Three pupils – Susannah Carr, Johanna Hockmann and Paula Hubner – scored 43 points, while 12 scored 40 or more. 40 points equates to 5 A grades at A Level on the UCAS points tariff. Twenty eight out of the 44 candidates scored 36 points or more.

In addition, the results of the Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay sections of the Diploma were excellent – 30 candidates out of 44 scored 2 or 3 of the 3 points available.

The Master of Haileybury, Joe Davies, says: “These are excellent results and reflect tremendous credit on the ability and determination of the candidates in the demanding IB Diploma Programme, which they have studied over the past two years. These results also show the dedication of the teaching staff who have guided and supported the pupils in their studies.”

On Tuesday (15 June), pupils and staff from St Hugh’s School, the Prep school for St Edmund’s College, played in their own special World Cup match. A team of Year 6 boys (aged 10 years) played against a team of male and female teachers. In the end it was youth and agility that won the game, with the pupils winning six goals to two.

The whole school came out to watch the game dressed in various World Cup kits, hats, flags and even the odd vuvuzela!

Mr Blom, the Head of St Hugh’s said: “All the children enjoyed the match whether they were playing or spectating and it was great to celebrate the World Cup right here at St Hugh’s. “

St Edmund’s College, England’s oldest Catholic School, held its Senior Prize Giving evening on Thursday 29 April 2010, where the Guest of Honour was His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ Matthew Festing, The Prince and Grand Master, Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.

The evening began with an address by the Chairman of Governors, Mr Jeremy Gillham, followed by a wonderful music recital by the College’s Music School. Chris Long, Headmaster then gave his Report, in which he outlined some of the numerous achievements made by the students over the past year and despite the difficult economic and political climate, he shared his optimistic vision for the year ahead.

It was then onto the serious business of presenting over 150 prizes to students from Syntax to Rhetoric (Years 10-13), for Academic, Music and Sporting achievements. These included the coveted ‘Headmaster‘s Cup for Progress’ which was awarded to Dominic Muncaster; the ‘Governors Plate for Academic Endeavour’ which went to Kittinun Phatpanichot the ‘Royal Society of St George Award’, which was awarded to Charlotte Watts (for personal achievement) and to Marta Wesierska (for overcoming adversity); the ‘Patrick Cullinan Salver for Contribution to Sport’ which was awarded to Aliabbas Azim-Naqvi; and the’ DJK Walters International Prize’ that went to Marta Wesierska.

Chris Long, Headmaster commented: “It was a wonderful, positive and uplifting evening for both our students and parents and we were extremely privileged to have Fra’ Matthew Festing as our Guest of Honour. Our students were extremely interested to hear about The Order of St John of Jerusalem – the oldest charitable institution of Western and Christian civilisation and its commitment to serving the poor and the sick across the world.“

Haileybury, a co-educational independent boarding school in Hertfordshire, is to host eight tennis players from Eastern Africa next week. The students are from Malezi School in Kenya, and are making history as the first from the
region to travel on a tennis exchange with schools in the United Kingdom.

This maiden trip, which will be the first of many, is sponsored by Virgin
Atlantic and SKAL, and will see the Malezi School team visit and play
against UK’s top tennis schools as part of developing new partnerships
between top tennis schools in England and Malezi School.

The school has topped Kenyan tennis for the past 11 years and most
of its former players (like former junior champions Rahab Mbugua,
Maurice Wamukowa and Terry and Joab Odera) are studying in the US on
tennis scholarships. One of the visitors to the UK, Azisa Butoyi, is the reigning KCB Kenya Open ladies singles champion, while the rest of the team comprises the top players in Kenya.

“This exciting trip will also have players participate in the Wimbledon
Junior Tennis Initiative as well as touring the National Tennis Centre at
Roehampton and the Wimbledon Tennis Museum,” explains Dr Liz Odera, the team’s coach.

The visitors will take on Haileybury’s top players on Saturday, 15 May between 10 am and 12 noon at the Hailey Lane tennis courts.

St Hugh’s School, the Independent, Catholic prep school for St Edmund’s College, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Leonard Blom as the new Head of St Hugh’s. Mr Blom took up his post on 20 April 2010 and takes over from the previous Head, Mrs Jacqueline Hart, who left in December to become the Headmistress of Woodford Green Prep School.

Mr Blom joins the school with a wealth of leadership and teaching experience, most recently gained at Edgeborough Prep School in Surrey, where he was Head of Geography. Prior to that, he held Headships at St Dominic’s Priory Junior School and Erica Girls’ Primary School, both in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Originally from Port Elizabeth in South Africa, Mr Blom is married with two teenage children and in his spare time he is a keen runner and cyclist – regularly taking part in triathlons and marathons. He has a BEd Honours degree specialising in Educational Management and a BA degree in History, Psychology and Philosophy, both gained from universities in South Africa, plus he recently obtained his National Professional Qualification for Headship in the UK (NPQH).

Mr Chris Long, Headmaster of St Edmund’s College said:

“The Governors and I are delighted to welcome Leonard to St Hugh’s. He has exactly the right experience and qualities to oversee the day-to-day running of the school and to positively support our pupils, staff and parents”.

Haileybury’s boarding provision has been described by Ofsted inspectors as having “outstanding features”, with no recommendations for improvement set. These comments follow an inspection of the School’s boarding facilities in March 2010, which looked at the key boarding school national minimum standards under the ‘Every Child Matters’ outcome groups.

The overall outcome judgement is good with outstanding features. The outcome judgements for “Being Healthy” and “Enjoying and Achieving” are outstanding while those in the areas of “Staying Safe”, “Positive Contribution”, “Economic Well-being” and “Organisation” are judged as good.

“The school is popular with boarders and parents,” continues the Report. “Across the school, the health and well-being of boarders is promoted exceptionally well.”

The Report goes on to stress that Haileybury is committed to boarding, with an emphasis on community values and fostering responsibility and independence.

Says The Master of Haileybury, Joe Davies: “The Ofsted Report is very positive and we are thrilled with the outcome, particularly as it follows on from the equally positive Independent Schools Inspectorate Report late last year.”

The independent day and boarding school in Bishop’s Stortford has passed an inspection of its boarding provision with flying colours.

Ofsted inspectors say that Bishop’s Stortford College, a co-educational school for four to eighteen year olds, offers ‘much added value’ with boarders enjoying ‘the true essence of boarding which allows them outstanding personal achievement’ as well as access to an extensive range of activities and facilities.

In their latest report, which has just been published following an inspection in February, the Ofsted team concluded that the provision for the 235 boarders aged between eight and eighteen is good with outstanding features. The document highlights the dedication and commitment of the staff who help both the full boarders and flexi-boarders to ‘develop potential in all areas of school life’ and ‘feel supported and valued as part of the community’.

The inspectors praise the exemplary behaviour of the girls and boys and commend the ‘welcoming, caring and supportive environment’ in which the boarders are ‘courteous, respectful and take responsibility for their actions’.

The College is rated as outstanding in securing boarders’ views and encouraging them to make a positive contribution to all aspects of College life with boarders ‘confident that their points of view will be listened to and acted upon’. The report confirms that the College looks after its boarders well with an outstanding induction programme for new boarders, good accommodation, a highly accomplished health and safety programme, an excellent medical centre and a good range of healthy foods.

According to Ofsted, the promotion of equality and diversity is good, with one boarder quoted in the report as saying, “I can proudly say that the College is the best centre for fun and excellence not just in the UK but on an international scale also.” Inspectors commend the College’s flexible approach to boarding, noting that it ‘widens the access of the boarding provision to day pupils and enhances the experience for the boarders who enjoy the company of a wider range of pupils’.

The single recommendation made at the last inspection in 2006, to improve access to communication in the Junior School boarding house, has been fully addressed, whilst the one recommendation made in the latest report, to improve the quality of evening meals, is an area that the College is already working on through its active catering committee of boarders and staff.

Headmaster John Trotman said: “The inspection process is intense with all the paperwork scrutinised and staff, boarders and their parents questioned about every aspect of boarding life. We work incredibly hard to provide affordable excellence and I am absolutely delighted that the high quality experience enjoyed by our boarders is endorsed so positively by the inspectors.”

On Saturday 6 March 2010, Queenswood School, Hatfield, welcomed celebrity chef, restaurateur and author Gary Rhodes OBE to officially open the new state-of-the-art practical cookery suite. For many years the girls have had a vital ingredient missing from school life: cookery lessons. The suite, which was completed in the autumn, was masterminded by the school and generously supported by parents and others.

This sensational facility has top of the range equipment including a ‘chef’s theatre’ (overhead TV monitor for demonstrations), movable work stations and professional Küppersbusch ovens. A school-wide competition was held to name the new suite and the winner was Hannah Watters from Wheathampstead with ‘Haute Quisine’.

Gary Rhodes was a natural choice to open the new cookery suite as he has been connected with the Focus on Food campaign and the Cooking with Schools programme which is all about putting healthy eating at the heart of the classroom, showing children how to prepare and cook healthy food – and having fun in the process. Our girls certainly have a lot of fun in Haute Quisine and Gary spent over an hour meeting pupils, parents, staff and sponsors and sampling the delicious canapés which the girls were preparing.

In opening ‘Haute Quisine’ Gary said: “It is so inspiring to see so much enthusiasm from all involved, and to discover a kitchen so sensibly designed and beautifully crafted. It is a fantastic addition to an already wonderful school”. He paid tribute to Practical Cookery teacher, Mrs Jayne Lee, for her ‘obsession’ with the subject. Jayne, whose husband David is the Executive Chef at the school, is delighted with the new venture and said: “Food is a great area of interest at the school and the enthusiasm of the girls has been phenomenal. This occasion marks the start of many happy years cooking in HQ and we now have plans to grow our ingredients on the school’s allotments: ‘from plot to pot to plate’!

We are sure Gary would agree this is the perfect recipe for success!

Photo: Gary Rhodes with practical cookery teacher Mrs Jayne Lee and girls in Queenswood’s new practical cookery suite ‘Haute Quisine’.

Lady Gaga, Corinne Bailey-Rae, Led Zepplin, Back Street Boys and even the Spice Girls were amongst the many headline acts performing to packed audiences at the Leo Price Theatre, Bishop’s Stortford College last week.

Fourteen acts in total competed for the affection, and votes, of the audiences on two consecutive nights in a special Stars in their Eyes charity show extravaganza in aid of research into the rare Niemann-Pick disease.

Show host Matthew Kelly (Jack Kenning) was on top form introducing each act with his inimitable style and sense of humour. A total of forty-five pupils aged fourteen to eighteen were involved in the performances, including a highly accomplished eleven-piece band which included five saxophonists, supporting two members of staff as the Blues Brothers.

“We have some amazingly talented pupils at the College and this popular show format was an ideal platform for their musical skills to be showcased in a way that was inspirational, fun and hugely entertaining,” said Deputy Head Graham Brooks. “I challenged the pupils taking part to reach for the stars and make their act as professional as humanly possible. They did all their own planning and preparation with hours spent studying the performance of their chosen star. The standard they achieved was simply incredible.”

The staging and lighting, masterminded by Technical Theatre Manager Carl Burton, were equally impressive, with ingenious ways of enabling the six-strong roadie team to change sets between each act within a few minutes.

Billy Joel (James Hart), accompanied by Amy Moore on flute, conquered the hearts of the first night’s audience with ‘Always a woman to me’, whilst Brit Award star Lady GaGa (Steph Thorpe), supported by the Ga-getts (Sophie Cornelissen, Jess Reilly, Maddy Hallwood, Chantal During, Rosie Cave, Georgia Martin, Alice Menhennet, Liisel Velland) captured the most votes on the second night with ‘Bad Romance’.

“We were absolutely amazed by the professional standard and sheer number of talented young people performing,” said College parent, Tessa Firmin, “It was a fantastic evening which will no doubt be remembered by everyone for many years to come.”

Vincent Taylor, a friend of College parents who had travelled out from London for the show said: “I was truly astonished at the very high standard of both the musicians and the vocalists. I was also impressed with the obvious camaraderie amongst the pupils, with everyone looking genuinely pleased for the others’ successful performances. The atmosphere was fantastic.”

The event raised over £2,500 for the little-known Niemann-Pick charity, which seeks to raise awareness, and fund research into, a terrible terminal genetic disorder called Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC).

PHOTO: Some of the top performers over the two nights: Lady GaGa and the Ga-gettes, Billy Joel, Corinne Bailey Rae and the Back Street Boys.

On Sunday 28 February coach-loads of excited Q girls and a posse of proud parents descended on the West End for a concert of a life-time: Boomtube. The event was staged at the famous Phoenix Theatre and masterminded by Harrow School pupil Charles Y and his family to raise funds for the charity ‘Room to Read’ (www.roomtoread.org). This amazing rock music concert allowed the special musical talents of teenagers from Harrow, Wycombe Abbey and Queenswood to be show-cased, supported by two professional bands: Red Box and Magazine Gap. Over six groups plus soloists gave thunderous performances to rapturous applause on the night and a phenomenal total of £23,000 was raised in the process.

Our super-cool band, Interno (Spanish for ‘boarder’), comprising Nikita H, Caroline S, Danny A-L, Jane A, Lydia A and Emma N, soon had the appreciative fans rocking and rolling in the rows. Their vivacity and obvious love of rock music, coupled with hours of practice, paid off and their flawless, funky and fabulous performance flowed. We all thought our girls were the best – bias had nothing to do with it! At the end of a fun and fulfilling evening all the ‘rock chics’ and their adoring supporters wended their way home, content in the knowledge that they had done their best. Rock on girls!

With fourteen events packed into one week, involving thirteen star authors, illustrators and poets, attempting to summarise the highlights of the first ever Bishop’s Stortford College Festival of Literature is an almost impossible task!

This extraordinary celebration of all things literary was launched with a controversial lecture on the true origins and identity of Shakespeare by Charles Beauclerk before sixteen teams from the College and other local schools competed in a fiercely fought Kids’ Lit Quiz, with Eleanor Cavill, Charlotte Morrison, Sashini Mariathasan, Grace Compton and Ben Withers from the Fourth Form emerging as winners.

Conn Iggulden, international best-selling author of historical fiction and the only person ever to top the Sunday Times Fictional and Non-Fiction lists at the same time, spoke about why it is dangerous for boys not to read and after his humorous and entertaining talk it would be impossible not to want to read his own stories. Simon Armitage, one of the nation’s leading poets, read from his work with power, passion and humour, including his signature poem ‘The Shout’, which harks back to his youth in a Yorkshire village and excerpts from his translation of ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’.

Anthony Browne, the Children’s Laureate, is a highly influential artist and author whose illustrated stories are loved by children and adults in equal measure. The rush to buy his books after his talk speaks volumes for the impact he had! After speaking in the evening, he worked with the Junior School the following morning before presenting the first ever Bishop’s Stortford Picture Book Award, which was voted on by 1400 children from local primary schools as well as the College. The clear winner was ‘Morris the Mankiest Monster’ by Sarah McIntyre.

You can read Sarah’s account of the event on her blog:

http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/272418.html

Junior School teacher Simon Bailey had produced one of his cartoon specials depicting Anthony Browne presenting Sarah McIntyre with her trophy much to the amusement of both author-illustrators!

Local authors, Marcus Sedgwick, Pauline Francis and Gareth Mottram gave a fascinating workshop with questions and answers about their writing, Matt Haig and Meg Rosoff worked well with College Junior School pupils showing how inspirational it can be for pupils to meet and question the authors of the books they have been reading. In the evening, Meg joined Pauline Francis, Anne Harding and Marilyn Brocklehurst to provide wisdom and insight on how to keep teenagers reading.

Master storyteller, Hugh Lupton, captivated his audience with stories on a Russian theme, including three different tales beautifully woven together around the escape of his great uncle (Arthur Ransome of Swallows and Amazon fame) from Russia during the Bolshevik revolution. He also entertained and delighted our younger pupils with his storytelling, telling pyjama-clad pupils magical tales from around the world.

Radio 4’s Saturday Live poet-in-residence, Luke Wright, concluded the star-studded festival week with a fantastic performance of his work before judging the Senior School House Reading Competition. The winners of this were:

Junior – 4th Form Young House
Claire Devine had the audience in tears within seconds reading ‘Stop All the Clocks’ by W.H. Auden.

Intermediate – L5th and U5th Benson House
Kirsten Lane, Gabby Nellis-Pain, Jess Gibbs, Louise Reilly and Abi Kessock-Philip gave a brilliant, sinister and disturbing reading of ‘The Devil’s Wife’ by Carol Ann Duffy.

Senior – 6th Form Hayward House
Tom Emmett’s reading of ‘Eulogy for Malcolm X’ by Ossie Davis was simply outstanding.

To round off the Festival of Literature, Marilyn Brocklehurst from Norfolk Children’s Book Centre provided an amazing book sale for Junior School pupils and her passion and knowledge about children’s books was infectious, with children and parents leaving with yet more reading gems to discover.

A hugely successful and inspirational week which has more than achieved our aim of fuelling the passion for reading in young and old alike.

Photo: Hugh Lupton telling bedtime stories to BSC Pre-Prep children

Mr Wenger, who speaks six languages, will address VIPs and other guests on the importance of learning a foreign language. He will then officially open the two-storey, 1050 square metre facility which was completed at the end of last year.

The Centre boasts eight classrooms which will house 24 pupils each, a library/smaller classroom for 12 pupils, two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) rooms, three language assistant rooms and a staffroom. The building has been designed to offer a flexible learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities.

“The new building means we are now able to offer pupils and staff a wonderful environment in which to teach and learn languages,” says The Master of Haileybury, Joe Davies.

“Pupils now have access to smart and spacious classrooms with exciting technology in each one.”

Mr Wenger is the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal in terms of trophies and is also the club’s longest-serving manager. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in Economics from Strasbourg University. He is fluent in French, German, Spanish and English and also speaks some Italian and Japanese.

The whole community of children, staff and parents at Duncombe School in Hertford wanted to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Last Friday a coffee morning was held and the Rev Jo Loveridge from All Saints’ Church, Hertford addressed a special assembly.
The whole school then gathered in the playground around a map of Haiti and covered the map with coins brought from pocket money and piggy banks, contributed by families and staff and raised by a cake sale instigated by five of the pupils and held during the coffee morning. Rev Jo led everyone in a prayer and the singing of ‘He’s got the whole world in His hands’ around the map. And then the counting began! The grand total came to over £1,300!
Headmistress Verity White was delighted but not surprised: ‘Duncombe is well known for its caring ethos. The pupils were particularly touched by the terrible suffering of many Haitian children and asked me if the school could do something to help. This is the wonderful result’.

Four boys from Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School have been selected for the East Area U13 football squad to play in the Independent Schools Football Association annual festival at Repton School on March 28th and 29th. The boys staved off strong competition from rivals of a number of leading schools in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk to secure their places in the squad after trials which took place at King’s Ely School at the weekend.

All the more remarkable is that only one of the boys, twelve year old Tom Harnack from Sawbridgeworth, is attached to a football club. Tom is goalkeeper for Bishop’s Stortford Community U12’s and has trained with the Leyton Orient youth team. The three other boys to be selected, George Silk, Matthew Dodds and Harry Calder, were all members of the winning Bishop’s Stortford College team that triumphed in last season’s East Area Soccer Sixes tournament. These three are currently playing rugby for BSRFC on a Sunday and thus only play football in school. Earlier in the season George Silk scored ten goals in a match against local rivals Felsted!

David Herd, head of football at the College, commented, “This is a tremendous achievement for the boys. Should they do well at the festival they have a chance to represent the England Prep Schools squad. Tom Harnack should be particularly proud of his call up as he has another year to go in this age group.’’

Photograph(l to r: Tom Harnack, Matthew Dodds, George Silk, Harry Calder

Unlike many schools in the area, Duncombe School in Bengeo was able to open on both Wednesday and Friday despite the adverse weather. The pupils revelled in building snowmen with their friends during play time and the staff adapted lessons to embrace the opportunities afforded by the extraordinary conditions.

But the snowfall, although heavy by Hertfordshire standards, was a ‘light dusting’ in the eyes of Head of Girls’ Games, Paula Twynham, who hails from Canada. Paula spent the Christmas break back home in London, Ontario and said the four feet of snow lying on the ground there when she left was less than usual! Should we experience further significant snow in Hertford, Paula is considering introducing cross country skiing to the Duncombe curriculum!

Twelve year old David Ballard, from Sawbridgeworth, is over the moon after landing a part in OLIVER!, the biggest selling West End show of all time. The talented young actor will share the Theatre Royal Drury Lane stage with Griff Rhys Jones who has been cast as the new Fagin and Jodie Prenger who plays Nancy.

David, who attends Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School, will perform in the chorus, singing some of the much-loved hit songs, including ‘Food, Glorious Food’, ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘Robbery’.

“I auditioned during the summer holidays and was invited back in September,” explained David. “At this second audition, we were taught a dance, which we then performed as a group, plus a song, which we had to perform on our own. I was really nervous! Rehearsals started last week, less than a week from getting the phone call and I will be going three times a week. My first performance will be on 21st December and after that I’ll be performing about twice a week until March. It is hard to juggle everything I have to do but I love it and I hope it will lead to better things.”

Auditioning for a very different type of role, David is hoping to play the part of Mercutio in a film production of Romeo and Juliet at Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School. Filming begins next term and will be screened in the summer term. David is also a member of the Phoenix Theatre School and performed as John Darling in Peter Pan at Harlow Playhouse in September.

Based on an interview by fellow pupils: Sadie Clifton, Elise McCusker, Hannah Griffiths, Catherine Ellis and Victoria Snowden.

Photograph: David Ballard

A talented musician from Bishop’s Stortford College has won a place in the National Youth Wind Orchestra. Sixth Former Abigail Heath had to impress the selection panel with two contrasting pieces, sight-reading and her responses to their questions.

As one of the seven clarinettists in the orchestra, Abigail will take part in two ten-day courses and three large concerts during the Easter and summer holidays.

“I’m very involved in music at the College having played the clarinet for seven years and reached Grade 8,” said Abigail. “Playing with the National Youth Wind Orchestra will be a great experience. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Abigail, who lives in Bishop’s Stortford, also plays the oboe and is studying for her A levels in Maths, Biology, Psychology and Art.

Photograph: Abigail Heath

The challenge was for five members of the Brazil World Challenge team to bike ride from the Brazilian Embassy, next to Hyde Park in London to Bearwood College, to raise funds for their World Challenge expedition to Brazil in July 2010.

So one fine Saturday morning, five members of the team along with two members of staff arrived at Bearwood to embark on what would turn out to be a very gratifying and rewarding team building bike riding experience.

The team caught the train to London and then set off from the Brazilian Embassy to Bearwood by bicycle along the scenic Thames River path.

This challenge has not only helped the team raise funds for the trip but helped develop good communication and motivational skills along the way. Despite a few minor bike problems (and a very big hill!) they cycled into Bearwood at 7:30pm, exhausted but elated, having completed their goal and covering at least 50 miles in total.,

The challengers, Sarah Jane Gardside, Tasha Hawkins, Oliver Connolley, Himkala Gurung and James De Souza would like to thank everyone for all their help during the day and to those that sponsored them. Initial estimates indicate that they have raised £400.00.

The expedition is to the south of Brazil, with the company World Challenge. There are 9 pupils ranging from the Fifth to Upper Sixth Form who will be accompanied by 2 members of staff plus a world challenge expert. They are away for a month leaving at the beginning of July 2010.

Each pupil has to raise £4000 each and so far the group have organised fundraising events such as a car wash, James Bond theme party for staff and parents and smaller events such as making and selling cookies. The bike ride is the latest in the fund raising events.

Image: Oliver Connolley, James De Souza, Tasha Hawkins, Sarah-Jane Gardside and Himkala Gurung outside the Brazilian Embassy

More than 100 grandparents joined pupils at Duncombe School in Bengeo for a special afternoon recently. The celebration gave grandparents an opportunity to look around the school, guided by their grandchildren and to see the children’s work. The visitors were then treated to a traditional cream tea and home-made cakes prepared by the catering department.

Mrs Verity White, Headmistress of Duncombe, said: “The event was a huge success and we have had some lovely thank you notes. The atmosphere was very special and it was a joy to see grandparents and grandchildren together. We’d like to say a big thank you to all the grandparents for coming, especially those who travelled a long way to enjoy this wonderful afternoon.”

Rare samples of Moon rock and lunar dust landed at St Edmund’s College, in Old Hall Green this week, on loan from the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. Meteorites of different kinds also formed part of the display and students were able to handle and study them, seeing the obvious differences in the materials they are made from.

The lunar samples were collected during NASA’s manned space missions to the Moon in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. During these missions the Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth 382 kilograms of lunar material. Most of this material is used by scientists to study the Moon, but NASA decided to use a small proportion of the rock and soil to develop lunar and planetary sciences educational packages.

Miss Sophie Kobylec, a physics teacher at St Edmund’s College who organised the Moon Display, said: “It’s incredible to think, that when you hold a meteorite, you are handling something that may have travelled millions of miles to fall on the Earth. Students at both the College and St Hugh’s, our Prep School, have really enjoyed examining the meteorites and learning about the work of the original space missions.“

Photo: Students from St Edmund’s College and St Hugh’s School examine the lunar samples.

Pupils and staff at Duncombe School, Bengeo, gasped as Olympic hopeful Danny Lawrence gave a breathtaking display of gymnastics at the school recently.

His visit was arranged with the organisation Sport for Schools as part of the 2012 Inspirational Campaign. The campaign’s mission is to inspire 2,012 children to enrol in sports clubs throughout the UK in the build up to the London Olympics.

Danny encouraged all the Duncombe children to keep fit and with his coach, Paul, led every year group in a series of gymnastic exercises. He then displayed his own talent by performing cartwheels, somersaults and other gymnastic manoeuvres before answering lots of questions in a special assembly.

Danny explained to the pupils how he began gymnastics at the age of 9 and now trains 30 hours a week on top of his job as a Firefighter. Danny has represented Great Britain at three World Championships and his next big event is the Commonwealth Games in 2010, followed, of course, by the London Olympics in 2012.

Head of Boys’ Sport, John Ferguson, who set up Danny’s visit, said: “The children
were genuinely inspired by Danny and his commitment to his sport. Watching someone so talented at such close quarters was an amazing experience for them.”

Year 11 girls at St. Francis’ College, Letchworth gained a remarkable set of GCSE grades again, however this year, the percentages of A*s and A’s were beyond expectation. A remarkable 73% of examinations taken achieved grades A* and A, an extraordinary result for a school which accepts girls of average ability and above. The coveted top A* grade was awarded to a phenomenal 40%, 43% with 10 or more A/A* and 98% of all results falling within the A-C band.

“I could not be more delighted for the girls and their families, and of course their teachers” said Headmistress Mrs Dorothy MacGinty. “The girls have worked hard in their preparation for the examinations, but they have done so with a healthy balance of music, drama, sport and other activities. I wholeheartedly believe in girls getting the right balance of individual pursuits and academic rigour.”

This year group are hot on the heels of the Sixth Form girls who achieved outstanding A level results the previous week.

“This year’s results are outstanding”, remarked the Headmistress, Mrs Dorothy MacGinty. “It is testament to the diligence and determination of every individual girl. We are not a highly selective school, but we offer excellent teaching staff and small classes, affording the opportunity to nurture the individual’s potential.

14% of our Upper Sixth have gained places at ‘Oxbridge’, which is one of the highest percentages in the country. I am proud of all of the girls who have worked hard and gained places at their first choice university.”

A curriculum topic for both age groups (albeit at different levels), each Fourth Form (Year 9) student had to teach two Lower Shell (Year 3) pupils about the history behind the UNESCO World Heritage Site before devising a plan for creating the best ever buffalo jump. Prizes were awarded to the best from each Lower Shell class.

Apart from being a fun diversion after exams, such interschool initiatives have wide-ranging benefits. Curriculum work is reinforced, the older pupils learn about teaching from the other side of the fence, interschool relations are strengthened and, most magically of all, it is an inspirational experience for all concerned…the younger ones look up to and love the older ones’ attention; the older ones love the feeling of being able to share knowledge which they find hugely stimulating and rewarding.

Being a family of three schools in the one College, there is huge scope for bringing the different ages together to learn from each other. Other recent examples at the co-educational, boarding and day school for four to eighteen year olds include a group of twelve year old Lower Third pupils mentoring their nine year old French buddies, helping them to go through key words and numbers before teaching them for a short lesson; Senior School pupils helping with Pre-Prep swimming lessons as one of their activity options…and, of course, musicians of all ages coming together for the College’s annual Ensembles Concert.

Pupils at one of the county’s leading independent schools are looking forward to pushing creative boundaries further following the completion of a new, £1.5m art centre.

The spacious, purpose-built facility at Bishop’s Stortford College to be named the Walter Strachan Art Centre, in memory of one of the College’s great teachers and advocates of the arts, houses several large studios including sculpture studio, workshop, gallery space, IT suite, dedicated 6th Form studio and a well resourced departmental library. The wide range of resources in the department allow pupils to become involved in painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, textiles, glass, graphic design, photography, fashion, animation, computer generated imagery and film making.

Richard Honey, Head of Art at Bishop’s Stortford College, is delighted: “The creation, and enjoyment, of visual art has always played a very important role at the College. We openly encourage experimental and innovative work and work very hard to ensure that each student has the support and resources to pursue and express their ideas. The centre is already proving to be an inspirational environment to work in, for staff and pupils alike.”

Nestling on the edge of Bishop’s Stortford amid tall pines and wide open spaces, the co-educational, boarding and day school, has a long standing record of achievement in art. Last year, of the thirty-eight pupils who sat GCSE Art and Design, fifteen achieved the top A* grade and, incredibly, nine of these were ranked amongst the highest achieving students across the country by Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding exam board. At A-Level, of twenty pupils, fifteen achieved a grade A and five a grade B.

Commenting on the secret of the art department’s success, sixteen year old Charlie Aitchison said, “You have such a huge range of resources and materials and you’re allowed to think for yourself, push the boundaries and be an individual.”

Success in art extends across the ages at Bishop’s Stortford College, which caters for children from four to eighteen. In May this year, six Junior School pupils achieved GCSE standard three years early by successfully passing the Silver level of the Arts Award, with a further seven pupils gaining the Bronze Award. The Arts Award is a highly regarded national qualification developing young people as artists and arts leaders. Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School is one of a very few schools in the country to be accredited as an Arts Award centre.

“Our aim is to give pupils the skill and the confidence to realise their artistic potential,” said Mr Honey. “We want them to become excited by the Visual Language, and to understand what Art is and what Art can be.”

The new Art Centre will be officially opened at the end of the College’s Open Morning on Saturday, 19th September at 1.00pm.

With over 85% of A level grades at A or B, once again Queenswood girls are celebrating their superb achievements; 94% of grades were at an impressive A-C grade. For the seventh consecutive year, the overall pass rate was 100% and 18 out of 47 candidates achieved three A grades or more in their subjects. Amazingly, four girls gained 18 subjects at grade A between them.

The school offers over 20 subjects at A level and performance has been excellent in all areas. The Sciences, Mathematics and Economics and Business Studies are popular choices and results continue to be very strong in these subjects and this year English and History have produced 100% at A and B grades. The girls are going on to university to read a huge range of subjects including Aeronautical Engineering, Music and Sound Recording, Medicine, Philosophy and Economics and Law.

Celebrating with the girls, Mrs Pauline Edgar (Principal), said: “We are delighted that the girls have produced such wonderful results. The girls work hard and these results reflect the team work between the girls and their teachers. The results confirm Queenswood’s position as an outstanding school. We wish the girls well for the future.”

Well done everyone!

Queenswood girls are celebrating the best GCSE results ever with a huge 8% increase on our previous best! With 80% of GCSE grades at A*/A, 95% A*-B and 100% A*-C, the school is delighted with the record breaking achievement.

A total of 443 out of 552 subjects taken were passed at A* and A; 16 of the 59 candidates achieved A*/As in all their subjects.

It goes without saying that the girls achieved marvellously across all subjects. It is of particular note that the core subjects: English, Modern Languages, Maths and Science achieved A*/A results of 92%, 91%, 81% and 78% respectively and the GSCE options were similarly strong.

Principal, Mrs Pauline Edgar, said:
“We are thrilled with this set of results. Everyone has worked extremely hard to ensure that the girls achieve the best results possible. The girls should feel confident as they embark on their A level courses.”

Students and staff at St Edmund’s College, near Ware, are celebrating another excellent set of GCSE results today. This year’s results are some of the best that the College has ever seen, with 41% of students achieving an A* or A grade, and eleven students achieving 10 or more straight A* and A grades.

St Edmund’s College
Number of candidates
90

Overall Pass Rate A – G
100%

Five or more passes at A*- C
92%

Five or more passes at A*- C, excluding English and Maths
91%

% A*- A
41%

% A*- B
70%

Best Performing Students
A total of eleven candidates achieved 10 or more straight A* and A grades. These included the following:

Students who achieved 11 A*s/A’s

Paul Gordon, from Ware (11 A*s)
Stella Spanos, from Hatfield (11 A*s)

James Hartley, from Bengeo
Jasmine Smith, from Ware
Andrew Archibald, from Woodford Green

Students who achieved 10 A*s/A’s

Abigail Robinson, from Buntingford
Alexandra Owen, from Baldock
Harrison Hutchison, from New Barnet
Francesca Shippey, from Berkshire
Alfie Linsell, from Dubai
Simona Mihaleva, from Bulgaria

Chris Long, Headmaster said: “I am absolutely delighted with the results. This has been one of our best ever years for GCSE’s at

St Edmund’s, with 41% of our students achieving A* and A grades. Our focus as a Catholic school has always been on academic excellence for each individual student, whatever their talents. These results prove that this philosophy is successful.”

98.3% achieving five or more A* – C grades and 60.5% achieving A or A* grades. 96.1% of all entries at GCSE were graded A* – C.

Natalie Peacock is the school’s top achiever, with 10 A*s. Four pupils achieved nine A*s, with another four gaining eight A*s.

A further five pupils gained seven A*s, six achieved six A*s, three achieved five A*s and two achieved four A*s. 

“Taking the iGCSE results into account, the percentage of pupils gaining five A* – C grades is excellent, while the number achieving A or A* grades has improved by 3% on last year. This is a wonderful achievement by anyone’s standards and is proof of the hard work and dedication put in by both pupils and staff,” says incoming Master of Haileybury, Joe Davies.

“This set of GCSE results confirms the significant leap forward in Haileybury’s academic ability over the past three years and bodes well for the future.”

· A record 69% of entries taken were awarded A* or A, with a new high of 36% at the top A* grade at Bishop’s Stortford College in this year’s GCSE examinations.

· An impressive 43 students, 45% of the year group, each gained at least 10 A* or A grades.

· 100% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C grades.

Haileybury’s A Level pupils have produced excellent results this year, with 54,1% achieving A grades, up from 49,7% last year. The number of A-B grades for A Levels and the International Baccalaureate is 81%.
The percentage of A grades marks Haileybury’s best year yet and are increasing sharply each year. The 2007 total of A grades was 42.2%, and 37.6% for 2006.
Two pupils, Rupert Flint Cahan (K) and James Turing (E), achieved four As and an A grade at AS Level, while another seven pupils achieved four As. They are: Amy Gandon (H), Charles Richards (Th), Tim Stoten (K), Daniele Guerrieri (L), Danna He (Alb), Clementine Reed (H) and Herbert Swaniker (Th).
In total, 28 out of 94 candidates achieved 3 As or better.
In addition, more than 60% of the Higher Level grades obtained in this year’s International Baccalaureate results were the prestigious 6 or 7, while 65% of Standard Level scores were also at those top grades.
The Average Points Score, at 35.3, although slightly below the last year’s level of 35.9, is ahead of the average for the years 2005 – 2007. The average UCAS point score per A Level and IB pupil is 390.
Haileybury’s incoming Master, Joe Davies, says: “We are thrilled with these results, especially the percentage of A grades attained. Taking into account the excellent IB results which were announced in July, as well as the stability in the number of pupils and of boarders, there is clear evidence that Haileybury is continuing to strengthen in every way.”

For the seventh consecutive year, new A level records have been set at Bishop’s Stortford College.

64% of A levels were awarded an A grade, a new high point.
88% were awarded A or B and 98% were awarded an A, B or C, both statistics matching last year’s record figures.
Once again, the pass rate was 100%.

Top performer was James Hutchings from Dunmow, with five A grades, closely followed by the following eight pupils on 4 A grades: Harriet Robinson from Newport, Patrick Tsitsaros from Saffron Walden, Maria Duvidzon from Russia, Matthew Tang from Hong Kong and, from Bishop’s Stortford, Jorge Alexander, Tom Castro, Michael Dabbs and Stephanie-Howard Smith.
Altogether thirty six students (40%) gained three or more A grades.

Headmaster John Trotman, congratulating the whole year group, spoke of the outstanding performance being the icing on the cake of a marvellous year. ‘Many pupils, not just the ones with A grades, deserve enormous credit for the progress they have made and the inspiring way in which they have set about achieving their potential.’

‘Over recent years we have established ourselves as one of the country’s top co-educational schools and I am confident that all pupils in the College will be further inspired by this achievement,’ he said.

‘Excellent A levels have given our pupils access to places at many of the best universities in the country once again. We are delighted.’

Our medals included golds for Annie Reid in the Year 7 800m and javelin (well done Annie for the new school records in both events), Beth Taylor in the Year 9 800m, Aishling Hayward in the Year 9 1500 m and Freya Reith who set a new district record in the javelin.

Silver medals went to Sophie Gill in the Year 7 hurdles, Issie Courtney in the Year 8 800m, Hannah Routledge in the Year 9 long jump, Rose Smith in the Year 10 High Jump and Lucy Lancaster who set a new school record in the Year 10 1500m.

Bronze medals went to CP Herron in the Year 7 discus who set a new school record, Georgina Kilby in the Year 8 hurdles, Fleur Lancaster in both the Year 8 200m and high jump, Sophie Wood Year 9 hurdles and high jump, and Danielle Reid in the Year 10 800m.

“All the girls were absolutely fantastic and 15 of them set new personal bests. I was extremely proud of how they all organised themselves and competed so well and I’m now looking forward to seeing others breaking their personal bests on sports day” said Mrs Keenleyside.

Ten year-old Madeleine Robinson, from St Hugh’s Prep School, in Hertfordshire, was delighted when she recently received a letter from HRH The Prince of Wales. Madeleine had sent a card to The Prince of Wales last month, to tell him about her love of playing the harp and to ask whether she would be eligible to be a Royal Harpist when she was older. Madeleine’s grandmother, who had told her all about the Prince of Wales’s Official Harpist, has been poorly recently and so Madeleine wrote the letter in an effort to cheer her up and hopefully get a reply back.

Madeleine, who lives in Westmill, near Buntingford, was therefore thrilled when the letter from Clarence House arrived, together with some information about the current Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, Claire Jones.

Madeleine has been playing the harp since she was five and now plays a full-size concert harp. She is about to take her Grade 3 music exam.

Jacqueline Hart, Head of St Hugh’s School said: “Madeleine plays the harp beautifully and is very keen to play professionally in the future, so she was absolutely thrilled to have her letter and achievements acknowledged by The Prince of Wales.”

Photo:Madeleine with her harp and Royal letter outside St Hugh’s School.

Two pupils from St Edmund’s College, near Ware, are appearing in ‘May Contain Nuts’ – a two-part comedy drama for ITV1, currently being screened on 11 and 18 June, starring Shirley Henderson, Darren Boyd, Elizabeth Berrington and Sophie Thompson.

Nine-year old Andrew Byrne, who attends the prep school of St Edmund’s College (called St Hugh’s School) plays Jamie, the son of the main family in the drama. Andrew, who lives in Hertford, has already appeared in several other television drama’s including Cranford, ‘After Thomas’, ‘Jekyll’, with James Nesbitt and Doc Marten. He is currently filming the Cranford Christmas special for the BBC. Andrew’s acting career has followed that of his 12-year old brother Thomas, who also attends St Edmund’s College.

Twelve-year old Sophie Lee, who is in Year 7 at St Edmund’s College also has a small part in the ITV drama and appears in the second installment to be shown on Thursday 18 June, where she plays a pupil at Chelsea College, the private girls’ school in the show. Sophie has been acting for a few years now and attends the ‘Vestry School of Dance & Performing Arts’ in Walthamstow, where she lives. She has previously had several walk on parts in various TV shows as well as commercials, including one for Sainsbury’s.

Alison Cameron, Marketing Manager at St Edmund’s College said: “We are very proud of Andrew’s and Sophie’s acting achievements. Their teachers and classmates have enjoyed watching them on TV, particularly as it’s a comedy drama about an independent school!”

Six talented artists at Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School have achieved GCSE standard three years ahead of time by successfully passing the Silver level of the Arts Award.

The Silver award achievers, Phoebe Poulter, Stephanie Malyon, Emily Neill, James Scott Flanagan, Portland Samek-Richardson and Amy Roberts, gained their Bronze award last year and are currently in the equivalent of year 8.

Following in their footsteps, seven pupils in the year below have gained their Bronze award: Dani Moon, Max Abbott, Julia Bicknell, Rachael Speller, Ellysia Lewin, Taylor Weeks and Connor McSweeney.

Arts Award is a highly regarded national qualification supporting young people to develop as artists and arts leaders. It demonstrates a young person’s skills in communication, planning, evaluation and leadership. The Silver Arts Award is equivalent to GCSE level and Gold equivalent to A level. The Arts Award is run by Arts Council England and Trinity Guildhall – two organisations with a high profile and considerable reputation in the arts sector.

Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School is one of the very few schools in the country to be an accredited Arts Award centre.

“The pupils have worked incredibly hard to reach such a high level so early in their journey as artists and I’m very proud of them,” said Emma Neville, Head of Junior School Art. “We are keen to offer as many opportunities as possible for creativity to be expressed and developed. Above all, we want our pupils to have an enjoyment of art that will remain with them for life.”

PHOTOGRAPH: Back (l to r): Taylor Weeks, Emily Neill, Portland Samek-Richardson, Connor McSweeney, Ellysia Lewin, Rachael Speller.
Front (l to r): Amy Roberts, Stephanie Malyon, James Scott-Flanagan, Phoebe Poulter, Dani Moon, Julia Bicknell, Max Abbott

Two tennis events have been won by the impressive Queenswood pupils in recent weeks:
The dynamic duo of Becky Smaller (13) from North London and Lindsay Young (13) from Maidenhead won the 14U Harpenden Girls Schools Championships held on the 9th May at Harpenden Tennis Club. This competition first took place in 1921 and was last won by a Queenswood pair in 2003. Becky and Lindsay stormed through to the semi-finals and then had a tight match against Millfield’s first pair winning 7-5 6-3. They then took on Sevenoaks in the final comfortably winning 6-2 6-2 to take the championship.

A clean sweep for Queenswood in the Herts Schools Doubles Tennis Championships, gave the talented players both the 18U and 14U Girls Doubles titles on 16 May. Our 18U pair of Shona Young (15) from Maidenhead and Anya Lofinmakin-Dutta (14) from Islington, played excellent doubles in the final against St. Albans High School, to take the title. Not to be outdone, our U14 pair of Becky Smaller and Lindsay Young, following their success in the Harpenden Doubles, had a tough final against Loreto College but came through to win. Our U14 second pair of Chloe Lant (12) from Maidenhead and Alice Wills (12) from Enfield won their plate event.

Photograph:(l-r standing):Anja, Shona, Becky, Lindsay and Chloe and Alice being held!

On Wednesday 13 May, St Hugh’s Prep School, in Old Hall Green, held an Open Afternoon and a special Teddy Bears’ Picnic to welcome the new Nursery and Reception children who will be starting in September.

The children (and parents) enjoyed their picnic bags, whilst Mel the Magician kept everyone entertained with spinning plates, balloon characters and magic tricks.

Current parents, families and friends from all year groups were also invited to look round the school and the children were proud to show them their work.

Mrs Jacqueline Hart, Head of St Hugh’s School said “It was a really fun afternoon and all the children had a wonderful time.”

This week pupils at St Hugh’s School have been learning about all things to do with Science and nature. They have been very busy with a number of activities including planting fruit trees in the orchard; meeting a local Dentist – Mrs Mohedeen from Ware Dental Practice, who explained to the children how to care for their teeth and gums, as well as seeing an amazing display of birds of prey from the ‘Hawkshead English School of Falconery’, which included barn owls, a tawny owl, an eagle owl, a falcon and a hawk.

One of the highlights of the week was a special Dressing up Day, again with the theme of ‘Science and Nature’, where the children paid a small donation to charity to participate. There were some fantastic and imaginative costumes including doctors and nurses, vets, mad professors, a range of wildlife including butterflies, bees and ladybirds and even a scary skeleton!

In addition to the organised activities above, the children went outside in their classes to explore the nature trail, hunt for mini-beasts and investigate pond-life. Indoors they completed experiments, including creating gooey mixtures and cooking a variety of cakes and biscuits.

Mrs Hart, the Head of St Hugh’s School said: It’s been a really colourful, fun and educational week for us all!”

About St Hugh’s School

St Hugh’s School is an Independent Catholic Day School and Nursery for girls and boys aged 3 -11 years, located in the beautiful grounds of

St Edmund’s College. The school’s heritage and ethos are routed in the Catholic tradition of faith and living, but pupils of all faiths and denominations are welcomed and children attend from a variety of cultural backgrounds. For further details, please visit www.stedmundscollege.org

The inspiration for the fashion show came from one of the school’s own students – budding fashion designer,13-year old Mario Dellow. Just before Christmas, Mario conscripted the aid of one of the school’s Art teachers who has a passion for textiles, to set the ball rolling.

To prepare for the show, fifty students and their models started to do an hour’s worth of preparation every week, and with the theme based on recycling, they saved and collected various pieces of ‘rubbish’. Three months later, on the afternoon of the 10 March, with the lighting set, choreography accomplished and music ordered, the models finally strutted down the catwalk in their amazing ‘recycled’ creations.

Miss Tessa Rankin, the College’s Art teacher who helped to organise the show said: “The tremendous effort that was made by the girls and boys resulted in a fabulous event. From ‘crisp packet’ mini dresses and ‘bin bag’ ball gowns, to ‘yellow pages’ ‘haute couture’, complete with extravagant hairstyles and empowering makeup, the students gave the rest of the school an afternoon not to be forgotten”.

The College was also very fortunate in the support offered by one parent in particular, Mrs Colegrave, who with an unprecedented determination not only helped the students create their designs and provide the materials, but also obtained many raffle prizes to support the event. For the event itself, she managed to recruit a professional photographer, Tony O’Brien, from www.aobrienweddingphotography.com, who kindly gave his services free of charge, as well as two ladies from Toni & Guy in Hertford, who styled the models hair and make-up. Their hard work and volunteered time truly made the Fashion Show even more spectacular.

The Fashion Show raised over £600 and the College hopes to beat the overall funds it raised during its charity week last year, which was over £5,000.

A team of four prep children from Ralph Sadleir walked away with the Haileybury Prep Schools Science Challenge trophy last Thursday.

Seventeen prep schools in all took part. As well as the overall title, there were also three individual section winners, with Brambletye winning the Biology section, Kingshott the Chemistry section and Loyola Prep the Physics section.

Wallace & Gromit was the theme of the day, and different activities in each of the sciences were devised by Haileybury’s science teachers. For Physics, the children had to construct a tower as tall as possible out of uncooked pasta to support a were-rabbit. The Biology section involved testing various foods such as the Wensleydale cheese so prominent in the film, while in Chemistry, the teams had to analyse soil samples to advise the gardeners which vegetable to grow in which soil.

Congratulations to all those schools who competed in the Challenge:

- Beechwood Park
- Brambletye
- Duncombe School
- Hilden Oaks
- Kingshott
- Lochinver House
- Lockers Park
- Loyola Prep
- Orley Farm
- Orwell Park
- Rickmansworth PNEU
- St Hilda’s, Bushey
- St John’s, Northwood
- St Joseph’s In The Park
- The Beacon
- The Ralph Sadleir Middle School
- Westbrook Hay

On Tuesday 24 February 2009 a glittering night of music and opera was organised by ‘21’, the Young Enterprise company comprising 21 sixth formers, in the Chapel at Queenswood School near Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

The event, called “La Notte d’Amore”, had a distinct international feel and three professional and highly accomplished musicians from Korea were the guest performers. The renowned Korean tenor, Mr Dong-ho Shin, and his colleague Mrs Hyun-Kyung Kim (soprano), were accompanied by pianist Miss Do-Yeon Kang. Other performers from the school included: violinists Mr Christos Kokkinos, Ms Paula Clifton-Everest and sixth form Music Scholar Annaliza Ranetunga, who is also a member of ‘21’.

Mr Shin is father of Queenswood sixth form Music Scholar Mari Shin, Managing Director of ‘21’, and was delighted to assist the Young Enterprise company with this novel event – a first for the school. Mr Shin, who is Dean at Chung-ang University in Korea, completed his operatic training in Italy and has performed around the world in such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and at Lucca in Italy. Mrs Kim, who teaches in Korea, studied music in Korea and Italy where she has had much success in competitions.

Our renowned performers sang popular arias from Puccini’s La Boheme and Verdi’s La Traviata and enthralled us by thoughtful and intriguing performances of traditional Korean folk songs. Mr Shin’s solo performances were delivered with both great power and sensitivity to an enraptured and appreciative audience of nearly 200 people in our beautiful chapel here at Queenswood.

After such a wonderful evening – which included sampling Korean sweetmeats in the interval – Mari Shin (aged 18) thanked the performers, the audience and her fellow company members. Following the event, Mari said: “La Notte d’Amore was an ambitious project which took two months of planning. We learned a lot and are so pleased it was a success. We have raised over £350 for our chosen charity, The Friends of Chernobyl’s Children.”

Photo:(l-r) Mari Shin (daughter of Dong-ho Shin), Dong-ho Shin, Hyun-Kyung Kim and Miss Do-Yeon Kang in the Chapel at Queenswood.

Pupils and staff at Bishop’s Stortford College were delighted to welcome back Old Stortfordian Dick Clement who, in partnership with Ian Le Frenais, is one of the leading TV and film scriptwriters of the 20th century. Following a chance meeting in the 1960s whilst Clement was working at the BBC, the pair began working together, building their reputation primarily on four iconic TV series The Likely Lads, Whatever happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen Pet.

Their list of credits is impressive and includes films such as The Rock (with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage), The Commitments, Goal! and Flushed Away. With four films out in the past four years, the dynamic partnership shows no sign of slowing down. As Le Frenais puts it, they are “Hollywood’s most successful couple!”

Clement has also written many film versions of some of their television successes, which he often directed too. He is now commonly known as the Hollywood “script doctor”, working on series such as The Tracey Ullman Show and films like Never Say Never Again. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2007 birthday honours list.

As well as sharing stories from his career during his lecture at Bishop’s Stortford College, Clement also recalled some favourite memories of his time as a boarder at the Hertfordshire-based independent school in the 1950s, including being taught and influenced by artist and linguist, Walter Strachan, a teacher he claimed “he learnt a great deal from that wasn’t on the syllabus”. He described his time at the College overall as time well spent, “sneaking down to the cinema” and “becoming involved in drama”, which strongly influenced his career path.

As a leading scriptwriter for over 40 years, he is loved and known for his interest in portraying ordinary people, his ability in capturing everyday speech and relationships and his distinctive regional accents. It was a great honour to have such a significant, yet modest, role model return to Bishop’s Stortford College to inspire another generation of writers and directors.

A sixth former from Bishop’s Stortford College is one of just five students chosen to represent the United Kingdom at the 2009 Professor Harry Messel International Science School at the University of Sydney, Australia from Saturday 12 – Saturday 25 July 2009.

Selected from over 100 high calibre applicants UK wide, Paul Bramley had to demonstrate his academic excellence, his ability to act as an ambassador for his country and his profound interest in contemporary scientific developments during the rigorous selection process.

Paul will attend lectures on some of the most exciting developments in science given by leading experts in those fields and visit various research groups in the Science School. There will also be a variety of social activities designed to promote long term friendships within the group.

The theme of the Science School will be ‘Genes to Galaxies’. During his two weeks in Sydney Paul will work with students from ten countries including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand and the United States of America to further develop his considerable interest in the pursuit of a science career. On his return to Bishop’s Stortford he will disseminate the impact of his experiences through a formal report, an article in Education in Science and through personal presentations.

Paul is currently studying A Levels in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Economics at the Hertfordshire-based independent school for 4-18 year olds. “I was ecstatic when I heard I had been accepted,” he said. “To be given this chance of a lifetime is amazing.”

Photograph: Paul Bramley pictured by one of the mirror displays in the Bishop’s Stortford College Science Action Centre (see below).

About the Science Action Centre:
Opened in 2006, the Science Action Centre is a hands-on facility with over 40 interactive displays designed to intrigue, inspire and engage pupils of all ages about science. To our knowledge, it is the only facility of its kind in a UK school. Used on a regular basis by Bishop’s Stortford College pupils, the centre is also open to other schools, with over 2000 pupils visiting from schools based in Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

The high achieving Art Department at Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School is celebrating after six pupils aged twelve and thirteen successfully passed Bronze level of the Arts Award.

Portland Samek-Richardson, Phoebe Poulter, James Scott-Flanagan, Stephanie Malyon, Emily Neill, and Amy Roberts had to prepare a portfolio based on four parts including taking part in an arts activity, going to arts events, researching an arts hero or heroine and sharing their skills with others.

Arts Award is a national qualification that recognises how young people develop as artists, arts practitioners and arts leaders. Young people aged between 11-25 can achieve Arts Awards at three levels bronze, silver (equivalent to GCSE) and gold (equivalent to A level) on the national qualifications framework. Introduced in 2005, Arts Award is run by Arts Council England and Trinity Guildhall, two organisations with a high profile and considerable reputation in the arts sector.

Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School is one of the very few schools in the country to be an accredited Arts Award centre. Centres are organisations with at least one trained Arts Award adviser, and support young people to develop their arts activities, including arts centres, theatres, schools, colleges, youth projects, and voluntary clubs or community groups.

Achieving an Arts Award says a lot about a person. It shows a commitment to the arts, interest in developing skills and understanding, communication, planning and evaluation skills. It demonstrates skills in leadership as well as personal arts practice. These skills are what colleges, universities and employers are looking for and many recognise the Arts Award as an additional qualification.

“The pupils have worked extremely hard to gain the Award,” said Head of Art Emma Neville. “I’m very proud of them.”

Work has begun on Haileybury’s new £2,5 million Modern Languages Centre (MLC), which is due for occupation in January 2010.
The new two-storey building is being project managed by Ainsley and Partners, while the main building contractor is Newlands Construction, a Hertfordshire-based building firm experienced in installing the latest eco-technologies in schools, public buildings and homes.
It will boast nine teaching rooms, a staff area, three language assistant rooms, a library, disabled access, and a fully wireless system to provide state-of-the-art technology for teaching the subjects.
In all, the building will provide 1050 square metres of new space, freeing up classrooms in the school’s Form Room Block for other subjects.
“When planning the new Modern Languages Centre, Haileybury knew it had to tackle rising energy costs and contribute to a reduction in CO2,” says Estate Bursar, Andy McDonald.

“Haileybury’s commitment to saving CO2 and reducing fuel costs is proven by the fact that we plan to install a Ground Source Heat Pump, a system that takes heat from the ground and converts it into useable energy,” he adds.
Says The Master of Haileybury, Stuart Westley: “The teaching of modern languages is becoming ever more important in today’s global environment. Languages are key to understanding people from other countries and cultures, and we are thrilled that we will soon be able to offer our pupils such a wonderful facility.”

On Tuesday 18 November, pupils from St Hugh’s School, near Ware, took part in a ‘Skipathon’ to raise vital funds to support the work of the NSPCC, which includes the confidential telephone helpline service for children, ChildLine.

Almost 200 pupils took part in the event by skipping for around 30 minutes during the day, including some of the youngest children in the Nursery. The children completed sponsor forms and have so far raised over £3,000 for the NSPCC.

Mrs Jacqueline Hart, Head of St Hugh’s School said: “The children really enjoyed the event, some having a go at skipping for the very first time. As well as helping them to get fit and healthy, they enjoyed raising money for other children less fortunate than themselves. We would like to thank all the children, staff and parents who kindly supported the event.

Photograph: Children from St Hugh’s Year 1 take part in the Skipathon.

On Saturday 8 November, ten teams from five local primary schools in Hertfordshire and North London competed in the annual Prep School’s Football Tournament, organised by and held at, St Hugh’s School.

The five schools that took part were St Hugh’s (near Puckeridge) Sherrardswood (Welwyn), Duncombe (Hertford), St Joseph’s In The Park (Hertingfordbury) and Loyola (Buckhurst Hill). They each entered football teams for the Under 11’s and Under 9’s.

The St Hugh’s Under 9’s team played some fantastic football to win the Under 9′s tournament. They played five matches, won five, scored ten goals and conceded two goals. The final was against Duncombe School, where goals from Kene Chigbo and Andrew Byrne in the second half gave St Hugh’s the victory!

The Under 11’s final was won by St Joseph’s in the Park after beating Loyola.

Mr Gary Goodfellow, the Sports Manager at St Hugh’s School and tournament organiser said: “All of the school’s teams played extremely well, demonstrating some excellent skills, both in attack and defence, in particular the winning teams from both St Hugh’s and St Joseph’s. Well done boys!

Photo: The winning St Hugh’s Under 9’s team

Mark Prisk, the MP for Hertford and Stortford and Shadow Minister for Enterprise, Deregulation and Competition visited St Edmund’s College, near Ware, on Friday 7 November, to talk to its 160 Sixth Form students, as part of their visiting speakers programme.

Mr Prisk talked to the students for over an hour about a variety of topical issues, including local political issues, the Economy, the American Presidential elections, ID Cards and Europe.

Mrs Maggie McCann, Head of Sixth Form commented: “The students really enjoyed meeting Mr Prisk and hearing his views on a number of local issues, as well as those affecting Britain and the world today”.

Photo: Left to right: Mrs Maggie McCann, Head of Sixth Form, with Mark Prisk MP (centre) and students Katie Sharp, Harry White, Billy Ford and James Stockman.

Sixteen-year-old Haileybury pupil, George Fuest, recently won The London Lens photographic competition organised by the Anne Frank Trust (AFT).
George entered after finding out about the competition on the Internet. The brief was to take a photo of London or in London and his “Escalator” image was judged to be the best out of more than 300 entries by a panel including a representative from The Royal Photographic Society, two representatives from Olympus, and two from the AFT.

The prize was an Olympus U 1050 SW worth £260 and a portfolio of the Royal Photographic Society which he was presented with during an evening event at the Camden Roundhouse.

The school, which is known as Haileybury Almaty, will be a fee-paying but not-for-profit enterprise, which is as close to a charity as one can get in Kazakhstan. The money for the $50million project has been donated by a group of founders and benefactors who has supported the main benefactor, Haileybury parent, Serzhan Zhumashov, in his quest. Even through the recent challenges of the credit crunch, the project has remained on schedule and it opens its doors this week to more than 300 children. Eventually, the school will educate 600 children who will take IGCSE and International Baccalaureate examinations in the English language. The majority of students will then go on to universities in Kazakhstan, the UK or America.

The project is the brainchild of Mr Zhumashov, who wanted to offer an English-style education to Kazakh children who were unable to attend Haileybury in England.

A contract was signed in January 2007 with Mr Zhumashov’s property development company, Capital Partners, whose recent projects include the prestigious Ritz Carlton Hotel in Red Square in Moscow. Haileybury provided expert consultancy for the development of the school, which is for children aged 5-18 and which offers an English curriculum taught to Kazakh pupils in English, Kazakh and Russian.

The design of the school was given to the London office of HOK, a world-renowned firm of architects. The project was the responsibility of Stefan Jacobek, who has designed a stunning modern building which sits on a city centre site of four hectares. It was completed in an astonishing 12 months and yet evidence of the high quality of design and finish is ubiquitous.

Haileybury UK will provide five governors for the governing body of the new school and will be responsible for ensuring the standard of education is worthy of Haileybury”s name.

Mr Michael Gatenby, the Chairman of the Haileybury UK governing Council, welcomed this important development: “We are proud to have been chosen as the partner for this extraordinary project and we are absolutely delighted that a school of such stunning design and quality has been finished on time. The provision of an English education to pupils in this part of Central Asia is a hugely exciting challenge and one which we are confident Haileybury Almaty will meet.”

Bishop’s Stortford College strengthened its position as one of the country’s leading co-educational boarding and day school with A level records tumbling for the sixth consecutive time. 62% of A levels were awarded an A grade, 88% an A or B and 98% an A, B or C. Once again the pass rate was 100%.

Top performers included Rikesh Rajani of Harlow, who gained 6 A grades, and Terry Chou of Hong Kong, with 5 As. Rikesh heads to Cambridge University to study Natural Sciences, whilst Terry will pursue her interest in Economics at the London School of Economics.

Outstanding English student, Joanna Green, passed the Advanced Extension Award in English Literature with distinction (600/600) as well as gaining 4 grade As in her A levels. She will be combining her love of English with Philosophy at Bristol University.

An impressive total of 42 pupils (one third) gained at least 3 A grades at A level, with 11 of these achieving 4 or more A grades.

Headmaster John Trotman said, ‘We expected this hard working and talented group to do well and I am so pleased that they have lived up to their promise. Enthusiastic and very engaging young men and women, they will flourish at university and in later life. Congratulations to them and to their immensely committed teachers”.

Meanwhile at GCSE level, 39 Bishop’s Stortford College pupils, out of a year group of 94, joined the College’s ‘10 Club’ with the release of this year’s GCSE results, each gaining at least 10 A* or A grades in this year’s examinations.

65% of examinations taken were graded at A* or A (A* 30%, A 35%).

99% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C grades and 98% achieved 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths.

PHOTO: BSC A-level students celebrate their outstanding success

Students at The Princess Helena College have again excelled in their GCSE examinations. For the third year running, Science results have been outstanding; all girls studying the individual science subjects were awarded an A* – B grade.

The School is particularly pleased that pupils excelled in a wide range of traditional and so-called ‘modern’ subjects. This is very much a reflection of the College’s ethos of offering a flexible approach to education, tailoring the curriculum and extracurricular activities to enable each girl to develop her talents and to succeed.

On the one hand, Science at PHC is continuing to grow in strength and in each successive year since the Science Centre was built, the results have excelled. There was a 100% pass rate A*-A grade in Chemistry, 100% pass rate A*-B in Biology & Physics. At the same time, girls studying Sport Science were all awarded A*- B grades and we were delighted that pupils taking our newest GCSE, Dance, were all awarded B grades.

Deputy Head, Camilla Wilson, believes that “where possible, girls should be given the opportunity to study subjects they enjoy and for which they have a particular aptitude. It is fantastic that girls have got A*s in such a wide variety of subjects including Latin, Sport Science, History and Business Studies. We are constantly looking to improve our curriculum, ensuring it suits the needs of each year group and we now offer over 20 different subjects.”

Overall Summary
• For the fifth year running nearly half of all GCSE’s taken were awarded an A* or A grade.
• For the second year, three quarters of all GCSE’s taken were passed at A* to B grade.
• We are delighted with all the girls’ results from those who got a string of A*s and As – including Julia Bevan, Isabelle Milton and Rachel Prosser – to those who got a mix of As, Bs and Cs – all of whom maximized their potential.
• For an impressive third year running there was a 100% pass rate A*-A grade in Chemistry and 100% pass rate A*-B in Biology & Physics.
• 100% pass rate A*-B in Religious Studies, Latin and Dance.
• 80% of all girls who took Music GCSE were awarded an A Grade.
• For the second year there was a 100% pass rate A*-B in Sports Science
• 100% pass rate A*-C in French, German, History & Business Studies.

Students at The Princess Helena College are celebrating their excellent A Level exam results – with more girls than ever before gaining A Grades. Overall, 35% of all A Levels taken were awarded an A Grade and nearly 60% were passed at A-C grade.

The School is particularly pleased that all girls who studied Business achieved A Grades and are going on to study Business or Management at undergraduate level.

Not only have the pupils excelled this year, but the College too has passed its recent inspection with flying colours. The Independent Schools Inspectorate outlined that: “The school provides an environment in which each pupil is genuinely valued as an individual and offered a stimulating and enriching curriculum, together with other activities that offer varied opportunities for personal development. The pastoral care provided is outstanding.”
The ever-improving examination results are a testament to the strengths that Inspectors highlighted: “The school’s pastoral, tutorial and other support systems make a highly significant and effective contribution to academic achievement and progress and to the personal growth of pupils”

2008 has brought continued success in the creative and performing arts. For the 6th year running, all A Level Candidates excelled with 80% passing with A Grades. Two girls even gained full marks in every single one of their A2 modules – which is an outstanding result! The Art Department is delighted at the results and the fact that inspectors stated: “The aesthetic and creative curriculum, particularly art, drama, dance and music, is a particular strength of the school.” They are also thrilled that once again this year another pupil is heading for the world renowned Central St Martins to study Art.

Overall Summary
• Over a third of all exams taken being passed at A Grade (35%) – an increase of 10% compared to last year.
• For the fourth year running nearly 60% of all exams taken were passed at A or B grade (57%)
• For the second year running there was an 84% pass rate at A-C grades.
• For the fourth year running there was a 100% pass rate A-E in all subjects
• 100% of girls studying Business Studies achieved an A Grade.
• Girls studying Modern Foreign Languages, including French, German and Spanish, achieved excellent results – 100% A-B grades.
• 100% pass rate A-C in English, Geography, Religious Studies, Information Technology & Music
• For the 6th year running all A Level Art candidates excelled, with over three quarters passing with A Grades (this year; 80%)
• We are delighted that for the second year running there were ppositive value-added results, with many girls achieving as much as two grades higher than their nationally predicted A Level grades, based on Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) scores, in each subject.
• All girls are delighted to have gained places at their chosen University