Trinity Term 2013 The Newsletter of St Helen & St Katharine European Youth Parliament Being told ‘you just had to be there’ Assembly, the main event of the session. is never easy, but in talking about Over two days three hundred teenagers the 72nd International Session of debated passionately on issues as the European Youth Parliament, held important as stabilising the European in Munich from 5 to 14 April, it may banking system, fostering peace, and be justified. encouraging multilingual diversity. The St Helen's EYP team, comprising of The people we met – fellow delegates, 10 sixth form pupils, were selected to honourable guests, members of the represent the UK back in September. board or Mr President himself, made it The team travelled to Munich and were an unforgettable experience. Munich placed into committees with students 2013 made us all feel that much more from all over Europe, addressing European and united, despite our different themes based on the session’s differences, and it was a real honour for motto: Down to Earth. Resourcing the St Helen's EYP team to represent the United Kingdom. Navigating your Europe. Four days were spent way to World teambuilding, and then came General Mrs Hughes, Director of Students Champion! Here Come the Girls! Fiona Bunn (Year 9) has won the Gold Fidelius, the L6 company, providing a range medal for the long distance race at the of services connecting enthusiastic, World Schools Orienteering Championships responsible pupils with parents who need in Portugal to make her World Champion! waitresses, babysitters or just a pair of helping hands; and Wrong Way who The week long event involved training and developed a range of personal products acclimatisation sessions followed by middle including hats and jewellery boxes. and long distance events. Fiona was running in the W2 select category which The companies have achieved record covers year groups 9 and 10 (U15s). There combined sales revenues, profit margins were athletes from 20 countries competing and won numerous awards for their and Fiona’s class had 51 competitors. outstanding efforts. In March Chez Moi was awarded the runners up prize at the Having missed out in the middle distance The award winning Managing Directors of Chez Moi, Fidelius and Wrong Way National Young Enterprise trade fair in race earlier in the week, Fiona bounced Stratford. Together the three companies back with a fast, accurate run to win the In 2013, Young Enterprise is celebrating its swept the board at the South Oxfordshire long distance race in an area of complex, 50th anniversary with over 3500 companies and Vale Area presentations, winning every vegetated hills, and took the Gold medal. in operation. The School has been involved prize. They went on to the Oxfordshire for over 10 years and St Helen’s companies Fiona was selected to represent England County finals to win yet more awards: consistently demonstrate that entrepreneurial after qualification races last autumn at Wrong Way – Oxford Computer Consultants spirit and business sense are very much alive the British Schools Orienteering award for the Best Use of Online Media, Chez and well. Championships. Moi – JSP Cup for manufacturing and Fidelius 55 pupils from Year 10 and Lower Sixth set Very many congratulations Fiona on a – Oxford Instruments Award for Innovation up 3 companies in September 2012: Chez Moi spectacular achievement. and Harwell Innovation Centre Award for selling a range of high quality home Marketing and Market Research. Move furnishings including customised products; over Alan Sugar – here come the girls! St Helen & St Katharine, Faringdon Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 1BE T: 01235 520173 E: [email protected] www.shsk.org.uk HEADLINES Mountains of Medals St. Helen’s Sixth Form scientists have taken part in biology, physics and chemistry Olympiads over recent months, achieving a huge medal haul! The Olympiads are national competitions for the most able school scientists in the country. St Helen’s biologists doubled their previous highest medal tally winning two gold, two silver and six bronze. Special mention must go to gold medallist Eleanor Hurrell whose performance earns her a place in the next highly competitive round. The Chemistry Olympiad is targeted at Upper Sixth pupils and St Helen’s chemists achieved eleven awards – three silver and one bronze in Upper Sixth and one silver and six bronze in Lower Sixth. Twenty Lower Sixth physicists sat the demanding British Physics Olympiad, a one hour examination with an unforgiving time allowance! Katya Richards gained a gold award and a book prize; four students gained silver awards and We have been delighted over recent thirteen bronze. months to welcome back to St Helen’s Congratulations to all! Old Girls Rebecca Wait (‘06 Leaver) whose critically acclaimed book The View Catherine Moon, U6E. on the Way Down has been published recently; Elspeth Hanson ( ‘05 Leaver) who returned ‘hot foot’ from an international tour with the highly successful string quartet Bond to join us for Prize Giving and a wonderful music recital with St Helen’s musicians; as well as the many OGs who returned to School for the Annual Reunion in June, some from as far afield as the USA and Angola. Old School Hall was full of stories, laughter and much reminiscing. New Prefect Team Many OGs comment that school is Congratulations to Head Girl Meg Buckingham; Deputy Head Girls Poppy McAlister and Kate unrecognisable from when they were Simmons; Sports Captain Hannah Ellis and the prefect team: Rea Averill, Ella Davis, Natalie here and indeed development continues Fatemi, Grace Fearnehough, Eli Glover, Alice Lowe, Clarissa Luxton, Lucy Matthews, Olivia Rohll, Stella Ryley, Adèle Scott, Chloe Topping, Eliza Tracey, Ottie Uden, Fiona Watters and Emily Wyatt apace, with work well under way on the on their selection. We wish them a happy and successful year. new Science Centre and the redevelopment of the netball, tennis courts and playing fields. St Helen’s is, of course, so much more the sum of its Redevelopment of buildings. Our ethos and values and the skill and dedication of staff remain the School Fields constants that provide the foundation on which all else is built. During the summer holidays work will take place on School St Helen’s is about discovering and Fields, to relocate and redevelop developing strengths, taking risks, being our netball and tennis courts and two lacrosse pitches. able to make mistakes and learn from them in a safe environment. Achieving To enable full use for practice and competition throughout the academically and developing the self year, it is essential to have flood belief and confidence required to help lights and we were unable to navigate the ever-changing world secure permission for this with Faringdon Road beyond school. Our aim is to continue to the hard courts in their current provide this foundation for generations location, so close to housing. This, combined with the age of of pupils so that our OGs continue to Artist’s impression of School Fields redevelopment the current courts, led to the become critically acclaimed authors, decision to relocate and redevelop the courts, to run along the Faringdon Rd, providing a top internationally renowned musicians or quality all weather surface and flood lighting which will significantly enhance the court facilities wherever their individual interests and available to the girls for lessons, practices and matches. The courts and two lacrosse pitches will be passions take them. ready for use in September. Huge thanks to the Parents Association who have already contributed £20,000 towards the cost of the Rowan Edbrooke, Headmistress project and have a number of further fundraising events planned for the Michaelmas term. 2 | Trinity Term 2013 SIDELINES Other Results Sports Dinner Round Up Swimming Years 5-9 competed in their inter-form galas in June, closely fought competitions with many records being broken. Congratulations to Nia Perks, Lydia Holt (Year 7), Annie Sharp, Rachel Young, Baylie Powell (Year 8), Emma Goudge, Ruth Delany and Florence Wiggins (Year 9), who all broke school records. Rounders The season began on a high with a training day with England rounders coaches and matches against national teams at St Helen’s. Rounders teams continue to present strong Lottie Hoskin receiving the Hunt Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding opposition, winning the majority of matches athlete across a range of sports in the Sixth Form. played this season. The U11 team won the Chandlings Invitational tournament and the U14s our own event. On Friday 26 April, St Helen's held their second annual Sports Dinner. The review of sporting Tennis achievements, given by the sports leaders from each sport, highlighted what a hugely Developing in strength and depth across the successful year it has been for sport at St Helen’s and numerous individual successes were school with large numbers of girls playing recognised with prizes being awarded to girls across the years. each week and representing the school in friendly fixtures. The U13B and U15B teams Samantha Murray, GB silver medallist in the modern pentathlon at the London Olympics, have reached the finals of the county awarded the prizes and gave a fascinating talk about the highs and lows of her career, how competition, to be played in September. 6 she motivated herself to achieve at the very highest levels and even brought one of her laser U13-U19 pairs are playing in Independent pistols along to give a demonstration! Schools’ Tennis Association Championships. Athletics We were treated to a fantastic dinner, prepared by our Executive Chef Olivier and his team, The intermediate athletics team qualified for and the evening finished with a raffle to raise money for school charities and the gym squad the regional finals of the National Schools’ tumble track.