SEPTEMBER 2009 Editor: Mr Ray King S Tel: 07768 022 082 G Head’s Lines Dear Readers W Over the summer, as testified herein, our pupils and staff have enjoyed adventures overseas and Bulletin nearer to home, pupils from within and outside the School have enjoyed successful summer courses and our refurbishment has continued to roll on. Replacement of the Sports Hall roof and those elsewhere in the School has led to farewells ‘A’ new level of results! to internal water features; new shower areas mean farewells to the smell of drains and Congratulations to all our 2009 Leavers A Level Results [ AS results in ( ) ] improvements in other areas including a new Dining Room server enable farewells to long Once again, we were extremely proud of, and delighted for, all ABCDEU our A-level candidates. This year's group of 76 girls gained a lunch queues. Mathematics 37 (2) 1 (2) (1) 1 (1) record-breaking proportion of A grades (88.7%) with 98.1% of The GCSE and A-level tables detail outstanding Further Mathematics 4 (3) all papers being awarded A or B grades. Most girls took 4 A results and I join all staff in being extremely Physics 7 (6) (1) Levels and 1 AS Level. Including AS Levels, 69 girls gained 3 or proud of the achievements of their hard-working more A grades, 14 gaining 4 As, 38 gaining 5 As, 5 gaining 6 As Chemistry 27 (1) 1 pupils. As we enter the fourth full week of this and one gaining 7 As. In total, 9 Distinctions and 5 Merits were Biology 24 (8) (2) 1 (2) (1) new academic year, many events have already gained in Advanced Extension papers in 7 different subjects. English Literature 9 (3) 1 (3) (2) (1) taken place. The official opening of the new Seven girls will be studying at Cambridge and four at Oxford English Language 3 (2) (1) 1 Drama Studio incorporated a tribute to Aerin Davidson. In August, we were deeply saddened by while others have been offered places at prestigious institutions History 12 (6) 4 the sudden death of Samantha Verschueren, one across the country to study a range of subjects from Drama to Geography 13 1 (1) of Aerin’s peers at Withington, and another highly Engineering, and from Medicine to Languages. Economics 14 (3) 2 talented and creative young woman. A full French 9 (5) 1 (1) obituary will follow in the Newsletter; Sam is German 2 (1) 3 remembered with great affection and will be sorely missed by her many Withington friends and Spanish 4 (1) by all who knew her. Our thoughts remain with Latin 10 (1) 1 her sister, Sara, and her parents, Paul and Jane. Greek 21 The second week of term also saw the first (and Religious Studies 9 (1) 1 (2) therefore now traditional) Introductory Evening Music 2 (1) (2) for parents of Lower Sixth Formers and the Art 3 (1) following week included the already traditional Government and Politics 13 1 (1) Third Form Introductory Evening. The Third General Studies 59 (3) 9 2 (2) Formers have now enjoyed one of the two Psychology 6 (3) 1 (1) residential weekends at Ghyll Head. Mrs Menzies’ request for fine weather was granted, the Peer Drama & Theatre Studies 3 1 (1) Supporters were wonderful, all the girls had a Chinese 11 great time (when I enquired how they rated their Persian 1 weekend as they got off the coach, one girl TOTAL 274(50) 29(17) 4 (8) 2 (2) (1) (1) Continued on page 2 Head’s Lines continued said 11 out of 10!) and thanks go to Mrs Menzies GCSE - Result! and her willing staff teams. In an age where Health & Safety bureaucracy is in danger of Our pupils also celebrated outstanding GCSE results. Over 97.7% of grades replacing common sense and the spirit of awarded were A* or A, with 73.9% of these at A*. The celebrations were adventure, such experiences – along with the culmination of two years of hard work by pupils and teachers alike activities such as DofE, World Challenge, voluntary and the results will form an excellent basis for A-level studies in a wide work in The Gambia, Voluntary Service and Citizenship Days – provide memories and skills range of subjects. that will persist long after academic facts have been forgotten. Other early events have included the second WiGS for Life event – bigger and better and hopefully generating more sponsorship than ever –and I thank all parents, friends and relatives – and pets – who participated, along with the girls and staff. The enjoyable Gambia Promises Auction raised over £4,000 and was again an example of great Withington teamwork. The fourth weekend of this term included the GCSE Results Senior Club (now re-named Withington Onwards) A* A B C AGM with pupil representatives from the 1940s to Mathematics (IGCSE) 67 14 1 the present day. Such occasions are a real joy and the accompanying tales of yore are always Physics 30 5 illuminating and amusing. Withington links really Chemistry 34 1 do crop up in the most unexpected places. Roger Biology 32 3 Hand, semi-retired Physics teacher at MGS and Science – Core 34 13 initiator of the combined MGS/WGS Uganda trips, was taken by surprise when he stayed at a B&B in Science – Additional 30 14 3 the south of England earlier this year. Roger and a English 68 14 fellow member of the Long Distance Walkers English Literature 57 25 Association were taking part in the Wessex 100 History 34 20 1 1 mile walk. The friend in question had booked the accommodation; upon arrival, Roger quickly Geography 32 6 established common Ugandan experiences with French 41 8 1 the man of the house. When he realised Roger German 12 8 4 taught in Manchester, the host talked about a Spanish 18 7 1 great Aunt of his who had also been to school in Manchester and went off to find her hockey Latin 15 6 2 brooch, which Roger quickly identified as Greek 1 originating from Withington as soon as he saw Religious Studies 24 1 the Ad Lucem crest – see photo on back page. Art 3143 It has, as ever, been a joy to see our new pupils in Music 8 both Junior and Senior sections of the School Technology (Food) 56 settling in so well – likewise with our new members of staff. It is, I know, going to be a real Information Technology (Short Course) 61 20 wrench to leave at the Summer Term but I relish Drama 111 the prospect of my remaining two and three- (Chinese*) 2 quarter terms, including many opportunities to TOTAL 577.5 186 16 2 meet with the readers of this Bulletin. In at the deep end Dramatic dedication Sixth Former Harriet Bullough helped the British Gas sponsored GB Junior Diving Team to fifth place in the overall medals table in the European The official launch of the extended Zochonis Drama Studio served as a fitting Championships staged in Budapest in July. memorial to Aerin Davidson, one of Withington’s first A-level Drama students, Harriet, who specialises in the 1m and 3m who died in 2007, aged 22. Springboard events, is a member of Sheffield In their tribute to Aerin in the launch programme, Headmistress Mrs Janet Diving Club and has been pursuing the sport for Pickering and Head of Drama Mrs Jen Baylis described her as a “trailblazer at about five years. She has her sights firmly fixed Withington…who had enormous passion, imagination and talent.” on the London Olympics of 2012 and hopes to be a member of the British squad heading for New No one who watched Aerin and her fellow students in Vinegar Tom, the first Delhi for the Commonwealth Games next year. ever examination piece performed back in 2002 could have been in any doubt that giving Aerin, and girls like her, the chance to study Drama was the right thing to do. She went on to read Drama and Theatre at university and had almost completed an MA in playwriting at Royal Holloway College at the time of her death. Special guests at the launch included Sir John Zochonis and Mrs Elizabeth Lee, Chair of the Governors and girls from every year group since the Studio was first opened in 2001. The programme featured extracts from Shakers by John Godber and Jane Thornton (performed November 2001); My Mother Said I Never Should by Charlotte Keatley (performed March 2004); Darning Jilly by Aerin Davidson (first performed at the Edinburgh Festival July 2008) and Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker (performed November 2002). After the formal presentation, refreshments for all were served in the Bistro and a disco was staged in the Drama Studio. Virtual swap shop School community trading online is booming and www.schoolstrader.com, the free-ads website for school communities, may be worth a visit. Schoolstrader has a vibrant independent section covering most independent schools across the UK, including Withington. Parents, staff and alumni can trade with each other free of charge - everything from pets to property, furniture to holiday homes, bikes to musical instruments. The site has appeared in Sunday Times, as a Top 50 website in The Daily Telegraph and online in Which? Mind how you go... Our Community Police Officer, PC Mike Dixon, Germany stresses that parking regulations at the entrance to the School in Wellington Road must be Calling... heeded in the interests of safety of pupils and parents. Upper Fourth’s inaugural excursion to Berlin during the summer break Not only will the yellow zigzags be strictly was a huge success, taking in traditional sights such as the Brandenburg enforced, PC Dixon has written to the city Gate and the Reichstag.