixth Form drama students enjoyed a Sound of Music LAMDA Showcase Shakers contemporary performance of A Midsummer Preparations are well underway for Withington’s Sixteen Withington girls celebrated success in Withington’s Drama Studio was transformed into Night’s Dream at Theatre, Sound of Music Summer Spectacular, jointly their LAMDA Speech and Drama examinations a trendy cocktail bar for a production of Shakers Manchester in February. produced and directed by the Drama and Music with a polished series of performances in a by Lower Sixth students. The group of A2 dramatists described Departments. Showcase event for an invited audience of The show, involving four actors and one lighting the all-male production by Shakespeare With a cast of more than 100 girls, from friends and family. designer on 24th March as part of their AS company Propeller, directed by Edward Hall, Transition through to Sixth Form, and an army The pupils, from Years 10 to 13, had taken Drama Course, was watched by an audience as “high energy and very funny.” of support volunteers, around a quarter of the their exams earlier in the day - and all were of more than 60 family and friends who were In a modern twist on the traditional text, School is involved in bringing this iconic musical delighted to have received either High Merits treated to a WGS take on the play originally the performance by 14 actors was a vibrant to Withington’s Arts Centre. or Distinctions across a range of grades, from written by John Godber and Jane Thornton and ensemble piece with imaginative use of Joined by five boys from MGS, the cast and Grade 4 through to Grade 8. set in a Northern cocktail bar during Margaret costumes, props and music. production team have been busily attending The LAMDA evening, held on 5th February in Thatcher’s ‘Yuppie’ era. rehearsals which have been taking place after the Drama Studio, saw the girls in full costume Ms Baylis Said: school and at weekends. against a backdrop of music and lighting, “Congratulations to all. It was Head of Drama Ms Jen Baylis said the work showcasing extracts from works by a variety of involved is a mammoth task. Quoting the acclaimed playwrights including Shakespeare, a brilliant night. They couldn’t The War Horse Noel Coward, Charlotte Keatley, George Bernard example of costume making. She explained: have done a better job, they Drama students from Lower Fourth to Upper Shaw and Jim Cartwright, whilst a number of “We are very fortunate that Mrs Nichola Watson Sixth visited Manchester’s Lowry Theatre in girls chose to perform devised work which they worked their hearts out and it has taken on the task of looking after the January to watch a mesmerising performance had written themselves. showed in the performance.” costumes. There are 60 nuns costumes to make of Michael Morpurgo’s The War Horse. – that involved measuring up each girl and The multi-award winning production by then sewing the individual nuns outfits. It’s the the National Theatre was “spectacular”, same with the soldiers and the party-goers – said Ms Baylis. we have so many of each!” Based on Morpurgo’s epic novel, The War With the exam period imminent there will be Horse tells the uplifting tale of love and a break from rehearsals before starting up in loyalty between a young boy, Arthur and earnest again before the show premieres in his beloved horse, Joey, during World War 1. the Arts Centre on 2nd July. Running for three Hailed as a ‘landmark theatre event’ set to nights, until 4th July, tickets will be available in stirring music, one of the memorable features the Summer Term. of the play was the life sized puppets that To keep up to date with all the latest Sound of brought the galloping horses to life on stage. Music news please follow @WGSMusical on Twitter and keep an eye on the school website. Bare Boards and a Passion Upper Fifth GCSE Drama students performed The Last Laugh extracts from two plays - Teechers by John Five girls from Withington joined MGS boys in Godber and Two by Jim Cartwright - to a a production of the farce noir The Last Laugh delighted Studio audience. Entitled Bare Boards staged at Manchester Grammar School. and a Passion, the eleven girls were divided into The play, by former MGS student Dan Dockery groups to perform the four extracts. The girls’ - a mix of comedy with classic noir - was performances on the day will count towards performed to packed houses in the school’s their final GCSE course grade. theatre from 27th to 29th March. Physics Star Party International Women’s Day 2014 On Thursday 23rd January, several girls NURTURING Withington recognised as from the Third Form to Upper Fourth went to Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire, ‘trailblazers’ for girls’ education accompanied by Dr Maisey POTENTIAL Withington Girls’ School ‘was founded in 1890 by a group of eminent and Mrs Bradshaw. Supporting Bursaries at Withington and far-sighted Manchester families who wanted the same educational When we arrived we had a talk about sizes opportunities for their daughters as were already available for their and distances in space. This included many A Lasting Legacy sons’. For the ensuing 124 years, this principle has remained at the heart edited photos of planets next to stars and An extraordinarily generous charitable bequest will fund several of a Withington education. small stars next to huge supernovas so full means-tested bursaries for bright girls for the duration of we could try and get our heads around their time at the school. This wonderful gift was bequeathed by So it was highly appropriate that the School sponsored the STEM award the relative sizes. We also looked at some former teacher Miss Margaret Connell who taught Mathematics at at the International Women’s Day event on at the Manchester Town equations, working out the distances Withington from 1955 to 1966 and who sadly died in October 2013. Hall on 7th March 2014. In the presence of the Chair of Governors Mrs between different galaxies and a very Miss Connell worked under the headships of Miss Bain and Miss Elisabeth Lee, Deputy Head Mrs Sarah Haslam and Bursar Mrs Sharon puzzling question about how big the Hulme and then left Withington to teach at John Dalton College, Senn, Mrs Marks presented the award to the Centre for Women’s Universe is. We learned about the different later Manchester Metropolitan University where she rose to become theories of how the Universe was formed - Senior Lecturer and where she remained until her retirement. During Mental Health at the University of Manchester. The Centre works with The Big Bang and the Big Bounce. her time at Withington, Margaret oversaw many bright girls succeed vulnerable and hard-to-reach women with mental illness and their We were then told about new projects and in their university entrance to read Mathematics at Oxford, UCL and families throughout the North West and is focused on promoting and new telescopes being planned now. Queen Mary College, as well as at Nottingham, Durham, Aberdeen facilitating women-centred research. and Manchester Universities to name a few. Education, and the Next we checked the weather but Withington was cited throughout the evening as a ‘trailblazer’ for its opportunities provided as a result was Margaret’s passion and her unfortunately it was too cloudy to get the recognition that women have high ability in all spheres, not least Science, telescopes out. Instead we went in the very generous parting gift to the Withington Girls’ School Bursary Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. (STEM) inflatable planetarium and had a short Fund will stand as a legacy to her memory. This remarkable show slideshow about the different planets, their of generosity is one which Withington Girls’ School will treasure in temperatures and conditions. Finally, there Margaret’s memory for generations to come. was a projection of the stars inside the dome where we were shown the different constellations we could see in February in the Northern Hemisphere. We were also told how to find these constellations for ourselves and some of the stories that gave the constellations their names and shapes. Alice Hackney Upper Fourth

NURTURING POTENTIAL... Supporting Bursaries at Withington Spotlight On: Alumnae Dates for your Diary [Class of 2009] 10th May 2014, 1990s Decade Reunion Tori Longdon 10.30am - 3.30pm, Withington Girls’ School. University of Durham, BA(Hons) 1st Class - English Literature 2012 For all Alumnae who left during the 1990s www.torilongdon.com 17th May 2014, Alumnae Sports Reunion Tori has recently been awarded one of only two places on the world Over the last nine months I’ve built up a portfolio of seven choirs, 10.30am - 3.30pm, Withington Girls’ School. renowned conducting course at the Royal Academy of Music in and have just returned from Poland where I was vocal coaching voices 12th – 18th May 2014, ‘Withington Week’ London. She was competing against applicants from America and alongside Dominic Peckham and Robert Evans from The Sixteen. A week of Alumnae-led activities to support Singapore. Conductors on this course are expected to continue to I’m also very lucky to have backed James (the band) at the Royal Withington’s Enhancing Opportunities programme. work professionally, so she hopes to be able to continue in some of the Albert Hall and conducted a choir of fifty for Ellie Goulding, at Check the website for an event near you. positions she currently holds. Wembley Arena”. 9th June 2014, Former Staff Tea Party Graduating from University in January 2013, Tori has dipped her toe Tori now directs eight choirs across the country, including the Templar 4.00pm - 5.30pm, Withington Girls’ School, Staff in a few different areas of the working world, from speech therapy, to Scholars, the Choral Scholars of the London Youth Choir, Ermine Dining Room. The annual tea party and reunion for advertising - and she’s found that all of them have widened her skill Voices and the Lincoln Cathedral Ladies’ Choir. She recently founded a Withington’s former staff members. base and benefitted her in different ways even though she has now, charity, which has just received £27,000 of funding and over the next 14th June 2014, Annual Open Reunion ‘found her calling’; two years will be providing leadership training for singers in the most Including anniversary reunions for 2004, 1989, She says: “After graduation, I embarked on an eight month hospital deprived areas in the country. 1974 & 1964 leavers 10.30am - 3.30pm, placement working in voice therapy. I always approached this from “I feel like I’ve joined the profession at the crest of a big wave of Withington Girls’ School. a singing perspective - my voice has had its problems. It’s really choir popularity. If I were to offer any advice to Withington girls, More details of all our events can be found useful for singing teachers and conductors to know what’s happening when it comes to following your passion, I’d tell them not to worry on the Alumnae webpages. Please contact the physically with the voice so they can fix problems. I was very lucky to - it’s easily OK to have a false start or two. Advertising at Rainmaker Development Office on 0161 249 3494 or at be allowed to complete such a placement without an undergraduate was a false start, but the sales, marketing and branding training have [email protected] to reserve your tickets. degree in Speech Therapy!” all come in useful for my career. Just make sure you turn your false We look forward to seeing you soon. The next job was a total change, working at a specialist Marketing starts to your advantage.” Development firm called Rainmaker in London. I knew from the start Reminiscing about her time at School, Tori says: that this wasn’t my passion, but didn’t realise quite how fast I would be “I have lovely memories of my time at WGS. I often smile to myself dragged back to the world of music; after just four months I had used when I remember all the phrases Gilly Sargent used to throw at me in up all my annual leave doing freelance conducting, and was presented the Music Department - I now find myself throwing them back to my with an ultimatum in the form of a ‘dream’ conducting job with the choir students; ‘it’s character building’ is a classic - I use that a lot. WGS Online Our Alumnae Association Withington Onwards National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. That was the day, nine months I received excellent guidance at Withington and I made a lot of stays in touch with hundreds of Alumnae through ago, that I walked out of Rainmaker. good friends.” Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!

The Emily Simon Society has been established in recognition of the Add: WGSAlum Join: Withington Girls’ School Alumni - group generosity of Founder, Emily Simon, who bequeathed the Playing Fields to School upon her death in 1920. The Emily Simon Society allows School to recognise those who would like to support the School’s future Add: Development Office - Withington Girls’ School through a Legacy gift, enabling projects such as the Bursary Fund to Join: Withington Girls’ School Alumnae - group Please telephone Toni Leden, grow and enhance the opportunities for all current pupils. School is now Development Director, on 0161 249 3494 inviting membership to become a Founding Member of the Emily Simon or email [email protected] for further Society where you will be invited to join the Headmistress and Patrons Follow: @WGSAlumnae for daily School information or for a confidential discussion. at the inaugural Emily Simon Society reception. and Alumnae updates Classics Club Celebrates World Book Day World Book Day Dof E Classics Club helped the Library to celebrate World Book Day extended into World Book Week this year with a range of Bronze World Book Day with a performance of activities taking place, starting with the art competition From Imagination Our nine groups that took part in the Bronze training walk from Marple Agamemnon (or Murder in the Library) to an to Image where girls drew a picture representing a character from a book audience on Friday lunchtime. They took us to Hayfield on 2nd March had a bit of a race. Not against each other, and ending with the debate ‘Can a film ever live up to the book?’ through the many dramas and deaths of his because every group planned a different route, but against the weather In between came the Connections game, dressing as a book character, family (in a tragi-comic format!) and showed forecast which had correctly predicted increasingly heavy rain. an origami bookmark-making session and Agamemnon, a play by the how the story is a starting point to explore many other topics in the Library. Classics Club. A wide range of girls joined in, though some faces turned Commendations go to Moody Cows and Six Chicks With Walking Sticks, up on several occasions. who finished the walk, mostly dry, in under four hours; commiserations to Thank you very much to all the girls who gave of their talents, both in the Sheep Whisperers, who took seven hours but still just made it in daylight. setting up of the activities and in taking part with such enthusiasm and Well done to all groups, all of whom completed the challenge. thank you too to Mrs Fildes, Miss Brown, Mrs Haslam, Mrs Howling and Silver Ms West for enabling these events to happen. We had sunshine, cold, wind, hail, showers and rainbows in the Peak Librarian Mrs Di Sutton District on 23rd March, as 28 Silver DofE participants completed their first practice walk. All the girls worked hard to improve their confidence in map and compass navigation and prepare for the expeditions to come. Keeping up with the Kampers were fast and confident and first to finish at Whaley Bridge Station. On both expeditions, we were grateful for the help given by an WWI Experience enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of parents, who managed to A group of Year 10s enjoyed a workshop on keep their groups on track. Thanks also go to Mr Snowden, Mr Eckersall World Book Day given by the great grandson of and Mr Lindsay-Dunn for their invaluable support. a soldier who fought in WWI. It was arranged Mrs R Lindsay-Dunn DofE Coordinator through the Central Manchester Library and provided more background to the girls that are studying Journey’s End for their IGCSE English Literature text. Girls were able to handle a WWI rifle and dress up in the typical uniform of a WWI soldier. They were given a more personal insight into what it was like to be a solider between 1914-1918. The workshop was conducted by Stewart Cook. Young Enterprise Crazy for Colour This term has been very busy for all YE participants. On 5th February, both The biennial Charity Dance Competition - one of the most fun and companies, Educake and UnderCover, took exciting events on the Withington calendar - has raised in excess of part in the Dragons’ Den competition £4600 in aid of the Maua Hospital in Kenya. where they presented their companies and Entitled Crazy for Colour, the Competition, involving every Form in the marketed their products to a panel of four Senior School and Sixth Form, took place in the Arts Centre on 13th judges. Faced with some very challenging March. Mrs Buckley’s Form group (L6J) took on most of the organising questions, both companies performed in a and planning but many more staff and pupils gave time and support to well-prepared and professional manner. make this energetic and exuberant evening possible. On 13th February, both teams attended The Maua hospital is run by a former Withington pupil, Dr Claire the Trafford Centre Trade Fair where over Smithson [1979 leaver], and the money raised will help to provide 30 companies from all over Manchester shelters and basic furniture for local AIDS orphans. competed for four awards. The standard of the competition was high. Our companies Mrs Buckley said: had attractive trade stands and answered “Everyone’s involvement helped towards raising this incredible total. the judges’ questions very competently. The excitement for the girls and the fact we had more whole-Form UnderCover Finance Directors impressed groups dancing than ever before indicates how the whole school the judges with their knowledge and community can pull together and feel motivated to be involved for understanding of the accounts and won the such a worthwhile cause. I know Dr Claire Smithson will be more than ‘Best Finance’ award. grateful and getting in touch to say thank you.” On Wednesday 26th March, both Mrs Buckley added: companies took part in the Salford & “The Dancing Staff Team did brilliantly; in fact we peaked on our final Manchester North and South Area Board performance which was perhaps a good thing. Our thanks go to the finals, held at the HSBC in , three pupils who choreographed and so patiently taught us the dances.” where they were competing with five other companies. Educake put up an attractive, colourful and informative display stand which deservedly won the ‘Best Display Stand’ award. UnderCover came third in the overall competition and will be competing at the Greater Manchester Finals with the 11 area board winning companies on Thursday 1st of May at MMU Business School. Well done to all participants and good luck to UnderCover in the next round! Ms Catherine Ositelu Young Enterprise Coordinator Spring Fair The Wheels A Delighted Dozen! Road Safety Measures ARE on the Bus! In an exact reflection of last year, one dozen Withington pupils have been We are delighted to share the plans produced by offered undergraduate Oxbridge places this January. Of the twelve seeking for additional road safety measures at the front of the School (on An amazing total of £4,839.20 was taken places at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, ten current Sixth Formers Wellington Road) and at the side of the School (on Victoria Road). at the Spring Fair on Saturday 28th March. have conditional offers, whilst two recent leavers - Ella Baggaley Simpson This means that the PTA, with the support All parents will be aware that safety of our pupils is absolutely paramount and Zara Ali - have secured unconditional offers having taken a gap year of all parents, has reached their target and we have been working with the Council for many years to bring about in 2013/14. of having sufficient funds to purchase these proposed developments. a new minibus for the School. Special Seven girls have received offers from Oxford: Aditi Aggarwal - Trinity, The proposals are currently at a ‘consultation phase’ with the local congratulations should go the magnificent Medicine; Freya Sykes - St Edmund Hall, Geography; Lucinda Chamberlain residents. Subject to the proposals being acceptable we are anticipating Form IIIW whose stand offering face and - Brasenose, PPE; Antonia Halliwell - St Hugh’s, French and German; that the works will take place this summer. henna hand painting and selling jewellery Emma Ratcliffe - Merton, Spanish and Portuguese. Open* college offers The key elements are as follows: raised £205.7 - the best of all the Senior have gone to Leila Parsa for Law and Ellie Gorton for Chemistry. Form groups. For the Juniors the amazing Offers from Cambridge have been achieved by a further five pupils: • A legally enforceable 20 mph speed limit will be in force UII raised £210.75 with their cake stall. Rachel Solomons - Magdalene, Medicine; Sheanna Patelmaster - Girton, (this is advisory at the moment) Thanks go to all pupils, staff and parents Philosophy; Hannah Loftus - Newnham, HSPS; Zara Ali - Newnham, • A flat-top road hump will be built on Wellington Road at the front of the who all pulled together to make it a most Medicine and Ella Baggaley Simpson - Newnham, Economics. School with speed cushions on either side of it. Speed cushions will also enjoyable day! Another former pupil, Hannah Redhead, is also celebrating after being be built on Victoria Road. given a conditional offer at Wolfson College, Cambridge to read • Double yellow lines will be painted at the junction of Wellington and Veterinary Medicine on a postgraduate course. Victoria Road and along part of Wellington Road (including the area Headmistress, Mrs Sue Marks commented: across the road from the School). “Competition for places at Oxford and Cambridge has always been • Bus stops along Victoria Road will be extended and an advisory bus stop intense, and in recent years it has become increasingly international. will be created on Wellington Road. We are delighted for our girls’ success in competition with some of the • The ‘School Keep Clear’ signs will be extended along Wellington Road. world’s best students.” No parking/dropping off will be allowed in these areas between the *Open offers are offers made to candidates where a place at Oxford hours of 8 am and 5 pm. Parents will, however, be able to drop off their University and a College is guaranteed should they fulfil the conditions daughters on the single yellow lines as is currently the case. of the offer. However, the specific College is decided in August once the Further details of these plans are included on our website. examination results for all candidates are available and it is known which Colleges have vacancies. If you have any queries about the above please contact Sharon Senn, Bursar, on [email protected] Uganda Trip 2014 Withington’s new Uganda project was an ‘eye-opening’, ‘rewarding’ and ‘life- Girls’ School also benefitted from sports equipment and T-shirts as well as a variety enriching’ experience for Sixth Formers who visited the East African country during of science equipment including stopwatches. Toys and sensory items such as space the February Half Term break. blankets and rattles were delivered to the Home of Hope, with toys and baby formula The group of ten students, accompanied by Ms Jane Maher and Miss Amanda Phillips, being left for the baby home. spent nine days in Uganda – 6 days in Jinja, a small town three hours bus-journey The 2014 trip stemmed from a visit to the country last year by Ms Maher who says from Entebbe airport, with an itinerary that included visits to a Ugandan ‘WGS’ she was drawn to Uganda by the experience of two former Withington pupils, Liberty (Wanyange Girls’ School); GIASCO, a residential centre for homeless street boys Bridge and Olivia O’Malley, [2009 leavers]. Both had been on a gap year when they which two former Withington students helped to establish; the Small Steps’ Glory Be had come across boys - many of whom were orphans - living rough on the streets, Nursery, a school for children aged 3-7 which includes a special needs unit; the Home some, sadly addicted to paraffin. They were determined to help and were instrumental of Hope, a home for severely disabled children and finally, a baby home for infants in helping to establish the charity GIASCO (Get Involved with African Street Children), from difficult family backgrounds –including many who have been orphaned. of which they are both still trustees. Rounding off the trip the girls spent two days experiencing a short hike to the Another former pupil of Ms Maher’s, Cat Dunlop, formerly at Cheadle Hulme School, spectacular Murchison Falls, a river boat ride amongst crocodiles and hippos was responsible for establishing the Small Steps Foundation and the Glory Be Nursery. and a safari where they were able to spot a wide variety of African wildlife, Said Ms Maher: including elephants and lions. “For our girls to see another world as they did in Uganda is most definitely a life- Ahead of the Uganda visit the girls had raised almost £5,000 for special projects. enriching experience. Some of the visits were very sobering and difficult places This fund enabled them to purchase a cow, named Rachel by the Nursery children, but I couldn’t have asked for a better team to travel with. Their company and their which will ensure a supply of milk for the Glory Be Nursery. In addition the nursery commitment was fantastic.” also received toys, stationery and First Aid equipment and a giant parachute - and With 13 girls already signed up to join the Uganda project next year, Ms Maher said: the girls also spent three afternoons there painting and renovating the gate posts and latrine block. A computer and a much-needed fridge were donated to GIASCO as well “I hope this is the first of many visits – and it’s extra special because this is a trip that as sports equipment and T-shirts, which the girls helped them to design. Wanyange has very special links with former pupils of Withington and with the school itself.” Medical Physics Science Week... Eleven of the Lower Sixth physicists spent an evening at the Christie Hospital learning about medical Physics and its applications. The evening featured an informative lecture from Prof Richard Lawson on a ‘Different Flash Bang Show View of Life’ where he looked at how The excitement of explosions and seeing chemical reactions happening in Physics was used in medical diagnosis, PET front of our eyes has encouraged countless generations of enquiring minds scanners and endoscopes. We were also to focus their attention on Chemistry. This was clearly the case during fortunate to see behind the scenes in a the University of Manchester’s Flash Bang Show, held in the Art Centre, clinical linear accelerator. The evening was on Tuesday 26th June. Our Years 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 students were engaged very enjoyable and we would like to thank for over an hour by a series of chemistry reactions, including combustion Mr Forrest for organising our visit. processes, energy, fuels, the difference between combustion and explosion, colour chemistry and luminescence. The experiments were performed by Sarah Alvi Lower VI Dr Jonathan Agger, a lecturer at the School of Chemistry of the University of Manchester and Deputy Director of Outreach, who was very impressed by his audience, describing them as an “enthusiastic, knowledgeable and superbly behaved group of children”! This was a fabulous experience for all Sports Relief involved and one we hope to repeat in the future! Great fun was had by all fundraising for Sports Relief on 21st March. In a pupils vs staff dodgeball match, numerous teachers Café Sci Nanoparticles and support staff braved the onslaught for a This term we welcomed Anna King from the University of Manchester £1 donation. who is a PhD student studying nanoparticles. We learnt what a nanoparticle actually is, how she made them, how she looked at them and how she could coat them with a substance. She described how nanoparticles are being used in medicine to send drugs directly to organs in our bodies and how she sometimes used radioactive nanoparticles to trace their passage through a body. Café Sci’s continue to be popular and are a great way to find out about different topics that we may only have the chance to touch on in school - so if you haven’t been come along next term!

Chemical Engineering On Tuesday 18th March, as part Science week, the Chemistry Department welcomed Niku Nobakhti back to Withington. Niku left Withington in 2008 and gave a brilliant talk on chemical engineering as well as other engineering disciplines. A group of over 40 girls in Years 10, 11, 12 were a fabulous audience and, as usual, asked some brilliant questions. Spectroscopy Science Olympiads in a Suitcase For the second year running, the Chemistry Withington girls successfully compete against pupils form many other independent and state schools in a wide range of Science competitions. Department has welcomed visitors from the We were delighted by the recent results which are shown below. In all three Olympiad competitions, a number of girls just missed out on a Royal Society of Chemistry Spectroscopy Gold Award by one mark! Very many congratulations to all the girls who participated. in a Suitcase scheme. This is an outreach activity, which gives Sixth Form Chemistry Chemistry Olympiad 2014 Results Physics Olympiad 2014 Results students the opportunity to learn about spectroscopy through hands-on experience. Silver Medal Ellie Gorton , Heather Lewis, GCSE Bronze Helen Ng As well as covering the principles of Rachel Solomons, Surabhi spectroscopic techniques, the activities A Level Silver Penny Jones, Teneeka Mai Desai & Roshni Mitra use real-life contexts to demonstrate the & Haleh Taghinejadi applications of the techniques. Bronze Medal Yae-Joon Kim, Charlotte A2 Physics Olympiad The workshop, delivered by Manchester Feldman, Catriona Kendrick, University students, also provided our girls Hannah Lyons, Sinead Bronze 1 Izabella Edmonds with an opportunity to learn about life McCarthy, Sabah Chughtai 2 Eleanor Gorton at university, the study of Chemistry and Chemistry Chemistry career opportunities. & Maria Francisca Gil Commendation Rhona Dawson & Surabhi Desai Dr Cristina Vilela Head of Chemistry

Biology Olympiad 2014 Results AS Physics Challenge

Silver Aditi Aggarwal, Heather Silver Penny Jones Lewis, Rachel Solomons & Haleh Taghinejadi & Yae-Joon Kim Bronze 1 Amy Brown Bronze: Hannah Huet & Roshni Mitra 2 Teneeka Mai, Siyang Wei, Tanya Drobnis Highly Hannah Lyons, Rebecca & Eugenie Yen Commended: Reed & Francisca Gil Physics GCSE Physics Challenge results Commended: Tamara Searle Bronze 1 Sofia Salim, Deeya Kotecha, Alice Gandee & Philippa Slattery

2 Daisy Johnston, Isabelle Dudley, Jamie-Anne Rochford, Corlyn Lee & Helen Ng

Biology ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES Supporting Annual projects at Withington

“Literally Amazing” creative writing... This year’s Annual Fund Aspiring authors from Withington were treated to an inspirational Said Mrs Bowie: needs your support five-day residential creative writing course over the Half Term break, Four new projects were identified by staff and girls to enhance their thanks to the generosity of the School’s Annual Fund supporters. “The standard of work produced was passion for learning in their subjects. The theme for the current year A group of sixteen girls from Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth were outstanding. The course provided is technology and knowledge share. The four key projects costing a accompanied by English teachers Ms Nadine West and Mrs Jill Bowie an opportunity to write outside the on the course, provided by the Arvon Foundation, a charity that total of £24,000 are: promotes creative writing. curriculum with no distractions. • Geography fieldwork mobile technology devices which will bring the Thought-provoking; enriching; awesome; eye-opening; insightful; There was no wi-fi, little mobile latest mapping technology to the girls’ fieldwork exercises. £4,000 exciting; magical; stimulating; engaging; enlightening; soul- signal and a peaceful environment • The ActivExpression tool, shaped as a smartphone, will enhance the nourishing; inspirational and literally amazing – were just some of the adjectives used by the students to describe the course which was held that allowed the girls the opportunity learning and participation of all students in lessons using the latest at the former home of Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, Lumb Bank in the to purely focus on their writing.” technology to encourage full class participation and engagement in Yorkshire village of Heptonstall. Evening meals were cooked by the group, who were split into four a fun way. Feeding back information in real-time to the classroom Set in 20 acres of picturesque countryside, the 18th century mill teams, taking it in turns to cater for 20 people using ingredients and teacher, this system will also help students build confidence with owner’s house with its Japanese garden, woodland and extensive recipes supplied by the Lumb Bank hosts. every answer where they can track their progress through both grounds, was the perfect backdrop for the girls to immerse themselves “The girls were preparing two course meals every night including a instant feedback and scores tallied over time. £3,000 in their writing through a varied range of workshops run by award- vegetarian option and were cooking everything from scratch using winning short story authors Adam Marek and Clare Wigfall. • An external seminar programme to be led by leading external fresh ingredients. It was great fun and the girls did very well,” Mornings were spent on a variety of sessions that included writing said Mrs Bowie. academics and professionals giving the girls an opportunity to circuits, word cricket, a metaphor hunt outdoors, discussions on film formulate new ideas and informative discussions which will help “Arvon was an amazing experience and one that I would thoroughly and music and a focus on the subject of Dystopia. In the afternoons recommend to anyone wishing to write, be it just for a hobby, or for them in the increasingly competitive higher education and work there was free writing time and one-to-one tutorials, with the course a future career,“ said Iris Skipworth, a Lower Fifth pupil. environment. £15,000 culminating in each student writing and presenting an individual piece of work on a topic of her own choice, now compiled in an anthology Alvira Kumar and Ayesha Choudry – also in Lower Fifth – commented: • A digital spectrometer and data loggers for the Physics Department Pies and Pylons. “Surrounded by 20 acres of striking woodland, we embraced the which will connect to the computer, allowing students to advance chance to take the time to focus on our writing. Inspiring workshops their studies using the most up-to-date equipment. This piece of partnered with home-cooked meals led to a week we would never equipment has already been funded thanks to a generous donation forget; from generating ideas to crafting dystopian universes, the week was a truly valuable experience.” from a friend of the School. £2,000 Heartfelt thanks go to all those parents, alumnae and friends of Withington who are giving a monthly regular gift to the Annual We would be delighted if you would consider making Fund, your donations this year are supporting the current projects. a donation. If you would like further information This is providing a substantial proportion of the funding needed but about the Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund, further support is required in order to reach the target of £24,000 please contact the Development Office on to fund all of the projects before the end of the school year. 0161 249 3494 or at [email protected] Holocaust Memorial Congratulations... In February, the girls in the Sixth Form were fortunate enough to meet Ski Sansicario 2014 Congratulations to Lower Sixth Former Eva Neumann, known as Bobby, in commemoration of Holocaust Memorial A group of 36 girls and four members of staff from Withington enjoyed Penny Jones who is the first ever Day. Bobby, now 85, endured unimaginable suffering at the Auschwitz- perfect conditions on this year’s Half Term Ski Trip. Withington pupil to be accepted onto Birkenau concentration camp. She was sent there at the age of 15, along For the second year running the chosen resort was Sansicario in the Italian the work placement programme at The with her family. Alps - and according to trip leader Mrs Ferrol - it was so successful that Accelerator Science and Technology She described witnessing her family murdered in the camp, her plans are already in the pipeline to return there next year. Centre (ASTeC) at Daresbury Laboratory experiences of her treatment and the labour she was forced into, as well After flying into Turin, the group travelled to their hotel, Rio Envers, to a near Warrington. Renowned for its world as enduring the infamous death march, of which she is now one of few flurry of snow, a foot falling on arrival day to be replaced by blue skies and leading scientific research in fields such as survivors. There are a multitude of aspects to Bobby’s story that can be sunshine for the remainder of the week. accelerator science, bio-medicine, physics, related; only some of which I have included in this article to give a taste chemistry, materials, engineering and of how incomprehensible and moving her story is. From beginners through to expert skiers, the girls enjoyed four hours of computational science, the Daresbury site ski school each day in “amazing conditions”, whilst the evenings were is a centre of excellence. Bobby told of her time working outside the gas chambers, and how she spent with pre-arranged entertainment; quiz nights, DVD evenings and watched her grandmother walk into it, knowing that she was going to the highlight of the trip, a night time skidoo ride which ended with hot Penny applied to Daresbury Laboratory in be killed. Her grandmother asked, “Eva, where is Mummy?” She told her chocolate, crepes and a snowball fight. December through their work placement grandmother, “Mummy is in there, when you go in, you will be with her application process and heard in March Said Mrs Ferrol: again.” She told of hearing the harrowing repetition of the Jewish prayer, that she had been accepted. ‘shema yisrael’ (Hear, O Israel), sung by hundreds upon hundreds of “We skied all day, every day, and in the evening, we enjoyed great She said: prisoners in the final moments before their deaths. What really hit home entertainment. And best of all,” she added,” there were no injuries. with the girls was when Bobby showed them her tattoo of her number on We look forward to returning to Sansicario next year.” “I am so excited to have the opportunity her arm. After her story was told, the girls asked insightful questions and to spend a week learning more about The group was made up of girls from the Third Form, Lower Fourth and Lower really used the opportunity that they had to speak with Bobby. how the particle accelerators work and Fifth, accompanied by Mrs Ferrol, Dr Madden, Mrs Smith and Miss Hardwick. the projects currently being undertaken, Perhaps the most inspiring thing that Bobby told the girls was not to especially in such a prestigious centre hate. She explained that she did not carry any feelings of hatred towards which carries out world class research on those that imprisoned her, tortured her, and murdered her family. It is much more important, she explained, to accept what has been and move a day-to-day basis. I would encourage forward with your life, appreciating everything that you do have and any girls interested in these subjects to making the most of the time you have left with those around you. consider applying next year!” We are forever grateful to Bobby for coming in to speak with the girls, because it is an opportunity that is, unfortunately, increasingly rare. Girls lower down the School may not have this opportunity to meet a first-hand survivor of the Holocaust in years to come. I am very pleased that we were privileged enough to meet someone with such an incredible life, and inspirational philosophy. I would like to thank Bobby for her time for coming in, and also to Mrs Day and Mrs Morton for helping me to organise this event. Jess Stolberg Head of the Jewish Society, Upper VI All the winter sports teams – Hockey, Lacrosse and Netball - have had a full fixture list of matches against Lacrosse other local schools this term. All have battled hard to secure some very good wins and the vast majority of the losses have been narrow. Well done to all for tremendous commitment and resilience. Special thanks North Schools Lacrosse Championships should go to all parents for their unstinting support in many ways, including cheering the girls on. On 15th March, the U12 and U13 Lacrosse teams travelled to Moreton Hall School in Shropshire Worthy of note, though, are some of the National and Regional tournaments involving competition for the North Schools Lacrosse Championships. against multiple schools. The U12s finished in an impressive 3rd place showing excellent promise for the future. The U13s fought hard against tough competition and finished Netball in 4th overall.

Greater Manchester County Tournament Finalists: Outstanding year of Netball for Upper Fourth! National Schools Lacrosse Championships The Third Form team won through five hard-fought This has been an outstanding year for the Withington The Senior Lacrosse team (Upper Sixth) had a big rounds to reach the final v Saddleworth on Wednesday Under 14’s Netball team. They began the season weekend at Surrey Sports Grounds, Guildford at the 19th March. The full-time score was 7-all with the team winning the GSA Masterclass tournament at National Schools Lacrosse Championships. The team only just losing out in extra time. Condover Hall, Shropshire. Seven of the girls were drew some strong opposition from schools such as then selected for the Cheshire East squads, with South Manchester League Winners: Haberdasher’s Askes, Downe House, Marlborough, Grace Bodha and Sejal Karmarkar also playing for Fettes and St Paul’s. The girls qualified out of At the final reckoning at the end of Term, the Third Manchester Thunder. In November, the girls took the group stage to the First Division, a fantastic Form team were crowned South Manchester League the Manchester and District shield, and qualified achievement. After another round of tough matches Champions! for the Regionals of the National Schools’, by on the second day, the girls just missed progressing finishing runners-up in the County round. Hard to the quarter-final. Greater Manchester Schools Tournaments: work and determination saw them finish 3rd in the There were impressive performances from Lower North West, and latterly the girls have won the Said team-member, Emma New: Greater Manchester Schools’ tournament, the South Fourth, who finished 5th overall and Upper Fifth “This ending to the tournament was a landmark for Manchester league, and the play-off between North who made it to 4th place. Upper Fourth played the members of the Upper Sixth for whom it was and South league winners. fantastically well and retained their crown for the now time to bid farewell to WGS lacrosse with second year running! Congratulations on an incredible year of Netball! the hopes of representing their universities in the future. Every member of the team enjoyed the Front Row: Niamh Senior, Ellie Hayton, experience, playing teams we had never played Grace Bodha, Sejal Karmarkar (capt) against previously and the southern sunshine over & Lorna Mayo the two days certainly did not go amiss!” Back Row: Alex James, Lauren Cheyne & Lexi Archer Cross Country Congratulations to... Intermediate Maths Challenge In February, the whole of Lower and Upper The five girls who participated in the Manchester The School is very pleased and proud to County Hockey Selections Fifth entered the Intermediate Maths Schools Cross Country Championships on 27th congratulate the following pupils who have Ellie Hughes, Penny Jones, Lauren Woodhead, Challenge. The girls achieved 16 Golds, January gave excellent performances. Maya achieved greater recognition this term for sporting Katie Roberts and Ellie Gray have been selected for 42 Silvers and 41 Bronze awards. The Fullwood came in 8th out of 93 runners, resulting in achievements outside School. Cheshire. following girls, as well as achieving Gold her selection for the Greater Manchester team. Rowing at Eton Dorney Awards, were also invited to sit the next Julia McCarthy, Gabby Marfani, Lexi Archer, Catrin Four Upper Fifth runners won the Senior Team round of the competition: Verity Henfrey, Olivia Coyne, Upper Fifth, and Bronya Sykes, Upper Parry, Alex Marsh, Charlotte Westbrook and Event: Francesca Lugo, Daisy Johnston, Iona Whyte Philippa Slattery, Sofia Salim, Katyann Fourth, represented Trafford Rowing Club in the Silvia McCarthy have been selected for Greater and Flora Whyte. Flora won the silver medal! Harris, Ella Pennington, Deeya Kotecha, National Championships at Eton Dorney, the 2012 Manchester. Alex Edmonds and Francesca Jess. Olympics venue. Olivia, who was in the Under-16 This an outstanding achievement by all the above Deeya should also be congratulated for squad, finished 28th out of 38 crews, whilst Bronya girls, but special mention should go to Silvia achieving the best score in School. scooped a bronze medal after coming third in the McCarthy who, at aged 10, has been selected for Under-14’s coxed squad. the Greater Manchester U12 team. UKMT Junior Team Maths Challenge On Wednesday 26th March, Lauren Wheeler, Alys Owen, Iyal Kannan and Sasha Geim represented Withington in the Junior Team Challenge held at Manchester University. The girls performed extremely well in all three rounds and eventually Hockey News came 2nd out of 30 teams. County Tournaments: GB Water Polo Selection Very well done to the U16 Hockey team, who were runners-up in the County Tournament on 22nd Lower Fourth pupil Anna Netball Selections March and to the 1st XI who took fourth place Ticehurst has been Katie Bodha and Leia Griffin, both of whom play overall, despite missing key players who were ill or selected for the GB Water netball for Northern Thunder, the North West’s injured. Polo Squad. Having played franchise, were selected water polo since Year 4, National Schools Tournament: to participate in the National Anna has followed her Screening Day, a fantastic achievement! Both The U13 team finished in 5th place overall going out brother’s lead in pursuing girls made the first cut and Katie has been only to very narrow defeats to both finalists. the sport and now trains selected to go for further trials at the National three times a week. performance Academy. MEM Senior Challenge County Swimming Selection Each year Liverpool University publishes two mathematical problem-solving journals Lower Fourth pupil, at Junior and Senior levels. Candidates Rebecca Dawson, whose complete written solutions to a number of specialist stroke is the problems, set in a wide range of contexts. butterfly, has been Over 1800 pupils enter the competition, selected to swim for the from nearly 90 schools, which makes County team. Aneesha Adlington’s impressive 3rd place a massive achievement. Aneesha will receive her prize at an evening of mathematical recreation in Liverpool next term. Withington Wind Turbine Challenge Year Group Challenges Withington Tournament team, sharing the workload and communicating On the last day of term the Lower Fifth ideas effectively. Again the Withington team rose to took the Wind Turbine Challenge. They were Each term teams of up to four girls go head to head, On the afternoon of Tuesday 4th March, the Maths the challenge, scoring very highly and maintaining asked to design and build a wind turbine over three rounds to put their problem-solving skills Department organised and hosted the second their position at the top going into the final leg, that costs as little as possible yet generate to the test. Withington Tournament, which is a team challenge the group round. for gifted mathematicians in Lower Sixth. as much energy as possible. Judging This term’s winners were: criteria were design and stability, total cost, The group round was the big one, twice the number The Withington team was made up of Ellie of points in comparison to the previous rounds, teamwork, power generated and aesthetics. Year 7 4 Slices of Stonehouse, Eugenie Yen, Penny Jones and Haleh The girls in true Withington style rose to π the groups had to work through a selection of Elena McLean, Freya Metcalf, Taghinejadi; all of whom had to qualify for the mathematical problems, all of varying degrees of the challenge and gave some interesting Dalia Hodari, Talia Merrie team by scoring highly in a fiendishly difficult difficulty but worth equal points. Part of the skill designs. Fun was has by all and it was a qualification round made up of a cross-number with this kind of activity is to filter out the easier great engineering experience. Year 8 The Jumping Amazing puzzle and a selection of mathematical problems. problems, answer them and get the points on the Mrs Lisa Bradshaw Head of Physics Super Optimistic Noodle There were representatives from seven local schools board before attempting the more difficult ones. Squad (J.A.S.O.N.S) in attendance; Audenshaw School, , During this final round, the boys of Manchester Sophie Wood, Alys Owen, Lauren Manchester High School for Girls, Manchester Grammar, who had been within touching distance Wheeler and Timi Iliffe. Grammar School, Kings Macclesfield, William Hulme of the leaders, got their tactics spot on and were Grammar School and Withington. able to amass an impressive amount of points Year 9 Pieces of and pipped the Withington team at the post to be π The Withington team got off to a flyer! The first crowned Withington Tournament champions. Sasha Geim, Mimi Johnson, round consisted of cracking codes which involved Iyal Kannan and Aiswarya Dayal counting in a variety of different bases. The Final standings were: challenge had been specifically designed so that it 1) Manchester Grammar School Year 10 Cl ingy Xs was highly unlikely that any team could score full Alvira Kumar, Francesca Jess, marks in the allocated time, obviously nobody told 2) Withington Girls’ School Radika Sood, Alex Edmonds that to the Withington team and they did exactly 3)Manchester High School for Girls. that, meaning that after the first round they were The event was enjoyed by all teams and all schools in the lead. Year 11 Who ate all the π will be back to battle it out again next year, Jamie Anne Rochford, Rishem Khattar, The second round was made up of two very hopefully with a couple of extra teams too. Isabelle Dudley and Neha Syal different cross-number puzzles; success in this round would be dependent on working well as a Mr Andrew Parry Teacher of Mathematics

Do call us (Before we call you!) Pupil absence: Please would all parents use For contact after school please use these numbers: Withington Girls’ School, Wellington Road, , Manchester M14 6BL 0161 249 3476 to inform the School of pupil Senior Late Room: 0161 249 3492 Tel: 0161 224 1077 Fax: 0161 248 5377 Email: [email protected] absence before 8.30am on each day of absence. Junior Late Room: 0161 224 1077 Web: www.wgs.org Registered Charity No. 526632